Although her daily routine involved darting through streets and alleys, she was, after all, a cat demon who had awakened her spiritual intelligence. She was utterly different from those stray kittens wandering the streets. The black cat excelled at grooming herself. Her glossy, dark fur was soft and fine, and her belly, tinged with a hint of pink, was warm and yielding, like a pool of warm water. Jiang Yiguang’s technique for petting a cat could be called crude at best, yet the little black cat still narrowed her eyes in contentment, letting out a rumbling purr.
This cat demon had likely never suffered the cruel beatings of society; even now, she still seemed completely naive. Jiang Yiguang quickly made this judgment from the cat demon’s reactions. Exposing one’s belly was an act of extreme vulnerability. If she had truly harbored ill intentions, this little demon would probably have been squashed into a cat pancake by now.
Only after a good few minutes did Jiang Yiguang withdraw her hand, revealing a smile tinged with three parts reserve. She raised her hand to brush aside the stray bangs that veiled her brilliant eyes, the corner of her lips lifting as she spoke softly, “What’s the matter? You can tell me. But let me be clear upfront—I may not necessarily be able to help.”
Jiang Yiguang’s “not necessarily” was directly ignored by the cat demon. With a roll, the cat stepped onto the blanket and met Jiang Yiguang’s gaze. After composedly licking a paw, she said, “My name is Ah He, and my owner is the old lady you saw earlier.”
Jiang Yiguang immediately recalled the elderly woman in gray clothes who scavenged for a living. Looking at the black cat Ah He in astonishment, she asked, “The negative energy on her… is that because of you?”
“No, it’s not!” Ah He’s fur bristled all over her body, putting on an air of being deeply insulted by Jiang Yiguang. Glaring at her indignantly, she declared bluntly, “A ghost came to our door.”
Jiang Yiguang asked again, “You can’t deal with it?”
Ah He’s eyes darted shiftily. “Meow, meow, meow.”
Jiang Yiguang understood. The black cat might have become a spirit, but she had no real abilities. She rested her chin on her hand and pondered for a moment, then asked, “Then why didn’t you go straight to the Xuanzhen Dao Court? I recall every city has a Special Department, doesn’t it? Unless… you aren’t registered either? Are you an unregistered wild demon in this city?”
A flicker of guarded cold light passed through Ah He’s eyes. She took a step back, baring her teeth at Jiang Yiguang. Indeed, she hadn’t obtained a permit from the Xuanzhen Dao Court; she even went out of her way to avoid anyone who looked like they came from the Court’s agencies. What if the Court found out and forbade her from living with her owner? She couldn’t risk that. “Ten years ago, I collapsed, barely breathing, in a filthy gutter. My owner picked me up and took me home. She’s cared for me all this time. We depend on each other for survival. I can’t leave her,” Ah He declared earnestly.
In the instant she heard the cat demon Ah He’s words, Jiang Yiguang felt a surge of sympathy. She contemplated for a moment, then asked, “What’s the deal with the ghost? Did she pick up negative energy somewhere else? Or could it be the returning soul of an acquaintance or someone close to her?”
“Not at all!” Ah He immediately dismissed Jiang Yiguang’s speculation. In those early years when she followed the old lady, she hadn’t yet awakened her spiritual intelligence and was still in a dazed, ignorant state. Three years ago, her mind had suddenly become clear, she had no idea how. She thought for a bit, then answered, “My owner rarely goes out or moves around, and she hasn’t been anywhere thick with negative energy. As for relatives or friends, anyway, in these ten years, I’ve never seen any come or go.”
“Huh?” Jiang Yiguang looked utterly surprised. At the old lady’s age, shouldn’t she be surrounded by children and grandchildren by any reasonable expectation? She thought it, and so she asked aloud.
“My owner didn’t get—” Ah He had grasped quite a few human terms, but just as those two words were about to slip out, she forcefully choked them back, changing to a phrase humans commonly used. “Get married.”
“Oh, I see…” Jiang Yiguang drawled out her words, unable to fathom the reason for the moment. She shot a glance at Ah He and asked, “Does that ghost come every night then?”
Ah He shook her head. “No.” She clawed once at Jiang Yiguang’s blanket, urging with a hint of impatience, “Hurry up and come with me!”
Was cultivating at the Xuanzhen Dao Court this grueling? The moment some mysterious, anomalous incident occurred, they had to rush to the scene? Jiang Yiguang’s thoughts drifted away; upon reflection, that was exactly how it was. Her own mother was perpetually too busy to even touch ground with her feet, let alone an official government agency like the Xuanzhen Dao Court. Ah He’s urging grew more and more frantic. Jiang Yiguang shook her head, banishing the chaotic thoughts. She bent a finger and flicked Ah He’s head, giving a light snort. “Go on, wait for me outside.”
Ah He eyed Jiang Yiguang suspiciously. “What if you try to trick me?”
Jiang Yiguang let out a “Ha.” “If I lie back down right now, what can you do about it?”
Ah He was speechless. After a long moment, she still scrabbled at the window and jumped out. Only then did Jiang Yiguang rise, drawing the parted curtains tightly shut, not a crack remaining. Her movements were neither fast nor slow. Amidst her vexation, there was also a hint of novelty. After all, previous tasks had been issued by the system, but right now, she had genuinely received a commission from a cat demon. She had finally found a sliver of realness and a sense of existence.
By the time Jiang Yiguang stepped outside, Ah He was lying in ambush in the grass beside a streetlamp. The moment she spotted Jiang Yiguang’s figure, she shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, zooming right up to her. Jiang Yiguang bent down, scooped Ah He into her arms, muttered, “You’re so heavy,” and then added softly, “Let’s agree on this first: I’m only going to take a look. Whether we succeed is another matter.”
What if Jiang City also had a thousand-year ferocious ghost? Did they expect her to stake her life to eliminate it?
Ah He nestled into a comfortable position within Jiang Yiguang’s embrace, her eyes wide with curiosity as she asked, “Can even people like you fail?” She had, in fact, run into cultivators from the Dao Court on several occasions. Once, she saw them effortlessly summon a bolt of lightning that blasted a yellow dog demon—one that had tyrannized and bullied others in the streets—into a pummeled, disoriented mess. She hadn’t dared to watch further, terrified of getting caught in the old dog’s collateral damage. All she knew was that she never saw the yellow dog demon again after that, and the entire street had thoroughly become her, Ah He’s, territory.
Hearing this, Jiang Yiguang only found it laughable. The little cat demon had a huge misunderstanding about cultivators. Her gaze shifted, and with a hint of a sigh, she said, “We are people, not gods. Of course, failure is possible.” Besides, were gods necessarily incapable of defeat? She inexplicably recalled the conversation between Qi Ji and Fu Juan. The word “Mountains and Seas” echoed ceaselessly in her mind. If the records in the 《Classic of Mountains and Seas》 were all true, then didn’t the disappearance of All Gods on the divine Kunlun Mountain also count as a kind of failure?
“If only the Mythical Era truly existed,” Ah He sighed with emotion, clearly having heard those stories as well.
Jiang Yiguang scoffed. “So Great Demons could use you to pick their teeth? Oh wait, never mind, with your size, you wouldn’t even be enough to fit between their teeth.”
Ah He flew into a rage out of humiliation. She retracted her sharp claws and unleashed a flurry of paw-strikes on Jiang Yiguang using only her soft pads.
Jiang Yiguang snorted, set Ah He down on the ground, and said coolly, “You can walk on your own legs, ma’am.”
Ah He yowled a series of chaotic “meows” and then shot forward like a gust of wind.
Beneath the dim streetlamps, the horizontally slanting branches cast crisscrossed shadows on the ground.
Jiang Yiguang lifted her gaze slightly. There was no one under the tree taking photos anymore.
Deep in the night, the crabapple flowers did not sleep, their cool, clear beauty like snow.
Jiang Yiguang followed Ah He’s footsteps, walking through a deep, dark, somber alley. Faintly, she heard the sound of the night watchman’s clapper, a secluded, distant echo seeming to come from ancient ages. She clutched a spell talisman in her palm. To say she wasn’t nervous would merely be self-deception. At this moment, the slightest abnormal sign might make her hurl the talisman from her hand. Yet the stillness of the night stretched all the way to their destination, undisturbed by anything eerie.
Then, glancing up absently, Jiang Yiguang unexpectedly encountered another kind of pure snow in this narrow lane under the moonlight.
Under the moonlight, Fu Juan was cold and aloof, like an unchanging landscape painting flowing through the brush and ink of passing ages, deep and secluded, concealing a sense of lofty transcendence.
Such an unexpected reunion always made Jiang Yiguang’s heart throb.
But after the throbbing came a start of alarm.
Why would Fu Juan appear here? Was this the irresistible force of the plot?
Jiang Yiguang’s eye contact with Fu Juan lasted but an instant. She saw Ah He, fur bristled, hissing at Fu Juan, and felt a jolt of nervousness. She feared Fu Juan would, without any regard for sentiment, directly blast over with a Five Thunder Technique, turning this naive little cat demon into mincemeat.
Ah He also reacted the moment she heard Jiang Yiguang’s footsteps. She swiftly darted behind Jiang Yiguang, peeking out half her face, watching Fu Juan—who sat in the wheelchair, her figure thin and frail, yet radiating an oppressive aura that unnerved demons—with extreme vigilance. Desperately, she clawed at Jiang Yiguang’s trouser leg with her front paws, hoping Jiang Yiguang could resolve this sudden “fright.”
Fu Juan’s tone was calm. “You’re here.”
Jiang Yiguang somehow heard, within those four faint words, an accusation akin to “Why didn’t you answer the phone?” She shrank her neck back slightly, raised a hand to brush her bangs, and squeezed out a smile. “Yes, what a coincidence.”
Fu Juan responded with a soft “Mm” and fell silent again. She turned her head to look at the rustic, slightly antiquated courtyard and stated flatly, “There’s negative energy and demon qi here.”
Jiang Yiguang nodded, noticing several spell talismans flickering with golden light stuck onto the courtyard wall. Without much thought, she knew this was Fu Juan’s doing. With Fu Juan here, perhaps the “ghost” had already been dealt with? The moment this thought surfaced, Jiang Yiguang felt like turning around and leaving this place that made her feel awkward and uncomfortable. But a weight on her leg struck her like a lightning bolt piercing her muddled brain. Ah He was clinging to her leg, staring at her with a wounded look full of accusation. On that furry cat face was an expression of pitiful misery, as if she’d been utterly cheated.
She was even dragging at her, refusing to let her go!
Fu Juan asked again, “Not registered with the Xuanzhen Dao Court?”
Ah He’s fur bristled even more violently; even her carefully retracted sharp claws extended slightly. Snagging a few threads on Jiang Yiguang’s trousers was a minor matter, but the sharp sting clearly indicated the little creature had already scratched her leg, drawing blood. Jiang Yiguang hissed softly, reached out to grab Ah He by the scruff of her neck, and lifted her entirely into her arms. “She’s my friend,” Jiang Yiguang said, facing Fu Juan. She fell silent for a moment after the words left her mouth, then asked, “So what do you intend to do about it?”
“You came to Jiang City for tourism?” Fu Juan switched the topic, a skeptical lilt rising at the end of her sentence.
Jiang Yiguang was taken aback, not expecting Fu Juan to even inquire about her whereabouts. Could it be concern? No, impossible. Given Fu Juan’s aversion to “her,” it was eighty percent likely she was acting at someone else’s behest. Banishing the stray thoughts from her mind, Jiang Yiguang put on a smiling face and nodded in reply, “That’s right.”
A suspicious gaze swept over Jiang Yiguang. Fu Juan was clearly not convinced by this somewhat perfunctory answer. Who, exactly, went “touring” in the middle of the night at a place thick with floating negative energy? And befriended a spirit cat who was an unregistered “unregistered cat demon”? Fu Juan didn’t bother pondering further extraneous details. She asked directly, “Where are you staying?”
Jiang Yiguang arched an eyebrow in a smile, a hint of flirtatiousness and languor swirling in her eyes. She reflexively took up the thread: “What, do you want to come with me?” The moment the words left her mouth, Jiang Yiguang caught herself. Perhaps she should keep it a bit more solemn and proper, like mere teasing between friends. But she and Fu Juan couldn’t even be considered friends. To Fu Juan, who had chosen to distance herself from her, this was still far too frivolous.
This damned force of Fate, influencing her every minute and second.
Thankfully, Fu Juan detested her and wouldn’t agree to such a thing.
A sliver of relief flickered through Jiang Yiguang’s heart. Who would have thought that while this thought was still hovering in her mind, a light, clear “Fine” entered her ears. Jiang Yiguang’s eyes instantly widened. She stared in astonishment at the perfectly composed Fu Juan, utterly unable to believe she would nod. Frowning in private thought for a moment, Jiang Yiguang suddenly realized amidst Ah He’s weak meowing!
How could this be such a coincidence? If Fu Juan was on a mission, Wang Xuanming, that eyesore, would certainly be by her side, wouldn’t he? Could it be an illusion created by the ferocious ghost? Some powerful ghost spirits indeed possessed such abilities.
Fu Juan’s impression upon her heart truly was still very deep.
Once she had figured it out, Jiang Yiguang wasn’t afraid in the slightest.
Holding the tense Ah He, she walked with light, brisk steps toward Fu Juan, deliberately drawing out a tenderly lingering, melodious tone: “Little Juan, do you want to come with me now?”
Fu Juan’s gaze sank abruptly.
The person before her held a black cat in her arms, her smiling eyes curved like crescent moons, circulating a touch of springtime’s lazy charm. It was utterly different from the past—that nearly hysterical obsession and madness.
Unexpectedly, she didn’t feel the revulsion towards Jiang Yiguang’s somewhat unnatural tone.
Fu Juan lowered her eyes, concealing a flicker of something inexplicable within them. She said flatly, “Let’s go. Yin ghosts can’t approach this place.”
Jiang Yiguang: “…” Was this illusion reflecting her own heart? Could it be that she still desired Fu Juan’s complete compliance? She covered her mouth and coughed lightly. “Need me to push your wheelchair?” If she remembered correctly, this was the kind of remark Fu Juan loathed most.
But Fu Juan simply nodded calmly and answered, “I need.”
Jiang Yiguang thought to herself: As expected, it’s incredibly fake.
Yet just at that moment, the system’s notification chime rang out.
Jiang Yiguang’s complexion instantly turned into a spilled palette of paint.
【In Jiang City, the host has a less-than-pleasant encounter with the female lead. Three choices are now available:
A. Pester relentlessly. (Physical Strength Points +3)
B. Refuse sternly. (Charisma Points +3)
C. Play dumb. (Reward: a book, 《On How Great Wisdom Appears Foolish》)】
Fu Juan was genuinely here.
The “less-than-pleasant encounter” was also real.
No, wait—wasn’t Fu Juan the one who’d volunteered to follow her? How did this count as her pestering relentlessly? This “pester relentlessly” must have been describing the “original plot.” In that world, “Jiang Yiguang,” utterly without skill, showed up wherever supernatural events occurred. She truly was an impenetrably thick-skinned person.
After hesitating momentarily between “Physical Strength Points” and “Charisma Points,” Jiang Yiguang painfully abandoned the former, choosing the practically useless “B” option for her. Silently repeating that everything was for future freedom, she said quickly to Fu Juan, “I was joking. Suit yourself.” With that, she hugged the struggling Ah He, turned, and walked swiftly away.
Fu Juan frowned.
She watched Jiang Yiguang’s retreating back and silently followed.
