Cultivating Immortality by Raising a Cat (GL) Chapter 44

Ever since Wang Minger became the first to successfully draw spiritual energy into her body, the cultivation mood among the new disciples in the outer valley rose by a lot. The most direct sign was that whenever they went to the small square every two days to collect rations, many people again chose convenient steamed buns, pastries, and pickled vegetables. Only a few still took ingredients that needed to be cooked, and even then, they chose things that were easy to make.
Only Lin Mianmian, who kept thinking of the little calico, still took some fresh fish.
Zihui and Ying Fu were happy to see this change in the disciples. After all, when they had first entered the sect, the senior brothers and sisters guiding them had only provided simple living supplies. Cultivation was already something that tempered one’s mind. Simple food, almost boring in its sameness, was also a kind of push for new disciples. If A-Bai had not suddenly stuck a paw into things before, Zihui would not have changed the method of only providing simple food.
Now everything seemed to have returned to the proper track. The enthusiasm the disciples showed toward cultivation made Ying Fu and Zihui let out a great sigh of relief.
Day after day, fewer cooking fires rose in the outer valley, and the lamps in the houses went out later and later.
People were group-living creatures and were easily affected by their surroundings. Even Lin Mianmian, who had understood from the start that her spiritual root aptitude was poor and that drawing spiritual energy into her body would not be done quickly, began putting out her lamp later and later.
Lin Mianmian’s aptitude was not good. Seeing that she had finally stopped being obsessed with petting the cat and had begun cultivating properly, Yuan Zhaoyang felt deeply comforted.
But that comfort did not last long before it began to mix with another flavor.
Ever since Yuan Zhaoyang had turned into a little kitten and come to Lin Mianmian’s place, every morning when Lin Mianmian woke up, she would always carefully turn over first and stare for nearly half an hour at the little calico, who seemed to be sleeping but was actually cultivating. During that time, the number of times she stroked fur, fiddled with paws, smoothed the tail, and kissed was too many to count. Only when Yuan Zhaoyang truly could not bear this endless disturbance and opened her eyes, pressing one paw heavily onto Lin Mianmian’s hand in annoyance, would Lin Mianmian stop doing bad things while the cat was asleep.
During the day, Lin Mianmian always managed both cultivating and petting the cat. Yuan Zhaoyang had counted. Basically, Lin Mianmian spent half her time on each matter. It truly left the cat speechless. Fortunately, she was a cat demon, and her fur was tough. If an ordinary cat from the mortal world had been put here, Lin Mianmian might have petted it bald in just a few days. Aside from cultivation and petting the cat, Lin Mianmian also liked eating fresh-cooked meals three times a day. Not only did she cook every meal fresh, but ever since Zihui began providing more plentiful ingredients, Lin Mianmian had to stew a fresh fish at every meal and pick out the bones to feed the cat. Although the one being fed was Yuan Zhaoyang herself, she still felt Lin Mianmian spending so much time removing fish bones for a cat was terribly stupid.
At night, if nothing special happened, Lin Mianmian would basically put out the lamp and get into bed soon after dark. She even called it, “Little Rice Ball is sleepy, so I will tell Ballball a story to coax her to sleep.” Yuan Zhaoyang had already gained many new names, such as Ricey, Baby, Meowmeow, and Fluffy, so she did not bother complaining about Ballball. As for whether Lin Mianmian would have any good names left if she raised other cats later, Yuan Zhaoyang did not care much. The key problem was that when Lin Mianmian said she was telling bedtime stories, it was not an excuse. She truly put out the lamp, curled back into bed, and began telling stories. And the stories were very childish.
Childish stories were one thing. Seeing Lin Mianmian’s young age, it was not easy for her to remember so many little childish stories. But Yuan Zhaoyang truly did not understand why every story’s main character had to be a cat.
There was the story of a kitten wearing a red hood to visit her grandmother, then defeating the big gray wolf who had already eaten grandmother. There was the story of a kitten home alone when a big tiger came and sang, “Good little kitten, open the door,” only to be seen through by the kitten, who refused to open it. There was also a story of a sleeping cat in a castle being awakened by someone’s kiss. Yuan Zhaoyang seriously suspected Lin Mianmian had made all these stories up herself. Not only were they childish, they were also a little shameless. Especially during the story about the castle cat, Lin Mianmian took advantage of the dark and kissed her again. Although she only kissed her paws… after A-Bai’s teasing, Yuan Zhaoyang felt strange every time she was kissed.
From being secretly watched in the morning, to being petted with all her might during the day, to falling asleep at night while fighting over whether Lin Mianmian could kiss her during story time, this was the little calico’s daily life after coming to Lin Mianmian’s place.
But ever since the Red Essence Five-Scale Fish were caught and Wang Minger drew spiritual energy into her body, this life slowly began to change.
Tiny changes came day after day. By the time Yuan Zhaoyang noticed, everything was already different from the beginning.
That day, little calico Yuan felt the bed beside her move slightly. The spiritual energy in her body had just completed one great cycle, so she opened her eyes and looked. Outside the window, the sky had only just begun to brighten. On the bed, Lin Mianmian was rubbing her eyes and seemed to have just woken up. Yuan Zhaoyang quickly narrowed her eyes and pretended she was still a sleeping cat. Yuan Zhaoyang had experience now. If Lin Mianmian saw the cat was asleep in the morning, she could at least move a little more gently when petting her fur. If Lin Mianmian saw the cat was awake, she would definitely play with the cat in bed until she was too hungry to keep going before getting up. Yuan Zhaoyang’s disguise was practiced. But unexpectedly, from the moment Lin Mianmian turned over and got up to the moment she walked out, she only… looked at the cat once.
Only! Looked once!
She did not even pet her!
What about fiddling with her paws? Her paws were not tucked under her belly this time!
What about kissing her paws? Oh… never mind that one.
But! She left without even petting her!
This was not normal!
Yuan Zhaoyang’s first reaction was to wonder whether Lin Mianmian had raised another kitten. A few days ago, Xiong Lanlan had brought that gray kitten to visit. Was she planning to keep it? Yuan Zhaoyang could not help releasing her divine sense to confirm that Lin Mianmian had gone to make breakfast and had not gone to feed another cat.
After confirming it, Yuan Zhaoyang slapped herself hard with one paw. Just now, she must have been possessed by Lin Mianmian’s stupid energy.
After calming down, Yuan Zhaoyang thought carefully. It seemed she did not know when it had started, but she could now cultivate quietly from night until dawn, and then continue until the sun hung high, before Lin Mianmian interrupted her by calling the cat to get up for breakfast. After that came a whole morning for proper cultivation. After lunch, there was another afternoon for proper cultivation. After dinner, she could even cultivate until the next morning without anyone interrupting her.
Yuan Zhaoyang had long been used to cultivating without noticing the passage of time. Going into seclusion for several months was common. Because of that, when she cultivated, she naturally lost some sharpness toward the outside world. She had not expected these past few days to have all been like this.
Once she discovered it, she began to care, like a hazy sleeper who had now woken up.
By nightfall, Yuan Zhaoyang counted. Today, Lin Mianmian had petted her six times: once during breakfast, twice during lunch, twice during dinner, and once before sleep. Lin Mianmian had consciously looked at her eight times and unconsciously looked at her twelve times. She had not pinched her paws, had not smoothed her tail, and had not kissed her.
Heh heh…
Oh, and there was no bedtime story either. Last time, the story had reached the point where three little cats left home. One built a grass house, one built a wooden house, and one built a brick house. Then the wolf came. Lin Mianmian had promised to continue the next day.
And then? Tch. By the looks of it, all three cats had been eaten.
Lin Mianmian cultivated seriously and did not miss the cat’s fish soup and meat for three meals a day. Logically, she had already managed cultivation and cat raising at the same time. But in the middle of the night, as Yuan Zhaoyang thought and thought while looking at the person sleeping beside her, for some reason, her chest felt a little stuffy, as if a breath were stuck there and could not come out.
When Lin Mianmian woke the next day, she found her hair was a little messy and seemed to have cat fur stuck to it. She had probably been too tired and moved around in her sleep, brushing against the cat… Lin Mianmian looked apologetically at the little calico, who always slept at the edge of the bed and never moved around. She reached out to pet her once, then got up to cook.
Hmph. After a while, the little calico slowly opened her eyes, looked at the empty room with only the cat left in it, and rolled her eyes.
Breakfast had not yet been made when Xiong Lanlan came to visit again with the gray kitten.
Back then, after Wang Minger drew spiritual energy into her body and left without returning, Xiong Lanlan held herself in for two days. From Senior Sister Zihui, who came to distribute rations, she learned that the little girl had already been taken into the inner valley and was about to be chosen by Core Formation Perfecteds. Wang Minger had all five elements, and at such a young age, she had gained sudden insight and directly drawn spiritual energy into her body. Several Core Formation Perfecteds were paying attention to her, so becoming the disciple of one of them should not be a problem at all. Xiong Lanlan wanted to ask how the little girl was doing in the inner valley and whether she was used to it. But when she thought of the day Wang Minger had succeeded and then proudly lifted her head, showing off as she said she would eat Xiong Lanlan, Xiong Lanlan swallowed the words back.
Tch. Who cared about her?
Ever since Wang Minger left, Xiong Lanlan had liked taking the gray kitten out with her. She hung the kitten on her leg fur, just like she had once hung Wang Minger there.
“Making cat food? Give Little Gray a bowl too.”
Xiong Lanlan strode into the courtyard and set down the iron bucket in her hand. “I made sweet bean buns. Come eat some.”
“…Can we eat something else? Sweet bean buns again? Last time, there were so many I nearly hurt myself eating them. No thanks, you eat them.” Lin Mianmian carried out a bowl of fish soup and placed it on the table beside Xiong Lanlan. “Let it cool before giving it to the kitten.”
“Tch.” Xiong Lanlan took the gray kitten off her leg fur and set it on the table, then grabbed a sweet bean bun from the bucket and tossed it into her mouth. “Why are you being picky? Aren’t my sweet bean buns much better than those shredded-radish buns you made yourself? Your cooking is worse than a bear’s, and you still dare to be picky.”
“No matter how good your sweet bean buns are, you cannot eat them every day. They are good, but after those two buckets, I feel like I am about to get diabetes…” Lin Mianmian scooped some fish meat she had already picked clean into Little Gray’s soup bowl. “Why don’t you drink some fish soup too?” Xiong Lanlan’s skill at making sweet bean buns truly was excellent. Lin Mianmian fully admitted this. The bun skin was soft and fluffy, the filling was fresh, and one bite brought white flour wrapped around fragrant, sweet red bean paste. Eating sweet bean buns in late autumn simply made one’s happiness burst. Maybe bear paws were especially suited to kneading dough, because the skin was soft without losing chewiness. Even if the bean buns cooled and were reheated, they still tasted just as good. The problem was… eating them by the bucket was a little too much, even for a grass demon.
“What is diabetes?” Xiong Lanlan tossed two bean buns into her mouth at once. “I am not drinking that. Who wants to eat cat food?”
Was there really that much difference between bears and cats? Lin Mianmian shook her head. “Anyway, it is an illness you get from eating too many sweets. Eat less. Can’t you make buns with other fillings? I have some radish. Why don’t you make radish buns? Mushroom buns? Oh, I also have some potatoes. Maybe shredded-potato buns?”
Xiong Lanlan silently tossed three sweet bean buns into her mouth.
Lin Mianmian sighed. “Do you miss Wang Minger?”
“Who? Me? Miss who? I don’t!” Xiong Lanlan stood up from the ground angrily.
“…” Lin Mianmian silently went to scoop a bowl of fish soup for Xiong Lanlan and sprinkled in some fine salt.
Once a bowl of hot fish soup entered her stomach, the whole bear warmed up. Xiong Lanlan sat back down on the ground, stroked the gray kitten on the table with one paw, and sighed. “I just treated her like a cub, like Little Gray here. When she runs outside, I always feel like such a tiny little one could get hurt at any time. Just like your kitten back then. What was it called? Rice Bucket. Right, when Rice Bucket got lost, weren’t you really worried too?” As Xiong Lanlan spoke, she pointed with her paw at Yuan Zhaoyang, who was crouching in front of another bowl of fish soup on the other side of the table.
Rice Bucket…
The little calico’s claws dug at the wooden tabletop. She had an urge to slap the whole table into the bear’s face.
“Hey, hey, who is Rice Bucket? Ours is Rice Ball. Do not call her that. Look, she is about to get angry. She might scratch your face in a moment.” Lin Mianmian reached out and petted the little calico. Uh, was it her imagination? The fur seemed to have puffed up.
“Fine, fine. Rice Ball.” Xiong Lanlan waved a paw and nudged Little Gray toward Lin Mianmian. “Speaking of that, can you help me take care of it for two days? I feel like I am about to draw spiritual energy into my body. After I eat a few hundred bean buns later, I am going into seclusion. Oh, seclusion means not eating, not drinking, not pooping, not peeing, and having no time to care for it. Help me raise it for a few days. It is pretty cute, and you like cats anyway.”
The gray kitten with a white belly was nudged forward by the bear paw and staggered two steps. With a splat, it fell in front of Yuan Zhaoyang’s bowl. The whole little cat sprawled flat on the table, flicked its little tail, and lifted its head to reveal a silly smile.
It was quite cute. Yuan Zhaoyang and Lin Mianmian both agreed with Xiong Lanlan’s words.
However, before Lin Mianmian could nod, she saw her own little calico, who had always been aloof and ignored strangers, take tiny steps around from behind the bowl to the front. Then she stretched out a paw and stepped on Little Gray’s back.