So soft~
So soft~~
These two words echoed like a mantra in Yun Fu’s mind, making her eyes glaze over after having endured harsh conditions outdoors for over a month.
Yun Fu hadn’t slept in a proper bed for a long, long time. The best place she’d slept was the straw mat she’d made with dried grass in that tiny, dilapidated hut.
After all, Yun Fu was fundamentally human and preferred sleeping on soft beds.
Watching the man pat the bed, the bed itself became more appealing than his face.
But after what had just happened, Yun Fu’s mind cleared somewhat, and she wasn’t easily tempted by that face again.
Changing her position, she curled up on the beam, tucking her head into the fur on her chest, and began to snore loudly.
Cats fall asleep quickly, and before long, she was purring in her sleep.
Seeing that the little creature had settled on the beam with no intention of coming down, Wei Rong didn’t insist. Just being able to see it again was enough for him.
For over twenty years, this was the first time Wei Rong had ever felt such a strong desire to keep a pet.
Perhaps it was because he was poisoned and nearing death, causing the suppressed emotions in his heart to finally surface. Or perhaps those clear eyes were like a window, openly revealing the likes and dislikes he had long repressed.
Or maybe… it was the soft, gentle meows that had comforted him in his moments of agony…
This feeling was unfamiliar, yet Wei Rong found himself addicted to it.
Before closing his eyes, Wei Rong took one last look at the little cat sleeping soundly on the beam and gradually drifted off to sleep.
Cats fall asleep quickly and wake up just as fast, easily startled by the slightest rustle.
A burst of ecstatic laughter nearly startled Yun Fu out of her wits.
“Hahaha—it worked! It worked!!! As expected of me—”
Yun Fu sat up drowsily, the sounds still ringing in her ears.
Sigh~ Sometimes having overly sensitive ears wasn’t such a good thing.
Those with exceptional martial arts skills might have sharp hearing but could control what they listened to. As a cat, however, sensitive ears were a physiological trait, completely beyond her control.
Yun Fu roughly recognized the laughter as belonging to the white-bearded old man who often accompanied the handsome man.
The seemingly chubby little cat leaped down from the beam but landed without a sound. She glanced at the person on the bed, who lay in a proper sleeping posture like a beautiful human doll. If not for the slight rise and fall of his chest, Yun Fu might have thought he had stopped breathing.
Could someone really sleep in the same position they fell asleep in? How impressive~
After marveling at this, Yun Fu tiptoed out of the room to see what the old doctor was so excited about in the middle of the night.
She slipped out through the window, and as soon as all four paws touched the ground, a circle of black cloud-patterned boots appeared before her.
Yun Fu looked up to find herself surrounded by shadow guards dressed in black night attire and wearing pure black demon masks.
Yun Fu: !!!!
Just as Yun Fu thought she was about to be brutally tortured by these people, the shadow guards encircling her suddenly dispersed, clearing a path for her.
One of the shadow guards even made a gesture inviting her to leave.
Seeing this, Yun Fu was utterly bewildered. She tentatively took a few steps away, and when no one made a move, she slowly walked a bit farther before breaking into a full sprint on all fours.
Only after running a considerable distance did she dare to look back.
When she turned around, the shadow guards wearing demon masks had vanished without a trace, as if what she had seen earlier was nothing but an illusion.
It seems the people around handsome men are never simple.
Yun Fu arrived at the white-bearded physician’s room, where the air was thick with the pungent smell of medicine, so strong it made her sneeze several times in succession.
He Zhixian, who had been concentrating on brewing medicine, suddenly turned his head at the sound of sneezing and spotted a fluffy yellow figure crouched by the half-open window.
Upon closer inspection, he saw it was a warm-colored little kitten.
“Well~ Where did you come from, little thing? Are you hungry? I have…” He Zhixian glanced around his room and noticed the late-night snack the shadow guards had brought him. Since he had been busy concocting the antidote, he hadn’t touched it.
There was a bowl of meat congee and a meat pie.
He Zhixian broke off half of the meat pie and scooped half a bowl of congee into a small dish, placing it by the windowsill.
“It’s a bit cold, but go ahead and eat.”
After speaking, he found himself tempted to reach out and stroke the kitten’s round, fluffy head, but halfway through the motion, he worried it might scratch him and stopped.
He turned back to continue working on the antidote.
Yun Fu was indeed hungry. Seeing the half meat pie and congee the white-bearded physician had set before her, her stomach growled involuntarily, and she instinctively buried her head in the meal.
After running around all night, then being disturbed from her sleep by that maniacal laughter, her energy and stamina were both depleted. To Yun Fu, this bite of meat pie and congee was a delicacy.
She had eaten most of the half meat pie and a good portion of the congee when suddenly, a bitter, fishy odor wafted from the medicine pot. Yun Fu paused, her paws still clutching the meat pie.
Her pink nose twitched as she sniffed the air, carefully identifying the scents.
White Flower Snake Grass, Wu Lin Fruit, Chan Su… These were all herbs she had gathered, and there was nothing wrong with them.
Having been steeped in medicinal herbs since childhood and even testing poisons for her senior sister, she was highly sensitive to the smell of medicine.
That’s why Yun Fu immediately became alert upon detecting this bitter, fishy odor—the herbs she had brought shouldn’t smell like this when brewed!
Yun Fu leaped over to the medicine pot just in time to see the white-bearded physician about to add Lin Lotus Flower.
Her pupils constricted, “Meowwwww!!!” You quack! Stop right there!!!
He Zhixian felt something tugging at his trouser leg, pausing his hand as he was about to add the herb. Looking down, he saw the kitten that had been crouched by the window now biting his trouser leg and dragging him backward, all while emitting low growls, its fluffy tail standing straight up like a pine tree.
“What’s going on? Finished the meat pie?”
He glanced at the windowsill and saw there was still some meat pie left, so he assumed it just wanted to play with him.
“Go play over there. I’ll play with you later, old man is busy right now.”
Saying this, he gently tried to nudge the kitten away with his foot.
However, though the kitten looked gentle, harmless, and utterly adorable, its teeth were surprisingly sharp, gripping his trouser leg tightly. Even when he tried to shake it off with his foot, it wouldn’t let go.
Yun Fu had originally thought this white-bearded old man was a skilled physician, but it turned out he was a quack.
Lin Lotus Flower and Wu Lin Fruit have conflicting properties; combining them would instantly turn the antidote into a potent poison. Was he trying to speed up death?
He Zhixian, seeing the little creature clinging to him so persistently, decided to let it be and continued with his task.
Watching the quack add the Lin Lotus Flower, Yun Fu felt her entire feline self go into distress.
“Meow~ Meeooww!!!” Quack doctor~ Quack doctor!!!
After adding the Lin Lotus Flower, He Zhixian tossed in several more medicinal ingredients in succession.
Yun Fu’s pupils contracted and dilated repeatedly as she stared wide-eyed.
Increasing toxicity, neutralizing to enhance medicinal properties, intensifying, neutralizing… When the final ingredient was added, it perfectly balanced the formula, even amplifying the detoxifying effects to such an extent that the handsome man would receive potent tonic benefits after drinking it…
Yun Fu gazed at the excited white-bearded quack doctor before her—no, perhaps not entirely a quack, but rather a genius.
To repeatedly oscillate between intensifying toxicity and neutralizing effects within a simple antidote formula truly demonstrated remarkable skill.
Watching the bubbling, slightly viscous medicinal brew, Yun Fu didn’t need to taste it—just the smell alone made her eyes water, let alone imagine drinking it.
Yun Fu thought this white-bearded physician must hold some grudge against the handsome man, otherwise he wouldn’t have devised such a vicious method.
Being merely a little kitten now, she could only watch as the white-bearded doctor ladled out this bowl of thick medicinal concoction.
Outside, daylight streamed brightly as He Zhixian strode confidently out of the room carrying the antidote he had developed overnight, heading toward Wei Rong’s chamber.