The Little White Tiger Cub Takes a Job to Earn Its Keep

Synopsis:

Taotie, who has eaten his way across the world, has been suffering from recurring stomach pains these past few days. He went down to the foot of the mountain and grabbed an old tree spirit at random. The tree spirit told him, "You have an egg in your belly."

Taotie snapped off a branch from the old tree and swallowed it. "I'm male, and I'm a virgin. Don't accuse me of something I didn't do."

The old tree spirit gazed at its dwindling branches and grew increasingly gloomy.

Taotie must have accidentally swallowed someone's unhatched baby, and since he still hadn't digested it, it definitely wasn't an ordinary baby.

But the old tree spirit didn't want to tell him the truth.

Running a hand over its dwindling whiskers, the old tree spirit said mysteriously, "This child was formed from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Perhaps, while foraging, Your Majesty accidentally inhaled it, and it then coalesced in your belly. It is a gift from Heaven, born of a fortunate coincidence. Your Majesty has spent your life in bloodshed, yet the baby in your belly is born auspicious. It may be an omen of some kind. I urge Your Majesty to raise the young master with care and perform more good deeds from now on."

Taotie widened his fierce beastly eyes, as if he'd just heard a joke.

"You want a vicious beast to raise a baby and do good deeds?"

The old tree spirit nodded solemnly. "This is Your Majesty's destiny."

"..." Taotie irritably scratched his fur with a claw. "I only know females can give birth. I've never heard of a male giving birth. Can you do it? Teach me."

The old tree spirit clapped its rough hands twice in the air. "There's no need to worry, Your Majesty. When the time comes, the young master will arrive on his own! One day, when your stomach hurts badly, just squat on the toilet for a while. It's easy, easy."

"Ha..."

After questioning the old tree spirit, Taotie looked at the tree stump left in front of him and scooped it up. The old tree spirit stuck its tendrils firmly into the ground and refused to budge. "Your Majesty, have you forgotten? Raise him with care, and do more good deeds! You're a father now!"

Just then, Taotie's belly suddenly hurt with a violent, unprecedented churning sensation (he had an upset stomach). Taotie cried out, "It's time! It's time, it's time!"

Old Tree Spirit: "Give birth!"

*

Bai Tiezhu, who had successfully been born (the old tree spirit named him), stretched out his soft pink paw pads and struggled to break free of the shell. Taotie watched as the tiny white ball tripped over the eggshell and fell before he could even crawl out.

He looked so delicious, but Taotie couldn't eat him. To vent his frustration, he ate the eggshell instead.

Bai Tiezhu affectionately rubbed his nose against Taotie's. The baby felt at home in familiar surroundings. Taotie blinked twice after being nuzzled, then took two steps back and studied the little thing carefully. He couldn't get too close. He didn't dare open his mouth or move his claws, afraid he'd accidentally smack the little thing to death.

Bai Tiezhu, innocent and oblivious, snuggled up to the one he thought of as his "mom" again and rubbed his nose against him.

Taotie's nose tickled. He sneezed, sending Bai Tiezhu flying eight zhang away. The little white cat let out a panicked cry in midair, and Taotie leaped after him, catching him in his fur.

From then on, Bai Tiezhu lived on Taotie's back.

Whatever Taotie ate, he fed to Bai Tiezhu too. Bai Tiezhu often felt unwell and nearly died several times, but each time he managed to pull through. Then one day, Taotie decided his cub was far too frail. He'd heard that the Dragon Palace had a ten-thousand-year-old immortal herb that could strengthen a cub's weak body, so he joined forces with the Four Great Ferocious Beasts and attacked the Dragon Palace. The battle raged until heaven and earth grew dim. Taotie took advantage of the chaos to snatch the herb and flee.

Unexpectedly, Bai Tiezhu collapsed shortly after eating it. No matter how much Taotie called to him, he didn't respond.

A year later, Taotie silently dug a hole and buried Bai Tiezhu.

The doctors at the foot of the mountain all said Bai Tiezhu was dead. One man, unafraid of death, mocked him: "You were cruel your whole life, and now Heaven has punished you!" But Taotie had changed his ways. With his mind in disarray, he left and entered a meditative state, where he fell into a deep slumber.

*

As mountains and rivers crumbled and the stars shifted, the year 2027 arrived. Bai Tiezhu burst up through the soil. He howled for a long time, but his mother never came.

Where had his mother gone?

Bai Tiezhu stared around in confusion. The mountain had changed, and there were even little animals nearby. When his mother had been around, there hadn't been any living creatures within a hundred li, except fish.

Bai Tiezhu had no choice but to go down the mountain by himself and set out on a journey to find his family.

Biological dad: "My cub!"

Fake mom: "My cub!"

Bai Tiezhu turned to the phoenix for help. The phoenix gave a crooked smile. "Mine..."

Biological dad: "I encountered him by chance while traveling through the mortal realm. He was born with a spiritual body. I nurtured him with my vital blood and prayed to Heaven with my merits, and that's how I got a divine beast White Tiger egg. And you swallowed my egg and still think you can take my place?"

Fake mom: "Bullshit! The old tree spirit clearly said blah blah blah... So! Tiezhu is the cub I gave birth to!"

"Go to hell!"

The auspicious beast, his biological dad, swore outright. "You didn't give birth to a child! You took a dump! You ate something bad and pooped out my cub!"

The fake mom opened his mouth to retort, but a light bulb suddenly went off in his head. "That... kind of makes sense."

Biological dad: "Luckily, Heaven had destined Tiezhu to be born. Otherwise, you'd have digested him. Then how could you and I be fighting over who gets to be his dad?"

Fake mom: "..."

Bai Tiezhu stared at the phoenix in shock. "Could I... be a piece of poop?"

"Ahem." The phoenix said nothing.

*

Then the fake mom left.

Bai Tiezhu cried as he searched for his mother. His biological dad tried to comfort him. "That's not your mom. You don't have a mom!"

At that, Bai Tiezhu cried even louder.

The phoenix sighed. "As expected, a child without a mother is like a blade of grass. The dad doesn't consider the child's feelings at all."

"Phoenix! Why are you stirring things up?"

The phoenix smiled. "I'm just telling the truth. The cub wants a mom, and you're his dad. How does that conflict with anything? Taotie carried the cub in his belly. Why shouldn't he count as the mom? You just reunited with your child, and you drove his mom away... In this day and age, have even auspicious beasts like the White Tiger fallen so low?"

"..."

The big White Tiger wanted to argue, but then he thought about it. Taotie had never said he wanted to be the dad, and the cub had always called him "Mom..."

After he finished crying, Bai Tiezhu said, eyes red and full of hurt, "Dad, I want my mom..."

"..."

The big White Tiger gritted his teeth. "I'll go bring your mom back!"

After his biological dad and fake mom had both left, the phoenix rubbed Bai Tiezhu's head. Bai Tiezhu hugged the phoenix and giggled. "A family should all be together! Dad is dad, mom is mom, and husband is husband. I want them all!"

"All right," the phoenix promised. "You can have them all."

P.S. The fake mom is always out looking for the cub, and the real dad is always out looking for the cub too. The cub causes a stir in modern society, while a certain bird claims him in advance: The cub is mine.

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Theme: Growing wildly toward the sun despite adversity