Chapter 27: A Grasshopper Demon Flies Out of the Cat’s Nest

Daoist Ming Ling felt that he was incredibly unlucky today.

Half an hour ago, Daoist Ming Ling had brought two Daluo Golden Immortals to find Chen Xi. At first, everything went smoothly, but after Chen Xi took the two away, Daoist Ming Ling suddenly realized that sitting in front of him was not any other creature, but a group of cats with highly focused gazes.

“Come play!” As soon as Chen Xi left, the Moonlight Celestial Beasts, who had been holding back, completely let loose and pounced on Daoist Ming Ling, climbing up his shoulders and climbing along the hem of his robes. Their raised claws, with their pink pads clearly visible, were about to smear his face.

Please, they shouldn’t be able to see my true form, right?

Daoist Ming Ling felt incredibly nervous and immediately held his breath. For him, the Moonlight Clan was like a natural enemy. Even though they were still cubs, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of terror.

However, what happened next was even more despairing. Daoist Ming Ling never imagined that the reason these Moonlight Celestial Beasts were deliberately approaching him was because they had recognized his true form. In no time, they had forced him to revert back to his original form. They kept chasing him, and using their numerical advantage, they completely surrounded him. If it hadn’t been for the brush holder Chen Xi had given him last time as a shield, Daoist Ming Ling thought he would have been in serious trouble by now.

As for Li Qianling, it was even worse. This guy, who was clearly an Immortal and a subordinate of the Sect Master of Lingyun Sect, was inexplicably following the orders of the Moonlight Celestial Beasts. After receiving their unspoken approval, he began to gaze at Daoist Ming Ling with shining eyes.

Daoist Ming Ling: My life is over QAQ

—

The sound of cat claws scraping across the bamboo cage made a “crackling” sound, and through the gaps in the bamboo cage, Li Qianling’s predatory gaze made everyone involuntarily feel a sense of fear. Shrinking his head in the corner of the firefly cage, Daoist Ming Ling felt utterly hopeless, only wishing that Chen Xi would return soon.

Chen Xi, helplessly listening to the whole story, turned his head to silently inquire the Moonlight Celestial Beast. However, he noticed that the Moonlight Celestial Beast was also watching very intently and even unknowingly scratched at the stone table with its claws. But the slight look of disdain in its eyes revealed the real reason it didn’t rush forward to play with Daoist Ming Ling like the others.

It was probably dissatisfied with his appearance, thinking he was too ugly.

“Alright, stop messing around.” Chen Xi shook his head helplessly, reaching for the firefly cage to try to rescue Daoist Ming Ling. Li Qianling made no objection and voluntarily handed the Daoist Ming Ling to Chen Xi before obediently sitting down with the Moonlight Celestial Beasts.

He was clearly a good-looking, cold-faced sword cultivator, but now he was doing the same thing as a bunch of orange, chubby furballs. No matter how you looked at it, it felt very out of place. But then, considering that he was holding something that could turn out to be an arbitrator from the Lower Three Immortal Realms, Chen Xi felt that Li Qianling’s currently strange behavior wasn’t so unusual after all.

“I’m sorry, Master. The Moonlight Celestial Beasts are still young, and a bit too unruly…” Chen Xi’s tone was very polite, as he felt a little guilty. However, upon seeing the creatures in the cage, he was momentarily stunned, and the apology caught in his throat.

What in the world is this?!

It had a pair of colorful wings on its back, shimmering in the sunlight, and it looked quite beautiful. But when it stopped moving, the way its wings spread out in contrast to its short and stout body clearly revealed the true nature of Daoist Ming Ling — it was most likely some kind of moth.

However, if that was all, Chen Xi wouldn’t have been so surprised. What really threw him off was that Daoist Ming Ling’s head had a pair of enormous compound eyes, which didn’t look like they belonged to a moth at all. Instead, they looked a bit like… a grasshopper?

Unable to resist, Chen Xi brought the bamboo cage closer, and sure enough, the more he looked, the more it resembled a grasshopper. Even its stout hind legs under its wings looked suspicious. Just then, Goudan appeared at just the right moment and directly answered his doubts.

“You’re right, this is a grasshopper demon.”

“What about the wings?” Chen Xi pointed at them.

“They’re a life-bound magic item. It should be able to fly.”

It should be able to fly!

As soon as Goudan said those six words, everyone in the room except Chen Xi brightened up, including the Moonlight Celestial Beast that had previously disliked Daoist Ming Ling’s wings. It couldn’t help but move closer. As for the chubby furballs, they all raised their claws, showing their nails, and looked quite fierce.

Feeling the unfriendly atmosphere around him, Daoist Ming Ling collapsed onto his back in the firefly cage with a thud, lying on the bottom of the cage, his face ashen. He decided he would never come back to the Zefeng Cave Mansion again.

Daytime always passes quickly. After sending off Daoist Ming Ling, who looked like a moth but was actually a grasshopper demon, Chen Xi finally had time to take care of things around him. While Daoist Ming Ling was present earlier, he hadn’t been able to ask many questions, but now he had the opportunity to inquire about Li Qianling.

After all, this person’s appearance was very sudden, and his identity was quite sensitive. Chen Xi vaguely remembered that he had come to the Beast Island Secret Realm with the Immortal True Sword, but for some reason, he hadn’t been seen again afterward. The trust the Moonlight Celestial Beast had in him also made Chen Xi quite concerned.

This prideful cat rarely interacted with strangers. Could it be that Li Qianling had some past connection with the Moonlight Celestial Beast when he was still on Beast Island?

As Chen Xi thought about this, he ordered the puppet to close the cave’s door while turning to ask the Moonlight Celestial Beast. However, as soon as he turned around, he was once again stunned. On the soft cushion beneath the stone table, a group of little orange furballs was rolling around, trying to find a comfortable position to lie down. However, among them was a silent, reliable-looking tabby cat.

As for Li Qianling, he had already disappeared from the cave.