Part 5: The Snow Leopard
**Shi Lan woke up to the sound of someone calling him. He stood up and opened the door. There was a young man with brown hair tied in a ponytail. His features were neither bad nor beautiful. The young man looked at him and said,
"Are you Shi Lan?"
Shi Lan nodded. The man looked at him from top to bottom, then sighed and said,
"Alright, I'm Meng Shu, the sect leader's grandson, and I'm here to teach you how to properly control beasts."
Shi Lan smiled kindly and said,
"Okay, thank you. Please come in."
Meng Shu entered and sat on a chair. Shi Lan went to change his clothes.
Meng Shu looked around the house and thought to himself,
"The sect leader said I must take care of this person. I thought it was because he's the grandson of the Weapon King. I also thought he'd be a spoiled foolish young man, but the person in front of me was polite."
After Shi Lan finished changing his clothes, he said enthusiastically,
"Sir, I'm ready!"
Meng Shu got nervous and said,
"Don't call me sir. I'm your age, and I don't like bullying new or younger disciples, understand?"
Shi Lan smiled kindly, showing that he understood.
Meng Shu sighed and told Shi Lan,
"Alright, Shi Lan. The first lesson is to control small beasts, because big ones are too hard. We'll go to Light Mountain — that place is full of small beasts."
Shi Lan nodded, and indeed, they went to Light Mountain. The path was quiet, and Shi Lan didn't ask Meng Shu anything — this made Meng Shu curious, and he decided to give him advice:
"Shi Lan, the sect leader told me you don't have the Evil Intent Gem. That makes you an easy target for bad people. So you must be careful with everyone."
Shi Lan smiled and said nothing.
The atmosphere became awkward, but after a few minutes they reached the place.
Meng Shu smiled and began to explain about the beasts:
"Listen, Shi Lan, when you see the beasts, don't go to them without food — some small beasts don't know much about people. So if they see food, they'll be nice."
After he finished talking, he took out a bag full of small dead fish.
But suddenly, a young man with black hair appeared. He was wearing white clothes with a golden lotus flower drawn on them.
He smiled mockingly and said loudly,
"Is this the spoiled talentless kid? Poor you, Meng Shu, you have to take care of this spoiled kid."
Meng Shu got annoyed and said in a threatening voice,
"What are you doing here, Diren?"
Diren smiled and said,
"I wanted to welcome the new disciple. Is the new disciple learning how to control beasts? Well then, I also want to help the new disciple."
But before Meng Shu could refuse, Diren grabbed the bag of raw fish, with a wicked smile.
Something moved — Meng Shu was about to fight, but Diren stopped him and said in a low voice,
"Who would've thought that an Ice Tiger would appear here."
Meng Shu was shocked and said in disbelief,
"Is the Ice Tiger really here? But how? I heard there are only three of them."
But before he could finish, a small white tiger appeared.
The little tiger approached.
Diren was very excited, but Meng Shu got annoyed and said,
"No, wait! That tiger should belong to Shi Lan. You already have your own spirit beast — why do you want this one too?"
Diren smiled and said,
"Are you stupid? Do you want this idiot, who doesn't have the Evil Intent Gem, to have this legendary tiger? What will he do with it? Play with it? This person doesn't deserve the Ice Tiger."
Meng Shu got angry and was about to fight him, but Shi Lan stopped him with a gentle smile,
"It's okay. I really don't mind."
The tiger got closer. Diren got more excited, thinking the tiger would come to him because of the food.
He knelt to offer the food and take the tiger —
but the shock was that the tiger ignored him and went to Shi Lan.
Shi Lan was surprised.
The tiger approached him and gently jumped on him.
Shi Lan fell, holding the little tiger. The tiger licked his face gently.
Shi Lan laughed and told the tiger to stop — and it did.
It looked at Shi Lan with affection.
Meanwhile, Meng Shu and Diren stared at him in astonishment.
Diren's face was completely stunned.
And Meng Shu was thinking about the dragon who told him to treat Shi Lan kindly — or else he would deeply regret it.
Diren approached him and said angrily,
"What did you do to the Ice Tiger!?"
Shi Lan got nervous and quietly said,
"I didn't do anything. I think it's because of the Evil Intent."
Diren shamelessly said,
"Okay, whatever the reason, this Ice Tiger is mine. Understand?"
Shi Lan looked at him and smiled,
"Okay, I understand, brother. But I want to ask you something: would you like someone to take you from your mother just to make you theirs?"
This made Diren extremely angry, and he said in a terrifying voice,
"I don't care about that nonsense. All beasts are just tools. You better stop pretending to be a good person, understand!?"
Shi Lan was surprised, but quickly calmed down and said,
"If the Ice Tiger wants to go with you, then it's fine. But if it refuses, that would be bad. You can't take someone who doesn't want you."
Diren got angry and attacked Shi Lan —
but someone stopped him.
That person was wearing golden clothes.
Meng Shu said in shock,
"The Vice President of the Council of Beasts?"