“All done.”
After tying a butterfly bow onto Tong You’s head, Shiyan gave a satisfying pat of her hands. She stepped back to take a look and noticed the bow was a bit crooked, so she reached out to adjust it again.
Tong You sat expressionless with the large bow perched on his head, his body circling around as he slowly lowered his swollen paw.
“Haha, it looks so good, and you’re so adorable! No wonder Sovereign keeps you by his side,” Shiyan said, rubbing her hands together.
Hehe. Tong You bared his teeth.
Saving someone with the ultimate goal of repayment was nothing short of a scam.
Shiyan blinked. “By the way, did Sovereign give you a name? What should I call you?”
Tong You curled up with one of his tails cradled in his arms. Who asked him to name me? I have a name of my own.
Shiyan leaned her face in close. “Then what is your name?”
Tong You. Tong You rested his head on his tail, casting a sidelong glance at Shiyan.
“Tong… You.” Shiyan repeated his name in her mouth. “That sounds nice! Can I call you Youyou?”
Tong You raised a paw to scratch his nose. Whatever, as long as you like it.
“Youyou~” Shiyan poked his cheek, looking delighted.
Tong You lay flat without moving, letting Shiyan do whatever she wanted with him. He finally understood why pet cats and dogs at home ran so far away and refused to even come back for meals whenever children visited.
Shiyan tied up the long sideburns on both sides of his face and neatly groomed his fur. What she found most irresistible were his nine fluffy, soft tails; she pressed them against her face and rubbed them frantically.
After taking a short nap, Tong You had no idea when Shiyan had left. He only felt a dark shadow pressing down over him. Opening his eyes, a black outer robe came flying straight toward him.
“Awooo!”
Tong You let out a cry, quickly scrambling backward out from under his tail.
You bastard… can you stop looking for trouble for no reason?! Tong You originally wanted to curse out loud, but remembering that the person in front of him was the Demon Sovereign, whose temper probably wasn’t great, he reined it in a bit.
Qilian sat down, his mood brightening considerably at the sight of the grumpy little furball wearing a big butterfly bow and bristling with fluffed-up fur. The moment he reached out a hand, Tong You backed away on his hind legs.
Qilian’s expression turned serious. Looking at his heavily swollen paw, he asked, “What’s wrong with your paw?”
You have the nerve to ask? As if you don’t know what’s wrong with my paw! Tong You rolled his eyes, resting his mouth against his swollen foot.
“Was it that girl Shiyan?” Qilian tugged at the large butterfly bow perched on top of Tong You’s head.
Hey, stop messing with it! It wasn’t her. Tong You raised his injured paw.
Pointing at the spot covered by Qilian’s robe, Tong You indicated, Lift up your clothes and look for yourself.
Half-skeptical, Qilian flipped open the robe to reveal a long, slender needle lying on the couch.
Don’t tell me this has nothing to do with you. This thing was stuck right in my paw when I woke up.
How could the Demon Shaman be so careless? Qilian picked up the needle and immediately destroyed it.
“I’ve never seen this needle before. You must have stepped on it when you were wandering around blindly after you first arrived,” Qilian said, waving his hand dismissively.
If it wasn’t you, then why destroy the evidence?! Tong You was somewhat convinced it was him.
“I destroyed it for the safety of your other three paws.”
Tong You thought: My foot.
“You were gone for a moment, and now you’ve even got little braids tied up.” Qilian stroked Tong You’s head.
A young girl can do whatever she wants. Hey, stop undoing it, the fur was just long enough to keep out of my eyes, Tong You protested.
I want to ask Lord Demon Sovereign: why did you capture a newly born little beast like me to nurture medicine instead of choosing beasts with greater abilities?
“And what makes you think your abilities are anything special?”
I can’t cultivate, I can’t channel spiritual energy, basically, I can’t do anything. He tilted his head with a deadpan expression.
Qilian untied the butterfly bow from Tong You’s head. It seemed the little guy had no idea he was a descendant of the ancient divine beast Lu Wu.
“I can teach you.”
Then what’s in it for you? Tong You was puzzled.
Qilian replied indifferently, “The medicine has already been planted inside your body. I hope you stay alive. That’s for the best, both for you and for me.”
Holy crap, what a cheap shot! I haven’t even seen what the medicine looks like. Could it be like a parasite? Ugh, how disgusting! Is it going to eat my heart, liver, and lungs? Will it drink my blood? Will it run amok inside my body?
Just thinking about it made Tong You feel slightly sick, as if something was crawling all over him.
Glaring with reddened eyes, Tong You fumed, Such a huge matter, why didn’t you notify me beforehand?!
Watching his expressive little face, Qilian remarked, “Didn’t I just tell you?”
Tong You stood up on his hind legs. Damn it, you black-hearted jerk! I knew you weren’t any good.
“What’s the rush? Didn’t we make a deal that I wouldn’t take your life?” Qilian successfully managed to pet Tong You’s head.
After taking a moment to calm down and accept his fate, Tong You asked, “Are there any side effects?”
Qilian stroked his tail instead. “I don’t know yet. It depends on your reaction.”
Can you people be a bit more rigorous? Tong You gave his hip a disgruntled twist, refusing to let Qilian pet him anymore.
Qilian answered, “It’s already very rigorous.”
I’ll believe you when pigs fly.
Qilian reached out to pet his tail again, but received a harmless swat. Tong You was too annoyed right now and didn’t want that bastard Qilian touching him at all.
His fluffy tail brushed across the back of Qilian’s hand, bringing a sensation that was equal parts pleasant and itchy. Qilian raised a hand to brush against his own cheek.
Small as he is, he sure has quite a temper. Qilian lay down on his side and poked Tong You’s belly.
Tong You used his tail to shield his stomach and turned his head away. What?
Qilian patted the space in front of his stomach. “Come here. Let me see your paw.”
Tong You let out a heavy huff, tossing his high-held head to the other side. The fur on his ears fluttered with the motion, radiating a tiny aura of stubborn pride.
You want me to come over just because you said so? I’m not your dog, bah! Cat, I’m not your cat!
Picking up the storage pouch that had been tucked away in the crack of the couch, Qilian asked, “Don’t want your spirit stones?”
Tong You’s ear tips twitched, and he spun his head back. I do want them! If you gave them to me, they’re mine. Put them back right now!
“What’s yours and mine? Everything here is mine.” Qilian poured out a pile of spirit stones.
He picked up a rounder spirit stone, aimed, and flicked it toward Tong You with a finger. “Really not eating?”
Eat! Not eating makes me an idiot!
“Youyou?” Seeing him start to munch away, Qilian suddenly remembered Shiyan calling the little furball Youyou. Could that be his actual name? Out of curiosity, he said it aloud.
With a spirit stone held in his mouth, Tong You mumbled, Speak if you have something to say.
Qilian toyed with a spirit stone in his hand. “Did Shiyan give you that name?”
No. Tong You crunched on his spirit stone while his nine tails wagged unconsciously behind him.
Qilian immediately grabbed hold of them and pulled the little beast toward him. The texture was fantastic, he wondered what it would feel like pressed against his face.
Tong You gave a strong yank with his bottom, only to find that two of his tails were still pinched in Qilian’s grip. He instantly felt miserable. Hey, stop pulling! It hurts a lot!
“I’m not using any force,” Qilian said.
It still hurts even without force! If you’ve got the guts, pull your own tail out and let me try it on you! Tong You protested indignantly.
Gently pinching the tail in his hand, Qilian thoroughly enjoyed the sensation. “Pity I don’t have a tail.”
“Are you all that fluffy, or are you genuinely just fat?” Qilian stroked slowly upward along the tail.
Tong You couldn’t be bothered to entertain this guy any longer and buried his head to devour more stones. Seeing the little fellow ignoring him, he persisted in tugging on his tail unyieldingly. “Hmm?”
Suddenly, Tong You felt a pulling force trying to haul him upward. Before he could exert any strength of his own, he was dragged straight into a firm embrace, the impact hurting half of his body.
Ow, ouch! Are you made of stone? Why is your body so hard? Tong You licked his re-injured paw, drooling from the pain.
“Let me see.”
Qilian grabbed Tong You’s leg, trying to pull up his paw pad to inspect it. To his surprise, the leg was so short that the moment he lifted it, the little beast tipped right over.
Tong You flipped onto his back, exposing all four pink paw pads. Mm~~
Gazing at the plump pink paw pad hidden among the light orange fur, which was noticeably more swollen compared to the other three, with sharp claws faintly visible at the tips, he couldn’t help pressing his thumb pad against the soft paw flesh.
It tickles… Tong You twisted his body and kicked with his short little legs.
Grumbling, Tong You complained, Are you done looking yet?
Qilian flipped Tong You right-side up, pulled him into his arms, and pressed his cheek close to rub against him.
Tong You trembled slightly. He hadn’t expected this guy to be a fur fanatic.
“This pelt of yours is quite nice. How about I skin you and make a cloak out of it?” Qilian chuckled.
There’s too little of me, it wouldn’t make an inch of a cloak. Lowering his head to groom his paw, Tong You discovered that his swollen foot seemed to have completely healed.
Tong You: ?
He stared in amazement at his paw, flexing the little furry toes.
Did he use a spell to heal me? Hmm, there’s nobody else it could be.
Taking advantage of his daze, Qilian reached out to stroke his belly, half of which was just thick, fluffy fur over an empty stomach.
Tong You showed Qilian his fully healed paw, opening and closing the toes. Thanks.
Qilian raised an eyebrow, seeming unsatisfied with such a brief expression of gratitude. “A simple thank-you is all? Shouldn’t you show some action to express it?”
Uh… This guy really knew how to push his luck.
A flash of wariness crossed Tong You’s eyes. Then what do you want?
“I want to pet your ears,” Qilian said.
Pet my ears? Tong You had expected some outrageous demand like plucking his fur, but he just wanted to touch his ears. Lowering his head, he offered his head forward. Here.
Qilian didn’t stand on ceremony, reaching out to stroke both ears. But after just a few touches, the ears seemed to grow shy, drooping down on their own accord.
“Why did your ears drop?” Qilian asked, reaching out to lift his furry chin.
Tong You looked up at him, blinking his light-blue eyes. With a flick of Qilian’s hand, he began scratching underneath Tong You’s chin. Tong You slowly raised his chin, offering no resistance to the scratching, in fact, he found it rather enjoyable. After all, even a ball of fluff couldn’t resist a good head scratch.
His head lifted slowly in rhythm with Qilian’s scratching strokes, his tail wagging lightly and happily behind him. His eyes gradually narrowed into slits while his little mouth puckered up into an adorable smile.
Watching Tong You’s blissful expression, Qilian paused slightly. When did I become a servant to this little creature?
The sudden cessation of movement under his chin pulled Tong You out of his blissful world. He blinked his eyes open. Keep going. You haven’t scratched my head yet.
“You’re really getting into it, aren’t you?” Qilian held his chin flat with one hand, then gave him a quick, playful flick on top of the head.
Puffing out his chest, Tong You looked both aggrieved and stubborn. You’re the one who insisted on scratching me, and now you’re complaining!
“Come here. Rest on my arm.”
Who do you think you are? Just because you tell me to come over doesn’t mean I have to.
Qilian reasoned, “You eat my food and sleep in my bed right now. Since I’m the one raising you, I’m your master. Shouldn’t you listen to your master?”
Tsk. Tong You curled his lip in disgust.
On second thought, that didn’t sound entirely wrong. It was just that this guy was too mean, hitting him right on the forehead out of nowhere without even caring if he gave him a concussion.
Reluctantly, Tong You shuffled over and lay down in the crook of Qilian’s arm, resting his two little paws upon his sleeve and tucking his head right in the middle, burying his face deep into the fabric.