As Su Yu sized the tiger up carefully, he thought it seemed familiar.
“Isn’t this the South Chinese tiger I punched yesterday?”
Su Yu had run into the tiger in the mountains yesterday when the beast had its eyes on the wild boar.
In the end, Su Yu used ten pieces of Super-strength Talismans and sent it flying with a punch.
Why did the tiger come down from the mountains and appear in front of Su Yu’s house now though?
Su Yu was cautious. He was prepared to get more Super-strength Talismans from the Popularity Shop just in case.
To his surprise, the tiger did not attack or act aggressively. It moved its claw forward slightly, inching closer to Su Yu.
Then, Su Yu noticed there was something hanging on the tiger’s claw: a water bottle.
“Isn’t this the water bottle that I brought to the mountains yesterday?”
Su Yu remembered Little White carrying the water bottle around its neck yesterday, but when they returned, the bottle had been nowhere to be found. It must have gotten lost when they ran into the tiger halfway. He definitely did not expect the tiger to deliver the water bottle back the next day.
Su Yu stuttered, “Uh…T-thank you?”
The tiger growled repeatedly at Su Yu as though it was trying to communicate with him.
Automatically, Su Yu’s skill, the Animal Language Master, came into effect. He could understand and communicate with animals with the skill.
The tiger’s growls were translated into, “Hello, human.”
“What are you doing here? Are you here to have a rematch?” Su Yu asked.
“No, don’t misunderstand me! I am not here asking for trouble! I’m just here to return the water bottle…Wait, you can understand me?” The tiger looked at Su Yu with a confused expression.
Su Yu doubtfully sized up the tiger. “Return the bottle? That’s it?”
He had a feeling there was something else beneath the stated intention as he had a hard time believing the tiger.
The tiger widened its mouth and laughed. “Hahaha! Growl! You see through me like paper! Human, I somehow had a sip of the water in your bottle, so I am here to ask where you got the water from.”
“You mean the spirit water?” Su Yu asked.
“Yes, yes! That’s it! The spirit water…do you have any more of it?” the tiger asked.
“I do, but why must I give it to you?”
The spirit water was nothing special to Su Yu. He could have as much as he wanted, but he had no reason to share them with the tiger.
After all, it did try to attack him yesterday in the mountains.
If Su Yu did not have the system, he might have ended up in the tiger’s stomach, digested and discharged as waste instead of talking to the tiger in front of his house.
The tiger flashed a pitiful look. “Human, how about a trade? If you give me the water, you will be my master from now on, and I will do whatever you tell me to do!”
“For real?” Su Yu raised a brow.
The tiger said boldly, “I am a tiger of my word!”
“Hmm, I can give you the spirit water, but I want to know what you’ll use the water for.”
The tiger hesitated. It tried to talk but nothing came out from its open jaws.
Su Yu looked at the reluctant tiger. “If you don’t come clean, I guess the deal is off.”
The tiger grew anxious. “Wait! Okay…I’ll spill.”
It then explained why it wanted the spirit water. A part of its reason was its old wounds.
The tiger originated from elsewhere and was forced to move to the mountains behind Su Yu’s village due to various circumstances.
Humans hunted South Chinese tigers without end in the early days, causing them to be listed as a protected species by the country. It was also categorized as an endangered animal due to its dwindling numbers.
This particular tiger had been hunted by hunters before and had suffered quite a number of injuries back then. It was lucky enough to have escaped the hunters’ guns but left with an injury that haunted it.
Many years had passed. Even though it had recovered, it was not as healthy as before. Its wound would ache whenever the air turned wet, especially during the rainy season.
Other than that, the tiger was a mother to two cubs.
When their mother went hunting the other day, the two cubs had snuck out of their cave and fell off the mountain. One of them got slightly injured, but the other one was badly hurt.
The tiger accidentally got hold of Su Yu’s bottle yesterday and tasted the spirit water. To its surprise, it realized that the water had healing properties.
With just a sip, its old wounds got better. Even though it was just a bit of water, the healing properties were tangible.
With that in mind, the tiger fed the spirit water to her cubs, and as expected, both her cubs got better.
Therefore, the next day, the tiger followed Su Yu’s scent and came down from the mountains.
That was what transpired before Su Yu opened the door.
The tiger was a well-mannered one. It knew it was here to ask for a favor, so it had knocked on the door politely instead of leaping in.
After listening to the tiger’s story, Su Yu thought about it seriously.
The tiger looked fierce and strong. Since the spirit water basically had no value and was probably even more worthless than mineral water, if Su Yu could acquire a pet tiger using the water, it would be worth it.
With such a huge tiger guarding his yard, no thief would dare to stop by.
Su Yu nodded. “Okay, it’s a deal. Bring your cubs here.”
The tiger growled. “Thank you!”
When the viewers saw Su Yu and the tiger growling at each other, it seemed as though they were really communicating.
Then, the tiger left after returning the water bottle to Su Yu.
“Master Su? What did the tiger say? I can’t understand tiger.”
“I don’t understand it as well! Why do I have a feeling that Master Su was communicating with the tiger?”
“I have the same feeling too! Can Master Su talk to animals?”
“Su Yu is really something else!”
[Nightwing sent you 10 Super Rockets]
Nightwing said, “I’m curious what you said to the tiger.”
[Promise sent you 5 Super Rockets]
Promise said, “I’m curious as well!”
Su Yu then said, “The tiger asked me to take her in. She said she was impressed by my valiant and courageous act yesterday, and she wants to join me with her cubs. Do you guys believe me?”
“Hahaha! I like how you boast without blinking! It’s something else!”
“Awesome, dude! I like the way you brag! I really do!”
“A South Chinese tiger wants to be your pet? ROLF!”
“Master Su, even if you don’t want to tell us, you don’t need to patronize us with this kind of lame joke,” Jun Moxiao said.
Promise echoed, “Yeah.”
Su Yu shrugged and spread his hands out. “I knew it. No one would believe me. Anyway, it will come back soon.”
He then returned to the yard and chewed on his grilled ribs.
A while later, there was a knock on Su Yu’s gate.
Su Yu got up. “So soon?”
When he opened the door, the scene shocked everyone in the stream.
It was the same tiger, and this time, it had even brought two of its cubs along. It seemed like Su Yu had been telling the truth earlier.
The viewers were stunned.
“What did I tell you? I’m not lying! Impressed?”
The comments instantly flooded the stream.
“Impressed!”
“Bloody impressed!”
“D*mn impressed!”
“I’m more impressed than being pressed up against a wall!”
“Freaking awesome! You have my respect, and I take a knee for you!”