Chapter 25

Yu Tao wasn’t sure if the cat was in a bad mood today or if it was something else, but after seeing the fish, it didn’t seem very interested, unlike the other day.

It even seemed, though she wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, that she detected a hint of resistance in the cat’s cold golden eyes.

Yu Tao blinked and hesitantly asked, “You don’t like it?”

The black cat looked at her intently for a moment, and finally, as if conceding, it lowered its tail, its ears flicking slightly, and then it bent its head down to begin eating the fish.

Yu Tao sighed in relief, resting her arm on the jade platform and watching the black cat. “Sorry, Lili, I still can’t take you home these days. I’m staying at someone else’s place, and I don’t know if they like small animals. It wouldn’t be good if I disturbed them.”

“But I’ll come see you every day. Once I can go back to my own home, I’ll bring you to stay with me.”

The black cat glanced at her but didn’t say anything and continued eating the fish.

Yu Tao smiled softly as she watched it. Her Lili was indeed the cutest cat, even eating so slowly with such elegance and restraint.

Though… It was a bit too slow. It ate one bite, then paused to rest.

After the cat finally finished the two plates of fish, Yu Tao yawned and suddenly remembered something. She pulled out a soft velvet mat and a beautiful, delicate pink cat bed from her storage bag.

She took apart the simple one she had made earlier, placed the old velvet mat underneath the new one, and thickened it, pressing it down with her hands before placing it on the jade platform.

“This is your new bed. It’s definitely more comfortable than the previous one. Try it out!”

The black cat stared at the pink cat bed, which looked like a cradle, full of a girly charm with two fluffy pom-poms hanging from it. It fell silent.

Under the girl’s expectant gaze, the black cat hesitated for a long time. Finally, awkwardly, it raised a paw to step onto the velvet mat, found a spot, and sat down, curling its tail around its paws in an aloof and indifferent manner.

Yu Tao’s eyes sparkled with hope. “Do you like it?”

The black cat gave her a casual glance, its eyes clearly showing its emotions—two words: reluctantly.

Yu Tao understood and sighed lightly. “I guess you’ll have to make do with it for now. When the conditions are better, I’ll get you something nicer.”

She turned away and put the plates back into the food box, closing the lid. “Lili, I have some things to do today and need to go down the mountain. I won’t be here to keep you company.”

The wind blew gently around them, and the two white pom-poms swayed in the breeze, moving back and forth right in front of her. The black cat couldn’t help but reach out with its paw to bat at them.

The black cat quickly retracted its paw as soon as it touched the pom-pom, turning its head away as if trying to cover up its actions. It looked up at the girl and, fortunately, she was still focused on packing away the plates and hadn’t noticed.

However, hearing her words, the black cat felt a bit puzzled.

… What was she going down the mountain for?

Yu Tao finished cleaning up and turned around. Seeing the black cat staring at her, she smiled and casually asked, “Do you want to come down the mountain with me?”

Although she had asked, Yu Tao couldn’t help but feel a little giddy at the thought of bringing the cat down with her.

Normally, the cat was always distant and aloof, so Yu Tao had only asked without much expectation. To her surprise, the cat actually nodded its head and agreed to follow.

Still, the black cat wasn’t willing to be held. Instead, it nimbly jumped onto her shoulder and sat down.

The cat was light, barely any weight at all, but Yu Tao was afraid it might not be stable, so she walked slowly to avoid jostling it.

Along the way, they encountered several sect disciples, all of whom cast curious glances at them. They also ran into Senior Sister Lu Qingyu, who was also heading down the mountain.

Lu Qingyu smiled. “Taotao, is this the cat you were talking about from Yunjing Peak?”

She usually liked cute things, so she moved closer, intending to pet the cat. But as soon as her hand reached out, she met the cold, indifferent gaze of the black cat. Her hand froze mid-air, and a chill ran down her spine.

For some reason, she felt a sudden, overwhelming pressure.

A cold shiver ran down her back, and she couldn’t stop herself from breaking out in a thin layer of sweat on her forehead.

Lu Qingyu quickly retracted her hand. When she looked again, the black cat had already casually turned its gaze away, and the pressure had disappeared, as if it had been a mere illusion.

… This was definitely not an ordinary cat.

Lu Qingyu glanced at Yu Tao, who was unaware of what had just happened. The girl smiled softly and playfully poked the cat’s paw that was resting on her shoulder.

“Yes, Senior Sister Lu, isn’t it cute?”

The black cat’s gaze remained indifferent at Yu Tao’s touch, but it didn’t release the oppressive aura again. It simply turned its head away, its ears twitching.

Lu Qingyu fell silent for a moment. “… Hmm.”

If that wasn’t an aura powerful enough to suppress her Nascent Soul cultivation, then yes, it really was quite cute.

However, the cuteness had become a bit too overwhelming, to the point of being frightening.

Lu Qingyu walked beside Yu Tao down the mountain, her gaze shifting back and forth between the girl and the cat. It was clear that Yu Tao had no idea about what had just occurred and still thought the cat was just an ordinary one.

But this cat didn’t seem to have any ill intentions toward her. In fact, it seemed quite close to her.

“It’s called Lili. A few days ago, it agreed to become my spiritual pet.” Ahem, although it was more like she tricked it into agreeing.

Yu Tao actually felt a bit surprised. She had originally planned to learn the pet training book from her little senior brother, learning step by step. But unexpectedly, when she was sick and dazed that day, the cat had come over to check on her.

Taking advantage of that moment, she had followed Zhi Mingyu’s advice and managed to coax the cat into becoming hers.

Lu Qingyu paused for a moment and asked, “Does Senior Brother Yu Li know about this cat?”

Yu Tao shook her head. “He doesn’t know. I’ve been staying at his place these past few days, and I didn’t want to disturb him, so I haven’t brought the cat back yet.”

There are always people who like cats, and then there are those who don’t. Yu Tao had encountered many people who didn’t like small animals getting too close.

Not knowing which type of person Yu Li was, Yu Tao didn’t want to cause him any trouble.

Hmm… judging by that oppressive aura from earlier, this cat’s cultivation level was definitely above hers. She was at the first level of the Nascent Soul stage, and it was clear that the cat’s cultivation was a whole realm higher than hers, enough to make her freeze in place with its pressure.

Lu Qingyu frowned. Yunjing Peak was where Yu Li lived. How could he not know about such a powerful spiritual creature appearing on his turf?

Wait… Senior brother Yu Li?

Lu Qingyu recalled that Yu Li’s cultivation level was at the God Transformation stage, one level higher than hers. This cat, too, was one realm above her.

Moreover, Yu Li’s eyes were very unique, a pale golden color.

Lu Qingyu paused, glancing at the cat’s eyes, which were squinting in the sunlight, revealing vertical golden pupils.

… Could it be such a coincidence?

A vague idea began to form in her mind, but she felt it was a bit far-fetched, too outlandish.

It couldn’t be, right?

After thinking for a moment, Lu Qingyu still decided to remind Yu Tao, “Taotao, the cat on your shoulder is not ordinary.”

Yu Tao turned around. “Huh?”

The black cat’s indifferent gaze shifted toward her.

Under the cold, piercing stare from those eyes, Lu Qingyu suddenly felt choked up. Her scalp tingled, and she couldn’t find her voice.

In that instant, some old memories flashed through her mind.

About four or five years ago, not long after she joined the sect, she went on a mission and happened to be assigned to work with Yu Li.

At that time, Yu Li was different from how he was now. Over the past two years, something must have happened to him, as he had changed a lot.

Now, although he was cold, he had become much more restrained, just distant and unapproachable. He no longer exuded the intense hostility he once had. Back then, he was gloomy and indifferent, completely inaccessible, and just looking at him from afar could send a chill down your spine.

During that mission, there were two demonic creatures, and they split up to deal with them.

At that time, she was still new to the field and not very experienced. When she hesitated while dealing with one of the demons, it seized the chance to capture her. Just when she was at death’s door, Yu Li appeared and saved her.

The demon attempted to use the same trick on Yu Li, begging and explaining that it was forced by its leader to commit these acts.

Before she could expose its lies out of anger, Yu Li calmly sheathed his sword. The light of the sword faded, and though the demon’s head was still talking, its body had already been cleaved in half and dropped to the ground.

It was at that moment that Lu Qingyu looked up and met Yu Li’s indifferent, cold gaze. It seemed devoid of any emotion.

Having just slain the demon, the young man’s expression didn’t change at all, as if he had just done something as mundane and casual as waking up from a nap.

She knew she had committed a grave mistake and thanked him while clutching her wound.

His expression remained cold, and he didn’t even glance at her, simply turning away and leaving with one sentence: “There won’t be a next time.”

Noticing that Lu Qingyu was lost in thought, Yu Tao tilted her head in confusion. “Senior Sister Lu, is something wrong with Lili?”

Lu Qingyu snapped out of it. At this point, she had confirmed her suspicion, and there was no mistake—this cat was Yu Li.

She swallowed a lump in her throat and managed to say, “…Unusually… cute.”

Yu Tao blushed. “I think so too, but Senior Sister Lu, if you praise him so much, Lili will get embarrassed.”

She reached out and twirled the cat’s tail. “Right, Lili?”

The black cat stiffened, pulled its sensitive tail away from her touch, turned its head, and let out a soft snort, which brushed against Yu Tao’s neck.

The tail brushed against her neck, and Yu Tao struggled to suppress her laughter. “That itchy… Why do you still have to tickle me?”

Lu Qingyu: “…”

Lu Qingyu looked up at the sky, taking a deep breath, feeling her mindset collapse.

Yu Li had turned into… a cat.

And now, he was the spiritual pet of Junior Sister Taotao.

It must be said that either of these two matters, if posted on the sect’s forum, would definitely cause a huge stir.

With a mind full of unanswered questions, Lu Qingyu painfully covered her face, feeling a headache coming on.

Where exactly had things gone wrong?

Trying to shift her focus away from the black cat, Lu Qingyu asked Yu Tao, “By the way, Junior Sister Taotao, what are you going down the mountain for?”

Yu Tao answered honestly, “Shishu Zhu Xiu asked me to take care of something, so I’m going to Wuchang Street. What about you, Senior Sister Lu?”

Lu Qingyu replied, “In a few days, the Grand Elder’s birthday banquet will be held in the sect, and I’m in charge of buying the wine, so I need to go to Lushui Town.”

Since they were headed in different directions, they parted ways at the sect entrance. Lu Qingyu flew off on her sword, glancing back at the girl and the cat with a still-foggy mind.

…Could it be that she was dreaming, or was it just her imagination?

Yu Tao arrived at Zhu Xiu’s jewelry stall on Wuchang Street. It was still early, and the fish stall next door wouldn’t set up until the afternoon, so Zhu Xiu was the only one there.

“Good morning, Shishu Zhu.”

Zhu Xiu looked up at Yu Tao, her expression brightening. “You’ve come, Junior Disciple Yu.”

Her gaze immediately landed on the black cat on Yu Tao’s shoulder. When she met the cat’s pale golden eyes, the smile on her face suddenly froze.

Zhu Xiu paused for a moment, hesitating before saying, “Junior Disciple Yu, this… this cat is the cute spiritual pet you mentioned the other day?”

Yu Tao nodded and smiled. “Yes, that’s right.”

Zhu Xiu: “…”

Was it because she was getting older and couldn’t keep up, or was it something else?

…Since when did senior and junior disciples start playing with such extravagant things?