LEGEND OF THE GOLDEN TIGRESS

" I don"t know how to console you but I"m sorry for your loss", Shurei said with a soft voice. She looked like she was hesitant and uneasy in Xing"s eyes. That can"t be allowed.

"Shurei, you don"t have to be too polite with me in the future. You are Haru"s wife and you two are of one soul in my eyes. So, I accept your condolence. My mother really was a great mother both to me and Haru. No one can replace her in my heart", Xing said patting at Shurei"s shoulders.

" I know ", she said and cleared her throat, " Big sis, you didn"t eat dinner. You should eat now. Huang Shengli was preparing all these dishes even before I woke up. He and my husband didn"t eat dinner too. I think they"ll eat only if you eat.", she said expecting Xing to accept her request.

"Hmm. Where are they?", Xing asked looking around and not finding Haru and Chenglie.

"They went out, didn"t say where", Shurei replied biting her lips. She was too shy to ask them and they didn"t tell her either.

"You shouldn"t let your husband leave without letting you know. He should at least know this basic thing. I"ll teach him properly", Xing said in a authoritative tone.

Shurei nodded with a blush as she felt the one in front of her is the mother-in-law.

" Did you eat?", Xing asked concerned.

Shurei shook her head saying no. Xing thought Shurei is cute and the corners of her mouth raised slightly. Haru is too lucky to have a wife like Shurei.

" Let"s eat, they"ll join us. They shouldn"t have left without informing us", Xing said and started serving food to the hesitant Shurei.

Shurei saw Xing serving her with interest. She couldn"t understand her. She was s.p.a.ced out the previous day and now she was acting like nothing was wrong. But she only know that Xing and her husband share a strong bond that won"t be easily broken. They know each other like the back of their hands.They both depend on each other without even realising themselves. It"ll be hard for them to live apart ut distance won"t separate them either. It"s a blessing to have a person in one"s life like that. She felt like she didn"t know her husband better. But she"s only known him for a couple of days and they still have the rest of their lives to get to know each other better. She knew somehow, her husband will treat her well or else he"ll have to face Xing"s wrath. She felt protected with Xing around them.

"All these dishes taste good",Shurei broke the silence.

" Yes, he always used to help my mother. It"s surprising he still remembers my mother"s recipe", Xing said smiling.

" You must really love him", Shurei smiled seeing her smile.

" Love? I don"t know. But I know I won"t be happy without him and I want to die in his arms.",Xing said truthfully. She has read some novels where the main characters had to go through many trials to succeed in love, but wondered if she could do that.

" Then you really love him", Shurei said pouring her tea,when Haru and Chenglie returned.

Chenglie and Haru were in the Ming mansion where Haru gave two bags of gold ingots to Chenglie which he kept hidden in his bedroom. Chenglie refused it saying he has enough money. Haru forced it on him saying that it is Xing"s money and since she spends it all on others, he had hid some of it and there is more. He also told him not to give it to her all at once or else she"ll give it to others with no restraint. So Chenglie accepted it with no way to refuse. Haru also gave a very serious threat to Chenglie that if he leaves Xing like before, he has to face him. Chenglie smiled and told him that he"ll hold on to that.

Haru then jokingly said that with Xing"s reputation, being seen by others while she was kissing another man on the roof wouldn"t have been good and he had to try hard to distract people from looking that way.

Chenglie remembered how he had lost himself for a moment and a rare blush crept on his face. Haru just joked to keep their shenanigans in private in the future and warned again not to cross the line till marriage. Chenglie felt like hitting him hard on the head. He is four years younger than him and he had the guts to talk to him like he was some hooligan with no morals. Then he took a deep breath and realised what he did yesterday was not a behaviour of a gentleman and held back his anger.

But why is everyone warning only him? Shouldn"t they advise Xing too? Whatever! Just let it pa.s.s!

They then returned to Xing"s home wondering if she"ll eat. But they were pleased seeing her eat and joined them.

After finis.h.i.+ng breakfast Xing told everyone that she"s going to leave for the imperial capital today which shocked everyone. But seeing her determined look they didn"t refuse.

Haru told Xing about his plan to open a clothing shop in the capital city, Xing also gave him some pointers. She also asked Haru to get help from his wife whose embroidery skills are extraordinary. Haru agreed and smiled at his wife. Xing was happy to see them both getting along well.

Chenglie told Haru to inform him when he comes to the city and he can sort out any issues if necessary. Haru agreed. Xing refused horses because she wanted to walk through the mountains. The mountains ranges extended from the sea in the west all the way up to the capital city. It would be the shortest route than the imperial roads. Also she had to say goodbye to her friends. So it would be a better choice.

Xing packed all her things and she didn"t forget the hairpin her mother gave her. Haru gave them a horse anyway so with that horse carrying their luggage both said their goodbyes and left.

Haru looked at the back of his only friend who hasn"t even properly grieved for the loss of her mother. His expression became sad and lonely. He looked at the house they shared most of their childhood in. He decided to send someone from his mansion to look after the house.

Seeing her husband"s depressed expression, Shurei held his hand and said, "She"s a good person. She"ll be fine. Also Huang Shengli is with her and I"m sure he"ll take good care of her".

"I know", Haru said smiling and kissed her forehead. " I"m glad you like her too. Now let"s go home. We have a lot to talk about! ", he said and held the blus.h.i.+ng Shurei"s hand and walked to his mansion.

Xing went to the village and bought some sweet buns from Lufen"s shop. She then grabbed Chenglie and entered the mountain. The usual talkative Xing was extremely quiet which made Chenglie at loss. He knew learning about her father, losing her mother and leaving the place she grew up to an unknown place definitely had made her heart messy. He knows how she might feel because he had gone through something similar when he was twelve and when he had to leave the Imperial Palace suddenly and it felt like being washed up by the current of a flowing river and you cannot find a grip. For him, the person who helped him that time to regain his footing was her. So he"ll do what he can for her and stay by her side and wait for her to open up. He knew she"s not someone who wails at every sorrow. She"s someone who keeps it to herself and smiles outside and you can only wait till she wants to open up. So he just followed her and they reached the peak of the mountain.

There were the two G.o.ds she usually meets, the tiger and the stag like they were waiting for her. Xing put on her smiling face and went to the tiger and hugged it. She then gave the tiger the sweet buns she brought and gave a quarter of it to the stag. The tiger gave a stare and the stag gave the sweet buns to the tiger, sobbing internally. Xing told the Tiger about everything that happened and, " I"m going to the capital city and I"m going to miss you since you can"t leave here because you"re the G.o.d of the mountains".

The tiger G.o.d said, " It"s ok, I can visit if I want to",which made Xing happy. The stag G.o.d thought to himself about the conversation - The G.o.d of Wind who has a temple in the Imperial Palace is wandering around here for some reason. Isn"t he supposed to be in the capital? Nice acting!

Chenglie was at a distance watching Xing. He never cared for G.o.ds and demons. He always felt like the G.o.ds looked at him with disdain as if he was some abomination. It didn"t bother him much because he knew they cannot touch him without angering Xing and they won"t easily do that. Especially this tiger one, he always felt like he was hiding something. G.o.ds never care about humans, but this one is interested in her and that itself is not a good thing. He"ve always felt something"s fishy. After all, Nothing in this world is free. But Xing is in good relations.h.i.+p with these G.o.ds and so they must be somewhat worth it.

As Xing was leaving, the tiger G.o.d said to her, "Because of the blood that flows in you, you"ll have to do many things". Xing didn"t understand it nor did she had the mood to ponder on it.

After Xing left, the tiger G.o.d immediately left, fearing the banter of the stag G.o.d. The stag G.o.d shook his head smiling and said, " So it begins".

Xing walked a while and called Pengpeng. She told him that she"s leaving for the imperial city. Pengpeng felt sad someone he knew from his birth was leaving. She patted his head and warned, "Do not come to the city. Those bored to death n.o.bles will hunt you. They all are sc.u.ms. Stay here where people"s heart are good", in the Guyu language to which the wolf nodded. Chenglie understanding her rolled his eyes and smiled. The wolf glared at him and he glared back. Pengpeng then walked towards him with a growl as if he was warning him and left with its tail grazing his robes.

Not the wolf too! Chenglie wondered why is it that everyone thought he can be bullied today.

Xing then walked towards the pond that they used to go when they were little. This pond was the secret place of the both of them and it means much to them and the same pond she had found him after he ran away. Chenglie followed her with the horse"s reign in his hand.

As soon as Xing reached the pond, she started unbraiding her hair. Chenglie tied the horse at a nearby tree and leaned on a tree trunk with his hands folded over his chest. He saw her unbraiding her hair with her back facing to him and smiled.

This girl has no sense of danger. Only a lady"s maid or her husband can see a woman with her hair down. What is she implying? Then he laughed silently and thought, This girl…, she probably doesn"t even know about the customs of the n.o.ble families or even if she did, she doesn"t give a d.a.m.n.

As he was watching, she finished unbraiding her hair and it reached upto her knees and covered her entire back. She then removed all her clothes one by one and dived into the pond bare skinned.

Chenglie chocked on his own saliva and coughed.

This girl, what is she thinking? Does she forget that I, a man am still here? She had got to torture me like this.. The nerve on that girl!

Chenglie looked at her, the water had washed her makeup revealing her porcelain skin. It was s.h.i.+ny and white as milk and had a glow. Her hair that used to look in the colour of tiger fur, now looked like gold threads,so golden that if actual gold is placed near her hair it would pale in front of her s.h.i.+ny and smooth straight hair. He cannot stop looking at her and his thoughts wandered and he started thinking how it would feel to touch that porcelain skin or put his hands through that golden hair and her rosy lips .....

d.a.m.n you Chenglie! What the h.e.l.l are you thinking in such a time when she is out there depressed!

Sigh! Now I know why everyone warned only me!