HPDBC 236. Little Ancestor
236. Little Ancestor
“Unhand our little ancestor!” one of the twenty-meter-tall Adept Realm white tigers roared.Jin Shu looked from the towering tiger—
To the small girl in his arms.
Since when was my daughter the little ancestor of the White Tiger clan?
“Her? She’s your little ancestor? You’re sure?”
“Daddy, these aunties and uncles keep chasing me around,” Yin’er complained, clutching his collar.
“Are you the one who brainwashed our little ancestor?” the same tiger growled, eyes blazing.
“Hold on. Brainwashed? What kind of nonsense is that?”
Jin Shu was still trying to piece the situation together when the lead tiger suddenly lashed out.
A massive paw descended toward him—large enough to flatten him like an insect.
“Stand down!”
A deep voice thundered through the street.
The descending paw froze mid-air.
A larger white tiger stepped forward, towering at nearly thirty meters, its presence crushing and absolute. The aura of a Master Realm expert rolled off it like a tidal wave.
“Elder—”
The tiger who had attacked tried to protest, but a single glare from the newcomer silenced him instantly.
The massive tiger shimmered and took human form, transforming into an elderly man with a long white beard streaked faintly with black stripes.
He bowed toward Jin Shu.
Though his eyes never left Yin’er. Clearly she was the intended target of the bow.
“My apologies if they frightened you, Little Ancestor,” he said gently. “I will discipline them later.”
He extended his arms. “Now, please come with us.”
“Uh-uh.” Yin’er shook her head firmly. “I’m staying with my daddy. And if you don’t want to get beat up again, you should leave before I call Big Sister Mei’er.”
The elder flinched.
His hand instinctively rose to his eye, where the faint yellow-purple shadow of a healing bruise still lingered.
His expression shifted subtly.
Then he glanced down the street—
And paled.
A beautiful red-eyed woman was strolling toward them with leisurely confidence.
“Retreat,” he murmured.
The ferocious white tigers withdrew at once, vanishing as quickly as they had appeared.
Silence returned to the street.
Jin Shu stood there, his mind in complete disarray.
If this were an anime, visible question marks would have been floating over his head.
“Oh! Jin Shu! You’re here early!” Sun Mei’er called brightly.
In a flash of crimson light, she vanished from the far end of the street and reappeared at his side, wrapping him in a tight embrace.
He let her hold him.
For a moment.
Then another.
And another.
When an entire minute passed and she showed no signs of letting go, he finally pried her arms loose.
“Boo! I just wanted to hug my baby for a few minutes,” she pouted. “But he can’t even last one!”
Jin Shu’s eye twitched at her phrasing, but he chose to ignore it.
If he engaged, who knew what absurd thing she would say next?
“What’s going on with the White Tiger clan and Yin’er?” he asked instead. “Something about her being their little ancestor?”
Sun Mei’er glanced at the lingering young Divine Beasts. “Didn’t they explain it to you?”
“What? No. Well—he didn’t—”
The young men and women immediately began gesturing awkwardly, offering half-formed excuses before hastily retreating down the street.
In seconds, only the Immortal Phoenix Sect disciples and Long Ling remained.
“We didn’t get the chance to explain earlier,” Wu Ming said quickly. Then, sensing the atmosphere, she added, “We’ll leave you to it.”
She ushered the others away.
Long Ling lingered the longest, glancing between Jin Shu and Sun Mei’er with mild uncertainty.
“Who’s she? A new wife?” Sun Mei’er asked brightly.
“No!” Jin Shu snapped a little too quickly. “She’s… um…”
He faltered.
What was Long Ling to him?
A distant descendant?
A clan junior from a previous life?
“Hello. I’m Long Ling,” she said, bowing slightly. “I’m Jin Shu’s very distant cousin… from another life?”
“Oh!” Sun Mei’er’s eyes lit up in recognition. “You’re the last of the Ling Sisters! So you’re connected to my boy’s previous life. I see.”
She stepped closer, examining Long Ling with open appreciation.
“You’re just as beautiful as I heard. I especially like those pearl-white horns.”
Long Ling raised a brow. “You’ve heard of me?”
“Yes, yes!” Sun Mei’er nodded enthusiastically. “Your sisters said they were waiting for you before making a decision.”
“A decision?”
“Yes, about mar—”
“No! Vetoed! Not happening! Absolutely not!” Jin Shu cut in sharply.
He didn’t need to hear the rest.
This was definitely one of his mother’s schemes.
Sun Mei’er tilted her head. “Are you sure? You haven’t even met them yet. They’re all quite beautiful. Very unique.”
Long Ling blinked, glancing between them in growing confusion.
“No,” Jin Shu said again, his tone brooking no argument. “Now tell me what’s going on with Yin’er.”
Sun Mei’er pouted dramatically but didn’t push further.
“She’s apparently the reincarnation of their ancestral god—or something along those lines,” she said with a shrug. “They mentioned she was the origin of their clan. Supposedly, she used some ancient technique to revert herself into an egg. Then something went wrong, and she was lost.”
Her gaze shifted briefly to Yin’er.
“Now they’ve found her again. But she’s lost her memories… and her bloodline has mutated in a rather strange way.”
She shrugged again.
“That’s all I know.”
Jin Shu glanced down at the little girl in his arms.
Yin’er smiled up at him, utterly carefree.
“I think I’ve heard about this,” Long Ling said slowly.
Jin Shu and Sun Mei’er both turned toward her.
She scratched her cheek awkwardly before explaining.
“Each Divine Beast clan has a central figure—the true Divine Beast. They were originally born into ordinary spirit beast clans but possessed a unique trait: perfect control over a single element. They were worshiped as gods in ancient times. That’s why they carry the title Divine.”
Jin Shu nodded. That much he already knew from his previous life.
“They ascended long ago,” she continued. “But a few hundred years ago, they contacted our clan leaders.”
That was new.
Which meant it must have happened after Long Jinshu’s death.
“I don’t know the exact details,” Long Ling admitted, “but whatever occurred led to thousands of spirit beasts ascending. Afterward, our clans experienced a significant strengthening of our bloodline connection to our respective ancestors.”
Jin Shu frowned slightly. “That’s interesting, but what does it have to do with my daughter being the White Tiger clan’s ‘little ancestor’?”
“Oh—right. I skipped a part.” She gave him an embarrassed smile. “They descended at that time.”
“Who?”
“The four Divine Beasts.”
Jin Shu blinked.
Then slowly looked down at Yin’er again.
“…Wait. Are you saying she’s… the White Tiger?”
Long Ling shrugged lightly. “The White Tiger clan certainly believes so.”
She smiled faintly. “Why don’t we ask my sister?”
“Your sister?”
“I have three sisters—though we aren’t related by blood. We’re known as the Ling Sisters because we share the same given name. Hu Ling is my sister from the White Tiger clan.”
There wasn’t much point speculating further.
“Alright,” Jin Shu agreed.
Long Ling turned to Sun Mei’er. “Could you take us to my sisters, Aunt?”
“Just call me Big Sister Mei’er like everyone else,” Sun Mei’er corrected playfully before gesturing ahead. “Come on.”
The four of them walked through the city, chatting as they went. Jin Shu learned more about what had happened after they first arrived in the desert—about the battles, the alliance, and the construction of Phoenix Alliance City.
“So,” Sun Mei’er asked casually, “did you follow my map?”
Jin Shu sighed. “I did…”
He clicked his tongue in irritation. “The first destination nearly killed me.”
She tilted her head at him. “Picking up jewelry nearly killed you?”
“Jewelry? No—that was the second destination.”
She frowned. “No. That was the first.”
“No, look.” He pulled out the map and pointed to the forest at the base of the Demon Mountains. “The village you marked.”
“What am I looking at?” she asked flatly.
“The village.”
She looked from the map to his face.
“Jin Shu… there’s no village there.”
“What…?”
He lowered his gaze to the map.
She was right.
There was no village marked there at all.
In fact, the path drawn across the parchment now led in an entirely different direction.
“No… it was there. Every time I looked, it was there…”
Long Ling leaned over his shoulder. “I’ve passed through that forest before. There’s never been a village.”
“Maybe it’s new?” Sun Mei’er offered uncertainly.
“Maybe,” Jin Shu muttered. “But that doesn’t explain why I was convinced you marked a route through it.”
“You said you nearly died. What happened?”
“I ran into an Ill-Omened Dread Beast,” he replied. “It chased me through the forest. I barely managed to trap it in a formation—and even then, only for a moment.”
“A what?” Sun Mei’er asked, clearly unfamiliar with the term.
“I think that’s what it was called,” he said slowly. “I read about it once. A beast capable of bringing calamity.”
Sun Mei’er shook her head.
Long Ling did the same.
Neither of them had heard of such a creature.
Jin Shu exhaled.
“Well… whatever it was, it was terrifying. And really made me realize how scary the world is…”