Chapter 408: Nonsensical Ye Wenxin (2^nd Update)

But she couldn’t possibly explain to everyone that these furballs were born from her and Ghost Mother’s concentrated Yin energy, so she just gave a perfunctory smile, planning to casually change the topic.

“Grandmaster, you’re amazing!” Suddenly, Priest Wang, who had been silent all this time, spoke up, startling Ye Wenxin. For a moment, she feared that he had discovered the truth about Ghost Mother. Her expression became somewhat awkward, then she heard Priest Wang excitedly exclaim, “These are Beckoning Cats (maneki-neko)¹!”

Ye Wenxin wondered if she had misheard. “You’re saying those furballs are cats?”

Priest Wang nodded even more enthusiastically. “Yes! According to legend, Beckoning Cats look exactly like this—round bodies, short legs, immune to fire and water, and capable of flying and burrowing.”

Ye Wenxin still found it hard to associate these balls with Beckoning Cats. Just as she was about to suggest that Priest Wang might be overthinking it, a patch of dirt suddenly bulged, and a white furball popped out.

It wriggled up to Ye Wenxin and eagerly handed her the high-grade spirit stone it had found. Ye Wenxin smiled broadly, patted the furball’s little head, and said, “You did great. Keep looking.”

The furball, delighted by the praise, was about to scamper away when Priest Wang suddenly grabbed the unsuspecting furball. Startled, it extended its short, chubby little claws, attempting to claw at Priest Wang.

Priest Wang received several scratches, but giddily remarked, “Look, Grandmaster, it really has claws. It’s a Beckoning Cat for sure.”

Ye Wenxin looked at the furball’s short legs. Long fur usually covered them up, so she hadn’t noticed these details. Now that she took a closer look, she had to admit that the furball could indeed be considered a cat.

However, Ye Wenxin had been kicking these furballs around for fun not long ago, and realizing they might be Beckoning Cats gave her a peculiar feeling. But why would the amalgamation of her and Ghost Mother’s Yin energy produce these wonderful creatures?

Moreover, these creatures looked completely different from each other, as if their genes had somehow mutated.

Ye Wenxin began to ponder the answer and suddenly noticed the Five Elements Flag in Priest Wang’s hand. The colors of the Beckoning Cats seemed to correspond exactly with the Colored Flags she had obtained in the secret realm. She searched her bag of holding thoroughly, but couldn’t find any trace of the banner.

“Gui Gui, I need to ask you something,” Ye Wenxin said with a forced smile, as if she had finally found the real reason behind the appearance of the furballs.

Ghost Mother was floating above her, still confused. Upon hearing Ye Wenxin’s question, she instinctively responded with a vague ‘mm’.

“Did you eat my Colored Flags?”

Ghost Mother acted as if she hadn’t heard and looked away. This attitude only proved that the Colored Flags’ disappearance was related to Ghost Mother. Clearly, it had happened when Ye Wenxin stored the umbrella sword in her bag of holding.

The Colored Flags had often caught Ghost Mother, so upon seeing Celestial Master Zhong’s Colored Flags, she couldn’t help but destroy them. To protect themselves, the flags yielded and mutated the Yin energy, resulting in the current furballs.

“I don’t know anything!”

“Sure you don’t. Gui Gui, you better look forward to me playing with the pearls tonight.” Ye Wenxin felt a pang of sorrow. The Colored Flags were an ancient artifact; when all eight flags were waved simultaneously, even deities couldn’t escape their power.

Now, however, the noble Colored Flags had been reduced to Beckoning Cats that could only hunt for treasure, leaving Ye Wenxin with mixed feelings. She wasn’t interested in doing anything enjoyable with Ghost Mother; she just wanted to give her a thorough lesson.

Ghost Mother’s expression changed drastically at the mention of more ‘pearl play’. She truly couldn’t endure Ye Wenxin’s physical strength, and hastily began to plead. “No, please, it was my fault. Master, please forgive me this once.”

Compared to threatening Ghost Mother, sweet-talking and bringing up the Yin-Yang Pearls were much more persuasive. However, Ye Wenxin was still upset. The inherited memories kept reminding her of the Colored Flags’ importance. What could have been the key to defeating Fairy Fengya had now turned into mere furballs…

“Grandmaster, are you alright?” Priest Wang noticed Ye Wenxin’s expression had suddenly darkened, and anxiously asked. Ye Wenxin quickly composed herself and replied, “It’s nothing. I was just reminded of the time I confronted the Jiangshi King… Thinking about it now, it’s truly quite poignant.”

Priest Wang didn’t doubt the information Ye Wenxin had given them. He believed she was the chosen one and thus survived the calamity. However, others were initially skeptical. It was only when Long Qingyue intervened that they reluctantly began to accept Ye Wenxin’s account.

During the past few days of associating with her, everyone had noticed Ye Wenxin’s genuine skills in Daoist magic. Coupled with the Southern Dipper Temple’s treasured umbrella sword, Ye Wenxin had started to gain considerable prestige.

Among everyone, Priest Wang held the highest admiration for Ye Wenxin. Listening to Ye Wenxin’s seemingly serious but nonsensical talk, he grew even more respectful.

The topic shifted, and the tense crowd mythologized the Jiangshi King as they listened. Long Qingyue, while smiling faintly, had a different perspective.

Although it was only three months’ worth of memories, Long Qingyue knew that the Jiangshi King was originally benevolent. If usual methods failed, she planned to sacrifice herself, disguise as a man, and personally resolve the grievance.

Everyone, each with their own thoughts, continued to advance through the valley with caution, step by step.

Time passed quickly, and the sky gradually darkened, increasing the lurking dangers. Although the furballs had an official term, Ye Wenxin still referred to them as furballs. They returned with some treasures, but had not found any trace of the Jiangshi King.

Ye Wenxin wasn’t surprised; the Jiangshi King was highly intelligent. If ordinary compasses could find her, Long Qingyue wouldn’t be following them. Ye Wenxin needed to find another way to lure her out and kill her, thus fulfilling Celestial Master Zhong’s regret, and repaying him for gifting her the umbrella sword and the Yin-Yang ghosts…

While the others kept watch in shifts, Ye Wenxin pondered how to draw out the Jiangshi King, while muttering the keywords that left the deepest impression on her about the Jiangshi King.

“Crime of stealing a husband, crime of stealing a husband…” As she thought about these keywords, a new idea struck her. She ignored the others who were stationed nearby, and ran into a small forest.

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Footnotes;

1. 1. The Maneki-neko, Beckoning Cat, or Fortune Cat, is a pretty popular figurine in Japanese culture, believed to bring luck to the owner. You usually see this lucky cat, traditionally a calico Japanese Bobtail, at some shop fronts, waving its mechanical paw in invitation. ↩︎