When Golden Finger Meets Salted Fish

Yun Qingyu had only recently returned from the Cloud Ridge Secret Realm with her junior disciples. Logically, she should have had some free time for cultivation, but she was preparing to leave again after just a few days in the sect, which was quite unexpected. What concerned Jiang Mo more was how long this trip would take. After all, for cultivators, a year or half was considered a short trip, three to five years was normal, and even ten or eight years away wouldn’t prompt anyone to go looking for them!

Yes, they were that capricious. Disciples out on adventures were like unbridled horses, uncontrollable and unpredictable.

Jiang Mo had only just found a stable footing in this cultivation world. Even though she now had the Xuanqing Sect providing for her meals, Yun Qingyu remained the only one she truly interacted with and was familiar with. She didn’t want to be separated from her, and feared she might not return.

The furry tiger paw clung to the hem of Yun Qingyu’s robe. Although the little white tiger didn’t vocalize a response, her golden eyes clearly said: I don’t want to go out, can’t you stay?

Yun Qingyu was a perceptive person. Even though she couldn’t understand the little white tiger’s “awoo” sounds, she could guess most of what she meant—in fact, it was quite easy. The miniaturized milk tiger’s mentality seemed to have been somewhat affected, never hiding her thoughts too deeply. Especially when facing someone familiar and trusted, her thoughts and worries were almost plainly written on her face.

Using a spell to dry the little white tiger’s fur was clearly faster than using a hairdryer. In just a moment, the little white tiger’s wet fur became dry and fluffy again, making the whole tiger look a size larger.

Yun Qingyu casually produced a comb, brushing the little milk tiger’s fur while explaining, “I’m not going out for training, just going down the mountain to receive some people. I’ll be back in three to five days at most. If you don’t want to come along, you can stay here, alright?”

Hearing this, Jiang Mo felt relieved, then curiosity arose, and she looked at Yun Qingyu questioningly.

Yun Qingyu knew that divine beasts’ spiritual intelligence was no less than humans’, and even smarter in some ways, so she never dared to treat the little white tiger as a spirit pet or a child. Seeing the little white tiger’s interest, she began to explain, “In the cultivation world, there are three righteous sects and forty-eight schools. The three sects are Xuanqing Sect, Tiandao Sect, and Buddhist Sect, while the forty-eight schools are smaller sects affiliated with these three. Besides these, there are four demonic sects: the Crimson Blood Sect, Nine Abyss Sect, Heavenly Demon Sect, and Harmony Sect, which stand in opposition to the righteous path.

“Leaving aside the demonic path for now, the three righteous sects have always been in competition with each other. To prevent damaging their relationships, the sect leaders established a martial arts competition every sixty years long ago, using the victories and defeats of the younger generation to determine the allocation of certain resources. Now another cycle of sixty years has passed, and it happens to be Xuanqing Sect’s turn to host the competition, so naturally, things are busier.

“Senior Brother Su Hao from Tianyang Peak, Senior Brother Bei Luo from Luoxing Peak, and I are going down the mountain to receive disciples and elders from the other two sects. Afterwards, there will be various competitions within the sect, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to accompany you for quite a long time.”

As she spoke, Yun Qingyu had finished combing the little white tiger’s fur, making it neat and tidy. Jiang Mo listened to her introduction to the cultivation world’s common knowledge while enjoying her senior sister’s gentle grooming, her eyes narrowing in contentment. When Yun Qingyu finished combing and casually scratched under her chin, the little white tiger immediately let out satisfied “purr purr” sounds.

Of course, when Jiang Mo came to her senses, she felt a bit embarrassed. She stood up, raised her paw, and solemnly pushed away the hand that had been teasing her.

Yun Qingyu didn’t mind, after all, she had already gotten to pet the little tiger. The current refusal was just a token resistance. She put away the comb and raised her hand to touch the balding spot where the little milk tiger had been pecked. The previously serious and puffed-up little milk tiger immediately covered her head with both paws, looking accusatory.

“Awoo” “Awoo”—You did that on purpose, bullying a tiger!

A hint of amusement flashed in the cool glass-like eyes. Confirming that the little white tiger, bald for several days, had learned her lesson, she finally spoke, “The spirit beasts in the Spirit Beast Garden often fight. I’ve heard there are quite a few pills there specifically for healing spirit beasts…”

Hearing this, Jiang Mo’s eyes immediately lit up. She pounced into Yun Qingyu’s arms like a hungry tiger: “Really? Does the Spirit Beast Garden have pills that can grow fur? There must be, surely I’m not the only one balding from fights. If everyone was bald, wouldn’t the spirit beasts in the garden look too ugly?” Especially since those spirit beasts had developed spiritual intelligence, wouldn’t they get depressed if they were bald?

The little white tiger was extremely excited at this moment, especially thinking that even the cheapest hair growth medicine in the system mall started at 5,000 points. If she could find medicine in the Spirit Beast Garden, wouldn’t that directly save her 5,000 points?

It was a pity the mall wouldn’t let her open a shop, otherwise she could resell some pills and become rich in no time…

The little milk tiger, her mind full of thoughts about points, didn’t notice that in her excitement, she was standing in Yun Qingyu’s arms, her front paws practically stepping on the other’s chest as they faced each other. She kept “awoo-ing” incessantly, both excited and urging, her front paws pressing down several times… Until the fated scruff of her neck was once again gripped by Yun Qingyu and lifted up, she didn’t know what had happened, looking innocent and bewildered.

Yun Qingyu expressionlessly held the little white tiger at arm’s length, her gaze seemingly casually sweeping over the tiger cub’s furry body, but ultimately didn’t pursue the matter—never mind, even if divine beasts had spiritual intelligence no different from humans, at least this one was female.

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Although eager to go to the Spirit Beast Garden for medicine, it wasn’t a matter of leaving immediately. At least a certain little white tiger, extremely concerned about her appearance, refused to go out with a bald head. What if someone saw her?

As a noble divine beast and future Divine Lord Zhiming, she was unwilling to leave behind a legend of baldness in Xuanqing Sect.

The system, which had been quietly observing for a long time, couldn’t help but mutter, “So fussy. I didn’t remind you before, and you still flew all the way on a celestial crane with a bald head. Who knows how many people saw you.”

The sharp-eared little white tiger immediately became annoyed upon hearing this: “You didn’t even remind me, and you have the nerve to say that?” After speaking, she felt somewhat relieved, grateful that she hadn’t encountered anyone on the way, otherwise her reputation would surely have been ruined. Little did she know that cultivators’ methods weren’t limited to visual observation. At the very least, spiritual sense was often more useful than eyes in some situations, and how could a little white tiger arriving at Xuanqing Sect truly go unnoticed?

However, Jiang Mo didn’t know these things, so after arguing with the system for a bit, she could maintain a calm and joyful mood.

Yun Qingyu left for a while and returned with a small garment in her hand. She said to the little white tiger, “Do you want to try this? It might cover things up a bit. Otherwise, I can go to the Spirit Beast Garden alone to get medicine for you.”

Long, long ago, Yun Qingyu had been blacklisted by Xuanqing Sect’s Spirit Beast Garden. Because everything she raised died, she wasn’t liked by spirit beasts and had caused resentment among the disciples in the Spirit Beast Garden who were dedicated to nurturing spirit beasts. But that was a long time ago. Now, although celestial cranes still avoided her, it wasn’t a difficult task for the senior disciple of Mingxia Peak to get some medicine from the Spirit Beast Garden.

But Jiang Mo wanted to go along because since arriving at Xuanqing Sect, she hadn’t left Mingxia Peak. Currently, everything outside Mingxia Peak was new and unknown to her, and she wanted to take this opportunity to broaden her horizons.

Yun Qingyu might seem aloof, but she was truly a considerate person. After seeing through the little white tiger’s thoughts, she went to find that small garment for her.

The garment wasn’t made by Yun Qingyu, nor was it hers. It belonged to an inner disciple of Mingxia Peak who had prepared it for their spirit pet. That person raised a small spirit cat and didn’t expect it to become a combat asset, treating it purely as a pet. So they made many small clothes for the little spirit cat, often dressing it up, which was known to many.

Jiang Mo wasn’t unfamiliar with such pet clothes. In the modern world, there were far more people dressing up cats and dogs than there were cultivators dressing up spirit pets. Moreover, she was originally human, so she naturally had no aversion to wearing clothes.

The little white tiger stood up, shook her fur, and silently walked over with dignified steps.

Seeing this, Yun Qingyu knew she was willing to wear clothes, so she unfolded the small garment, waiting for the little white tiger to come over to put it on. The little milk tiger indeed cooperated, extending her paws and obediently putting on the garment… Apart from the fact that the garment was originally made for a spirit cat and looked a bit small on the little tiger, there were no other issues.

Looking at the garment fitting a bit tightly on the little white tiger, Yun Qingyu pondered for a moment before frowning and saying, “It’s a bit small. Do you want to make do with it?” Her hands were used to wielding swords and had never touched needle and thread.

Jiang Mo took a few steps, feeling it was quite alright—the style of this small garment was different from modern clothes, modeled after cultivators’ long robes, naturally as loose as those robes. It was small on her, but it didn’t hinder her movement. At most, it was like a nine-foot-tall warrior wearing a scholar’s robe. Although it looked a bit awkward, it was just a bit awkward.

Not complaining about the garment, nor asking Yun Qingyu to alter it, Jiang Mo was a bit intrigued by wearing a long robe for the first time. However, while the garment could cover the bald patches on her body where the goose had pecked her fur off, what about her head?

Just as she was thinking this, something suddenly moved on her head, and a hat was placed on it.

The little milk tiger’s ears twitched, adjusting to the feeling of wearing a hat, but unfortunately, she couldn’t see what the hat looked like. So she asked the system, which was watching from the side, “What kind of hat is this? Does it look good?”

The system was silent for a moment, then burst out laughing: “It’s quite good, suits you well. You should trust your Senior Sister’s aesthetic sense.”

A tiger head cap on a little tiger, wasn’t that just perfect?

The oblivious little white tiger wearing the tiger head cap indeed looked quite adorable. Although Yun Qingyu didn’t say anything, her slender fingers still gently stroked the little white tiger’s ears. The soft fur and plump ears felt quite nice to touch.

Perhaps unable to bear the disturbance, the little white tiger’s ears twitched twice, and then she raised her paw to press down Yun Qingyu’s hand. The latter was about to stop, when she felt something being placed in her palm. Opening her hand, she saw a piece of milk candy lying quietly in her palm—due to the baldness issue, the little white tiger had been depressed for several days, even forgetting her original intention of buying candy.

Yun Qingyu accepted the milk candy from the little milk tiger, still not asking where it came from. A smile flickered in her cool glass-like eyes as she picked up the newly dressed little white tiger: “Thank you.”

It was just a piece of milk candy, and Jiang Mo felt a bit embarrassed, shaking her ears: “Let’s go, to the Spirit Beast Garden.”