TSWPF -Chapter 313 A Colossal Beast

Seeing the guards bracing themselves as if facing a formidable enemy, Li Qingling stepped forward, about to explain that there was no need to be afraid—it was just the great tiger their family kept.

Before she could get the words out, Xichun and Nianxia grabbed her and pulled her back in one swift motion. They stood in front of her, shielding her with their bodies, telling her not to be afraid—they would protect her.

Watching the two maids trembling yet still standing firmly before her, Li Qingling felt deeply moved.

She hadn’t even had time to comfort them when she saw the guards charging toward Ah Huang. Frightened out of her wits, she shouted loudly, “Stop!”

Liu Zhimou and the others also shouted in unison, “Stop!”

The shout was so loud that the guards halted in their tracks. They turned back, puzzled, and asked what was going on.

“This is something our family raises—it won’t hurt anyone!” Li Qingning shouted as she rushed toward Ah Huang.

“Miss—!” Sixi screamed in terror and staggered after Li Qingning. If anything happened to the young miss, her own life would be forfeit.

But when she saw Li Qingning hugging Ah Huang affectionately, she froze on the spot.

Who could tell her what was going on? Since when had a great tiger become this docile?

It wasn’t just the little maid who was stunned—even the other guards were dumbfounded. They had never encountered anything like this before.

Looking at the crowd of stunned faces, Li Qingling smiled and said loudly, “You don’t need to be afraid. The great tiger is raised by our family—it won’t harm you.”

She had been wondering where Ah Huang and the others had gone, worrying that they might get caught in the rain. Who would have thought they’d find their way here themselves?

It was just that their entrance had given everyone quite a fright.

After hearing Li Qingling’s words, the guards couldn’t help swallowing nervously, staring at Ah Huang in disbelief. This colossal beast… was raised by their master’s family?

“Ningning, quickly bring Ah Huang and the others inside—don’t block the entrance,” Li Qingling called out, no longer paying attention to the guards.

Li Qingning answered with a sound, patted Ah Huang on the head, and when Ah Huang lowered himself, she nimbly climbed onto his back. Ah Huang carried her leisurely into the dilapidated temple.

Seeing such a bold move, the guards, maids, and servants all sucked in a sharp breath. Now they truly believed the great tiger was raised by the master’s family—if it weren’t, it would never allow a young lady to ride it so obediently.

“Make some room—Ah Bai hasn’t come in yet!” Li Qingning said, turning her head to the guards who were about to crowd closer.

Ah Bai?

Just as the guards were wondering who Ah Bai was, another great tiger—this one white—strode in from outside. At that sight, no one dared to move. They stood stiffly, watching Ah Bai swagger inside.

They had thought there was only one great tiger in the household. Who would have imagined there were two?

Looking at the two colossal beasts, their hearts trembled in fear, terrified that if the tigers became unhappy, they might eat them on the spot.

Li Qingling knew exactly what they were thinking. She said calmly, “Ah Huang and Ah Bai don’t eat people. Please rest assured.”

At her words, Ah Huang and Ah Bai simultaneously turned their heads and swept a glance over the guards, their eyes filled with undisguised disdain. Humans tasted terrible—how could they possibly eat them?

They weren’t the kind of tigers who stuffed anything fragrant or foul into their mouths.

The guards felt rather aggrieved. Surely they hadn’t imagined it? Were those two great tigers… despising them?

They were utterly confused, wondering if they had seen things wrong. How could a tiger have such human-like expressions?

Li Qingling didn’t care what others thought. She stepped forward, gently patted Ah Huang and Ah Bai on the head, and said with a smile, “I thought you might not be able to keep up with us and would get drenched in the rain. Looks like I worried for nothing.”

Ah Huang nudged Li Qingling and snorted unhappily, saying that if it weren’t afraid of frightening the timid horses, it wouldn’t have needed to hide in the first place.

He and Ah Bai had been following behind them all along, not daring to show themselves for fear of scaring people.

If it weren’t for the torrential rain leaving them nowhere to hide, they wouldn’t have appeared so brazenly.

And look—just appearing had already frightened all those cowards.

They weren’t unreasonable tigers who couldn’t tell right from wrong. How could they possibly harm people at random?

Li Qingling soothed him by stroking his neck and whispered in his ear, asking him to be a little more understanding. Those people had never seen such a majestic great tiger before—it was normal for them to be frightened.

Ah Huang snorted and walked straight to an empty corner, where he lay down. Ah Bai followed and lay beside him.

“Have you eaten? Are you hungry?” Li Qingning ran over to them and asked softly.

Ah Huang and Ah Bai shook their heads, indicating they hadn’t eaten.

Li Qingning sympathetically patted Ah Bai’s big belly. “We cooked some porridge. Do you want some?”

If Ah Bai hadn’t eaten, would the babies in her belly go hungry?

Ah Huang snorted again, saying there was no need. Once the rain stopped, he would go find food.

He could endure being hungry himself, but Ah Bai couldn’t—she had to eat every day, or the cubs wouldn’t grow properly.

Hearing this, Li Qingling didn’t say much more. She sat down on the ground and leaned against Ah Huang.

With such a huge “pillow,” it was incredibly comfortable.

Seeing this, Li Qingning and the others all ran over and leaned against Ah Huang as well. They knew their limits—Ah Bai was pregnant and couldn’t be leaned on, so they could only lean on Ah Huang.

Fortunately, Ah Huang’s body was large enough for several children to lean against comfortably.

Watching them, Liu Zhimou curled his lips into a smile and let them be.

Seeing their masters lounging so casually against a great tiger, the guards were tense to the extreme, terrified that something might happen right before their eyes.

Only after taking a sip of water did Mr. Luo smile and say, “Relax, there’s no need to be afraid. It’s raised by the family—it won’t hurt them.”

He had been even more worried at first, but after seeing more, he had calmed down.

He knew Li Qingling and the others were sensible. If the two great tigers had poor temperaments, they wouldn’t be getting along so harmoniously with them.

The guards glanced at Mr. Luo, then at Liu Zhimou, who clearly wasn’t worried at all. Only then did their tightly wound nerves ease slightly.

If the masters weren’t worried, then it should be fine… right?

“With Ah Huang and Ah Bai here, you can take this opportunity to rest a bit—they’ll keep watch,” Liu Zhimou suggested.

With those two colossal beasts around, especially in the middle of barren mountains, no fool would dare come looking for trouble.

Even if they encountered other wild animals, Ah Huang and Ah Bai could surely handle them.

With those two here, there was no need to worry about safety.

The other guards looked toward their captain, waiting to see what he decided.

The captain quickly divided the guards into two groups—one to continue guarding the masters, the other to rest. They would switch after half an hour.

The guards had no objections and all accepted the arrangement.

Liu Zhimou glanced once more at the stern-faced captain. He remembered his name was Liang Biao, and that his martial skills were quite good. Should he ask him to teach the children martial arts?

Lowering his gaze, Liu Zhimou thought it over. He decided to wait until they reached Ninghua County to test the waters and see if Liang Biao would be willing. If not, he would have to find someone else.