When Golden Finger Meets Salted Fish

“Host, run…” The system’s mechanical voice cut off abruptly.

Jiang Mo had taken quite a tumble, and the sudden appearance of a person before her caught her off guard. With the lone remaining spirit fruit still in her mouth, she unconsciously looked up and was immediately transfixed. Before her stood a beauty, the kind that leaves an indelible impression yet seems unapproachable. Her features were delicate, naturally exquisite. Even though her cold demeanor made one hesitant to approach, there was no denying that her beauty was deeply stirring.

At that moment, the beauty happened to look down, her glass-like eyes meeting Jiang Mo’s directly. Her gaze was cool, devoid of any discernible emotion. She seemed unperturbed by the sudden appearance of a small beast rolling to her feet.

But this was only seemingly so, for at that instant, an eagle’s cry rang out as it caught up to them.

The eagles of the cultivation world were naturally incomparable to ordinary ones. This eagle was as tall as a person, with wings spanning five or six meters. It swooped down swiftly, deftly avoiding the obstacles of ancient tree branches, its target clearly the little white tiger on the ground. Its sharp beak and talons gleamed like metal in the sunlight, leaving no doubt about their lethality.

Oh no!

Jiang Mo’s expression changed dramatically as she finally snapped out of her daze at encountering such a beauty. She wanted to run again, but it was clearly too late. She might even endanger the beauty before her…

It was all the system’s fault. How could it dare to provoke anything and everything?!

Just as these thoughts flashed through Jiang Mo’s mind, the cyan-robed beauty before her made a move. She didn’t flee, nor did she draw the frost-blue sword in her hand. She simply raised her head and cast a cool glance at the eagle.

An invisible aura expanded, and the eagle, which had developed spiritual awareness from guarding the spirit fruits, immediately sensed danger. Thus, the pursuer that had been so ferocious just moments ago suddenly became like a frightened housewife, flapping its wings in panic. Just before it would have collided with them, it abruptly veered off course, fleeing towards the horizon without looking back.

A moment later, a single black eagle feather floated down gently, swaying as it landed before Jiang Mo.

“…” The useless little tiger was dumbfounded.

But the system had already reacted, relying on the fact that only its host could see it. The light orb flashed incessantly at the tip of the little white tiger’s nose: “Host, host, this is a powerful expert! Quick, go cling to her leg! Ask her to take care of you!”

“Thump-thump”—the system detected its host’s accelerated heartbeat and urged more frantically.

Jiang Mo stared intently at the cyan-robed beauty before her, but habitually retorted to the system: “Aren’t you the Life Peak System? Aren’t you supposed to assist me in reaching life’s pinnacle? Is your assistance just reminding me to cling to someone powerful? What use are you!”

The system felt no shame at all, instead righteously replying: “But host, don’t you want to leave this place? Don’t you want someone to feed you? Don’t you want to find a suitable caretaker? You said earlier you didn’t want to be a stray cat…” Halfway through, its mechanical voice suddenly changed course, stuttering: “H-host, your nose is bleeding!”

Jiang Mo was startled, then glanced down to see a hint of blood at the tip of her nose beneath the system’s light orb. She was immediately alarmed, raising both paws to cover her nose. The system was intent on having its host cling to someone powerful, but what it didn’t know was that Jiang Mo had been a looks-obsessed person since she could remember. Her heart was racing not because she had encountered a powerful expert, but because she had met a beauty.

While she appreciated beauty, this was her first time experiencing a nosebleed from looking at someone beautiful. Feeling utterly embarrassed and overwhelmed with shame, the little white tiger’s fur stood on end all over her body.

◆◇◆◇◆

Yun Qingyu had been lingering in the area for three days.

Three days ago, she had led her junior disciples to this secret realm. For her, it was originally just a casual sect mission, requiring her to meditate on the spirit boat for half a month while waiting for everyone’s return. But on that day, for some unknown reason, as she stood at the bow, she suddenly felt a premonition that she should come down and take a walk. A cultivator’s intuition was not to be ignored, so she put away the spirit boat and set off on her sword.

For three days, she had flown her sword over thousands of miles, until she came to this area and once again felt a premonition. But it stopped there, for opportunities were always elusive things.

So Yun Qingyu put away her spirit sword and began walking on foot, when unexpectedly a small beast rolled to her feet.

The little beast was covered in dirt and leaves, looking utterly bedraggled. She could vaguely make out that its fur was white, and its shape resembled a spirit cat… but could there be such a weak spirit cat?

Yun Qingyu didn’t pay much attention to this “little spirit cat,” and driving away the black eagle was merely a casual act. She simply didn’t want to see these little creatures die bloodily before her eyes. After driving away the eagle, she was ready to leave, for after all, it was just a chance encounter, and this weak “little spirit cat” would have to rely on itself to survive here.

Thinking this, Yun Qingyu was about to step away when she heard the “little spirit cat” suddenly start mewing “aow, aow.” The sound was milky and cute, suggesting it was only a few days old. She wondered where its mother had gone.

Because the “little spirit cat’s” milky cries were truly adorable, Yun Qingyu unusually lingered for a moment. Then she saw the “little spirit cat” suddenly raise its paws to cover its nose as it cried. With her Golden Core peak cultivation, her eyesight was naturally excellent, and she immediately noticed that the “little spirit cat’s” nose was bleeding, probably from its earlier fall.

Were there still spirit beasts in this day and age that could get a nosebleed from a simple fall?!

Yun Qingyu found it incredible. Then, noticing the spirit fruit that had fallen from the “little spirit cat’s” mouth when it cried, she felt three parts more pity for this little creature. As far as she knew, spirit cats were meat-eaters. This one before her must have grown up oddly?

While thinking all this and intending to leave, Yun Qingyu couldn’t help but feel compassion for the “little spirit cat” with its bleeding nose. After much hesitation, she finally took out a box of medicine from her storage ring. Then, lifting her robe slightly, she bent down and said to the “little spirit cat,” “Don’t move, I’ll apply some medicine for you. It’ll be over quickly.”

The person was cold, and so was her voice, like a chilly pond or a cold spring, making one shiver. But undeniably, while her voice was cold, it suited her perfectly and was extremely pleasant to hear.

The little white tiger’s ears twitched, its attention once again drawn to Yun Qingyu, its paws covering its nose loosening slightly.

Seeing this, Yun Qingyu assumed that although weak, this “spirit cat” had developed spiritual awareness and could understand human speech. So she confidently reached out to move away the “spirit cat’s” little paws. Then she opened the medicine in her hand, dabbed a bit on her fingertip, and applied it to the “little spirit cat’s” bruised nose. The small wound healed at a visible speed.

Jiang Mo couldn’t see it, but the system told her the wound had healed, filling her heart with joy. This small injury was nothing, of course, but the beauty before her was clearly cold on the outside yet warm-hearted, potentially an ideal caretaker.

With this thought, the little white tiger grew restless, taking the first step towards endearing herself.

While Yun Qingyu was still bending down, the useless little tiger took two steps forward, intending to nuzzle her fluffy head against the beauty’s hand, planning to act cute first. But just as her head approached, the beauty who had been gently applying medicine moments ago seemed to receive a great shock. She quickly stood up and took a step back, as if encountering a plague.

The useless little tiger was instantly dumbfounded.