Chapter 23: Letting You Go

But it seemed they had forgotten the last time several of them were punished and made to kneel in the ancestral hall, only to be beaten again at home. Back then, there were even more of them than now. As for matters concerning Baixi, it didn’t matter how many people there were—even if there were a dozen more, a beating was inevitable.

Chen Rui glanced at Baixi, then at Xiaoshun and the others, hesitated, and finally nodded. Still uneasy, she said, “Just to the foot of the mountain, you’re not to wander off.”

With so many people, keeping an eye on the young mistress shouldn’t be a problem.

“We won’t wander. We’re just keeping the young mistress company at the foot of the mountain; we’re not going into the woods,” Xiaoshi replied honestly. That was what the young mistress had said, and she was never one to lie.

Chen Rui looked intently at Baixi, and when Baixi nodded, a broad smile spread across her face.

“Let’s go then, young mistress.” With that, Chen Rui stepped forward and took Baixi’s hand.

Xiaoshun and the others exchanged glances and hurried to follow. Sister Chen Rui really was bold. They had played with the young mistress for so many days but had never dared take her hand.

As for Xiaoshun and his little band, Chen Rui wasn’t too worried. If they ran off, they couldn’t get far, and their thick-skinned, sturdy bodies could withstand a bump or two. What really troubled her was the young mistress taking off on her own. Xiaoshun and the others knew well enough not to go near the back mountain, but the young mistress might not listen.

Luckily, the young mistress was true to her word. If she promised something, she’d keep to it, so Chen Rui relaxed a little.

If anyone who knew Baixi well heard Chen Rui’s thoughts, they’d look at her with pity. Child, if you believed the sun could rise in the west, you might believe Baixi would keep her word. Hadn’t you ever heard how cunning foxes were? Baixi was a nine-tailed celestial fox, and as sly as they come.

Promises and trustworthiness, with Baixi, depended entirely on her mood.

All the way, as the others chattered and bickered, Baixi’s mind was on the back mountain. She was quite curious—was there really a cave back there, and what might it contain?

Still, Baixi was patient. She knew Chen Rui and Xiaoshun wouldn’t be at ease otherwise, so when they reached their destination, she merely stood atop a rock, looking around, or else directed Xiaoshun to catch butterflies for her, or asked Xiaoshi to pick her some flowers.

Xiaoshun and his friends seemed to have forgotten their earlier reluctance to bring Baixi along. Now, catching butterflies and picking flowers for her, not one of them showed the least impatience.

After all, if anyone caught a pretty, large butterfly, Baixi would smile at him and offer praise. If someone brought her a flower she liked, she’d be delighted.

Imagine it—a fair, plump, cherubic little girl beaming at you with crescent eyes, her voice sweet and clear, praising you, and on top of it all, she was the young mistress, the most respected figure in the whole village. Who wouldn’t be happy?

Once competition set in, they no longer cared that catching butterflies and picking flowers were supposed to be girls’ games.

While Chen Rui cut pigweed, she kept an eye on Baixi. She saw Baixi set free every butterfly she caught, then send Xiaoshun and the others to catch more. She couldn’t help but smile—so kind-hearted, the young mistress couldn’t bear to harm a butterfly. It kept Xiaoshun and his friends busy too, sparing the village from their mischief.

“What’s this?” came a surprised exclamation.

Xiaoshanzi had meant to pick a big, beautiful flower that no one else had noticed for Baixi, but as he parted the grass, he exclaimed in astonishment.

“Xiaoshanzi, quit it with your tricks—you’re trying to copy the young mistress now,” Xiaoshun said, somewhat disdainfully.

The young mistress had just fooled them like that earlier, and now Xiaoshanzi was copying her. Did he take them for fools?

Besides, being tricked by the young mistress was voluntary. Xiaoshanzi should know—he could never compete with her.

“No, I’m not lying,” Xiaoshanzi hurriedly shook his head and turned to Baixi. “Young mistress, there’s something here.”

“What is it?” Baixi asked, unenthused.

These little ones thought she was a five-year-old child, always making a fuss over nothing. She never found their discoveries all that interesting, though she knew they only wanted her to have fun.

“It looks like a cat,” Xiaoshanzi tilted his head, studying it for a long while before replying uncertainly.

A cat?

“What’s so special about a cat?” Xiaoshi burst out laughing. “Haven’t you seen a cat before?”

Xiaoshun scoffed, “Making a big deal out of nothing!”

But at those words, suspicion flickered across Baixi’s face. “Don’t touch it, let me see.”

She slid down from the rock and hurried toward Xiaoshanzi.

Xiaoshanzi had only wanted to please Baixi, but now his friends were mocking him. Annoyed, he was about to kick the little cat that had gotten him into trouble, when he abruptly stopped at Baixi’s instruction.

The others, seeing Baixi’s interest, also stopped what they were doing and moved to follow her—only to be halted after a few steps.

“Wait here. I’ll go look myself.”

“But, young mistress—”

“No!” Baixi’s round eyes swept over them, her childish voice firm. She might have looked young and sweet, with no hint of authority, but one sharp command still made Xiaoshun and the others freeze.

Chen Rui had thought to go over too, but seeing that Baixi was only heading to Xiaoshanzi, and not far at that, she stayed put.

Xiaoshun muttered, “If Xiaoshanzi’s tricking the young mistress, he’s done for.”

Xiaoshi agreed, “Exactly. Wild cats never stay put for long.”

Baixi hurried to Xiaoshanzi, heart pounding. But when she saw what was in the grass, she froze.

This—was this a cat?

Oblivious, Xiaoshanzi looked to Baixi for approval. “See, young mistress, I wasn’t lying. It’s a cat.”

The little tiger, which Xiaoshanzi had mistaken for a cat, gazed up at Baixi, trembling. By its paw lay a large flower—the very one Xiaoshanzi had wanted to pick.

Yes, it was a tiger cub, but so tiny it was the size of a two- or three-month-old kitten, its fur messy and patchy, with some wounds on its body, making it look quite pitiful—no wonder Xiaoshanzi thought it was a cat.

But what truly stunned Baixi was not this, but the fact that she could sense it was a spirit beast—a tiger cub with a trace of awakened intelligence.

Why was a spirit beast here? How had it come to be in this place?

While she pondered, Xiaoshanzi’s voice brought her back. She nodded, “Yes, it’s a cat.”

At this, the little tiger, labeled a cat by Baixi, looked even more aggrieved, whining softly but not daring to protest.

“All right, it’s just a cat—nothing special,” Baixi said, then, to the little tiger, “Off you go.”

Since it had awakened a bit of intelligence, she would let it go. If she wanted meat, there were other things to eat.