Keeper | The Lost Tomb Fanfiction

Xiaobai

Chapter 21: Xiaobai

The group became curious and looked at the location of where he was looking. A few meters away from the buffalo and lion, a bush was moving chaotically, as if something was inside of it.

Suddenly, a white tiger sprang from the bushes and walked slowly towards the two animals. The buffalo and lion saw who came, causing them to lay down shivering on the ground as the white tiger walked around them, sniffing. Then, as if satisfied, he walked away from the two. The two animals looked like they received amnesty and immediately ran away from that place.

The group was surprised and someone even gasped loudly, frightened at the sudden sight of the animal. The tiger's body is mainly white, but a few black stripes can be seen on its head. The black color lines are from the upper left eyes to his nose and end in the tiger's right cheeks. Looking at its blue eyes as thin as a line surrounded by black sclera, it's no wonder someone will be scared as it looks at everyone like they are all prey, and it was the hunter.

Wu Xie saw the old man taking out a necklace made of an unknown material with a golden round bell pendant. Wrapping the pendant on his wrist, the old man shook the bell three times in the tiger's direction.

The white tiger looked at the source of the sound and raised his head to smell in their direction, before walking toward the group. Su Wan hid behind Li Cu in fear, while the others looked at the incoming tiger vigilantly. The old man saw their reactions and smiled for a bit.

"No worries. All animals here don't attack humans on their own initiative, especially him." He explained while walking towards the incoming tiger. The old man took something from his pocket, the others saw that it was a red fruit as the old man offered it to the tiger.

The white tiger smells the red fruit for a few seconds before taking it from the old man's hand using his mouth. The tiger then sat down, eating the red fruit in one bite, and then suddenly paused and smelled the air again, before raising his head in a certain direction.

The wind blew in the direction of the beast and the tiger sprang from laying down. It sniffs from the direction of the group again and walks towards the center of the group.

Wu Xie watched as the tiger walked to his and Zhang Qiling's side. Zhang Qiling, although did not find malice in the tiger, raised his hand in front of Wu Xie, trying to build a wall between him and the tiger.

All of them were surprised when the tiger raised its right paw and patted Wu Xie's feet, and did the same to Zhang Qiling. Then he walked behind the two, he stopped for a bit beside Hei Ye to sniff him before walking in front of Li Cu, and did the same action and finally lay down at his feet.

Wu Xie blinked at what happened and put down the hand in front of him. Facing the tiger, he saw it snuggling its head to Li Cu's feet. He suddenly feels the image of the tiger and Li Cu, who pretends to be cool, and cute.

Li Cu could not help it and sat down to touch the white tiger's head. The tiger sniffed at his hand and licked it. He noticed a small cut on the back of his hand after feeling itchy at the tiger's rough tongue.

"What is his name?" The tiger purred while being petted on his throat, squinting his eyes comfortably. The old man looked at the relaxed pet near the kid, almost believing it was a cat pretending to be their mighty white tiger, and couldn't help but feel shocked in his heart. It took a moment before he was able to reply.

"He is called Xiaobai. He is the master's partner. He is usually at the main island, I didn't know who took him here." The old man watched with amazement as their master's mighty tiger became docile as a cat in front of Li Cu.

Suddenly, the sound of a bell clanging came from a distance. A faint voice can be heard shouting the tiger's name.

"Xiaobai!" A gentle voice shouted from the bush. The group raised their vigilance again as they waited for the person shouting to arrive.

"Xiaobai! Where did you go?" A figure in a white training suit appeared from the bush the tiger came from, holding another bell in one hand while the other was placed on his knee. He looks like he ran for a long time before arriving at that place. Looking around at the wide area, he noticed a group of people in the distance looking at him with vigilance. He walked over and as he came near, he saw the old man in front of the group.

"Old Steward, we have guests?" The old man bowed and greeted the man in white.

"Fourth Master." Four smiled gently at the old man and looked around the faces of the guest. His sight came to a stop in shock after seeing the beast on the ground.

"Xiaobai?" He called tentatively as the white tiger ignored him and comfortably laid his head on Li Cu's thigh.

"This... Is he a fake?" Four turned to look at the old steward, who also looked clueless. He turned from the old steward and suddenly remembered he was in front of guests.

"Oh. Where are my manners? I'm Xiu Jingchen, the fourth disciple of the master of Four Seasons island. Just call me Four." He turned to the group and introduced himself. Wu Xie and the others introduced themselves one by one and turned their attention back to the tiger. Wu Xie walked over behind Li Cu, followed by Xiaoge, and asked curiously.

"When you saw him docile, you seemed shocked?" Four suddenly felt a sense of... different feeling toward Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling after seeing them, seemingly feeling this way before. He thought inside while smiling at the warm-eyed male before answering.

"Who wouldn't? Don't look at him acting like a cat, he is a well-known bad-tempered ancestor on our island. Only the master can make him like... that." Li Cu blinked hearing this and looked intently at the tiger laying on his thigh.

"He looks okay to me. Right, Xiaobai?" Xiaobai only purred at Li Cu's words, still comfortably resting in his place.

"See?" Li Cu beamed. He cannot help but feel intimate with the big cat.

Four walked to his side and sat down. He hesitantly tried to pat the tiger's head, only to receive Xiaobai's stare. He only then awkwardly lowered his hands and sighed softly in slight relief.

"He is still our Xiaobai." He said while nodding to himself.

The group continued to tour around the island and only finished when it was near sunset, with additional companions following around. They walked back to where the yacht was tied up and boarded it reluctantly. The group along with the old steward waved at Four and Xiaobai, who watched their vehicle leave the small island.

Four waited for the figure of the vehicle to disappear in their sight before he looked down at Xiaobai and saw it still looking at the leaving yacht in the distance.

"Okay Xiaobai, they are gone. Let's go back to the master's place." The duo moved after a while and boarded another yacht hidden at a distance and began to set off to the main island...