After spending two hours checking all the jars and refilling her food containers with preserved vegetables, Lu Xinyi decided she had enough. The fire from the campfire was still blazing. Her back was aching, but she could not stay any longer.
“Xiao Bai…” She called the white tiger cub again. This time, it didn’t ignore her but stood on its paws and stared back expectantly.
“Please show me the way to the exit,” she said cautiously.
Lu Xinyi was about to stand up when her vision became blurry. Everything became fuzzy; then, she saw nothing at all. Her consciousness was floating through an empty s.p.a.ce filled with a thick static. Throughout the inky s.p.a.ce, her heartbeats pounded loudly, echoing in her ears—alongside the fading mental pleas for help. She felt her body being drained away until, finally, all was black.
Her face went ashen, and she stumbled forward before she fell on top of the makes.h.i.+ft bed of thick furs. Then, she lay there as still as a corpse, barely breathing at all.
Xiao Bai moved closer to her and checked her shallow breathing. Her cheeks were flushed red, indicating she’d developed a fever. She’d been out in the wilderness for too long; her body was starting to give up. She was already at her limit.
The white tiger cub sat still and stayed beside her for an hour before it decided to leave the cavern. He stopped midway and bit off her academy badge from her discarded coat, giving the unconscious woman a glimpse before sniffing the air for other intruders. The group he’d been stalking since Lu Xinyi stepped within the cave had already left, but there were two smaller groups entered from the other direction.
Xiao Bai growled ferociously. He didn’t like it when humans disturb his peace. Hadn’t they learned their lesson yet? How many corpses should he have left before they stop infiltrating his mistress’s den?
The tiger cub sprinted to the group closer to him. If they were related to Lu Xinyi, he would lead them to the main cavern to help her; but if they were the usual treasure hunters, no one would leave the place alive. He ran until he reached the lake inside one of the largest caverns of the Fox’s Den. Hiding in the darkness, his blue eyes followed the movements of the cave explorers. These humans had managed to reach this far.
Normally, they would have gotten lost or fallen to one of the snake pits scattered around the cave. The weak-hearted could run away as fast as they could upon seeing large fruit bats hanging from the ceiling of the cave.
Out of these humans, some pique his attention. A man wearing a black and red cave suit stood in the middle while his companions checked the other tunnels. It was like he was the leader of the pack. Everyone listened to his command, and his entirety emitted an aura familiar to the little tiger.
His eyes drifted on the ring on Shen Yi’s eyes. The similarity to Lu Xinyi’s ring wasn’t lost to the cub. He didn’t know what it meant for humans, but two similar rings should mean something, right?
Xiao Bai waited for his chance. He needed to corner this man and bring him to his mistress. His effort wasn’t a waste at all because Shen Yi himself felt his presence and chose to walk towards the tunnel Xiao Bai was hiding.
Shen Yi pulled out a gun, treading cautiously towards the tunnel. He heard a growl coming from it. His subordinates were still checking the other tunnels. Only two elite guards were left with him.
“What was that?” one of the guards asked. Surely, Shen Yi wasn’t imagining things if they also heard a growl from a wild animal.
If he hadn’t heard a sound, he wouldn’t notice that there was another pa.s.sage here. It was relatively smaller than the others. The headlamp lit the area.
Xiao Bai growled again, warning Shen Yi not to move any closer. Instead, the cub was the one who took the initiative to step forward, shortening the distance between them.
Shen Yi and his guard were surprised to see a stripeless white tiger. A white tiger was already a rarity, but the one in front of them was also stripeless. Its blue feline eyes also added a charm to it. For a ferocious rare beast like this, people would fight to own it. The possibility of the poachers using the cave as a sort of hide-out crossed their mind.
Just before it happened, there was this vague sense of familiarity the washed over Shen Yi as he walked closer into the tunnel. Just seconds before he turned, he knew that this had happened before; and he could predict Xiao Bai’s next move only a millisecond earlier.
Xiao Bai showed the Silver Leaf badge to Shen Yi by dropping it on the ground. Shen Yi lost the color from his face. It was as if his heart had suddenly stopped beating, and all the blood had run down into his boots. He swayed for just a moment before he caught himself to steady.
He thought that he’d lost Lu Xinyi forever. It took him some time to calm himself and think with a clear mind. His eyes met Xiao Bai’s gaze. The tiger’s eyes showed intelligence. With the tiger bringing a possession of his wife, does it mean that the tiger knew where Lu Xinyi was and wanted him to follow?
Shen Yi took his phone and showed the tiger a picture of his wife. Xiao Bai stared at the screen and back to Shen Yi.
“This woman is my wife. Do you know where she is?” Shen Yi asked.
His elite guards stared at their boss incredulously. Was he out of his mind asking a tiger about their young madam? Their Boss Yi was probably desperate to see his beloved wife that he was starting to go crazy.
In response to Shen Yi’s question, Xiao Bai stretched his neck up to lift his head higher. He then turned around, padded back to where he came from, and halted to look back to Shen Yi. It was as if he was telling him: ‘What are you waiting for? Come on!’
Xiao Bai resumed his steps, and Shen Yi followed behind.
“Boss Yi!” His two guards wanted to stop him. “Are we really going to follow that tiger? It’s dangerous. Who knows where it will lead us?”
“We’ve been walking straight for two hours and reached this far. None of you was able to find a single strand of Lu Xinyi’s hair.” Shen Yi said no more and continued to walk inside the smaller tunnel with his guards following him begrudgingly. It wasn’t like the two of them can’t kill the tiger, but they would rather not fight with a beast like Xiao Bai. A single swipe of his claws could be fatal.
The pa.s.sage became narrower as they continued to follow Xiao Bai. At most, it could fit a grown man; and the ceiling was almost a few inches away from Shen Yi’s head. If they decide to turn back, it would be easy for the tiger to pounce on them behind their backs.
Shen Yi waited and focused on what was waiting for them. Only their breathing and their footsteps could be heard around them. As the pa.s.sage got narrower, the temperature around them started to rise.
Once in a while, Xiao Bai stopped to check behind him, making sure Shen Yi was still following him. At the end of the tunnel, the three saw a soft glow of light in the end. A loud scream of a woman disturbed the silence within the cavern.
Xiao Bai sprint at full speed as soon as he heard it. He came running back to Lu Xinyi’s side and found her still asleep. Her cheeks were wet, and her body was bathed in a cold sweat. The sheets that Xiao Bai left on her were twisted around her limbs, probably because she was thras.h.i.+ng in her sleep.
The moment Shen Yi heard Lu Xinyi’s voice, all of his plans were forgotten. His eyes sought for his wife, running at full speed following the tiger cub inside the cavern he entered. He found the tiger cub sitting beside a sleeping woman whom he recognized at once.
“Xinxin!”
Shen Yi stepped out from the shadow. The sight of his wife lying on a thick fur startled him. Suddenly, his defenses are just paper—paper soaked by the rapidly dripping water from the stalact.i.tes.
Before he could draw in the air his body needed, Shen Yi lurched forward and took Lu Xinyi’s body into his arms. She melted into his form. He could feel her warmth and the heart that beats within. His hands are folded around her back, drawing Lu Xinyi in closer.
“Xinxin, I’m here. I’m here…” He repeatedly whispered to her ear, but Lu Xinyi stayed asleep. His elite guard found her cradling their young madam on his arms. He held her delicately, afraid that she would disappear in any second.
Shen Yi could feel his body shake from the tension he was trying to rein in for days. He was disappointed for the missed time they would never take back. He held her as if his life depended on her, releasing the tension of these three long days she was missing.
He pulled his head back and wiped the tears on her cheek with a calloused finger. Finally seeing and holding her like this brought more relief than his heart could hold. He was eating her appearance with his eyes and running his hand through her loose hair… as if he couldn’t quite believe he wasn’t dreaming.
When he kissed her cheek, it was sweet, gentle. He had tasted her tears. Shen Yi wanted to wake her up but realized she was burning with fever. All he could do was hold her.
“Are you trying to punish me, Xinxin? Don’t go missing again.” His lips pressed onto her crown before folding her in his arms again.
“Shen Yi…” Lu Xinyi’s half-lidded eyes met his gaze. Her face was beet-red, and her skin glistened in a way that had Shen Yi worried. Her lips were puffed out, and the skin on them shows the early signs of dehydration.
“I’m here,” he answered back.
“You are late.” She scolded him, but her tone was teasing him.
“I know. I’ll take you home.” He chuckled.