The Beautiful Top Being Pursued Relentlessly [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 34

“Come here. Let me tend to your wound.”

Xie Cheng’s cold voice drifted from inside the room. One of the tiger cub’s ears perked up cautiously as it peeked through the crack in the door; hearing no movement, it shifted one eye inside to investigate.

By the window, on the soft chaise longue, Xie Cheng sat with his silver hair flowing loosely. He was bathed in the warm light filtering through the carved wooden window, leaning lazily against a soft pillow. In his right hand, a book of miscellany was being flipped through at leisure. Beside him lay a pair of large, glinting scissors. The cub measured them with his eyes; they were about the size of his own head.

What are the scissors for?

The cub’s eyes were glued to Xie Cheng as he thought sluggishly. When Xie Cheng repeated himself, the cub immediately feigned a limp and hobbled inside.

“I look away for one moment and the wound is suddenly ‘severe’ again?” Xie Cheng lifted his eyes and cast a glance at him, ruthlessly exposing the act.

“Roar, roar.” That’s right.

The cub’s voice was muffled and low, the tip of its tail curling up guiltily.

“Go soak yourself clean first,” Xie Cheng said.

He was absolutely not letting a little mud-tiger onto his chaise longue. The words were spoken clearly and directly, but a normal cub one that wasn’t a spirit—technically wouldn’t understand.

The cub blinked its bright, gem-like eyes and walked a few circles around a basin on the floor. He dipped a paw lightly into the water, and the sensation sent his fur standing on end in shock.

“Awoo.”

The cub scrambled onto the chaise, looking at Xie Cheng with eyes full of terror and unshed tears, looking quite piteous.

Xie Cheng set his book down. “What, do you want me to help you wash?”

“Awoo.” The cub pretended not to understand, simply raising its injured hind leg higher.

Xie Cheng finally took a close look at the wound on the leg. The fur in that small area was knotted, a mixture of dark red blood scabs and mud clumped together, obscuring the original bright, fluffy golden fur. To a human, it might have been a minor injury, but for a cub this tiny, the deep, dark red gash nearly visible to the bone occupied almost half the leg. It was a startling sight.

He looked.  rather pitiful.

Xie Cheng went silent for a moment. He straightened up from the cushions, and just as he reached out, the “crying” cub suddenly lunged with his hind legs, crashing precisely into his embrace.

“Awoo, awoo-woo.” The cub acted spoiled, burying its twitching nose into Xie Cheng’s cool collar. He sprawled his injured leg across Xie Cheng’s lap, instinctively curling it up.

Since Xie Cheng didn’t support him, the cub used his other three paws to clumsily scramble up Xie Cheng’s front. That furry head nuzzled restlessly, the soft fur brushing almost imperceptibly against Xie Cheng’s slightly open collar, bringing a faint tickle.

He’s getting better at acting spoiled.

Someone once researched that Xie Cheng was a sucker for this, and after getting drunk once, had told him so quite bluntly. Xie Cheng had thought it ridiculous at the time, but now.

His extended hand hung in mid-air before finally descending, his fingertips brushing over the slightly trembling body. His movements were light, sliding along the fur to gently part the filthy hair around the wound. As those cool fingertips sank into the fur and touched more private skin, the cub shuddered.

The extended hind leg twitched slightly, yet he forced himself to stay in Xie Cheng’s hand, letting his beautiful Prince control him completely from inside out, shallow to deep, from the tip of the tail to its very root.  he was pinned and unable to move.

While being touched by Xie Cheng, the cub expertly let out soft whimpers, showing every sign of weakness.

Xie Cheng’s movements paused, a nearly imperceptible ripple crossing his eyes. He withdrew his hand, took a clean silk cloth soaked in the basin, wrung it out, and began dabbing at the wound.

“I’ll have a physician look at you later.”

Xie Cheng cleaned the wound and patted the cub’s tail. “When the outsider arrives, don’t cause a scene.”

“Roar, roar.” I’m not the type of tiger to cause a scene.

“Are there wounds anywhere else?”

Xie Cheng asked, but without waiting for a “roar” in response, he reached out to lift the tail, intending to flip the whole tiger over. However, his fingertips accidentally brushed against the cub’s “dangling bells.”

In an instant, both man and tiger froze. The air seemed to solidify.

Xie Cheng’s hand froze in mid-air a rare occurrence as the unfamiliar sensation at his fingertips left him momentarily stunned. Meanwhile, the cub, who had been limp and acting spoiled, saw its fur explode into a “poof” at a visible speed. He snapped his head around, his deep brown pupils shrinking into thin slits from extreme shock, and let out a short, distorted cry.

AWOO?

It was no longer an innocent “awoo,” but a startled shriek filled with absolute shame.

The next second, the cub scrambled frantically to break free from Xie Cheng’s lap. Because he couldn’t stand steadily on three legs, he practically rolled onto the floor. He quickly curled himself into a golden ball of fur, using his tail to guard his rear with a death-grip. Only a pair of round eyes, filled with “disbelief” and “stolen dignity,” glared at the “lecher” before him in terror and grievance.

Xie Cheng silently withdrew his hand. A hint of awkwardness appeared on his usually unfazed face. He instinctively rubbed his fingertips together and let out a light cough, his tone returning to its habitual coldness, though he unnaturally averted his gaze.

“I looked at the wrong spot.”

Why run? Why scream? When raising a pet, such accidents are entirely normal.

The tiger cub fled. But not far.

He found a corner of a wall he deemed safe and curled into a ball, his eyes uncontrollably peeking toward the door of Xie Cheng’s bedroom. That momentary sensation—the soft touch of the finger was like a tiny electric current that unexpectedly jolted through his entire body, lingering in his still-dazed perception.

It didn’t hurt, it wasn’t an itch, it was cool and icy. it was a bizarre feeling he had never experienced before. The most private part of his body had been touched by accident.

“Awoo” The cub buried his head in his front paws again. If it weren’t for the thick fur covering him, he would have definitely run to a pond to dunk his flaming-red face in the water.

Actually.  he quite liked it.

But it happened so suddenly that he had run away too fast. The cub flipped over, rubbing his back against the ground while his paws remained over his eyes. The beautiful Prince had a faint, cold fragrance; when he leaned close, the scent enveloped his face, smelling better than roasted meat or stewed duck from the imperial kitchen.

Such a fragrant Prince.

“Young Master.”

A lowered voice came from above. The cub pretended not to hear, continuing to cover his eyes with his paws. Xie Cheng had touched his paws earlier, and the lovely scent still lingered on them.

“Young Master, this servant has come to take you back to the Hostel.”

Young Master, Hostel. THE HOSTAL!

The cub’s eyes snapped up. He saw a young man dressed as a physician crouching on the ground. He let out a reluctant roar.

“Young Master, this place is dangerous. We must leave immediately. Do not let the people of Prince Zhao’s manor see us.”

The cub turned his head away. I don’t hear you, I don’t hear you. What “dangerous manor”? Absolute nonsense.

Seeing the cub had no intention of leaving, the young man took a deep breath and added, “Because of the trouble caused by that ‘scoundrel,’ Young Master Qingzhu is currently bedridden.”

The cub scratched its ear.

The young man reached his limit. “Jiang Yi, snap out of it! If you stay here and expose anything, your life will be forfeit. Don’t come crying to me then with missing paws; I won’t bother with you.”

Jiang-Tiger-Yi quickly hid his paws and bared his sharp teeth, taking a bite out of the young man’s hem.

The young man yanked at his clothes, his voice growing heavier. “I’ve heard that the high officials of Eastern Li love eating cooked tiger paws most of all… Hiss! Stop, stop! Why are you biting me?”

Jiang Yi glared at him.

“Do you think it’s easy for me to leave my homeland to accompany you to this gods-forsaken place?” The young man simply grabbed the hand that had been bitten and tried to drag the cub away. “Stop making a fuss. we need to be low-key. Low-key is the only way to survive.”

“Roar!”

“Fine, my lord. Don’t roar at those people; why are you roaring at me?” The young man was out of breath. “Fine, fine, I won’t pull you. Just come with me now.”

“Roar!” No!

The young man put his hands on his hips, looking at the sharp-toothed cub with total dissatisfaction. Finally, he said seriously, “The High Priest has arrived. You must leave today.”

****

In the afternoon, Xie Cheng skipped his meal and took a short nap on the chaise. Upon waking, his temples felt heavy and a faint dizziness lingered, as if his drowsiness hadn’t fully cleared.

He draped a plain outer robe over his shoulders and walked into the small garden outside the bedchamber. Breathing in the fresh scent of the flowers and plants, he felt a bit more refreshed, and his thoughts cleared.

The garden was large and exquisitely arranged. Rockeries were scattered about, covered in emerald vines and moss. Winding paths were lined with seasonal plants, and the sunlight was currently perfect. Xie Cheng walked slowly, perhaps waiting for a familiar golden silhouette to sneak out from behind a rockery, waving a paw or letting out an “awoo-awoo.”

He was always so energetic and tireless, just like in the previous world. Unfortunately, even after Xie Cheng had finished admiring the scenery, the little figure was nowhere to be seen.

Jiang Shui appeared silently behind him, bowing. “Your Highness, the little tiger has left.”

“Left?”

Xie Cheng’s tone was flat, showing no emotion. But Jiang Shui could detect a hint of displeasure.

He lowered his head and continued, “Yes. This servant saw him with his own eyes, following a young man away with a dejected look. They turned through a few alleys and entered the West Street.”

“Where did they end up?” Xie Cheng asked.

“They went to the Hostel at the West Gate.” Jiang Shui let out a few light coughs. “Your Highness, do you think the tiger might have escaped from the Hostel?”

Xie Cheng lost his mood to enjoy the flowers and began walking back to the bedchamber. “I do not know.”

“However, I found this small object where the tiger left.” Jiang Shui took a handkerchief from his sleeve, unwrapped it, and handed over a ball of grass.

A grass ball.

Xie Cheng took it between two fingers. He stared at the very crude grass ball—which barely had two little “ears” and gave it a squeeze. It was quite solid. Thinking of a certain fellow huddling in the grass, sneezing while using two furry paws to roll this together, struggling to pull up the two ears, Xie Cheng couldn’t help but smile.

“A total dummy, indeed.”

Seeing Xie Cheng smile, Jiang Shui breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that his sharp eyes were a great asset. He followed behind Xie Cheng and said, “I saw that the tiger is very intelligent. I’m sure it won’t be long before he runs back to apologize to Your Highness in person.”

Xie Cheng didn’t respond to that, his hand hidden in his sleeve idly squeezing the grass ball.

“Your Highness, there is one more thing.”

Xie Cheng asked, “What is it?”

“The Crown Prince has sent an invitation. He asks Your Highness to join him at a teahouse tomorrow for tea tasting.”

The Crown Prince inviting me for tea? It likely wasn’t that simple.

Xie Cheng pondered for a moment. “Agreed.”

Support