The little lion "awooed" and turned its head twice, then nudged its nose with its paws, sniffing Mingzhi Tian for food.
Mingzhi Tian smiled heartily and then went to gather wild fruits. The fruit trees near the ones he had gathered from yesterday were all stripped bare, so he had to walk a long, long way to find wild trees.
Just as the great lion thought Mingzhi Tian had slipped away, he returned with a pile of wild fruits wrapped in clothes, smiling.
The little lion jumped and bounced with joy. Mingzhi Tian felt a bitterness in his mouth, but for some reason, perhaps he was thirsty?
He gave all the wild fruits to the little lion and ate two himself. At this moment, the great lion brought a green, juicy bag in its mouth.
Mingzhi Tian was puzzled. The great lion looked down at him, slowly lowered its head, and gestured.
Mingzhi Tian pointed to his nose: "For me?"
The great lion nodded. Mingzhi Tian cupped his hands and received it. The great lion gestured for him to eat it.
Mingzhi Tian ate it down with a grimace. The taste was bitter and complex, extremely hard to swallow! Just as he was about to spit it out, he met the fierce gaze of the great lion and forced himself to swallow.
He finally understood why his mouth was bitter. It turned out that yesterday, while Mingzhi Tian was exhausted and asleep, the great lion had gone out to hunt snakes, brought back a snake gall, and fed it to him for nutrition, even using its body as a mattress for him to sleep on.
Mingzhi Tian didn't know what kind of large snake's gall it was. He only felt a burning sensation as it passed from his throat through his intestines, as if he had drunk poison. It was probably a venomous snake, but Mingzhi Tian chose to trust and swallowed the great snake gall without hesitation.
Perhaps it was due to the "fighting poison with poison" effect, Mingzhi Tian felt no more pain in his abdomen or the spots on his face. It seemed that the mad old man's dose of poison had been neutralized.
Mingzhi Tian was in high spirits. He played with the little lion for a long time until noon, when the great lion brought two foxes.
Mingzhi Tian had not seen the lioness. He presumed the great lion and the little lion were living together as father and son. He felt sad for them. Without his appearance and saving the little lion, the great lion might have been alone and helpless.
After eating and drinking his fill, Mingzhi Tian wanted to be on his way: "Thank you for the hospitality, great lion, little lion. I must leave now. We will meet again if fate allows."
The great lion suddenly knelt down, allowing Mingzhi Tian and the little lion to sit on its back, and then set off!
Mingzhi Tian looked around: "Great lion, where are you taking me?"
The great lion roared twice and continued its forward leap without stopping.
Crossing the misty desert, a stone house was faintly visible ahead. The great lion stopped.
It lowered its head, allowing Mingzhi Tian to pick up the little lion and dismount.
The great lion then leaped up, clearing a three-meter high stone house. It peered inside through a hole in the broken tiles, as if the contents were still there, and then leaped down from the roof.
With a swipe of its paw, the great lion struck the stone door. With a "bang," the stone door was shattered.
What greeted their eyes were several dust-covered wooden chests. One of them revealed a dusty pearl necklace.
Mingzhi Tian opened one chest after another, his eyes lighting up!
There were as many as six chests of gold and silver treasures! It was estimated that some royal relative had lived here before, but the wealth was too great to be carried away.
Mingzhi Tian looked at the great lion: "You mean... you want to give them to me?"
The great lion lowered its head, then raised it... lowered... raised, nodding. Mingzhi Tian hugged its mouth: "Thank you, great lion."
He picked up a nearby torn piece of cloth and made it into a bundle, packing a little gold and silver into it, and wrapping it all up.
Bidding farewell to the reluctant little lion, it pulled off a corner of Mingzhi Tian's clothes as a keepsake before he left.
Mingzhi Tian's clothes were already tattered, so he didn't mind. He waved goodbye to the great lion again and then walked away with his bundle.
The safest place is often the most dangerous. The mad old man was searching for him everywhere, but Mingzhi Tian was not foolish enough to return to the mad old man's lair. He chose the Eastern Ancient City, intending to sell the jewels in his bag first.
The world is like this everywhere. Money may not allow you to go everywhere, but without money, you truly cannot move an inch.
After walking for a day and two nights, Mingzhi Tian arrived at the Eastern Ancient City again. It was already night.