Chapter 007: Little Country Bumpkin
After running out of the small courtyard, Ji Zhu calmed her overly agitated heart. She lowered her head to feel the weight on her neck and couldn’t help but chuckle.
She had made up her mind! She was going to stick with the enchantress!
With this thought, Ji Zhu began to wander around Jiang Bai’s Chixia Peak. Because Jiang Bai liked peace and quiet, this mountain peak was inhabited only by Jiang Bai, aside from a few outer disciples who occasionally came to clean.
She owed this treatment to her status as the Young Sect Master.
Chixia Peak was very large. Besides the small courtyard in the front where Jiang Bai lived, there was a large open space and a continuous bamboo forest on the back mountain. There were deep sword marks in many places in the open space, which was clearly where Jiang Bai usually practiced her swordsmanship.
Ji Zhu felt a bit bored after a rough tour. Most of the places here were bare, and there really wasn’t much to see.
Returning to the front courtyard, there was a winding stone staircase not far away that led down the mountain. People who couldn’t fly on swords usually took this path, and it also led to other mountain peaks.
With the golden ingot the enchantress had given her, Ji Zhu fearlessly trotted towards the stairs, planning to go and see what the Hehuan Sect was like.
When she had been carried by the enchantress on her sword, she had already thought the Hehuan Sect was quite large. It was only when she was actually running on her four legs that Ji Zhu truly felt how big it was…
Squatting halfway up Chixia Peak, she looked up at the seemingly endless stairs above and then down at the bottomless foot of the mountain below. Ji Zhu was on the verge of tears.
Why didn’t I think this mountain was so high before?
In the end, Ji Zhu still chose to run down. Fortunately, after running for about ten minutes, the stairs took a turn, and she finally reached the foot of the mountain. The path ahead branched out in all directions. Completely unfamiliar with the area, Ji Zhu randomly chose a path and walked forward.
Along the way, she encountered many disciples of the Hehuan Sect. Perhaps everyone knew that the Young Sect Master had a cat, so when they saw her, they guessed her identity and all gathered around happily, wanting to take a closer look.
Faced with so many hands reaching out to pet her, Ji Zhu meowed, once again hating that she couldn’t speak.
If she could speak, she could tell them now and have them tell her how to get to Qiong Yin’s place.
“Why are you here by yourself? Where’s the Young Sect Master?” a young girl who looked to be in her early teens squatted down and asked Ji Zhu curiously, even wanting to pick her up and send her back to Jiang Bai.
Ji Zhu struggled fiercely. She had worked so hard to run down here. If she were sent back, wouldn’t she have run all those long stairs for nothing? She quickly spread her front legs and gestured, trying to convey that she was looking for Qiong Yin.
Several young girls surrounded her, and perhaps some people’s minds just worked differently. One of them tentatively asked, “Are you looking for the First Senior Sister?”
Ji Zhu’s eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly, looking at the young girl with approval.
Seeing Ji Zhu’s reaction, the young girls were amazed. She was clearly an ordinary cat without spiritual intelligence, yet she was so perceptive and could understand what they were saying. As expected of the Young Sect Master’s spirit pet, she was smarter than other cats!
The young girls, who were naturally playful, then escorted Ji Zhu towards Qiong Yin’s Qingyuan Peak.
Ji Zhu strutted at the front, with the young girls following behind, occasionally calling out to give her directions. The scene looked as strange as could be.
People who saw this along the way couldn’t help but chuckle, and some even fed Ji Zhu some snacks. Everyone was very friendly towards her.
**
Qiong Yin, who had been tending to her herbs in the backyard, suddenly heard some commotion in the front yard. She walked out curiously to check and was stunned on the spot.
Ji Zhu finally saw Qiong Yin. She quickly trotted over and rubbed against Qiong Yin’s calf, so excited that she was about to cry.
It was really hard for me to find you!
Qiong Yin bent down in pleasant surprise and picked Ji Zhu up, even holding her up in front of her face. She said joyfully, “Did Little Cat come looking for me specifically?”
Before Ji Zhu could nod, the young girls who had escorted her up began to chatter, describing the situation when they met Ji Zhu, and telling her how perceptive Ji Zhu was.
Qiong Yin held Ji Zhu and listened with a smile, taking out many snacks and preserved fruits from her storage space to distribute among them. She would occasionally chime in with a few words, being an incredibly approachable First Senior Sister.
After the young girls left, still wanting more, Qiong Yin looked down at Ji Zhu, her eyes curving into a beautiful smile.
“I can’t believe Little Cat really recognizes me and remembers me. That’s wonderful.”
When she first learned that Little Cat was just an ordinary cat, she hadn’t expected it to remember or recognize her. But now, it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“Meow~” Of course, it’s also because you’re good to me.
Ji Zhu meowed softly. She would do her best to remember everyone who was good to her.
Qiong Yin held the golden ingot hanging from Ji Zhu’s neck. The ingot was round and cute, with small characters carved on the bottom. When she saw the handwriting, Qiong Yin immediately knew it was made by Jiang Bai.
The smile in her eyes deepened, and she chuckled softly, “A-Bai was willing to go to the trouble of making this for you. It seems she really values you.”
Qiong Yin had watched Jiang Bai grow up and was naturally very clear about her situation. Now, seeing that she was willing to put in such effort, even if it was for a cat, Qiong Yin was very happy.
As long as Jiang Bai was no longer so closed off, as her Senior Sister, Qiong Yin was very pleased.
Values me?
Ji Zhu was thoughtful. Then Jiang Bai’s way of expressing how much she values me is really quite peculiar.
**
Ji Zhu played at Qiong Yin’s place until evening. Not only did she tour her medicinal garden, but she also went to her alchemy room. Finally, after having dinner there, she was sent back to Chixia Peak by Qiong Yin with a round belly, her tail flicking lazily, looking incredibly content.
Jiang Bai silently watched her. She felt that this little thing was getting bolder and bolder. At first, it seemed a little afraid of her, but now it dared to challenge her from time to time.
She raised her hand and gently stroked Ji Zhu’s belly. It was truly round. She was silent for a moment, then said distantly, “How much of Senior Sister’s good food did you eat to get yourself like this?”
When she first saw Ji Zhu go out for a stroll, she hadn’t paid it any mind, thinking she would come back after a while. Who knew she would run off to play with Qiong Yin and stay until this hour? Soon, it would be time to wash up and go to sleep.
Ji Zhu tilted her head and thought back. It seemed she had indeed eaten quite a lot. Qiong Yin’s cooking was very good. Although she had been mindful that she was a cat and hadn’t added much salt, the taste was still excellent. Plus, with the occasional snacks, her mouth had barely had a rest.
Seeing her like this, Jiang Bai gently pressed her forehead. Seeing her belly so full, she was afraid she would have indigestion. The hand stroking her belly suddenly lit up with a soft white light, and spiritual energy gathered in her palm to gently knead it.
Ji Zhu looked at the enchantress in surprise. At this moment, her eyes were half-lowered, and the dim candlelight illuminated half of her face, making her look quiet and gentle, without any of the “enchantress” air.
Ji Zhu was stunned, completely not expecting the enchantress to react this way.
She had thought that after all her antics, if she didn’t get a lesson, she would at least get a scolding. Who knew she would do nothing and even help her rub her belly.
Hmm… looking at it this way, a gentle enchantress isn’t so scary after all.
Jiang Bai rubbed for a good while. Seeing that her little belly had flattened quite a bit, she removed her hand and poked Ji Zhu’s forehead, saying with some dissatisfaction, “Am I depriving you of food? You run out and eat until you’re like this, making it seem like I’ve mistreated you.”
Ji Zhu pouted from the poke. You did mistreat me. You made me go hungry for a while at noon!
But Ji Zhu was flexible! She immediately rubbed against the enchantress’s hand and meowed in a delicate voice.
Jiang Bai’s expression remained unchanged, but she didn’t withdraw her hand. Instead, she rubbed Ji Zhu’s head. The soft, fine fur brushed soothingly against her palm. Such a small thing, yet it had the ability to soften one’s heart.
**
Ever since Ji Zhu dared to run and jump, her days had been incredibly carefree. She was like a fish in water in the Hehuan Sect, almost becoming the group’s favorite. Everyone who saw her wanted to pet her or hold her, and Ji Zhu was actually getting more and more used to cat life.
As the Centennial Grand Competition approached, the Hehuan Sect also held a small selection competition. The top ten would be chosen to participate in the grand competition. If they could get a ranking in the grand competition, they would also have the opportunity to enter a mystic realm for training. The response to this was quite enthusiastic.
Ji Zhu, bored, had gone to watch the competition a few times. To her mortal eyes, every match was shocking.
How do they dodge such fierce attacks? Is that extreme body arc something a human can do?
Because her unworldly appearance was so prominent, even on a furry cat face, people could tell what she was thinking at a glance. For this, the enchantress had often called her a little country bumpkin.
“Little Bun, come here.”
When the team had assembled and was ready to set off for the Immortal Sword Sect, Ji Zhu suddenly heard the enchantress call her.
Ji Zhu looked at her blankly, not understanding why she was calling her over at this time.
Looking at Ji Zhu, who was being held by her Master, Ji Wuhui, Jiang Bai said faintly, “If you don’t come with me, I’ll be gone for more than ten years. With your short lifespan, are you waiting for me to come back and collect your corpse?”
Ji Zhu: “…”
Such a heart-wrenching truth.
