Once We Lived in Nanjing

"You forgot to say OVER."

"OVER."

"I have a gun."

"Even with a gun it's too dangerous, OVER."

Ban Xia dragged her prey into the residential gate of Meihua Villa; it was already late. It had rained all day, and the ground was soaked through.

To the people of that era twenty years ago, tigers were much more dangerous than jackals, so mentioning jackals did not frighten BG4MXH, but the mention of tigers panicked him. However, Ban Xia didn't see it that way; jackals were not domestic dogs, and a tiger might not be much more trouble than a whole pack of jackals. Both were dangerous hunters.

She had seen tigers.

She clearly knew more about them than the young student sitting at the radio, never venturing out.

The territory of a Bengal Tiger could span hundreds of square kilometers, and the Qinhuai District was only about fifty square kilometers in area. This meant that the territory of a wild tiger could encompass five or six Qinhuai Districts. She was almost certain that this tiger was the same one she encountered before. An old acquaintance.

"BG4MXH, I've seen tigers before. I'm not afraid of them; I can handle it. I've already made a plan."

"You can handle shit! Stop fooling around, don't confront it head-on, absolutely do not confront it directly. Stay inside for the next while and don't go out until it leaves, OVER."

"What if it never leaves?"

"Then you leave, get out of there and settle down somewhere safe. The wise do not fight with tigers, OVER."

"I'm not the wise; I'm a girl."

"You know you're a girl, huh? Don't be so stubborn, madam. I just wish I could reach through the radio and drag you over here. Please don't play with fire. You're not Wu Song; why would you fight a tiger? Your precious life cannot be harmed. What would we do if something happened to you?"

Ban Xia pulled a cart, on which there was a whole deer.

She rarely brought back her prey whole, as it wasn't needed. But today's prey wasn't for herself. It was bait. The tiger roaming around Meihua Villa was a Bengal Tiger, which was second only to the Siberian Tiger in size, could grow longer than two meters in body length and weigh over two hundred kilograms. It could eat up to sixty pounds of meat in one sitting, swim across rivers, climb trees, and knock down Boxing King Tyson in a playful slap; against such a ferocious, dangerous, and capable apex predator, small distractions wouldn't work. If you're going to play, play big.

Her teacher had said that in ancient times when hunting tigers, entire pigs and sheep were used as bait. To hunt a tiger, you needed large traps and large baits.

In her teacher's youth, tigers were critically endangered. Back then, there were many people and few tigers, and so humans needed to protect tigers.

But now, there was only Ban Xia left in the world, and humans had become critically endangered. Few humans and many tigers; logically, tigers should protect humans.

Why hadn't all the tigers in the world convened a meeting and issued a "World Wildlife Protection List," including humans as critically endangered species?

"Ms. BG4MSR, please realize that you are now the hope of the whole world. Your life is more important than anyone else's. Under no circumstances should you enter dangerous places, OVER."

"I don't care."

"I beg you, I'm kneeling down and kowtowing to you. Miss, do you hear this thump, thump, thump? OVER."

"You're knocking on the table."

"BG4MSR, why must you oppose that tiger? OVER."

"Because the opportunity is rare."

"It's rare for it, isn't it? It's not every day it gets a premium, SSS-grade, exquisite, and rare dish—a human girl, a once-in-a-lifetime special, the only one in the whole world; would it not be better if you spared it and it spared you?"

"No."

"Why?"

Ban Xia dragged her prey and carried a shotgun as she walked along the path into the residential area. Since she had noticed a Bengal Tiger near Meihua Villa, she always carried a shotgun when she went out.

"Because I must kill it."

"Does it have a grudge against you? OVER.."

"Yes, a grudge."

"What kind of grudge?"

"It killed the teacher."

"BG4MXH, you know about tigers, they won't rashly attack unfamiliar prey. Although they are fierce and powerful, they are also very cautious. My teacher once told me a story called 'The Donkey of Guizhou,' which says that a tiger saw a donkey but didn't know what donkeys were, so it cautiously tested until it confirmed the donkey wasn't dangerous and pounced on it to eat.

So when I thought about it afterward, that tiger must have been tracking us for several days. It was just too stealthy, and we were too careless; we never noticed... until that evening, when the teacher accompanied me back from the seaside. We miscalculated the time, and by the time we reached the complex, it was already dark."

"Then it attacked you? OVER."

"Yes, as the teacher and I were about to enter the gate of the residential area, she took off her backpack and gun and handed them to me. Suddenly, it sprang from behind us, bit into the teacher's shoulder, and dragged her into the bushes. I was so scared I was petrified. I didn't know what it was. A huge shadow suddenly appeared and took the teacher away. I stood frozen on the spot, then I heard the teacher shout 'Run! Run!' and only then did I realize to run back home, lock the door tightly, and cried. I was soaked through and didn't realize I had wet myself until I took off my pants."