Work Text:
Jiang Cheng did not know what was happening.
He had died. Of natural causes. After living so long, he died peacefully.
Why was he awake then, remembering everything?
Jiang Cheng froze as something wet and rough passed over his back. He tried to look up only to find that he couldn't open his eyes. He could hear a low purr and a soft growl. Jiang Cheng fell asleep, lulled by a warm body.
Two weeks later, he could finally open his eyes and confirm his suspicions.
It was a tiger cub.
Jiang Cheng sat on the cave floor, his white tail wagging cautiously behind him, then leaped forward. His claws effectively dug into his mother's thick fur.
His mother then pushed him, causing him to lose his balance and fall backward. Jiang Cheng stood with his paws up for several minutes.
What was he doing? Why was he playing? Well, it's not like he could do anything else really.
Jiang Cheng sat up again, curling up under his mother's fur. It seemed like she would die soon, Jiang Cheng had only known her a few months, but it was undeniable the close bond between them.
"Cheng'er."
Jiang Cheng's ears perked up at the sound of his mother's soothing voice.
"Yes?"
"You have good progress in your spiritual energy, be sure to become strong when I'm gone."
According to his mother, they were White Moonlight Tigers, spiritual beasts that could cultivate. Jiang Cheng had just started a few weeks ago, noting his high-level thunder and lightning aptitude.
Jiang Cheng's tail hit the ground a couple of times, he moved closer to his mother and said nothing.
He didn't want to be alone again.
Shen Qingqiu jumped back to dodge the monster's tail.
"You brute, you're upsetting it more!"
Liu Qingge didn't hear him, gaining momentum with a dash before starting another round of attacks against the monster's tough scales.
The monster used its tail to launch Liu Qingge into flight. The guy hit a tree and fell to the ground, unconscious.
Shen Qingqiu wanted to hit him for being so reckless, but he had to fend off the sudden flurry of attacks the monster delivered. He had just come out of a minor qi deviation before coming on this mission, so he could feel his qi draining faster than it should.
Gritting his teeth, he brandished Xiu Ya forward but was met with a sharp claw that prevented him from moving forward.
In the end, he could only close his eyes as the monster approached with its jaws open. It was too fast to give him time to react.
Then he heard a rumbling and sizzling sound as if meat was being roasted. He opened his eyes and saw the monster on the ground, black as a lump of coal.
With his hair standing on end, he looked around to find the culprit.
He found a pair of violet pupils peering at him from the bushes.
A white tail peeked through the leaves, wagging leisurely. The feline eyes watched intently.
It didn't look dangerous, at least not to Shen Qingqiu, that is if one ignored the fact that it had just charred a demonic beast as if it was burning a piece of paper.
Now, Shen Qingqiu needed to collect the scales of this beast for the Qian Cao Peak. But that didn't seem to be possible now. One: most of the scales had cracked from the heat. Two: now this dead beast was the trophy of that little thing in the bushes, and Shen Qingqiu didn't know if the little thing would give him some scales.
As far as he could see, the little rascal was a White Light Tiger, a cub too. These tiger cubs were known to be arrogant and proud.
White Moonlight Tigers were one of the four most powerful Spirit Beasts as well. It was extremely rare to see an adult specimen, the cubs were usually kept safe in their dens until they reached a good level of cultivation or their mother died.
Shen Qingqiu sheathed Xiu Ya and sat down beside the fainting Liu Qingge.
The little tiger then came out, its white fur with black stripes was a mess of mud, dirt, and leaves, but the tiger didn't seem to have a problem with that. The little cue ball approached the fallen beast, using its claws to tear open the flesh and eat greedily. It was probably a male tiger.
The little fur ball ate the whole monster, which was about three Liu Qingge in size. Shen Qingqiu saw that the little tiger left a pile of scales behind, the tiger's paw patted the ground next to the scales a couple of times before getting lost in the bushes.
Shen Qingqiu waited a few minutes before approaching to take the scales. The tiger left all the good scales in the pile.
It was a good thing Liu Qingge had fainted, the brute would not have waited until the tiger finished eating and would have tried to pluck the scales directly. The tiger would have taken them as a threat for trying to steal its food and would have burned them too.
After storing the scales in his qiankun pouch, he woke Liu Qingge by throwing a condensed ball of water at him that he formed with his qi.
Liu Qingge coughed and looked at him angrily, then looked at the piece of black earth where a monster used to be and tilted his head.
"What happened to the monster?"
Shen Qingqiu couldn't ignore it now that he had asked, so he simply replied, "A tiger cub ate it."
It had been a very interesting sight.
The brute took his sword and left when Shen Qingqiu told him that he managed to get the scales. Apparently, he no longer wanted to be around a prissy scholar who didn't even contribute anything to the mission.
Shen Qingqiu scoffed. If it were another day, he would follow the other back to Cang Qiong, but his qi was swinging a bit and it was too risky for him to fly at this time.
He had only come on this mission because he had already told his Shizun that he was coming, and he certainly couldn't let others know that he had had another qi deviation in such a short time. So he headed for an inn; he rented a decent room and decided to go out to the market to buy himself a tanghulu stick. He deserved it.
He was on his way back when a flash of white caught his eye.
The white cub was watching him from the shadow of an alley. The white tail wagged cautiously behind the furry body and the ears twitched with interest. Shen Qingqiu approached the alley, entering the dark and smelly place.
"What are you doing here?"
He knew the tiger could understand him, probably couldn't talk or communicate with other species yet, but it was definitely understanding him.
It was dangerous for a White Moon Tiger cub to be out of the forest. They could be used to create pills or cauldrons, so this little guy was playing with the luck.
The cub simply swept the ground with its tail.
Shen Qingqiu clicked his tongue and returned to the inn room, he left the window open until a white fur ball jumped inside, then he closed the window and threw a noise canceling talisman.
He looked at the tiger cub in silence.
It looked like the little thing wanted to follow him. Why?
Shen Qingqiu might want to turn it into a pill for cultivation, why was it blindly trusting to follow him?
Speechless, his gaze shifted to the bathtub he had asked for when he came. It was filled with cold water that he could easily heat with a talisman. Then he looked at the dirty tiger that was leaving mud stains on the carpet.
A bath it was.
Taking the tiger in his two hands, he placed it on a stool and heated the water in the bathtub. He didn't know if he should throw him into the tub or if he would have to bathe him with a spoon. The cub answered his doubt when it jumped without hesitation into the hot water.
Even though the water was deep and covered the tiger, the little guy swam easily and floated until it placed its chin on the edge of the tub, looking at Shen Qingqiu with its purple eyes. The white tail curled around his wrist and pulled forward.
"Why do you think I'm going to give you a bath?"
Contrary to his words, Shen Qingqiu took some soap and began to massage the tiger's body, earning a low, pleased purr.
The tiger was indeed male.
Shen Qingqiu had no problem with animals; on the contrary, he liked them. They were transparent in their actions; if they didn't like you, they would attack you, but if they liked you, they would take care of you. It was simple.
After cleaning the tiger and throwing away the dirty water, he dried it with his qi. The tiger spun around in front of the mirror and nodded with satisfaction at his clean appearance. He was totally smug.
Shen Qingqiu washed his face before sitting on the bed in a lotus position. He couldn't really meditate, but at least he could replenish his qi and stabilize it. He felt the tiger climbing onto the bed and lying down on the other side of the bed, but he paid no attention to him, only concentrating on guiding his energy through his fragile meridians.
Jiang Cheng curled up into a little ball and closed his eyes.
Today, he had finally been able to hunt something good.
After his mother died, he became easy prey for the beasts—spiritual and demonic—nearby. His good qi reserve was the only thing that saved him from the many ambushes and attacks he received.
His mother had told him that he had to watch out for everyone. From other beasts, from strange plants, and from cultivators. They could all covet his skills and would try to hunt him down.
The last two months had been very difficult for him, running from place to place as he tried to find food. As the weakest link, it was a little tricky, but not impossible, never impossible.
Jiang Cheng had managed to get small wild hares and some birds, but what was that to him? It was like he was eating small snacks. They didn't even have the spiritual energy to build up their reserves.
Then he saw that scholar who was about to die in the jaws of a monster.
Food.
That was Jiang Cheng's thought when he saw the monster that was attacking erratically because it was weakened. He then used about two-thirds of his energy reserves to char the monster.
The scholar eyed it warily, but backed off, giving Jiang Cheng a chance to eat. This seemed to be a good cultivator, he was the first cultivator he had met, but it left a good impression on him, so he looked at him and noticed that he was looking at the scales apprehensively.
So he wanted the scales? Well, they weren't even tasty.
What did he want them for, what was this monster anyway?
Jiang Cheng didn't know most of the beasts and plants he had encountered here, everything was completely new. The scholar seemed to have a lot of knowledge, well, he was a scholar, so it was obvious that he must know a lot of things.
After thinking about it, he decided to follow the scholar. He was a good source of information, and Jiang Cheng needed information right now if he didn't want to turn up dead from eating some monster or wrong plant.
He didn't hide when the scholar saw him, because the point was for him to see him.
He was certainly even more grateful to the scholar when the other provided such a relaxing bath. Then he lay down on the bed with him and closed his eyes.
He too began to replenish his spiritual energy as he meditated. He fell asleep but continued to absorb the energy from the environment thanks to the other one cycling the qi around.
It was quite comfortable to be there.
Shen Qingqiu accepted that the tiger wanted to follow him, but he had no interest in making him his spiritual beast, and the tiger didn't seem to want to follow him either because he wanted him as a master. So he tucked it into his wide sleeve and let his hand down so the extra bulge wouldn't look too obvious.
The tiger was small, a little bigger than a house cat, but nothing compared to other beasts when they were cubs. He must have been young.
He would surely die if left alone.
With his energy revitalized, he flew with Xiu Ya in the direction of Cang Qiong. He arrived a shichen later and found Liu Qingge frowning at the entrance.
"What took you so long? My Shizun wouldn't let me go on the next mission because the scales haven't been delivered."
"Good morning to you too, Liu Qingge."
Shen Qingqiu pushed past the other and kept walking, aware that the brute was following him. After handing the scales to Qian Cao's chief disciple, he said to Liu Qingge.
"You can go on your mission now."
Without waiting for a reply, he flew over Xiu Ya to return to his residence at Qing Jing Peak. Normally, he would use the Rainbow Bridge, but the tiger seemed to be getting bored in his sleeve and would be bad if he suddenly went out.
Closing the door, he let the little tiger jump out of his sleeves. The cub rolled onto its back as he tripped over his paws.
How had this thing survived?
Shen Qingqiu calmly made the mission report, portraying the encounter with the tiger, but omitting what happened after he got the scales. He told the tiger to stay put and came out when he saw the little thing lying down on his bed. He then went to introduce it to his Shizun.
His Shizun said that in a few days he would enter small seclusion for several months, so he left new responsibilities to Shen Qingqiu before retiring to prepare what was necessary to go to Lingxi Caves.
Then, when Shen Qingqiu returned with the paperwork, he remembered that there was a new companion in his room.
The little tiger was still asleep, so he gently put the papers down on his desk and sat down to work.
Some time passed when the little tiger sat down next to him and looked at the papers with interest, tail sweeping behind him and ears perked up.
"Do you have a name?"
He received a nod to his question, then the little tiger looked around before running to one of the paintings on the wall. In it, there was a landscape with a river, red-crowned cranes drinking water from the river and creating an immortal image. The tiger stood on his hind legs and pressed the river with his front paws, patting it a couple of times before looking at him again.
"River... Jiang?"
The tiger nodded, then pressed the painting's signature. He pressed the character Qing.
"Qing?"
The tiger denied it and made several gestures in the air that he struggled to decipher.
"Clear," The tiger nodded again. "Qing no, so, Cheng?"
The enthusiastic wagging of the tiger's tail was confirmation enough.
The tiger named Jiang Cheng sat beside him again, watching him do the paperwork without getting bored. So the little guy must have really liked learning new things. The purple gaze never wavered from the boring paperwork.
Jiang Cheng was not asleep when the scholar changed into simpler robes and went out. It was night now, where would he go?
It wasn't really important, so Jiang Cheng took the opportunity and jumped out the window. The cool night air caressed his fur and the moonlight reflected high in the sky.
As a Spirit Beast, his physical and spiritual senses were quite high, so he easily avoided all the other peak disciples and went to the place with the highest density of spiritual energy within the parameters of Qing Jing Peak.
The Quiet Pool was empty.
Only the Lord of the Peak and a few select disciples could use it. Disciples had to ask permission to use it.
The pool was very cold when he dipped a paw in, but it was a body of water. One bigger than a bathtub and where no beast would eat him.
Obviously, he jumped in.
And refined hands caught him.
Shaking his paws in the air, he tried to turn around to see who had caught him but heard only a derisive snort.
"Well, well, who is this little rascal?"
It was a male voice, clean and clear as water in front of him. Jiang Cheng waved his paws again.
"It's too deep for you."
Jiang Cheng scoffed inwardly. How could he drown in this puddle?
In the end, the man took him away. Jiang Cheng could only stay still when the man cradled him in his forearm close to his chest and used his other hand to hold him better.
Looking around, he saw that he was being taken to a house very similar to the other scholar's house. But this one was more spacious and in a more remote location. There was a bamboo forest surrounding the house.
When they entered the house and the man lit the candles, he could see a lot of paintings hanging on the walls, there were paintings about landscapes, and some people, and there were also poems and ballad lyrics.
There were some instruments in one corner and some ceramic works. There were fans on display and many brushes on the table.
The man sat on a cushion in front of the low table, Jiang Cheng was left on that low table and he could finally see the man's face.
The man reminded him of Wen Ruohan, maybe not because of the hair color, and it wasn't so much because of his appearance either, but the man had this aura of power and strength around him, looking untouchable and unreachable.
"Kid, what are you doing at Qing Jing Peak?"
Jiang Cheng almost paid attention to the man: almost. His gaze stopped on the open book to one side of him. It was a bestiary. The open page had an illustration of a beast he had never seen before that seemed to be a vomited mixture of many other beasts and animals.
Ignoring the man, he turned around and began to read the bestiary. There were so many absurd things and an even more ridiculous amount of aphrodisiacs that he wondered if people frequently poisoned themselves.
He was so immersed that he didn't notice how the man kept bringing more bestiaries and herbariums closer and closer. Jiang Cheng just kept reading, having slept so much earlier really replenished his energies, not to mention the rich feng shui of this mountain.
"Kid, you seem to like reading quite a bit. But I can't leave you here."
The man only said that before picking him up again. Jiang Cheng blinked as the sun's rays hit his face. Was it dawn already?
Hmm, oops.
The man didn't hide it as he led him to a clearing, many young men were there, sitting with a guqin in front of them as they waited in silence.
The scholar was there, he was looking up at the bushes as they moved in the wind. He was so unfocused that he almost forgot to get up to say hello.
"Good morning, Shizun."
Shizun, this man was the scholar's master?
When the children looked up, they noticed the ball of white hair in their master's arms. The scholar saw it too.
"Who brought this little one to the peak?"
The man asked. They all fell silent.
"Shizun, this disciple apologizes. The tiger cub followed this one after his last mission. He's harmless, so I saw no problem in letting him stay, has he caused inconvenience to Shizun?"
Jiang Cheng jumped out of the man's arms and ran up to climb into the scholar's lap. At least the scholar was giving him food! That man had not let him swim in the pool.
The man laughed, "He seems to like you. Hmm, I guess he can stay, but it will be your responsibility."
"This disciple is grateful for Shizun's benevolence."
The lesson began, and the man played a song on the guqin and asked the disciples to try it, as he had given them the score last week and they should have learned it by now.
Jiang Cheng walked over to the man again and touched his leg. Then he grunted in the direction of the disciples.
It looked like they were sawing wood!
The scholar was fine though.
"Look, even the little ancestor is displeased with your presentation. If you're not even up to the level of a cub, how do you plan to show your face by asserting yourselves as scholars to the rest?"
The disciples looked at him a bit ugly, but hmph as if he cared!
He followed the scholar as the other went off again to do his boring scholar stuff.
"Qingqiu."
"Yes, Shizun?"
"The little ancestor seems to be interested in bestiaries."
Jiang Cheng didn't know why the man was saying that, but it wasn't a secret, so he just ignored him. And then he was grateful when the scholar gave him some books from the library while he did his duties as a senior disciple.
There were many things to learn if he wanted to survive in the future.
After a few months at Qing Jing Peak, Jiang Cheng used his claws to write a message in the sand for the scholar. In the message, he asked for permission to seclude himself in the Lingxi Caves.
These spiritual caves were the place with the highest concentration of energy in this entire mountain range. So it was the best place to meditate and break through to the next level.
The Qing Jing Peak Lord had only recently come out of his secluded seclusion, so that was why he discovered this place. Now he wanted to enter to further consolidate his cultivation. If he succeeded, he would obtain his human form.
Jiang Cheng wanted to have a human form again, to feel the thrill of wielding a sword and the wind hitting his face when he takes flight. He wanted to experience many things again, things he could not achieve in his animal form.
The scholar took the message to his Shizun and returned with the approval of the Sect Leader. At this point, the Peak Lords were aware of the high-level spirit beast that inhabited Qing Jing Peak.
Many of them had tried to get the beast to form a contract with them, but the little furball would not leave the side of Qing Jing's senior disciple.
Then, Jiang Cheng prepared to go into secluded meditation.
Shen Qingqiu advanced across the Rainbow Bridge with the fan spread out in front of his chest, he had just come out of another tedious core disciple meeting.
It was always the same; Yue Qingyuan trying to chat with him, Liu Qingge and Qi Qingqi throwing biting words at him, and Shan Qinghua trying to concentrate on the real problems.
"Shen Qingqiu!"
Today was his unlucky day.
When the tiger was at its peak, Shen Qingqiu could sleep for a few hours without nightmares thanks to the fur ball, but now the little guy had gone into seclusion, so he had no choice but to go down to the Red Warm Pavilion to be lulled to sleep by his jiejies.
Liu Qingge had apparently noticed, which was why he was facing him now.
The man stood in front of him, with Cheng Luan out of his pod and in an attack stance. Shen Qingqiu tightened his grip on the fan and looked around from the corner of his eye.
A few disciples were passing by the bridge at this moment, but they all decided to escape quickly as they sensed the fury of War God Bai Zhan. The core disciples leaving the meeting were also passing by to head to their respective peaks, but they simply gathered to appreciate the spectacle.
He had very little room to maneuver if they started fighting, Shen Qingqiu was not good at close combat. Not without involving dirty tricks.
Liu Qingge shouted some nonsense about his lewd practices and how he ruined the sect's image, it was also the same as usual.
Shen Qingqiu pulled Xiu Ya out of his holster, ready to accept the brute's attack, but the blow didn't come.
White ears, white tail.
In front of him was the back of a man, but this man had two furry ears on his head and a white tail that curled around Shen Qingqiu's waist.
"Who are you?" Liu Qingge asked, rising from the ground with a sullen expression.
"I' m Jiang Cheng."
This man... was it the little tiger!?
Shen Qingqiu looked at the man claiming to be the little tiger, purple pupils met his gaze as the man turned his head, with a lopsided smile, the man said, "Hello gege, I'm back."
He put Xiu Ya away again and raised his fan to the lower half of his face.
The tiger was taller than him!
Tch.