Chapter 1175 — Driven Up a Tree: Mighty General seemed to understand Shen Yushu's meaning — he was to subdue this lion, not beat it to death! In Mighty General's eyes, this lion was utterly pathetic, something he could swat dead at will, but Xiaoshu would not let him kill it, so he could only hold back.
The lion had never expected that a mere probing test would bring such a ferocious blow from its opponent. Stung with pain, its eyes filled with terror. Seeing Mighty General pounce again, the lion hastily spun around and bolted off to the side at full speed!
Gou Huli's eyes went wide. What was wrong with her lion? Why wasn't it eating Mighty General? Instead it had turned tail and fled as though it had seen something horrifying.
"Little lion, get back here! Where do you think you're going? Hurry up and eat this dog for me!" Gou Huli panicked at once. She had come here precisely to use the lion to teach Shen Yushu and the others a lesson, yet before she could teach anyone anything, the lion had run off on its own!
But the lion, so obedient before, now paid Gou Huli's words no mind at all. It only ran forward with all its might — and yet how could it match Mighty General's speed?
With nowhere left to run, the lion spotted a tree in the villa's courtyard. Gritting its teeth, it shot up the trunk with a whoosh!
"A lion that can climb trees? That's badass! Old lady, that lion of yours really is specially trained — circus-grade!" Shen Yushu said in amazement.
Gou Huli's face flushed red. Shen Yushu's meaning was plain enough: she was calling her a circus clown, someone who played with lions for a living! But angry as Gou Huli was, she still couldn't make sense of the situation. This lion was such a formidable creature that other people's dogs — dogs even bigger than Mighty General — had been eaten by it. So how was Mighty General able to chase it all over the place?
After climbing the tree, the lion clung tightly to the trunk, not daring to come down, and it was trembling up there besides. As for Mighty General, he was in no hurry at all; he settled himself comfortably at the foot of the tree, as if waiting for the lion to come down.
"Little lion, get down here!" Gou Huli was frantic, shouting up at the lion in the tree.
But the lion acted as though it hadn't heard her at all, and paid her no attention whatsoever.
"Little lion?" Gou Huli called again.
Still no response from the lion; it had no intention of coming down.
"I'm going back to look at my photos. Your lion can be my guard dog from now on — I'm not giving it back! You go home by yourself! Bye-bye!" Shen Yushu waved at Gou Huli and went back into the villa.
Leaving only Mighty General, the lion up in the tree, and Gou Huli standing alone in the villa's courtyard.
Seeing even Shen Yushu go back inside, Gou Huli was somewhat stunned. She had led the lion here to show off, but now — well, she hadn't managed to put on any airs, and instead the lion had run up a tree and wouldn't come down, and it wasn't listening to her anymore either!
Surely she couldn't sit on the ground and wait like that dog had? That would cost Gou Huli every last shred of her dignity!
Gou Huli felt rather aggrieved. Was Mighty General really that terrifying? Why was the lion so afraid of him?
"Little doggy... could you let the lion come down?" Out of options, Gou Huli could only lower her voice and negotiate with Mighty General — but afraid of losing face, she kept her voice very soft.
"Woof, woof!" Mighty General barked twice at Gou Huli, and she was so startled that she trembled all over and instinctively backed up two steps! Clearly, Gou Huli had underestimated Mighty General's intelligence; she had taken him for an ordinary dog!
"Um, doggy, look, we're both surnamed Gou, so why are you so unfriendly to me... I just want to take my lion home. Let him come down, won't you?" Gou Huli said, still unwilling to give up.
"Woof, woof!" Mighty General barked twice and advanced a few more steps toward Gou Huli, frightening her into waving her hands again and again: "Fine, fine, if you won't agree then forget it... I'll be going now..."
Gou Huli was thoroughly depressed. Though she was very unwilling to leave just like that, she was plainly no match for a dog. If the dog got angry and bit her, what then? She could only go home first and think of another way!
If all else failed, she had best get in touch with the Pi family's experts to step in — then it would be as easy as reaching out a hand.
Yet no sooner had Gou Huli told Xiao Ji her idea than Xiao Ji scolded her: "It's just a lion, isn't it? If it won't come back, then let it go! Yes, our Xiao family has the Pi family's experts holding the fort, and to outsiders our Xiao family looks insufferably arrogant, but don't you know how things really are? Those two Pi family experts are there to keep watch on our Xiao family's business! If we have business rivals, they'll step in and deal with them for us — but you want them to help you beat up a dog? Only you could come up with that! These are the best of the best; how could they possibly help you beat a dog?"
"But... this isn't about the lion, it's about face! Last time our Xiao family was humiliated at Gu Mengyao's place. If we don't win our ground back this time, people will think I'm afraid of the Gu family..." Gou Huli said, somewhat reluctantly.
"It's not a question of fear. Uncle Pi was wounded by Wei Zhao. If the Pi family wanted revenge, they'd have gone after Wei Zhao long ago — would it be your turn?" Xiao Ji snorted coldly. "The fact that the Pi family still hasn't gone after Wei Zhao shows they won't go. Let this matter drop for now; don't expose our Xiao family's trump card! If people find out we can't command the Pi family, that would be disastrous!"
"Is that so..." Gou Huli couldn't help lowering her head, feeling wronged.
"Heh, big brother, you can't really put it that way either," Xiao Ben said, waving a hand. "The reason the Pi family hasn't gone after Wei Zhao for revenge is actually because Uncle Pi's real injury was caused by sister-in-law's collision — that's why they haven't gone after Wei Zhao. After all, it would be a bit unjustified. Still, I believe the Pi family is eager for that revenge. If there's another conflict of interest with Wei Zhao, I think they wouldn't mind making a move! In fact, if sister-in-law wants revenge, she only needs to reasonably create some points of conflict — some business friction between Wei Zhao or the Gu family and us — and I'm sure the Pi family would be glad to act!"
"Oh?" Xiao Ji was taken aback. Thinking it over carefully, his younger brother's words did seem to make some sense!
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