Cultivating Immortality by Raising a Cat (GL) Chapter 34

What did she mean, go potty? What cat mother? What wiping?
Lost little girl! Wake up! Did you come here to cultivate immortality or not?
Yuan Zhaoyang shrank into the corner of the bed, embarrassed and angry as she glared warily at Lin Mianmian, who was climbing onto the bed with a wet cloth in hand. Yuan Zhaoyang simply could not imagine what was inside this person’s head. It was only a little cat. Fine, taking care of food and drink was one thing, but why was she also trying to manage bathroom matters? Could a cat not have any privacy? Could she not just cultivate properly?
“Rice Ball, do not be afraid. I used warm water, so wiping your little bottom will not be cold. Come here. Once we wipe you, you can go potty.” Lin Mianmian’s voice was gentle and slow, like she was coaxing a child, as she moved closer to Yuan Zhaoyang.
What do you mean, we? Who is we with you?
The bristling little calico was so angry that her small belly almost puffed up. At last, when Lin Mianmian brought the wet cloth down toward her, she exploded.
“Eh…”
The wet cloth in Lin Mianmian’s hand was about to reach behind the little calico. Victory was in sight. But the kitten suddenly crouched low, then sprang up.
When Lin Mianmian climbed onto the bed, she had very carefully used her body to block the kitten in the corner near the wall. But with Yuan Zhaoyang’s skill, she could easily jump over Lin Mianmian’s head and escape. The problem was that when the little calico leaped up to run, she was still too angry to let it go. The little paw that had meant to pass over the person’s head turned by itself and landed on that person’s face.
The fluffy little ball flew through the air. Lin Mianmian reached out by instinct to catch her, but did not even touch a strand of cat fur. No one knew how the kitten pounced. She crossed over Lin Mianmian’s hands and stepped right onto her face. Lin Mianmian only felt a warm ball of fur press against her, then cool little paws went pat-pat-pat across her face. The soft, fluffy cat tail swept left and right, slapping both of Lin Mianmian’s cheeks several times. Before Lin Mianmian could pull back her hands to catch her, the kitten used the force of stepping on her face to leap over her head and run away.
Lin Mianmian touched her face, which had just been trampled by the kitten, and was both annoyed and amused. This little calico really had a temper. She clearly had only four little paws, yet just now, Lin Mianmian felt as if dozens of paws had stepped on her face. That was obviously on purpose. And that tail… Where had she learned such a perfect face-slapping move? Was this cat about to become a spirit? You cannot go potty, yet you hit people. Are you not ashamed?
But now, the urgent matter was not wiping a cat’s bottom. It was… finding the cat!
Lin Mianmian was exhausted in her heart. When she had brought the cloth in, she had specially closed the doors and windows. But the door was not locked. That kitten had actually hooked open a crack in the door and squeezed out quickly.
This time, Yuan Zhaoyang was truly furious. If not, she probably would not have done something like stepping on a face. After running out, she did not go far before she began to regret being so childish. A person like Lin Mianmian, who did not cultivate properly and only lost her will playing with cats, should not have had her face stepped on. She should have been tied up while little fireballs roasted her own bottom, so she would stop thinking every day about wiping someone else’s!
By now, Yuan Zhaoyang was also starting to regret it. If she had known this would happen, she would not have turned into a kitten out of momentary pride because Lin Mianmian favored the yellow cat. Who could have guessed that becoming a kitten would make Lin Mianmian like her this much? For the past two days, Lin Mianmian had acted as if she feared the cat would fall if held in her palm and roll off if placed on the bed.
Yuan Zhaoyang had truly never lived like this. If she stretched out a leg, someone carefully came over to guard her, afraid she might fall. If she shook out her fur, someone watched with a delighted face. If she walked around on the bed to move her paws, a gentle and burning gaze would follow closely. That feeling made a cat think this person wished every little kitten step could land straight in her heart. It was a kind of care so strange that a cat could not understand it. Even when Yuan Zhaoyang had been a young cat, she had never received such treatment. It was a little new and curious, but she always felt something was not quite right.
Since she had run out this time, Yuan Zhaoyang reflected carefully on her plan. It seemed that turning into a kitten had indeed destroyed the yellow cat’s weak, needs-protection position in Lin Mianmian’s heart in one move. But it had also brought many problems for the cultivation plan. Being fed water and food at every turn, having her fur stroked and back smoothed, those little matters could be endured. Being stuffed whole into the quilt every night to sleep together could also barely be endured. That earlier rude matter of checking male or female could be left in the past. But now Lin Mianmian actually wanted to wipe her bottom with a wet cloth.
That tiny bit of mortal-world food had long since vanished after she ate it. What potty was there for Lin Mianmian to wait for?
After thinking it over, Yuan Zhaoyang already had an idea. But if the little calico had just left and she immediately returned as the adult calico, it might make people suspicious. Yuan Zhaoyang thought for a moment and went back to Hengshui Peak first.
Using the strange fragrance to cultivate was a slow and steady matter, not something that had to be fought for morning and night. Since Yuan Zhaoyang had returned to Hengshui Peak, she picked up a few small tasks from Evolving Objects Hall while she was there. Earlier, in order to refine the jade ring again as quickly as possible, Yuan Zhaoyang had used up more than half the spirit stones and sect contribution points she carried. Now she spent every day cultivating over at Lin Mianmian’s place, so she had no time to earn money by teaching in the main lecture hall. Fortunately, though she had not reached Core Formation, her fire spiritual root had excellent aptitude. Add to that her hundred years of cultivation and experience traveling through the Northern Territory, the Eastern Sea, and the Southern Union, and Yuan Zhaoyang had already refined a good hand for making artifacts.
To be exact, Yuan Zhaoyang had once had both fire and metal spiritual roots. It was just that her fire spiritual root was dozens of times stronger than her metal root. Fire overcame metal. As her cultivation improved, the metal root was suppressed tightly by the fire root. Even with Yuan Zhaoyang’s excellent talent, long cultivation had become somewhat difficult. But because her aptitude had been so good and her cultivation progress so fast before, the problem of the roots restraining each other had been ignored for a time. Later, when she stayed stuck at perfect Foundation Establishment for a long while, Yuan Zhaoyang had also wondered whether this was the reason. After leaving Cangming Mountain to travel, Yuan Zhaoyang had partly hoped to try her luck outside.
It had to be said that Yuan Zhaoyang’s luck was not bad. In the same Eastern Sea secret realm where she had discovered the jade ring, Yuan Zhaoyang had been lucky enough to obtain a Spirit-Cleansing Fruit. It washed away her metal spiritual root and gave her the aptitude of a single fire spiritual root. But although the problem of spiritual roots supporting and restraining each other had been solved, her perfect Foundation Establishment realm still had not broken through. It had dragged on until now.
Back when Yuan Zhaoyang had both fire and metal spiritual roots, cultivating the metal root had been difficult because the fire root suppressed it. But it had also brought benefits. Because she had possessed a metal root for many years, when Yuan Zhaoyang refined artifacts, not only did she have excellent control over fire, she also understood quite well the constant changes of materials inside the flames. Artifact refining came to her with half the effort.
The Five Elements Sect had many sect tasks, and it also needed many reward magic tools and magic treasures to hand out. Evolving Objects Hall often posted small tasks for refining batches of low-level tools and treasures. Yuan Zhaoyang planned to accept several. They would not take much time and would bring in another sum.
Wanting to stagger the timing and return later as the adult calico, Yuan Zhaoyang refined for a full day and night. After turning in several magic tools and treasures, her empty pockets at least had something lining the bottom.
Seeing the sunset sink, and knowing it had already been a full day and night since her escape the day before, Yuan Zhaoyang turned into the adult calico she had used at the very beginning and returned to the outer valley.
Yuan Zhaoyang followed the dirt path back to Lin Mianmian’s little courtyard with practiced cat steps.
No one in the courtyard. No one in the room.
Hmph. This cat had wasted the careful grooming she had done before entering the courtyard.
Yuan Zhaoyang frowned and padded around Lin Mianmian’s courtyard. Nothing messy in the room or courtyard was missing. Even Flatbread, Fried Dough, Little Sesame, and a few other cats that looked somewhat familiar, who often crouched near the courtyard waiting for Lin Mianmian to bring out bun soup at mealtime, were all there. Only Lin Mianmian was gone.
New disciples had just entered the sect. They were young and still playful, so visiting one another was normal. But for some reason, after Yuan Zhaoyang circled the courtyard twice, her heart became restless. She meant to wait for Lin Mianmian to return, yet she could not sit still.
Fine. She would go out and look.
At dusk, the setting sun held only a little warmth. A cool breeze brushed through cat fur. The calico cat walked down the small dirt path with her head high and chest out, like a king inspecting her territory and, by the way… catching back an escaped servant.
The fragrance was not released, so she could not use scent to confirm a direction. But the area A-Bai had circled in the outer valley was only so large. Yuan Zhaoyang wandered casually for a while and soon met Lin Mianmian.
Lin Mianmian was bent over with her head lowered, using her hands to part the weeds along the roadside. In a low voice, she kept calling, “Rice Ball… Rice Ball…”
Rice Ball will never come back!
Determined to break away from the image of a little kitten, Yuan Zhaoyang shook out her fur, raised her head, and strode toward Lin Mianmian not far away.
Lin Mianmian had been searching for the cat for nearly a day and night. She had searched every place in the outer valley where she could walk. She was nearly at the point of turning over the ground itself. By now, her mind was almost dazed from searching. When the adult calico suddenly appeared before her eyes, the exhausted, dizzy Lin Mianmian nearly cried from joy.
But in the next second, she realized this was only a cat that looked very much like Rice Ball.
It was like falling straight from heaven into the underworld.
Yuan Zhaoyang had already planned everything. After becoming an adult cat, even if she could not live in Lin Mianmian’s room the way the kitten had, she could still rub against the fragrance in the courtyard. At worst, she could open two layers of restriction instead of one. At least no one would watch her eat, drink, or go potty. Her freedom would be higher, and she could overlook a little fur-petting. Yuan Zhaoyang had already imagined how she and Lin Mianmian could live together peacefully and cultivate properly from now on. But she had not expected to be startled by the person in front of her the moment they met.
Earlier, they had been some distance apart, and Lin Mianmian had bent over with her head down, so Yuan Zhaoyang had not seen clearly. Now that she was closer, she saw that in only one day, this girl had become so haggard.
Lin Mianmian’s skin had originally been fair with a healthy blush. Now only paleness remained. Her lips were dry. Her usually clear, watery eyes were full of exhaustion. Several dry yellow grass stems were caught in her messy hair.
Had she… been looking for the cat all this time?
Yuan Zhaoyang froze at Lin Mianmian’s terrible state. The paw she had lifted did not know whether to continue forward. Just then, Lin Mianmian happened to raise her head, and her gaze met Yuan Zhaoyang’s.
What kind of look was that?
It was like dry seedlings meeting rain, like a withered tree meeting spring. It was like reaching the end of a hopeless road and suddenly seeing flowers and shade after a turn. For an instant, Yuan Zhaoyang almost felt her importance rise to a height it had never reached before.
But very quickly, that joy of surviving a desperate situation faded from the young girl’s eyes.
Even when Lin Mianmian sat down on the ground in despair, curled her knees up, and buried her head, Yuan Zhaoyang still had not managed to put the paw hanging in midair back down.
It was only… a cat.
Did she not still have Flatbread, Fried Dough, Little Sesame, oh, Little Sesame was a rabbit… Were there not many, many cats outside the courtyard?
Yuan Zhaoyang could not quite understand why Lin Mianmian would search for a runaway kitten until she was this exhausted. She also could not understand why, when there were so many cats outside, Lin Mianmian still cared only about that one. Was it because that one was a cub? Like A-Bai said, cubs looked weak, so people always pitied them more?
It seemed… not only that.
Yuan Zhaoyang slowly lowered the paw that had been hanging in the air so long it was going numb. If she were still in the little calico’s form, Lin Mianmian would probably come over smiling and play with her paw again. Yuan Zhaoyang did not think that was fun at all, but… that would be better than seeing this young girl sitting on the ground as if she were crying.
Yuan Zhaoyang had a feeling that she had done something wrong. Looking at Lin Mianmian, who had buried her head between her knees in defeat, made her feel uncomfortable inside.
The calico cat paused in place for a while. Then she slowly, bit by bit, moved close to the girl sitting on the ground. Hesitantly, she lifted a paw and gently patted the girl’s foot.
Lin Mianmian felt a soft, light tap on the top of her foot. Her eyes red, she raised her head and saw the calico cat who looked almost exactly like Rice Ball sitting in front of her. One of the cat’s front paws was still resting on her foot.
If this had happened normally, Lin Mianmian would have melted at this cat who seemed to understand human feelings. But now, looking at the markings on the calico, almost identical to Rice Ball’s, Lin Mianmian’s heart only filled with more sour pain. Rice Ball was the house cat Lin Mianmian had truly wanted to keep forever, the cat she had wanted to watch slowly grow up. In Lin Mianmian’s heart, Rice Ball’s place was naturally different from the cats outside. Now that Rice Ball was lost, even if she met a larger version of Rice Ball, Lin Mianmian still did not feel comforted at all.
Yuan Zhaoyang stepped one paw on Lin Mianmian’s foot. The young girl only raised her head and looked at her. That was all. There was no closer action. It felt very unfamiliar.
For the past two days, when Yuan Zhaoyang had been the little calico, if she made this kind of move, this person before her would definitely come closer at once, press down her paw, knead it, pinch it, and, if she became shameless, even lean in and try to kiss it. Of course, Yuan Zhaoyang would use a paw to push Lin Mianmian’s face away and firmly refuse.
But now…
Yuan Zhaoyang slowly moved her paw away and did not receive even the slightest attempt to keep her there.
Tch. Since she was not a cub anymore, Lin Mianmian did not like her? How shallow.
The little calico and the adult calico were both herself. Yuan Zhaoyang’s feelings at this moment were truly complicated.
At first, Yuan Zhaoyang had not understood why Lin Mianmian liked those long-haired little animals from the mortal world. They were clearly both foolish and troublesome. Later, she understood even less why Lin Mianmian liked the little calico for no reason and cared for her in every tiny way. Now she completely could not understand why Lin Mianmian had only the little calico in her heart, as if she could no longer see any other little animal. Where had that liking gone? What kind of strange thing were humans?
The calico cat and Lin Mianmian silently looked at each other for a long time. In the end, Lin Mianmian moved first.
A warm palm gently stroked the calico cat’s head twice. With red eyes and deep apology, Lin Mianmian spoke softly. “I am sorry. I think I lost your child…”
Sorry? Child? This strange topic made the whole cat stiff with embarrassment.
The person and cat returned to the courtyard one after the other along the dirt path. Lin Mianmian did not pick up the calico, and she did not seem to care whether it would keep following her back. In Yuan Zhaoyang’s eyes, the person walking ahead looked utterly lost, as if she had lost interest in everything.
Was she not supposed to be here to cultivate immortality? Little girl, was her will really this weak?
Yuan Zhaoyang felt that Lin Mianmian’s excessive focus on one kitten was very improper. Yet she had no position to complain. Deep, deep in her heart, there was even a faint sweetness. It truly troubled this cat.
Although Lin Mianmian herself seemed not quite right, what happened next developed steadily according to Yuan Zhaoyang’s new plan.
Lin Mianmian did not force the adult-looking calico to live in the room. In fact, her attitude toward the calico was almost the same as her attitude toward Flatbread, Fried Dough, and Little Sesame. She let them roam freely. If the cat entered the courtyard, fine. If the cat entered the room, fine. If the cat went out to wander, also fine. Lin Mianmian did not control her much.
In the courtyard, there was always one basin of dried roasted bun crumbs, one basin of clean water, and one large basin of sand. At mealtimes, Lin Mianmian would also bring out some soaked bun soup. The meat and vegetables she had received earlier were blanched, torn into pieces, and sprinkled into the bun soup to add nutrition for the little animals.
Perhaps Lin Mianmian’s food truly counted as good for little animals from the mortal world. At mealtimes, many new and familiar faces always came on time to eat. At ordinary times, little animals often darted into the courtyard, ate some dry bun crumbs, drank some water, and darted away again. In the two days Yuan Zhaoyang stayed in the courtyard, she even saw a cat come specially to use the sand basin, bury it, and leave.
After losing the little calico, Lin Mianmian seemed to lose interest in petting other little animals too. She spent her days cultivating in the room. Only at mealtimes did she come out to make food and feed the little animals, and feed herself while she was at it. As for stroking fur, she did very little of it.
Calmly cooking, feeding, scooping sand… going out to search for Rice Ball, then calmly returning to the room.
Yuan Zhaoyang did not know what strange mood, even she herself could not understand, made her take the initiative to approach Lin Mianmian when Lin Mianmian was in the courtyard. That was something she had never done when she was the little calico.
Of course, when Yuan Zhaoyang did this, Lin Mianmian only gently stroked her head once. At most, she stuffed a piece of plain-water chicken breast into her mouth. Then she went back into the room to cultivate.
Was it gentle? It was quite gentle.
But where was the happy face, the mouth full of praise, the smiling strokes, the hugs, and being lifted high?
Yuan Zhaoyang slowly chewed the bland chicken breast in her mouth and watched Lin Mianmian slowly walk back into the room.
Lin Mianmian only paid attention to whether there were buns in the food basin, whether the water basin had enough clean water, and whether the sand basin was clean. She did not care in detail how much each cat, rabbit, dog, or other little animal ate or drank at each meal, or whether they had gone potty. Of course, this included the current Yuan-calico.
Being close to the fragrance, living freely, cultivating without being disturbed. This was exactly what Yuan Zhaoyang had planned from the beginning.
But she kept feeling that something was not quite right.
This was the third day since the little calico had disappeared, and the second day since Yuan Zhaoyang had settled in the courtyard as the adult calico. The strange fragrance slowly drifted out of the room. Yuan Zhaoyang smelled it but did not rush to begin cultivating.
Back in Yingxian City, Yuan Zhaoyang had roughly sensed that the strength of Lin Mianmian’s strange fragrance seemed to be affected by her emotions. These two days, Yuan Zhaoyang had become even more certain.
The strange fragrance in the room was indeed still flowing out without pause. But its strength… Right now, Yuan Zhaoyang had opened three layers of restriction on Lin Mianmian’s bracelet, yet the fragrance was about the same as when the little calico had stayed in Lin Mianmian’s room a few days ago with only one layer opened. It was clear how much lower Lin Mianmian’s mood had been these two days compared with before the little calico went missing.
In truth, Yuan Zhaoyang had not seen Lin Mianmian show the same sadness and weakness she had shown on the dirt path that day. Even when she went out each day to search for the little calico and found nothing, Lin Mianmian’s face was always calm when she returned.
Only Yuan Zhaoyang could sense the loss beneath that calm from the fragrance on her body, which had grown a little lighter again.
Being able to feel the hidden sadness of another person was truly not a comfortable thing for a cat. Yuan Zhaoyang endured it in the courtyard for two days. But the fragrance, sometimes fading a little, then fading a little again, reminded her at every moment of the changes in the person inside the room.
This was the second night Yuan Zhaoyang slept in the courtyard as the adult calico. The night was deep and still, a perfect time to cultivate. Lin Mianmian had already fallen asleep in the room for a while. When people were not awake and thinking wildly, the strength of the fragrance was naturally stable. It did not fade a little, then fade again, and disturb a cat’s heart. So Yuan Zhaoyang naturally took advantage of the moonlight and hurried to cultivate.
On such a night, especially suited for cultivation, Fried Dough returned late. She climbed over the wall, leaped down, and stepped one paw on Flatbread’s face as he slept beside the courtyard wall. Though Flatbread was large, he had always been a good-tempered cat. Usually, during meals, he yielded to the fierce and overbearing Fried Dough. Yuan Zhaoyang had even seen Flatbread help bury Fried Dough’s droppings. He was simply a good old cat who did not hold grudges.
Normally, if Fried Dough stepped on Flatbread, then so be it. At most, Flatbread would look twice, slowly move to another place, and keep lying there. He would not resist at all. But this time was different.
Lin Mianmian’s food was quite good, and Fried Dough was at the age of putting on weight. She already ate a lot and was quite fat. These two days, she had grown even heavier. Now, leaping down from the wall was like the whole fat cat smashing onto sleeping Flatbread’s face. She nearly turned Flatbread into a true flatbread. Yuan Zhaoyang, who was cultivating nearby, spared a glance and felt pain for Flatbread’s face.
The key point was that even after being smashed like this, the frightened and struck Flatbread only gave a weak meow, then moved aside. He had no intention of slapping Fried Dough a few times.
At first, this was only an unpleasant late-night meeting between two mortal cats. Yuan Zhaoyang glanced at it in passing and meant to let it go. But unexpectedly, after Flatbread meowed once, the fragrance in the room suddenly grew much stronger.
Yuan Zhaoyang had grown used to the faint fragrance that came even with three layers opened. She was caught off guard and almost choked on the sudden thick scent. Just as Yuan Zhaoyang was scrambling to adjust her breathing and guide her spiritual energy, Lin Mianmian ran out of the room with her hair loose.
Why was she not even wearing shoes?
While Yuan Zhaoyang struggled to suppress the spiritual energy in her body, which had almost been stirred into chaos by that thick fragrance, she somehow noticed at once Lin Mianmian’s pair of bare, pale, tender feet under the moonlight.
“Rice Ball? Rice Ball, is that you?” Lin Mianmian’s voice was very excited. It held too much joy and uncertainty, but she forced it down and did not dare make it too loud, afraid she might scare away the little Rice Ball who might have returned.
Yuan Zhaoyang, who had finally pressed down her spiritual energy and was trying to finish this great cycle, nearly had her energy go astray again when Lin Mianmian called out like that.
Was this person on the verge of going into cultivation deviation? Was making herself go into deviation not enough, and now she wanted the cat to go into deviation too?
Yuan Zhaoyang very much wished she knew nothing right now, thought nothing, and could simply finish moving the spiritual energy through this great cycle before discussing anything else. But the fragrance in the air had changed from gentle wind and soft rain into thunder and lightning. She could not ignore it. And Lin Mianmian’s voice… Yuan Zhaoyang wanted to cover her ears, but even though she had always felt she could not understand this strange human, she still heard the heartbreak in that soft call. It was the despair of carefully running toward a thin thread of hope, knowing clearly that hope might only be an empty thought, yet still giving everything to it.
It was only a cat! After tonight, I will go catch you a room full of kittens, all right?
Yuan Zhaoyang almost used all her strength to ignore the sudden change in the fragrance, to ignore the Lin Mianmian she had just seen and heard. She ran the Clear Heart Mantra with great skill and at last barely guided the final trace of flowing spiritual energy back to her dantian, ending this great cycle of cultivation.
From Lin Mianmian running out of the room to Yuan Zhaoyang finishing this great cycle, only a few breaths had passed. But within those few breaths was danger only a cat knew.
That had truly been close. It felt like her spiritual energy had nearly burst through her body. Opening three layers of restriction was indeed not cautious enough.
Yuan Zhaoyang let out a deep breath. The cultivation just now had been far too dangerous, an accident unlike anything she had met in her cultivation life. Now that it was over, a thin layer of sweat had already formed in her fur.
Lin Mianmian had no idea that she had nearly caused the little calico she missed so much to suffer cultivation deviation. She only followed that meow and felt her way toward the foot of the wall.
Yuan Zhaoyang curled to the side and watched helplessly as Lin Mianmian, barefoot, searched the courtyard carefully once, then again, then moved away the firewood pile on one side of the courtyard and searched once more.
There were many little animals inside and outside the courtyard. Unfortunately, not one could open its mouth and tell the girl, whose feet were covered in dust under the moonlight, that the meow just now had come from Flatbread. No little calico had returned.
The only one who could speak, Yuan Zhaoyang, felt as if something were stuck in her throat, or perhaps stuck in her heart. For a long time, she could not breathe it out.
She watched helplessly as Lin Mianmian carried the firewood in the courtyard, piece by piece, to an empty space. She watched as the girl, after searching three times without result, stood for a long while in the darkness. The strange fragrance in the air faded bit by bit, bit by bit. Even though Yuan Zhaoyang could not see Lin Mianmian’s expression from where she lay, she could feel the other person’s heart slowly fall into despair again.
For some reason, Yuan Zhaoyang suddenly remembered what Lin Mianmian had said to her when she was still the little calico.
“I will work hard too. I will work hard to feed my little Rice Ball until you are white and plump! Do not worry. If I eat meat, I definitely will not give you only soup!”
Yuan Zhaoyang, who had only wanted to borrow the strange fragrance for cultivation, had never thought that the little calico she was pretending to be needed to grow up or anything like that. What was there to continue about a temporary identity?
But at this moment, Yuan Zhaoyang seemed able to believe that when Lin Mianmian said those words, she had been serious. She had truly included that little calico in her life.
Then what should Yuan Zhaoyang do now?