Normally? He wouldn't of thought to hide behind a woman. Well, if his shijie had still been alive and had been there... then he'd have hid behind a woman. Jiang Yanli was pretty good about protecting him and Jiang Cheng. Had been good about taking care of them.
Though, before showing up in Madison Valley it had been Lan Zhan. He was the man that he would normally hide behind. So, even though this was the most unorthodox thing to happen, he stays put. As long as that dog was barking he was not moving. Not that he expected Noxeema to stay put, he didn't. All they had to do was get him back to his tree and he'd be fine.
Even though she turns to face him, he makes sure that she's between him and the barking. "You don't hear that beast?"