Cultivating Immortality by Raising a Cat (GL) Chapter 29

Returning to Lin Mianmian, whose leg had been hit by a steamed bun, although she felt the calico who ran away had quite a temper, cats were cats. If they did not have a temper, could they still be called cats? Still, she felt a little regretful. Such a clean and beautiful calico had run away before she could properly pet her a few times.
After this commotion, the yellow cat that Yuan Zhaoyang had pressed down no longer felt like scratching Lin Mianmian. It waved its tail, ran a little farther away, found another place, and continued eating steamed buns.
Lin Mianmian, who had completely failed to understand this cat drama, watched for a while longer. When she found that the small animals seemed almost done eating, she belatedly went back into the room to find a basin and filled it halfway with water. But when Lin Mianmian carried the water out, she found that most of the small animals by the steamed bun pile had already scattered. Only one little mottled rabbit and three cats remained, lying in the open space near the bun pile and sunning themselves.
One had a black back, white belly, and white paws. One was pure black except for a tuft of white fur at the tip of the tail. The last one… hm, looked like the yellow cat she had petted earlier. The yellow cat was only two palms long and seemed not fully grown yet. But the other two were clearly adult cats, one or two circles larger than the calico from before.
Lin Mianmian looked around. Aside from these four, the others seemed to have run far away.
But it was fine. There would be plenty of time in the future.
Lin Mianmian put the water basin at the courtyard gate, waved at the small animals sunning themselves, and imitated a few cat calls.
A mysterious… silence.
It was fine. Cats… were just this… cold and proud.
Lin Mianmian held her injured little heart and began cleaning up the pile of steamed buns the small animals had left behind.
She would not keep the bits that were too broken. For the larger pieces that had only been bitten a few times, she would break off the chewed edges and roast the rest into dried bun pieces. That would not waste food, it would store easily, and it could feed them for a few more meals. When Senior Sister Zihui came to hand out rations again, Lin Mianmian could take more. Then she would not have to worry about being unable to feed them.
As Lin Mianmian lit the fire, picked through the buns, broke them apart, and began roasting them, she completely failed to notice a small thing hiding under a tree not far away, slowing its breathing and watching her the whole time.
Behind the tree, Yuan Zhaoyang curled her small body and narrowed her eyes as she watched Lin Mianmian bustle around the courtyard. She seemed to be roasting the same dried buns that had been in the bowl the night before.
Since their first meeting in Yingxian City, Yuan Zhaoyang had been busy resisting that strange fragrance that seemed able to confuse the mind. She had not been able to calmly and properly look at the source of that strange fragrance. Now, the jade ring on Lin Mianmian’s wrist was in full scent-blocking mode. Without the disturbance of that strange fragrance, Yuan Zhaoyang became a little more interested in Lin Mianmian herself.
However… Yuan Zhaoyang truly could not understand this little girl.
She looked only thirteen or fourteen. She had bright eyes, white teeth, and long smooth black hair. More than that, her complexion was excellent, and her skin was fair and tender. One look showed she was not someone an ordinary family could raise. Yet when she had come to seek an immortal sect, even the ragged clothes on her body had been borrowed.
If one said her family had suddenly met disaster, that could make sense. But looking at her broad state of mind, and how she did not give up on herself even when facing such terrible spiritual-root aptitude, she did not seem like someone who had just suffered disaster. A-Bai had gone to chat with her and returned only saying Lin Mianmian had no family. A-Bai had felt too embarrassed to ask more. After all, this little girl carried no scent of blood and did not seem evil in heart or crooked in action. The rest was her private matter.
Then there was the strange fragrance on her body. Yuan Zhaoyang had a feeling that perhaps she was the only one in the world who could smell this strange fragrance. Even Lin Mianmian herself might not know about it.
Those two points alone were enough to make Yuan Zhaoyang unable to understand her. Now there was another matter.
Yuan Zhaoyang watched those animals show no appreciation, while Lin Mianmian still smiled gently and continued working for that group of mortal-world animals. The more Yuan Zhaoyang watched, the more uncomfortable she felt.
Was this person stupid?
The Five Elements Sect also had places where spirit beasts were raised. The disciples who cared for spirit beasts there had all accepted sect tasks. After caring for them for a period of time, they could collect generous cultivation resources from the Task Hall and continue their cultivation path.
What was this person doing it for?
She had already stepped onto the cultivation path, yet she still wanted to keep caring for small animals? So boring.
Yuan Zhaoyang quietly watched Lin Mianmian repeat the actions of breaking buns and roasting buns. She did not think at all about how her own act of secretly watching what she called boring was also a kind of boredom.
Hm… why did something feel wrong?
The sixth sense of Lin Mianmian’s grass body kept feeling that something was watching her. She listened carefully, but could only hear the breathing of the three cats and one rabbit outside. All right, there seemed to be one small animal farther away too. She wondered whether that calico had come back.
Lin Mianmian could not help thinking about it. She grabbed a handful of roasted and cooled dried bun pieces and walked out of the courtyard.
But before she could walk toward the tree where she had heard breathing, the white-tipped black cat who had been sunning itself darted over.
“Meow!”
Lin Mianmian’s robe was scratched once.
“Hey, hey… do not scratch, do not scratch. You cannot scratch these clothes…” Lin Mianmian hurriedly stepped back two steps. The clothes on her body were still the ones A-Bai had lent her before. They could not be scratched apart.
The little cat lying under the tree twitched its ears. Its face seemed somewhat satisfied, almost as if it said, At least you know enough to protect this great one’s clothes.
“All right, all right. Here, eat.” Lin Mianmian crouched and spread her palm toward White-Tip.
This indulgence toward a criminal made the little satisfaction Yuan Zhaoyang had just felt disappear at once.
Hmph. The little cat flicked her tail unhappily.
Watching a cat eat dried bun pieces from her palm with rumbling little sounds was happier than eating delicacies herself. Feeding cats had to be done by hand. Her heart was melting.
Lin Mianmian held one hand open to feed the cat. Her other hand slowly rose and lightly slid over the cat’s back.
Soft. Warm. A cloud in the sky.
Under the tree, the little calico stood up and shook her fur as she saw the happy expression on the girl’s face.
White-Tip on this side ate obediently. The yellow cat on the other side also stood and squeezed over. Although White-Tip was big, its temper seemed good. Seeing the yellow cat squeeze in, it did not argue and moved to the side, leaving a space. The yellow cat was clearly much more overbearing. It did not eat properly and instead kept nudging White-Tip outward.
Lin Mianmian had just petted White-Tip, so at a time like this, of course she had to reach out and uphold justice. But before her hand fully reached out, the yellow cat scratched it accurately with one paw.
This time, the yellow cat’s move had no warning at all. Yuan Zhaoyang, who had just walked out from under the tree, froze where she was too.
If she were being rational, Yuan Zhaoyang felt that Lin Mianmian’s unconditional love for small animals was not good, and learning a lesson might be fine. But when she truly saw the little girl scratched and her eyes wet with pain, Yuan Zhaoyang felt a little blocked and upset.
Yuan Zhaoyang blamed this stuffy feeling on Lin Mianmian contributing fragrance to help her break through to Core Formation. Since Yuan Zhaoyang had a duty to repay her, it would not make sense to watch with open eyes as she was scratched.
Hm. That was the only way to understand it.
Caught off guard and scratched, Lin Mianmian’s hand trembled from pain. The few dried bun bits left in her palm fell to the ground. The yellow cat pushed White-Tip far away with its bottom and lowered its head to eat.
In the time it took for a spark to fly, a familiar scent came over. Before the yellow cat could make its body follow its sense of danger, it was knocked over onto the ground.
This calico again! The yellow cat angrily clawed at its own belly, but failed to catch the calico that had crashed into it. Instead, it scratched off a tuft of its own belly fur. Calico, calico, calico again! The yellow cat rolled over. Seeing that this calico was much smaller than the one at noon, it was even more fearless and pounced over to slap her.
“Careful, careful. Do not fight, do not fight!” Lin Mianmian ignored the pain in her hand and scooped up the little kitten who had sprung away from the yellow cat’s belly and was now arching her back with claws spread. Such a tiny one. Luckily, the yellow cat had not hit her, or she might have lost half her life. It was truly frightening.
So turning smaller was also her fault?
Yuan Zhaoyang turned in Lin Mianmian’s hand and stared at her in disbelief.
“All right, all right. It is fine. Do not be afraid.” Lin Mianmian supported the kitten, who was only about one palm long, in one hand and carefully protected her with the other as she stood. Such a tiny cat. She did not dare use even a little strength.
Yuan Zhaoyang confirmed that the girl’s gentle gaze and worried words were now directed at her, and only then did her heart feel a little better. Hmph. A-Bai had finally been reliable for once.
“Fried Dough is not good. We will not play with Fried Dough. We will play with Flatbread… Hm, never mind. You are so small, so you should play with Little Sesame.” Lin Mianmian held the little calico and perfectly dodged one pouncing attack from the yellow cat. As she muttered, she quickly ran back to the courtyard.
“…” What were Fried Dough, Flatbread, and Little Sesame? Standing in Lin Mianmian’s palm, Yuan Zhaoyang stiffly looked toward the small animals on the ground.
The yellow cat pounced and pounced. White-Tip rubbed its big face. The little black rabbit crouched quietly in the corner.
Very good, Lin Mianmian. It had only been a short while, and she had already given them names? Yuan Zhaoyang had a bad feeling.
Yuan Zhaoyang lay on the table and coldly watched Lin Mianmian spin like a top as she brought over a bowl of warm water with soaked bun pieces and a bowl of roasted bun crumbs.
This cat did not even eat the delicacies of the mortal world anymore, and Lin Mianmian brought this? It was so bland. There was not even salt! Yuan Zhaoyang lay quietly and began considering whether to knock Lin Mianmian unconscious. In any case, if the person fainted, the fragrance should still come out, right?
“You look a little like the calico that came at noon. You are both little white cats with only a bit of color near the ear and tail tip. But she looked much bigger than you. She should already be grown and have had kittens, right? Is she your mother?” Lin Mianmian carefully stroked the little kitten’s head.
Yuan Zhaoyang, who had been forced by Lin Mianmian’s muttering to take one bite of the tasteless roasted bun crumbs, reacted half a beat late before realizing who this big calico who had had kittens was supposed to be. For a moment, she could not hold back. In anger, she spat out the bun crumbs in her mouth with a pff.
Lin Mianmian was just sighing over how different a kitten felt from an adult cat. Although the fur was not as thick, it was fluffy and truly soft enough to melt a person’s heart. Before she could finish enjoying it, the little kitten sprayed her face with bun crumbs.
So… awkward.
The little calico pretended not to see Lin Mianmian’s face covered with bun crumbs and lowered her head to smooth the fur on her ears. Tch. Good thing she had suppressed her cultivation to pretend to be an ordinary kitten. Otherwise, with that spray, this child might already have been shot dead against the wall by bun crumbs.
“Too dry? You are still too small and cannot eat this. You should eat soaked bun instead. This one is soft. It is my fault. I thought roasted buns crushed up might be something you could eat. I will go see whether the calico from noon is still nearby.”
Lin Mianmian blamed herself as she carried away the roasted bun crumbs, checked the window, then went out to wash her face.
This kindness toward small mortal animals… did not seem that hateful either.
Yuan Zhaoyang shook her fur and poked her head over to look into the basin almost two circles larger than herself. It was full of soaked bun.
She suddenly understood A-Bai’s feelings a little.
It was fine. She still had a storage bag.
When Lin Mianmian pushed the door open and returned, she looked somewhat disappointed. “I did not find your mother…”
Hehe. Mother? This cat had not even found her own mother, all right?
Yuan Zhaoyang quietly lay beside the basin and flicked her tail, waiting for Lin Mianmian to praise her, just like every time A-Bai finished Qingxin Hall food and Yuan Zhaoyang had to praise her.
“This… all this…” Lin Mianmian stared in shock at the food basin that had been licked clean to the bottom. In disbelief, she looked at the still-shut window. “You ate all of it?”
What? Could she not bear to part with it?
Yuan Zhaoyang stood, unhappy, and was about to meow. But Lin Mianmian grabbed her in one hand.
“Why is your belly soft… So it was not you? Did another animal come in?” Lin Mianmian gently touched the kitten’s soft little belly, her face full of doubt.
Yuan Zhaoyang was about to explode.
She reflexively swung one paw, but when she saw the three long thin scratches the yellow cat had left on Lin Mianmian’s fair hand, she forced herself to stop.
I am a cat. I am a cat. She is touching a cat. She is touching a cat. I am not angry. I am not angry.
Yuan Zhaoyang held in one breath, closed her eyes, and worked hard to hypnotize herself.
“Could Fried Dough and the others have secretly come in?” Lin Mianmian touched the kitten’s belly again. Seeing that it was indeed soft and not stuffed full, she finally relaxed. Then, seeing the kitten lying limp with her eyes closed as if she were enjoying having her belly rubbed, Lin Mianmian could not help laughing. “So obedient. I heard calicos are all female cats, though there are exceptions. Let me see whether you are an obedient little female cat.”
Wait. What?
Yuan Zhaoyang, who had been trying hard to hypnotize herself not to mind having her belly touched by the girl and that she was only a cat right now, opened her eyes at once.
Unfortunately… it was already too late.
Flip the cat, blow the fur. Done in one smooth motion. When Yuan Zhaoyang opened her eyes, she just happened to feel a cool breeze brush across… between her legs.
She really! Exploded!
Yuan Zhaoyang kicked hard against Lin Mianmian’s leg and leaped through the air to the farthest corner of the table from Lin Mianmian.
Girl, say it! You saw nothing! Otherwise, you are dead!
“Hey, do not run. Are you shy?” In Lin Mianmian’s eyes, this was only a little kitten. Hm… all right, a very nimble little kitten. Lin Mianmian loved her to death. “You really are a little female cat. From now on, you are Rice Ball!”
Seeing the little calico’s face go tense, her tail smack the table hard again and again, her front legs press low while her back legs rose, and her little claws nearly press marks into the tabletop, A-Bai, who had been hiding on Lin Mianmian’s bed with an invisibility talisman and watching the whole show, almost died from holding back laughter. She knew she had to come out.
Otherwise, this time Lin Mianmian might really be slapped to death by Yuan Zhaoyang gone mad.