Chapter 11: Why would they mess with these little bandits for no reason?

When they finally reached the hospital, the doctor examined Ye Wuyou and confirmed that her condition wasn’t serious. Still, he prescribed her some medicine to replenish her blood and energy. One look at her frail, withered body was enough to know how depleted she was. Though she was already seventeen, her poor health meant she had yet to even menstruate—a clear sign of how weak she was. The doctor also prescribed her some essential tonics.

After leaving the hospital, Ling Yu took Ye Wuyou to the supply and marketing cooperative. On market days, the place was always packed. Seeing the throng of people inside, Ling Yu worried Ye Wuyou might get jostled, so he had her wait at the entrance while he went in to shop.

“Don’t move from here, no matter what. It’s too crowded inside—if you get pushed around and lost, I won’t be coming to look for you,” Ling Yu warned firmly, still uneasy.

Ye Wuyou shot the nagging man a glance but said nothing. Instead, she crouched down right there, making it clear with her actions that she wouldn’t wander off, and gestured for him to hurry up. Only after seeing her squat down did Ling Yu relax, squeezing his way into the crowd.

As soon as he disappeared, Ye Wuyou let out a cold snort to show her displeasure. She had always hated noise, and now surrounded by the constant chatter and bustle, she only felt more irritated.

Then, suddenly, she spotted a familiar figure in the crowd—Ye Xiaodie, her aunt from her original family, the very one who had pushed the original owner into the water. At the moment, Ye Xiaodie was beaming, clutching a bolt of cloth she had just purchased, happily squeezing through the crowd with the old matriarch (her grandmother).

Ye Wuyou remembered that her aunt would soon be married; clearly, they were here today to buy fabric for new clothes. Thinking of how that old woman had sold her off, Ye Wuyou’s anger flared even hotter. They had only just sold her, and now they were using the money from her “bride price” to enjoy themselves so freely. It was unbearable. Even though her body was weak now, she couldn’t let them off without punishment.

The goods they bought? No—she would never let them enjoy them so easily. She called out in her mind, “You damn fat cat, get up!”

Yuyou had only just fallen asleep when it was jolted awake by her fury. Its own frustration with this wretched new life bubbled up, but hearing the rage in Ye Wuyou’s voice, it didn’t dare lash out at her. Instead, it grumbled, “Little bandit, can’t you see I’m exhausted? Who ticked you off this time? Can’t you settle your own scores? Why drag me into it?”

“What, you’re not happy doing something for me? If I weren’t injured and stuck like this, would I need a useless thing like you? All you ever do is eat and sleep. What use are you?” Ye Wuyou shot back with scorn.

“Well, since you know I’m useless, I’ll just go back to sleep. Find someone else,” Yuyou snapped, fuming. How dare she look down on it when her own powers were now so pitiful she couldn’t even be considered Level 1!

But in the next moment, Ye Wuyou forcibly yanked it into an empty alley with her consciousness. In her mind, she ordered coldly, “Go snatch everything from those two, and make sure they learn a lesson. If you don’t, don’t bother coming back.” She sent over the mental image of the old matriarch and Ye Xiaodie.

“Damn woman—cursing me one moment and ordering me around the next. Shameless!” Yuyou growled to itself, pushing itself up from the ground. Still, it didn’t dare disobey. It didn’t understand this world yet, and the safest place for it remained the space dimension. Seeing the images Ye Wuyou had provided, it understood—those two were the ones who had provoked her anger. If it couldn’t vent at Ye Wuyou directly, venting on them would work just as well.

So, Yuyou stalked after the old matriarch and Ye Xiaodie into a side alley. Once it saw that no one else was around, it sprang at them.

As a spiritual space beast, it was keenly attuned to human auras. The foul, murky energy clinging to the two women told it all it needed to know—they were steeped in filth and petty evils. Yuyou had its principles: it would never strike good, clean-hearted people. But for these two? It didn’t hold back.

With a swipe of its paw, it slashed at the old woman’s face before she could even react.

“Ahhh—!” she screamed as blood gushed. She clutched her cheek, pulling her hand away smeared red.

“You damned beast! Whose cat are you? How dare you scratch me! I’ll kill you for this!” the old matriarch shrieked, her composure gone.

But Yuyou only looked at her with disdain. Seeing that she still dared to curse, it crouched low, then lunged again, raking its claws across the other side of her face.

Seeing Ye Xiaodie frozen in terror in the corner, Yuyou didn’t let her off either. To be “fair,” it leapt at her as well, raising its claws and raking at her face.

Ye Xiaodie was terrified when she saw Yuyou pounce. She tried to run, but by bad luck, there was a large stone right under her feet. The moment she turned to flee, she twisted her ankle on it and went crashing face-first to the ground. Even worse, her chin slammed hard against the earth, and at once her mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood.

Yuyou was momentarily dumbfounded. Wait—I didn’t even make a move yet, and she’s already managed to wreck herself? Isn’t this girl a bit too stupid? Still, with Ye Xiaodie sprawled on the ground, it was the perfect chance to strike. It darted right up to her and began scratching at her face with its claws.

Serves them right for messing with my little bandit, Yuyou thought grumpily. Now I have to get dragged out to work. What a headache.

Shocked and panicked, Ye Xiaodie flailed and tried to shield her face. Ignoring the pain shooting through her ankle and chin, she scrambled up to sit and clutched her face tightly, crying out:

“No! Go away! Don’t! Don’t scratch my face! Stop, get away from me~~!”

But Yuyou wasn’t about to relent. Since her face was covered, it slashed instead at her arms, its sharp claws leaving stinging welts across her skin.

Seeing her precious daughter being clawed by the black cat, Old Lady Wang couldn’t bear it. Dropping her basket, she rushed forward to help.

That was exactly the chance Yuyou had been waiting for. The moment the old woman charged at it, Yuyou sidestepped neatly and bolted down the nearby alley.

Relieved that the black cat was finally gone, Old Lady Wang let out a shaky breath and hurried over to help her darling daughter up. She never noticed that at some point, the basket she had set on the ground had mysteriously vanished.