Chapter 550: Chapter 252: The Old... Tiger Has Come Down the Mountain!

He stopped hiding.

He stepped out slowly from his hiding spot.

His movements were slow and light. His face showed no aggression or threat, and his gaze was calm and gentle.

In his left hand, he held a fresh, blood-streaked piece of beef of the same size.

In his right, he cradled a block of Vitality Nutrient Cream that gave off an intensely alluring aroma.

Yang Qi stopped about twenty meters away from the tiger.

It was a relatively safe distance, yet close enough for the creature to clearly see and smell what he held.

[Detected an untamed "Purple-Winged Celestial Tiger." The Host can bring it back to the sect to obtain construction points.]

Just as the prompt appeared, the elderly South China Tiger spotted Yang Qi.

"ROAR~"

The old tiger instantly tensed up, a low, warning growl rumbling in its throat as it instinctively crouched and backed away.

Yang Qi seized the moment to use the Basic Spirit Communication Technique and spoke.

"Hello. My name is Yang Qi. I’m the one who left the beef you just ate. I have more here."

Yang Qi raised both his hands.

The scent of beef and the aroma of the Vitality Nutrient Cream drifted through the air.

The Vitality Nutrient Cream, in particular, emitted a special fragrance with a fatal allure for animals, assailing the tiger’s olfactory nerves.

The elderly South China Tiger, which had been about to flee, froze abruptly.

Its pupils, constricted from alarm and feeling threatened, were fixed intently on Yang Qi.

This strange Two-legged Beast that had suddenly appeared was very different from others it had seen before.

He looked harmless, yet the tiger felt an instinctual threat from him. But his aura also made it feel a sense of closeness, comfort, and peace, even making it want to draw nearer.

Like the mountain forest, the sunlight, or a clear stream, he evoked no ill will or hostility in it whatsoever.

The smell of the beef made it drool uncontrollably.

The other object, with its unique fragrance, made its very soul tremble and its stomach rumble.

The thought of escape was forcefully held back by the temptation of food and the man’s strange, affable aura.

The elderly South China Tiger remained in its crouch, tilting its great head slightly. Its cloudy eyes stared unblinking at Yang Qi, filled with a mix of vigilance, confusion, and desire.

The low growl in its throat gradually subsided, turning into an uncertain, questioning gurgle.

The mountain wind blew.

Man and tiger stared at each other in silence, twenty meters apart.

The standoff lasted for about half a minute.

With a light flick of his wrist, Yang Qi tossed the intensely fragrant Vitality Nutrient Cream onto an empty patch of ground not far in front of the elderly South China Tiger.

SWOOSH!

The nutrient cream traced an arc through the air.

The instant the cream left his hand, the tiger, which had seemed hesitant, displayed astonishing reflexes and predatory instinct.

Its hind legs kicked off powerfully. Its massive body, like a spring compressed to its limit and suddenly released, leaped into the air, and it caught the tempting food in its open maw.

"GULP~"

With a roll of its throat, the nutrient cream went down.

Almost instantly, a warm, comfortable current of heat, brimming with vibrant life force, spread rapidly from its stomach throughout its entire body.

For its old, starving, and injured body, this pure life energy was like a welcome rain after a long drought.

It dispelled some of the bone-deep chill and weakness, bringing an indescribable sense of relief.

"ROAR—"

The elderly South China Tiger let out a short, subconscious roar tinged with pleasure and surprise. Its massive body even hopped in place a couple of times uncontrollably, as if shaking off years of accumulated exhaustion.

When it looked at Yang Qi again, much of the vigilance in its amber eyes had faded, replaced by a deeper curiosity and a hint of anticipation.

"You can have this, too."

Seeing this, the smile on Yang Qi’s face deepened, and he tossed over the eleven-pound piece of beef from his left hand.

This time, the elderly South China Tiger’s movements were even more fluid and natural.

It leaped up again, caught the beef, and took two steps back. Then it lowered its head and began to tear into the delicious meat with gusto, occasionally glancing up at Yang Qi with wary, curious eyes. A contented purr rumbled in its throat.

Yang Qi stood motionless, simply watching it eat with a smile.

He waited until the tiger had devoured the second piece of beef and was contentedly licking its lips and paws before speaking again, his voice gentle.

"I have a lot more of this meat, and more of that tasty stuff from before."

As he spoke, he took another block of Vitality Nutrient Cream from his Hundred Pouches Belt and held it out on his palm.

The elderly South China Tiger’s eyes instantly lit up. Its amber pupils were locked on Yang Qi’s hand, its tongue unconsciously licking the corner of its mouth as clear drool dripped from its stark white fangs.

"Can we talk?" Yang Qi asked with a smile.

"..."

The elderly South China Tiger tilted its large head and subconsciously let out a low growl in response.

’What do you want to talk about?’

The moment the growl ended, the tiger itself froze. Its huge eyes shot wide open, staring at Yang Qi in utter disbelief.

’You... What kind of Two-legged Beast are you?’

it growled in shock.

’How can you speak our language?!’

In all its long years, it had never met a Two-legged Beast that could understand the meaning of its roars, let alone comprehend its thoughts.

"That’s not important."

Yang Qi didn’t explain. He simply maintained the Spirit Communication Technique, watched it peacefully, and spoke again. "What’s important is that you haven’t been doing so well in these mountains, have you?"

The elderly South China Tiger fell silent. The shock in its eyes was slowly replaced by an ineffable loneliness and exhaustion.

It lowered its head, and a faint, almost inaudible whimper escaped its throat.

’Isn’t that obvious?’

’If I were doing well, would I be so down on my luck that I’d need to eat rotting meat?’

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