Chapter 248: Big Cat and Anan 1

Chapter 248: Chapter 248: Big Cat and Anan 1

The night was deep, and silver light spilled through the ornate window lattice, casting a hazy glow upon the chamber floor.

Su An’an had just stepped into the inner chamber when a powerful arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her into Ying Jiuyao’s chest.

The strong scent of Tequila clung to him, mixed with the faint, almost imperceptible smell of blood.

It was from an injury he’d gotten during training that day.

"Tonight’s the night?" she asked, tilting her head back and gently poking his tense jaw with her fingertip.

"Is Lord White Tiger in such a hurry?"

Ying Jiuyao’s golden eyes burned brightly in the dark. He lowered his head and nibbled on the tip of her ear, his voice muffled. "I was supposed to be the first."

Su An’an froze for a moment, then chuckled. "Are you jealous?"

"No." He denied it flatly, but his tail slapped restlessly against the bed.

"It’s just not fair. Seville and Fei Zhao both have babies, but there’s not even a hint of mine..."

"But you were the first one to evolve to 4S."

Su An’an deliberately teased him. "Night Abyss is the one who has it the most unfair, then! Maybe we should switch to him..."

"No!" 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

Ying Jiuyao suddenly pushed her down into the silk quilt. Seeing the smile on her lips, his golden eyes narrowed dangerously. "You’re teasing me on purpose?"

Su An’an laughed and snuggled into his embrace, poking the soft fur behind his ear with her fingertip.

"Well, it’s your fault for looking like a little kitten with its fur standing on end when you get frustrated."

"Damn it." The tips of Ying Jiuyao’s ears turned pink. He lowered his head and bit her collarbone, but couldn’t bring himself to use any force.

The candlelight flickered, merging their two shadows into one.

"What kind of baby do you want?" Su An’an asked, gently rubbing the Big Cat’s ears.

The Big Cat nuzzled the top of her head, his voice muffled against the crook of her neck.

"Any kind is fine."

"Hm?"

Su An’an looked up at him.

"As long as it’s yours." Ying Jiuyao’s tail loosely circled her waist, its tip gently brushing the back of her hand. "I’ll love it."

Su An’an’s fingers paused as she felt the tense curve at the base of his tail. "Is it hard for the White Tiger Clan to have cubs?"

Ying Jiuyao was silent for a moment, his Adam’s apple bobbing. "The purer the bloodline, the more potent the Spiritual Power. When a female is pregnant, she suffers a backlash from the Spiritual Power. Nine times out of ten, the pregnancy can’t be saved."

He suddenly tightened his tail, holding her even closer. "But you’re different."

Su An’an asked, "How am I different?"

"You have the Divine Light."

He lowered his head and licked her fingertips, his golden eyes glowing as if forged in fire. "Last time, during the Divine Contract Resonance, my Spiritual Power didn’t cause a backlash against you. In fact, it was very docile."

Su An’an’s heart softened. She reached out and rubbed his white tiger ears.

"Then let’s work hard and have a little white tiger for you, one that will chase its own tail, okay?"

Ying Jiuyao’s tail shot up straight, like a taut bowstring, but it gently nuzzled her palm. "Okay."

The candle flame crackled, and a sweet scent seemed to drift through the air.

Just as Ying Jiuyao’s fingertips hooked onto the sash of Su An’an’s robes—

"BEEP BEEP! EMERGENCY REPORT!"

Little Pink burst through the chamber doors with a BANG, its mechanical eyes flashing wildly.

Ying Jiuyao’s tail bristled violently. "Get out!"

Little Pink’s mechanical eyes flickered twice, and it silently shrank back behind Su An’an.

"An urgent report from the White Tiger Elder."

"Red Crystal contamination has eroded the outer forests of the White Tiger Clan’s territory. Mutant Beast aggression has increased by 300%. The Elder requests your immediate return!"

Su An’an’s smile vanished instantly, her brow slightly furrowed.

Ying Jiuyao gritted his teeth and growled, "Red Crystal... It’s the Red Crystal again!"

"Calm down!"

Su An’an reached out and placed a hand on Ying Jiuyao’s tense arm, her fingertips giving his wrist a light scratch.

This was a small gesture she had recently discovered that could quickly calm him down.

Sure enough, the tip of the White Tiger’s tail twitched, and his bristled fur began to settle.

"We can make a baby later,"

Su An’an stood on her tiptoes and leaned close to his ear, her breath brushing against his tiger ear. "But your clan can’t wait."

Ying Jiuyao’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Finally, he grunted through his nose. "Let’s go!"

「Half an hour later, at the edge of the moonlit forest.」

"AWOOO!" A mutant wolf suddenly leaped out from behind a tree.

Ying Jiuyao sidestepped to avoid it, his tiger claws whipping out in a gust of wind. The wolf’s body was instantly sent flying into a tree trunk with a dull thud.

"These things shouldn’t be in White Tiger territory."

He stared at the Red Crystal veins rapidly spreading across the wolf’s corpse, his expression terrifyingly grim.

Pink light gathered at Su An’an’s fingertips, precisely shredding the throat of another lunging mutant deer.

As the deer’s corpse fell, she knelt and pried open its eyelids.

Its once-clear beast eyes were now filled with blood, the pupils contracted into eerie, thin lines.

"Something’s wrong," she said, frowning as she stood up. "Their minds have been completely corrupted. It’s like they’re being forcibly controlled by something."

Ying Jiuyao shook the sticky black blood from his claws, his Gilded Beast Eyes scanning the swaying tree shadows around them.

"Let’s go back and ask the Elder what’s going on."

Passing through the stone gate, which was covered in cracks in its Barrier, the sight of the White Tiger encampment made Su An’an’s heart tighten.

Half of the once-proud Spirit Plant garden had withered, its leaves curled up like charcoal.

Broken weapons were scattered across the training ground, and a few young white tigers were huddled in a corner, trembling at the sight of black stains on the ground.

"Lord Ying Jiuyao!"

The White Tiger Elder, whose hair and beard were completely white, hurried over, leaning on an animal-bone staff. The moment he saw Su An’an, his whiskers trembled with anxiety.

"Your Divine Highness! How could you accompany Lord Ying Jiuyao into such danger?"

"This subordinate has failed you! I was unable to defend our territory. I am shamed to have you see this!"

The surrounding White Tiger Clan people also fell to their knees, their gazes toward Su An’an filled with reverence and excitement.

’They hadn’t expected the Divine Female to return with the Commander.’

Ying Jiuyao helped the Elder up, his voice thick with suppressed anger. "Cut the crap. What’s going on with the Red Crystal contamination?"

The Elder pointed a trembling hand toward the depths of the forest. "The contamination first appeared suddenly in the Wild Dog Tribe’s territory three days ago."

"At first, it was just a few plants withering. We didn’t think much of it. But then, the beasts near the Wild Dog Tribe’s territory started going mad. Their eyes turned blood-red, and they would attack any living thing on sight."

"And the Wild Dog Clan?"

Ying Jiuyao interrupted coldly.

The Elder sighed sorrowfully.

"Their chief sent a beast to ask for help the day before yesterday. He said more than half of the warriors in the clan had suddenly gone insane, and even the most docile cubs had begun to cannibalize their own kind."

"The team we sent to help still hasn’t returned."

The moment Su An’an and Ying Jiuyao’s eyes met, they turned simultaneously. "To the Wild Dog Clan’s territory."

Before the words were even out of her mouth, Ying Jiuyao had transformed into a giant White Tiger and was speeding toward the Wild Dog Clan’s territory with her on his back.

The Wild Dog Clan’s camp was a complete mess, the stench of blood thick enough to choke on.

A few wild dogs with blood-red eyes were gathered around the corpse of one of their own, tearing at it.

"Be careful." Ying Jiuyao shielded Su An’an behind him, silver-white Spiritual Power already gathering on his tiger claws. "These things aren’t normal beasts anymore."

Pink light flared at Su An’an’s fingertips, but she froze when she saw a small, curled-up wild dog in the farthest corner.

The little one’s hind leg had been gnawed down to the bone, but a trace of clarity still remained in its eyes.

It was letting out a faint whimper toward them, as if begging for help.