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墨書 Inktalez
The tiger's eyes narrowed sharply as it set down its cubs and let out a low growl, the threat in its voice unmistakable.
Qi Xiao chuckled softly, holding a small cluster of foul water worms wrapped in spiritual energy in his hand, tossing them lightly. The two of them had been relentlessly pursued by the tiger for so long that they were filled with pent-up frustration.
"What do you think would happen if I threw these at you and your cubs?"
The tiger shuddered, raising its tail and scratching at the ground anxiously. It growled again, but this time, alongside anger and intimidation, there was an undercurrent of tension. The stench of the foul water worms was overpowering and persistent; once it clung to something, it was nearly impossible to get rid of for half a month. If he threw a handful of these worms on it, it would mean that for the next two weeks, it would be exposed to anyone entering the mountain.
Having just given birth, the tiger was weak; facing a human ambush could mean instant death. Humans were indeed cunning!
The tiger flicked its tail irritably, glancing between its cubs and Qi Xiao. Finally, with an exasperated growl directed at Qi Xiao, it picked up one of its cubs and lowered its head in resignation.
Qi Xiao smiled and followed behind it with Lu Yuan.
Upon entering the cave, the tiger used its paws to nudge two hungry little tigers toward Qi Xiao and Lu Yuan before settling down in a corner with the cub it had just reclaimed. With its back turned to them, it silently licked its paws.
Lu Yuan hesitated before speaking up. "Is it asking us to choose one?"
But what would two sword cultivators want with beast cubs? Even if they sold these little ones at the market, they wouldn’t fetch much money!
Hearing humans belittle its cubs like that made the tiger furious; it let out a growl at Lu Yuan. Then, squatting down in front of the two little tigers, it pulled them closer into its embrace, clearly unwilling to part with even one.
Qi Xiao felt somewhat speechless. "Don't worry; we don’t want your cubs."
These two little tigers were scrawny and looked difficult to raise; he wouldn’t accept them even if offered.
It seemed that the tiger sensed Qi Xiao's genuine disdain and became completely enraged. It picked up the cub from the corner and placed it right in front of Qi Xiao, nudging it with its nose as if urging him to take a good look.
Qi Xiao couldn’t help but exclaim softly.
The tiger proudly lifted its head, brimming with spirit as it awaited compliments from the human.
Qi Xiao stroked his chin thoughtfully. This cub was even more scruffy than the previous two!
The tiger was utterly incensed now; with a swift paw, it shoved the cub right in front of Qi Xiao again and growled twice, insisting he take a good look.
Humans truly have no appreciation for value. Is this just an ordinary cub?
Qi Xiao lowered his head to examine it and finally noticed something extraordinary. He saw three golden stripes on the cub's forehead, and the gold in its eyes was purer than that of the other two tigers.
If the other two were like the rising sun, then the gold in this cub's eyes was like the blazing midday sun shining brightly in a clear sky.
Qi Xiao reached out to touch its forehead, and the cub, unafraid of humans, affectionately rubbed its head against him.
He discovered that among the three golden stripes on its forehead, there was also a faint vertical line. However, this vertical line was so faint that Qi Xiao initially failed to notice it.
He couldn't help but sigh softly; he hadn't expected this cub to have ancestral bloodline traits of a king.
Tigers are the rulers of the mountains, but not every tiger can claim kingship. Among tigers, there are strong and weak ones. It is said that only those with royal stripes on their foreheads can truly be called kings!
This mother tiger seemed ordinary, but this cub had fortuitously inherited a purer bloodline. From birth, its innate talents surpassed those of the other two tiger cubs by a considerable margin.
Unable to contain himself, Qi Xiao spoke up. Inheritance not only depends on luck but also on the purity of the bloodline.
To give birth to an ancestral cub means your lineage is one of dominance. Why would you come to this small mountain and bear young on your own?
Upon hearing this, the mother tiger lowered her head, appearing somewhat sorrowful. Tears shimmered in her brilliant golden eyes.
She let out a low mournful cry, and an inexplicable ripple of spiritual energy enveloped Qi Xiao and his companion. They did not resist, allowing this sound to pull them back into the past.
Indeed, this tiger came from a remarkable lineage, but her talents were mediocre and she was not valued by her clan.
One day while hunting, she unexpectedly discovered a human cultivator being chased by ferocious beasts.
Curiosity about the human world sparked within her, and she let out a roar to save him.
She only wanted the human cultivator to tell her about the outside world; little did she know that he would burst into tears as he spoke.
He came from a declining small family. Their clan barely survived after offending a powerful family's young master, who uprooted them overnight—hundreds of people reduced to only a handful surviving.
He had been forced to flee into that forbidden forest to escape persecution from members of that powerful family.
Their family had some knowledge of forming contracts with beasts, and he wanted to ask the tiger for revenge on their behalf.
In the end, he willingly became prey for the tiger, no longer resisting.
The tiger found it boring, yet it tilted its head and agreed. Later, it left with the human cultivator and took its revenge. Watching the remaining old, weak, sick, and disabled embrace and cheer, it felt a flicker of compassion for reasons unknown.
So when the human cultivator came to fulfill his promise, the tiger tilted its head and refused. It thought that if it devoured this human cultivator, no one would tell it stories or feed it delicious food every day. It had not yet enjoyed enough of the human world; it wanted to keep the cultivator around for later.
The human cultivator was taken aback but agreed to the tiger's wish. Thus, he came to feed the tiger every month, and later every year. Gradually, the human cultivator grew old, his lifespan nearing its end.
Looking at the lonely and sorrowful tiger, the old man smiled and patted its head in comfort. "I am about to die and cannot accompany you any longer. Let my descendants continue to be with you. If one day you tire of the splendor of the human world, then return."
But the old man did not know that once a tiger had tasted the human world, it could never return. It settled down and became the guardian beast of a family, watching over this small clan as it gradually took root and flourished.
Its descendants made the same choice as it did. Over time, four hundred years passed, and the Cheng family became renowned for their beast taming skills far and wide. They stood out among beast tamers because they did not enslave beasts; instead, they befriended them as brothers and even shared their lives with magical beasts.
As their reputation grew, so did the mockery that followed. "To stand on equal footing with magical beasts is simply a disgrace to us beast tamers!"
"Since some prefer to belittle themselves by calling beasts friends, why should we treat them as humans?"
The scorn and ridicule from outsiders were one thing; even within their own family, many younger members expressed confusion about their ways.
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