Chapter 228: Praying for the Next Life
Xixi hadn’t expected its two owners to return. It had been enjoying watching Tom being blown up by Jerry, and hearing the click of the password lock, it immediately turned its head.
Xie Xitong rushed in and scooped up the cat, which was running towards her, holding it tightly.
Jiang Mei, after locking the door, sat down beside them and looked at the screen, which was still playing. “Then we’re staying with Xixi and watching cartoons tonight?”
“I’m fine with that,” Xie Xitong said, scratching Xixi’s chin, making it purr contentedly. “Anyway, Tom and Jerry is a classic, you can never get tired of it.”
Jiang Mei propped up the pillows as backrests, and the two sat side by side, watching the cartoon and taking turns petting the cat.
Whenever a scene with a feast of steak, cheese, and fresh fruit appeared, Xixi would meow, and a peeled treat stick would be offered to it.
After happily eating three treat sticks, it suddenly heard Xie Xitong say, “If Xixi really is a yaojing (demon), not an ordinary cat, what would Mei-jiejie do?”
“Wouldn’t that be even better?” Jiang Mei simply treated it as a whimsical thought, stroking the cat’s soft fur as she spoke. “It’s said that yaojing can transform into humans when they reach a certain age. If you don’t mind, we can raise a little cat demon as our child, since you’ve been feeding Xixi since it was a kitten—but the household registration might be a bit troublesome, we might have to go abroad again.”
Xie Xitong: …
Although she knew that Mei-jiejie was very open-minded, she hadn’t expected this response.
“Okay,” she replied and didn’t continue the topic, lest Mei-jiejie, with her sharp perception, figure out the truth.
She didn’t know that even if she didn’t say anything, Jiang Mei would eventually realize it.
In the quiet of the night, a little past 2:00 AM, Jiang Mei woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep. She quietly got out of bed, went to the bathroom, closed and locked the door, turned on the light, crossed her arms, and stared at the white cat sleeping soundly in the sink.
If an ordinary person jokingly told her that “Xixi is a yaojing,” she would just dismiss it as a joke.
But firstly, A-Xi wasn’t an ordinary person.
Secondly, there was indeed a place in this city, a place with many cats, and a person even Xiao Linghan and Cang Ling found mysterious.
And thirdly, her sister and Xiao Luo’s story was enough to prove the prevalence of supernatural elements in this world, even situations that metaphysics practitioners couldn’t explain.
—Just because they couldn’t understand it didn’t mean it didn’t exist.
Jiang Mei thought about this as she carefully turned the sleeping cat over.
It wasn’t difficult to prove that Xixi wasn’t an ordinary cat, just finding a key clue that defied veterinary knowledge would suffice—A-Xi was a veterinarian, she would know what was best for ordinary cats and dogs.
She carefully parted the cat’s fur, first touching the area where the spaying surgery would be performed, then examining it closely.
There were no scars.
No matter what kind of spaying surgery, it would inevitably leave a scar.
Even though Xixi’s medical records stated the date of the surgery, if they wanted to hide it, just like how Dr. Qi could create a modern identity for Xiao Luo, a pet’s medical records could also be easily altered.
Ordinary cats and dogs, unable to control their physiological needs, would seek mates during their heat cycles. For their health, and to reduce the number of stray animals, human intervention was necessary.
But it was different for a yaojing that could transform into a human after reaching a certain age and meeting certain conditions. She couldn’t treat a little demon she had watched grow up as just a pet.
Having confirmed her guess, Jiang Mei carefully returned the cat to its original sleeping position, washed her hands, and quietly returned to bed beside Xie Xitong.
Since A-Xi had stopped talking earlier, it meant that there was no need to mention it now. She would just pretend to be oblivious. They had a lifetime ahead of them, and she would eventually wait for A-Xi to tell her the truth.
Before drifting off to sleep, Jiang Mei thought: This was good, this way, neither she nor A-Xi would have to worry about having children, they could just raise the cat.
The next morning, at breakfast, Jiang Mei looked at the fragrant smoked fish on the plate, hesitated, and finally asked Xie Xitong, “Can Xixi eat this?”
“Of course not!” Xie Xitong replied without hesitation.
Even as a demon, Xixi was still essentially a cat for now. According to her grandmother, it would probably take another ten years for its digestive system to evolve beyond that of an ordinary cat. For now, it could only eat cat food, or perhaps a little raw meat with some seasoning.
But Xie Xitong didn’t think Jiang Mei was just asking casually—Mei-jiejie rarely spoke without a purpose, and during her four years of university, it had been Mei-jiejie and Sister Cheng who had mostly taken care of Xixi while it was staying at the Jiang family’s home. There was no reason for her to be so clueless as to ask such a question now.
…She must have noticed her hint last night.
Even though she realized that Jiang Mei might have already guessed something, Xie Xitong didn’t reveal any more information, continuing to eat her sandwich.
Solving puzzles was more fun when done step by step!
And Mei-jiejie was just an ordinary “office worker,” not a demon hunter, so she was actually looking forward to the day Mei-jiejie would ask her directly.
What would she say then to dispel Mei-jiejie’s doubts?
Xixi, oblivious to the subtle undercurrent between its two owners, only knew that there was fresh beef for breakfast today, delicious! After finishing, it had to rub against the owner called “Mei-jiejie,” so it could have meat every day!
After breakfast, Jiang Mei and Xie Xitong discussed their itinerary.
According to the original plan, they would fly to the northwestern plateau after leaving the grasslands, but considering the potential altitude sickness, and the unspoken secret of “Xixi’s true identity,” it was Jiang Mei, who was now surprisingly willing to let Xie Xitong make all the decisions, who suggested changing their plans.
“Then, where does Mei-jiejie want to go?” Xie Xitong happily passed the question back to her.
Jiang Mei flipped through the travel plan, then, after half a minute of silence, said, “Let’s go to the Central Plains region. I want to visit a Buddhist temple.”
She had never been religious, but having seen so many supernatural beings, she now hoped to pray for her and A-Xi’s next lives.
—May they also be together in their next lives, whether as family or as lovers; and may their reincarnations meet Xixi, the white cat, in its human form.
These were her only two wishes when they changed their plans, but now, standing before the compassionate Buddha statue in the thousand-year-old grottoes of the Central Plains, she felt more and more wishes arising in her heart.
She also wanted to meet her family and friends in her next life.
To be Ms. Jiang and Ms. Wei’s daughter again, to have a younger sister again, to meet A-Xi again, to know Qi Mu and Sui Jingyu again, to raise Xixi and Xia Yun again, to have Sister Cheng and Cheng Shizhu as part of their family again—it would be even better if Sister Cheng’s wife hadn’t passed away, and if they encountered any problems with metaphysics or technology, they could still ask Grandma Xie, Taoist Master Xuan Nuo, and Uncle Seuss…
Asking for so much, she wondered if the Buddha would find her greedy.
It didn’t matter, Heaven and Earth could bear witness, her wishes were sincere.
Lowering her clasped hands, Jiang Mei opened her eyes and instinctively looked at Xie Xitong beside her.
Xie Xitong wasn’t praying, just quietly holding Xixi.
Sensing Jiang Mei’s gaze, she turned and explained with a smile, “Since I’ve decided to inherit the ‘family business,’ I have to be more devout, otherwise, my ‘ancestors’ or the deities protecting our lineage might be displeased.”
After paying their respects to the Buddha statues, they explored the scenic area with Xixi. Just walking around the main grottoes made their legs ache.
Besides that…
“There are so many wandering souls here,” Xie Xitong whispered, leaning against Jiang Mei’s shoulder and closing her eyes. “And they’re even dressed as tourists, mixed in with the crowd, it’s so hard to tell them apart… is the path to reincarnation blocked or something?”
The scenic area was crowded, so she didn’t dare ask these souls why they were lingering here, but as long as they didn’t become malicious spirits and harm the living, even her grandmother or Taoist Master Xuan Nuo wouldn’t interfere.
Jiang Mei finally understood why Xie Xitong had repeatedly pulled her in different directions, even though there seemed to be nothing there.
She thought for a moment. “Should we go somewhere with more ‘living energy’? This is a thousand-year-old historical site, there shouldn’t be so many wandering souls in places where people live.”
In a way, she felt that wandering souls were a bit like vampires, with various restrictions. Vampires couldn’t walk under the sunlight, and wandering souls should avoid crowded areas.
“Then let’s go eat something,” Xie Xitong immediately perked up, sitting up straight and opening a food app on her phone. “Beef paomo? Hulatang? Hui mian? Or Dapanji and hot pot tripe?”
“I’m fine with anything…” Jiang Mei almost blurted out, then changed her words, “Since they’re all delicacies, why don’t we let Xixi choose?”
Xixi understood what she meant and looked at Xie Xitong, a little uncertain. Seeing that its owner also agreed, it raised its paw, hesitated for a long time between the dishes Xie Xitong had presented, and finally landed on the Hui mian (braised noodles) covered with beef slices.
It was very familiar with beef!
Xie Xitong then contacted Ms. Xie and quickly received the locations of a few highly-rated Hui mian restaurants near the scenic area.
This time, Jiang Mei didn’t make the decision, giving Xixi, who had just gained sentience, a chance to participate.
Twenty minutes later, they were sitting in a private room at the Hui mian restaurant, each with a bowl of beef Hui mian, first eating the noodles with the beef slices, then the bean curd sheets and vermicelli from below.
“Tomorrow morning, I want youtiao with hulatang (spicy pepper soup). You can’t come to the Central Plains without trying the authentic version,” Xie Xitong said, her cheeks puffed out. “And let’s have hot pot tripe for lunch, with some Dapanji (big plate chicken)? And since we had beef today, how about lamb paomo for dinner?”
So she wanted to try all the dishes she had mentioned earlier.
“Then let’s have a feast tomorrow and go home the day after?” Jiang Mei suggested with a smile.
“Can we make it back home by tomorrow afternoon?” Xie Xitong asked. “I’m craving Sister Cheng’s mung bean soup, I want to have it the morning after tomorrow.”
“I’ll contact a private jet,” Jiang Mei said, putting down her chopsticks and taking out her phone, making arrangements.
With Jiang Mei, Xie Xitong always felt a sense of security.
—And of course, with Xixi as well.
