The Wind Wing Phantom Tiger took two steps and stopped when it realized Zi Linling hadn't followed, turning back to roar at her again.
A glint flashed in Zi Linling's eyes. "You mean you want me to go with you?"
The Wind Wing Phantom Tiger glanced at Zi Linling haughtily and nodded its furry head.
Zi Linling asked in confusion, "Where are we going?"
The Wind Wing Phantom Tiger bared its teeth slightly, growling in annoyance.
It seemed to be saying, "Just follow me, don't be so useless."
Although Zi Linling didn't understand its words, she clearly saw the impatience in its tiger eyes.
Heh! It truly was an intelligent beast, possessing quite a temper.
"If you don't tell me where we're going, I won't go!"
Zi Linling's expression darkened slightly. She sat down on the ground, closed her eyes, and pretended to cultivate, but her divine sense remained fixed on the Wind Wing Phantom Tiger.
A flicker of surprise appeared in the Wind Wing Phantom Tiger's eyes. Then, it lunged at Zi Linling with extreme speed.
Zi Linling's divine sense suddenly lost track of the Wind Wing Phantom Tiger. Muttering "not good," she began to fall backward.
However, her reaction, though quick, was no match for the Wind Wing Phantom Tiger's speed.
In the blink of an eye, the Wind Wing Phantom Tiger was on top of Zi Linling, its two tiger paws pressing down on her shoulders, baring its teeth and growling.
This time, Zi Linling understood its meaning: "Are you coming or not? If not, I'll eat you right now!"
"I'm not going!"
Zi Linling glared at it and said firmly.
She detested being threatened, whether by a human or a beast!
The Wind Wing Phantom Tiger growled again, revealing its sharp teeth and pressing them against Zi Linling's neck, as if to say, "Then I'll eat you now!"
A cold glint flashed in Zi Linling's eyes.
Although her shoulders couldn't move, it didn't affect her hands. With a thought, a scalpel as thin as a cicada's wing appeared in her hand.
The moment the scalpel materialized, it was already at the Wind Wing Phantom Tiger's heart.
Zi Linling sneered, "Then try me. See if you bite my neck off first, or if I pierce your heart first!"
Anger flickered in the Wind Wing Phantom Tiger's eyes, but it dared not move.
It could clearly feel the cold blade at its heart. Although it was fast, it had put itself in danger by lunging in this position above Zi Linling.
The Wind Wing Phantom Tiger dared not bite, and Zi Linling dared not stab.
She only wanted leverage; she didn't want to perish with the Wind Wing Phantom Tiger. Thus, the human and the tiger entered a stalemate.
After ten breaths, the Wind Wing Phantom Tiger's paws on Zi Linling's shoulders slowly relaxed.
It looked at Zi Linling with a wronged expression, whimpering softly.
Wronged? The Wind Wing Phantom Tiger, which had been aggressively threatening her moments ago, was now looking wronged?
Zi Linling thought she was mistaken. She blinked, then confirmed that the Wind Wing Phantom Tiger was indeed looking wronged.
With a dark expression, she said, "You're feeling wronged? You threatened me first, okay?"
The Wind Wing Phantom Tiger rubbed its furry head against Zi Linling's neck, then licked her face with its rough tongue. It then looked fearfully at the scalpel at its heart and growled a few more times.
Zi Linling frowned. "Are you proposing a truce?"
The Wind Wing Phantom Tiger nodded, completely releasing its paws from Zi Linling's shoulders.
Zi Linling felt its overture of peace and moved the scalpel slightly away.
A look of appeasement appeared in the Wind Wing Phantom Tiger's eyes. It abruptly rolled onto its side, lying belly-up next to Zi Linling.
Zi Linling let out a sigh of relief, turned to look at it, and asked, "Do you like grilled meat?"
The Wind Wing Phantom Tiger nodded, hugging its head with its paws as if... shy?
Zi Linling rubbed her eyes, incredulously saying, "Did you become a spirit? You can even feel shy?"
The Wind Wing Phantom Tiger glared at Zi Linling speechlessly, as if to say, "You're the one who's a spirit! Who says beasts can't be shy?"
Zi Linling chuckled. "Fine, seeing as you're so cute, I'll grill meat for you again."
The Wind Wing Phantom Tiger's eyes lit up. Imagining the taste of the grilled meat from before, its mouth began to water again.
Zi Linling sat up, retracting the scalpel from her hand, and said, "However, you'll have to prepare the ingredients yourself."
The Wind Wing Phantom Tiger scrambled to its feet, bit Zi Linling's clothes, and let out a series of whimpers.
Zi Linling understood. She stood up and said, "Now can you tell me where we're going?"
The Wind Wing Phantom Tiger nodded, then let out a roar towards the depths of its territory.
It then tugged at Zi Linling's clothes and walked towards its territory, looking back and shaking its head at Zi Linling.
Zi Linling asked doubtfully, "You mean I should go to your territory?"
The Wind Wing Phantom Tiger nodded, then shook its head. It then roared towards the depths of its territory again and circled in place a few times.
Zi Linling finally understood. "Are you asking me to go to your cave dwelling?"
The Wind Wing Phantom Tiger finally nodded and happily circled Zi Linling.
Zi Linling nodded. "Alright! Since you've so kindly invited me, I won't be coy."
Saying this, she followed the Wind Wing Phantom Tiger deeper into its territory.
After about half an hour of walking, Zi Linling was led by the Wind Wing Phantom Tiger to a patch of green vines.
The green vines grew lush and dense, forming a natural barrier.
The Wind Wing Phantom Tiger growled and burrowed into the vines.
Zi Linling didn't hesitate and followed it through the green vines.
Beyond the vines, a valley opened up before her eyes.
The valley was very wide, filled with waist-high wild grass everywhere.
Occasional rustling sounds came from the wild grass, but they fell silent when the Wind Wing Phantom Tiger passed.
Zi Linling followed the Wind Wing Phantom Tiger through the patch of wild grass and saw a large cave and several smaller ones.
A foul odor occasionally wafted from the smaller caves; presumably, these were the Wind Wing Phantom Tiger's latrines.
The Wind Wing Phantom Tiger led Zi Linling towards the large cave.
The large cave was not deep, and sunlight could reach directly into it.
It turned out the Wind Wing Phantom Tiger liked to bask in the sun, so it chose this large cave as its dwelling.
"Moo... moo..."
The Wind Wing Phantom Tiger nudged a half-eaten wild boar on the ground with its snout, its eyes filled with a hint of longing.
"You mean, you want me to help you roast the wild boar?"