Kunwu Mountain.
“Hurry up and chase it! Don’t let that little thing get away!”
A chubby little ball of fur moved swiftly through the woods, its long ears flapping with its movements like a clumsy bird about to take flight.
While doing warm-up runs, Tong You had an accidental fall. When he woke up, he discovered he had transmigrated into a certain xianxia world, transformed into a small beast with nine tails.
Before he could even adapt, he ran into a group of cultivators. Initially thinking that following them would provide a temporary place to stay so he could plan for the future, he never expected that their reason for approaching him was to capture him back and refine him into pills to boost their cultivation realm. To think they actually took him for a beast that couldn’t understand human speech! Seizing the opportunity while they weren’t paying attention, Tong You turned and bolted.
His entire body was orange-yellow with light red stripes. His ears were long and pointed with long tufts of hair, and the light red sideburns on both sides fluttered in the wind. The nine tails behind him graded in color from dark to light, looking like half of a feathered fan.
From the face, he looked a bit like a large, chubby orange cat, but a pair of light blue eyes appeared exceptionally bright.
At this moment, from behind a thousand-year-old pine tree they had just skirted around, a man in black robes walked out. His gaze was lowered, and the string of red beads in his hand clicked against each other as his fingertips rubbed them: clack, clack, clack.
Lu Wu.
Tong You panted heavily, his heart pounding wildly as if it had jumped up to his throat. His chest felt terribly stifled, and his legs felt weak and rubbery. Looking back at the cultivators chasing him, he didn’t dare let his guard down for even a second.
He ran at lightning speed, failing to notice a large tree root beneath his feet. Failing to step over it, his entire body pitched forward. Who would have guessed there was a small slope right ahead? He closed his eyes, thinking that it was over.
His body slid straight down as fallen leaves and sand blinded him. When he finally stopped, his vision was covered by dead leaves, and he let out a huge breath, blowing away the leaves shielding his eyes.
Tong You shook his head and opened his eyes. What greeted his vision wasn’t yellowed leaves, but a dark mass.
Huh? What on earth is that?
He raised his chin, trying to get a clear look, but discovered that the thing was too tall to see fully. So, he braced his hind legs and took two steps back. Raising his head again, he could finally see everything clearly.
It was a pair of oversized black boots, sparsely decorated with some patterns, though they were too dark to make out clearly. As his gaze slowly shifted upward, Tong You’s brain gradually went blank. Holy crap, what a handsome guy.
The man was dressed in black robes wreathed in black mist, slightly lowering his head to look at his face, which was flawless and fair with sharp, coldly handsome facial features. Those blood-red eyes were deep and mysterious, as if they could see through everything, naturally evoking a sense of awe.
Tong You tilted his head back, watching in fascination.
“He’s over there! Catch him!” shouted the leader of the cultivators.
Hearing the shout, Tong You snapped back to reality and looked back; those cultivators were already swarming over.
Why are they chasing me again?
“Get behind me.” A light, drifting voice sounded from above. Tong You froze for a second, quickly scrambled up, and hid behind the man.
This guy looked pretty impressive, but who knew if he had a winning chance eight to one? Tong You stared at the man in front of him.
Seeing the small beast he had found with such difficulty slip into someone else’s hands, the leader grew so angry that the hair at the back of his neck stood on end. He threatened, “I advise you to be sensible and hand that little thing over, or else don’t expect to walk out of here alive.”
The corners of Qilian’s lips curved up slightly, as if smiling. “Who lives and who dies is not yet certain.”
The leader signaled to the rest of the group, and they all rushed toward Qilian together. Before they could even get close, an invisible, powerful force restrained them.
Qilian rubbed a bead with his fingertip, holding off on finishing them off as he watched their terrified expressions with amused interest.
Ooh, he’s so cool!
Right as Tong You finished marveling, the bead in Qilian’s hand dropped, and those men instantly turned to ashes.
Seeing this, Tong You was startled out of his wits. Looking at the man before him, he didn’t even dare to breathe heavily, silently backing away from his side.
This is too fucking sci-fi! Killing someone like it’s child’s play, this is worlds apart from crappy TV CGI! Tong You muttered inwardly, not forgetting to command his legs to keep backing up.
Crappy CGI? Hearing the little furball’s muttering, Qilian raised an eyebrow slightly and looked back at him.
The moment Qilian turned his head, Tong You was so frightened that he sat down hard on the ground, instinctively grabbed one of his tails to hug, and buried his head inside. Wuwuwu, mommy!
Every hair on Tong You’s body was trembling slightly; it was too terrifying.
The hem of a robe lifted slightly, and Qilian took a step forward to stand right in front of the little furball. “Are you really that scared?” he asked, giving the furball a light nudge with his foot. So soft.
Scared! Scared to death, wuwuwu! And you’re even kicking me, wuwuwu!
Qilian said coldly, “I saved you. You should repay me.”
“Come with me.”
Thinking that the group of people had chased him down just to refine him into a pill, this guy saving him was probably for the same purpose. Tong You felt utterly despairing. I am not going with you! I don’t want to be refined into a pill!
“Don’t worry, I won’t refine you into a pill. As long as you behave yourself, I’ll spare your life.”
With that, Tong You only felt his tail tighten, and his entire beast body flew up into the air. Y-y-y-y-you can actually understand what I’m saying?!
Tong You let go of his tail, tilted his head back to look at him, his eyes filled with shock.
Qilian said in a low voice, “What is so strange about that?”
Tong You recovered from his shock. This was a xianxia world, after all; what was impossible? Then can you stop holding me by my tail? It hurts so much, it feels like it’s going to break.
You can put me down; I run very fast and can keep up with you.
Qilian didn’t speak. Tong You continued, “I won’t run away! Besides, you’re so powerful that even if I ran, you’d catch me anyway.”
Qilian still remained silent.
Big Brother, I’m begging you, if you won’t put me down, can you at least change how you hold me? Just as long as you don’t grab my tail like this, please, I’m really begging you. This tail was too fragile; it truly couldn’t handle such rough treatment.
Tong You kept babbling incessantly, annoying Qilian to the point of irritation. Suddenly, with a flick of his hand, Tong You let out a startled shriek and squeezed his eyes shut, unwilling to face reality, until he felt himself land on something soft, prompting him to slowly squint open his eyes to look.
Eh? Looking down at the black fabric he was stepping on, Tong You realized the man had placed him on his forearm instead of flinging him away. He tilted his head back, wanting to look at the man, but found his neck was too short to be of any use, so he simply gave up.
Ow, my leg is getting pinched! Feeling his hind leg wedged between the man’s wrist and abdomen, Tong You forcefully pulled his leg out, stepped a few times on the man’s arm, and curled his body up tightly against the man’s torso to find a comfortable spot to lie down.
Now this is comfortable!
His nine gorgeous tails swayed back and forth right in front of his eyes. Glancing down at the little furball obediently resting on his arm, Qilian raised a hand, pressed the tails down, and casually stroked them. Very soft, all fur.
Perhaps exhausted from all the commotion, Tong You fell asleep shortly after resting on Qilian’s arm. Since this guy said he wasn’t taking him to be refined into a pill and wouldn’t kill him, he felt naturally at ease. Besides, the man was too strong; resisting seemed pointless, so why invite suffering?
Next, he would just have to see how he could repay this life-saving grace.
Demon Realm, Demon Palace.
Sensing the aura of his master’s return, Yuanyi hurried toward the main hall. Before even getting close, he spotted the yellowish little furball resting in his master’s arms. Pausing briefly, he stepped forward and bowed: “Lord Sovereign, you have returned.”
“Hmm.” Qilian gave a brief assent, very short, revealing nothing of his emotions. Sitting upon his throne, he paused for a moment before adding, “Go tell the Demon Shaman that preparations for the medicinal nurture can begin.”
“Understood.” Yuanyi took the order and turned to leave.
The moment Qilian set Tong You down, the little beast instantly woke up. He raised his head, yawned to survey his surroundings, then stretched his flexible limbs and shook out his coat. Didn’t sleep enough.
Tong You hopped onto the table and stared at the man who was currently resting with his eyes closed. What was that medicinal nurture you mentioned just now?
What medicinal nurture? Spell it out for me, or else I’m going to throw a tantrum!
Ahahahahahahaha!
Tong You stomped wildly on the table, sending a high stack of bamboo-slip books crashing to the floor as a tea cup shattered into pieces.
Damn it, I really let my guard down. I knew you weren’t any good either! Furious, Tong You gnawed a bite out of the edge of the table, then leaped down and bolted straight for the main doors.
Four towering pillars in the hall stood like twisted monsters. The pitch-black surroundings were terrifyingly silent, and crimson gauze floated in the air while a night-pearl in the center was enveloped by darkness, looking exceptionally pale and eerie.
Panicking thoroughly, Tong You walked and looked around. What kind of ghost place is this? It’s like a thousand-year-old tomb!
Great, I can get out right away!
Spotting the doors close at hand, Tong You hopped up joyfully. But just a few steps outside, he realized something was wrong with this place.
Looking up, the sky was blood-red, and so was the drifting mist. A few dark-red crows flew across the sky, leaving behind lingering cries of grievance. Magnificent palaces stood tall, crimson gauze fluttering, silent and still.
No way, no way, don’t tell me I’ve ended up in the underworld?!
Whoooosh! Suddenly, a strange sound echoed from afar, making goosebumps erupt all over Tong You’s body. He spun around and sprinted back inside.
Forget it, I’d better go back.
I haven’t even gotten used to being a beast yet, and in the blink of an eye, I almost ended up in someone’s pill furnace. Now look at this, I’ve practically jumped straight into someone’s cooking pot! What kind of mess is this?
The corners of Qilian’s mouth lifted slightly, his tone carrying playful mockery: “Back already? Was it fun outside?”
Tong You leaped back onto the table in one breath. Fun my foot!
Hey, that medicinal nurture you mentioned, does that mean I’m going to be used to cultivate medicine?
“What else?” Qilian side-lay, supporting his head with one hand. “Did you think I brought you back to keep as a pet?”
Damn it.
I’ve literally been alive for one day, and I run into a bunch of infuriating weirdos like you. What bad luck.
Qilian twitched an eyebrow. “Judging by your sharp tongue, you don’t sound like someone born just today.”
So what? Are babies not allowed to talk on day one?
Qilian let out a soft chuckle.
Let’s make a deal. This medicinal nurture thing you talked about, you definitely need me to cooperate nicely, right?
As long as you guarantee I won’t die in the end, I’ll cooperate and nurture the medicine properly. How about that?