Recollections of the Past 1

She was a black tiger who grew up in a forest full of monsters. All the monsters here were her good friends, Mom and she both enjoy it here. But all of this was destroyed, a single teenager destroyed the peace that was held.

That day, it rained heavily.

"Cease your struggling, foul beasts." Yan Ruhuo stood before the monsters of the forest, dressed in a white robe. His eyes were clear and pure, "If you stop harming the innocent, then perhaps I could spare your lives."

"How can the great Black Tiger Clan succumb to a mere human?" The clan leader, who was also the young black tiger's mother, barreled towards Yan Ruhuo in the torrential rain. Then, she said to her daughter in a language only they understood. "Run! Don't ever come back!"

She stepped back in horror as her mother dropped dead to the ground just before she could reach the teenager. Her mother has given up her life to create this opportunity, so she whirled around and ran away as fast as she could. The cold rain pelted down on her while her lung burned and her muscles grew sore. It hurts, but her heart ached more.

Yan Ruhuo sighed and shook his head as he watched as the little black tiger disappeared into the trees. Forget it, it was just a child. At that point in time, he had no idea just what the young black tiger would bring to his life.

The young black tiger ran deep into the forest and to a witch's house. The witch gave her a bowl of medicine that can change her appearance.

"Have you decided?" The witch looked at her with a worried expression. She had watched the young black tiger grow up, and she was well aware of the pain that the medicine would cause.

The black tiger nodded firmly and drank the medicine. The moment she swallowed the bitter liquid, her body began to grow hot. Her fur felt like it had been set on fire. She writhed on the ground in pain. However, to her delight, it worked. Her dark fur gradually turned pale and became as white as snow.

She found the opportunity to approach the god-like young man.

"Huh? Is this a little White Tiger?" Yan Ruhuo gently lifted her up, taking care to avoid her injuries. She did not speak, she only looked at him with large, watery eyes. Yan Ruhuo took her back home, treated her injuries with medicinal ointments, and nursed her back to health.

When her injuries healed, she chose to stay with him. He smiled at her in silent agreement. Day after day, year after year, she learned a lot by his side, and he taught her how to turn into a human. She learned that quickly. When she transformed into a human, she took the form of a beautiful, young lady.

"What...what's your name?" Yan Ruhuo asked softly.

She lowered her head slightly: "...Rain."

She will never forget the torrential rain and the sight of her mother collapsing that day.

"I see, Rain." He nodded and repeated.

She changed back to the form of a little white tiger. She still felt more comfortable as a tiger. Her emotions would not be written on her face and it was more convenient to get closer to him that way.

Rain leaves the cabin every now and then, under the guise to play. Yan Ruhuo's divine aura often made her feel sick.On one of her adventures in the valley, she met a handsome man who was dying and covered in blood. At that moment, she saw her younger self, helpless to even save herself, so she transformed into her human form and helped him.

After the man woke up, he saw Rain and moved his lips. "Thank you..."

Rain smiled and shook her head. "It's okay. What's your name? My name is...Rain"

"... Cloud." He paused and continued, "Let me follow you, Rain."

"...Huh?" Rain blinked and looked at him.

"I've already lost all of my powers, but still, let me follow you. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I can train again. It's the least I could do to repay you." He said slowly.

Rain did not refuse, but shrugged. "Suit yourself."

And just like that, she had another friend. His name is Cloud, and sometimes he gets really serious. It's so fun to tease him whenever that happens.

One day, a person stepped down from the clouds and landed in front of Yan Ruhuo's cabin. Yan Ruhuo walked out to greet the person and she followed him, out of curiosity. That person was a man dressed in a dark brown robe. He is very handsome, with an ethereal charm. Few were able to look that way in a dark brown robe.

"Is that...the White Tiger?" He looked at her friendly, walked over, squatted down, and gently scratched her head. "Hello, I am Xuan Wu. You can call me Xuan." He gave her a friendly smile.

She tilted her head slightly, and a girlish voice came from the little white tiger. "Rain."

"Well, a cute name." Xuan smiled lightly, stood up and looked at Yan Ruhou, "You're very lucky."

Yan Ruhuo just smiled softly without speaking.

Very lucky? What does he mean?She was puzzled, but she could not ask him. They had only just met, after all.

Rain jumped onto Yan Ruhuo's shoulder and stared at Xuan, who smiled at her sweetly. "It's nothing, I just wanted to see how you are doing lately"

He was speaking to Yan Ruhuo, but for some reason, Xuan kept looking at her. Rain felt a little embarrassed, so she wanted to jump off Yan Ruhuo's shoulders, but her feet slipped and she lost her balance.

"Be careful." Yan Ruhou stretched out his hand and caught her. She fell neatly into his hands. A tiny, white furball sat at the palm of his hand, her eyes were hidden by her fur. She looked adorable.

"Pftt." Xuan laughed and looked at Yan Ruhuo. "It seems that you have a very interesting playmate... Where did you find her? I want to get one too!"

Get one? That was so rude!She gave Xuan a dissatisfied look, but it did not do much to intimidate him.

"I won't tell you, go find it yourself." A faint smile coloured his lips, and he spoke to Xuan as if they had been friends for a long time.

"No need, I've already found one here." Xuan kept looking at her with a charming smile, "So, little white tiger, why don't you follow me instead? I'm quite handsome. "

She curled her lips in disdain. Handsome? Yan Ruhuo is really handsome too, why should I go with you?

Xuan rubbed his nose sheepishly and released a dry laugh, as if he had read her thoughts. "Okay, enjoy yourselves. I'll be going then."

"See you." Yan Ruhuo said lightly, then turned around, walked back into the cabin with her in his hands. She turned her head and watched Xuan leave.

"Why, Rain doesn't want him to leave?" Yan Ruhuo smiled and stroked her head.

"Nope." She rolled her eyes, rubbed her small head against his warm palm, then jumped to the ground, shook her ears, and went out. Yan Ruhuo looked at her cute appearance and let out a chuckle.

She came to the hillside and saw Cloud, dressed in a blue robe. He was playing a vertical flute, its whistles echoed through the hills as his robe billowed behind him in the breeze. She could see that flowers bloomed in the valley as he played. As if he had sensed her arrival, Cloud stopped playing and turned around to look at her. She smiled, turned into her human form, and walked to his side.

"Rain..." Cloud looked at her and lowered his eyes slightly, "I..."

"Huh?" She looked at him with a smile and motioned for him to continue.

"I love you."

He said that so softly, but it stunned her. Love, no one has ever said that to her Except for her mother. What is love?

So, she smiled softly at Cloud, and answered him, the same way she used to reply to her mother. "I love you too." Cloud's eyes lit up when she said that.

The next day, Yan Ruhuo cleaned the cabin and got ready to leave. She hopped onto his shoulder immediately.

"I'm going to the imperial city, does Rain want to come along?" He smiled and stroked her head.

She nodded and lay quietly on his shoulder.

When they arrived in the imperial city, she turned into her human form and walked with him in the streets. They happened to pass by a funeral. A noble had passed away, his family were laying him to rest tearfully.

"Brother Yan, why do tiny droplets of water keep flowing from their eyes?"

"Because they are sad."

She nodded, deep in thought.

They stopped beside a pond, she turned to Yan Ruhuo, bolstered her courage and asked, "Brother Yan, can you play something for me?"

"Okay."

Yan Ruhuo conjured up a Guqin and played. His long, slender fingers danced across the strings as a melody flowed out from between his fingers. She listened carefully and drank it in.

Finally, she stood up. She missed the cabin in the mountains. "Brother Yan, let's go home..."

"Sure."

She saw the red lotuses in the pond.

"Brother Yan, look, how beautiful these red lotuses are! Let them burn in our hearts and accompany us forever! Wouldn't that be nice?"

Yan Ruhuo didn't answer, he just looked at the sea of red flowers in the pond with tenderness.

When they returned to the cabin, it was already night. A man wearing a dark brown robe stood quietly in front of the cabin, looking like he was waiting for someone. She looked at the man with a quizzical look, he seemed oddly familiar. He should be Xuan, right?

Seeing them back, Xuan walked up with a smile. "Oh, you're finally back."

"Yeah." Yan Ruhuo replied indifferently and walked up to Xuan. "What is it?"

"Ah, I'm here to play with Rain." Xuan smiled brightly and looked at her.

"Ask her yourself." Yan Ruhuo walked into the cabin.

She was still in the form of a girl. Xuan's expectant, intense gaze made her face flush and she lowered her head to hide her embarrassment. "Let's go."

"Alright." Xuan came over, took Rain's hand with a smile, and ran in the opposite direction of the cabin.

The sudden burst of speed almost made her stumble, but she quickly recovered and caught up with a slight jog. "Hey, slow down..."

They ran for quite a distance before Xuan finally stopped. Rain noticed that his hand was much larger than hers, it wrapped up her hand completely, it was very warm.

"You...what do you want?" She yanked out her hand as she panted to catch her breath.

Xuan's bright green eyes shimmered under the moonlight. "Rain, don't you want to say something to me?"

"What?" She didn't react for a while and frowned.

"Rain...Do you remember Qing Ling?" His voice was gentle.

Her eyes widened suddenly and she looked at him in disbelief. Qing Ling, her childhood best friend.