The immortals in Lingxiao Hall all changed expression when they heard the words “spirit tiger.” Even the Jade Emperor, seated on his throne, looked a little grim.
One must understand that in Heaven a spirit tiger was about as remarkable as an ordinary chick in the mortal world, hardly worth mentioning. The assembled immortals exchanged incredulous glances. They could scarcely believe that all Bihua Lingjun had hatched from the Wishful Egg was a spirit tiger.
Star Lord Taibai coughed. “Although it is only a spirit tiger, for a tiger to hatch from an egg is rather extraordinary in itself. Perhaps this tiger has some special quality. Its coat may be unusual, or its spiritual energy particularly strong…”
So when they left Lingxiao Hall, several of the senior immortals agreed to visit Bihua Lingjun’s residence and see for themselves.
The Supreme Lord Lao, Star Lord Taibai, Emperor Donghua, Star Lord of Fate, Heavenly King Dehua, and several other high immortals drifted over together. Two young attendants, Chisheng and Yunqing, led them inside. Yunqing puffed out his cheeks and complained, “You immortal lords have come at just the right time! Our lord is acting as if he’s gone mad. He does nothing but clutch that tiger cub and won’t put it down. Please try to talk some sense into him.” Chisheng was the more mature of the two and immediately rebuked him. “Don’t speak so recklessly in front of the immortal lords. Perhaps His Lordship will come back to himself in a day or two. It did hatch from the Wishful Egg, after all, so naturally he values it more.” Yunqing lowered his head and muttered, “I can’t see anything special about it. Even its spiritual energy is weaker than Yuan Lu’s and Yuan Xiu’s.”
Yuan Lu and Yuan Xiu were the names of the two tiger cubs Emperor Donghua had seen before.
Still muttering, Yunqing led the visitors into the inner quarters. Emperor Donghua laughed. “Bihua really does treasure this tiger. He’s even keeping it in his own bedchamber.”
They lifted the curtain and entered, finding Bihua Lingjun rising to greet them with a yellowish little bundle cradled in his arms. Emperor Donghua said, “We heard the spirit beast had hatched, so we came to have a look. Is that the one you’re holding?”
Bihua Lingjun immediately beamed. “Yes, yes.” He carefully raised the yellow bundle and held it out for the immortals to inspect. “Look at it. Isn’t it adorable?” They looked closely. Half asleep in Bihua Lingjun’s hands was a tiger cub with a yellow-striped coat, indistinguishable from an ordinary cub from head to paw. Its spiritual energy was perfectly commonplace too. Yet Bihua gazed at it so tenderly that one might have thought it a treasure without equal.
Emperor Donghua knew about the cub’s refusal to hatch when it had heard something displeasing while still inside the egg. Seeing that his fellow immortals were about to tease Bihua, he hurried to forestall them with a couple of hearty chuckles. “Indeed, indeed. It really is most adorable.” He reached out and stroked the little tiger’s head.
The other immortals hastened to agree. “Adorable! Adorable! Ha ha!” Heavenly King Dehua patted Bihua Lingjun on the shoulder. “Brother, you worked hard incubating this little fellow. It must have been exhausting. It will certainly grow into a fierce tiger! What do you mean to do with it when it’s grown?”
The little tiger stirred in Bihua Lingjun’s hands. He immediately stroked its back with great tenderness. It scratched his finger with a forepaw, wriggled into a new position, and went on dozing.
Bihua Lingjun replied, “That will naturally be for the Jade Emperor to decide. For now, I just want to raise it.”
The visitors watched Bihua stare fixedly at the cub, hardly taking his eyes off it, and decided that there really was something rather wrong with him. Not knowing what else to say, they exchanged a few pleasantries and rose to leave.
Bihua Lingjun set the cub on his quilt and personally escorted them to the front gate.
Heavenly King Dehua was always straightforward. Unable to hold his tongue, he said, “Brother Bihua, take my advice. You hatched the spirit beast from the Wishful Egg yourself, but in the end it’s only a creature to keep for amusement. Enjoy raising it if you like, but don’t go to such lengths over it.” He sighed at Bihua Lingjun’s disheveled, unwashed appearance.
Bihua Lingjun stared blankly ahead. “Of course I understand what you’re saying, Brother Dehua. Only…” He gazed into the boundless empty sky. “I don’t know whether it’s because I hatched it myself or what, but the more I look at it, the more it pleases me. However I look at it, it’s exactly to my taste. You wouldn’t understand.”
Seeing his advice was useless, Heavenly King Dehua could only take his leave with many heavy sighs. Halfway home he could not help remarking, “Bihua really has gone quite mad.”
Emperor Donghua laughed. “I take it you’ve never watched Bihua raise spirit beasts before, Brother Dehua. He’s always like this. For the first few days after getting a new creature, he treasures it beyond reason. A little later, when the novelty wears off, he loses interest. This time he’s certainly worse than usual. I wonder whether he’ll manage to keep it up a few days longer.”