Chapter 20: In All the World, It Likes Master Best
Su Miantang bought the little tiger a cat scratcher.
It loved it. It would often scratch until it rolled onto her body and fell asleep, belly up, accompanied by small snores. But the moment it was moved off, it woke up instantly, making one seriously doubt if it was faking.
Su Miantang also used a teaser wand to play with it and chased balls in the backyard with it.
It jumped and pounced, full of life. When it stopped to look at her, its heart and eyes were full of “Master, Master, I like Master so much~”
Su Miantang’s heart softened, but a human’s energy was far from as robust as an animal’s, let alone the King of Beasts.
However, whenever she was tired, she could lie down and enjoy the well-behaved tiger’s “kneading” style back massage. But often, as it massaged, it would get another nosebleed.
Su Miantang could never find the cause. When she asked, it just buried its head deep in its fur, as if it were an embarrassing matter that simply couldn’t be spoken of.
That day, Su Miantang found some flower seeds Fred had sent over. Due to the humid weather, they were about to sprout. It seemed she couldn’t wait for the brothers to return; she had to plant them in the ground early.
She spread out the seeds and let the little tiger choose. Its keen sense of smell led it to paw at the variegated Phalaenopsis orchid.
“It seems you really do like Phalaenopsis orchids?”
Mm-hmm, it’s the scent on Master’s body!
“Then let’s go plant them!”
Carrying gloves, a hoe, a watering can, and a series of tools, she walked to the backyard. When she prepared to plant, she found she didn’t need them at all.
Lanlan ran over. With its thick paws, it dug out a hole in three or four strokes. After putting the seeds in, it carried the watering can over to water them. The whole process was “tiger-automated”; she didn’t need to lift a finger, only responsible for cheering it on from the side.
“Lanlan is so great!”
“Lanlan is so capable!”
“Lanlan’s strength is so big, so cool~”
“Almost there, almost done…”
The more she praised him, the more energized he became. In less than half an hour, he had sown all the seeds. Finally, he walked proudly to his Master. Just as he raised his head to ask for a hug, a butterfly landed on his nose.
It tickled.
His eyes rolled slightly, centering on it. He raised a paw to swat it.
“Lanlan, don’t!”
Su Miantang was too late. The butterfly that had been fluttering gracefully just now fell straight to the ground the next second.
“You could have just blown it away. Why did you hit it?” She walked over and flicked its head as a punishment, then carefully picked up the butterfly with her clean gloves. “Do you know that the lifespan of most butterflies is only one week? They are very precious.”
Oh.
The little tiger, looking as if it knew its mistake, followed her into the room.
Su Miantang opened the medicine box, wondering if there was anything that could save it, and began to fiddle with it seriously.
Lanlan watched patiently at first, but gradually became irritable.
Why was Master paying so much attention to a little butterfly? She was observing its body carefully, not even looking at him acting spoiled and rolling around. Was it because it had a pair of colorful, beautiful wings? If he had them too, Master would look at him like that.
He paced back and forth anxiously, feeling a fire burning in his body, growing more intense, as if it wanted to tear through his skin and rush out. Then…
A flash of fire suddenly erupted in the room.
Su Miantang turned her face and actually saw a pair of brilliant, eye-catching scarlet flame wings grow from both sides of Lanlan’s back!
Startled, she dropped the medicine bottle in her hand, and it shattered.
…How could a tiger have wings?
Lanlan… couldn’t be a Divine Beast, could he?
The wings were born of fire. Just as Lanlan was about to flap them, he found he couldn’t fly at all. His right wing… was broken, with only half remaining.
So ugly.
He was about to hide them away in sadness, but unexpectedly, Su Miantang pounced over in surprise. “So beautiful, so magical~”
His wings weren’t composed of fluffy feathers like Fred’s, nor were they covered in colorful scales like a butterfly’s. Instead, they were pure and translucent, light and aesthetic. Under the light, they reflected a star-like “bling-bling” sparkle. They looked incredibly beautiful, but a gentle touch would spark a fierce flame capable of incinerating everything.
Beautiful, yet hiding danger.
Beautiful?
The little tiger slowly raised its head, looking at the light of joy in Master’s eyes, its heart full of doubt. She didn’t find them ugly? These half-broken, defective wings…
Su Miantang noticed the hidden right wing. Instead of avoiding it, she leaned in to observe carefully.
Master, don’t…
The little tiger backed away, but she pulled him back. “So this wing is broken. I thought it was just born this cute. Don’t worry, I’ll find a way to treat it and make it grow back. When that happens, our Lanlan will be the most special, best-looking Divine Beast in the world!”
Really?
Hearing this, Lanlan became completely active. He leapt directly into Master’s arms, licking and nuzzling frantically.
He was so happy!
Not just happy that Master would help treat his wings, but even more happy that even if he was defective and not beautiful, Master wouldn’t dislike him and would treasure him as before.
In all the world, he liked Master best!
“Alright, you little spoiler~”
Su Miantang’s neck was tickled by his licking. She laughed and rubbed his head.
While the person and pet were being mushy, they didn’t notice that on the gauze, the little butterfly—revived by the medicine—flew up gracefully. It stayed on the girl’s silk-like black hair for a moment, sprinkling a few sparkling scales, then flapped its wings and flew out the window.
Treating Lanlan’s broken wing was a massive project. He wasn’t an ordinary tiger, and the wings that grew were naturally not ordinary wings. Ordinary methods simply wouldn’t work.
Su Miantang tossed aside the Guide to Raising Adorable Tigers, Encyclopedia of Bird Wings, and Orthopedic Surgery. Looking at the small, simply-materialed workstation in front of her, she shook her head. Relying on the few things at home wouldn’t do.
She suddenly thought of the National Academy of Sciences.
There was a long-standing Imperial Museum there, which housed many treasure books written about rare beasts and uncommon species, such as Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Stranger Things. The key laboratories also contained many potions with miraculous effects, like Combat Agents, Stabilizers, and Purification Liquids…
If she were there, she could surely find some effective healing measures.
Unfortunately, it was currently a shutdown period. She wondered…
Su Miantang, carrying the little tiger and swiping her Phoenix Tail badge, secretly sneaked into the empty National Academy of Sciences. After picking out some books in the museum, she walked into Key Laboratory No. 1 and was shocked by the scene inside.
All kinds of experimental machines, a full range of auxiliary tools… looking up, there were also rows of medicine storage compartments that stretched out of sight. Each compartment was locked, arranged starting from No. 0001, totaling tens of thousands of serial numbers. It was as high-tech as a fortress.
She woke up the smart assistant nearby, wanting to obtain relevant medicinal ingredients by searching some keywords. But the screen displayed: Can only enter serial numbers.
Recommended Reads
