Chapter 4 Little Black, I Seem to Have Gone a Little
"Senior, you're awake? Are you feeling any better today?" Bai Ye saw her open her eyes, so he moved closer with the wooden bowl in his arms and carefully placed a full bowl of meat porridge next to her.
Zhong Jiuli's gaze remained fixed on her, a barely perceptible ripple appearing deep within his cold, deep eyes.
She stared intently at Bai Ye, feeling as if a fluffy tail had gently brushed against her heart. It had been a long time since anyone had shown her such genuine concern.
There was no pandering, no scheming, no fear... though there was some fear.
The scene of the tiger cub's fur standing on end in fright yesterday is still vivid in my mind. Thinking back, its terrified appearance seems much cuter now.
Bai tilted his head to look at her, a flawless smile on his face.
At the same time, he complained to the system in his mind, "What's wrong with Zhong Jiuli? Why does she like to stare at people without saying a word? It always gives me the creeps."
【Ah, is it possible that you just woke her up and she's a bit grumpy in the morning?】
Upon hearing the system's words, Bai's wagging tail stopped in mid-air. She quietly took a step back, afraid that the woman opposite her might grab her by the neck again and throw her away.
"Come here." Zhong Jiuli's voice interrupted Yi Hu Yitong's conversation.
Bai also composed himself and walked up to Zhong Jiuli. "What are your instructions, Senior?"
Zhong Jiuli glanced at the meat porridge brimming with spiritual energy, a hint of warmth appearing in her cold eyes. "Feed me."
Bai also picked up the porridge bowl, held the wooden spoon, scooped up a spoonful of still steaming meat porridge, and brought it to Zhong Jiuli's lips.
"You've learned your lesson today, knowing to bring a spoon," Zhong Jiuli said, swallowing the meat porridge in her mouth.
"You flatter me, senior!" Bai replied casually.
"Zhong Jiuli!"
"You don't have to keep calling me senior."
Bai paused in feeding the porridge, looking at the woman who introduced herself with some surprise. "Okay, Senior Zhong, you can also call me Xiao Hei!"
Ah... your name sounds so fake.
Bai retorted in his mind, "You don't understand. When you're out in the world, you need a few aliases!"
Zhong Jiuli glanced at the little white tiger with a puzzled look in her eyes, as if she couldn't understand what kind of elder would name such a little white tiger "Little Black".
"Your name has a rustic charm!" Zhong Jiuli complimented.
Bai said with a grin, "My mother said the same thing!"
Zhong Jiuli asked casually, "This meat porridge, was it cooked by your mother? And you just brought it out for me like this?"
After several encounters with the tiger cub, Zhong Jiuli learned that it had a mother who doted on her child.
Bai didn't know what was wrong with this person, why they suddenly started chatting with her, and now even her mother wanted to ask about it.
"I ate my fill at home before coming here. This was specially reserved for you, senior. You are seriously injured and should eat more monster meat, which will be good for your recovery."
Zhong Jiuli's gaze towards Bai Ye softened. This meat porridge made from the meat of a third-tier spirit deer should be an excellent tonic for this little tiger.
She was so generous, sharing half of it with herself, even though these things didn't do much to help her injuries.
With such a sincere heart, perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to bring her back to Zhongzhou, take her under my wing, and grant her a chance at immortality. Zhong Jiuli pondered this in her heart.
Bai was completely unaware of the other party's plans. His furry tiger paws gripped the wooden spoon, and he meticulously scooped up meat porridge and brought it to Zhong Jiuli's mouth.
However, after feeding her less than a third of the bowl of meat porridge, Zhong Jiuli raised her hand to stop her from feeding her.
Bai placed the wooden spoon in the bowl, his gaze sweeping back and forth across Zhong Jiuli's deathly pale face. Her already pale skin looked almost transparent today, with even the faint blue veins faintly visible.
It seemed her injuries had worsened again. Bai Ye had a bad feeling. If the other party's injuries were not good, she would not be able to get those five Body Tempering Pills.
"Senior Zhong!" Bai lowered his voice, afraid of startling the injured woman, "Has your injury worsened?"
Zhong Jiuli gave a soft "hmm" and wearily closed her eyes. The rampant power of the laws within her body was constantly damaging her Dao body. Without the help of spiritual medicines from heaven and earth, it would probably take a thousand years to heal.
Bai saw that she didn't even have the strength to speak, and his heart tightened. Her cheat system couldn't die.
"Senior Zhong..." Bai cautiously approached a little closer, her little paws hovering in mid-air. She wanted to see the other person's wound, but didn't dare to actually touch it. "May I see your wound?"
Zhong Jiuli suddenly opened her tightly closed eyes, a cold glint flashing in them. This little tiger actually tried to strip her clothes off.
Seeing that her expression had turned cold again, Bai silently took a few steps back to distance himself from her. "It's alright if you don't look, senior. Why don't I go into the mountains and gather some spiritual herbs? Although my cultivation is low, I am quite familiar with these mountains."
“No need. A young beast like you would only become a snack for those monsters if you went deep into the mountains,” Zhong Jiuli said, perking up as she refused.
After saying that, she wearily closed her eyes and lay down with her back to Bai.
"Xiao Wang, how did the protagonist in the book heal the female lead's injuries?" Bai asked in his mind.
[Let me see... Oh, I've got it! Chapter 2 is unlocked. Go east, across a mountain, there's a Demon King's Beehive. You went there to steal honey!]
"Huh???" Bai was also full of questions.
The Demon King Bee is a third-tier social monster, and even sixth-tier monsters wouldn't dare to confront it head-on. For a little tiger who hasn't even stepped into the threshold of cultivation to steal honey is probably courting death.
"No way, is this protagonist crazy?" Bai thought to himself.
【Ah, you're the main character, right? Main characters always have a halo around them. In the book, it says you successfully stole the honey and came back.】
"Alright, alright, turn on the navigation. I need to leave as soon as possible, otherwise I won't be back before dark and my mother will find out."
Okay, navigation is now enabled.
Looking at the winding route in his mind, Bai also felt a bit of a toothache; he was going to be busy all day.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the bowl of meat porridge that was still more than half full. Bai didn't mind that someone else had eaten from it, and she picked it up and poured it into her mouth. She needed to eat her fill so she could run faster.
The sound of slurping porridge echoed in the tree hollow, and Zhong Jiuli, who had her back to Bai Ye, turned around in surprise.
"You..." She hesitated, a fleeting look of embarrassment crossing her face.
This little tiger is indeed an uncivilized little monster. She had never seen such...rude behavior before.
Bai Ye flicked her pink tongue and licked the porridge in the bowl clean. She put down the bowl and looked at Zhong Jiuli with a puzzled expression.
"Does Senior Zhong have any further instructions?"
Seeing that she had already finished her porridge, Zhong Jiuli knew that even if she had something to say, it was too late now.
She shook her head, said nothing more, and said softly, "Go back, I need to rest."
"Alright, then senior, please rest well. I'll go into the mountains to find precious medicine for you."
Bai placed her large bowl in the tree hole, leaped out, and ran towards the Demon King's Hive following the navigation route.
The wild mountains stand side by side, their peaks rising and falling in a continuous, layered formation. Two mountains that appear to be adjacent are often hundreds of miles apart.
The area is shrouded in mist and clouds, inhabited by monstrous beasts, and rarely visited by humans. Deep valleys and ravines crisscross the landscape, and ancient trees reach for the sky, blocking out the sun.
Dense vegetation grows wildly in the secluded valley, where countless low-level demonic beasts lurk, waiting for unsuspecting prey to set foot. Then, they will transform into top predators and devour their prey.
Bai landed on an ancient tree, gazing at the secluded valley stretching before her. Instinct told her that it was dangerous and she shouldn't step directly in.
After weighing the pros and cons, she chose to take a detour. Her snow-white figure became a blur, leaping and bounding among the trees.
As long as you avoid the territories inhabited by high-level demonic beasts, these mountains and forests are not too dangerous.
As the sun rose higher, sunlight pierced through the clouds and fell into the dense forest, dispelling the thick fog in the mountains.
After traveling for several hours, Bai finally arrived at the outskirts of the Demon King Bee's territory. She stood at the edge of a cliff, below which lay the Demon King Bee's territory.
Countless beehives hang from the steep cliff face, layer upon layer covering the entire cliff. At the bottom of the cliff, a thick layer of golden honey nectar is piled up, emitting a sweet fragrance and a rich spiritual energy.
Bai felt his mouth water and unconsciously swallowed. The honey of the Demon King Bee was a treasure that drove all the monsters in the entire desolate mountain range mad with desire.
The sweet honey not only exudes an intoxicatingly rich and sweet aroma, but also contains a powerful spiritual energy comparable to a fifth-grade spiritual medicine.
However, few dare to steal such a treasure of heaven and earth. The root cause lies in the massive swarm of tens of thousands of Demon King Bees.
They are like a well-trained, iron-blooded army; at the queen's command, they will swarm out.
Those gleaming poison needles could easily pierce through the protective spiritual energy of demonic beasts. Once, a seventh-tier earth demon bear couldn't resist the temptation and, relying on its thick hide, forced its way into the beehive. After only a few bites of honey, it was riddled with holes by the overwhelming barrage of poison needles.
In no time, the swarm of black bees engulfed it, and when they dispersed, only a black skeleton remained on the ground.
For some reason, the valley was unusually quiet today. There was no sound of bees flapping their wings, nor was there a single queen bee in sight.
Bai also lay on the cliff face, peering down, and wondered in his mind, "Could this be the power of the plot? Because the protagonist is coming to steal honey, all the demon bees have run away?"
I don't know either, Ah Ye, why don't you go down and take a look?
"If I die, do you have a way to bring me back to life?" Bai asked anxiously.
No, but you're the protagonist, and protagonists don't die. I'll stay with you.
"I'll trust you this once. If you betray me, I'll kill myself," Bai muttered under his breath.
Without further hesitation, she gripped the cracks in the rocks with her claws and swooped down like lightning.
As they drew closer, the alluring sweet aroma grew stronger. Bai swallowed hard, and when he got near the hive, he couldn't resist any longer and took a big bite out of it.
Instantly, a surge of rich spiritual energy flooded his body like a burst dam, causing his meridians to throb with pain. Then came the incredibly delicious, sweet aroma that left the tiger momentarily stunned.
"Awoo awoo!" Bai Ye even forgot what he came here for. He lay on the cliff and gnawed on the honeycomb, making his little belly round and chubby.
"Ah, the mission, your mission!" the system loudly reminded him in his mind.
Bai paused in her chewing, then took another big bite, stuffing her cheeks full. Only then did she raise her claws and run them across the beehive, cutting off a large piece and tossing it into the basket she had prepared beforehand.
The mission was successfully completed, and Bai also found that the valley was indeed very quiet, without a single Demon King Bee in sight.
Since the protagonist's halo is so strong, Bai is no longer in a hurry to leave.
Thinking of the legendary royal jelly, Bai felt her mouth watering. She continued climbing down the cliff, and when she reached the middle, she saw a deep cave.
A thick layer of beeswax had formed at the cave entrance, and astonishing spiritual energy emanated from the cave, condensing into a spiritual mist in the air.
Bai leaped into the cave, landing silently on his paws. Thick spiritual liquid flowed within the cave, and the tiger's paws, stepping into it, began to frantically absorb the spiritual energy.
With a "plop," Bai slipped and nearly fell. She quickly steadied herself and looked down to find that a milky-white bee egg, as big as her head, had been crushed.
These unhatched bee eggs contained a spiritual energy even richer than honey. Bai suppressed the urge to steal some; the good stuff was still inside. She continued deeper into the cave until she reached the end.
Looking at the small pool of golden crystals that had condensed on the stone wall, the dense, almost liquefied spiritual energy flowed across its surface, resembling molten gold essence, radiating a precious light.
Bai Ye's eyes gleamed with a strange light. Her pink tongue licked away the remaining honey from the corner of her mouth. Without a second thought, she pounced on it, opened her small mouth, and bit the golden crystal into her mouth.
The moment the royal jelly entered her mouth, a burst of violent spiritual energy exploded within her. It was as if she had swallowed a blazing sun, and dazzling golden light overflowed from her body.
Its snow-white fur was coated with a layer of golden light, transforming the little white tiger into a golden tiger. A surge of violent spiritual energy nearly broke free of its flesh and blood, bursting forth from Bai Ye's body.
Bai gritted his teeth, letting the immense power surge through his body. He shut his mouth and ran towards the cave entrance, but after only two steps, he was stopped by Xiao Wang.
[Wait a minute, there's something inside the stone wall. Let's take it with us; it should be something good.]
Bai also suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked back. Sure enough, in the crevice below the royal jelly, there was a golden kernel the size of an almond, covered in a sticky golden liquid. If you didn't look closely, you would only think it was a remnant of royal jelly stuck to the stone wall.
Hidden so well and nourished with royal jelly, it must be something good.
Bai also leaped forward, hooked the golden kernel with his sharp claws, and stuffed it into his mouth.
Then, disregarding everything, she ran wildly toward the cave entrance, crushing several more demon bee eggs in the process.
Bai secretly regretted that her mouth was already full. The royal jelly was almost bursting inside her mouth.
She was still thinking about whether she could steal a few more eggs.
With a "buzz," the buzzing sound of flapping wings echoed in the silent cave. Several larvae from the eggs she had crushed wobbled and flew up.
They were entirely black, each about the size of Bai Ye's head. The demon bee larvae swayed in the air for a moment, then quickly locked onto their target and pounced on Bai Ye.
"Woo woo woo... Awooo!" Bai Ye, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, sprang out of the tiger, almost leaving a blur.
However, the few juvenile queen bees relentlessly pursued them, the buzzing sound of their flapping wings growing ever closer.
Bai fled for his life, not daring to look back at all.
[Quick, get out of the way! They've fired poison needles!]
The moment Xiao Wang's voice echoed in my mind, several sharp whooshing sounds rang out behind me.
Bai was also agitated and instinctively slammed on the brakes and swerved.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" Three poisonous needles flashing with a cold light flew past her ears and sank deep into the rock wall.
Bai also breathed a sigh of relief, thankfully she dodged it. Before she could catch her breath, a sharp pain suddenly shot through her buttocks.
"Waaaah!" Bai Ye's body trembled, and when he looked back, he saw two black poison needles sticking out of her round little bottom.
[Ah, run! Those larvae can only fire their poison stingers once. You still have a chance to escape.]
Even without Xiao Wang's reminder, Bai knew she should run. She endured the excruciating pain and numbness in her buttocks and sprinted away.
The larvae hadn't fully grown yet, and after firing their poisonous needles, they had no other way to stop Bai Ye, so they could only watch her escape.
After running for dozens of miles in one breath, Bai could no longer hold on and his steps began to sway.
"Xiao Wang, I feel a bit... " Bai mumbled incoherently.
A note from the author:
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