Chapter 37

The crowd let out a gasp, turning their heads, and Ling Yue followed their gaze—a sea of heads.

She had a vague suspicion, not particularly curious, but the other small animals were curious—Xunbao Shu Duo Duo poked its head out furtively: "Master, let's go take a look too—what's a tiger dad?"

Ling Yue frowned, thinking: "With so many people, can we squeeze in?"

The stuffed tiger Da Lao Hu Junjun, also curious, hearing her words, eagerly declared: "I can, I can!"

"I can use my own aura to make these ordinary people step aside voluntarily, and I guarantee I won't be noticed—I also really want to go see the star tiger dad~"

Stared at by the big tiger's large, round eyes, Ling Yue momentarily couldn't find words to refuse; she pushed the stroller: "Then give it a try?"

"But we agreed that if others discovered us—" she leaned over and pinched the soft ears of the stuffed little tiger: "Jun Jun will have to accept punishment."

Da Lao Hu Junjun: "……"

Don't pinch randomly!

Even if it had thick fur, it couldn't cover the ears—reddish, what does it look like!

It feigned calm, trying to show the tiger's dignity, not knowing its reddish ears had already been seen by Ling Yue, who narrowed her eyes; in the sunlight, the little tiger looked like a glowing snowball.

With Jun Jun's help, Ling Yue wouldn't bump into anyone; people would instinctively step aside, making a narrow path all the way to the protective glass, where looking down she still saw the familiar tiger—Zhuangzhuang.

A mighty great tiger appeared in everyone's view; amid the crowd's exclamations, Zhuangzhuang leapt down from the fake mountain, contentedly scooping up his obedient daughter and running off.

"Hehehe… Daddy's good girl, time to get up, drink your bowl of milk!"

The little tiger smacked its little lips, hugging Daddy's big face: "Wuu wuu wuu Daddy take me~"

Milky voice and tone.

The simple father-daughter interaction attracted many people to stop and watch; the onlookers' eyes were full of wonder, continually exclaiming.

"As expected, the star tiger dad of the capital zoo is completely unlike other male tigers!"

"Hey, look, this male tiger even brings his cub—much better than your dad!"

This still starts from tiger nature: tigers are solitary, except during mating season they are usually lone tigers marking territory—isn't there the saying "One mountain cannot hold two tigers"? The latter part only applies if one male and one female, and only during mating season.

But Zhuangzhuang and his mate are quite different!

Normally cubs are raised solely by the mother tiger, but this pair is a husband-wife team, and according to zoo keepers' observations, most of the time it's the male tiger Zhuangzhuang who brings the cubs.

This became its difference from other male tigers; zoo director Zhao Fang learned of it, directly bought Zhuangzhuang, and spent heavily on marketing—plus it truly is one-of-a-kind—so the zoo attracted crowds of curious visitors, and Zhuangzhuang also became the zoo's star tiger dad, with everyone coming to see the male tiger with cubs.

Fluffy big creatures, no matter what movements they make, always seem delightful; Zhuangzhuang brought the cubs to the milk bowl, the tiger cubs ran wildly around the ground for several laps, finally thinking of drinking milk.

Turning his head, he saw Mom happily licking the milk bowl clean, then noticed the cubs' gaze; a huge head bigger than the bowl loomed over: "What's wrong, cubs?"

Little Hu Niu: "……Wuu wuu wuu Mom drank all the milk, Hu Niu has none left T^T"

Hu Niu cried sadly.

While Zhuangzhuang was burying his head in his meal, his ears twitched; he immediately lifted his head, hearing Hu Niu's "I Can Hear Animal Hearts 【Live】"—remember the URL m. 1. —the sobbing made his heart ache; the keeper hadn't finished laying out the meat, he turned his head, and saw the tiger that had been lying on the ground spring up instantly.

Tiger eyes wide, forelimbs raised high—in that instant the keeper was so frightened his soul nearly fled.

Zhuangzhuang, however, turned his head and ran to his mate; seeing the little Hu Niu crying wuu wuu, the several-hundred-pound big tiger dared not approach for a moment: "Niu niu~"

"Wuu wuu wuu Daddy~"

Little Hu Niu ran over and snuggled up, accusing: "Bad mommy, bad mommy!"

"Niu niu's bowl of milk is gone QAQ"

Looking at the milk bowl shinier than her face, Cuihua, rarely feeling guilty, said: "Oh, it just said it didn't want to drink, so I helped it drink—what's wrong?"

"Nothing, clearly there isn't." Though small, Hu Niu understood the big tiger's words and couldn't help but retort.

Cuihua glared, the tigress's aura flared: "I say there is, so there is! What's wrong with drinking your bowl of milk? At worst I'll give you another bowl!"

After saying that, she made a tiger leap, and the keeper had a second bout of shock.

The onlookers looked bewildered, then after reacting they were scared silly: "Wow, such a big tiger!"

"Waaah, is it angry? What's going on?"

"Call someone! Call someone!"

At this moment, the keeper was already in peril, staring at the tiger's bloody maw; he couldn't even crawl, his body out of control, limp as a puddle of mud.

"Roar!"

Cuihua extended her tiger claw and stepped on the milk bowl once, but she used too much force—only a "bang" was heard as the keeper watched the stainless steel bowl be flattened outright; he hunched his back, layers of cold sweat soaking his lining.

One can imagine—if that paw landed on himself, the next meat patty would be him!

Cuihua: "……"

Uh-oh!

She embarrassedly lowered her head, looking at the "Tie Bing", then at the distant Hu Niu; the cub looked at her, and the next second the little milk tiger's wail shook heaven and earth!

Then the security finally arrived, but upon seeing the big tiger their heads buzzed and they hesitated; after learning the situation from people, they knew this female tiger had suddenly gone mad, the keeper was in dire straits, a matter of life and death—they couldn't retreat.

However, under the tiger's immense pressure, the security guards' hands trembled as they filled the anesthetic, let alone firing.

"No good, Captain—should we wait for the police?"

"We can wait, but what about the tiger? When reinforcements arrive, will there be any scraps left of the keeper?"

Xiao Liu, who came running from next door, turned pale; hearing their discussion, he realized how formidable Ling Yue had been back then, facing danger head‑on without even trembling.

Suddenly, his sharp eyes caught a figure, joy flooding his gaze: "Miss Ling!"

Ling Yue startled, nodded at him, then her gaze fell on Cuihua; the big tiger repeatedly patted the "Tie Bing": "Roar roar roar~"

"Keeper, my kid's hungry, wants to drink the bowl of milk! Why aren't you moving?"

After saying it several times, her thick tail slammed the ground, bang bang; the keeper rolled his eyes and promptly fainted.

Xiao Liu jumped back half a step: "Mom, is this tiger gone mad? We must use the anesthetic gun!"

But the anesthetic gun needs distance and a steady hand; he glanced at the misshapen melons nearby—under these circumstances, who would dare approach?

What to do?

Xiao Liu, face pale, instinctively looked at Ling Yue: "Miss Ling, do you have any solution? I—I could…"

"We can give you give you money." Zhao Fang came over with a thick-skinned face, his eyes dodging, not daring to look straight. His guilt was obvious.

Ling Yue neither confirmed nor denied, looking at the naive Cui Hua; it wasn't about the money. As for Zhao Fang, she curled her lips, her gaze fell on him—his recent luck had been low, a bit miserable.

Under her clear, icy gaze, Zhao Fang's hands and feet turned cold; that look seemed to see straight through him.

Ling Yue withdrew her gaze and said only one sentence: "Have someone bring over several basins of milk."

What does that mean?

Everyone who heard this was baffled, yet no one dared not to listen; Ling Yue's fame had already spread throughout the zoo after her last medical treatment. As for Zhao Fang's outrageous offense, in private, any staff with a brain couldn't help but complain: "What a brainless idiot!"

The steaming, fragrant basins of milk were brought over; in an instant, the frenzied tiger retreated.

Amid amazed exclamations, the tiger family of three surrounded the basins of milk and began gulping them down.

As for the fainted keeper, who still cares about him?

With the crisis over, Zhao Fang wiped his forehead, only then noticing his hands and head were drenched in cold sweat; his zoo, which looked prosperous, was actually severely weakened and could no longer withstand any turmoil.

As for Ling Yue…

He simply didn't want to face it, refusing to admit his mistake.

In the following time, Ling Yue gained an internal zoo guide; without waiting for Xiao Liu to speak, she said directly: "I want to go to the panda pavilion to see Tuan Tuan."

Hearing this, all the small animals except the Feng Shui Turtle stared at Ling Yue with unwavering eyes, as if she had a wife behind her back and was secretly keeping a lover outside.

Ya Ya: "Isn't that exactly it!"

Xunbao Shu Duo Duo couldn't help but speak: "How many lovers do you have out there? Isn't having us enough?"

Ling Yue: "……"

For a moment, she really couldn't recall.

The panda pavilion arrived amidst the noisy crowd; Ling Yue at once saw that big black-and-white lump, the previous keeper miss was also there, and while there weren't many visitors in the pavilion now, compared to the strong couple, it was worlds apart.

Ling Yue glanced around; aside from her, there were only two or three small cats and dogs.

The sole giant panda was lying on the bamboo, asleep soundly.

The keeper worried: "Tuan Tuan has been sleeping all day lately, but his food intake hasn't changed—in fact, it's even increased!"

"Miss Ling, do you think it's gotten sick again?"

Ling Yue shook her head, observing Tuan Tuan carefully; compared to the first meeting, its whole body had shrunk a bit, but from its solid, strong muscles one could see its health had more than doubled.

She shook her head, smiling: "Tuan Tuan, I've come to see you."

As her words fell, the lazy panda suddenly sprang up, looking around; Ling Yue pressed her palm against the glass, and Tuan Tuan, sensing the familiar gaze, turned to confirm and then ran straight over.

Its huge paws pressed against the glass, touching Ling Yue's hand, and Tuan Tuan let out a cooing "ahng ahng ahng": "Great Demon King, you've finally come to see me!"

"Look at my training—I'm not the same as before!"

A few scattered visitors watched in amazement, but didn't think much of it, assuming the little girl had an animal affinity, and they envied her, looking again and again.

What they didn't know was—

Ling Yue was catching up with Tuan Tuan, first affirming his work achievements, then asking: "But I heard Xiao Yuan say you've been sleeping all day lately—where do you find time to practice?"

Tuan Tuan puffed out his chest proudly: "I practice secretly at night!"

"I want to secretly practice martial arts and astonish everyone!" Ling Yue felt as if black lines were hanging over her head; she twitched the corner of her mouth and said: "No need to go that far."

Ling Yue underestimated Tuan Tuan's determination; hearing this, Tuan Tuan twisted its body, presenting its rear to her: "No way! My idol is Kung Fu Panda! I want to become a kung-fu panda just like in the movie!"

Ling Yue clapped helplessly.

The other small animals couldn't help but exclaim: "Wow, it's actually Kung Fu Panda!"

Ya Ya exclaimed excitedly: "I've seen the movie—that panda is amazing! So you're a panda, and you're really amazing!"

Even Xunbao Shu couldn't help but speak: "Don't look at its tiny size—it knows quite a lot."

They heatedly discussed martial arts.

They completely forgot that others still existed—for example, Ling Yue.

She rubbed her nose, seeing there was still something to talk about, Ling Yue directly told them to go to the panda pavilion.

She pushed the baby carriage, chatting with the Feng Shui Turtle Master about the Dao arts she'd been studying; whenever something was unclear, the two of them discussed it and instantly understood.

Unnoticed, they arrived at Monkey Mountain; the Capital Zoo aside, the grounds were quite large, the sun was somewhat scorching, monkeys hid in twos and threes in the stone caves beneath the fake hills, while others perched on the fake hills to rest.

Occasionally a few would squat together eating bananas, right beneath the small tree beside Ling Yue.

The monkeys somehow got hold of a bunch of bananas; right in front of Ling Yue, they divided them evenly, their dexterous hands peeling the peels, a larger-headed monkey took a bite, then suddenly said: "Hey, have you heard? The brown bear next door at the bear pavilion has a bear plotting to rebel and escape—how hilarious!"

Ling Yue's entire expression: =_=

As it turned out, monkeys also gossiped, and they did so in groups; she didn't leave, pretending to watch the monkeys while actually listening to the gossip.

Seeing the big-headed monkey speak up, the other monkeys instantly perked up; an old monkey scratched his back: "Blind, you're spouting news from ages ago—it's long outdated!"

"How is it outdated?" the big-headed monkey protested.

The old monkey bit into a banana: "How isn't it outdated? That brown bear has now become the Brown Bear King, preparing to break out and escape the zoo!"

"Huh? You're not monkeying us, are you? With the zoo's management so strict, how could it escape?"

Ling Yue thought to herself, that wasn't necessarily certain.

She guessed the brown bear the monkeys were discussing was likely the big bear she'd seen before—a brown bear that knows how to hide its abilities, wise; if it were human, it might even be called accomplished in both civil and martial arts.

Sure enough, that old monkey swore: "If I'm lying, may I never eat bananas again in my life!"

"What do you know? They have a plan; I heard the brown bear say the time is coming up in these few days."

"Hey, hasn't it started yet? Old monkey, go ask at the bear pavilion—if the time comes, could you bring me along? I want to get out too."

A monkey that had always been silent suddenly spoke up, drawing several glances from the others; unwilling to stay, it said: "I just want to go out and see—what's the point of staying on Monkey Mountain all the time?"

The old monkey shook his head: "Young monkey, you don't know how dangerous the world is. I came from outside; out there, it's all human territory, and they sure do like our monkeys."

His last words carried deep meaning.

The young monkey asked curiously: "What? Humans like monkeys? That's perfect, then."

Old Monkey: "What's good about it? They like training monkeys to make money for him. I've seen it before being sent to the zoo—a monkey that refuses to jump through a fire hoop gets whipped directly!"

"Eek!" the young monkey shuddered, then heard it say: "That's still not bad; the worst is ending up on a human's dining table—steamed monkey brains, you get it?"

The young monkey, who just moments ago had been full of ambition, suddenly slumped, was about to speak, when a commotion broke out and interrupted everything.

Ling Yue turned her head, the sharp sound piercing her eardrums.

"My goodness, the bear house has a huge hole torn in it, and all the brown bears have escaped!"