Had Jiang Mo ever been pecked by a goose before? Previously no, but now she had.
As a modern person inseparable from the internet, even though she had never lived in a rural area or personally experienced the power of the village tyrant, she had seen enough memes and short videos to have a thorough understanding of a goose's combat ability. Out of curiosity, she had once specifically searched for images online and seen the dense, saw-like teeth inside a goose's mouth.
That beak—truly unforgettable once seen, making one's scalp tingle. So when suddenly facing such a "formidable enemy," Jiang Mo's first reaction after a moment of bewilderment wasn't to fight back, but to flee...
The little tiger cub, not even as big as the goose, immediately bristled all over, let out an "awoo" cry, and then turned to run.
The Red-Crowned Goose was no pushover either—or rather, like all geese, it was full of aggression. It spread its wings, slightly lowered its long, slender neck, and mercilessly snapped at the fleeing little tiger.
"Awoo..."
The little white tiger cried out again, this time clearly in pain, as a tuft of tiger fur was pecked off her back. And this Red-Crowned Goose knew nothing about restraint—seeing the little tiger fleeing only made it more aggressive. With its neck extending and retracting, it bit again. Even if it didn't catch any flesh, the tiger fur flying everywhere was enough to make the scene pathetic and embarrassing.
The system watching from the side was dumbfounded—this was completely different from what it had predicted. In its system calculations, the feathers floating in the air should have been goose feathers, not tiger fur. Could its host really be this useless?!
The system hadn't realized its mistake and was only filled with gravity. But faced with this chaotic scene of goose and tiger, it hurriedly flew over and reminded Jiang Mo: "Host, why are you running? Quick, fight back! Its combat power isn't even a tenth of yours. It's just slightly better than those Splendid Chickens. You can take care of it with two swipes!"
Having her fur painfully pecked off, the little tiger was nearly in tears and didn't believe what she heard: "You're lying! How could Splendid Chickens compare to the village tyrant? Look, my fur is being pecked off!"
Village tyrant?
The system was momentarily confused, then hurriedly searched its database—the cultivation world had no internet for it to connect to, but when it first bound with Jiang Mo, the system had briefly stayed in the modern world. Though the time was short, the system had automatically downloaded many files that remained in its database. Now as it opened a search, a "fear controlled by a big goose.jpg" meme was the first thing to appear before its eyes.
It seemed to suddenly understand something. But no matter—crumpling up the meme and tossing it into the recycling bin, the system still righteously insisted: "Host, stop running! Turn around and finish it off. Wouldn't stewed goose in an iron pot be delicious?"
Jiang Mo's fleeing footsteps paused for a moment, then continued: "Don't trick me, we don't have an iron pot."
Hearing this, the system instinctively looked toward the stove and discovered that the iron pot on it was over a meter in diameter, looking very heavy. Not to mention the system with no physical form, even the host with her small frame couldn't carry it. So it urgently checked the mall again and said: "Host, don't worry, there's one in the mall. The cheapest iron pot costs just 50 points..."
The price of ten milk candies—truly not expensive at all, but Jiang Mo wasn't tempted in the slightest. After all that trouble, she hadn't even earned 50 points yet. How could she possibly spend them on a pot?
The system quickly realized this too and immediately changed its approach: "Well, roast goose or baked goose should also be quite delicious."
As these words fell, whether it was the prospect of roast goose that moved Jiang Mo or the relentlessly pursuing Red-Crowned Goose that finally enraged her, the little white tiger suddenly braked hard and turned around while running. The Red-Crowned Goose behind her hadn't yet reacted when it was smacked on the head by her paw—perhaps because she was used to swatting at the system, this blow wasn't light, directly stunning the Red-Crowned Goose before it became furious.
In an instant, the back kitchen of the Hall of Inquiry had completely devolved into a battlefield...
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In the end, Jiang Mo did get to eat iron pot stewed goose. For this, she gave up the seemingly more delicious Splendid Chicken and, completely without dignity, ran halfway across the mountain with a black pot on her head. Along the way, she even tried to hitch a ride on a crane but was refused.
In the heavy iron pot, fragrant broth bubbled with a "glug-glug" sound. The goose, gutted and plucked, lay obediently inside, its white body gradually taking on a soy-sauce color as the aroma in the air grew increasingly rich. Apart from the goose being cooked whole, there was nothing unsatisfying about it—heaven knows that among the files the system had hastily downloaded, there were even recipes!
The little white tiger lay nearby, her head resting on her crossed front paws, golden tiger eyes reflecting the dancing flames.
The system was much busier than her, as it had stewed this entire pot of goose. It had lit the fire, added the seasonings, and put on the lid—all the host had to do was wait to eat.
This series of actions had consumed quite a bit of the system's energy, but it didn't dare complain one bit—looking at the Red-Crowned Goose in the pot, it was clear that the host had sacrificed the Splendid Chicken not because iron pot stewed goose tasted better, but because she held grudges. Killing wasn't enough; it had to be eaten to complete the revenge. The system now only feared that the host would remember the cage incident.
Because of this guilty conscience, the system had been very obedient during this time, doing whatever it was told without a single wasted word. But precisely because of this obedience, Jiang Mo became suspicious: "System, what guilty deed have you done? Why are you so quiet?"
The system's nonexistent heart immediately pounded twice, and it hurriedly changed the subject: "Nothing's wrong! But I think the goose is almost done cooking."
As soon as the words fell, before Jiang Mo could say anything more, it lifted the pot lid. The already enticing aroma in the air instantly became several times stronger. Especially for Jiang Mo, a tiger who had only been drinking milk, this meat fragrance was even more tempting, causing her saliva to flow furiously. Her tiger eyes were firmly fixed on the goose in the iron pot, no longer remembering the earlier topic.
"Can I eat now?" The little white tiger stood up and circled around the iron pot. If not for the fire still burning beneath the pot and the steam indicating it was very hot, she would have pounced on it right away.
Seeing the topic successfully changed, the system truly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly extinguished the fire, saying: "Wait a bit longer. Once it cools down, you can eat."
Hearing this, Jiang Mo could only wait, looking so eager that she almost seemed pitiful.
The system, already feeling guilty, couldn't help itself upon seeing this and said to Jiang Mo: "Little one, don't be like that. I'll make it for you again next time."
Jiang Mo gave it a light glance, her gaze seemingly meaningful. But before the system could comprehend, thanks to the strong mountain winds, the goose in the pot quickly cooled down.
Once it was edible, the little white tiger couldn't be bothered with the system anymore. She pounced on the Red-Crowned Goose in the pot and devoured it heartily.
Even after eating and drinking her fill and starting the journey back, Jiang Mo didn't pursue the question of how the Red-Crowned Goose had escaped its cage. She again hitched a ride on a crane, and midway, casually opened her character panel to take a look—
[Host: Jiang Mo
Race: White Tiger
Occupation: Divine Beast
Level: 18
Combat Power: 655415
Experience: 75702/655360
Points: 54
Potential: ∞
Skills: Blood Inheritance (Not Activated)]
The gains from this trip could only be described as moderate. Her combat power had increased a little, and her experience had increased a little. But her points had increased by 54, which was neither a lot nor a little. At least these points were equivalent to five days of her minimum wage and enough to buy 10 milk candies.
She would buy another candy to give to Senior Sister when she got back. She looked so beautiful when her eyes lit up...
Thinking this way, Jiang Mo actually felt a sense of satisfaction, temporarily forgetting all her dishevelment. But what she hadn't expected was that as soon as she got off the crane's back upon arrival, the crane suddenly flew away as if escaping. And when she turned around, she saw Yun Qingyue in her blue robes, watching her from not far away.