Seeing that it was Chen Ji, the White Tiger felt a rare surge of panic and immediately eased the strength in its claws. Especially when it saw Chen Ji frowning and clutching his shoulder, the White Tiger panicked so badly that its claws froze in mid-air, leaving it at a complete loss for what to do.
Chen Ji looked up at it. “It hurts so much… Rub it for me!”
The White Tiger paused for a moment before lowering its claws, placing them lightly on his body and rubbing gently and slowly. It didn’t even let its own weight press down fully, holding itself up carefully.
Chen Ji took the opportunity to stroke the White Tiger’s soft pink paw pads. Then he clasped his hands behind his head, basking in the delight of a massage from tiger paws. The White Tiger didn’t dare make a sound, just obediently kneading away.
After a good while, Chen Ji let out a contented sigh and patted the spot beside him. “Lie down!”
The White Tiger obediently lay down next to Chen Ji. Chen Ji shifted over, settling himself onto the White Tiger’s back to claim a genuine heated cushion. He played with one of its massive paws, pinching and rubbing the pink pads here and there. The White Tiger’s front paws itched from the attention, but it didn’t dare pull them away.
“What are you dodging for?” Chen Ji grumbled softly. “That swipe of yours nearly dislocated my shoulder…”
The White Tiger knew it hadn’t, but that didn’t stop it from leaving a huge bruise. Feeling guilty, it hung its head low. Suddenly, it felt its front paw twitch—Chen Ji had popped out one of its claws and was touching it with his fingers. Before the White Tiger could pull back, Chen Ji’s fingertip brushed the claw’s sharp tip. With just a light touch, a bead of bright red blood welled up on his fingertip.
Chen Ji stared at the blood on his finger and murmured, “So sharp?”
He let go, and the White Tiger’s claw retracted into its pink pad. Chen Ji glanced up at it and saw that, perhaps from shock, the White Tiger’s pink tongue was sticking out a little, giving it a somewhat silly look. He beckoned to it. “Xiangxiang, come here.”
As soon as the White Tiger leaned in, Chen Ji grabbed its tongue tip and pulled the tongue out. He wiped his fingertip across it, leaving a vivid streak of color. Instinctively, the White Tiger’s tongue curled upward, licking over its dark pink nose before drawing back into its mouth.
The faint taste of blood exploded into something rich and intense thanks to its hypersensitive senses, as if Chen Ji’s scent had flooded its entire body in an instant. On instinct, the White Tiger licked at Chen Ji’s fingertip, craving more.
Chen Ji stroked its neck a couple of times and tugged it down, forcing its head low. He pressed his cheek to the White Tiger’s ear. “Won’t you shift into human form… hmm?”
The White Tiger was silent for a moment, then shook its head firmly and earnestly, politely refusing.
“Xiangxiang, you’re so cute.” Chen Ji buried his face in the crook of the White Tiger’s neck and chuckled softly. Once he’d laughed his fill, he lazily toyed with its fur. “Xiangxiang, did you not notice me coming over?”
The White Tiger nodded slightly. Chen Ji tilted his head back, and the jade jue around his neck slipped out from his collar. “Daoist Qingjing’s master gave me something great.”
“From now on, you can come out freely…” Chen Ji said softly.
Little Azure Mountain was the Mountain Lord’s Little Azure Mountain. He might not be as strong as before, but in the Mountain Lord Temple, the Mountain Lord’s senses should be omnipresent—like the constant gaze Chen Ji had felt, which vanished after he put on the jade jue.
But Chen Ji wasn’t sure if it could sense him meeting Chang Xu… after all, they were essentially the same being. Since even Chang Xu hadn’t noticed him arriving, maybe the Mountain Lord couldn’t either. Chen Ji planned to wear this jade jue all the time.
After all, if the Mountain Lord couldn’t guarantee his safety on Little Azure Mountain, what was wrong with getting a protective treasure from a cultivation expert down the mountain and wearing it close to his body? It was a perfectly reasonable excuse.
The Mountain Lord wouldn’t kill him over something trivial—he was the last temple warden, after all. Without him, in this remote, desolate place where the younger generation had all gone off to work, and in a few years or a decade, once the old folks who still came up the mountain were gone, who would even remember there was a Mountain Lord here?
But if he showed more faith in Chang Xu, that would be different. Neither side was truly his anyway, so he could be killed off. Chang Xu was the Mountain Lord’s bottom line, and Chen Ji could maneuver within it for maximum freedom.
What was so hard about that?
Chen Ji suddenly chuckled to himself—Xiao Ba had nailed it; he really had kept Chang Xu on the outside!
The White Tiger nudged him with its head. Only then did Chen Ji realize he was still gripping a tuft of fur on its neck. He patted its head. “How’s the wound healing?”
The White Tiger let out a low hum, probably meaning it was mostly better. Chen Ji wasn’t buying it. Xiangxiang was never honest about injuries—to save face, he’d call a fatal wound minor, a serious one trivial, and a trivial one nothing at all. Though countrymen had always downplayed big troubles into small ones, this was taking it too far.
“You’re mostly better, huh? I’m not.” Chen Ji snuggled against the White Tiger, relaxing his limbs. “The old Daoist—Daoist Qingjing’s master—said I’ve only got a year or two left. The injury’s too severe.”
Before he could finish, the White Tiger scowled fiercely. Chen Ji tugged its fluffy ear. “I haven’t finished! It’s not like you can’t nurse me back!”
He gazed at it, then leaned down to kiss its nose, his dim eyes lighting up with deep amusement. “Take me to find some herbs? Some spots I can’t climb—I need you for those…”
The White Tiger nodded without hesitation. Sure, Chen Ji had all those other spirits around him, but how could they compare?
The White Tiger’s thick tail coiled around Chen Ji’s waist. As it rose, it settled him securely on its back. Chen Ji sprawled across its broad back—like a double-door fridge—and recited from the old Daoist’s prescription: “Ginseng, astragalus, atractylodes, huangjing…”
Some to brew as medicine, some for meals.
The White Tiger nodded and plunged into the woods with Chen Ji. He figured it was leading him somewhere special, but instead, it took him back to that little water pool from before.
Chen Ji was set down on a boulder by the pool’s edge. He was about to say he wouldn’t eat the fish here when the White Tiger gently placed a paw on his thigh. Tentatively, Chen Ji asked, “Wait here?”
The White Tiger nodded and turned to go, but then Chen Ji said, “Chang Xu, were you born not liking to talk, or do you just not like talking to me?”
It could speak perfectly well—why make him guess every time?
The White Tiger froze, then leaped into the pool with uncharacteristic haste. The emerald water erupted in waves, but none splashed Chen Ji. Chen Ji couldn’t help laughing. Shy, huh? That’s why it wouldn’t talk to him?
Chen Ji pulled out his phone. The sun warmed his back pleasantly. [Xiao Ba, quick—help me see which of these bow ties looks best?]
The System Cat “looked,” projecting all the high-res images into Chen Ji’s mind for easy browsing. [Weren’t you out gathering herbs? How’d you end up on your phone again?]
[Xiangxiang’s getting them for me.]
The System Cat replied in the tone one might use for a sleazy boyfriend. [Dude, he’s busting his hump finding herbs for you, and you’re shopping for collars? Even with a bow tie, it’s still a collar. And that large-dog harness—what were you thinking? No dog that size exists.]
[Custom order.] Chen Ji was utterly calm. [You all have them—he needs one too, right?]
System Cat: [Can you at least hide the image of Xiangxiang in human form in your head while saying that?]
[Xiangxiang might look like a massive white tiger, but he can turn human, okay?! You sure you wanna buy him this?]
Chen Ji’s smile was as warm as spring hills. [Ask the seller how much to custom-make Xiangxiang’s size. I can’t type right now.]
System Cat: [……]
Chen Ji’s phone automatically jumped to the chat with the seller, lines of text popping up. With the System Cat’s help, it was no different from him browsing himself.
While placing the third collar order, Chen Ji heard faint sounds from above. He first thought Xiangxiang was coming back up, but the water’s ripples were steady and rhythmic—not like an emergence. Listening closely, he realized the noise was coming from overhead.
Someone seemed to be passing by up there. If not for his bad eyesight sharpening his other senses, he wouldn’t have heard.
“Thanks for the gifts, bros! Time for a shout-out!—Thunderclap’s world-shaking cultivation, heaven-crushing earth-splitting purple-gold hammer! Purple lightning chants mystic true flame, nine heavens’ mystic sword shocks the skies—!”
“Whoa, thanks for the rocket from my big bro!” The guy above must’ve thought no one was around; his voice boomed with vigor, clear as day to Chen Ji.
“Awesome, awesome! As requested by you bros, another look at the mountain views! Da Tie keeps his word—one spit, one nail. Said I’d climb, so I climbed! Hit me with thirty rockets today, and I’ll stream from this mountain till dawn!”
Chen Ji smiled silently. Looked like he’d need to pull some strings to protect this guy. He couldn’t just feed the Mountain Lord empty promises—he had to deliver real results. The Mountain Lord lounged in the temple on offerings all day; if left idle and bored, it’d come sniffing for trouble.
Ready-made excuses abounded. Want incense fire? Need foot traffic. But with one visitor vanishing after another, who’d dare come up long-term? Even folks from Yang Village avoided the deep woods now.
If Chen Ji hadn’t moved back, seeing him come and go unscathed, fewer would’ve braved the mountain. And those going to the Mountain Lord Temple these days mostly sought him out—who’d hike over two hours otherwise?
Just then, a startled yelp came from above. “Holy crap, there’s someone in these mountains?!”
Chen Ji instinctively looked up. With a bit of assistance from the System Cat, he clearly saw a young man parting the bushes overhead. The man stood right on the edge of the cliff, craning his neck to peer down at him.
The young man didn’t seem panicked at all. “Hey, brother! Brother—! Over here! Look over here—!”
He waved frantically at Chen Ji and bellowed, “Brother, save me—! I’m lost. How do I get down the mountain?!”
Chen Ji: “…?”
No wonder he had said he would livestream until dawn.
He was lost and couldn’t find his way out.
The live stream chat was filled with laughter.
{I knew Da Tie was lost, but he still refuses to admit it!}
{This is hilarious, how is it this funny hhhh!!!}
