A woman, on our territory! Claim her!
Xin felt disgusted with the totem. "Claim" meant rape, as if forcing him into cannibalism wasn't enough. He shooed the tiger's presence away.
If you aren't claiming her, then kill her! Such are the rules! Roar! The tiger prepared to attack Xin's soul foundation, finding a perfect excuse. It was anxious about how strong Xin's grasp over it was getting, and it knew that Xin would soon try and refine it into a white tiger, effectively killing its current consciousness. This won't do!
As Xin tried to suppress his totem, he saw a young woman, in her late teens or early twenties, wearing a traditional scale armor of Sky Folk, dismounted and kneeling over a small patch of spirit leaves.
Kill her! She's an intruder! Prey! Meat!
No, it's unfair! I never warned the Skyfolk, only the imperial citizens! I should just shoo her away!
Weak! Xin felt his mind get assaulted, and felt dazed for a moment. The tiger is discontent, and it grew stronger in the past few days, this is evident.
Kill her, or claim her, I don't care! But do something, or I'll blast your soul to shreds!
Xin felt his heart attempt to escape from his chest. His soul was strained, and he feared that he'd suffer a massive blow if he refused to do what the totem demanded.
I am not a murderer!
Several dozen images flashed in front of Xin's eyes, each of him ending someone's life.
That's different! I killed in self-defense!
Uncle Ti's goofy smile. You killed him to protect Lei from the consequences of his own sins!
I didn't kill him!
You got him killed, what's the difference! The totem spoke in his own internal voice. Xin knew that it's a bad sign.
ACT!
Xin sprinted towards the girl, his eyes bloodshot. He instinctively used wood qi to make his steps quieter, and masterfully flanked her, barely making any sound.
The young girl's horse neighed, it probably heard or smelled him, but it was too late.
Leap! Xin sprang into a long jump towards the young girl, who was putting a bunch of spirit leaves into her satchel. She noticed him and gasped, but he tripped her, pressing her shoulders into the floor. He looked her into the eyes, then roared, scaring her horse and making it run away, abandoning its master.
Go for the throat, Xin! Come on, Resonance Teeth! Accept my claws, Xin! Tear her to shreds!
"Wai! Bata!" She tried to struggle and shouted something, wide-eyed.
Xin tried to calm the totem down, but his soul was being strained every moment. He felt like his will wasn't reaching his mind and body, as if he observed himself from aside. Still, even as his mind was filled with external rage, Xin felt a rational grain pop up in his mind.
The totem isn't fully justified in what it's doing, it just found a shortcut to make me fall! It's wasting the human qi it absorbed from me over these months to directly suppress my soul! If it makes me into a rapist or a cannibal, it will be much easier for it to overtake my body and wipe away my existence, and it's expending a ton of effort to assault me!
"Waiiii… Bi niyente…" She breathed heavily, completely at Xin's mercy.
Such a gentle neck, what a pleasant smell. Do you want to kiss it, or do you want to bury your teeth into it?
SHUT UP! Xin let go and rolled away, grabbing his temples with his hands.
"AGH!" He shouted angrily, not being able to control your own body was extremely frustrating, he felt like his whole being was violated.
The girl quickly rolled away to the opposite side, pulled her double-curved bow from over her shoulder, then drew it and pointed an arrow at Xin.
"ROAR!" Xin lost control again and charged her. He was filled with indescribable rage assaulting every fiber of his being.
Swish.
Iron Lung dao shard! Xin waved her arrow away like a nasty fly, his reflexes enhanced by the totem.
Cultivator! The young girl realised that she was doomed, and chose to run for her life.
Chase. One doesn't show their back to a predator!
Xin caught up to her in just a few wide qi infused steps, but the girl turned again and attempted a last resort shot.
Woodcutter's Downswing! Xin raised his hand above the girl's forehead, about to split her skull in half.
Snap! He recomposed and redirected the blow towards her bow, breaking it like a raw noodle, then roared again.
The tiger lay dormant this whole time, gathering strength for such a powerful soul assault! Xin was astonished, it was now clear to him how much the tiger downplayed its strength in the past. The manuals never described the totems as being so cunning! The totem is in full control, trying to fight it directly is as stupid as for a mortal man to wrestle a tiger!
Fine, I give up! I'll kill her!
Snakevine dao shard! Xin pointed his pointing and little finger at the girl, as his middle two were looking at him. The totem released control, as to not disrupt his aim.
Yes. Good boy. Let's work as a team!
Wait! It took the totem just a moment to process Xin's intentions, but it was already too late. Xin finished the activation, but shot at himself!
Xin was now wrapped by a snakevine, from shoulder to shoulder!
You! Don't you dare! The totem tried to force Xin into running after the girl, but Xin tripped intentionally and fell face down on the ground, and with his arms restrained, it was quite hard to stand up again. Each time the totem tried to force Xin into a motion that would make him stand up, he didn't oppose it, but instead performed another one to sabotage it.
If you can't beat a stream, flow around it! The person who gave Xin this idea was no other than the water path master he killed just recently, his movements and combat style had inspired the young master to adjust his problem solving approach!
Meanwhile, the girl just disappeared into the steppe, catching up with her horse, mounting it and galloping away. Xin was left on the ground, groaning, roaring and twisting in pain, his mind, body and soul assaulted with unthinkable pain.
***
Back in the lair, Xin munched on fresh spirit leaves. The girl only managed to collect around a third of the materials, the rest were his to claim. He felt a sense of calmness and detachment, but he knew to be careful with these leaves, as they could be quite addictive.
The tiger totem rested, hissing angrily every time Xin tried to interact. Even if Xin's own soul was strained, the tiger took twice the damage. In terms of totem manifestation, Xin was now set back at least a week, but in terms of taming, he made major progress. It seemed like the totem wouldn't be able to attempt anything so blunt for quite some time.
Xin smirked, it seems that the totem's impatience and lack of refinement ruined its plan. If it was any more subtle or ready to wait just a bit more, it might have succeeded. Still, he pitied the girl he assaulted, putting an innocent person through something like that, he felt like a villain. Unlike the men who disrespected his warnings and entered the forest anyway, the girl was completely unaware, not given any chance to turn back.
And she saw him naked. Oh. Xin felt embarrassed, usually he just roamed the forest, his private parts dangling happily like a dog's tail, but stuck to the front, but now he felt like he was being watched, as if his whole body shrinked.
She was… Interesting looking. Her skin was tanned and slightly weathered, but her eyes were deep and lively, contrasting her sharper facial shape. She also used some pleasant natural herbs and extracts, creating a pleasant smell around her.
Was it… Cedar? Right, an extract. Then a spring flower mix, quite subtle. A note of juniper? Probably. A mix of sweet and fresh, quite interesting.
But there was one other smell Xin couldn't forget, and felt drawn to, which he couldn't identify. Wait… Catnip! Xin laughed out loud, he never cared about this smell, it was the totem acting up again!
I'll tame you, you are nothing but a glorified house cat. Xin smiled and fell asleep, his mind exhausted again.