Chapter 76: Something’s Off About This Group
“We just picked up a tiger cub. Didn’t you see the big tiger? But when we were coming over, we happened to see a big tiger being chased down the mountain by three leopards. Maybe the tiger roars we heard from the tent were from that tiger?”
Hearing Yu Luo’s words, Yu Zhengqing and the others turned serious, their eyes shifting to the tiger cub in Ye Jiamei’s arms.
“There were leopards too? Three of them at once?! This mountain really isn’t a place for humans to stay!”
Bai You, upon hearing about the leopards, couldn’t help but cross his arms, his body trembling slightly as he muttered complaints.
“We didn’t see a tiger, which is why we came this way. Perhaps the roars we heard were indeed from the tiger you saw. You should throw that cub down the mountain immediately. If its parents smell it and come looking, that’ll be trouble. Beasts have incredibly sharp noses.”
Yu Zhengqing ignored Bai You’s complaints and spoke with a stern tone to the family of three.
Hearing this, Ye Jiamei instinctively hugged the tiger cub tighter, showing no intention of throwing it away!
Not to mention the mother tiger was already dead, the cub was something the system specifically tasked Yu Luo with adopting. If they threw it away, not only would they fail the mission, but the poor cub would either freeze to death or become a snack for other wild animals.
Besides, the cub was so adorable—it completely melted Ye Jiamei’s heart. In her past life, she kept several cats at home and loved them almost as much as she loved Yu Luo. How could she bear to part with it?
Ye Jiamei was just about to retort when Yu Luo, anticipating her mother’s response, discreetly pinched her on the back.
“Okay, we’ll throw it away immediately. You guys should go check over there first. I’m worried those three leopards might come back. If they do, with how fierce they are, we’ll be in for a lot of trouble.”
“Alright, you guys shouldn’t linger outside for long either. Hurry back to your tent. If anything happens, shout loudly. Big Brother will come right away.”
Yu Zhengqing didn’t suspect a thing and nodded, even expressing concern for them before leaving with his group. To the others, it looked like he truly cared for his younger brother.
Watching them leave, Ye Jiamei couldn’t help but snort coldly.
“That Yu Zhengqing is way too deep. No matter how much we ignore him, he keeps throwing sugar-coated words our way. His skin’s thicker than a city wall! I really hope he’s being sincere, or else when his brotherly act falls apart, it’ll be utterly humiliating.”
“Alright, honey, enough. Now what do we do about the cub? Check if it’s out of danger first. If it is, we can have Xiao Luo put it in the system and hide it for now.
“We could argue and bring it back openly, but if there really are more tigers in this mountain, the hundred or so people with us will definitely blame us for bringing trouble upon them.”
“Dad’s right. We just want to reach the frontier in peace. Though we don’t care what they think, it’s better to avoid unnecessary trouble.”
“I knew Mom wouldn’t want to abandon it. I don’t want to either. The mother tiger probably died protecting it. If she hadn’t been held back, she might’ve escaped the leopards. Throwing it away would make her sacrifice meaningless. I can’t do that.”
“True, a mother’s love is the greatest kind of love… Sigh.”
Recalling the tragic scene earlier, Yu Haojie couldn’t help but feel a pang in his heart.
“I know, that’s why I didn’t argue just now when Xiao Luo pinched me. You two really think I’m stupid, huh? Nagging so much…”
Ye Jiamei sighed and lowered her head to examine the cub again.
“System, this cub hasn’t been weaned yet, right? If you want me to raise it, where am I supposed to get milk for it?”
[Host, would you like to spend 100 points to exchange for two barrels of milk powder? After finishing them, the cub should be able to start eating meat. If you don’t want to, you could cook rice porridge, but that wouldn’t be healthy for it.]
“Sigh, alright, exchange it!”
Returning to the tent, they fed the cub a bit of milk and placed it inside a basket lined with an old cotton jacket. Thanks to the system’s control, none of the animals inside could run around.
Meanwhile, the group searching for the tiger and leopards scouted around for a long time but found nothing. Exhausted, they eventually returned to their tents to rest, knowing they needed energy for the next day’s journey.
However, what they didn’t know was that two figures hidden atop a distant tree had been watching them closely all along!
“Over a hundred people, about fifty men… There’s definitely something off about this group!”
“Ah, so you noticed too?”
“Yeah, did you see? The guards and the prisoners were getting along like brothers! Even the female prisoners didn’t seem afraid of the guards. It was as if some of them were married to the guards!”
“And when the tiger roared, the male prisoners in shackles were patrolling with the guards! This whole situation is way too weird. Aren’t these prisoners all supposed to be from noble families? Shouldn’t the women of such families be all prim and proper, following the rules? It’s like the world’s turned upside down!”
“Whatever, let’s head back and report this to the boss. There are some strong fighters among those guards. Plus, they killed over twenty of our brothers in less than half a cup of tea’s time! Their strength is definitely not to be underestimated.”
“Agreed! We need to tell the boss immediately and plan accordingly. I saw at least ten young and beautiful women in their group. With those looks and figures, we could easily sell them to the brothels for a few hundred taels each!”
“Right, right! Before they notice us, let’s hurry back and report. They’re definitely staying here overnight. No way they’ll get far.”
The next morning, before dawn, Yu Zhengqing roused everyone from their sleep.
After days of exhaustion, they would fall asleep almost instantly after lying down. Though they only managed to sleep for about three or four hours, for most of them, that was already more than enough.
