Several young men immediately stepped forward and pinned Zhang Cuihua down.
Bai Dafu swept his gaze over the crowd: “It’s settled then. We depart at mao hour tomorrow morning. Everyone will search for the child! Dismissed!”
Only then did the crowd disperse.
…
Meanwhile, when Little Tiger Girl fell from the cliff, she was terrified at first. But after a moment, she felt her body become light, as if she had grown wings. Her fear gradually disappeared, replaced by a sense of delight.
Hu Niu landed on a pile of dry leaves. The leaves were soft, and she emerged completely unharmed.
She scrambled up from the leaves, her adorable big eyes filled with curiosity as she surveyed her surroundings. Lush greenery surrounded her, with dense forests stretching into the distance where vibrant wildflowers bloomed. A small stream gurgled nearby.
Due to the drought, Hu Niu hadn’t played in water for a long time. Wobbling on her short legs, she toddled to the stream to play. The water was refreshingly cool, filled with plump fish swimming about, and the stream bed was covered with colorful, beautiful stones.
“Fishies… play!” Hu Niu exclaimed, one word at a time.
She meant for the big fish to play with her.
The fish seemed to understand her words, swimming over to nibble at her pink little feet with their mouths.
Tickled by their nibbling, Little Tiger Girl giggled with her small mouth wide open.
Seeing how plump the fish were, Hu Niu crouched down wanting to hug them. But as soon as her little hands touched a big fish, it splashed violently, spraying water all over the little one’s face.
Startled by the splash, a drop of water went up her small nostril. She rubbed her nose with her little hand, opened her mouth and let out a big sneeze, “Achoo!”
Hearing her sneeze, the fish scattered in panic.
Seeing the fish flee, Hu Niu spoke again in her childish voice: “Fishies, come… back!”
As if understanding her words, the fish swam back and began dancing around her.
The little one crouched down and tried to lift the biggest fish. The fish was so heavy it nearly pulled her small body into the water.
Little Tiger Girl became angry: “Can’t… can’t… lift! Bad fishies!”
The big fish drooped its mouth corners, wearing an innocent expression as if saying: How is this my fault? You’re the one who wanted to lift me. Fine, no more talking – I’ll go lose weight right now…
With this thought, the big fish wiggled its plump body away to exercise.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
Little Tiger Girl’s small feet playfully stomped in the stream, creating water blossoms that fell on her head, wetting her Little Skyrocket Bunches. “Giggle giggle…” The little one wiped the water droplets from her face with her small hands, emitting a series of bell-like laughter.
Just as Hu Niu was thoroughly enjoying herself, she suddenly noticed a reflection in the water of a large, furry head with a long snout and sharp teeth, like a dog’s.
The little one looked up and indeed saw a massive white dog baring its teeth at her.
She joyfully ran over, hugged the white dog’s big head, and said in her childish voice: “Doggy doggy…”
Bai Lang was instantly bewildered. Do I really look that friendly?
But before Bai Lang could properly enjoy the secret delight the little one brought him, a piercing tiger roar came from mid-air, followed by a White Tiger with Upturned Eyes soaring through the air, viciously pouncing toward him!
Holy crap, Bai Lang was shocked. Is this damn white tiger looking for a fight?”Come fight if you dare, who’s afraid of who!” Bai Lang’s tiger-like body trembled, all his fur standing on end. With a powerful leap forward, he landed right in front of Bai Hu.
Instantly, a storm of blood and fury erupted as both Bai Lang and Bai Hu leaped up simultaneously, their heads colliding with a violent crash. Bai Hu opened his bloodthirsty maw and roared with an “Awoo!” that nearly deafened Bai Lang’s ears. Not to be outdone, Bai Lang bared his sharp fangs and sank them fiercely into Bai Hu’s neck.
In pain, Bai Hu flew into a rage. With a mighty shake, he threw Bai Lang off. Bai Lang landed hard on a rock, his rear nearly splitting into eight pieces.
But Bai Lang possessed an indomitable spirit. Ignoring the pain, he sprang up again and charged back at Bai Hu. The two Magical Creatures tore into each other once more, soon splattering blood droplets everywhere!
Neither beast would yield, each seeking out the other’s weaknesses in their fierce battle that darkened the sky and earth!
Little Tiger Girl watched the fight with wide, adorable eyes, sucking her fingers with great interest. For some reason, she felt a sense of déjà vu.
The tiger-wolf battle lasted a long time. Little Tiger Girl grew tired before it ended, eventually falling asleep on the grass.
Seeing their only audience asleep, Bai Lang and Bai Hu lost their motivation to fight. The two creatures shook paws and made peace.
Just then, a massive female white tiger slowly approached—it was Hu Danniang, who had given Little Tiger Girl to Bai Renyi and his wife. Due to her senior status, the young demons on the mountain all called her Hu Danniang.
Seeing Hu Danniang approach, Bai Lang and Bai Hu hurriedly knelt in a gesture of respect. Hu Danniang strode majestically to their side, pausing by their ears as if whispering some instructions.
Bai Lang and Bai Hu looked reluctant but eventually nodded in agreement.
When Hu Niu woke again, both the tiger and wolf were gone. As she tried to get up, she felt something tickling her with little paws.
Looking down, she saw two fluffy, well-behaved babies lying beside her—one little cat and one little dog.
Both babies were only palm-sized, staring at her with moist, innocent eyes.
“Meow meow… doggy…” Little Tiger Girl’s large eyes filled with delight.
In her baby voice, she said, “Kiss kiss…”
As she spoke, she grabbed the two babies by their ears and pressed their heads together.
The shrunken Bai Hu and Bai Lang found each other utterly disgusting, but with their little mistress forcing their heads together for a kiss, they had no choice but to touch mouths briefly.
After the kiss, Bai Lang immediately wiped his mouth with a paw, showing extreme distaste.
Bai Hu went even further, actually running aside to vomit.
If Hu Danniang hadn’t sent them to protect the little girl, he would never willingly work with that stinky Bai Lang.
Little Tiger Girl walked along the riverbank, carrying Little Meow Meow in her left arm and Little Doggy in her right.
As she walked, she suddenly heard someone shouting: “Little Aunt! Little Aunt!”
Hu Niu stopped her short legs and turned to see Da Keng running toward her.
It turned out that after desperately jumping off the cliff, Da Keng had landed right on the branches of a thousand-year-old ancient tree. He had briefly lost consciousness in the tree but woke up soon after and immediately began searching everywhere for his little aunt.
Having fallen from such a high cliff, he had feared the worst for his little aunt. To his surprise and relief, he actually found her.
Overwhelmed with joy, Da Keng knelt before his little aunt, embracing her small body as tears streamed down his face. “Little Aunt, you scared me to death! I’m so glad you’re alright…”