Cultivating Immortality by Raising a Cat (GL) Chapter 35

There had never been any returning little calico. No matter how carefully the barefoot girl searched, she was destined to find nothing.
On this late-autumn night, the strange fragrance in the air changed from thick to faint. It even slowly faded to the lowest point it had reached in the past two days.
In the darkness, Yuan Zhaoyang lay quietly on the ground.
Using the strange fragrance as a bridge and feeling another person’s inner world so clearly was a very unfamiliar experience for Yuan Zhaoyang. Especially… when she realized that she herself was the reason this person was so sad. It left the cat somewhat at a loss.
After stepping onto the path of cultivation, one’s lifespan increased as one’s cultivation rose. But on the cultivation path, cultivation always came first. After drawing spiritual energy into the body and entering Qi Refining, one worked hard to build the foundation. After Foundation Establishment, one hurried toward forming a golden core. Above Core Formation were Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, and finally ascension. Meditating and running methods was for cultivation. Taking sect chores to earn resources was for cultivation. Planting spiritual plants, raising spirit beasts, refining tools, refining pills, all of it was for cultivation. Even traveling everywhere and barely surviving secret realms was for more chances and more cultivation.
Once one became a cultivator, everything afterward seemed to serve faster and better cultivation. Cultivators compared their cultivation speed with fellow disciples, and also raced their cultivation speed against their own lifespan. Constantly growing strength pushed people forward. Advancing stage by stage brought joy. Everyone was like this. Yuan Zhaoyang… was no exception. Even a rabbit like A-Bai, who was always greedy for mortal-world food, had never relaxed too much in cultivation.
Most cultivators spent their time either practicing their methods or gathering cultivation resources. Though their lives were long, they might be worse than mortal people when it came to some things. For example, Yuan Zhaoyang could not understand why a little calico kitten that did nothing to help Lin Mianmian’s cultivation life could receive this much attention and love from her.
This strange one-sided feeling, like an arrow flying in only one direction, left Yuan Zhaoyang confused. Yet it was so real that a cat could not doubt it at all. This Lin Mianmian made Yuan Zhaoyang feel sorry, even guilty.
It would have been better if I had never turned into a kitten at the start, Yuan Zhaoyang thought, unsure what to do.
Then… she saw Fried Dough lying by the foot of the wall, seemingly asleep.
The yellow cat had spent the day outside attracting cats, teasing dogs, and catching birds. Late at night, she had returned to the courtyard, planning to lean against Flatbread for warmth, sleep well, and wake the next morning to continue being a lively cat. But never in her dreams did she expect that right after she closed her eyes, before she even began to purr, a clump of dry grass would be stuffed into her mouth.
For trying to scratch someone earlier. For stepping on another cat just now. For doing nothing good.
Yuan Zhaoyang did not use spiritual power. She simply used her current calico body to beat the yellow cat’s bottom hard. She did not know whether she was venting a little anger for Lin Mianmian, who knew nothing about it, or letting out some of her own frustration. But the place in her heart that had been stuck so badly it nearly suffocated the cat finally loosened a little.
Yuan Zhaoyang knew Lin Mianmian liked little animals, so she only disciplined the yellow cat with her cat body and did not hit heavily. But after doing this, she found a way to temporarily forget Lin Mianmian’s lost expression.
These few days, Yuan Zhaoyang had to stay in the outer valley as a cat to cultivate. With no cat to control her, A-Bai naturally would not miss the chance to sneak to the mortal world and eat and drink as much as she wanted. If winter had not been near, and if Zihui’s sound-transmission paper sparrows had not come one after another like soul-chasing messengers, A-Bai would not have returned after only sneaking away for a few days.
Under the night sky, a little white rabbit hummed a tune and hopped through the moonlight back to Hengshui Peak. Behind her followed a long string of unopened sound-transmission paper sparrows, making her look exactly like a bird-herding rabbit.
But when she pushed open the courtyard gate, her relaxed little manner vanished at once.
“Heh heh… You are back. When did you get back? Why so early? Oh, no, why so late? I was just at Evolving Objects Hall watching them make fishing nets. Have you eaten?” A-Bai exchanged greetings while shrinking toward the courtyard gate.
Yuan-calico had a cold face. She lifted a paw, and the courtyard gate creaked shut behind the little rabbit.
“No, no, no!” A-Bai shook her little head like a rattle that could not stop. “I only went out to play for two days. But I cultivated properly every day! Truly!”
“We have not sparred in a long time. Come. Fight me. I already set up the field.” Yuan Zhaoyang seemed not to notice that the little rabbit was pressed tightly against the courtyard gate. She raised a paw and pointed at several small array plates in the courtyard.
The moment A-Bai came in, she had sensed something odd about Yuan Zhaoyang’s expression. She followed the cat paw and looked. Fine. Weren’t those isolation array plates used in sparring arenas to keep spells and spiritual energy from leaking out and hurting the audience? And they were high-grade ones! How was this a casual spar? This was clearly going to be ruthless!
“I will not fight!” The little white rabbit threw herself firmly against the courtyard gate. She quickly slapped out a pile of things from her golden bell and began undoing the restrictions Yuan Zhaoyang had set in the courtyard. Of the thirty-six strategies, running away was best!
Yuan-calico stood still and watched the little white rabbit busily work for a while. Only then did she slowly say, “I spent an hour setting this up. How long do you think you need to break it and run?”
A metal array flag that the little white rabbit had been holding clanged to the ground.
“Did something not go smoothly at Lin Mianmian’s place? Why did you suddenly stop being a little kitten? If there is a problem, we can discuss it together.” The little white rabbit slowly turned around. Since she could not run and did not want to fight, she could only become a caring rabbit.
If A-Bai had not mentioned little kitten, it might have been fine. But as soon as she did, Yuan Zhaoyang’s heart felt as if someone had poured in a bowl of juice made from unripe oranges, sour and swollen and stuck in a very uncomfortable way.
A-Bai had put on an innocent face and was ready to take the warm, caring path. But then the calico in front of her, who had just been cold-faced, suddenly changed expression. A small paw lifted, and dozens of pigeon-egg-sized little fireballs wove together densely and smashed toward the little rabbit.
Luckily, A-Bai had lived with Yuan Zhaoyang for so many years. The moment the cat’s face changed, she called out a thick ice shield to meet the attack.
In an instant, talking became fighting. Fire and ice slammed into each other, and a layer of mist spread through the courtyard.
“You attack just like that? At least tell me what happened!” A-Bai, who did not want to fight, quickly created layer after layer of ice and wrapped herself into an ice egg.
From that moment until the spar ended two hours later, A-Bai did not receive a single spoken answer from Yuan Zhaoyang.
Sparring was always the kind of thing where the fire rose as the fight went on. Besides, they fought for so long that even A-Bai, who had not wanted to spar at all, became angry after seven or eight ice eggs were burned through.
And by fire, yes, it meant the kind of fire that could roast meat. Melting seven or eight ice eggs was one thing. But every time an ice egg melted, that fire also roasted the cute little rabbit’s white tail. That was not friendly at all!
Yuan Zhaoyang, who had stayed at perfect Foundation Establishment, and A-Bai, who had reached Core Formation yet still could not transform, were separated by a realm. But when they fought, they went back and forth evenly. Yuan Zhaoyang was not suppressed at all. Instead, relying on the advantage of the fire element, she made A-Bai suffer several hidden losses.
Inside the little courtyard, ice covered the ground, flames burned bright, and mist rolled everywhere. Fortunately, Yuan Zhaoyang had set up a barrier in advance. From outside the courtyard, not even half a trace of the fierce fight between cat and rabbit could be seen.
They were sparring, not fighting to the death. Although the cat and rabbit grew excited near the end and basically stopped holding back, once the spiritual energy in their bodies began to run dry, they tacitly chose not to use spirit stones to replenish it. Instead, they slowly stopped.
By then, the courtyard was already a mess. The ground was blackened in patches. In the corners were either piles of thick ice or burning flames. Some shattered pieces of ice even wrapped around flames and lay scattered across the ground.
“When you made the barrier… could you not have tidied the courtyard first and added a little more protection?” The little gray rabbit, now completely without image, lay on a pile of ice in the corner and panted as she complained. “How are we supposed to clean this up?”
“You clean it.” Yuan Zhaoyang was still sitting upright on the ground. But from her clearly messy fur, it was not hard to tell that the fight had not been easy for her either.
It had not been easy, but her heart had loosened quite a bit.
Yuan-calico stretched with all four paws on the ground, then shook out her fur. Sure enough, a fight had scattered much of the gloom in her heart.
“Uh…” The little gray rabbit looked shocked. “You…”
“What?” Yuan Zhaoyang sat properly and began grooming her fur.
A-Bai climbed up from the ice, circled Yuan Zhaoyang twice, and asked hesitantly, “Have you been mixing too much with Lin Mianmian’s cats lately? Why are your movements so cat-like now?”
Yuan Zhaoyang carefully finished grooming her tail fur, then looked up at the rabbit in confusion. “I am a cat.”
“…” A-Bai felt choked. “You are a cat demon, all right? Think back. When have you ever moved so much like a cat? If you did not speak, you would simply be a normal calico.”
Yuan-calico tilted her head and thought about it. It seemed… true. Back when she had been on Great Snow Mountain and still could not transform into human form, she had meditated and cultivated from books every day. It seemed she truly had never lived like an ordinary cat.
Seeing Yuan Zhaoyang look thoughtful, A-Bai moved her whole rabbit head closer with a gossiping face. “Come on. Tell me what happened these few days. Rice Ball.”
Rice Ball?
Yuan Zhaoyang steadied herself and smacked the rabbit in front of her away with one paw.
Although she was not very willing, Yuan Zhaoyang had no second person other than A-Bai to discuss this matter with.
Of course, the wet-cloth-bottom-wiping incident could not be spoken of. Yuan Zhaoyang only said that when she was a little kitten, she was always controlled by Lin Mianmian, which was inconvenient. So she wanted to return as the adult calico and gain freedom. Of course, Yuan Zhaoyang explained in detail how much Lin Mianmian cared afterward and how she searched for the cat. After all, that was the part Yuan Zhaoyang truly did not understand.
A-Bai could more or less understand Lin Mianmian’s love for fluffy little animals. After all, back then, Lin Mianmian had dared reach out and touch even a Core Formation great demon rabbit. If a lost kitten made her worried and sad, A-Bai could also understand that. It sounded like a mother beast had lost her cub, so of course she would worry and grieve.
To A-Bai, Lin Mianmian’s emotions sounded quite normal. She just had not expected Yuan Zhaoyang’s kitten image to be so loved by Lin Mianmian that, after only a few days, the kitten had already been included in her life plans.
This kind of problem was not hard to solve. There were no more than three choices.
First, leave it alone. After some time, Lin Mianmian still would not find the kitten. She would be sad, then finish being sad. At most, her heart would hurt later when she remembered. Nothing else would happen.
Second, find some kittens and fill Lin Mianmian’s bed with them. Let her pet them and raise them as much as she wanted. Very soon, even if she still missed that little calico, she would have more new favorites in her heart. That was called shifting affection.
The final choice was for Yuan Zhaoyang to turn back into a kitten, stay by Lin Mianmian’s side, and grow up. After she grew up, she could pretend she had reached the age where cats went out wandering, wander farther and farther, and then stop coming back. By then, she would no longer be a kitten, and Lin Mianmian would not worry as much. After all, cubs had to grow up and have their own lives.
From A-Bai’s point of view, the first two methods were enough. They had come to cultivate immortality, and only Lin Mianmian would think every day about raising a kitten. Yuan Zhaoyang had gone for the fragrance, so naturally she should do whatever was most convenient. But the attitude Yuan Zhaoyang had shown while describing the matter made A-Bai a little concerned. She kept feeling that Yuan Zhaoyang seemed to have developed some… special pity for Lin Mianmian.
Although A-Bai had never wanted Yuan Zhaoyang to truly treat Lin Mianmian like a cat-food demon and eat her, that did not mean she wanted to see Yuan Zhaoyang have too many improper feelings toward Lin Mianmian, who carried a strange fragrance and clearly had secrets. Feelings like pity, or guilt.
Yuan Zhaoyang had stayed at perfect Foundation Establishment for so many years. Her cultivation path had never been easy. A-Bai had always been somewhat cautious about Lin Mianmian, who seemed to carry a secret. Although… Lin Mianmian truly was a very good young girl.
A-Bai felt she had seen something perhaps even Yuan Zhaoyang herself had not noticed. But she did not know whether this point should be brought out and discussed seriously. So A-Bai proposed the third choice, which she actually did not think was a good suggestion: let Yuan Zhaoyang become a kitten again and wait until she grew up before leaving, once Lin Mianmian was no longer worried.
Originally, A-Bai only wanted to see whether Yuan Zhaoyang’s pity for Lin Mianmian had reached the point where she was willing to sacrifice some freedom. But when she finished stating the third choice and saw the calico cat’s eyes clearly brighten, A-Bai knew it. Yuan Zhaoyang had indeed made a new friend!
After a hundred years together, no one understood better than A-Bai that Yuan Zhaoyang was a cat who valued feelings deeply.
Yuan Zhaoyang already needed to stay near Lin Mianmian for a while to break through to Core Formation. Whether she went as a big cat or a little cat, she had to go. A-Bai respected Yuan Zhaoyang’s choice. In any case, with Lin Mianmian’s spiritual-root aptitude, she probably would not draw spiritual energy into her body before the little calico grew up. Once Lin Mianmian entered Qi Refining, the little calico would have grown up as well and could leave. That made sense.
A-Bai stood in an objective position and thought for Yuan Zhaoyang again and again. Yuan-calico, however, had long sunk into the joy of finally finding a way out. She would not have to be a heartless cat right now, and in the future, she could still find a proper way to withdraw. What a good plan!
At this moment, neither the cat nor the rabbit understood the kind of creature known as a poop-scooper, who worked without complaint and loved the little animals at home for a lifetime. They also did not understand that Lin Mianmian was indeed worried now because a kitten was living alone outside, but when a cat she had raised by hand went out into the wild to survive, Lin Mianmian’s heartache would probably not be any less than it was now.
No matter what, Yuan Zhaoyang, who did not really understand this one-way deep love, happily left while holding a plan that was actually full of holes.
The little gray rabbit, left alone in the ruined courtyard while holding her scorched tail, felt very tired. The rabbit who usually loved gossip had no mood at all to follow and watch the one hundred and eight ways a little kitten might return to kisses, hugs, and being lifted high.
In Lin Mianmian’s little courtyard, the yellow cat whose bottom had been beaten had not slept all night. For some reason, the calico had struck something in her so that she could not even cry out in pain. Not only did the yellow cat’s bottom hurt, she also had to worry whether she would ever be able to meow again. She spent the whole night circling the courtyard with a blank, wronged, pitiful face.
Little animals from the mortal world naturally did not have the same intelligence as demons. But relying on scent, the yellow cat could still tell that the adult calico who had first stopped her paw, the little calico who had then lived in the room with the human for a few days, and the adult calico who had slept in the courtyard these past two days all smelled exactly the same. They were clearly one cat! A cat who could freely become big and small was truly terrifying. After the yellow cat had understood this, she had never provoked that calico again. And yet… she had still been beaten.
The yellow cat did not know why. What had happened? Who was she? Where was she? Why had she been beaten?
When Yuan Zhaoyang turned back into a little kitten and happily padded back in small steps to look for Lin Mianmian, she had only squeezed half her body through the gap under the courtyard gate before she was almost flattened in the crack by a yellow ball of fur shooting out.
You again! Fried Dough!
Yuan Zhaoyang, who moved nimbly and dodged in time, watched the yellow cat rush out of the courtyard and disappear into the dawn light. Dissatisfied, she rubbed her face, then continued into the courtyard.
So scary! That cat turned small again!
The yellow cat ran across several dirt paths before stopping to touch her sore bottom and catch her breath. She had no idea that the terrifying existence had marked down another debt against her.
Yuan Zhaoyang climbed through the window into the room as if she had done it many times before. Moving lightly, she jumped onto the bed and paced around Lin Mianmian’s pillow in tiny cat steps.
What should she do next? Should she meow once to greet her? Or should she pretend nothing had happened, curl up in her usual place, pretend to sleep, and wait for Lin Mianmian to wake and discover her on her own?
In truth, Yuan Zhaoyang really wanted Lin Mianmian to know quickly that she had returned. But she also felt a little embarrassed to meow.
Mm… Lin Mianmian probably had not slept well last night. Better to let her wake naturally!
Yuan Zhaoyang walked in two small circles on the quilt and found herself a fine excuse that was absolutely not because she was a little shy. Then she turned back to the place beside Lin Mianmian’s pillow where she usually lay.
Yuan Zhaoyang was just about to lie down when she suddenly saw that the person on the bed, who should have been sleeping, had opened her eyes at some point. Those deep eyes were quietly watching her.
She nearly meowed out a little fireball from fright!