The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 37
by Little PandaEven a Big Tiger Can’t Beat Me (Pet Get)
After covering the horse with a cloth and checking the fire, Ming Qin laid a blanket on the wooden board placed between the two seats and prepared to sleep.
She dutifully pressed herself against the carriage door, blocking the cold wind that seeped in slightly from outside, and held the woman wrapped in fox fur tightly before blowing out the oil lamp.
Murong Yan’s throat felt a little itchy. With one hand, she gripped the chain in her hand tightly, while the other reached into the inner garment of the person before her, pressing against her warm back muscles. She curled up and buried her head in Ming Qin’s chest, trying to suppress the urge to cough.
Perhaps it was because of the amorous atmosphere just now, Murong Yan felt incredibly drowsy and, for once, fell into a deep sleep just like that.
Early the next morning, she heard a rustling from the person beside her. The sound of the iron chain hitting the bedboard made Murong Yan, who had a slight headache, slowly wake up.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Ming Qin looking at her with an anxious face, one hand cupping her face, the other stained with blood. Her lips were pursed and her eyes were watery, “You’re injured! Does it hurt?”
Murong Yan felt a little confused. She looked down at herself and then understood. With a mix of helplessness and amusement, she said, “Ah Qin, I’m fine, it’s just my mallow water1.”
“Mallow water?” The shadow guard was confused at first, then as if realizing something, she had a sudden enlightenment, “Oh! So it’s not an injury.”
“Ah Qin, just give me some moon cloth2.” Propping herself up, Murong Yan felt the warmth between her legs. She was a bit puzzled by the other person’s reaction and asked, “Ah Qin, could it be… you’ve never had your monthly affair?”
Ming Qin shook her head, “None of us in the Shadow Guard Camp have monthly affairs.”
“None of you?” the woman said, surprised, caressing her slightly bloated and aching lower abdomen. “Every single one?”
“Yes, all the girls who graduate from Yelan Courtyard have to take medicine for three years, and after that, they won’t have monthly affairs anymore.” Ming Qin said while rummaging through her bundle, “I graduated early, so I’ve never experienced it even once.”
“This…” Murong Yan didn’t quite know how to react. She knew the hardships of the shadow guard training, but she never thought they also had to suffer the pain of sterilization.
“Ah Yun-ge didn’t prepare any.” Ming Qin couldn’t find any after searching for a long time. She took out a dagger from her bosom, “Can I use my clothes?”
Cao Yun, who grew up in the Shadow Guard Camp, no matter how meticulous he was, had not considered that a woman would have this monthly affair.
Murong Yan nodded at Ming Qin. Watching the person before her take out the clothes from her bundle and skillfully start cutting them, she couldn’t help but ask, “Don’t people in the Shadow Guard Camp want children?”
“Shadow guards don’t live for too long, so most of us don’t really consider it. Besides, most of the people who enter Yelan Courtyard have no way out and are homeless, so naturally, there’s no pressure to carry on the family line3.”
Ming Qin’s hands didn’t stop moving as she replied, “For Shifu and Shimu to be able to accompany each other is already extremely fortunate. I don’t think they’ve considered the issue of offspring either.”
Murong Yan’s mouth was dry. She gently touched her own abdomen and asked in a low voice, “What about Ah Qin? Does Ah Qin want to have children?”
For some reason, she was a little afraid to hear the answer.
Ming Qin raised her head and thought for a moment, then shook her head, “I don’t want them.”
The woman’s tightly pressed lips relaxed slightly, “Oh? Why doesn’t Ah Qin want them?” she said, forcing her tone to be as calm as usual.
“I’ve thought about it before. If I really get to receive a pension and retire, I’ll open a tea shop with Shixiong4 and Shijie5. Once it’s established, I’ll travel the four seas and eat all the delicious food in the world!”
Thinking of that scene, Ming Qin couldn’t help but laugh out loud, then said with a look of disdain, “If I brought a little baby along, wouldn’t it be hard to travel freely? I’d be busy and dizzy every day, where would I have time to play?”
After a pause, she asked in return, “What about you? Do you want children?”
“No, I don’t need them.” Murong Yan lowered her eyes, but her tone was firm, “I also want to be as free as Ah Qin, with my hair down and feet bare6, roaming the mountains and forests, and traveling the five lakes.”
In front of Ming Qin, her answers were always clear.
“Children… are a bit superfluous. Having a good person7 as a companion is enough.” Murong Yan raised her head and continued, wanting to see the other person’s reaction.
But the slow-witted Ming Qin was completely oblivious, merely nodding, and then handed the cut cloth strips to her, saying, “I’ll go get some water for you to wipe yourself.”
She slipped out of the carriage door in an instant, the iron lock making a crisp sound.
Looking at the crudely made moon cloth in her hand, Murong Yan felt both helpless and amused by the shadow guard’s denseness and straightforwardness.
Forget it, I just like Ah Qin this way.
After a short while, the two set off.
There was fresh snow on the official road, making it a bit difficult for the wheels to move. Looking up at the sky, thankfully, there were no clouds.
An ox-cart approached from the opposite direction. The old man driving the cart waved his hand, greeting Ming Qin with a toothless grin.
“Miss, where are you headed?” The old man’s voice was a bit hoarse. He pulled at his slipping hood and asked with concern.
“I have to go back to my old home up north, taking my older sister to recuperate.” Ming Qin said the pre-arranged lines, pulling up her collar to hide the iron lock on her neck.
At this moment, a heart-wrenching cough very opportunely came from inside the carriage.
The old man’s face was worried. A boy of about ten poked his head out from the back of the ox-cart and said, “Good sister, don’t go any further! The forest ahead is not safe.”
“Yes, yes, there’s a big tiger on the mountain ahead, it’s eaten several people who went up the mountain to gather wild vegetables! We reported it to the authorities, but no one came to deal with it. You’re just two young ladies… it’s really not appropriate.” The old man’s speech was a bit leaky8, but his tone was very worried.
“Thank you, grandpa and little brother, for your concern, but this road is the fastest. We’ll be fine.” Ming Qin said reassuringly, and smiled at the two again.
Seeing that the young lady before them still insisted, the old man no longer tried to persuade her, only saying a word of caution before driving away.
Ming Qin watched the ox-cart go far, then turned and lifted the cloth curtain covering the small window behind her. Fearing the woman inside would be worried, she said sincerely, “Don’t worry, even a big tiger can’t beat me.”
Murong Yan inside let out a pfft, and chuckled at the somewhat childish shadow guard, “I was never worried that Ah Qin couldn’t beat a big tiger.”
Thinking the woman was dismissive of her words, Ming Qin became a little anxious, “It’s true! I’m very strong. If you like, I can catch it for you to toss around and play with.”
Murong Yan tried hard to hold back her laughter, taking a deep breath to calm her tone, “Then I look forward to the day I see Ah Qin tossing a tiger around for fun.”
She gently tugged the chain through the door panel, as if to soothe her.
Only then did Ming Qin turn back and continue driving the carriage.
The two were getting closer and closer to the northern border. At their current speed, it was only about a seven-day journey to the county town designated by Cao Yun.
Under the slanting sun, the rare cloudless sky was splashed with a patch of pink, which, connected to the distant mountain peaks, was very beautiful.
Before she had time to appreciate it, the hand holding the whip suddenly paused. With her amazing eyesight, Ming Qin saw filth in the distant woods.
There’s no mistaking it, that should be the traces left by the tiger.
The horse, which had been docile all along, now snorted anxiously, its regular pace becoming disordered.
Looks like I have to find a place to camp quickly before sunset, Ming Qin thought, while soothing the horse with her hands.
Parking the carriage at the foot of a mound not far from the official road, Ming Qin tied up the horse, then quickly sharpened several wooden stakes with the dagger in her hand, placing them secretly around the carriage. She built a large fire and vigilantly observed the movements in the forest.
“Ah Qin?”
Feeling a pull on her neck, Ming Qin turned to look at Murong Yan, who had lifted the curtain.
“Don’t worry, we’re downwind.” Ming Qin opened the carriage door and carried out Murong Yan, whose face was pale from staying in the carriage all day, placing her on a stool.
Extending a warm palm, she gently rubbed Murong Yan’s slightly bloated lower abdomen. Ming Qin asked with some worry, “Does your stomach still hurt?”
She had heard from many senior and junior martial sisters how torturous monthly affairs could be.
“I’m fine.”
Feeling the soreness in her waist and the slight pressure Ming Qin was applying to her stomach, Murong Yan smiled and comforted the worried person in front of her, then couldn’t help but let out a few dry coughs.
Ming Qin frowned and made the bonfire burn more vigorously, intending to warm up the woman whose hands and feet were ice-cold.
A hot, bright flame could drive away wild beasts that have an instinct for seeking fortune and avoiding disaster.
Unfortunately.
It couldn’t stop ill-intentioned thieves.
Early the next morning, Ming Qin came alone to the nearly frozen river surface.
The bank was slippery and difficult to walk on, and the small pebbles were very sharp. Ming Qin’s hands, soaked in the water, were frozen red.
Because I had no choice but to leave Murong Yan alone to come to the stream to wash the moon cloth, I must get back quickly, Ming Qin thought.
Just as she wrung out the wet cloth and was about to get up and leave, a chill instinctively ran up her back.
At this moment, she was not alone.
Or rather, it was one person and one beast.
Ming Qin slowly turned around and met a pair of bright, yellowish eyes deep in the jungle.
A huge body, with dense orange fur crisscrossed with black stripes. Its white teeth showed a sinister light with every low growl and baring of its fangs. With every step, its shoulder blades moved its stripes all over its body, dazzling the eyes. Its huge paws left tracks on the snow-covered ground.
Slowly, in the posture of a hunter, it walked from the woods toward Ming Qin.
“Good child, you shouldn’t have come over.” Ming Qin still stood there with her back straight, without a trace of fear, just frowning with some annoyance.
The tiger still stared intently at the person before it. Its thick, long tail swished through the low bushes, making a rustling sound.
“Ah, ah, I really need to get back early.” Ming Qin placed the things in her hand on a flat stone, muttering to herself, “Could it have been attracted by the smell of blood?”
The beast was about five zhang9 away from Ming Qin. Its sturdy muscles tensed into a crouching position, and a threatening low sound came from its throat, like a taut arrow about to be released from the bow, ready to strike.
Seeing this scene, Ming Qin drew the longsword from her waist without hesitation. The tiger, as if stung in the eye by the light reflecting off the blade, also instantly pounced at the person before it.
The sword-wielder dodged the beast’s attack, and a splash of water erupted on the riverbank.
The orange figure turned sharply, opened its bloody maw10 full of sharp teeth, and was about to bite Ming Qin, but it didn’t expect the woman to leap onto the tiger’s back, tightly grabbing the fur on its neck, and swing her sword to strike.
The frenzied tiger panted heavily and thrashed its body wildly, even trying to slam its back against a nearby tree trunk. This unexpected ferocity forced Ming Qin to let go, and after being thrown off, the longsword unexpectedly slipped from her palm.
“Ah, crap…”
Ming Qin didn’t care about the weapon that had left her, but as she was about to land, she nearly stepped on the things she had placed on the stone, forcing her airborne body to turn slightly.
Unexpectedly, because she landed on the frozen mud, she slipped and fell.
The moment the tiger saw the woman on the ground, its sharp claws slammed onto Ming Qin’s chest, and it lunged forward without hesitation, about to bite and crush the fragile human neck.
Ming Qin calmly reached out, using the tiger’s mouth11 of her left hand to firmly press against the tiger’s chin, which was full of coarse whiskers, stopping the beast’s vicious attack.
Feeling the breath hitting her face from above, the disparity in size and the clearly unfavorable position made it a bit difficult for Ming Qin. The wound on her chest where the claws were embedded was gushing blood. Her free right hand fumbled downwards.
Saliva mixed with a foul smell dripped onto the woman’s expressionless cheek. Just as the fierce beast was about to succeed, its body suddenly stiffened and collapsed powerlessly.
Ming Qin’s right hand held a sharp dagger buried deep in the tiger’s fur. Her wrist twisted mercilessly, and then cut straight down along the neck.
A small half of the tiger’s head was separated from its neck.
Blood splattered onto the woman’s body. The large area of red made it impossible to tell whose blood was whose.
The snow-white ground was left with a conspicuous mark, but Ming Qin just wiped her face faintly, not caring at all.
Pushing the corpse that had fallen on her to the side, the huge tiger lay there on the riverbank. Ming Qin got up and grabbed a handful of clean snow, trying to clean the stains on her body to make herself look less horrifying.
Just as she was crouching by the river to wash her blood-soaked hands, a rustling sound of branches rubbing came from the bushes. Ming Qin turned her head and saw a fluffy ball of fur roll out.
“So… it was because there was a cub.”
Ming Qin saw the little tiger whose head was not yet as big as her palm. It probably hadn’t been fully weaned yet. It let out a high-pitched whimper and stumbled towards the corpse of its mother lying on the ground.
It was probably because I unintentionally intruded, stimulating the beast’s strong maternal instinct, that it took the initiative to attack.
“But even if I knew you had a child, if we met, I would still have to kill you.” Thinking of the other villagers who had been attacked, Ming Qin did not regret her decision.
But looking at the little beast snuggling beside its mother, she, who had been unhesitating when she struck, suddenly felt a little sorry.
About to leave with her things, Ming Qin looked back at the gradually cooling corpse and the shivering ball of fur beside it. In this desolate forest, her steps hesitated a little.
“Forget it…”
She dropped her shoulders and said as if giving up, “…you just obediently be the Commandery Princess’s competent hand warmer.”
Then she picked up the little tiger, who was waving its paws ferociously like a fierce kitten12, by the scruff of its neck.
“Don’t move!”
Looking at the restless little thing in her hand, Ming Qin brought it before her eyes, and as if she were disciplining a junior martial brother13 on a normal day, she looked directly into the little tiger’s round, gray pupils and said in a calm tone, “When you see the Commandery Princess later, you must be obedient, understand?”
It is unknown whether it was the beast’s innate instinct to fear the strong, or the killing intent Ming Qin unconsciously released after the battle, but the struggling little tiger actually quieted down, staring at the person before it and lowering its big, furry head.
“Very good.”
Seeing the little beast obediently listen to her, Ming Qin nodded with satisfaction, then tucked it into her bosom and strode towards the carriage.
Faintly, she heard the clamor of strangers from where the carriage was parked. The shouting voices of men were particularly piercing to Ming Qin’s extraordinary hearing.
Her heart sank, her face instantly turned iron-blue14. She quickened her pace, her light figure not leaving a single trace in the snow.
LP: Re-translated on July 22, 2025
Footnotes
- 葵水 | kuí shuǐ | Literally “mallow water” or “sunflower water.” A classical and poetic term for menstruation. The sunflower (葵) turns towards the sun, and this term metaphorically links the monthly cycle to the cyclical, predictable movements of nature, like the moon’s phases.
- 月布 | yuè bù | Literally “moon cloth.” A traditional term for a cloth used during menstruation, a form of reusable sanitary napkin.
- 传宗接代 | chuán zōng jiē dài | A traditional and deeply ingrained Confucian concept that means “to carry on the family line” or “to produce an heir.” It was considered a primary duty, especially for sons, to ensure the continuation of the family and the veneration of ancestors.
- 师兄 | shīxiōng | “Senior martial brother.” A term used to address a male disciple who joined the same master or school earlier. It denotes respect and a sense of shared camaraderie.
- 师姐 | shījiě | “Senior martial sister.” The female equivalent of shixiong, used to address a female disciple who joined the same master or school earlier.
- 散发跣足 | sànfà xiǎnzú | A literary phrase describing a state of being completely unrestrained and free from social conventions. “Sànfà” (散发) means to let one’s hair down (as opposed to being tied up in a formal style), and “xiǎnzú” (跣足) means to be barefoot. It evokes an image of returning to a natural, carefree state.
- 良人 | liángrén | An archaic and poetic term for one’s spouse, most often referring to the husband, but can also mean a good or virtuous person. It carries a sense of deep affection and respect.
- 嘴上有些漏风 | zuǐshàng yǒuxiē lòufēng | A descriptive phrase that literally means “the mouth leaks wind.” It’s a common way to describe someone who is missing teeth, causing them to speak with a slight lisp or whistle.
- 丈 | zhàng | A traditional Chinese unit of length. 1 zhang is equivalent to 10 chi (尺) or approximately 3.33 meters (10.9 feet). Five zhang would be about 16.65 meters or 54.5 feet.
- 血盆大口 | xuèpén dàkǒu | An idiom that literally means “a mouth as big as a blood basin.” It is used to describe the huge, gaping mouth of a ferocious beast, emphasizing its terrifying and dangerous nature.
- 虎口 | hǔkǒu | The web of the hand between the thumb and index finger. Its name literally means “tiger’s mouth” due to its shape, making its use in a scene where she is literally fighting a tiger a poignant detail.
- 奶凶奶凶 | nǎixiōng nǎixiōng | A popular internet slang term used to describe something (usually a small animal or a person) that is trying to be fierce and intimidating but is too cute to be taken seriously. “Nǎi” (奶) means “milk” and implies a babyish, cute quality, while “xiōng” (凶) means “fierce.”
- 师弟 | shīdì | “Junior martial brother.” The term for a male disciple who joined the same master or school later. It implies a hierarchical but familial relationship.
- 铁青 | tiěqīng | Literally “iron-blue” or “ashen.” A term used to describe a person’s complexion when they are extremely angry, pale, or ill. It conveys a sense of grim fury or shock.
No! I can’t believe I caught up already!
No! I can’t believe I caught up already!
The poor cub tiger 😭😭
The poor cub tiger 😭😭