Chapter 84 (Extra 7)
The rain started falling in the mountains.
The fine drizzle wove a curtain, linking the quiet valley, undulating hills, and verdant trees into a picturesque scene.
Birds took flight, and beasts ran swiftly.
A yellow tiger with dark stripes suddenly leapt from the withered leaves, its body drawing powerful, agile, and sharp lines in mid-air.
It caught two stray mountain birds, and with the hunt complete, it carried the birds in its mouth, moving like the wind through the rain curtain, disappearing into a cave obscured by wild grass.
The cave must have been filled with the tiger’s scent, as no other birds or beasts dared to seek shelter there, even in the rain.
The tiger skillfully killed the birds and ate their meat.
Then it sat on the ground, licking its fur dry from the rain, meticulously grooming itself before falling asleep to the sound of the gentle rain.
On a stone platform in the cave lay a grayish-brown relic. As night fell, the relic emitted a faint silver glow, as if absorbing the essence of the sun and moon to cultivate.
At midnight, the tiger was startled awake by a thunderclap. It instinctively turned to look at the relic.
Seeing that the relic was unharmed, the tiger lay down again, its eyelids drooping, half asleep and half awake.
If the relic wished to transform into human form, it would need at least ten years.
Now, it has only been three years.
The tiger dreamed of its days in the thirty-three heavens.
Back then, it wasn’t a tiger; it was an Immortal revered by all.
That night, in the spacious Immortal hall, a cold wind blew through the corridors as the Immortal sat cross-legged on a grass mat, eyes closed, chanting sutras.
A black panther stealthily entered the hall, extending its warm, wet tongue to lick the Immortal’s cheek.
The fine barbs on the tongue pricked the skin, sending shivers and tingles through it, like countless tiny ants crawling into his bones.
The panther thought it had hidden well, but its aura had long betrayed its identity. Its tongue brushed over the Immortal’s robe, parting the collar. The cold night wind carried a chill, grazing the fragile body, but the skin touched by the panther’s tongue burned hot.
The fire-carrying ants inside devoured and gnawed at him inch by inch. For a moment, the Immortal statue closed its eyes. The Immortal sitting cross-legged on the mat wavered in his concentration.
In that instant, his practice was broken, never to recover.
But in this dream, the Immortal broke through the panther’s enchantment. Upon opening his eyes, instead of shattering the panther’s illusion with a palm strike, he looked calmly at it.
It was as if he was facing his own desires.
A red thread tied to the Immortal’s wrist connected to the panther’s paw.
From the moment they met in the forest tens of thousands of years ago, the dying tiger and the dying Immortal’s fate had been intertwined.
Love or hate, resentment or infatuation.
The Immortal slowly reached out, touching the panther’s illusion.
The illusion gradually dissolved before his eyes, turning into a brilliant light, blossoming in his vision.
The tiger woke up with a start, lifting its head. Its sharp gaze swept through the dim morning light, seeing the scene outside the cave through the branches.
The rain had stopped.
The tiger sat up and then noticed the relic that had been on the stone platform was now in its lap. It held the relic, silently examining it.
After being reborn, the tiger had nearly lost all its cultivation and couldn’t sense the relic’s condition. It didn’t know how far along the relic’s cultivation was, but it had felt recently that the relic was progressing rapidly, even coming to its lap.
It placed the relic back on the stone platform, stood up, shook its fur, and walked out of the cave. The forest, washed clean by the rain, was vibrant and colorful.
The faint sounds of birds chirping could be heard.
The tiger looked up and roared, startling a flock of birds in the valley. It leapt through the valley, its powerful claws quickly catching stray birds and rabbits, snapping their necks with its jaws.
In this life, it no longer pursued compassion, abandoning its roots of wisdom to live as an ordinary tiger.
However, it did not regret being an Immortal.
Yet, after its heart wavered, it was no longer worthy of receiving the worship of countless disciples in the thirty-three heavens.
One thought creates a world, and one thought creates hell.
After eating its fill, the tiger went to a stream in the valley to drink. It sensed something amiss, as the mountain wind carried a strange beast’s scent. Turning, it saw a large male tiger.
Behind the male tiger stood a female tiger, clearly in heat, staring intently at the drinking tiger.
The male tiger, seeing this, became jealous and approached for a fight.
The male tiger advanced step by step, growling menacingly.
The tiger did not want to fight and had no interest in the female. As it turned to leave, the male tiger, thinking it was being looked down upon, suddenly lunged at it.
The tiger was pinned down, and the male tiger’s sharp teeth aimed for its neck to deliver a fatal bite. It quickly extended its paw to block, its right forepaw getting bitten by the male tiger’s sharp teeth.
It couldn’t help but let out a low growl, its black eyes gradually turning blood-red. Suddenly, it flipped over, pinning the male tiger to the ground with overwhelming strength, biting its cheek and clawing its chest.
The male tiger let out a pained hiss as it was struck hard twice by Jiaheng. The blows left the male tiger dazed.
However, after exacting his revenge, Jiaheng didn’t deliver a fatal blow but leapt away from the scene.
Behind him, the female tiger made a strange noise, wanting to follow him, but was stopped by the defeated male tiger.
Jiaheng ignored the two tigers, enduring the pain in his right foreleg as he returned to the cave.
Now in his tiger form, it was inconvenient to treat the wound, so he simply cleaned it and fell asleep on a straw pile.
In a half-asleep state, the tiger sensed a white light flashing before his eyes, but he was so exhausted that he couldn’t lift his heavy eyelids.
His injured paw was held by someone. Though no words were spoken, the gentle and slow actions conveyed a sense of concern and tenderness.
The person touched the wound lightly, doing something that quickly relieved the pain.
Warmth spread over the wound, surprising the tiger, who wanted to wake up but was too tired. His furry head was gently cradled in the person’s arms.
Feeling comfortable, the tiger didn’t struggle, his breathing soon becoming steady.
The next morning, upon waking, the tiger recalled the dreamlike scene from the previous night. He looked around cautiously but saw nothing unusual.
Was it just his imagination?
Lowering his head, he saw that the previously torn wound on his right forepaw was now neatly stitched together, leaving only a faint scar.
The wound had healed too quickly.
Swallowing his surprise, the tiger stood up, his gaze falling on the relic on the stone platform.
The relic lay there as usual, emitting a faint silver glow.
The tiger walked over to the relic, his black and yellow eyes staring at it without any discernible emotion. After a while, he walked out of the cave.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he stepped out, he saw the female tiger from yesterday in heat.
The female tiger wagged her tail, the black stripes on her yellow and white fur, her eyes carrying a unique tiger’s haughty expression.
Half fawning, half testing, she approached Jiaheng.
The scent of a female in heat naturally enticed the newly awakened male tiger.
Jiaheng stood still, his gaze unchanged, allowing the female tiger to approach him.
She first sniffed Jiaheng’s scent, detecting a faint smell of blood. Despite his injury, Jiaheng stood tall and strong, like a king overlooking the valley.
At first sight, the female tiger had fallen in love with Jiaheng.
Unfortunately, the male tiger had been a constant nuisance, unwilling to leave her side despite her pleas. After Jiaheng’s beating yesterday, the male tiger had sulked in his nest, allowing the female tiger to follow Jiaheng’s scent and find him.
The female tiger nudged her head close to Jiaheng’s cheek, rubbing against him. Seeing no rejection from Jiaheng, she assumed he accepted her advances.
Happily, she wagged her tail, gently nibbling at the soft fur on Jiaheng’s face, flirting, when suddenly she stopped, sensing something amiss. Her eyes filled with caution, alertness, and even fear as she looked behind Jiaheng.
Behind Jiaheng was the pitch-dark cave.
From the cave emerged a shadowy figure, standing tall and slim, with an eerie ghostly presence.
Stepping out of the shadows, the figure’s appearance became clear.
His face was unnaturally pale, except for his eyes and brows. His black, sinister eyes were like those of a demon from hell, glaring at the female tiger with a murderous intent.
The female tiger, inexplicably frightened, let out an uncontrollable roar.
Finally finding a suitable mate, only to be interrupted by this unwelcome guest, the female tiger didn’t want to flee but felt an overwhelming fear upon meeting his gaze.
Sometimes, a mere look can determine the outcome.
Seeing the female tiger frozen in place, the man grinned, revealing a horrifying smile.
Terrified, the female tiger let out a scream and fled as if she had seen a ghost.
“…” Jiaheng.
Jiaheng didn’t turn around, but the moment the figure transformed, he sensed his presence. His furry face showed no expression as he stared straight ahead.
Behind him, the man finally spoke first.
“Master, I’m back.”
T/N: Hey there! There is plenty more where that came from, so stay tuned! And stay healthy! Straighten your posture, so some stretches and drink some water before continuing hehe~
If you like my translations, feel free to donate to my ko-fi!
I really, really appreciate all the support from my readers <3 It goes a long way and motivates me lots!
Also, check out the other series we have on HoH!
If you like cats, check out Revenge of the Garfield
If you like dragons, check out I’m Pregnant with the Hope of the Entire Planet and The Dragon and the ‘Princess’
How about some mystery or showbiz? Check out Morbid Addiction & Perfection
What about the perfect, most non-toxic male lead ever? Laws of Love
How about MC nursing ML back to health? Forced into the Deep
Thank you for all your support <3 Leave a comment if you like 🙂 I love reading them!
Leave a Reply