NOVEL NEXT 7. A Clingy Tiger
According to Jiang Mo’s plan, she would first nuzzle her head against Yun Qingyu’s hand, acting a little coy. Once Yun Qingyu noticed her affection, she would then lie down to let her stroke her fur. Finally, she would flop down at her feet, and surely this caretaker would be hers… After all, who could resist a little kitten playing dead?
However, the little white tiger never anticipated that things would go wrong at the very first step.
Yun Qingyu, seeing the “little spirit cat” approach her, not only failed to happily reach out to pet it but instead recoiled as if startled. She instinctively stood up and took a step back, leaving the enthusiastic little cat hanging.
Clearly, this human-like “little spirit cat” was bewildered, its round cat eyes full of confusion and innocence.
It wasn’t easy to encounter such a friendly spirit beast in a secret realm, but Yun Qingyu was still prepared to leave. In fact, it was precisely because this “little spirit cat” was willing to approach her that she felt she must depart. She actually liked these fluffy little spirit beasts very much, but from childhood, everything she tried to raise died. This included two spirit foxes, three spirit dogs, a fire cloud leopard, and a litter of spirit cats.
These were all spirit beasts, and even if their level wasn’t high, they were still tough and hardy, incomparable to ordinary beasts. Yet in Yun Qingyu’s hands, not one of them lived beyond a month, with the shortest not even surviving a day.
Even with her meticulous care, the more attentive she was, the faster these little creatures seemed to die.
She didn’t know the reason, but since she was six, she had been persona non grata at the sect’s spirit beast garden. Even the celestial cranes that flew disciples around the sect would flap their wings and take a detour when they saw her. As a result, even as the top disciple of Mingxia Peak, she had trouble getting around until she reached Foundation Building and learned to fly on a sword, finally achieving freedom of movement within the sect.
Time had passed, and apart from Yun Qingyu herself, few people still remembered these events.
Now, people remembered the Mingxia Peak senior sister for her exceptional talent, reaching Foundation Building at thirteen and forming her Golden Core at twenty, becoming the first among her peers. They knew her for vanquishing evil and upholding justice, for her unparalleled beauty, and for earning the title of Fairy Qingyu at such a young age…
Yun Qingyu had become the person her junior disciples aspired to be.
In their hearts, she was the lofty senior sister, dignified and unapproachable. Combined with her cold temperament from practicing sword cultivation and her habit of coming and going alone, no one associated her with spirit pets anymore.
But only she remembered her special constitution that killed everything she tried to raise, and it still bothered her.
The “little spirit cat” before her was the weakest spirit beast she had ever seen, far inferior to the litter she had raised years ago. Its constitution might even be worse than an ordinary cat’s. If she wasn’t worried about bringing misfortune to this little one by her presence, why would she have bothered with the tiny scratch on its nose?
Yun Qingyu was truly concerned about harming this little creature, yet this “little spirit cat” seemed fearless, even daring to nuzzle her hand… It was precisely because of this rare affection that she felt she should leave.
With these thoughts, Yun Qingyu cast a cool glance at the little white tiger, preparing to depart.
Jiang Mo caught this glance and somehow understood the other’s intentions. Her heart immediately raced with urgency. Though she had encountered someone so easily, she knew from her observations along the way, even without the system telling her, how rarely people passed through this place. Having chanced upon someone, especially such a cold-exterior-warm-hearted beauty, how could she let this opportunity slip away?
The system also buzzed in her ear: “Host, go for it! Don’t give up because of a small setback! To reach life’s pinnacle, setbacks are inevitable. You must learn to move forward through adversity to go higher and further…” After spouting much motivational rhetoric, it concluded with: “Besides, such a suitable caretaker is rare. You might not find another chance like this!”
Jiang Mo didn’t want to miss this opportunity, so she pounced quickly. She didn’t jump on the person, fearing to startle her, but just landed right in front of her. Cleverly, she extended her tender yet sharp claws as she approached… She expected to hear the sound of fabric tearing, but her claws, sharp as they looked, couldn’t even snag a corner of the other’s clothing.
This was rather embarrassing.
The useless little tiger blinked, pretending nothing had happened. She tried to hook Yun Qingyu’s hem with her claw tips while mewing “aow”: “A newborn little tiger cub, with soft thick fur, feels so good to touch. Are you really going to leave without petting me?”
Jiang Mo couldn’t believe anyone could be so heartless. Once she let her pet her fur, surely she wouldn’t be able to leave!
But Yun Qingyu merely glanced down at her, then expressionlessly tugged her hem free. Her fine spiritual robe remained perfectly smooth, without a trace of disturbance. She didn’t intend to linger and summoned her flying sword, ready to depart.
Jiang Mo was dumbfounded again. She had never met someone so cold-hearted, able to resist a kitten’s plea… Could she be allergic to cat fur? But she’d never heard of cultivators having such ailments. Oh, right, cultivators—and she was supposedly a legendary white tiger divine beast. How could this person abandon such an opportunity that had fallen into her lap? Was she blind?!
These thoughts flashed by in an instant because in the next moment, this beauty would fly away on her sword.
Without time to think further, just before the woman could leap onto her flying sword, Jiang Mo flopped down with a “plop.” This time she was even craftier, directly landing on the beauty’s spotless shoe.
Yun Qingyu’s departure indeed paused. Looking down, she found this “little spirit cat” lying belly-up on her foot. The senior sister, who had never successfully raised a spirit pet, panicked, completely unaware that spirit beasts showing their bellies might be acting cute and coy. She thought the “little spirit cat” before her was in trouble, perhaps dying from her earlier touch.
Even the ice-cold Fairy Qingyu’s glass-like eyes flickered with uncertainty at this moment. Especially when she looked down and saw the “little spirit cat” had closed its eyes, her worry and guilt intensified.
In reality, Jiang Mo was just playing dead. She had run out of ideas, and this act of feigning injury was a desperate last resort.
But one second passed, then another, and the foot she was pressing against didn’t move away. Just as Jiang Mo began to feel a glimmer of hope, she felt the owner of that foot move. She instinctively gripped the shoe sole with her claws, but Yun Qingyu merely crouched down and pried open her mouth to insert a medicinal pill… It dissolved instantly upon entering her mouth, its nature unknown.
Then, in the next moment, Jiang Mo heard the system prompt: “Ding! Congratulations, host. Experience +5.”
As the prompt faded, a familiar warmth swept through her body. When it subsided moments later, Jiang Mo’s fatigue from her day’s exertions had vanished, and even the claws gripping Yun Qingyu’s shoe sole felt stronger.
Without a doubt, she had leveled up again, this time from consuming a pill!
The little white tiger jolted, not having time to check her new character panel, and secretly opened her eyes to look at Yun Qingyu. This was no mere caretaker; this was an experience jackpot!
Let her go? Impossible. She was now like a tiger-skin plaster—she would stick to her no matter what!
Just as the little white tiger finished this thought, a delicate jade-like hand grasped the scruff of her neck, lifting her from the shoe. She involuntarily opened her eyes, meeting a pair of beautiful glass-like eyes and slightly furrowed brows.
Feeling inexplicably guilty and awkward, the little white tiger blinked innocently, raising a paw in greeting: “Meow…”