Cuddling with the Cold Female Protagonist – Chapter 92
by Little PandaVolume 4: The Perils of the Jianghu
Tiger
After preparing medicine and manpower, the group entered the back mountain.
The miasma in the back mountain was thick. Although it was afternoon and the sun shone brightly, the forest was still shrouded in a heavy haze.
Feng Zhu had everyone wear a face covering, hold a detoxification pill in their mouths, and carry torches. Each person also carried some medicinal powder for self-rescue in case of injury and items for detoxification, to avoid being unable to handle emergencies.
Outside, everything within sight was clear to the naked eye. But once they entered, they found it was very blurry inside, like having several hundred degrees of myopia, only able to see what was right in front of them.
Afraid of getting separated from Su Yi, Ji Qingchi deliberately tied their wrists together with a thin silk scarf.
After walking for a while without noticing anything unusual, Ji Qingchi said strangely, “Miss Feng Zhu, are we being too cautious? It seems like there’s nothing here…”
“Bones!”
Before her voice fell, Su Yi cried out softly. The others looked where she pointed, and not far away, under a withered old tree, there was indeed another human skeleton.
Yue Ling went forward and looked around. “It’s not them.”
Feng Ruoqing and Hua Wuying are tall. This skeleton isn’t fully developed; it should be someone young.
“Good that it’s not.” Feng Zhu breathed a sigh of relief and hesitated, “I’ve never been to the back mountain, but I heard Master say that there are many hidden caves inside. Many places are overgrown with weeds, and if you’re not careful, you can misstep and fall in, likely facing more misfortune than luck1. Moreover, those monsters could appear at any time. Everyone, be careful.”
No one dared to lower their guard. They fumbled their way deeper, and after walking for about half a shichen2, suddenly, a clap of thunder exploded in the air.
The sound was as startling as a car suddenly splashing through muddy water on a rainy day, sending ripples of alarm through the group.
Su Yi looked at the sky strangely. “What’s wrong? What’s wrong? Is it thundering? Is it going to rain?”
“Careful! A fierce beast is here!” Ji Qingchi, having led troops in battle and spent years outdoors, had ample wilderness survival experience. She knew what was happening the moment she heard it. She pulled Su Yi into her embrace, untied the silk scarf from their hands, and loudly warned the others.
Almost as soon as she finished speaking, a white tiger with gray-streaked fur and upward-slanting eyes3 emerged from the bushes. Its eyes were bloodshot, and it opened its bloody, cavernous maw4, revealing sharp teeth glinting coldly. With a loud roar, it pounced towards them.
A tiger relies first on its roar, and second on its pounce. Just now, it had let out a mighty roar, a sound like a thunderclap that made the entire forest tremble.
Ji Qingchi, holding Su Yi, dodged to the side while commanding, “Those who don’t know martial arts, quickly climb the trees! Those who do, draw your weapons!”
Yue Ling reacted at the same time as her, organizing the soldiers to fight the tiger.
The remaining people were scared stiff and scrambled to climb the trees. Su Yi was carried by Ji Qingchi, who flew up a tree first. Ji Qingchi carefully placed her on a branch to sit, then flew down herself to join the ranks fighting the tiger.
The tiger was enormous, its head as large as a washbasin. It moved erratically, its teeth sharp, and in a few moments, it bit onto the long saber in a soldier’s hand.
Human strength was naturally no match for a tiger’s, especially an agitated one.
After biting the long saber, the tiger yanked it hard towards itself. Veins bulged on the soldier’s face as she used every ounce of her strength, but she was still dragged forward. Just as she was about to be disemboweled by the tiger on the spot, Ji Qingchi timely drew her soft sword and swiftly stabbed at its body.
Struck by several sword thrusts, the tiger roared in pain, released its struggle with the woman, and turned to pounce on Ji Qingchi.
Ji Qingchi stabbed out several more times. The tiger’s abdomen was a bloody mess, but it seemed to feel no pain and continued to chase Ji Qingchi relentlessly.
The fetid stench from the tiger’s mouth made Ji Qingchi feel sick, and her expression changed. Yue Ling led people to attack the tiger from behind, nearly impaling half its body, yet it remained unfazed, still chasing Ji Qingchi without letting up.
Su Yi, unable to help from the tree, was extremely anxious. She was sitting high up and could even smell the tiger’s bad breath. Suddenly, she felt that this was intolerable5. After thinking for a moment, she took out a packet of knockout powder6 from her personal bundle, threw it down from above, and shouted, “Aaaah! You didn’t brush your teeth before going out! You have no martial ethics7!”
Attracted by her voice, the tiger looked up slightly and happened to see the object falling. Perhaps it was famished, for without any hesitation, it opened its mouth and swallowed it.
After chewing a few times, its eyes rolled back slightly, and with a thud, it collapsed, kicking up a cloud of dust that flew into the air.
“Phew…” Su Yi sighed in relief, her back drenched in sweat. She gave a thumbs-up to the doctors on the opposite tree, who were also shaken, and said, “Amazing! The medicine from your Changsheng Valley is really good. I can tell it’s genuine stuff.”
Feng Zhu didn’t know if Su Yi was praising them or mocking them. She forced a smile and, with her junior sister, slowly climbed down the tree.
Su Yi was also carried down by Ji Qingchi. As soon as she was down, Ji Qingchi pulled her into a full embrace. In front of so many people, Ji Qingchi showed no reservation and directly kissed her on the cheek, smiling, “Our Miss Su is truly clever!”
“Hmph, of course! Don’t you know who I am?” Su Yi wasn’t modest either, placing her hands on her hips and proudly accepting the praise.
Yue Ling and her men trussed the tiger up securely8. Only after confirming it couldn’t harm anyone did she come forward to report, “Miss, we’ve captured it.”
“Mm.” Ji Qingchi took Su Yi’s hand and walked over to the tiger. The terrified doctors also arrived, several of them taking out their portable medical kits.
Ji Qingchi said disapprovingly, “Are you planning to save it? Don’t forget, it almost ate us just now.”
Feng Zhu shook her head. “The ancestral teaching9 of the Changsheng Valley is to heal the dying and rescue the injured. All things have a spirit10. Since we are doctors, of course, we cannot stand by and watch something die without helping. Although it’s an animal and wanted to eat us just now, it’s injured now and can no longer harm us. As doctors, we must naturally save it.”
Ji Qingchi frowned and was about to say more, but Su Yi tugged her arm, stopping her. Su Yi smiled gently at the busy young doctors. “The doctors are truly kind-hearted. Your founding master must be very proud of you.”
Feng Zhu smiled faintly, lowered her head, and also took out her own medical kit, preparing to help.
The young doctors were using medicinal powder to clean the tiger’s mangled, bloody wounds when suddenly, Feng Lan cried out in alarm and stumbled back a few steps, nearly bumping into a tree.
Feng Zhu quickly went to support her, asking with concern, “Junior Sister, what’s wrong?”
“Senior Sister… this… inside this tiger’s stomach, there seems to be… something dark and black, a big piece… and it’s still moving.”
“What?” Hearing this, Feng Zhu’s face stiffened. Then, as if remembering something, she roared to stop the others who were still busy, “Everyone, put down what you’re holding and get away from this tiger!”
Her roar startled the few people who were focused on treating the wounds. Ji Qingchi reacted first, quickly pulling the doctors near them further away and simultaneously hitting the acupoints on their arms with great speed.
She commanded, “Everyone, move further away!”
Confused, the crowd retreated some distance. They then saw the tiger, which had been unconscious on the ground, suddenly convulse a few times. Following that, a dense mass of black things suddenly surged beneath its intact skin.
The things undulated and squirmed beneath the skin, pushing it up into clusters of bulges, looking like giant mosquito bites.
However, mosquitoes only suck blood, but these disgusting things sucked blood and ate flesh. Soon, the gray-white tiger’s forehead caved in, and its entire body rapidly shriveled.
It seemed its earlier agitation and desire to attack people were entirely because its body was completely controlled by those black things, actions made in a state of frenzy.
Ji Qingchi said to the dumbstruck doctors, “What are you still looking at? Quickly check if you have those things on yourselves.”
Only then did the young doctors frantically check themselves and those beside them to see if they had been contaminated. Fortunately, it was discovered early enough, and the things hadn’t had time to enter their bodies.
Feng Lan announced the results, and everyone’s hearts returned to their chests11.
These black things made Su Yi feel waves of nausea. “Ugh, what is that stuff? Why does it look so disgusting?”
Feng Zhu said in a low voice, “That is Gu.”
Su Yi was exasperated. “Didn’t I hear that stuff is colorless and odorless?”
The book even had a whole section introducing it, saying that Gu had many benefits, and as long as it was used for good purposes, it could detoxify and cure illnesses.
But the author was very unreliable. In the author’s notes, it was written that because Ji Qingchi didn’t have a harem in the Changsheng Valley, this part was briefly written. It was clearly her own poor writing and lack of imagination, yet she still had to shift the blame12 to others. This made Su Yi feel like she was looking at aliens when she saw these things, having no idea where they came from.
“Just like medicinal herbs, there are many types of Gu. Each type has different characteristics. How can you generalize and say it’s colorless and odorless?”
Ji Qingchi smiled. “Miss Feng Zhu, it sounds like you’ve studied Gu quite a bit?”
Feng Zhu pursed her lips and shook her head. She had seen this knowledge in the Valley Master’s study. Ever since Feng Chen disappeared, she had been responsible for the Valley Master’s daily life. While cleaning the study, she had accidentally seen these contents.
She also had some suspicions in her heart about why there were books about Gu in the Valley Master’s room, but she wouldn’t be so bold as to guess that this matter was related to the Valley Master. Or rather, she didn’t dare to believe that this matter could be connected to the Valley Master.
“Let’s not get sidetracked with things too far off.” Su Yi looked at the struggling tiger, feeling as if those Gu insects were on her own body, making her feel unbearably uncomfortable. “Can anyone tell me how to kill that stuff!”
Feng Zhu thought hard for a moment. “It seems… you burn it with fire.”
Ji Qingchi immediately had Yue Ling and her men gather firewood and pile it all onto the tiger. Just as they were about to throw their torches in as well, Feng Zhu quickly stopped them. “Wait, are you going to burn it alive?”
“What else then?” Yue Ling looked at her as if she were crazy. “That Gu eats living flesh, and maybe even people. You don’t want to be its dinner, do you?”
Feng Zhu slowly released her grip. Su Yi stepped forward, took her hand, and comforted her, “Miss Feng Zhu, I understand how you feel, but dealing with these Gu insects is urgent right now.”
Feng Zhu sighed. “Go ahead and burn it.”
Ji Qingchi killed the still-struggling tiger with one strike of her sword, then held Su Yi and moved further away. “Burn it.”
Yue Ling threw the torch in. Soon, the dead tiger, along with the Gu insects, became one with the blazing flames.
The acrid smell of burning filled the air.
Feng Zhu watched the leaping flames and suddenly said, “Because we don’t want to violate the ancestral teachings, many things that happened in the Valley that required severe punishment were not severely punished. Young ladies, please don’t be angry. We who grew up in the Changsheng Valley are just like this. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say this is our biggest flaw.”
Footnotes
- 凶多吉少 | xiōng duō jí shǎo | Lit. more inauspicious, less auspicious; meaning the situation is perilous and unlikely to have a good outcome.
- 时辰 | shíchen | A traditional Chinese unit of time, equal to two hours. Half a shichen is one hour.
- 吊睛白虎 | diào jīng bái hǔ | Lit. “hanging-eyed white tiger,” referring to a tiger with eyes that appear to slant upwards at the outer corners, often depicted as fierce.
- 血盆大口 | xuèpén dàkǒu | Lit. “blood-basin big mouth”; a gaping, bloody mouth, often used to describe fierce beasts or demons.
- 叔可忍婶不可忍 | shū kě rěn shěn bù kě rěn | Lit. “If the uncle can tolerate it, the aunt cannot.” An idiom meaning “this is absolutely intolerable” or “this is the last straw.”
- 蒙汗药 | ménghàn yào | A type of anesthetic powder or drug used in traditional Chinese stories, often to render people unconscious.
- 不讲武德 | bù jiǎng wǔdé | Lit. “not speaking of martial virtue/ethics.” A popular internet slang term, often used humorously to call out unfair tactics, unsportsmanlike conduct, or a surprise attack, especially in a martial or competitive context. It implies a lack of honor or fair play.
- 五花大绑 | wǔ huā dà bǎng | Lit. “five flowers big tie”; to tie someone up very securely, with intricate knots, making escape impossible. Often translated as “trussed up like a turkey.”
- 祖训 | zǔxùn | Ancestral teachings, family precepts, or edicts passed down from ancestors.
- 万物有灵 | wànwù yǒulíng | A belief that all things in nature (plants, animals, inanimate objects) possess a spirit or consciousness.
- 心都放回到了肚子里 | xīn dōu fàng huí dàole dùzi lǐ | Lit. “hearts all returned to the stomach”; an idiom meaning to feel relieved or to set one’s mind at ease after a period of anxiety or worry.
- 把锅推给别人 | bǎ guō tuī gěi biérén | Lit. “to push the pot to others”; an idiom meaning to shift blame or responsibility to someone else.
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