Chapter 106 A Little Interlude: Quickly Say Thank You, Kitty

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The flickering candlelight initially made Shen Lixia feel uncomfortable, but she gradually got used to it as her cultivation improved and her senses became more acute. The inn was simply furnished, and the windows couldn't block out the annoying chirping of insects, so an additional array had to be set up.

But none of that compares to the unpleasantness of the person in front of him.

The woman dressed in black stood to one side with her arms crossed, showing no intention of speaking to the young man. If it weren't for her captivatingly cold and bright red eyes, she could almost be seen as Qiao Yanshen's shadow.

Although the face that had appeared in her nightmares had changed slightly, Shen Lixia's hostility remained undiminished. She stared at her warily, like a cat with its fur standing on end.

Finally, Qiao Yanshen spoke first: "I can keep her under control, so don't worry. After all, this journey to the plague-stricken village is related to the demon race, so it would be better to have her accompany us."

"But last time she—"

"The power of incense has been scattered. My current cultivation level is only at the Golden Core stage of you humans, and it's very weak." Faced with the aura of divine fire, Chi lost his desire to tease the child and said weakly.

Shen Lixia remained silent for a moment, then turned her gaze to Qiao Yanshen. She succumbed to his gentle smile and did not display the divine fire again, only saying, "Then you can open another room to sleep in."

"Do you have so much money that you can't spend it all? I can just go back to the way things were before."

"You've already taken human form and started acting, aren't you planning to get a normal night's sleep?" Shen Lixia frowned. "It feels pretty good to sleep until you naturally wake up. Besides, those royal men and the like were just brainless good-for-nothings who would cause trouble for a second. You probably haven't had a good night's sleep in ages, have you?"

Since she has been temporarily categorized as a friend, she has no interest in depriving the demons of their human rights.

Chi turned her head and glanced at Qiao Yanshen. Their eyes met, and she read the doubt in his eyes: Is your junior sister a little crazy?

“Everyone should be sleeping.” Qiao Yanshen nodded calmly. “Then let’s go downstairs and get another key from the shop.”

The demon instinctively cast a spell to conceal the strange color in its eyes.

The red of fresh blood instantly turned into the same deep blue as Qiao Yanshen's, prompting Shen Lixia to ask curiously, "Why did you choose the same eye color as my senior sister?"

"I think it looks good." Chi hesitated for a moment before answering her, "It's not like only your senior sister can have eyes like that."

In truth, she wasn't entirely sure. Ever since Shen Yuan returned, she seemed different from ordinary demons or wandering ghosts. Aside from regaining some memories, a slight ripple always stirred within her heart. She didn't know it was emotion, only taking it as something incongruous, blaming it on the special qualities hidden within Qiao Yanshen. That eerie, dark blue aura always made her feel relaxed involuntarily.

With these feelings becoming more frequent, the emotionally barren and dormant state of the demon race itself became an obstacle, making her vaguely sense that something was about to emerge, yet she couldn't quite grasp its outline.

How could Qiao Yanshen be so wicked?

She gritted her teeth secretly, but ultimately didn't change her eye color to another. It was just a physical appearance, nothing to worry about.

The three of them went down the stairs and walked to the counter.

The shopkeeper was astonished by their sudden appearance: "Girls, how did this girl get in? I didn't see her when you came in."

“This is…” Qiao Yanshen glanced at Chi, and when his gaze fell on her deep blue eyes, he finished speaking, “My sister. She is agile and worried about me, so in her haste, she climbed out of the window to find me.”

"Sisterly love," the shopkeeper smiled. "But please don't do that again next time."

The woman, who had been unfairly blamed but had become Qiao Yanshen's sister, raised an eyebrow. The latter, however, masked her displeasure and didn't pursue the matter. On the contrary, Shen Lixia, who was standing next to her, gave a displeased snort and whispered, "I won't call you sister either."

“I don’t need you to call me,” Chi retorted, having disliked the boy from the start for some reason. “She can call me. I only need one sister.”

"You're really something!"

After listening to their words, Qiao Yanshen turned around and said helplessly, "Quiet down."

Two childish kids.

As the shopkeeper was searching for the keys, a meow came from outside, causing Chi to turn her head. Having not had a normal conversation with anyone for a long time, she glanced at the other three people and, seeing that they didn't react, cautiously moved towards the door to find the source of the sound.

Perhaps unable to bear watching this self-directed test any longer, Qiao Yanshen asked casually, "Do you keep a kitten outside?"

“It only recently started visiting the shop,” the shopkeeper said, handing her the key. “The weather outside is still pleasant, so I haven’t let it in. I just regularly put out cat food and water outside.”

When he was about to hand over the key, the two people beside him had already disappeared. He barely managed to catch a glimpse of them through the door, and they were gone in an instant. Qiao Yanshen rubbed his temples, thanked the shopkeeper, told her to close the shop later and not to wait for them to return, and then chased after them.

She walked slowly to the outside of the inn and heard the two talking.

"See, I told you it was definitely injured."

"They could actually tell..."

“It’s because you humans are too dull,” Chi carefully picked up the orange and white cat, “you couldn’t even hear it crying for help…”

"Don't be too harsh. After all, the shop owner isn't someone who deals with small animals all year round." Qiao Yanshen walked over and squatted down as well. The three of them squatted in a semi-circle, their eyes focused on the kitten that Chi had picked up.

When it was lifted up, the cat's unusual hind leg became apparent—it had a festering, oozing wound, slightly blackened, and looked horribly gruesome. It was wary of strangers, but was held firmly by the demon and couldn't move, its claws digging deep into the woman's skin, gripping her tightly.

She handed the cat to Shen Lixia, saying, "Catch it."

Shen Lixia carefully caught the wound and secured it to check its extent. She had some experience treating small animals, and had glimpsed some of it in her memories from her previous life, but this was the first time she had dealt with such a severely deteriorated injury. Chi read the situation from her eyes and snorted coldly.

"Did you bring any medicine?" She turned to Qiao Yanshen. "No, not pills, you can't take them."

After rummaging through the storage bag for a long time, they only found some strong liquor and gauze. Chi took these, frowning with worry, and whispered, "It would be better to find some herbs..."

"Can't I even crush the pills?" Shen Lixia recalled the scene of Luo Yang feeding the viper earlier. "If it's because you're worried it can't withstand the spiritual energy..."

“It’s still too much. Unless we can divide the spiritual energy into extremely fine particles…” Chi poured strong liquor onto the gauze, “as fine as a needle, it might barely grow some new skin and flesh, and maybe we can save this leg. Otherwise, we should just cut it off.”

"Cut it—cut it?!" Shen Lixia stammered. "Weren't you planning to bandage it up?!"

"Clean the wound first and see how it goes."

Upon hearing her mention splitting spiritual energy, Qiao Yanshen volunteered, "Then I'll do it; I should be able to."

Chi raised his eyes, put down what he was holding, rolled up his sleeves and stretched out his wrist, "Try it on me first."

After testing her, Chi was quite surprised by her meticulous method of manipulating spiritual power, and even said the first kind word he had uttered since they met: "Pretty impressive."

Shen Lixia looked as if she had seen a ghost, never expecting that this person could actually utter something that could be called praise rather than sarcasm.

When Qiao Yanshen's fingertips touched the wound, the kitten kicked and struggled restlessly. The boy took out various trinkets to attract its attention, while Chi gently scratched its head and whispered a few words to coax it.

The world is rich in spiritual energy, and even these tiny creatures have gained sentience, able to discern the good and evil of the people before them. The cat's struggles gradually weakened, and Qiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief, slowly channeling his spiritual energy to patiently heal its wounds.

After a while of struggling, they finally stabilized the injuries and bandaged the wounds. Early autumn still had some heat, and despite their cultivation levels, the three of them were sweating with tension. Only when they stood up did they realize that their clothes were covered with grass clippings and mud.

Just then, a commotion drifted from afar. The cat suddenly arched its back, its fur bristling, and growled softly at the source of the noise.

"Where did that beast go?!"

"It seems to have a litter of pups. Let's go look for them."

Shen Lixia and Chi exchanged a glance, and suddenly a bright smile appeared on her face. She took off with her sword first, and then Chi also transformed into a wisp of black mist, rushing towards the sound like an arrow.

Qiao Yanshen didn't even have time to say a word, let alone stop them, and could only let them go.

Oh well, it's only for one night anyway.

She sighed, helplessly holding the kitten in her arms, gently comforting it, while simultaneously sending a telepathic message to the demon.

"Disguise your location further away, so as not to cause trouble for the shop owners."

As for Shen Lixia, she was already used to destroying evidence, so there was no need for her to say anything.

When the two returned, Qiao Yanshen cast a cleansing spell on each of them and then cleaned himself up. The cat tugged at Chi's trouser leg a couple of times, meowing as if trying to entice her to look at something.

The three followed it and found three kittens curled up together under a large tree not far away. An old piece of clothing provided them with a safe haven, allowing them to sleep peacefully.

The cat circled around them, its tail brushing against their calves, and its meows were drawn out a little.

“It seems like it’s allowed us to touch its kittens now.” Shen Lixia squatted down and gently ran her finger along the ear of one of the kittens. “All three are orange tabby cats… They’ll grow up to be little pigs with their mother.”

"What kind of blessing is this...?"

"Nine out of ten oranges are fat," Qiao Yanshen laughed. "And the last one—"

“It’s really fat.” Shen Lixia chimed in tacitly, then turned to Chi, “You saved it, do you want to give it a name?”

All things have a spirit; perhaps they will meet again in the future, or perhaps they will have more ties in the next life. However, she wasn't sure if she needed someone like Chi, since it was rumored that demons had no feelings.

Chi narrowed her eyes. The hazy autumn moonlight softened her sharp features, and the smile on her lips softened as well. Her hatred seemed to be directed only at humans and the celestial gods, excluding these uncivilized creatures in nature.

The woman raised an eyebrow slightly, in an exceptionally good mood, and said with a rising tone at the end of her voice, "Alright, let's name this whole litter of kittens too. You, you'll be called Shanglu."

She pointed at the big cat with her fingertip, then at the three kittens in turn, saying, "Underworld, Yellow Springs, Yama."

After getting up, the woman pursed her lips and looked at Shen Lixia and Qiao Yanshen. Her sparkling eyes made her look even more like a big, shiny black cat. Being with this litter of clueless kittens, she looked just like a mountain king and her subordinates.

No way, she's not waiting for us to praise her, is she?

Qiao Yanshen said calmly, "It's quite suitable. In the future, others should know that you're protecting these little guys."

Chi nodded in satisfaction and snorted, "Those who disobey will be skinned, have their tendons removed, and be sliced ​​into thousands of thin pieces before being thrown into a frying pan."

...They really are waiting for someone to praise them.

Shen Lixia swallowed her complaints about the names with difficulty, silently thinking that her senior sister was still too kind. However, she also had to admit that after this incident, she was no longer so disgusted or afraid of the demons.

Bathed in moonlight, Chi happily hummed a melody no one else had ever heard before. Her long, high-tied hair fluttered in the wind, casting shadows like willow branches, making her look as dashing as a victorious general. This melody felt strangely familiar to Qiao Yanshen, like the moon reflected in the tide, gradually awakening her drowsiness and, together with the dim candlelight in the inn, helping her slowly relax.

Upon reaching the second floor, as they were about to return to their respective rooms, Shen Lixia stopped in the corridor and said with a smile, "Goodnight."

After she finished speaking, she deliberately repeated it in the direction of the demon.

Qiao Yanshen nodded and said softly, "Good night."

Chi merely shrugged, and only managed to squeeze out a sentence as the two were about to enter:

"......good evening."