Chapter 91: The White Lion
Chapter 91: The White Lion
Xiang Ling didn’t stop until she was standing right in front of the man who suddenly looked a little bit unsure while watching her with wide eyes.
"What are you doing?" He asked when she was merely inches away from him.
"Why are you protecting me?" Xiang Ling asked the question that made her question his personality. One moment, he threatened to kill her and the next moment, he was keeping her safe from dying.
"For Ming." Xin Cheng answered quickly and cleared his throat. He was looking at anywhere but at her which made Xiang Ling doubt whether he was speaking the truth or not.
"Really?" She pressed, not believing him yet.
Xin Cheng finally turned his gaze toward her and stared directly into her eyes before responding - "Or what else do you think?"
Xiang Ling stared at him for a couple of more seconds before she finally accepted his answer and took a step back. "Of course. Why did I even think otherwise?" The question was aimed more at herself but Xin Cheng’s enhanced hearing made him hear everything.
"What do you mean?" He demanded.
"Nothing." She replied and was ready to step away from him when a loud roar filled the air. The ground trembled, and the trees swayed as if hit by a powerful storm as the beast King made its way toward them.
I’m dead! Xiang Ling thought as she turned to face the incoming danger. She was so focused on Xin Cheng that she totally forgot about the trouble that was heading toward her.
Her already wide eyes became even wider when she felt a hand pulling her back right before Xin Cheng stepped in front of her and shielded her completely with his frame. She would have definitely spent quite some time pondering on his protective behavior if not for the giant beast that suddenly appeared in front of them.
As soon as Xiang Ling’s gaze landed on the beast, she recognized it. This one was none other than a White Flying Lion and was already in its final level of cultivation before facing its heavenly tribulation and gaining a human form. Standing at a height of over twelve feet, it looked more dangerous than cute. Yet, Xiang Ling couldn’t help but marvel at its beauty. She had recently started to realize that she was particularly soft for beautiful things or beings.
"You like it?"
The question came out of the blue and surprised Xiang Ling who turned her attention away from the White Lion and turned her gaze toward Xin Cheng who just asked the question. He was looking at her as if waiting for her response.
"Huh? Well... kind of... it’s cute." She stuttered out the words as she was quite taken aback to see that there wasn’t an ounce of coldness or anger on Xin Cheng’s face at the moment as he asked her whether she liked the beast.
Xin Cheng didn’t say anything at all and returned his attention to the beast who had been studying the two of them in silence.
"Is it not going to fight?" Xiang Ling found herself asking when the beast didn’t make any move even after certain long moments had passed in silence.
"It’s trying to make a choice." Xin Cheng replied to her question as he too closely studied the beast. However, the way he was looking at the beast was completely different from how the beast was looking at them. The way Xin Cheng looked at the beast seemed like he was looking at a little puppy that just picked his interest. On the other hand, the way White Lion was looking at them suggested that it had finally found its perfect opponents.
Xiang Ling was still trying to understand the situation when the Lion suddenly launched its first attack. While she was ready to bring out her protective shield, she never got the chance to do so as one single move of Xin Cheng’s sleeve dissolved the powerful attack from the beast into nothingness.
The beast finally decided to become serious as it opened its huge wings and fluttered them, creating a powerful wind spell that threatened to sweep them from their feet. Several trees fell around them from the force of the wind but Xin Cheng didn’t even move an inch from his place, and hidden behind him, Xiang Ling was also safe.
Feeling enraged, the beast created a tornado around them while ice started covering everything around them. Xiang Ling wasn’t wrong when she guessed the beast had ice as its core element, hence the White color.
If given the chance, she would have loved to duel with the beast. It was such a rare chance to meet such a powerful spirit beast and dueling with it would have given her a chance to hone her skills that seemed to be rusting the more time she was spending as a mortal.
Unfortunately, Xin Cheng was too focused on his plan of protecting her as he easily deflected each of the beast’s attacks and successfully enraged the beast even further every time. Seeing its powerful attacks being swept away like they were nothing, the White Lion wasn’t able to stand it.
The attacks became brutal and Xiang Ling just wanted to shout at Xin Cheng to make the man stop mocking the poor beast.
Thankfully, her prayers for the poor beast were heard when another person decided to make an appearance and stopped the nonsense fight between the two fools.
"Stop."
The order was directed at the White Lion which immediately bowed its head and kneeled on its front paws as if surrendering to Dao Ming. Everything happened so abruptly that Xiang Ling barely had any time to understand what was happening.
Once the beast was tamed, Dao Ming turned his attention toward Xin Cheng and there was a very unimpressed look decorating his face. "You need to stop bullying others. Find something else for your entertainment."
"I already have." Xin Cheng threw over his shoulder as he turned away from all of them. "She likes the beast. Bring it along."