Chapter 4: The Seven-Day Limit

Chapter 4: The Seven-Day Limit

It was not because the poachers had poor mental fortitude. Although the wild boar was terrifying, and unprecedentedly large, it was ultimately just a wild boar, capable only of a savage charge.

But lions were different. Their hunting skills surpassed those of a wild boar tenfold. Whether it was their gaping maws or their sharp claws, both were lethal weapons to kill humans, let alone a majestic White-maned Lion like the one before them now?

Those scarlet eyes were truly scarlet! Not bloodshot, but seemingly dyed in blood itself!

No one doubted whether this lion ate people or not!

Moreover, the White Lion made a grand and imposing entrance, letting out a furious roar. The roar seemed to contain some kind of power, shaking everyone to the point where their limbs went weak and their heads spun dizzily.

They did not know that this was one of Lan Mu’s innate abilities after transforming—a roar utilizing the mysterious energy within his body, powerful enough to vibrate minor animals to death, even if not killing them outright.

Any animal within a one-kilometer radius hearing the roar would be frightened into a panicked flee, showcasing its power.

While it wasn’t enough to vibrate a large creature like a human to death, it was sufficient to terrify them and deliver some impact to their fragile internal organs.

That young poacher was so scared by Lan Mu’s roar that he lost control of his bladder.

Lan Mu did not wish to reveal he possessed human intelligence, so he left his clothes on a tree, deliberately moving on all fours. Combined with his appearance as a White-maned Lion, people simply couldn’t tell, thinking he was a real lion.

But where did a lion come from in these mountains? Aren’t lions supposed to be on the savannah?

The oldest, most experienced hunter among them came to his senses, a look of confusion on his face. He observed Lan Mu carefully, once suspecting this was a pet some wealthy person had bought from abroad at a great cost.

Then, his gaze turned greedy, fixed on Lan Mu’s fur. The mane of the White-maned Lion, brimming with a wild beauty, was too magnificent.

A white lion! And so huge! So majestic! If it could be sold…

The Old Hunter fell into fantasy, his eyes changing in an instant. Looking at Lan Mu, he no longer seemed fearful, but rather as if he were staring at a pile of cash.

The Old Hunter was the group’s leader. As long as he didn’t move, the other poachers didn’t move either. Moreover, facing a ferocious beast like a lion, turning their backs on it would likely invite a pounce, so they dared not move either.

In this stalemate, Lan Mu grew frustrated. His intention was to appear and scare them off, hoping to drive them away. He really hadn’t planned to fight.

He never expected these poachers to be so relentlessly wicked, even setting their sights on him now!

“Bastards! Damn it! Run away already! Do you really want me to pounce?”

Lan Mu absolutely could not show cowardice. He could only brace himself and step closer step by step. His cat-like gait was a standard instinct, the muscles and bones along his spine twitching as if a great dragon were shuddering.

But in truth, he had no confidence in his heart, deeply afraid these poachers might go mad and simply shoot at him.

He certainly understood the power of firearms. He didn’t know if he could dodge them, so he stared fixedly ahead, his focus unprecedentedly intense.

Sure enough, these people weren’t so easily scared off. He saw the Old Hunter quickly raise his gun, firing a shot directly at him.

Fortunately, Lan Mu was prepared. The moment the other started raising his arm, he reacted, leaping to the side and actually dodged the gunshot!

“Ah!”

The poachers exclaimed in shock, their eyes bursting with fear once more.

They all witnessed Lan Mu dodging the bullet. His speed was too fast—a flash of white, and he was on the other side. The leader’s bullet missed without a doubt.

The Old Hunter’s eyes flickered. Unwilling, he fired another shot at Lan Mu.

Lan Mu dodged again in advance. Of course, his speed wasn’t faster than a bullet, but he had the advantage of quick reactions! The Old Hunter needed time to aim. As he was being aimed at, Lan Mu dodged ahead of time, naturally avoiding the bullet.

“Today’s no good. Let’s back away slowly! Forget the prey. Xiao Hu, bring Xiao Cui. Don’t turn your backs to the lion. Let’s retreat!” He spoke in some local dialect, the tone fast and urgent.

The Old Hunter was experienced. He knew today’s task was hopeless. The hunting rifle was useless, and he truly dared not engage a lion in close combat.

As a shrewd hunter, direct combat was absolutely the lowest form of hunting. Usually, he selected a target, made ample preparations, used traps or ambushes, employing different hunting methods for different prey. It relied on brains, not brute force.

Finding the wild boar today was already an unexpected surprise. He never thought he’d encounter this extremely rare White-maned Lion, and one that could dodge bullets!

Actually, many prey could dodge bullets, but that was because they were accustomed to hunters’ guns, remembering the sound and appearance of firearms. Such prey were usually wolves that had survived a first failed hunt. When wounded, wolves would firmly remember the person who injured them. If you wounded a wolf with a gun the first time, hitting it easily the second time would be difficult. They would dodge the moment you raised your gun or strike first.

But this lion was too strange. It dodged his first shot in advance. The Old Hunter was very confident in his marksmanship. Animals didn’t recognize a gun’s power; his first shot was always guaranteed to hit! Being able to dodge the first shot meant this White Lion had witnessed real gunfire before.

Furthermore, it was impossible for lions to exist in these mountains. The Old Hunter grew increasingly suspicious that this lion had an owner.

As the leader of this poaching team, he had previously captured rare animals for wealthy people as pets. However, he had never seen any of his countrymen keeping a lion.

But regardless, he had set his sights on this lion. He had to capture it!

All six men held their guns warily, aiming at Lan Mu. The Old Hunter even positioned himself at the front, his gun muzzle always trained on Lan Mu, yet he didn’t fire.

Lan Mu dodged left and right but never heard a gunshot. Feeling played with, he became furious.

“Damn it, rather than being passive, I should take the initiative!”

“Damn it, shoot at me and think you can escape unscathed?”

Lan Mu instantly tensed all his muscles and leaped forward with a whoosh, like a white bolt of lightning.

The moment he sprang into the air, a series of gunshots rang out from across.

“One, two, three, four, five, six… Oh no! There’s one more shot!”

By now, Lan Mu was already mid-air in his pounce. Seeing the Old Hunter’s excited eyes and slightly upturned mouth, he knew he couldn’t dodge this shot.

“Bang!”

The bullet struck his soft abdomen. A sharp pain surged through him as the bullet tore through his skin, embedding itself into his muscle. Blood stained his snow-white fur.

Hit by a bullet, Lan Mu felt not fear, but rage. He let out a roar that directly shook everyone until their heads spun and their vision blurred.

His bloodlust was aroused. Furious, he pounced to kill, pinning the Old Hunter to the ground, his sharp claws sinking deep into the Old Hunter’s shoulder blade.

He was about to bite down, but then he saw the Old Hunter’s terrified, panicked eyes. He hesitated. In that moment of hesitation, he heard the sound of other hunters loading bullets next to him. He hurriedly rolled his body, dodging to the side.

As he left, he casually swiped a claw across the Old Hunter’s face, tearing it into a bloody mess. He had likely disfigured him.

Clutching his face, the Old Hunter cried out in pain and screamed, “Kill it! Kill it!”

Hearing the gunshots, Lan Mu didn’t slow down. Like lightning, he leaped up a large tree.

Then he activated his stealth state, circling behind the opposing side’s large tree. He pounced directly from the height, attacking another poacher.

His immense force knocked the poacher to the ground, his sharp claws tearing a bloody mess.

By the time the others reacted, Lan Mu had already hidden behind a tree.

Like this, coordinating with his innate abilities, appearing and vanishing mysteriously, the group simply couldn’t figure out where he was.

Each lion’s roar was followed by a scream, and a companion would be pounced on and clawed.

These poachers had never faced such a situation. Their morale instantly collapsed.

After injuring five of them in succession, Lan Mu stopped. Standing on a tree, he watched as these poachers supported their wounded, crying and wailing as they fled. His anger subsided.

“Hmph, a bunch of cowards!”

Lan Mu cursed, then clutched his stomach in pain. The bullet had injured him after all; the one in his abdomen had burrowed into his flesh, the pain reaching his heart.

However, he also understood how powerful he was. He felt what he excelled at most was probably being like a hunter, hiding in the shadows, pouncing instantly, delivering a fatal blow.

Like a hunter in the shadows, appearing and vanishing mysteriously, instantly killing everything.

At the same time, he also realized he didn’t have a thick-skinned, rugged body like the Giant Wild Boar. Although he could deliver a lethal blow to any animal, he could also be easily killed by a single gunshot.

If it weren’t for the hunting rifle’s low power, swapped for a proper standard rifle, he likely would have been dead just now.

“Sigh, it turns out I’m a high-damage, high-agility… glass cannon!”

Lan Mu sat on a tree branch, tied up his clothes, and used his sharp claws to dig out the bullet lodged in his flesh. The pain made him wish he were dead.

After much difficulty, he dug out the bullet. Not knowing if it would get infected, he imitated what he saw on nature documentaries, licking his saliva and smearing it on the wound.

But his worry soon vanished because he discovered the wound on his stomach suddenly and inexplicably disappeared, and his original white fur rapidly faded away without a trace.

“Huh?”

He felt a transformation from the inside out. First, his body seemed to undergo a chemical reaction-like change, calm cells becoming active again, genes flipping over frantically like dominoes. His keen senses quickly became dull, and the surging, powerful strength within his body disappeared.

“I… I, I…”

Lan Mu was so shocked he jumped up, accidentally falling from the tree in his carelessness. He crashed down, his whole body in excruciating pain.

“I’ve turned back!”

He discovered in surprise that he had already returned to his human form. Although his vision had declined, although he had lost his sensory abilities, although he had lost his great strength and felt empty inside…

He was still overjoyed because being able to become human, to return to society like a normal person—none of that mattered. He wasn’t the type to complain about fate; he didn’t feel too much about losing this power.

However, deep down, he still felt a bit melancholy. After all, having been a monster for seven days, not everyone had such an experience.

After Lan Mu transformed back, his mindset changed dramatically. He instead began to examine the past seven days with a critical eye, gradually believing this was an extremely precious experience in his life, something worthy of treasuring and remembering.

“Ah! It’s like a dream! These seven days, who else has had such a bizarre experience as I did these seven days?”

“Transforming… and transforming back happened too suddenly!”

If it weren’t for the Giant Wild Boar and the dense forest before him proving everything, he wouldn’t have dared believe he had really become that White-maned Lion.

“Luckily, that white orb only made me transform for seven days. If I had to be a lion for a lifetime, I wouldn’t be happy at all!”

Returning to human form was simply a delightful surprise. Lan Mu was extremely happy in his heart, giggling foolishly while putting on his pants.

But the Giant Wild Boar not far from him collapsed with a crash, finally exhausted to death.

“Uh…”

Lan Mu hurriedly rushed forward and saw the wild boar’s pupils were already dilated, showing no signs of life.

“Sigh, just died like that?”

Lan Mu suddenly felt a bit guilty. Why hadn’t he appeared earlier? Perhaps he could have saved this wild boar that had lived for who knows how many years.

Growing so large must have been no easy feat for a wild boar.

If he had known he was about to transform back sooner, he definitely would have openly exposed himself, letting those people search!

Perhaps a legend would spread through these mountains and forests in the future—a legend of a White-maned Lion. As for capturing him? That would be impossible. He probably would have already been at home drinking juice, enjoying the air conditioning, watching news reports of his peers chasing the White-maned Lion, right?

“Unfortunately, there’s no medicine for regret.”

Lan Mu quickly stopped feeling sentimental and pulled out his phone from his pocket.

His phone had automatically shut off after he fell off the cliff. He didn’t know if it was broken. Before, his claws were too sharp, and he dared not fiddle with it. Now it was fine.

He pressed the power button, and it lit up with a beep. The phone actually turned on.

“Great!”

Before Lan Mu could be happy for long, he heard a series of notification sounds. He looked closely—there were 45 missed calls and 21 text messages.

“Oh my god… I’m done for!”