"Big Boss! I really miss you!"
The large man shouted loudly. I readied my claws preparing to deliver the killing blow, but all of a sudden, that man had already thrown himself onto the ground kneeling. He rubbed his face against the hem of my skirt.
Who the hell is this bastard? Has my memory become even worse recently?
I clutched my head as I gave Yin Zi a stare. Yin Zi folded his arms, walked towards him to take a closer look, and lifted the man's chin. After a moment of thought, he hesitantly asked, "You are that little tiger Xiao Huang?"
Ah, I know a Xiao Huang. He was the tiger at Louying Mountain that grazed on grass. About two hundred years ago, after he undertook his tribulation, he never came back. He said he wanted to sightsee and travel around the world, stroll through brothels and drink good wine. I didn't expect that after developing a human body he'd actually look like this. He had big beard and large stature, and was hairy all over, not bad, very handsome indeed!
"Big Brother Yin Zi?!" Xiao Huang lifted his misty eyes, stretched his out hairy hands to rub them with, and then blinked several times. He doubtfully asked, "Is it really you, Big Brother Yin Zi? So it turns out.....you were a woman?"
"My ass I am!" Yin Zi crudely kicked his head, and gave me an order, "Miao Miao, beat this tiger up!"
"Don't, don't. Xiao Huang doesn't dare do it again." This timid guy desperately clung to my skirt, wanting to hide his huge body within it.
Although my skirt was quite long, he absolutely won't fit in there! It will break, and repairing it will be very troublesome! I angrily lifted my foot to give him a kick, but an anxious voice was heard from behind, "Miao Miao! Be careful! That thing is a demon!"
Ah, he's come back. I wanted to jump into his embrace like in the past, but seeing his blank and pale face froze me in my steps. There were many beads of sweat atop his forehead. And in his hand was his wooden sword. He stared in shock as he saw Xiao Huang holding onto me.
Xiao Huang worriedly swung his tiger's tail.
Xiang Qing's killing intent sky rocketed, "Miao Miao, I will save you, so don't be afraid."
Xiao Huang curiously asked, "Afraid of what?"
"Evil beast! Release your hands from the girl! Otherwise, I'll fight you with my life on the line. I'll make sure to tear you apart into pieces!"
Xiao Huang naively asked, "Why?"
The two people stood at a stalemate. A burst of cold air was felt in the air, and from the distance, were the calls of countless crows.
Mmm, how should I explain this scene to this stupid tiger?
Yin Zi hurried next to Xiang Qing, looked at me and cried, "That demon! All of a sudden, it came out and wanted to attack Miao Miao!"
"I didn't....." Xiao Huang tried to explain. Seeing Yin Zi's eyes, I knew what had to be done. However, that stupid tiger, because of fear, he decided to hide deeper into my skirt. I gave him a vicious stomp on his feet, and then spoke in cat language, "If you dare to say anything unnecessary, I'll kill you."
Tigers and cats were originally of the same family. And having been together for so long, he naturally understood what my intentions were. He no longer spoke and just gave us a pitiful look.
Taking advantage of this, Xiang Qing immediately grabbed a hold of me, and landed a strike on Xiao Huang's shoulder. He pushed me towards Yin Zi and shouted, "Run away."
It hasn't been long since Xiao Huang attained a human body therefore his defensive capabilities were not very high. Because the wooden sword strike, he screamed out in pain. He immediately exposed his tiger fangs and claws, ready to fight back.
Together with Yin Zi's eyes of terror and my frosty glare, that tiger understood that if Xiang Qing was hurt even the slightest, he would die a painful death by being stripped of his skin and fur.
"Ao woo~" At this moment, the unlucky Xiao Huang could only tragically wail aloud. Holding his head, he pleaded to Xiang Qing, "Warrior! Daoist! Lord! Not the face, please don't hit the face! Please spare me! What did I do to deserve this! Woo~, woo~....."
Yin Zi and I turned our heads away, and could not bear to witness this scene any longer.....
This one-sided battle was very quickly settled. Xiao Huang had been beaten back into his original form and lay bruised on the ground. Xiang Qing no longer continued to beat him, and just left him as is.
He let out a sigh of relief, turned around to approach me, and held me in his arms. He gave me a close inspection all around before finally letting go due to embarrassment.
"That demon.....how are you planning to deal with it?" Yin Zi deliberately approached us and asked indifferently.
Without even thinking, Xiang Qing brought out one of his daggers hidden in his boots, "Of course we will kill this evil thing."
"Ah, don't kill me, I've never done any evil deeds before! Help, help me!" Hearing Xiang Qing's phrase, Xiao Huang face distorted, and began frantically shouting for help.
I'm fine with seeing Xiao Huang getting beaten up, however, to witness him getting killed, my heart was not willing. I quickly stepped in front of Xiang Qing to stop him, "Why do you need to kill him?"
"He almost even killed you! This kind of evil beast doesn't deserve to be kept alive!" Xiang Qing grit his teeth.
Xiao Huang stared at me with teary eyes, he cried out in cat language, "Big Boss! Please don't treat me this way."
I got it! I gave him a stare and was a bit hesitant to say, "But this demon didn't hurt me though.....so, don't kill him, okay?"
"You're afraid of blood?" Xiang Qing suddenly realized, "It's okay, all you have to do is turn around and stand a little further away."
I didn't mean it this way, my heart desperately shouted. Yin Zi immediately stepping in, smiled and said, "This demon, although it seized Miao Miao, it didn't have any intentions of harming her. It's better to ask whether the heinous crimes were done by him before making a decision."
Xiang Qing turned his head to glance at the pitiful Xiao Huang, after a long time, he seriously asked, "Why has a monster such as yourself come to cause destruction in this Luo Yue Town?"
Xiao Huang hastily shouted, "I'm framed! The heavens and earth are my witnesses! This little demon hasn't done a single evil deed. Occasionally I would accompany and help out the elderly, and also do field work and manual labour, how can this be considered as destruction?"
Yin Zi could no longer hold his laughter in and let out a 'pfft' sound, "Isn't that a little excessive."
A smile had also appeared on Xiang Qing's face. He solemnly asked, "Then what about ruining the fields, and the killing of chicken and ducks?"
"I.....I was indeed present at the field....." Xiao Huang stammered, "But.....but they really were the ones at were really too much.....so I went to teach them a lesson....."
"Then isn't this an evil deed?" Xiang Qing became angry again.
Xiao Huang promptly defended, "That man with the surname Huang relied on his wealth and powerful family and forced Old Man Hu's fourteen year old daughter Xiao Qiu to marry his eighty plus years self! I! I really could not stand his arrogant behaviour anymore, and decided to make some trouble for him, hoping he would give up."
"How can a demon meddle himself with human matters." Xiang Qing's tone was gentle as he spoke.
"Then is there another way to handle this matter? The officials? They've already long been bribed and wouldn't give a single glance at this matter!" Xiao Huang was really mad, all the hairs on his body were standing straight, "They are all useless! They would turn a blind eye and pretend nothing ever happened as Old Man Hu hung himself and little Xiao Qiu trued to committed suicide! They are beings worst than beasts!"
Xiang Qing was silent.
"Although I'm a demon, I'm also someone with feelings!" Xiao Huang continued to shout loudly, "When I arrived at Luo Yue Town, the town was experiencing drought. It was Xiao Qiu who kindly shared her already scarce water with me. Why did such a kind girl deserve to suffer through all this?! Why does the man surnamed Huang not deserve to death, but instead, because of a little mischief, I will be killed?"
"After I've determined your words to be a fact, I will decide on what to do." Xiang Qing recovered his dagger, "Where is Old Man Hu's home?"
"Xiao Qiu was luckily saved from her attempted suicide, however, Old Man Hu is dead. Right now she has no relatives or family members to take care of her." Xiao Huang's tears flowed, "Go and take a look yourself, I really am not lying."
Xiang Qing led us towards the town, eventually arriving at a thatched cottage. As we approached, the sound of crying, and the sight of a weak girl on a bed appeared. Xiang Qing stared at Xiao Huang, sighed, and said, "You should leave, in the future don't do these sorts of things again."
"You're not going to kill me?" Xiao Huang asked with uncertainty, the corners of his eyes meeting mine.
If you don't leave now, then are you planning on becoming minced meat? He really was a fool.
"I won't kill you." Xiang Qing nodded.
Xiao Huang paused, "I can't leave."
"Why not?" Xiang Qing knit his brows and frowned.
"Xiao Qiu.....she will get bullied by the others.....I want to stay beside her and protect her from any trouble." Xiao Huang's voice was lower than that of a mosquito.
"A demon and human can not get married, by staying behind, you will ruin her reputation."
"Then what can I do? Is there another way?"
As a result, we all worked together to find alternative methods, but was unable to come up with any. When the sky turned dark, Xiao Huang returned back to Old Man Hu's little cottage, and the three of us continued along our journey.
I didn't know what was in Xiang Qing's mind, but he did not speak the entire way back.
Seeing that he appeared to be depressed about something, I decided to push back the talk about marriage. Anyway, he was already within the reaches of my paws.