As the setting sun sank below the horizon, a tall man stood waist-deep in the water catching fish. On the open ground beside the river, a small white cat with sleek, glossy fur sat crouched, its golden cat pupils fixed intently on the man in the water as it occasionally licked the fur on its front paws.
After catching a few fish and conveniently bathing himself, Huo Jiuxiao came ashore.
Only then did Ruan Bai get a clear look at this human: he had a tall, imposing build with muscles subtly bulging along his arms.
His pitch-black eyes seemed to gleam with a murderous aura. With sword-like brows, starry eyes, and sharp, rugged facial features, his thin lips pressed into a slight line that exuded an unapproachable, cold majesty.
This was a remarkably handsome human.
Ignoring the little foodie who kept staring at him, Huo Jiuxiao efficiently produced a military dagger to scale and gut the fish, cleaning them thoroughly before mounting them on a rack over an open fire to roast.
As he turned the branches skewering the fish, he looked thoughtfully at the cat before him: “Do you have a name? If not, how about I give you one?” His dark gaze locked steadily onto the little white cat in front of him: “How about I call you Xiaobai? Meow once if you agree.”
Ruan Bai the little foodie responded without a shred of scheming: “Meow.”
With his mind entirely focused on the roasted fish, the kitten failed to notice the contemplation flashing in Huo Jiuxiao’s eyes.
It understands human speech. Could it be a little cat demon?
He had read books on Chinese history, which recorded that animals in ancient times could transform into humans. Although it sounded completely unscientific, since such legends existed, they certainly weren’t fabricated out of thin air.
Still, he would need to observe it more closely.
Just as he was pondering how to test this cat in the future, he glanced up to see the little cat, having consumed two fish roughly the size of its own body, lying on its back with its belly rounded and stretched out over a pile of grass, lazily licking its fur.
Huo Jiuxiao: “…” He must be overthinking things. No matter how you looked at it, this foolish little cat didn’t look like a cat demon at all, at most, it was just a bit more human-like.
Pushing those thoughts aside, he cleared away the remnants of the roasted fish and walked toward the escape pod.
He needed to hurry and repair the communication system so he could return as soon as possible.
Seeing the man leave, Ruan Bai scrambled up and hurried after him on scampering paws.
The fish this human grilled were quite delicious; even without seasonings, they were still exceptionally tasty (´▽｀)
Huo Jiuxiao didn’t mind it following along. He climbed into the escape pod and retrieved the special case containing energy crystals along with a set of repair tools.
Realizing that night was falling and though wild beasts hadn’t attacked him in his past life, considering Ruan Bai as a variable Huo Jiuxiao still erected a military tent and brought out the blankets from the escape pod.
After tidying everything up, he scooped up the little wildcat, which had been scratching and poking around here and there, into his arms, pulled back the blanket, and lay down: “Go to sleep, or I’ll throw you out.” With that, he closed his eyes.
To be honest, Ruan Bai found it a bit difficult to fall asleep, but he was terrified that the human before him might actually toss him out.
Well-behaved and out of trouble, Ruan Bai drifted off to sleep shortly after, even letting out soft, tiny purrs.
Huo Jiuxiao opened his eyes and looked at the cat sleeping so carefree and soundly in his arms, letting out a faint scoff: “You little fool.” With that, he pulled the cat a little closer into his embrace and closed his eyes once more.
When the sun rose and the temperature began to climb, Huo Jiuxiao opened his eyes. His gaze was crystal clear, looking nothing like someone who had just woken up.
Yet he had indeed slept exceptionally well. On his very first night after rebirth, he hadn’t experienced a single dream, nor had he suffered from insomnia.
After getting up, Huo Jiuxiao picked up the kitten and carried it down to the stream to wash up, taking the opportunity to roast a few more fish.
Following breakfast, Huo Jiuxiao began tinkering with the communication device. Once it was fixed, he opened the case holding the energy crystals; the communication array on the escape pod required energy crystals to boot up.
Ruan Bai suddenly pricked up those pointed little ears of his, his golden-yellow eyes locked tightly onto the blue, crystal-like stone Huo Jiuxiao had just picked up. He kicked off with his hind legs and lunged forward: “Meow-aow!” Spiritual stone! Spiritual stone!
Although it didn’t look entirely identical to the spiritual stones he had seen before, he could sense a dense wave of spiritual energy radiating from it.
Huo Jiuxiao’s gaze sharpened. Noticing the kitten’s motion, he slammed the lid of the case shut and swiftly reached out to grab it by the scruff of the neck.
Ruan Bai’s pounce missed completely, and caught by the fate-sealed scruff of his neck, he became so angry that he started meowing furiously.
Even so, he stubbornly continued to stretch out his paws and claw forward in a desperate frenzy.
He definitely hadn’t seen wrong, what Huo Jiuxiao was holding in his hand was absolute a spiritual stone. Such dense spiritual energy; this had to be top-tier spiritual stone quality.
To put it in perspective, back in the ancient era, many great demons fought each other to the death simply to seize a single mid-grade spiritual stone.
Strangely enough, while spiritual energy had been abundant in the ancient era, spiritual stones themselves were pitifully scarce, as if all the spiritual energy was trapped floating in the air.
Yet this human actually possessed three top-tier spiritual stones!!
If he could pull out three such stones even in this battered state, wouldn’t that mean once he recovered, he’d have even more?!
After all, Tree Demon Grandpa had said that humans were terrifyingly powerful creatures, especially those who could produce heaven-defying treasures even after falling on hard times. Once this human recovered, he would only become even more formidable.
In a daze, Ruan Bai realized he seemed to have latched onto the golden thigh that Tree Demon Grandpa had always talked about.
Ruan Bai turned around, fixing a pair of big, adoring eyes filled with longing onto Huo Jiuxiao, and continuously rubbed his fluffy head against the man’s hand while mewing “Meow-aow~ Meow-aow~” in a spoiled, milky voice.
“Want this?” Huo Jiuxiao dangled the case containing the energy crystals.
Ruan Bai’s eyes were practically glued to that box. Hearing the question, he nodded frantically.
“Meow-aow~”
Lowering his gaze, Huo Jiuxiao studied him quietly without speaking, as if deep in thought.
Looking at Huo Jiuxiao’s cold and indifferent expression, Ruan Bai felt his heart sink by half.
Tree Demon Grandpa said that no reward comes without effort, but it seemed he hadn’t helped this human with anything yet.
Watching the box of spiritual stones with eager eyes, the light in his gaze dimmed away.
Finding it rather amusing, Huo Jiuxiao set him down on the ground, pulled out one of the energy crystals, and placed the box right in front of him: “Take it and play. Be a good cat.”
Ruan Bai felt even worse and quite angry, to boot.
You wicked human!
Not willing to give me spiritual stones!!
You’re even using some empty box to toy with me!!!
With a fierce swipe of his paw, he batted the box flying: “Meow-aow! Meow!” I want spiritual stones! Spiritual stones!
Glaring angrily at Huo Jiuxiao, Ruan Bai grew more furious the more he thought about it. He turned his back, presenting his round little butt directly to the man.
Frowning slightly, Huo Jiuxiao caught the kitten’s meaning. Tentatively, he fished out a piece of energy crystal, circled around to dangle it in front of its face, and asked, “Want this?”
Ruan Bai nodded excitedly: “Meow!” while eagerly stretching out a small paw to claw at the man’s trouser leg.
Huo Jiuxiao was now basically certain that this kitten could understand human speech. He deliberately pressed: “You can understand what I’m saying?”
Ruan Bai grew terribly anxious: “Meow!” Of course! I’m a cat demon, how could I not understand human speech?
Lost in thought, Huo Jiuxiao pondered: A cat that understood human language? The empire had quite a few nobles who kept cats, but he had never heard of a cat that could comprehend human words.
He decided to probe further: “Then are you a little cat demon?”
“Meow!” Yes, yes, yes!
Why is a grown man such a dawdler? He’s even slower than the turtle spirit living on the mountain where he cultivated.
Staring fixedly at the swaying spiritual stone in Huo Jiuxiao’s hand, Ruan Bai grew so anxious he felt like biting someone.
After watching the fur-fluffed cat for a moment, Huo Jiuxiao figured that if he teased it any longer, the kitten might actually bite him.
He bent down and placed the energy crystal right beside it.
“My name is Huo Jiuxiao, and I am an Empire Marshal. Would you like to come with me?” The Marshal (sir) felt in a great mood as he coaxed this seemingly naive little cat demon.