Xiao Feng kills two tigers barehanded and meets Wanyan Aguda

Xiao Feng kills two tigers barehanded and meets Wanyan Aguda in a blizzard, turning a desperate search for food and shelter into an encounter that brings him a new companion. The scene makes his extraordinary strength visible not in a formal contest but in an urgent act of aid: with A'Zi unconscious and gravely ill, he pursues danger because the hunter is outmatched.

The Hunt in the Snow

After three days without food, Xiao Feng has found refuge in a snowbound forest with A'Zi, whom he keeps warm beside a fire. He has eaten more than twenty mushrooms when the roar of a tiger reaches him, followed by the sound of someone pursuing the animals. Hearing the tigers run west, he lays A'Zi gently beside the fire and sets off through the heavy snowfall.

After traveling more than ten li, he sees two brightly coloured tigers charging ahead of a large hunter dressed in beast hide and carrying an iron fork. One tiger turns on the hunter; the man aims for its throat, but the animal evades the point, and the second tiger joins the attack. The hunter strikes one with the fork’s handle and drives it off, yet Xiao Feng recognizes that, for all the man’s strength and knowledge of animal behavior, killing both beasts will be difficult. The danger is immediate: the hunter must face the second tiger while its companion is still loose.

The Fight and Its Reversal

Xiao Feng calls out that he will help, then rushes in to block the tigers. The hunter, startled, shouts at him in a language Xiao Feng does not understand; there is no time to bridge that barrier. Xiao Feng strikes the first tiger on the forehead with roughly seventy percent of his strength. The blow knocks it over, but its thick skull withstands what would have shattered an exceptional martial artist’s brain, and it springs back at him. Rather than treating the animal’s survival as defeat, Xiao Feng praises its toughness and changes his attack: a downward chop to its waist makes its steps falter, and he catches its tail with both hands as it tries to flee. Pulling against the tiger’s forward rush, he sends it flying into the air.

The Fight and Its Reversal

Xiao Feng calls out that he will help, then rushes in to block the tigers. The hunter, startled, shouts at him in a language Xiao Feng does not understand; there is no time to bridge that barrier. Xiao Feng strikes the first tiger on the forehead with roughly seventy percent of his strength. The blow knocks it over, but its thick skull withstands what would have shattered an exceptional martial artist’s brain, and it springs back at him. Rather than treating the animal’s survival as defeat, Xiao Feng praises its toughness and changes his attack: a downward chop to its waist makes its steps falter, and he catches its tail with both hands as it tries to flee. Pulling against the tiger’s forward rush, he sends it flying into the air.

The Hunter’s Kill and a Shared Meal

As the airborne tiger comes down, Xiao Feng meets it with both palms, striking its exposed belly with his Twin Palm Parting Cloud technique. Its internal organs are shattered; after rolling in the snow, it dies. Meanwhile, the hunter keeps fighting the second tiger. He thrusts repeatedly with his iron fork, drawing its charge, then dodges aside and drives the weapon into its forehead. He lifts the fork with both hands and pins the animal to the ground until it stops struggling. The back of his clothing splits under the strain, revealing a powerfully built frame; Xiao Feng silently admires the man’s strength. The two have killed their respective tigers by very different means: Xiao Feng with his bare hands and martial skill, the hunter through practiced knowledge of the animals and a well-placed weapon.

The hunter turns, laughing, and gives Xiao Feng a thumbs-up. Though they cannot understand one another’s words, Xiao Feng reads the gesture as praise and returns it, calling the man a hero. Their first exchange is thus made through action and signs rather than a shared language. The hunter points to himself and names himself Wanyan Aguda; Xiao Feng gives his own name. When Aguda identifies him as Khitan, Xiao Feng confirms it, then learns that Aguda is Jurchen. In the snowbound wilderness, the brief exchange establishes both men’s identities and turns a chance encounter into a meeting between members of neighboring peoples.

From the Hunt to the Jurchen Camp

The encounter becomes practical as soon as the two men recognize one another’s goodwill. Xiao Feng returns to the fire carrying tiger meat, and Aguda follows him with the other dead animal. The blood is still fresh, so Xiao Feng cuts the tiger’s throat and lets A'Zi drink; she swallows about ten mouthfuls before stopping. He tears off two tiger legs and roasts them over the fire. Aguda watches, astonished, as Xiao Feng pulls apart the carcass with his bare hands as easily as cooked chicken, then strokes Xiao Feng’s wrist and arm in admiration of his strength.

Over the roasted meat, Aguda asks through gestures where Xiao Feng means to go. Xiao Feng explains that he has become lost while searching for ginseng to treat A'Zi. Aguda signals that ginseng is readily available if Xiao Feng will follow him. Xiao Feng accepts at once: carrying A'Zi in his left arm, he lifts a dead tiger in his right hand, prompting another approving gesture from Aguda. The hunter’s local knowledge answers the problem Xiao Feng could not solve alone; despite the blizzard, Aguda knows the terrain well enough to guide them.

They travel for two days, and on the afternoon of the third Xiao Feng sees numerous footprints in the snow. Aguda indicates that they are nearing his people’s settlement. Beyond two shallow hollows in the hills, a dense group of hide tents appears on a southeastern slope. At each tent, women sit around a fire mending animal skins and preserving meat. Aguda leads Xiao Feng into the largest central tent, where more than ten people are drinking together. They cheer Aguda’s return; he gestures as he recounts Xiao Feng’s barehanded tiger kill, and the people gather around Xiao Feng, raising their thumbs in praise. The episode thus carries the original act of assistance into a new community: a stranger’s strength wins admiration, while Aguda’s guidance gives Xiao Feng and the injured A'Zi a route onward.

A Meeting of Neighboring Peoples

The encounter also establishes a bond across a language barrier. The hunter identifies himself as Wanyan Aguda, and Xiao Feng gives his own name; when Aguda asks whether he is Khitan, Xiao Feng confirms it and learns that Aguda is Jurchen. Their first recognition of one another rests not on shared speech but on gestures, mutual aid, and admiration for demonstrated ability. Xiao Feng knows the Jurchen as a people living east of the Liao Empire and renowned for courage and skill in battle, so this chance meeting gives that neighboring people a face and a personal connection.

The scene’s scale then widens from two men in a storm to a community. Aguda knows the terrain even in the blizzard and offers to lead Xiao Feng to ginseng, which Xiao Feng needs for A'Zi’s treatment. After two days of travel, on the afternoon of the third, they follow footprints toward the Jurchen settlement: hide tents crowd a southeastern hillside, and women sit by fires mending skins and preserving meat. In the largest tent, more than ten people welcome Aguda; when he gestures through the story of Xiao Feng’s barehanded tiger kill, the gathering closes around the stranger with approving thumbs. The welcome grows directly out of the hunt: the feat that began as aid to an endangered hunter becomes the means by which Xiao Feng is received among Aguda’s people.

A Meeting of Neighboring Peoples

The encounter also establishes a bond across a language barrier. The hunter identifies himself as Wanyan Aguda, and Xiao Feng gives his own name; when Aguda asks whether he is Khitan, Xiao Feng confirms it and learns that Aguda is Jurchen. Their first recognition of one another rests not on shared speech but on gestures, mutual aid, and admiration for demonstrated ability. Xiao Feng knows the Jurchen as a people living east of the Liao Empire and renowned for courage and skill in battle, so this chance meeting gives that neighboring people a face and a personal connection.

The scene’s scale then widens from two men in a storm to a community. Aguda knows the terrain even in the blizzard and offers to lead Xiao Feng to ginseng, which Xiao Feng needs for A'Zi’s treatment. After two days of travel, on the afternoon of the third, they follow footprints toward the Jurchen settlement: hide tents crowd a southeastern hillside, and women sit by fires mending skins and preserving meat. In the largest tent, more than ten people welcome Aguda; when he gestures through the story of Xiao Feng’s barehanded tiger kill, the gathering closes around the stranger with approving thumbs. The welcome grows directly out of the hunt: the feat that began as aid to an endangered hunter becomes the means by which Xiao Feng is received among Aguda’s people.

Significance of the Encounter

The scene joins physical prowess to practical need: Xiao Feng’s strength defeats a threat, but it is his decision to help a stranger that sets the encounter in motion. The hunt does not end with the animals’ deaths. The tiger meat restores the travelers, its fresh blood gives A'Zi something she can swallow, and Aguda’s knowledge of the snowy terrain offers a way toward ginseng when Xiao Feng has lost his bearings. In turn, the barehanded kill becomes the story through which Aguda introduces Xiao Feng to his community. The episode thus moves from survival in isolation to hospitality among the Jurchen, with mutual aid bridging the language barrier.