LIGHTNOVELSTORY 25. Balding Tiger
Yun Qingyu had appeared at an unknown time and had been watching for an indeterminate duration, but Jiang Mo’s sneaking out was clearly no longer a secret.
The little white tiger felt momentarily guilty, and before she could think of how to bluff her way through, she saw the system’s light orb flash in front of her, suddenly lunging towards her. She tilted her head but couldn’t dodge it, growling in annoyance, “System, stop fooling around.”
The system clung to the little white tiger’s head, its light orb flashing several times in succession, its mechanical voice tinged with despair: “Host, you’re balding. A big patch of fur on your head has been pecked off, and I can’t cover it… You’ve become a balding tiger now, not pretty at all. Do you think your caretaker will dislike you for being ugly and abandon you?”
What’s a bolt from the blue? This was it!
The little white tiger, who had only been feeling guilty before, instantly stiffened. She finally remembered what she had gone through earlier and instinctively stood up on her hind legs, freeing her front paws to feel her head—indeed, during the earlier goose-tiger tussle, she had successfully bitten the goose’s neck and killed it. But before that, the goose hadn’t gone down without a fight, forcibly plucking out her fur.
It was over. She really was balding. Was she unbearably ugly now? Would she be disliked?
As Jiang Mo was covering her head and panicking, the nape of her neck was suddenly gripped, and the next moment she was lifted up. Cool glass-like eyes swept over her bedraggled body as Yun Qingyu spoke in a flat tone, her emotions unreadable: “Where did you go?”
The little white tiger looked at her pitifully, letting out an “Awoo” cry, sounding utterly wronged: “I didn’t go anywhere, really.”
Seeing this, Yun Qingyu almost couldn’t hold back her laughter. She casually hugged the little milk tiger to her chest and even stroked her soft little belly.
Jiang Mo’s body stiffened for a moment before relaxing again—she was just a poor little tiger, with a furry and soft belly that probably felt nice to touch. If Senior Sister would stop investigating her sneaking out after petting her, and also not dislike her current patchy appearance, then letting her touch her little belly wasn’t such a big deal.
Just as Jiang Mo had comforted herself and was preparing to act cute towards Yun Qingyu to completely put the matter to rest, she heard Yun Qingyu suddenly say, “I was cultivating when I received a message that someone had broken into and caused trouble at the Hall of Inquiry at the foot of the mountain…”
The Mingxia Peak Lord was absorbed in cultivation and often in seclusion, having long ago delegated the peak’s trivial matters to her senior disciple. Although the Hall of Inquiry was where new disciples listened to teachings, it was also the foundation of the peak, so no one dared to take it lightly. Any incident at the Hall of Inquiry, big or small, would be reported to Yun Qingyu immediately, so it wasn’t surprising that she knew about this so quickly.
Jiang Mo instantly felt guilty, her eyes darting around, looking anywhere but at Yun Qingyu, as if it had nothing to do with her.
Yun Qingyu watched her play dumb and continued unhurriedly, “It wasn’t a big deal. The back kitchen of the Hall of Inquiry was broken into, with heavy casualties among the poultry and livestock. In the end, a red-crowned goose and a large pot from the stove went missing.” As she spoke, she stroked the little white tiger’s belly again. This time, the descriptors weren’t just furry and soft, but also round and plump, clearly indicating that the little milk tiger had already fed herself well before returning.
Well, with things laid out so clearly, it seemed impossible to deny it anymore.
The little white tiger instantly deflated but quickly perked up again, “Awoo-ing” incessantly: “Caretaker, you can’t blame me for eating the goose. Look how much of my fur it pecked off. I was just getting revenge!”
Yun Qingyu couldn’t understand her words but could tell the little milk tiger was grumbling. She didn’t interrupt her indignant complaints until the little milk tiger had said enough. Then, pinching the tiger cub’s paw pads, she suddenly asked, “So, was the red-crowned goose tasty?”
It was delicious; the system’s culinary skills were top-notch.
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The matter of sneaking down the mountain seemed to have been dropped, with Yun Qingyu not pursuing it further.
However, this trip down the mountain had indeed left indelible marks on the little white tiger—the fear of being dominated by a goose was one aspect, and her balding fur was another. Especially since she had been soaking in the spirit spring recently, every time she saw her new appearance reflected in the water, the feeling of devastation was indescribable… Being bald was one thing, but the key issue was not knowing when it would grow back.
While bathing, the little white tiger swatted at her reflection in the water with her paw, asking the system listlessly, “System, if I level up now, will my fur grow back? Being bald is just too ugly!”
The system did answer, but unfortunately, the response was unsatisfactory: “Host, I’m afraid not. Fur isn’t covered under the game’s warranty.”
Jiang Mo didn’t react much to this; in fact, it wasn’t the first time she had asked the system, but the system’s replies were always this disappointing. The mall did have quite a few good items, from cheaper hair growth tonics to expensive magic potions, all of which could restore her fur in minutes. But they were just too expensive. Even the cheapest hair growth tonic cost 5,000 points, which she simply couldn’t afford.
After browsing the mall prices once again, Jiang Mo felt deeply that such pricing was unreasonable, so she swatted the complaint button with a “pat.” Then, a mechanical voice similar to the system’s sounded in her ear: “Hello, host. What is your complaint?”
Jiang Mo gestured at those hair growth items with her paw: “The pricing is too high. It’s unreasonable.”
There was a brief silence, and after a moment, the complaint system seemed to have finished its calculations and replied, “Supply and demand determine pricing. The system mall is fair to all, young and old. There’s no problem with this pricing, host.” If you can’t afford it, that’s your own issue.
Jiang Mo thought of the vast army of balding individuals and, faced with such a response, found herself momentarily speechless.
The system flickered at this point, seeming to tug at the little white tiger’s whiskers, then leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Forget it, host. Don’t complain anymore. This kind of pricing complaint has never been accepted by the mall, let alone resulted in a price reduction. How about this? When you’ve saved up enough points, I’ll help you place the order. For big-ticket items like this, the system can get an insider price, with a 0.1% discount.”
The little white tiger’s mouth twitched: As if I care about your 0.1% discount!
Just as Jiang Mo was about to swat the system away, Yun Qingyu approached. Seeing that the soaking time was about right, she fished the little milk tiger out of the spirit spring. While using a spell to dry her fur, she said, “I’m leaving the sect tomorrow. Would you like to come along?”
The little white tiger’s ears twitched, clearly very tempted. She hadn’t seen the real cultivation world outside of Xuanqing Sect yet. But thinking of her current appearance, she felt too embarrassed to go out, and instantly the whole tiger wilted.