The black cat tried to struggle in her arms, but it was like falling into a spider’s lair—the more it moved, the tighter the layers of “webbing” bound it.
After a moment, it gave up on the idea of escape and stared silently at the ceiling.
The black cat wasn’t planning on making a move against the girl for now. The strange yet pleasant scent on her body was beneficial to it, and she was more useful alive. Moreover, it didn’t sense a shred of malice coming from Qu Qi.
This girl seemed to truly love this “skin” formed by its primordial spirit from the bottom of her heart.
Qu Qi held the cat and swayed from side to side. “Mimi, I’ll make you something delicious tomorrow.”
The girl held it against her chest, her movements gentle as she patted the black cat’s back. Being pressed so closely against a human body, the black cat inevitably brushed against a patch of warm softness, causing it to stiffen instantly.
“It’s pouring outside, so it’s not convenient for you to leave. Why not just stay here?” Qu Qi coaxed it skillfully. “A little kitty like you, all alone… it’s dangerous out there. Lots of bad things will want to kidnap you.”
Black Cat: “…” I think you’re the ‘bad thing’ here.
Outside the window, the rain continued to fall.
Qu Qi pushed open the wooden door and looked out; the curtain of rain was unending. The stone path in the bamboo forest was soaked through, gleaming under the moonlight like a floor covered in white frost. Suddenly, a crack of thunder exploded in the sky, shattering the original tranquility.
Qu Qi jumped in fright and hurriedly slammed the door shut.
The black cat in her arms seemed accustomed to it, quietly blinking its eyes without making a fuss, looking as well-behaved as a ragdoll.
Qu Qi sat back on the bed with the cat, placing it directly across from her. She leaned down slightly to stare at it. “Mimi, you are so cute.”
The black cat spared her a glance, remaining indifferent.
Qu Qi gently toyed with its little paws, flipping them over to feel the pink paw pads before stroking its head. Her entire being seemed to radiate pink bubbles of joy.
She loved small animals, but back in her world, she suffered from rhinitis and a busy work schedule. She couldn’t keep furry pets and could only “cloud-raise” them by watching cute pet videos. Looking at those pet bloggers who had both cats and dogs, her heart had been full of envy and bitterness.
Finally, this time, was she going to have a kitten of her own?
She looked at the fluffy black creature and felt the urge to bury her face in its fur and take a few deep whiffs again.
What Qu Qi didn’t know was that with every stroke, the black cat had to restrain itself from getting angry or striking out. It had been many, many years since it had been treated this way; the feeling was truly bizarre.
The black cat looked at the girl before it. She had a beautiful, bright face—like a venomous snake draped in a vivid skin. Her features were gorgeous yet held a certain sharpness, but her movements and demeanor suggested she was completely at peace with the world.
She looked ambitious, yet her cultivation was appallingly low, and she possessed zero vigilance toward her surroundings.
Truly a contradiction.
Qu Qi had no idea what the kitten was thinking. Assuming it was staring at her in a daze, she smiled with crescent eyes. “How about it? Is sister very pretty?”
The black cat lazily turned its head away, ignoring her. It pricked its small ears, listening intently to the sound of the night wind. Amidst the chaotic rain, the window frames rattled and wheezed.
It didn’t rain often on the back mountain, and rain usually signaled trouble.
Rainy days were always damp with Yin energy, and it was even worse at night. Without the restriction of sunlight and Yang energy, many ghosts and monsters took the opportunity to roam. Stronger souls and demons would wander about, seeking living beings to possess or devour.
A weak human with a special constitution like Qu Qi was the ultimate “fragrant pastry” to them.
The black cat’s hearing was incredibly sharp. It heard a very faint sound flash by, whistling past the windowsill before suddenly stopping.
It narrowed its eyes slightly—Something is outside. The wooden hut’s ward won’t hold.
Qu Qi rolled around on the bed out of boredom. “Mimi, why aren’t you talking to sister?”
She droned on like she was summoning a spirit until the black cat finally graced her with a look. Combined with that expressionless cat face, it looked as though it were deeply disgusted by her.
Struck by its haughty appearance, Qu Qi pitifully clutched her heart. She tried to comfort herself: “It’s fine, it’s normal for a cat master to despise humans!”
Qu Qi failed to notice that on the wall, a slender shadow that did not belong to her was rapidly extending and stretching. It looked like a black, hideous claw, but its texture was like flowing black liquid as it quietly “slid” out from the windowsill.
It stopped at the door, and the claw formed by the shadow lunged toward the uninvited guest.
Wind swept through the treetops as a spirit let out an angry roar.
Qu Qi was drawn to the sound outside. “The wind is so strong…”
She wanted to look out the window, but the black cat beside her suddenly let out a “Meow,” pulling her attention back.
“What is it, Mimi?”
The rain continued, and the tree shadows trembled in the moonlight. The wind wailed, crashing against the door like the mournful cries of the dying.
A moment later, the wind fell abruptly silent.
The black cat stopped looking at the door and slowly turned its head back to Qu Qi. It stood up and, as if deigning to grant her a favor, leaned close to her palm.
Qu Qi was flattered. “Mimi?”
The black cat rubbed against her warm palm. Its moist, fleshy nose twitched, sniffing intensely along the girl’s slender fingertips.
Qu Qi felt an odd sensation as if she were the one being “huffed.” Usually, humans huffed cats, but this was the first time she’d seen a cat huffing a human… Could it be that her Extreme Yin Constitution made her irresistible even to this cat?
While she was still immersed in fluffy happiness, the black cat elegantly straightened up and jumped off the bed.
The sudden rain was ceasing; it was time to go.
Qu Qi realized what was happening, reading the farewell in the cat’s detached gaze. She got out of bed to open the door for it, saying reluctantly: “Mimi, will we meet again? When we meet next time, you have to be happy, okay?”
“Mimi, take me with you, Mimi, how am I supposed to live without you!”
Black Cat: “…”
It left without looking back.
Outside the hut, it was now perfectly still. The spirits had all vanished, leaving not a trace behind. Only a scattering of fallen leaves remained to prove that something had once been there.
Qu Qi didn’t notice anything unusual and closed the door with a sigh.
The continuous drizzle fell from the sky, fine and dense. She didn’t see the transparent raindrops landing on the black cat, only to be absorbed into its body as if falling into a deep pool. It walked into the murky depths of the bamboo forest and vanished instantly.
Now that its tracks had been discovered by Qu Qi, the black cat simply stopped hiding. Every night, it would show up on Qu Qi’s bed with great bravado.
In the dead of night, one human and one cat occupied the left and right sides of the bed respectively, sleeping side by side.
Actually, Qu Qi wanted to hold the cat while she slept, but the black cat resisted unto death—it would rather sleep under the bed than be hugged by her. She understood; some cats were used to living alone and had high vigilance. Changing its mind would take time.
Having nothing better to do, Qu Qi tried to formulate a plan to “conquer” the black cat.
Step One: Win over its stomach.
To welcome this little guest, Qu Qi tried to prepare crispy fried dried fish, but the black cat consistently showed a lack of interest. In the days she had spent with the cat, she hadn’t seen it eat a single thing.
She figured that perhaps spirit beasts had special constitutions and didn’t need to eat like normal pets. But the black cat was too thin; although it looked sleek with long legs, it felt very light and a bit bony in her arms.
Qu Qi worried that living on the mountain for too long had made the cat malnourished. She had to raise it to be “white and fat”… no, “black and fat.”
For the past few days, the weather had been a continuous drizzle. She held an oil-paper umbrella and went into the mountains to pick some edible wild vegetables and spirit herbs.
Perhaps because of the rainy weather, the spirits surrounding Qu Qi were exceptionally excited, chattering incessantly all along the way.
Even the mass grave appeared more somber and terrifying than usual.
Yet, Qu Qi felt the surrounding Yin energy grow even more abundant, surging into her body as if it were free for the taking. However, because her spiritual residence had already accepted the orthodox heavenly spiritual veins, the Yin energy was repelled at the threshold, unable to be fully absorbed.
Qu Qi slapped her thigh and sighed in regret. This feeling was like watching experience points rain down all over the ground while being unable to pick them up; it was incredibly frustrating.
Even if I want to lie flat, it still hurts my heart to see XP being wasted right in front of me!
The surrounding spirits were too noisy, so Qu Qi simply sat down cross-legged next to the nameless headstone. Sure enough, seeing this, the dead spirits dared not approach, lingering in the distance to gaze at her eerily.
Qu Qi opened her storage ring and rummaged through the books she had brought, hoping to find something related to actual cultivation—
Awesome Cow: Postpartum Care for Cow Monsters
108 Styles of the HeHuan Sect Manual
Immortal Cultivation Language: From Beginner to the Grave
Shocking! The Grudges and Feuds Between Mingyue Mansion and the Demonic Sect Enchantress!
Cultivation Tips Even the Gods Don’t Know …
Qu Qi: “…” This curriculum is… eclectic. Too many tropes for one library.
She looked back and forth and felt that the third book, Immortal Cultivation Language: From Beginner to the Grave, sounded the most reliable. She pulled it out of the ring and flipped open the weathered cover, where lines of elegant small script met her eyes—
“Look closely. This man is called Xiao Shuai. Right now, he is sitting cross-legged, attempting to cultivate. Suddenly, a woman walks over and interrupts him. This woman is called Xiao Mei; she is Xiao Shuai’s senior sister.
Xiao Mei says to Xiao Shuai: ‘Junior Brother, let me test you. What is the Primordial Spirit?’
Xiao Shuai doesn’t know why his sister is asking, so he answers honestly: ‘A person has three souls and seven physical spirits. A cultivator develops a Primordial Spirit within those souls. With it, one can perceive the breath and growth of all things in heaven and earth. If a person’s Primordial Spirit dissipates, their form and soul are utterly extinguished.’
Xiao Mei nods in praise and asks: ‘Well said. Then what is the Spiritual Residence?’
Xiao Shuai, confused, replies: ‘Senior Sister, I forgot.’
Xiao Mei says with exasperation: ‘You’re so stupid. Listen up: the Spiritual Residence is located three inches below the heart. It is the manifestation of one’s consciousness and emotional roots. Inside is the Sea of Consciousness, used to absorb both the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the turbid energy of the world. If a cultivator’s Spiritual Residence is destroyed, a hundred years of cultivation goes down the drain, leaving them no different from an ordinary person.’
Xiao Shuai nods in agreement: ‘Thank you, Senior Sister, you’re amazing. If you hadn’t told me this, I would have been kept in the dark my whole life.’
Xiao Mei punches him directly and says angrily: ‘That’s enough. Did you swing your sword a hundred times today? Have you found the spirit jade materials for the scabbard? I told you long ago, we sword cultivators must view our natal swords as Dao companions—love your sword as your life, and never neglect it. Who told you to use your sword to shave your leg hair again…'”
Seeing this, Qu Qi closed the book with a blank expression. She took back her thought that this book was serious.
Are you sword cultivators okay? Are you all this unhinged? I need to check the mental state of this author!
Qu Qi put the book away. Suddenly remembering the original host was from the Sword Inquiry Sect, she realized she was technically a sword cultivator too. She covered her face with her hands. Dammit, thinking about having senior brothers and sisters like that makes me lose face.
I won’t end up in that mental state later, will I?
Qu Qi took a moment to recover, finally accepting the fact that she was a “stinky sword cultivator.” Since she was one, she must have her own natal sword. She had a vague impression of seeing a sword in a corner while looking for things earlier.
After rummaging through her storage ring, she finally pulled out a dusty iron sword. From the outside, it was a plain, unadorned thing with no beautiful decorations—only a strand of red tassel tied to the end of the hilt.
Qu Qi blew the dust off the scabbard. When she gripped the hilt, she felt a faint, flowing warmth, as if the sword’s existence was linked to her consciousness. Her spirits rose instantly, and her heart began to race.
So this is what it feels like to have a natal sword! A bit cool, and a bit exciting.
She pressed one hand on the scabbard and pulled with a bit of force, wanting to draw the sword to take a look—
It didn’t budge.
Qu Qi pulled again. Still nothing. No matter how many times she tried, the black scabbard remained motionless, as if it were welded to the blade.
Qu Qi: “?”
Was she the first sword cultivator in history who couldn’t unsheathe her own natal sword? No wonder it was so dusty; the original host probably couldn’t pull it out either.
Refusing to believe in such bad luck, she stood up and used every ounce of strength she possessed. Her face turned red and her veins popped, yet she met with defeat after defeat. The sword seemed to be messing with her on purpose, showing no reaction whatsoever.
Qu Qi: “…Heh. I’m slightly exhausted. What’s the deal? Is this scabbard glued shut with Super Glue? This is definitely a counterfeit product. Zero stars. I want a refund!”
She slumped down next to the nameless headstone, tossed the sword aside, let out a frustrated sigh, and looked up gloomily.
A black cat was sitting silently before her, its round golden eyes watching her intently. It was impossible to tell how long it had been there.
Qu Qi froze: “…Mimi?”
The black cat twitched its whiskers slightly, looking at her with an indescribable gaze. This time, Qu Qi read the blatant disdain and speechlessness in its eyes.
Qu Qi immediately adjusted her expression and said seriously, “Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s a problem with the sword, not a problem with me!”