Chapter 6.2

Mu Ling adjusted her mask, lowered her head, and continued using tweezers to apply medication to Qilin’s small wounds. “I’ll eat later. Let me finish up here first.”

Xiang Bie approached, standing beside her as he gently stroked Qilin’s dull fur.

Mu Ling casually inquired, “Brother Xiang, why do we have sponsors for our medical supplies?”

She was referring to what Wei Li had mentioned earlier—that the zoo’s medications were sponsored. Lately, Mu Ling had become extremely sensitive to anything related to money, acting like a miser who had never seen wealth before.

Xiang Bie explained, “Some of the animals’ former owners hope their pets can thrive in our park. They regularly donate funds and provide us with common medical supplies.”

Mu Ling was immediately touched. “They’re such good people!”

This had saved her a considerable amount of money.

Her mind raced, quickly formulating an idea. “When we reopen the zoo, why don’t we invite these generous donors for a free visit? It’s a great way to show our appreciation for their ongoing support.”

She could already envision crowds of visitors, imagining how this gesture might lead to even more guests through word-of-mouth recommendations.

Mu Ling was thrilled, sensing victory on the horizon as her plans took shape.

Seeing the new director’s enthusiasm, Xiang Bie chose not to dampen her spirits. Reopening might be easy, but turning a profit was another matter. Even after reopening, the likelihood of repeating previous losses remained high.

The issue of visitors being unable to see the animals remained unresolved, which would only further damage their reputation, just as before.

Qilin didn’t wake until around five the next morning.

Fearing something might happen to Qilin overnight, Mu Ling had spent the night at the veterinary station.

Wei Li had offered to take over the night watch, but Mu Ling declined. The protective fence company was coming tomorrow, and Xiang Bie and Wei Li would need to guide them all over the mountain. There was no need for them to lose sleep when she could catch up on rest during the day.

When Qilin first awoke, it began to struggle.

Hearing the commotion, Mu Ling quickly rose from the sofa and rushed to the ward.

Qilin’s “ward” was essentially a large iron cage, inside which Mu Ling had placed two thick quilts to make it more comfortable for the tiger.

Arriving at the cage, Mu Ling saw Qilin pacing restlessly, even raising its paw to scratch at the wall behind it.

“Qilin, no, don’t scratch! Your paws are injured. Moving around carelessly will make them bleed— oh no, they’re bleeding already!”

Mu Ling watched anxiously, trying to calm the tiger for several minutes. When her words failed to soothe it, she had no choice but to don protective gear, grab a tranquilizer, and enter the cage.

The tiger, though already badly wounded, growled fiercely as Mu Ling approached. “Roar!”

As it roared, its body tensed, causing blood to seep through several bandages.

Fearing the previous stitches might burst, Mu Ling sternly commanded, “Qilin, no! Sit down.”

The tiger, naturally, didn’t obey. It lowered its upper body, seemingly ready to pounce on Mu Ling at any moment.

Mu Ling stood her ground, hands on her hips, unafraid. “Go ahead, pounce. I saved your body; I know your current condition. You’re in pain all over and have no strength left. Stop pretending to be tough.”

“Roar-ow!” The tiger let out another roar, but halfway through, its voice faltered, as if the pain had become unbearable. It lowered its head, panting heavily, and used its nose to rub at its bandaged paws, trying to scratch off the uncomfortable gauze.

“Qilin, stop.” Mu Ling immediately moved to intervene.

As she approached, the tiger retreated, baring its teeth in a show of weak but stubborn resistance.

Mu Ling felt a pang of sympathy. Relying on her protective gear and tranquilizer, she cautiously crouched before the tiger, pushing its large mouth away to prevent it from touching its paws.

The tiger, furious, immediately tried to bite her.

Before it could, Mu Ling swiftly clamped its jaws shut.

Then, leaning closer, she gently kissed its nose and whispered, “Be good, Qilin. It doesn’t hurt anymore. Let’s sit down, okay?”

The tiger snorted angrily, glaring at her with fierce eyes.

Mu Ling glanced at the tiger’s front paws again.

“The bandage is crooked. We need to rewrap it.”

The tiger remained tense, its merciless eyes fixed on the woman’s neck. It knew that biting through there could kill her.

“I’m going to change your bandage now. I’m letting go of your mouth, okay? Don’t bite me. Well, it doesn’t matter anyway—you can’t bite through this suit. If you do bite me, I’ll have to give you a shot.” Mu Ling released the tiger’s mouth. It didn’t move, rigidly maintaining its threatening posture.

Mu Ling lifted its front paw and gently blew on the wound, following the human logic that blowing makes it feel better.

As she was rewrapping the bandage, Mu Ling suddenly felt an itch on the back of her neck.

Her protective hood obstructed her view. When she turned her head, she saw the tiger curiously sniffing her, its nose nuzzling into the crook of her neck, probing deeper.

“What are you doing?” Mu Ling asked, puzzled.

The tiger sniffed a few more times, then raised its paw to scratch its nose, as if confused by the strange scent.

Seeing this, Mu Ling thought for a moment and burst out laughing. “Oh, are you embarrassed because you can smell me in your nose? I gave you mouth-to-nose resuscitation earlier. You probably still have some of my saliva in your nose.”

The tiger, even more confused, shook its head. This scent made it not want to attack. Why would there be such a scent? It moved closer again, continuing to smell Mu Ling, then stuck out its tongue and gave her a quick lick.

Mu Ling was stunned.

Her clothes now soaked from the lick, she quickly pushed the tiger away. “Hey! That’s dirty! Stop licking. Be good, let big sister finish with your paw paw. Mm, our Qilin is the best, so obedient. Here, let me give you another kiss, mwah!”