“System, what should I do?” Luo Tangtang sensed there wasn’t even a trace of spiritual energy within her body, immediately feeling anxious, almost wanting to cry.
“Tangtang, bear with it for now. If there’s danger later, I’ll open a teleportation array for you.”
The heart Luo Tangtang had been holding instantly settled. Alright, I’m not afraid anymore! She simply lay on the ground, playing dead and not moving.
“What about it, then?” Qi Xiaobai looked at his most admired Senior Sister, only to find she was also gazing thoughtfully at the little white furball on the ground.
“Then—how about I give it a sword strike and end it!” Qi Xiaobai spoke wildly again, gesturing with his sword.
Luo Tangtang trembled, her drooping ears instantly perked up. You are truly vicious, she thought darkly to herself.
Yun Shayi then raised her head and glanced at her Junior Brother, before shifting her gaze back to the little white furball on the ground, her eyes filled with deep thought.
The next moment, a pristine white robe hem swayed before Luo Tangtang’s eyes, embroidered with subtle patterns in silver thread.
“Swish!” Luo Tangtang extended a paw and grabbed onto it.
It started tentatively, but then she simply wrapped both paws around it, her entire body hanging from Yun Shayi’s robe hem.
Her front paw was held, and a trace of spiritual energy surged into her meridians. Luo Tangtang immediately grew alert and opened her mouth to bite.
Struggling and whimpering, Luo Tangtang’s nose tip touched warm skin. A familiar subtle fragrance drifted from it, immediately calming her down.
“Huh~ How did this little thing become so well-behaved?” Qi Xiaobai looked somewhat surprised at the originally restless little furball. It was now fawningly licking Senior Sister’s hand, occasionally rubbing the soft fur on its head against her hand. He was quite surprised.
After a moment, Yun Shayi released her hand. “There are no traces of spiritual energy within its body. It should just be a normal—cat?”
Yun Shayi’s gaze lingered on the little furball that was still clinging to her hand, feeling somewhat uncertain.
“Meow~!” Luo Tangtang resolutely called out.
Everyone: “…”
An indescribable expression immediately appeared on the faces of Qi Xiaobai and the others.
“This cat… seems to have some spirit!” Lu Qingyan smiled.
“What about it, then? This valley bottom doesn’t seem safe either.” Qi Xiaobai looked around. It was a scene of devastation.
He looked at the little furball clinging to Senior Sister’s hand, so weak and small.
“Meow.” Luo Tangtang finally successfully climbed onto Yun Shayi’s hand, freeing herself from her dangling state.
She raised her head, wagging her tail gently, and blinked her large eyes at Yun Shayi. Her eyes were pure and clear.
“It seems it really likes Senior Sister Yún!” Lu Qingyan glanced at Luo Tangtang on Yun Shayi’s hand, his eyes carrying a hint of deeper meaning.
Yun Shayi quietly met Luo Tangtang’s gaze for a moment, seemingly unsure what to do with it.
“Meow~!” Luo Tangtang continued to gaze with her large eyes, calling out sweetly.
Yun Shayi pursed her lips, her gaze complex and unreadable. She said nothing, merely cradling the little furball from her hand into her arms.
“Senior Sister, are you planning to take it back?” Qi Xiaobai was immediately surprised by Yun Shayi’s action. Senior Sister was an aloof beauty; he didn’t expect her to like something so soft and cute?
He looked at the little furball in his Senior Sister’s arms. It was snow-white all over, looking smooth and sleek, without a single stray hair. Its limbs were slender, its paw pads were soft pink plum blossom shapes, and its cat eyes were especially lively.
It really did look lovable!
Yun Shayi’s expression remained unchanged, and she nodded faintly.
Luo Tangtang felt instantly elated, as if her feet were stepping on cotton, light and airy. She agilely jumped onto Yun Shayi’s shoulder and rubbed her head against her neck.
However, the next moment, her shoulder gave a violent shake. Luo Tangtang’s body became unstable, and she instantly tumbled down.
“Senior Sister, what’s wrong?”
Qi Xiaobai looked at Yun Shayi in disbelief. What had he just seen? Had Senior Sister sneezed?
Yun Shayi rubbed the tip of her nose, feeling a bit itchy.
Luo Tangtang, lying on the ground, was also somewhat confused, not understanding the situation.
Lu Qingyan, who was standing nearby, guessed, “Could Senior Sister be allergic to cat fur?”
Allergic to cat fur? Luo Tangtang froze in place.
Yun Shayi looked at the red rash that had appeared on her hand at some point and silently nodded.
“Tsk tsk, allergic to cat fur!” The system was rather gleeful at this moment.
How… how could this be? Luo Tangtang instantly seemed stunned. She silently lifted her paw, suddenly hating how thick her fur was.
The air instantly grew silent.
After a moment, Qi Xiaobai quietly suggested, “How about Senior Sister gives this little thing to me!”
After saying that, he even reached out, wanting to pull Luo Tangtang over.
But before he could even touch Luo Tangtang, Yun Shayi quickly moved away.
“No need!” Yun Shayi looked at her somewhat stunned Junior Brother and refused.
Holding a piece of cloth that seemed to appear from nowhere, she quickly wrapped Luo Tangtang several times, then steadily held her in her arms.
“Alright.” Qi Xiaobai looked at Yun Shayi’s action, paused, then shrugged indifferently. Anyway, if he really had to raise this little thing, it probably wouldn’t live for long.
“System, how did Senior Sister and the others come?” Luo Tangtang asked idly, lying in Yun Shayi’s arms.
Only now you remember to ask? The system silently rolled its eyes.
But it still replied dutifully, “It should be because of the Golden Cage.”
Luo Tangtang narrowed her eyes and placed a paw on her forehead.
She closed her eyes, trying not to think about the corpses of rats and spiders covering the ground, and the blood-stained crystalline ashes. Perhaps the embrace was too warm, and her body and Spiritual Sea were both extremely tired. Before long, she lost consciousness.
“?”
When Luo Tangtang groggily opened her eyes, she found she had been placed in a large tray, with a layer of soft cashmere blanket thoughtfully laid underneath.
This is Misty Peak? Luo Tangtang got out of the tray and shook her fur.
Yun Shayi had likely gone to cultivate at this time. Luo Tangtang looked outside. It was just dusk. According to convention, Yun Shayi would only return when Misty Peak was completely dark.
Luo Tangtang agilely jumped off the large tray. After shrinking in size, her field of vision had become narrow. Luo Tangtang was somewhat unaccustomed to it, even feeling a bit dizzy when she first landed.
“System, when can I change back?”
“This…” The system pondered for a moment, also saying with some uncertainty, “I’m not too sure either. After your spiritual energy recovers a bit, you should be able to.”
Spiritual energy? Luo Tangtang immediately became dejected. Her body was practically completely empty now.
Not knowing how long she had been throwing a tantrum and rolling around on the ground, Luo Tangtang rolled up and ran outside immediately. She couldn’t stand staying inside anymore. Why wasn’t Senior Sister back yet!
Little plum blossom shapes were imprinted on the pristine white snow. Luo Tangtang had originally planned to go find Yun Shayi, but she suddenly discovered that after turning into a white tiger cub form, she wasn’t afraid of the cold anymore!
She instantly grew excited and started rolling around in the snow.
“Yelp!” Her rolling body was stopped. Luo Tangtang struggled to flip over and then saw the subtle patterns embroidered on the white robe, like clouds drifting across the sky.
Senior Sister?
Luo Tangtang immediately scrambled up ingratiatingly and rubbed against her lower leg.
Yun Shayi looked somewhat speechless at the little furball covered in snowflakes before her.
“Meow~!” Luo Tangtang blinked her large eyes. Being picked up was not a pleasant feeling at all. She hung in mid-air, her body swinging back and forth, looking somewhat pitifully at Yun Shayi.
She was carried like this all the way indoors. Oh right, Yun Shayi was even wearing a glove made of some unknown material!
Luo Tangtang’s expression turned aggrieved.
Yun Shayi also noticed the little furball had developed a temper. Her usually calm face showed a hint of helplessness.
“You aren’t like her, though. That person was most afraid of the cold.”
“And wouldn’t have such a big temper like you.”
Yun Shayi silently added another sentence.
It was clearly just a remark, but it instantly made Luo Tangtang become alert. She widened her large eyes, placing both front paws on Yun Shayi’s hand.
Senior Sister is mine!
“Meow~” Luo Tangtang said, like a declaration.
“In this moment, you are like her, though.” A trace of softness flashed in Yun Shayi’s eyes.
She silently stood up and went out the door. Luo Tangtang’s claws were too tender and didn’t hook on, so she could only roll around in annoyance where she was, quite furious.
“System, System!” The more Luo Tangtang thought about it, the more something felt off. Who was that person referring to?
“Don’t call me, I don’t know either. This isn’t in the original book’s plot.” The system yawned. Systems need rest these days too.
“Then what use are you to me?” Luo Tangtang extended a paw and started feeling around on the tabletop, feeling irritable. She didn’t notice the table was made of stone, and instead, her paw hurt terribly.
“Calm down.” The system looked helplessly at Luo Tangtang, who was crying out in pain, and immediately eliminated the pain for her, which made her behave a little better.
But Luo Tangtang was clearly restless. Before long, she started using her mouth to chew on the cashmere blanket in the tray again.
However, before she had chewed for long, the door was pushed open again. Yun Shayi entered, holding a plate.
“Are you hungry?” Yun Shayi looked at the little furball before her, its mouth still stuffed with the blanket. She frowned and quickly stepped forward.
“You can’t eat this.” Yun Shayi placed the plate she had brought aside and carefully took the cashmere blanket out of Luo Tangtang’s mouth.
“Meow~!” Luo Tangtang grimaced. A fuzzy thread was wrapped around her teeth, and Yun Shayi pulled hard, making her gasp.
“There.” Yun Shayi actually thought she was being very considerate.
She pushed the plate towards Luo Tangtang: “Eat this.”
Luo Tangtang swallowed nervously, the panic in her eyes practically spilling over. Her face was full of disbelief. Was this really for her to eat?
In the plate lay a silent, entirely silver-white fish. Its mouth was still spitting white foam, its eyes rolled back.
Can this fish be eaten? Luo Tangtang swallowed again. Her human subconscious told her this couldn’t be eaten raw, but now she had turned into a white tiger, a mythical beast. It was different now.
Things that she had originally found fishy now appeared so adorable in her eyes.
“Tangtang, hang in there. Don’t let your beast nature blind you. You are a person, have some dignity! This is raw.”
The system glanced at the contents of the plate and immediately looked away in disgust.
Seriously? Yun Shayi likely thought the little furball had a small body and its teeth probably weren’t strong enough, so she personally pulled out the fish’s scales. But it seemed this was her first time doing such a thing, as she wasn’t very skilled. Part of the fish’s body was bare, while another part still shimmered with scales.
Eat or don’t eat?
Luo Tangtang’s cat eyes fixated on the plate before her, falling into a dilemma.