Names (2)
This group of young adults would become the future leaders of the beastmen. Take the tiger chief, he had once practised cultivation at the City of Beast Gods. Not just him, the chiefs of the fox and wolf tribes were all the same.
âI know about that place. I heard you can only leave after ten years. Ah, Tigress, donât go! Or Iâll only be able to see you again after ten yearsâŠâ Ye Lang had a sudden revelation. Ten years. That meant Tigress was going to be in there for ten years or more.
Before Tigress could reply, the tiger chief spoke. âItâs just ten years, itâs not even a hundred! Us tigers can live more than two hundred years, ten years is not long! This is important to Tai Ya, you human have no place to tell her what to do.â
âTen years⊠A human can only live at most about a hundredâŠâ Ye Lang mumbled to himself, âYou tigers have long lives, us humans wonât live that longâŠâ
âMasterâŠâ Tigress held Ye Langâs hand. Just when she was about to speak, Ye Lang interrupted her.
With a huge smile, he said, âItâll be alright, Tigress. Itâs just ten years. Go! You can do this.â
Although Ye Lang would miss Tigress, he understood that it was indeed very important to Tigress. So what if they were apart for another ten years? Heâll spend that time travelling the world at random again. Right now he had Little Xin with him too, he wouldnât be lonely!
âNo, Iâm not going. Master, Iâve already missed you for eight years. I donât want to be without you for another ten! Ten years is too long!â Tigress shook her head, giving up her dreams without hesitation.
Her dreams? Werenât her dreams to travel with Ye Lang? Her dreams had nothing to do with going to the City of Beast Gods.
After listening to Tigress, the chief raised his voice immediately. âTai Ya, are you mad? Do you know how many people dream to enter the City? So many people work their entire lives just to get a chance, and youâre throwing it all away just for one kid!â
âYeah, tiger girl. Youâve already given up once, are you sure heâs worth giving this up too?â Athena couldnât help but ask.
Tigress shook her head. âIt isnât about that. The only thing I know is that I will be with Master my entire life, I will care for him. Everything else does not concern me!â
ââŠâ
The crowd was silent. They knew Ye Lang was important to her but they didnât expect him to be so important she would do such a thing.
âNo! You must go to the City. You shall obey me if you want to call me father!â The chiefâs tone was final with no room for negotiation.
What he said made Tigress hesitate. She didnât want to lose ten years with Ye Lang but she didnât want to lose her father either. Both were very important to her. It wasnât as if she could give up her family just to be with Ye Lang!
âTigress, you should go. Itâs just ten years. Weâve already been apart for eightâŠâ Ye Lang said plainly, turning to look at the chief. The chief was avoiding his eyes.
âButâŠâ
âListen to your father. Every child should obey their parentâs wishes, even if it means sacrificing your comfort for the temporary,â Ye Lang spoke calmly again. His words touched the people. Everyone knew this but how many in this world truly stuck to this principle?
Ye Langâs words were like knives to the chiefâs heart. However, he felt like Ye Lang was implying something else- Tigress was giving up her happiness for him. Was he being selfish?
To be honest, all he wanted was for her to live a happy life doing what made her happiest. That was the best. He wanted her to live life independently.
However, he knew he had to do this because Tigress must visit the City of Beast Gods. There was a reason why she MUST go!
âMaster, then you must take care of yourself. Remember to come get me ten years laterâŠâ Tigress had no choice but to accept her fate.
Ye Lang patted her shoulder gently with a smile. âDonât be silly, itâs not like youâre leaving immediately! Why are you so sad? Thereâs still a year left till the cityâs gates open. We still have a year together!â
âOh, right! I forgot! Itâs all my fatherâs fault for making everyone anxious. I almost thought we had to leave immediatelyâŠâ she said with a chuckle, giving a subtle jab at the chief.
The chief was about to defend himself but stayed silent. At least she agreed. He did not want anything else to trigger a change of mind.
âIf thereâs nothing else, can we go?â Ye Lang surveyed the messy conference hall. He did not like this place.
âI donât think thereâs anything else. Weâll excuse ourselves, Father!â Tigress thought there wasnât anything else either.
Athena had initially expected the chief to stop the two of them. Why would he take all the trouble to summon them here if it was actually this simple?
To her surprise, all the chief said was they could go and there was nothing else to discuss.
The chief had only wanted to meet this Ye Lang in person, to check him out. After their meeting, he thought Ye Lang wasnât bad at all. He seemed like a capable kid when it came down to important matters! As for the non-important matters, well, that wasnât a problem to him. The tigers were people who dwelled on details.
Ye Lang and Tigress left but Athena and Taeya couldnât because they still had to stay behind to wait for the results. They wanted to go to the City of Beast Gods!
Athenaâs position was more secured but it was more difficult for Taeya. She had too many competitors and she wasnât outstanding enough.
However, the results were surprising. Taeya was picked too. This didnât mean the rest of the candidates were weak, Taeya herself was a talented individual too. It was merely Ye Langâs impression that she was a fragile cat girl.
We canât blame Ye Lang either. Taeya had been pretending to be his slave and she was under the impression that slaves were fragile and weak.
If only she knew how Tigress was when she was serving Ye Lang, then she would understand how mighty a servant could be too! It was Tigressâ job to clear all the threats in their path so Ye Lang would stay safe!
Like right now, Tigress was clearing a âthreatâ â a rattan ball was flying at Ye Langâs head while they talked. She swatted it away easily.