Cultivating Immortality by Raising a Cat (GL) Chapter 59

“Look at you, unable to make up your mind. This cannot go on,” A-Bai said, first repeating the first half of Yuan Zhaoyang’s voice transmission. “Your cat is being sent away tomorrow. No matter how reluctant you are, it will not change anything. If you do not feel at ease handing her to strangers you have never met, do you have any friends or relatives you can trust? I fly fast anyway. Sending her there would be convenient.”
Lin Mianmian hugged the towel-wrapped cat in her arms and shook her head with pursed lips.
A-Bai glanced at the calico, whose head alone poked out of the towel, then repeated the second half of Yuan Zhaoyang’s suggestion. “How about sending her to Yingxian City? Didn’t you help that little girl surnamed Tian before? Your relationship should be decent, right? If she helps you raise the cat, you should be able to feel at ease.”
Tian Xiaoyu?
If one really talked about Tian Xiaoyu, Lin Mianmian could almost count as having watched the girl grow up. Tian Xiaoyu was gentle, careful, and kindhearted. Letting her take care of little Rice Ball really would be a good choice. It was only that the Tian family was a little…
Lin Mianmian frowned and thought for a while, still hesitant. “Tian Xiaoyu is indeed good. But the rest of the Tian family…”
“Do not worry. You know how the rest of the Tian family treats immortals. A cat I personally deliver? Even if they do not worship her like a treasure, they absolutely will not dare mistreat her. If you are still worried, I can show them a few tricks. I guarantee they will raise your cat like an immortal cat.” The little white rabbit spoke with great confidence. After tilting her head and thinking, she added, “Maybe that little girl has already married by now. Then you will have even less need to worry about the Tian family.”
“Married?” Lin Mianmian froze. Only then did she remember that in this era, Tian Xiaoyu was fifteen this year. She really might already have married into the Qiao family.
“Exactly. No problem. Whether she is in the Tian family or the Qiao family, I promise the people there will not dare bully your cat.” The little white rabbit patted her chest with a furry paw.
A-Bai was at least a Core Formation rabbit. A cat she delivered herself would probably not be treated casually even by a stranger.
The thing Lin Mianmian had been most worried about before was not that strangers would abuse her little Rice Ball. It was only that being held high as a rare thing and being cared for with real thought were still different. But if it was Tian Xiaoyu, that was much more reassuring than strangers. As for the people around Tian Xiaoyu, after the little white rabbit promised again and again, Lin Mianmian felt a little more at ease.
At last, Lin Mianmian nodded.
A-Bai, who had gained an extra day of flying for no reason, silently counted the payment. Ten suckling pigs, eight roasted and two braised. She should still come out ahead.
From drawing spiritual energy into the body, to cleaning up, to finally settling the matter of sending the cat away, nearly the whole night had passed. Seeing that dawn was less than two double-hours away, A-Bai thought for a while. Under the calico’s silent stare, she helped Lin Mianmian freeze the stinky bed and a thick layer of mud underneath it into small chunks. When she left, she took them away in a large ice shovel.
Hmph. If Yuan wanted one final stretch alone together, she could just say so. Why keep staring, as if A-Bai could understand by being stared at?
The sensible rabbit, a little annoyed, scraped at the ground and left.
Night was deep. The bed was gone, so there was no need to sleep.
Lin Mianmian lit a small fire in the courtyard and held the half-dried calico while warming her by the flames. Only when the little calico was warm and fluffy did Lin stop, then go inside to pack.
Originally, she had only needed to pack luggage for the little calico. Now that Lin Mianmian had successfully drawn spiritual energy into her body, she would also move away after sending the little calico off the next day. Her own luggage had to be packed too.
She did not notice it when she was not packing. Once she began, she realized that more than half the things in the wardrobe had been slowly prepared for the little calico over the past half year. The things that belonged to Lin Mianmian herself were only a few sets of sect robes and one spare set of bedding.
Lin Mianmian took out a bolt of coarse cloth, cut several squares for bundles, and began packing the little calico’s things.
But as she packed, watching the little bundles take shape one by one, Lin Mianmian’s movements gradually slowed. Then she looked at the little calico, who had been sitting quietly off to the side with her head lifted, watching her. Lin Mianmian truly wanted to pack herself into the bundle too.
Her heart felt sour. Her eyes did too.
In truth, the little calico had never been a clingy cat. Most of the time, she either lay on the bed or by the door. She rarely followed Lin Mianmian in and out on her own. Yet now, doing nothing and staying almost right beside her, staring seriously at her all the while, was something that had never happened before.
Rice Ball had always been so smart. Did she sense that Lin Mianmian was going to send her away?
Lin Mianmian’s heart suddenly hurt. She closed her eyes without thinking, clutching the bundle cloth in her hands. After a long while, she turned away and rubbed the damp corners of her eyes.
Yuan Zhaoyang, sitting properly on the floor, felt her conscience suffer an attack unlike any before.
For pain, the night was so long. For reluctance, it was far too short.
For A-Bai, it was only a matter of returning to Hengshui Peak for a midnight snack. She had only eaten until she was sixty or seventy percent full, and the sky was already bright.
If one did not cut things off when they should, they would suffer the chaos later.
Before setting out, A-Bai rubbed her furry face for a long while. She was clearly only entrusted with sending cats away, yet she kept feeling as if she was going to play the bad rabbit this time. Thinking about it now, the idea of having Yuan Zhaoyang turn into a tiny kitten to rub against the fragrance had achieved its goal in the end, but to that foolish child Lin Mianmian, it really had not been kind.
But a lie was still a lie. The truth would only cause greater hurt. Fortunately, this scam would finally end today. After rubbing her face, A-Bai ate two pig trotters to cheer herself on, then left for the outer valley.
When A-Bai arrived at the small courtyard, Lin Mianmian was sitting outside with the little calico in her arms, stroking her fur.
With one glance at Lin Mianmian’s worn look, A-Bai knew the night had truly been hard for her. Thankfully, A-Bai had thought she might see the foolish girl crying until she fainted. Now, it was still all right. She did not look as if she had cried all night, only that her energy was poor. A good sleep later should fix it.
After looking at Lin Mianmian, A-Bai naturally met the gaze of the calico nestled in Lin Mianmian’s arms.
Mm… she also looked quite worn.
Was this fellow addicted to being a cat? Could she still remember that she was a great demon about to form her core?
A-Bai complained inwardly, but she only pursed her three-part mouth. She did not transmit anything to stab Yuan Zhaoyang.
As expected, she was a good rabbit who did not kick people when they were down. She should eat two more pig trotters later to praise herself.
“Um, I came to pick up the cats,” A-Bai said first when Lin Mianmian only looked at her and did not speak. This kind of silence was not workable.
Lin Mianmian pressed her lips tightly. After a long while, she nodded. “I packed some things too. Not much. Can you take them along?”
“What is there to worry about? I have this. No matter how much there is, it can fit.” A-Bai patted the golden bell on her neck, looking reliable, as if everything would be fine with a rabbit here. Inside, she let out a long breath. Good. The handoff was about to go smoothly. No strange trouble.
Only…
“Uh… these are all their things?” The little white rabbit weakly lifted a paw after following Lin Mianmian into the room.
“They are all little Rice Ball’s things…” Lin Mianmian looked guiltily at the fat Fried Dough sunning itself in the courtyard. “Fried Dough used to roam outside all the time. I only saw it once or twice a day.”
No need to explain. A-Bai knew. Only your Rice Ball was the cutest little cat in the world, the little treasure at the tip of your heart.
A-Bai’s complaint did not leave her mouth. When she met Yuan Zhaoyang’s eyes, however, everything was already written there.
Yuan Zhaoyang had nothing to say.
Sunk in the feelings of parting and worry, Lin Mianmian did not notice the exchange of looks between rabbit and cat. She only opened the several bundles arranged on the table and introduced them to A-Bai one by one.
“This bundle has the soft nests and little quilts Rice Ball is used to sleeping in. The pink floral one and the beige one with white dots are usually for outdoors. The goose-yellow and pale pink solid-colored nests are usually for indoors. They all have matching little pillows and quilts. They are the right size for her now. There is also one with gray patterns and one light brown nest. I made those bigger on purpose, so Rice Ball can use them when she grows more. They have pillows and quilts too. Rice Ball loves being clean, so the soft nests, little quilts, and little pillows do not need to be washed too often. I usually take them out to sun every few days. Washing them once every ten days is enough…”
“Wait…” A-Bai weakly raised a paw again. “They need to be washed every ten days?”
“If there really is no time, once every half month is fine.” Lin Mianmian looked troubled. After a while, she added hesitantly, “Actually, the soft nests, pillows, and quilts can all be taken apart. You only need to wash the outer covers. Once every ten days is very convenient.”
A-Bai rubbed her face. Thank goodness she did not really have to send this calico to Tian Xiaoyu. Otherwise, she truly would not know how to tell that little girl all this. It was only one cat, yet she was being raised so delicately. So many nests, quilts, and pillows, and they had to be washed every ten days…
“Fine.” Since they were already lying, A-Bai decided not to struggle over details and nodded with noble resolve.
Then she watched Lin Mianmian keep digging through the pile of bundles. “These are the small mats Rice Ball usually lies on. Actually, she spends more time lying on mats than in soft nests.”
“Understood! Wash them! Once every ten days!” The little rabbit accepted this smoothly.
“They need to be taken apart and washed, or the mat inside will stop being soft if it gets wet too many times,” Lin Mianmian added.
The little rabbit rubbed her furry face hard and nodded. “Okay.”
“These are some little toys I made before. Some are already a little small, and I did not have time to make many new ones…” Lin Mianmian opened a bundle of little cloth mice and little cloth balls. Her voice gradually lowered.
The little rabbit glared at the calico, took a deep breath, and said, “Do not worry. I will have her make new ones for your cat!”
Lin Mianmian did not answer. Her arms around the calico tightened again, and she could not help drawing the little cat closer to her chest.
The calico very naturally placed one paw on Lin Mianmian’s chest to keep her balance, then turned to look at A-Bai.
Before A-Bai could complain, Yuan Zhaoyang’s voice transmission arrived. “Tell her that if she makes new ones in the future, you will deliver them for her.”
“Fly for a whole day just to deliver a cloth mouse to a cat?” Since when were Core Formation cultivators used like this? A-Bai nearly fainted from anger. Then she thought about it and realized something was wrong. “You are not really going to Yingxian City. Deliver it where?”
The calico’s face was cold. “To the room next to yours.”
“Oh.” A-Bai understood, then looked disgusted. “Wow. I never knew you were a cat with such special hobbies.”
Yuan Zhaoyang fell silent.
It had to be said that Yuan Zhaoyang and Lin Mianmian had not spent these months together for nothing. As soon as A-Bai repeated Yuan Zhaoyang’s voice transmission, saying that if Lin Mianmian made new toys later, A-Bai could deliver them, Lin Mianmian’s pale little face immediately looked much better.
“That would be too much trouble.” Lin Mianmian’s eyes were full of expectation, yet she still shook her head and refused. “When I succeed in cultivation later, I will deliver them to her myself.”
A-Bai and Yuan Zhaoyang were both speechless.
“Um… you understand the rule that Qi Refining disciples cannot casually leave the sect, right?” A-Bai asked carefully.
Lin Mianmian nodded. “Mm. Senior Sister Zihui told me. Unless Qi Refining disciples accept a sect task that requires leaving the sect, they cannot come and go freely. I will work hard at cultivation and try to receive a task that lets me leave the sect. Also, doesn’t the Five Elements Sect have the custom of going to Yingxian City once every ten years to recruit disciples? If I can go help next time, I can see little Rice Ball.”
Even if this little Rice Ball really were only a cat, by then she would not be little Rice Ball anymore. She would be old Rice Ball, all right?
A-Bai could not help glaring at Yuan Zhaoyang again. It was all this fellow’s fault for suggesting Yingxian City. Great. Now there were still more than nine years left, and a big exposure was waiting for her.
As if seeing A-Bai’s gloom, Yuan Zhaoyang transmitted, “When the boat reaches the bridge, it will straighten by itself. By then, maybe she will already have forgotten… Rice Ball. And tasks outside the sect are rare to begin with. It is not as if anyone can go just because they say they want to.”
Heh. Easy to say.
If she had not forgotten by then, could Yuan really harden her heart and pull strings so Lin could not go?
This was why rabbits should not lie. Once there was a first lie, the later lies used to cover it would be endless.
Exhausted, A-Bai no longer had the heart to interrupt Lin Mianmian’s beautiful hopes. She obediently listened as Lin introduced the items in the bundles and explained how to care for them.
Mm… soft nests, quilts, pillows, mats, and all the big and small cloth mice, cloth balls, and cloth toys were one thing. But why were there clothes too?
Cats needed clothes? And there were spring, autumn, and winter sets?
The workmanship was actually good. Mm… but could Lin please stop making Yuan Zhaoyang try the clothes on in front of A-Bai? A-Bai feared that when they went back, both of her eyes would be dug out by Yuan.
A-Bai sighed, covering her forehead with one paw. She truly could not bear to watch as Yuan Zhaoyang’s whole cat body was fitted into a little beige dress.
Mm… it did look good. The cat’s expression was just a little stinky.
Although the things Lin Mianmian had made were truly many and very strange, A-Bai had to admire Lin Mianmian’s care for the calico. No matter what the item was, Lin had made different sizes according to the cat’s slow growth. It really made A-Bai feel that she and Yuan Zhaoyang, who had created this whole scam, were scum.
After listening to Lin Mianmian finish introducing the bundles, A-Bai waved a paw and put them all away. Since she was already doing it, she might as well go all the way. She pointed at the large wooden cat nests and cat climbing frames in the room. “What about these? Should I take them too?”
“Can you?” Lin Mianmian asked, a little surprised and happy.
“Of course.” Earlier, Yuan Zhaoyang had transmitted that all these things should be given to her later. A-Bai truly wished she could pack ten thousand cat nests into Yuan Zhaoyang’s storage bag and leave no room for the bland Qingxin Hall boiled meat Yuan always fed her.
And so A-Bai packed away the cat nests and cat climbing frames inside and outside the room. She also removed the hanging bed from the window and the wooden corridor from the courtyard. Her grand reason was that once the Five Elements Sect’s spirit beasts returned, these things would be destroyed sooner or later, so they might as well leave with the cat.
Naturally, Lin Mianmian had no reason not to nod.
“As for this wall, why don’t I take it apart and bring it too?” After stuffing away everything that could fit in the golden bell, A-Bai circled the now rather empty room and courtyard twice. Finally, she pointed a paw at the wall inside Lin Mianmian’s room.
Lin Mianmian froze. She looked around at the wooden boards of different heights and shapes on all four walls, then shook her head with a bitter smile. “Forget these. The four walls… are we supposed to move the whole house to Yingxian City? I will take them down later so they will not bother whoever lives here after me.”
What a pity.
The little white rabbit and the little calico both thought this, though their sighs did not come from the same place.
In A-Bai’s view, everything that needed to be explained had been explained, and everything that should be taken had been packed. They had left enough time for them. Next came sending the cat off.
Lin Mianmian, however, did not think that way.
“Everything I just said, the things in the bundles and how to care for them, I wrote here.” Lin Mianmian took out a small booklet from who knew where and handed it over. “Rice Ball’s daily habits, like when she sleeps, what she eats, what she likes and dislikes, I wrote them all in this booklet too. But Tian Xiaoyu cannot read. A-Bai, you must remember to read it to her a few more times…”
“Wait!” A-Bai was shocked. “Why does sending a cat away come with a whole book?”
If A-Bai were Tian Xiaoyu, she would return the cat, all right? This was not helping someone raise a cat. This was helping someone raise an ancestor.
“There are not many words… A-Bai, you will read it to her a few more times, right?” Lin Mianmian asked with reddened eyes.
“I will…” A-Bai nodded weakly.
When she got back, she would smash the book onto the face of this cat ancestor and make Yuan read it aloud one thousand eight hundred times, so she would not fail Lin’s sincere care.
Yuan Zhaoyang nestled in Lin Mianmian’s arms and could not help stretching out a paw to pat Lin Mianmian’s arm. Lin Mianmian had started writing this booklet after packing the little bundles last night and had not finished until just before A-Bai arrived. Yuan Zhaoyang had been held in Lin Mianmian’s arms the whole time and had only glimpsed a few pages. But even those few glimpses had been enough to make her feel awful.
Lin Mianmian rubbed her eyes, holding back her tears, then lowered her head and kissed the cat paw patting her.
A-Bai fell silent.
Please, heavens, send down a bolt of lightning and strike the rabbit. Why did she feel less like a helpful little rabbit and more like an unforgivable cat trafficker?
Reluctance had no end, but parting would still arrive.
After Lin Mianmian lowered her eyes and carefully stroked the little calico from the top of her head to the tip of her tail twice, A-Bai finally brought out her flying magic artifact.
It was a huge, half-transparent ice bowl, very much in A-Bai’s style. One little white rabbit crouched inside and took up only a small corner at the bottom.
Lin Mianmian stood by the bowl for a long time with the calico in her arms.
“Come on, put her in. Do not worry. This bowl looks like it is made of ice, and it is made of ice, but I made a barrier, so it is not cold. It will not freeze your cat,” A-Bai said, unable to bear letting this false farewell keep tormenting Lin Mianmian. She climbed onto the rim of the bowl and waved a paw.
Lin Mianmian reached out and touched the rim. It was not cold. It felt warm and smooth to the touch.
A-Bai thought that after checking the temperature, Lin Mianmian would put the cat in. Instead, Lin Mianmian hugged the little calico tighter, as if she wanted to press the cat into her heart, while at the same time carefully controlling her strength, afraid her reluctance might hurt her.
No one understood that contradiction better than the calico in her arms.
Would they… meet again?
Lin Mianmian gently held up the little calico. Their eyes met, and sourness surged over her like a tide. Lin Mianmian turned her face away. After a long time, with red eyes, she looked back at the little calico in her hands.
“Be well. Tian Xiaoyu is a good girl. You… be well…” Lin Mianmian said, almost choking. Then she kissed the little calico’s forehead and carefully lowered the calico along the rim of the bowl.
It was as if her heart slid in with the cat.
Lin Mianmian’s kiss was burning and heavy. Both its warmth and weight stayed for a long, long time between Yuan Zhaoyang’s brows. She clearly knew this was a scam. She clearly knew this was not a real parting. She clearly knew that if she wanted, she could meet Lin Mianmian again in human form the very next moment.
But her heart still felt so… so strange.
That strange pulling, that dull ache, the heat and weight on her forehead seemed to reach her heart too, making the whole cat feel almost unable to breathe.
A-Bai looked at the foolish cat lying dazed at the bottom of the bowl, staring upward. Then she looked at the foolish person leaning over the rim and staring down. She rubbed her furry face, smoothed the fur on her ears, twisted to scratch her round belly, no, her flat belly, and finally could not help looking at Lin Mianmian. She opened her mouth and broke the silence full of aching sourness. “Hey, I say, isn’t there still another cat?”
Lin Mianmian seemed stunned by the question. Only after a moment did she look toward the courtyard, where fat Fried Dough had been lying in the sun without moving at all.
Picking up Fried Dough and seeing its blank, lazy face, Lin Mianmian felt a strange jealousy. Her sweet, soft little calico, the little calico she had held in her palm for fear of bumping her… how had this fat Fried Dough gotten so lucky?
Rather unwillingly, Lin Mianmian put Fried Dough into the ice bowl. Then she gripped the rim, sniffled, and said to A-Bai with a serious face, “There is one thing, A-Bai. You must tell Tian Xiaoyu.”
“What? Don’t tell me this yellow cat has its own cat-raising book too.” A-Bai felt Tian Xiaoyu was truly pitiful.
“…Not that.” Lin Mianmian looked at Fried Dough, who had automatically and consciously stood beside the little calico at the bottom of the bowl. “Remember to tell Tian Xiaoyu that Rice Ball is still young. This year… this year, it would be best not to let them mate. Wait until next year. Next year or the year after… Also, do not let Rice Ball have kittens every year. Having too many is not good…”
Yuan Zhaoyang was speechless.
A-Bai carefully glanced at Yuan Zhaoyang. What had she heard? Such a shameful topic. Would she be silenced?
Of course, the ice bowl had not taken off yet, so everyone still had to stay alive.
And so A-Bai, wiping sweat, took one foolish cat, one foolish cat demon, a pile of strange handmade objects, and the three hundred taels in banknotes that Lin Mianmian still had left from entering the immortal sect. Driving the ice bowl, she slowly rose into the air.
Very soon, Lin Mianmian on the ground gradually became a small black dot. Then even the small courtyard could no longer be seen clearly.
Inside the ice bowl, it was very quiet. There was only the sound of the yellow cat snoring.
“So how big is this cat’s heart? It has only just gone up into the sky and it fell asleep again…” A-Bai complained while driving the ice bowl toward the outermost barrier of the Five Elements Sect.
The quiet ice bowl still held only the yellow cat’s snores.
A-Bai turned and looked at the silent cat. “Hey, no way. Even if the topic I heard before we left was a little, just a little awkward, you are not really thinking of clearing my memory, are you?”
Yuan Zhaoyang reached out a paw and touched the spot on her forehead where Lin Mianmian had kissed her last. After a long while, she turned to A-Bai. “I am not that bored. Take Fried Dough to Tian Xiaoyu’s place. Come back early. Oh, right, give me the things you collected earlier first.”
As she spoke, Yuan Zhaoyang tapped the bottom of the bowl with one paw.
“I go? I am really going?” A-Bai looked shocked. “Why aren’t you going?”
“I am going back to look.” Yuan Zhaoyang rubbed her paws. “Did you think those ten suckling pigs were only for lifting the ice bowl into the air? Aren’t you thinking too much?”
“Eight roasted and two braised, thank you!” A-Bai patted the golden bell. The things she had collected from Lin Mianmian earlier piled up in front of the calico. “What use is there in going back now? Are you going back to watch the little girl who lost her beloved cat cry? Or to watch the pitiful little girl take down the wooden boards she put up herself while crying?”
“Didn’t Zihui say she would come at noon to take Lin Mianmian inside?” Yuan Zhaoyang seemed not to hear A-Bai’s complaints and only kept putting things away.
“Afternoon, I think. She left some time for sending you two away. Oh, sending it away.” A-Bai answered.
Yuan Zhaoyang looked deeply at A-Bai. It was not even noon yet. Since Zihui was only coming in the afternoon, what was the hurry?
A-Bai said nothing.
“I am leaving.” Yuan Zhaoyang packed the things, turned back into human form, and waved a paw at A-Bai. “Go with peace of mind. When you come back tonight, I will make food for you.”
A-Bai did not believe Yuan would still have the mood to cook for her after going back to watch Lin Mianmian, who had lost her cat.
Crouching at the edge of the bowl, A-Bai watched Yuan Zhaoyang, who had already returned to human form, turn back and leave. After thinking for a moment, A-Bai drove the ice bowl and forced it to turn in the air, flying toward another place.