The garden they were in was within the Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan’s mansion, and it was supposed to be a gathering place for the minor clans who had pledged their allegiance to the clan and wished to gain a chance to shine on this day.
Unfortunately for them, what little hopes they might have had, it was bound to be crushed this year. During their breakfast together, Lynn and Yun had promised the Tiger Princess that they would arrive with Jin, and that they would be fashionable late.
Yang Ling could only hope they kept their promise and thus reserved a place for them. However, she had underestimated Jin’s group as a bunch of his minions had immediately followed her entourage back to their house and erected a barrier in place, keeping any onlooker on the outside.
Initially, there was a ruckus, especially from the older minor clans who demanded an explanation from Yang Ling. It was unclear whether it was coincidence or pure intent, but the barrier happened to be on the spot which had been reserved for the oldest of these minor clans. The Tiger Princess, while acting all friendly with Jin’s employees, turned her attitude 180 degrees when confronted with the Minor Clan Leaders complaining.
Some had started to suspect that the barrier might have been erected for a surprise later down the line, but when it was time for the Clan’s Lunch Meet to begin, it did not change. All of them were curious about how the Tiger Lord would react to this. Hu Yuan Ba was known as a person who regarded punctuality in high regards. Would he really be so forgiving to a person that came late? If not, was the Tiger Head waiting so that he could give a lesson to whoever was behind the barrier?
All the constant chatter became meaningless when the barrier was lifted, and they suddenly saw a group of people in formal suits protecting a young guy, who had to be the Clan Leader of them with a beautiful, cute lady by his side.
“All this waiting and anticipation and its not some present or prize from Tiger Master Yuan Ba? Just a freaking kid with a bunch of his bodyguards?!” The Minor Clan Leaders started to hurl vulgarities towards Jin and his group of minions.
“Welp, now I understand the need for a show of power. If not, I would have been swamped by these people.” Jin thought to himself. Now was not the time to hide. He started to understand the current situation the Royal Zodiac Tigers might have put him in. (Or in this case, how the girls and the System had inadvertently put him in.)
“Who the hell does this young punk think he is?! I, Buay Hao Pai, Leader of my Roaring Tigers Clan demand an explanation from the Main Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan organisation. We, the Roaring Tiger Clan, have served diligently and loyally for decades and that place has unilaterally been accepted as our spot. Every other minor clan knows of our existence and shows us the courtesy and respect to not assemble on our spot on the annual clan Meet!”
“Oh my god, is this the advent of an arrogant cultivator dispute?” Jin wondered out loud in the System Channel.
“You know, you are just really lucky you have been meeting nice folks. There are idiots like him almost everywhere.” Lynn whispered her experience that she had been bullied quite a number of times back when she was selling her black pepper pork buns out in the streets.
“And I suppose you gave in because you were powerless to do anything?” Jin questioned as he quietly looked at Lynn. Her look showed that she was annoyed by this kind of people that deserve a slap in the face.
“Well, duh. And when I first met you, I thought you were one of those creepy cultivators too.” Lynn commented and it felt like a dagger had been struck at the front of Jin’s chest.
“I promised to be better than that.” Jin apologised.
“You already did. Now continue to act the part.” Lynn whispered back.
On the other hand, Buay Hao Pai noticed that silence from Jin’s group as he merely communicated with his ‘girlfriend’. Being ignored by a spoiled brat made his blood boil even further. Despite the Royal Zodiac Tiger house servants requesting the Roaring Tiger to wait for the arrival of the main family for a proper answer, Buay Hao Pai decided to take things into his own hands. Even his clan members were roused by their leader’s wrath and started to make a mountain out of a molehill.
——
“Are you not going to show yourself and deal with the situation? It was actually very hard to convince him to come here today.” Tiger Princess Yang Ling asked her father, who was staring at the whole commotion.
“Take it as punishment for Jin who had arrived so late. It has been 18 minutes past the appointed time.” Yuan Ba replied, and Yang Ling’s two elder brothers both snickered.
“Why are you so afraid of your little panda boyfriend – oh oops?! Looks like he already had a bitch with him! Should I rephrase it? You afraid your little panda crush cannot handle the pressure?” Yang Rong, the second brother, ridiculed his sister with an arrogant tone.
Yang Ling kept her mouth quiet as she knew that her two brothers had no idea about Jin’s accomplishments. She also knew that her second brother’s loud mouth was second to none. Arguing with him would only stress her out even further. This thought, however, made her realise that her father must be putting a facade. He must not want to openly show any favouritism to the new kid in the block.
Everyone in the family knew that one of Jin’s associates managed to save the Tiger Head’s life and in turn, Jin was given an honorary membership as thanks. But there were certain rules in the Tiger Clan and not being punctual for such an important event had to be punished.
Still, while Yuan Ba continued to keep a strong nonchalant front, he was hoping that he did not piss off Jin too much. They had done little to gain his favour and even berated him by utilising their powers to force him to do things he did not want (according to the Police Chief who had informed him about what was expected of him), namely bringing out the portals for military use even though it was just that one time.
The Tiger Head had treated him like just an above-average cultivator who happened to have excellent dimensional instance manipulation skills. If possible, he would have kicked his past self’s butt for failing to see Jin’s worth. How could he have possibly predicted that the young guy he tried to take advantage of, would become a national war hero in the eyes of the upper level of the society who were now vying to get him for their own purpose?
And even now, they had discovered various Royal Zodiac Scouts from the different clans watching his garden from afar. If Yuan Ba did not act fast enough to secure Jin or at least gain some form of leverage, there might not be another chance.
“Perhaps, I should intervene when the time is right.” Yuan Ba planned since he strongly believed Jin’s group could easily overpower the Roaring Tigers.
