Tong You just wanted to chase after him when he turned and looked at the candied hawthorn that had shattered into several pieces on the ground, feeling an inexplicable sense of pity as he leaned down to sniff it.
It is already shattered like this, picking it up after three seconds probably means it is still inedible.
It is all that stinky durian’s fault. Huh? There seems to be half a piece of pastry left in the box…
Tong You crawled back into the food box, licked the plate clean before backing out, and trotted toward Qilian, who was lying on the couch, with pastry crumbs clinging to his paws.
With great agility, his small body leaped onto the couch, and Tong You walked lightly right up to Qilian. He curled up against the man’s chest, resting his head on his arm, while his nine tails wrapped around his body or intertwined with Qilian’s legs, not resting for even a second.
Qilian turned on his side to embrace the fluffy Tong You, lowered his head to inhale deeply, and pressed his face against Tong You’s furry head before drifting off to a deeply satisfied sleep.
Your head is so heavy! Tong You nudged him upward.
After a few attempts, Tong You ran out of energy as well. With his mind blank, he drifted off to sleep, losing track of time and hours.
Mm!
Tong You stretched his body out long and yawned, his fur quivering gently with the stretch. His tails fanned out like a screen, and a smile hung on his face as he clearly enjoyed a high level of comfort.
He looked around the room and discovered that Qilian was gone once again. Where on earth has that stinky durian wandered off to this time?
Tong You scampered out of the main hall, intending to search for either Qilian or Shiyan. Everywhere here looked gloomy, and from time to time, bone-chilling sounds echoed in the distance. Tong You felt terrified and desperately wanted someone by his side.
Along the corridor, crimson gauze fluttered in the breeze. Tong You checked behind him every three steps, terrified that something might be tailing him. The icy slabstone beneath his paws made him shiver uncontrollably, and he silently quickened his pace.
Volume one, volume two, volume three, volume four… Huh? Where is volume four? It was right here just a moment ago.
The minor demon organizing the scrolls muttered as he suddenly noticed one volume was missing. Tossing the scroll in his hand aside, he began rummaging wildly through the chaotic pile of books.
Not this one, he tossed it backward. Not this one either, tossed it backward. Not this, not this, not this…
Hearing the clatter of bamboo slips hitting the floor, Tong You walked hesitantly toward the source of the noise. Pressing his ear against the door, he listened to the sound of falling bamboo slips and the mumbling voice from inside.
Curious about who might be inside, Tong You pressed his left eye against the crack of the door. He vaguely caught sight of a back facing a massive pile of messy books, checking the title of each book before discarding it if it wasn’t what he needed, repeating the process endlessly.
What kind of place is this? A study? With this many books, it has to be. Tong You shifted his body to the right, spotting numerous books neatly lined up on the shelves inside.
He leaned a bit further, perhaps applying too much force because the door popped open a crack, causing Tong You to scamper away in a panic to hide in the corner.
After waiting for a long while without anyone coming out, Tong You poked his furry head out to look again. Seeing that the person was completely engrossed in finding books and hadn’t noticed the door opening, Tong You’s courage surged.
Driven by curiosity, Tong You tucked away his conspicuous tails and crept along the base of the wall, using the towering bookshelves as his ultimate hiding spot.
Wow, so many books! I wonder if there are any trashy romance novels I can read. Tong You scanned the books stacked on the lowest shelf.
The collection seemed neatly categorized, with the most prominent being bamboo-slip books and paper books. Bamboo slips must be some kind of precious antique, he figured.
He leaped onto the bookshelf, randomly picked out a fortunate bamboo-slip book by its binding, and dragged it down to the floor. Opening it up, he stared: What kind of ghost talismans are these? I can’t read a single word.
Afterward, Tong You rolled the bamboo slips back together and nudged them against the leg of the bookshelf. Sorry for leaving a mess, but I don’t have hands to put it back properly, he offered a silent, tiny apology to the person’s back.
Venture deeper inside, countless bamboo slips and paper books met his eyes. The volume of books exceeded that of a large library. After a short while, Tong You finally spotted a spot suitable for sitting and reading.
It was a small, square alcove containing a small desk piled with paper books, alongside an overturned teapot.
Knowing he couldn’t read the script here, Tong You refrained from rummaging through everything. He circled the small space once before leaping onto the desk.
Huh? This one is high-tech, it even has pictures! Tong You padded to the front, stretching his neck to examine the illustrations on the page.
So cute! Is this supposed to be a fox? Doesn’t really look like it though, the snout is too short, looks a bit like a cat. Tails: one, two… nine! Heh, I have nine tails too, but I don’t think I’m a fox.
Wait, looking closely at the fur on the face and chest, Tong You inspected his own body. Could I possibly be this creature?
Startled, he curiously flipped the page. The next page featured a powerful four-limbed creature with nine tails that looked ferocious, completely stripping away the cuteness from the previous page. The facing page was filled with descriptive text.
Tong You found his head spinning. To satisfy his curiosity, he leaned in closer anyway. Even though he didn’t recognize a single character, he wanted to try his best to make sense of it.
Lu Wu… Kun something mountain, Kunlun Mountain? Pillars of… heaven… whatever, don’t recognize that. Divine artifact… divine nerves… doesn’t sound right either.
You can’t blame me for having poor literacy; the font used here is completely different, I don’t recognize it at all!
Looking at it this way, I must be something extremely useful. Otherwise, with so many beasts in the world, why would that stinky durian pick me?
Studying the characters on the page, Tong You fell into deep contemplation. A divine beast!
Could I actually be some kind of divine beast from Kunlun Mountain?
Tong You flipped another page back, only to find a nine-headed snake, so he flipped right back. Just these two or three pages don’t prove anything. Maybe I should find someone who can read to spell it out for me?
No way. Tong You shook his head. If I really am one, wouldn’t everyone find out? Wouldn’t that put me in massive danger? To be safe, I’ll tear it out.
Tong You felt quite pleased with his cleverness. If he truly was one, he’d be an absolute hot commodity. Since Qilian had already set his sights on him, he couldn’t afford to let anyone else target him as well.
Tong You held the book page in his mouth and bit down. Perhaps making a bit too much noise, the minor demon organizing the scrolls hurried over upon hearing the disturbance, just in time to catch a fluffy little creature gnawing away randomly at a book on the desk.
Clutching his stack of scrolls in panic, the minor demon cried out, “Hey! You can’t chew on that!”
Tong You raised his head to glance at him, immediately tore off the page filled with writing, and leaped off the desk in a flash. The thirty-six stratagems teach us that running away is best!
Stepping forward to check, the minor demon found that the book had already been chewed to pieces. A wave of impending doom washed over him, while Tong You retraced his steps and bolted at lightning speed.
“Ow!” Tong You rushed right out of the hall. Because the floor was polished to an extreme shine, his feet slipped the moment he stepped out, sending him sliding halfway across the floor. Fortunately, his reflexes were nimble, and he regained his footing after sliding a couple of yards.
Scared the life out of me! What kind of floor gets polished so clean, do they want people to die? Tong You stamped his paws twice.
Oh right, I need to get out of here.
Where should I throw this piece of paper anyway?
After agonizing over the dilemma for a long time while walking, Tong You finally hit upon a brilliant idea: he could use his urine to dissolve the paper.
“Pee-pee-pee!”
I am an absolute genius.
Tong You looked at the paper soaking in his urine and felt deeply satisfied. Watching the ink gradually blur and wash away, Tong You hummed a little tune and strolled off, leaving a single soggy, urine-soaked piece of paper to weather the elements in the bushes.
La-la-la-la-la.
Humming his little tune, Tong You rounded a corner and saw the front doors standing wide open, feeling a sudden sense of emptiness. He hastily pulled back one paw.
“How have you been feeling lately?” Tong You asked in a gentle tone, pouring a cup of tea personally for the beauty sitting opposite him.
The beauty accepted the teacup, her cheeks flushed with a soft blush as she stared at the water in her hands as if reluctant to drink it. “Much better.”
“That’s good to hear,” Qilian said.
Tong You lurked at the threshold to observe. So that’s how it is, he’s out here on a date with a beauty!
He poked his head out further. Not gonna lie, this young lady is genuinely quite pretty. Wonder how she ever fell for a guy like him.
Another fresh flower stuck in cow manure.
What’s that on the table? Sounds delicious! This guy is usually so stingy and never brings out good snacks, shouldn’t I grab a couple of bites? Thinking this, Tong You crept silently behind a massive pillar and slowly edged toward the pair.
Qilian’s expression shifted slightly as if sensing something. He glanced toward the corner where a flash of yellow, fluffy tail vanished instantly. Qilian took a calm sip of tea, looking thoughtful.
Yun Ning leaned forward slightly, frowning as she asked, “Your complexion looks off. Is something the matter?”
“It’s nothing. Just a little cat I keep as a pet got loose,” Qilian smiled.
“A cat? Could you bring it out for me to see?” Yun Ning asked with visible delight.
Qilian paused for a fraction of a second. “He… is a bit shy around strangers, hiding away.”
“Oh, I see.” Yun Ning looked slightly disappointed, cradling her teacup as she took a small sip.
Hiding behind the massive pillar, Tong You flipped Qilian the middle finger.
Yun Ning picked up a floral-patterned pastry and handed it to Qilian. “I had some free time and baked some pastries, have a taste.”
Qilian stared at the pastry in Yun Ning’s hand, looking thoroughly troubled. If he accepted it, he worried she might misinterpret his intentions; if he rejected it, she had gone out of her way to bake them out of kindness, though refusing wouldn’t hurt either.
Qilian: This is an emergency, somebody save me.
Tong You: Coming right up.
A furry paw silently snuck upward, aiming straight for the pastry on the plate. The two individuals were momentarily stunned into silence, simply staring as the furry paw hooked the edge of the plate and slowly dragged it toward the edge of the table.
You don’t see me, you don’t see me, Tong You chanted internally.
With a soft pop, his fuzzy ears bounced up over the edge of the table, trembling slightly against the wood.
Hiss, my ears are so itchy, Tong You twitched his ears, suppressing the urge to reach up with a paw to scratch them.
With his palm pressed flat against the tabletop to fight the itch, his little claws instinctively extended into plum-blossom shapes. The sharp tips protruded from the fur, silently hooking the wooden surface as they inched closer to the pastry.
Qilian finally snapped back to reality. He grabbed Tong You’s mischievous furry paw and hoisted him straight up from beneath the table, leaving Tong You in sheer distress.
Ah, haha! Ouch, let me down! Tong You reached out with his other paw to steady the one Qilian had grabbed. Quick, quick, quick, it’s going to break!
Stinky durian, my leg’s going to snap!
With no other choice, Tong You extended his claws to latch onto Qilian’s robes. The moment Qilian released his grip, the entire beast sprawled across the man’s shoulder, rubbing his head against the man’s jaw while his claws remained tightly hooked into the fabric.
Stinky durian, if you want me dead just say so!
Tong You trod across Qilian’s chest, trying to climb onto his shoulder, only to be scooped straight down into his arms.
“Pardon the interruption,” Qilian said with a slight curl of his lips, casting a glance toward Yun Ning.