Yun Qingyue had appeared at some unknown time and had been watching for an unknown duration, but clearly Jiang Mo's sneaking out could no longer be concealed.
The little white tiger instantly felt guilty. Before she could think of how to bluff her way through this, she saw the system light orb flash before her eyes and suddenly pounce toward her. She tilted her head but couldn't dodge in time, growling in annoyance: "System, stop fooling around."
The system clung to the little white tiger's head, its light orb flashing several times in succession, its mechanical voice sounding tearful: "Host, you're balding. A large patch of fur on your head has been pecked off, and I can't cover it... You've become a balding tiger now, not good-looking at all. Do you think your caretaker will find you ugly and abandon you?"
What is a bolt from the blue? This was precisely it!
The previously merely guilty little white tiger instantly stiffened. She finally remembered what she had experienced earlier and instinctively stood up on her hind legs, freeing her front paws to feel her head—indeed, during the earlier chaotic struggle with the goose, she had successfully bitten the goose's neck and completed the kill. But before that, the goose hadn't been harmless either, forcibly plucking out her fur.
It was over. She really was balding. Was she unbearably ugly now? Would she be despised?
As Jiang Mo covered her head in panic, her nape was suddenly gripped, and the next moment she was lifted up. Cold glass-like eyes swept over her disheveled body, and Yun Qingyue spoke in a flat tone that revealed neither pleasure nor anger: "Where did you go?"
The little white tiger gazed at her pitifully, letting out an "awoo" sound, aggrieved: "I didn't go anywhere, really."
Seeing this, Yun Qingyue almost couldn't hold back her laughter. She promptly gathered the little tiger cub into her arms again and even stroked her soft little belly.
Jiang Mo's body stiffened for a moment before relaxing again—she was just a poor little tiger, with a furry, soft belly that surely felt nice to touch. If Senior Sister would stop pursuing the matter of her sneaking out after petting her, and also not mind her current patchy, balding appearance, then allowing her belly to be stroked wasn't such a big deal.
Just as Jiang Mo had comforted herself and was preparing to act cute toward Yun Qingyue to completely put the matter behind them, she heard Yun Qingyue suddenly say: "I was cultivating when I received a message that someone had broken into the Hall of Inquiry at the foot of the mountain and caused trouble..."
The Master of Mount Mingxia was immersed in cultivation and often in seclusion, having long ago delegated the peak's trivial matters to her senior disciple. And although the Hall of Inquiry was where new disciples listened to teachings, it was also the foundation of the peak, so no one dared to take it lightly. Any incident at the Hall of Inquiry, regardless of size, would be reported to Yun Qingyue immediately, so it wasn't surprising that she knew about this so quickly.
Jiang Mo instantly felt guilty, her eyes looking everywhere except at Yun Qingyue, as if it had nothing to do with her.
Yun Qingyue watched her pretend ignorance and continued unhurriedly: "It wasn't anything serious. The back kitchen of the Hall of Inquiry was broken into, with heavy casualties among the poultry and livestock. In the end, a Red-Crowned Goose went missing, along with a large pot from the stove." As she spoke, she stroked the little white tiger's belly again, which was not only furry and soft but also round and plump, clearly indicating that before returning, the little tiger cub had already filled herself up.
Well, with things laid out so plainly, denial seemed impossible.
The little white tiger instantly deflated, but quickly perked up again, repeatedly crying "awoo" "awoo": "Caretaker, you can't blame me for eating the goose. Look how much of my fur it pecked off—I was just getting revenge!"
Yun Qingyue couldn't understand her words, but she could tell the little tiger cub was grumbling indignantly. She didn't interrupt her complaints, and when the little tiger cub had said enough, she pinched the tiger cub's paw pads and suddenly asked: "So, was the Red-Crowned Goose delicious?"
It was delicious; the system's culinary skills were exceptional.
⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱
The matter of sneaking down the mountain seemed to end there, with Yun Qingyue not pursuing it further.
However, this trip down the mountain had indeed left indelible marks on the little white tiger—the fear of being dominated by a goose was one thing, but her balding fur was another. Especially since she had been soaking in the spirit spring recently, every time she saw her new appearance reflected in the water, the feeling of devastation was indescribable... Balding was bad enough, but the key issue was not knowing when it would grow back.
While bathing, the little white tiger swatted at her reflection in the water with her paw, asking the system with a sense of despair: "System, if I level up now, will my fur grow back? Being bald is just too ugly!"
The system did answer, but unfortunately, the response was unsatisfactory: "Host, I'm afraid not. Fur isn't covered under the game's warranty."
Jiang Mo had no particular reaction to this—in fact, this wasn't the first time she had asked the system, but the system's replies were always this disappointing. There were plenty of good products in the mall, from cheaper hair-growth tonics to expensive magic potions, all of which could make her fur grow back in minutes. But they were too expensive—even the cheapest hair-growth tonic cost 5000 points, which she simply couldn't afford.
After checking the mall prices once more, Jiang Mo deeply felt that such pricing was unreasonable, so she slapped the complaint button with a "pat." Then a mechanical voice similar to the system's sounded in her ear: "Hello, Host. What is your complaint?"
Jiang Mo gestured with her paw at those hair-growth items: "The pricing is too high. This is unreasonable."
Then came a brief silence. A moment later, the complaint system seemed to have finished its calculations and replied: "Supply and demand determine pricing. The system mall treats young and old alike fairly, and there's nothing wrong with this pricing." If you can't afford it, that's your own problem.
Jiang Mo thought about the vast army of people suffering from hair loss, and faced with such a response, she was momentarily speechless.
The system flickered at this point, seeming to tug at the little white tiger's whiskers, then leaned close to her ear and whispered: "Forget it, Host. Don't complain anymore. The mall has never accepted such pricing complaints, let alone reduced prices. How about this: when you save up enough points, I'll help you place an order. For such big items, the system can get an internal price—a 9.9% discount!"
The little white tiger's mouth twitched: As if I care about your 9.9% discount!
Just as Jiang Mo was about to swat the system away, Yun Qingyue approached. Seeing that the soaking time was about right, she scooped the little tiger cub out of the spirit spring, and while making hand signs to dry her fur, she said: "Tomorrow I need to leave the sect. Would you like to come along?"
The little white tiger's ears twitched, clearly very tempted—she hadn't seen the real cultivation world outside of Xuanqing Sect yet. But thinking of her current appearance, she felt too embarrassed to go out, and immediately the entire tiger deflated.