Chapter 31: There Is Such a Person

“Great-aunt, this little creature can’t even speak human language—how can you possibly understand it?” Unlike Chen Daliu, an elderly woman, appointed by the villagers as a representative to persuade Bai Xi to return the little spirit tiger to the mountains, was making her shaky way forward. As she drew near and overheard Bai Xi’s words, she was instantly astonished, her gap-toothed mouth agape.

“Great-aunt, you can understand the language of beasts?”

Bai Xi nodded, replying with a lofty air, “Naturally.”

To her, understanding the language of beasts was nothing remarkable—after all, she was the nine-tailed fox spirit.

Old Madam Zhang’s deeply wrinkled face flashed with wonder, then split into a delighted grin. “Truly? Great-aunt, you’re incredible!”

“Of course!” Bai Xi wasn’t the least bit embarrassed to admit it; her small face could barely contain her pride. She thought to herself, What’s the big deal? I know countless mystical arts—just my luck I can’t use them at the moment.

This sudden exchange between the young and the old left Chen Daliu thoroughly bewildered.

“Auntie, what are you talking about?” Chen Daliu stepped forward to support Old Madam Zhang.

“What’s all this about the language of beasts? You’re getting more and more far-fetched. We can’t talk about these supernatural things these days. If word got out, there’d be trouble.” As he spoke, Chen Daliu felt secretly relieved that they were in the village, among sensible folk—otherwise, there’d be a reprimand for sure.

“You little rascal.” Old Madam Zhang, already eighty and senior to Chen Daliu, slapped him on the head. He could have dodged, but dared not. He obediently took the slap—thankfully, it didn’t hurt. Rubbing his head, he continued to steady her.

But she wasn’t finished; Old Madam Zhang rolled her eyes at him and groused, “Why call it far-fetched? It’s not unheard of. Back in my grandfather’s time, there was such a thing. It’s just you youngsters don’t know about it.”

Her voice, raised with excitement and surprise, carried to those nearby. Some were stunned, some amazed, and some remembered tales from their own childhoods.

“I think... I think there really was something like that,” said a man in his sixties, puffing on a tobacco pipe. He was about to approach, but seeing Bai Xi there, quickly stepped back—the last time he’d gotten too close, his smoke had bothered the great-aunt.

“Our Niuluo Village once had an ancestor who could speak to beasts—an ancestor of the great-aunt herself.”

“What?” Chen Daliu was astonished.

Bai Xi, too, was surprised to hear this. She truly hadn’t known; not even the memories left by the flower spirit mentioned it. Apparently, that foolish flower spirit hadn’t known either. All the better—a precedent meant she wasn’t being too out of the ordinary.

“See!” crowed Old Madam Zhang, chiding Chen Daliu, “Who’s being superstitious now? You are, not me.”

Chen Daliu, chastised, twitched his lips in a smile but said nothing, thinking, I said mysterious, not superstitious.

Despite her joy, age and experience made Old Madam Zhang cautious. She looked at Bai Xi, her tone conciliatory: “Great-aunt, does this little thing listen to you?”

Bai Xi understood perfectly well what she meant. Smiling, as if eager to prove her own prowess, she gave the little spirit tiger a command: “Stand up.”

The little tiger, who had been lying down, immediately rose to its feet, raising its head to Bai Xi and shaking it ingratiatingly.

“Sit.”

“Raise your paw.”

Uncertain which paw Bai Xi wanted, the little tiger lifted both, its upright form already as tall as Bai Xi’s legs. No wonder it could be mistaken for a cat.

Bai Xi issued a few casual commands, and the little tiger obeyed without hesitation. No one could now believe it didn’t understand her.

Chen Daliu and Old Madam Zhang, standing closest, exchanged amazed glances. Old Madam Zhang’s eyes shone with a mix of surprise and vindication, as if to say, See? I told you so.

Chen Daliu was simply stupefied—could she really speak the language of beasts? No, it seemed more that the little tiger could understand human speech.

Other villagers nearby witnessed this as well.

“Look, look!” someone cried.

“Hiss... this tiger cub is so intelligent!”

“What are you saying? It’s clearly the great-aunt who’s amazing—she can speak to beasts!”

“Is such a young tiger cub already trained?” someone wondered aloud. Dogs, after all, could be taught these tricks.

“Are you stupid? Look how little the cub is—the great-aunt only just found it, there’s no way it’s been trained.”

Bai Xi couldn’t help twitching her lips at the villagers’ heated discussion. She glanced at the little tiger and said, “Roll down.”

The little tiger froze for a moment, but didn’t hesitate. It obediently rolled down the steps. Seven or eight in all, and it didn’t make a sound, determined to show it was tame and would never harm anyone as long as it followed Bai Xi’s orders.

At the bottom, the little tiger shook its dizzy head, then quickly looked back up at Bai Xi, whimpering as if to say, Master, if you point east, I’ll never go west.

Bai Xi nodded to the little tiger, then glanced at Chen Daliu and the villagers nearby.

“I’m keeping it. Anyone have an objection?”

Even if they did, it wouldn’t matter!—that was the thought in Bai Xi’s mind, though her face already made it clear.

The onlookers were still too stunned to object; Chen Daliu shook his head at once, and Old Madam Zhang declared, “Of course not. If the great-aunt wants to keep it, the whole village will support her.”

Seeing this, Bai Xi smiled in satisfaction, her soft, fair face blooming with such a sweet smile that it was utterly disarming.

But she seemed unaware of this herself. Waving to those below, she said, “Alright, you can go back—get on with your business.”

Yet the little tiger could not escape being hung beneath Bai Xi’s treehouse for three days.

There was no helping it. It wasn’t that people distrusted Bai Xi, but they didn’t trust the little tiger. The great-aunt was still a child, pure of heart, but a tiger—well, that was another matter. What’s more, with the recent incident of a white tiger coming down from the mountain and injuring people, even if this cub seemed gentle, they would only be at ease after hanging it up for three days.

“Great-aunt, it’s not that we don’t trust you, but this tiger cub is a beast after all—there’s still wildness in it. Hanging it up is just to make sure no big tigers come looking for it and to tame its nature, so it’ll listen to you in the future,” Chen Daliu explained to Bai Xi in a low voice.

Bai Xi found his attempt to subdue the little tiger’s temperament amusing, but offered no objection.

The little tiger, hearing Chen Daliu’s mutterings, was so angry it wanted to bite him. Yet since its master had agreed, it could only be placed in a cage and hung up.