Cultivating Immortality by Raising a Cat (GL) Chapter 9

Part of the reason Lin Mianmian had come to the city-center immortal sect recruitment grounds in the first place was the Qiao noodle stall.
Now, although the little white rabbit looked simple, cute, and innocent, after thinking about it carefully, Lin Mianmian’s instincts told her that the rabbit had probably been leading her here on purpose.
Lin Mianmian did not know whether her intuition was right, but caution could sail a ship for ten thousand years. Even though she felt great fondness for the soft white ball rolling in front of the noodle stall, Lin Mianmian still decisively lightened her steps and quickly moved away from the stall.
She had finally resisted the temptation of the furry ball, only to fall into that female immortal’s gaze.
A lovely face, cloud-like hair, skin like white cream, brows light as if painted. This was what a cultivator should look like. Only those eyes were wide and round. There was no anger in them, only a full measure of grievance, as if she had been betrayed. Her robe stirred without wind. It should have looked like an immortal drifting in the air, yet now it added a touch of loneliness.
Lin Mianmian was looking straight at her, so of course she knew the female immortal was looking at her. It was hard not to feel disbelief. Had something happened that she did not know about?
“Little girl, your clothes…” A woman’s voice suddenly sounded beside Lin Mianmian, interrupting their eye contact.
Lin Mianmian turned her head and immediately felt her face heat. Beauty really did delay important things. If she had left a few steps earlier, she would not have been caught in such an awkward situation.
The person who called to Lin Mianmian was none other than Tian Dali’s wife, Tian Xiaoyu’s mother, Madam Cui.
Madam Cui had already thought the clothes on this loose-haired little girl looked familiar. When she came closer, were they not her daughter’s clothes? Unable to hold back, she asked. Once the little girl’s face turned red, Madam Cui became even more certain she had not mistaken them. Then she lowered her head and looked at the girl’s shoes.
“Your shoes…” Madam Cui’s brows knitted tight. Had she caught a thief while wandering around?
“Mother!” Tian Xiaoyu had just come over from Seven Treasures Pavilion’s area when she saw her mother actually questioning the little girl who had borrowed the clothes. She hurried forward, pulled Madam Cui aside, and lowered her voice to explain, “Mother, I lent them to her.”
“You eat the family’s food and use the family’s things. It is bad enough that you do not help ease the family’s worries. Now you can even decide what to do with the family’s property?” Tian Dali followed behind his daughter into the Five Elements Sect’s barrier, so of course he heard Tian Xiaoyu’s words. Seeing that the little girl wearing his daughter’s clothes was fair and tender, like a girl raised in wealth, he did not complain too loudly. But he was clearly very displeased with his daughter’s making decisions on her own.
His voice was not very loud, but it was enough for the few people beside them to hear. Tian Xiaoyu’s eyes reddened at once.
“I was the one who forced her to lend them to me. Do not blame her. I will repay you,” Lin Mianmian said, unable to bear seeing Tian Xiaoyu, who had helped her, suffer like this. Though embarrassed, she still hardened her scalp and spoke.
“No need to repay them.” Tian Dali waved a hand as if he did not care about the clothes and shoes. “Looks like you have your own difficulties. Forget it.”
In truth, Tian Dali had already looked things over. Lin Mianmian was only wearing one set of old clothes. They were not worth much. The shoes were newer, but compared with the several hundred taels of silver he was about to obtain, they did not count for anything.
Besides, Tian Dali still remembered what kind of place this was. Judging by Lin Mianmian’s looks and age, she had likely come to enter an immortal sect too. No matter the result, offending her over a set of ragged clothes would not be wise.
What Tian Dali cared about was not the clothes and shoes, but Tian Xiaoyu’s attitude. Earlier, Tian Dali had slipped and said that if Tian Xiaoyu could not enter an immortal sect, she would be married into Fengji. Then Tian Xiaoyu dragged her feet even when going home to change clothes, and after coming to the city center, she was not active about looking at sects either. Tian Dali had been holding in anger. The clothes and shoes were not worth much. He had only spoken earlier to use the matter to press Tian Xiaoyu down a little, so her heart would not grow too big and forget who had raised her.
Lin Mianmian was not truly only a child in her teens. Tian Dali’s words seemed generous, but they made people feel even more embarrassed. It was not hard to tell the difference between sincere help and forced charity. Looking at Tian Xiaoyu, who was silently crying after being scolded by Tian Dali, Lin Mianmian felt the fire trapped in her chest roast her until her face flushed and her chest grew tight.
But she really was wearing the Tian family’s clothes. She could not very well argue that Tian Xiaoyu had worked like an ox and horse in the Tian family for years, and that never mind one set of clothes, the daily labor she did had long since paid for her food and clothing there.
Those words were true, yet she could not explain how she knew them. She could not say them.
Eating someone’s food made the mouth soft. Taking someone’s things made the hand short. Lin Mianmian could not repay the money right now, and she also could not strip off the clothes and shoes on the spot to return them. She could only be trapped in this awkward state, unable to leave and unable to stay.
The Qiao family’s young man had been carried by wind to this place where he had no right to be. He had focused on cooking noodles well, but no one had come to eat. He kept feeling that he had failed the task the immortals had entrusted to him. So when he saw Tian Xiaoyu, he did not dare leave the noodle stall on his own. Of course, part of the reason was that he had also seen Tian Xiaoyu’s parents.
Earlier, he had been some distance away, but he vaguely heard their words and felt terribly anxious. When Tian Xiaoyu started crying, he could no longer hold back. He abandoned the noodle stall and was about to go over, but a rabbit stepped on his foot.
“Great immortal…” the Qiao family’s young man looked bitterly at the rabbit. “You are… stepping…”
“Tell me, how much do the clothes and shoes on that little girl in gray cost altogether?” A-Bai pointed a rabbit paw toward Lin Mianmian.
“A-about a hundred coins,” the Qiao family’s young man said. He moved his foot, but although the rabbit was small, with only one front paw on his instep, it was like being pressed down by a mountain stone. He could not move at all.
“Exchange two hundred coins for me. The extra is yours.” A-Bai patted the golden bell, and a silver ingot weighing a full fifty taels dropped in front of the Qiao family’s young man.
The Qiao family’s young man: “…”
And so, just when Lin Mianmian was so embarrassed she wanted to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it, a small cloth pouch flew through the air and landed beside Tian Dali’s foot. The metal inside clanged, heavy and clear.
Along with it came A-Bai’s somewhat lazy voice. “There are two hundred coins here. Enough to buy that outfit and those shoes, right?”
When Tian Dali saw that the one speaking and throwing money was the little white rabbit nearby, he immediately bent at the waist in a respectful posture. “How could I dare make an immortal spend money? Those clothes and shoes are not worth much. I am willing to give them to this young lady to wear.” In Tian Dali’s view, those human-shaped immortals were immortals, while the beast-shaped ones… although they were also called immortals, were really demons with magic. If he met one, he had to be respectful to keep his life.
“If I tell you to take it, take it. This outfit counts as bought by me.” A-Bai was too lazy to say more. She lifted her paw, and the money pouch on the ground flew into Tian Dali’s arms.
Tian Dali wanted to take it out again and refuse, only to discover that the pouch seemed to have grown onto his body. It stuck tightly to him and could not be pried off. Cold sweat immediately covered him. He fell to his knees and repeatedly begged the immortal to spare his life.
“This is a good day for entering immortal sects. No shouting is allowed. Your children are grown. Without you following them, they may make better choices. Ying Fu, Zihui, take them out,” A-Bai said, bluntly chasing people away.
Zihui, whom A-Bai had named, was a female Qi Refining disciple. Her looks were ordinary, but she was the most serious and straightforward in doing things. By now, she had already stood beside Tian Dali and Madam Cui, grabbing one with each hand. She even raised her head to urge Ying Fu, “Martial Uncle, hurry over!”
Me again? I am standing this far away, and you still see me? Ying Fu rubbed his nose and looked toward Yuan Zhaoyang by the little house. She gave a slight nod.
Ying Fu: “…”
And so the ones shouting for mercy went from Tian Dali alone to all three members of the Tian family.
“Wait,” A-Bai suddenly said just as Ying Fu took over Tian Dali and was about to teleport the two away.
Although A-Bai stopped Ying Fu, she carried a cloth bundle and hopped all the way to Lin Mianmian’s feet. “Wear this.”
Lin Mianmian looked at the silver cloth bundle at her feet, not knowing what to say.
This smart and adorable rabbit was indeed a demon. But the key point was, first she had helped repay the money, and now she was giving Lin Mianmian clothes. What did she want?
“I want you to wear this.” The little white rabbit raised her head, eyes full of sincerity. “They bullied you. Do not wear their family’s clothes, all right?”
Actually, Lin Mianmian could comfort herself by saying these clothes belonged to Tian Xiaoyu. But all right. After what Tian Dali had said, Lin Mianmian did feel that the clothes on her body pricked her. Also… oh my goodness, the little rabbit was already super cute, all right? This sort of talking little rabbit, this adorable little rabbit with a pleading tone – the cuteness was simply impossible to resist.
Two hundred coins was a debt. Owing one more set of clothes was also a debt. Somehow, Lin Mianmian lowered her head and nodded.
After receiving Lin Mianmian’s agreement, A-Bai scooped up the bundle with one paw and smashed it toward Lin Mianmian. Lin Mianmian could not react to this rabbit’s sudden change of attitude and reflexively reached out to catch the bundle. Unexpectedly… she caught nothing.
Everyone only felt their vision blur. The little girl was already wearing a silver dress, and even her shoes had changed into a pair with black-and-orange cloud patterns. The clothes she had been wearing before had fallen to the ground beside her.
Lin Mianmian was shocked too. This was even more exaggerated than one-click outfit changing in an online game.
As for Yuan Zhaoyang, ever since Lin Mianmian had been led by A-Bai into the Five Elements Sect’s grounds, it was as if Yuan Zhaoyang had fallen into the middle of the thickest, most enchanting fragrance. Even the heart-clearing mantra could barely suppress her urge to approach that little girl. The attraction was so strong that Yuan Zhaoyang only dared remain at the door of the wooden house and did not dare take even half a step closer.
Cultivators had sharp ears and eyes, so Yuan Zhaoyang naturally heard every word the Tian family said. She also clearly saw Tian Dali’s purpose in using Lin Mianmian to suppress his own daughter. It did not make this cat very happy.
After listening to the argument over the clothes and shoes, even though A-Bai later bought them for two hundred coins, Yuan Zhaoyang still found them unpleasant to look at. Driven by some unknown thought, she threw out one set of her own old clothes from childhood and had A-Bai change the little girl into them.
Once she saw the girl wearing them, Yuan Zhaoyang finally felt much more comfortable.
“You…” A-Bai had just been about to ask Tian Dali’s family whether they still wanted those clothes and should take them away when she turned and saw Yuan Zhaoyang flick a fireball from far away. It landed on the pile of clothes.
“Nothing else. You can send them out,” A-Bai waved a paw at Ying Fu.
The three members of the Tian family first saw the one-pat clothing-changing technique, then saw a fireball fly through the air. Their awe only grew. Tian Dali did manage to pry the cloth pouch off himself, but… he did not have the courage to take it out and return it.
Ying Fu and Zihui held the two adults, flashed once, and vanished. Tian Xiaoyu’s little face was nearly cried blotchy.
Lin Mianmian instinctively felt that such an adorable little white rabbit probably would not treat human life as grass, but she did not know how to speak up and persuade her.
A-Bai was the one who spoke to Tian Xiaoyu. “Do not be afraid. We only sent them out of the city center and did not harm them. Earlier, I saw you at Windfaring Valley’s grounds. Your parents did not care what kind of sect it was and directly asked whether entering Windfaring Valley would bring more silver than five hundred taels. I imagine they asked the same question at the other sect grounds. The reason the once-every-ten-years immortal sect recruitment allows direct relatives to accompany children of the proper age is, first, because some five- or six-year-old children are truly too young and still need family support. Second, it lets the family see with their own eyes what sect the child is going to, completing the bond of kinship so they can feel at ease. But cultivation is ultimately one’s own matter. From the looks of it, your parents cannot help you with anything. It is better that they go home early.”
A-Bai advised her gently, without the forced cuteness from before.
Tian Xiaoyu knew the white rabbit was telling the truth. She stopped crying, but her face became even redder. Lin Mianmian quickly reached out to help her up. The one who reached for Tian Xiaoyu’s other hand was the Qiao family’s young man.
For some reason, Yuan Zhaoyang, watching from afar as those people became harmonious, suddenly wanted to flick another fireball over. A spark flashed at her fingertip.