Chương 3: "Can't You Just Let Me Live?”

Ch 3 "Can't You Just Let Me Live?"

The exhausted girl's heart came to a halt as she recognized a pair of golden eyes observing her from the darkness. Whatever it was, it was just outside the range of light provided by her small fire. The eyes gleamed bright towards her with an imposing stare. The rain poured and thunder cracked in the distance. Amber was frozen stiff as her and the cold pair of eyes fixed their golden gazes together. The girl suddenly felt extremely exposed and vulnerable.

Her body was mostly devoid of Qi after her long and exhausting night, and the threat of a demon beast finding the helpless girl an easy snack was an all too terrifying idea. The eyes began to move closer as a small four-legged figure entered into the cave with a slow saunter.

"S-stay back!" she blurted out, nearly falling backward. It was so black that Amber could still not make its features out as it slinked inside the fire-lit cave. A bolt of lightning split the dark sky outside of the entrance, providing just enough light to make out a few details. It was a small feline with big golden eyes. Its black coat was so silky that it had a subtle shine to it, even in the dim firelight. Its stripes were even blacker than the rest of it, as if they led straight into a void.

Amber exhaled in relief as her shoulders dropped as she saw it was merely the size of a house cat. It was clearly just a youngling. She wasn't sure exactly what it was, but it was damn cute with its large eyes, ears, and paws. Her relief didn't last long as she realized that where the baby is, the mother is sure to be close by.

"You scared me!" Amber told the feline, "I didn't expect to see a little cub out here." The young black tiger tilted its head while looking curiously at the tired young cultivator. Although she had just felt like her body might collapse, she had a renewed rush of adrenaline at the thought of the mother finding her with its cub. If they were anything like orange tigers, they would surely be aggressively protective of their young.

She quickly stuffed all of her possessions she had in the world into her knapsack bag, donned her wide bamboo hat cloak and shoes, and kicked dirt over the fire. The sun had just started to peek over the horizon.

"Go on home now! Your mother's worried!" She waved to the little black tiger who showed nothing but innocent curiosity. Perhaps it had been attracted by the Saint Tiger blood? The aura had been nothing less than awe inspiring. There was no time to entertain that thought. She had to leave. The Fang heiress began pumping her legs back in the direction of the road, propelled by the thought of not becoming cat food.

This survival instinct carried her past her limits, past the burning pain of her leg muscles, and pushed her farther than she thought she could go. It reminded her of training with her mother. After running well into the morning, her life or death adrenaline wore off and she fell to the ground, her chest heaving in an effort to catch some much needed oxygen. The girl had yet to recover her drained Qi from the blood baptism. The tired girl's eyes shut on their own from the pain and exhaustion.

Amber Fang thought she might pass out right then and there.

"That should be far enough," Amber let out softly, between ragged breaths. She tilted her head back to breath as her palms touched the ground behind her. Then, with a look of terror, she noticed the little shadowed tiger cub walking slowly behind her. Her heart sank. If this little one could easily catch her, she stood no chance of outrunning the territorial mother. Thankfully, the mother did not seem to have found her wandering youngling yet.

Amber Fang was again awash in fear, her fatigued adrenal glands pushing out their last reserves of adrenaline to get the girl in motion again.

"Please go back to your mother! You're going to get me killed!" She pleaded with the little cub before taking off down the road with a pathetic looking jog. If she was around for even a moment when the mother found her cub, her death was guaranteed. Her flailing legs managed to keep pace longer than she thought before she fell to her knees in the middle of the road as the sun reached high into in the sky. She had pushed her body past its limits and she still needed to recover from the Saint Tiger blood absorption.

On top of that, she had just ran for her life through the entire dawn. She felt as if there was cotton in her lungs. Panting and exhausted, she slowly stood up and hobbled underneath a large tree as far away from the road as she could, which was not very far in her current state. Although little Fang was merely exhausted to the extreme, she felt like death was already upon her whether the little tiger's mother found her or not. She wished with all her remaining energy that the cub did not follow her all this way.

Between ragged breaths the girl sluggishly pulled out her bamboo canteen and put the opening up to her cracked lips, letting the cool moisture invigorate her mouth. She felt slightly less like death. Just when she began to regain her senses from her exhausted and parched stupor, her eyes widened as she saw the shadowed tiger youngling walking slowly in her direction. This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. She barely mustered a groan.

The stupid thing had followed her again! Did it like her? She couldn't enjoy the idea as it was one that would bring about her death.

"Little one," tears welled up in her eyes.

"Can't you let me live? I can't run anymore…" Amber knew the world beyond Green Wood Village was dangerous, but she thought she would at least make it to the Great Clan trials. The girl's thoughts were cut short by a dampened THUD as the black tiger cub collapsed just one meter away from her. Her eyes widened in confusion as her mind began to race. Why did it fall over? Was it dying? Why did it follow her then? Was this tiger actually looking for help? Did that mean it could not go to its mother for help?

Perhaps in desperation, it really was drawn towards the Saint Tiger blood. She weakly but urgently crawled over to where it collapsed, noticing its ribcage slowly lift up and down in shallow movements. The girl carefully reached a hand out to the beast as if it might spring back to life and snap at her at any time. Her touch was met with matted black fur, covered in a sticky and thick liquid. She withdrew her hand and looked at it. Blood. This tiger cub was dying and it had indeed approached her for help.

From non existent reserves Amber found the strength to lift her legs and fetch her bamboo canteen. Crouching over the poor cub, she poured a small stream of water into its mouth.

"Drink," she said softly. Most of the water did nothing except darken the earth, but the small laps of the young shadowed Tiger let her know that it did indeed appreciate the gesture. It was barely the size of a grown house cat. She carefully picked the cub up in her arms and walked over to a tree a bit off of the road as she concentrated on steadying her shaking legs. Any travelers should be unable to see them here. The tiny body felt uncomfortably limp in her cradling arms.

Amber sat down with her legs crossed and carefully adjusted the feline onto her lap. The girl then drew some dried meat pieces from her sack. She took a greedy bite, well aware that she was running on fumes. Still chewing, she offered a piece down to the helpless cub. The cub remained motionless.

"Here, eat." She tried to touch it to the little feline's nose. The girl didn't know what else to do for the poor creature. It didn't react much to the food beyond a sniff and a tired lick. Amber felt strangely helpless. Her mind had wandered back to how she felt when her mother was injured and dying. The nearby villagers offered no assistance and kept their usual distance. They still hadn't dared to outright provoke the family so long as the mother breathed. The girl looked down at the pathetic cub.

She had no attachment to the tiger but she could not bear to see it in pain. Its fur was pure black and its stripes were even blacker, like a thick forest at night, so she could not tell the extent of the feline's injuries. The traveling girl felt like she had comforted it a bit, but the specter of death seemed to still be stalking upon it. After a moment of quiet contemplation, she had a sudden idea.

She rummaged through her sack without disturbing the small tiger in her lap, and drew out the priceless jade bottle. She stared at the brilliant white jade. Her pale hand looked dark in comparison. She wasn't sure about the cub's origin, but surely a drop of the Saint Tiger blood would have a good effect on a tiger, right? Her tired mind couldn't debate the logic for long and the little tiger cub seemed as if its time was running out. Her hand tightened around the vial.

It was the only thing her mother had left her aside from the hard to understand books that were always kept under the floorboards. She thought of her mom and her future trials, and the thought of sharing the Saint Tiger blood pained her. Perhaps the sting of being unable to do anything hurt worse. Just a drop, she thought to herself. She braced herself as she uncorked the bottle, ready for the intense pressure she had experienced last time.

Surprisingly, the oppressive aura seemed to not effect her as much after absorbing some of its Saint Tiger Qi. It was almost as if she was accepted by the blood itself. She didn't think about it long, the urgency of the situation demanded her attention. With a careful tilt, she withdrew a solitary speck of shimmering ruby blood from the jade vial. She winced as the scorching heat felt like it would burn her finger.

"Little one," Amber whispered to the limp black creature in her arms.

"Drink this," she offered up her finger to the mouth of the beast. The black nose at the end of the snout began to wiggle and its eyes opened slightly. The feline weakly stuck out its tongue and began to lick the girl's offering with more energy than it had with the water. A small feeling of relief washed over the girl as the response from the little feline was good. The cub then pulled into a tight circle on her lap. She felt a subtle flow of Qi through the air being drawn towards it.

The little beast was cultivating! Little Fang looked as shocked as she could for all her exhaustion at the little tiger. There was no way it was an ordinary creature. It certainly had extraordinary origins. For now, it was a little beast all alone, injured in a cruel and dangerous world. The girl couldn't help but feel that they were similar. She was sure they both just missed their mom.

"Good idea," she said as she watched the little thing drawing Qi towards its body. The exhausted girl was well beyond her limits and needed to replenish herself as well. Young Fang had a small smile on her face, seeing that the little feline feeling well enough to heal. She closed her eyes and began using her Burning Sun technique to draw in atmospheric Qi through her breath with the black tiger cub snuggly cuddled in her lap. As her attention shifted inwards, she noticed something curious.

Drawing Qi into her body seemed… different. Drawing Qi into her body had always been a slow and methodical process using Burning Sun, but after the blood baptism she could feel Qi slowly but naturally creeping in through her skin. Perhaps that was how she had kept her body going earlier? It seemed to pulse in time with her breathing technique. But that wasn't the only thing that was different. The Qi in her body was strange. It was…. placed differently. Her energy channels seemed hard to feel.

Her major channels were loud and present, but her minor ones were near impossible to detect. Yet, where they should be felt overflowing with Qi, in a torrent that was larger than they should be. What exactly had happened to her? Although her Qi was far from replenished, she could feel the new maximum capacity she had for Qi had been significantly raised.

She wasn't sure if it would match a Nexus Realm practitioner's energy nexus, but she was definitely sure she could store more Qi than any other ordinary cultivator at the Flowing Qi Realm, even at the 3 star level. Little Fang inhaled quietly through her nose and felt her lungs expand. The pleasant enrichment of Qi began seeping into her body, soothing pain and making her muscles release their tension. She was excited to check on the cultivation manuals that she had inherited from her mother.

The girl had always had a hard time understanding them, but with this new experience she felt like she might be able to grasp more. Because it was related to her family's mysterious Saint Tiger blood ritual, surely there must be related information in them. For now, she focused on cultivating and restoring her Qi.

She was still exhausted from the blood baptism, not sleeping all night, and running for her life all morning, but the girl felt peaceful for the first time in a long time as the feline and herself cultivated together. The sun began to sink from it's apex as the exhausted girl unknowingly faded from consciousness.