"Okay – okay, I'm listening," Lory pushed Zhao Li Xin's face away from her neck. "Li Xin, stop it!"

Zhao Li Xin placed his chin on top of Lory's head and ignored her complaint. Lory pulled the little cub to her chest making them look like a totem pole as she turned to Girsha with a serious face. It was hard for Girsha to take them seriously the way they looked but he was too tired to bother [Fine…]

​​

"This little cub and the library have the same smell. I didn't think to tell you at first, as the scent from the library was very faint, but I'm now convinced there is something inside the library since the cub and old library have the same smell."

"You can speak!!" Zhao Li Xin asked in shock. He didn't even pay attention to Girsha's words.

"Ancestor! You can speak this world's language?" Huo Long was also stunned.

"Of course…" Girsha stared at them as if they were stupid.

Zhao Li Xin never heard Girsha's voice before. He mostly saw Lory speak a weird language and Girsha chirping alongside. He had never known how Lory communicated with the bird and only thought the two were using telepathy which was not a weird thought as some high-leveled contractual beasts used the same method to communicate with their masters.

Zhao Li Xin also thought Girsha was unable to speak with other humans but Lory. Truthfully, he was clueless in matters regarding Girsha. Lory had never explained anything to him and he never probed her too much. The only thing Zhao Li Xin was certain of was Girsha was Lory's protector, he knew Lory more than anyone and he would never harm her. These were the reasons Zhao Li Xin never probed into their past.

"He was just being arrogant!" Lory rolled her eyes and said. "If I could learn the language here, how could this old birdie not understand it? It would have meant he was…stupid!"

"You dare to call me stupid, girl?" Girsha glared at Lory.

"Duh," Lory replied carelessly.

"Ancestor, what did you smell around the library?" Huo Long didn't bother with Girsha's previous behavior as it was said one became more eccentric the older they got. The ancestor, Girsha fell in the very old category.

"There's something inside the library, something powerful. It's been a while since I recognized such power," Girsha muttered while his eyes glinted with curiosity and excitement.

"Is it evil?" Lory was a little anxious because of the demon parasites' existence.

Girsha shook his little head and heaved, "No, it doesn't feel like it is… It feels different. The smell is a little faint so I'm not too sure."

"The shadow tigers' chief asked me to make sure the cub got into the library. What is in there has something to do with this cub," Zhao Li Xin revealed.

"Oh well, there's nothing we can do now. Let's take this little one to that woman and see what happens," Lory rubbed the tiger's paw. She was unwilling to part with it.

___________________________________

A maidservant entered Nan Yu Qi's room inside the Nan family residence and said. "Young miss, master Lu is here."

Nan Yu Qi's brimmed with joy and a happy smile spread across her face. She placed her embroidery on the table and said, "He's faster than I thought."

Shadow tigers were not easy to find and even harder to subdued. They were not only ferocious beasts but also high leveled and intelligent. Nan Yu Qi thought it would take Lu Xi weeks to accomplish the job but it had taken him less than a week to do it. It seemed she had found a man of great potential.

"I'll meet him in the main garden. Ask our family beastmaster to join us."

"Yes, young miss!" The maidservant bowed and left.

"Congratulations, young miss. You have finally gotten a hold of a shadow tiger," One of Nan Yu Qi's personal maids said as she helped Nan Yu Qi wear another layer of clothing. The maid had served Nan Yu Qi for five years and knew about Nan Yu Qi's obsession with shadow tigers.

Nan Yu Qi, who was in a great mood, couldn't stop smiling. She would have run to the garden to see the shadow tiger, but she knew she had to uphold her image. She had grown up with the stories of the shadow tigers that ruled the mountain. No one could beat the most powerful shadow tiger that lived at the top of the snowy mountain. This went on for centuries until Xie Zhen, the ancestor of the Xie family, subdued the beast and created the Sacred Mountain Peak society.

After their leader was defeated, the remaining shadow tigers tried to fight Xie Zhen and his subordinates but it was futile. Xie Zhen gave the shadow tigers a chance to serves him but the beasts were too proud and arrogant. They choose to fight to the death as they did not want to submit themselves to the humans who killed their kin.

Although Xie Zhen at first felt pity for the losing beasts, he and his subordinates chose to slaughter the rest of the shadow tiger tribe as he could not let them retaliate. The shadow beasts were mostly extinct as only about fifty of them were left. Few people had claimed sightings close to the frozen lake. Many had also tried to catch the shadow tigers but the ferocious beast would shred those who dared to get close into a thousand pieces. The sightings soon reduced as the shadow tigers hid well. The few people who actually saw the beasts seemed to always end up dead.

It was normal for anyone to be obsessed with such strong, powerful, and elusive beasts. Nan Yu Qi could already imagine the envy from others for owning one. Her position in society and reputation would even raise further. She couldn't wait to see everyone's stare at her with green faces. Nan Yu Qi couldn't help but smirked when she imagined their faces.

Zhao Li Xin crossed his arms and leaned on the pavilion pole in the garden. His eyes were on the ground and seemed to be asleep. Nan Yu Qi's maid wanted to reprimand him for his somewhat rude behavior but Nan Yu Qi raised a hand to stop the maid.

Nan Yu Qi was rather amused than offended. She was usually surrounded by people who tried to curry her favor but Lu Xin was not the same as the rest. She couldn't help but admire him a little as he maintained his dignity by showing his ability.

Their eyes met when Zhao Li Xin opened his eyes. Nan Yu Qi's heart thumped harder when his dark eyes looked at her deeply. She shyly averted her gaze but Zhao Li Xin didn't notice the subtle change in Nan Yu Qi's face. He cupped his fist politely and said, "Miss Nan."

Nan Yu Qi walked past him and took a seat in the pavilion. Her question was direct, "Did you bring the shadow tiger?"

Zhao Li Xin slightly moved and the little cub moved from behind his legs. Nan Yu Qi's eyes widened with excitement. She beckoned at Zhao Li Xin to move the little beast closer to her. Nan Yu Qi raised her hand and tried to touch the cub when Zhao Li Xin placed it on the table before her, but the cub ran to the end of the table. It did not want to be touched by her as it was uncomfortable with the flash of greed in Nan Yu Qi's eyes.

"This…" Nan Yu Qi's face became dark. She was upset with the little beast for rejecting her touch.

"This beast needs to be tamed first," Zhao Li Xin stated with an indifference. He didn't bother to comfort Nan Yu Qi nor did show concern at the cub's actions towards her.

Nan Yu Qi felt a pang in her heart at his cold attitude. Her mood fell and she snapped at her maid. "Where's the beast master?"

The maid was flustered by the abrupt question. Fortunately for her, the other maid walked towards them with a middle-aged man. She smiled with relief, "Here he is, young miss!"

"Greetings, young miss," The beastmaster said.

"I need you to settle a contract between me with this beast," Nan Yu Qi threw a clod glare at the little cub. The cub would never disobey her once it was under the contract's power.

"This…this is a shadow tiger, young miss, how did you find it?" The beastmaster was dumbfounded with what he saw. Shadow tigers were overprotective with their cubs and the tribe would relentlessly fight for the safety of a single cub. He didn't know if it was a good or a bad idea to own a shadow tiger's cub.

"Don't worry! The shadow tiger's tribe will not harm me once we make a master-servant contract with the cub," Nan Yu Qi smiled smugly as she was right. The tribe won't hurt her for the sake of their kin. Nan Yu Qi was sadly oblivious of Zhao Li Xin's plan in regards to the shadow tigers.

Zhao Li Xin seemed placid as he watched them with an indifferent gaze. The little tiger cub glanced at Zhao Li Xin with doubt. Although it was scared of the man, it believed in the tribe chief's decision and the kind beautiful lady he met in the man's ring. It trusted Zhao Li Xin because it trusted both his chief and Lory.

The Beastmaster was excited at the prospects of them getting a chance to control a shadow tiger. Their society had tried to get their hands-on Shin Jiu, the blessed child, as they hoped to create an army of beasts and to subdue the shadow tigers' tribe. Having the blessed child on their said would have made their plans a lot easier.

"The leader of our society will rejoice when he learns of this!" The beastmaster was pleased as he thought of the possible outcome of having a shadow tiger.

Nan Yu Qi smiled calmly at his words. She believed she could be the next holy lady once her name rose beyond measure and she would no longer be compared to Nan Yu Wei.

"Start the contract!" Nan Yu Qi prompted the beastmaster.

Zhao Li Xin only watched their antics with an icy gaze.