Chapter 45
Chapter Forty-Five
The next morning, when the system cat woke up, Xiao Liunian was drinking tea and analyzing the current situation at a table. First, the court was relatively stable, and second, the war in the northern border was difficult, but they would not lose.
The deployment in various aspects of the eastern coastal area has begun to be implemented. There is the Shangguan family in the south. Only in the west, Xiao Liunian always felt that something was wrong during so many restarts. What secrets are still undiscovered in the west?
"Mumu, when did you get up?" The system cat lightly leaped off the bed, its agile movements bringing it to the table in the blink of an eye. Its fluffy head rubbed against Xiao Liunian's hand.
"Are you hungry yet?" Xiao Liunian enjoyed the feeling of touching the fluffy head. It's so wonderful to have a furry child!
"What do you want to eat?" The cat licked its paws, feeling that even though it was a system, it was becoming more and more like a real cat. But being a cat was pretty good. All it had to do every day was eat, sleep, play, and occasionally check the mission progress.
"It's almost lunchtime. I've already arranged for someone to bring the food to the tent later. Then we can find a place to camp, how about that?" Xiao Liunian symbolically asked the furry child for suggestions.
"Mmm-hmm." No one knows a child better than their mother, and sure enough, the fluffy head nodded eagerly.
In October, the chill in the air around Wuzhou was already quite noticeable. Xiao Liunian rode his bicycle against the wind, heading towards the vast horizon. Under the blue sky and white clouds, under the withered yellow grass, he, his cat, and his bicycle were all disheveled in the wind.
"Mumu, you seem to really like the grasslands!" the system transmitted. According to the system's observation, the host has been indifferent to everything for a long time and has almost nothing he likes. However, he would occasionally go out to ride horses when he came to Wuzhou last time, and he did the same this time.
"Probably. The vast and boundless grasslands always give people a feeling of freedom and unrestraint!" Long ago, when Xiao Liunian was still a forest dweller, he always wanted to ride horses on the grasslands and run to his heart's content, wandering freely.
It's just that I haven't had a chance to go yet. Now, as Xiao Liunian, it's a different kind of wish fulfillment. In this light, perhaps coming to Tianji Star does have some benefits.
Xiao Liunian rode forward and stopped at a place with mountains and water that was sheltered from the wind, letting the horse go to replenish its water and fill its belly.
Afterwards, Xiao Liunian found an open space, laid out a mat, and took out the food. The system's space had a heat preservation effect, so the food smelled pretty good. The two of them, one human and one cat, started eating.
"Delicious!" Indeed, the beef and mutton from Wuzhou are different from those from other places.
Xiao Liunian took out tea from his spatial storage. The tea was a bit cold, so Xiao Liunian used his internal energy to heat the teapot. Soon, steam rose from the spout.
The system cat beside it widened its eyes. Internal force can be used like this? However, the shocked expression only lasted for a second before it quickly withdrew. It would make the system seem too ignorant. Retract, retract.
Xiao Liunian smiled gently to the side, feeling relaxed and comfortable.
Fortunately, Xiao Liu's internal energy protected him, and although the system was a cat, it maintained a constant temperature. Otherwise, the grassland in October would have shown both of them the power of nature's cold.
After the man and the cat finished their meal, they resumed their relaxed lifestyle until the sunlight gradually dimmed and the stars and moon took turns illuminating the land. Xiao Liunian then gathered some firewood nearby and lit a bonfire.
The system then discovered a new skill in the host: perfect wilderness survival ability.
"Mumu, you're amazing!" You can do everything, you're incredible. If the wilderness survival system met Xiao Liunian, it would definitely be able to win without lifting a finger.
"Thank you for your flattery, System Master. I'll gladly accept it." Xiao Liunian expressed her gratitude to the furry child by giving it a good rub.
Xiao Liunian lay on the mat, resting his head on his arm, his right leg crossed over his left, his right foot dangling. The cat lay beside him, mimicking Xiao Liunian's posture. The two of them stared blankly at the moon and stars in the sky.
"Mumu, when will this war end?" asked the system cat, who was drowsy from swaying its legs.
“Starting in November, the temperature in Wuzhou will drop significantly, accompanied by snowfall, which will further increase the difficulty of marching and fighting.” Xiao Liunian turned the cat over, preparing to coax the furry child to sleep, and took out a blanket to cover the furry child.
"So the best way is to finish this quickly and end this war as soon as possible." The furry child wagged its tail leisurely, its sleepiness long gone.
“Yes, and I’m not the only one who thinks so.” Xiao Liunian took out a cat toy that had been specially modified.
"Besides the Wuzhou army, you've made other arrangements, haven't you?" The system felt cheated again; who could possibly be so cunning?
"So I can lie down for another day or two, then I'll have to work overtime again!" Xiao Liunian swung the cat toy around, patiently waiting for his furry friend to cooperate in playing games.
At first, the system cat refused Xiao Liunian's cat toy, but later it probably felt that since it was playing the role of a cat, it had to play it well, otherwise it would embarrass the system, so in the end it had a lot of fun.
Slowly, the firewood in the bonfire turned to ash, and the sun brought new warmth and light to the person and the cat.
Xiao Liunian woke up before the furry child, stretched and loosened his muscles in the direction of the sun. After a set of movements, the furry child was still not awake. Xiao Liunian sighed, "What a sleeping dog! It's so wonderful to be able to sleep in!"
Xiao Liunian sat cross-legged to the side and began to cultivate. Perhaps it was the power of the sun, but Xiao Liunian felt a sign that his power was about to increase significantly. Xiao Liunian activated the system monitoring function and continued to run the internal energy of the cultivation technique "Real Variable Function" in a cyclical manner.
Xiao Liunian modified this technique compared to the original version to make it more suitable for his own practice.
As the sun moved steadily from east to west, preparing to hand over its passage to the stars and moon, Xiao Liunian was still meditating, showing no signs of ending.
Meanwhile, the system cat had automatically finished eating the snacks in the system space, then took a nap, and then, feeling bored, studied some knowledge in the system channel.
Not long after learning the knowledge, Xiao Liunian finally finished his cultivation. The system cat breathed a sigh of relief. It's finally over. The learning can finally stop!
"Let's go, let's get something to eat first, then go back to camp." Xiao Liunian restored the place to its original state, then picked up the cat, mounted his horse, and the two headed towards the nearby market, where food should still be available for sale at this time.
"Mumu, meditation is very effective," the cat said affirmatively.
"Not bad. Thanks to the protection of the system cat, I'm sure I'll reach level 17 this time." Xiao Liunian guessed that even if the power she absorbed from others dissipated, her cultivation level wouldn't regress to level 16, but would remain at level 17.
After the man and the cat finished eating, they rode back to camp. Some soldiers in the camp were still conducting night training in the drill ground, striving to kill more enemies and increase their chances of survival in the upcoming battles.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" The man stopped Xiao Liunian in his tracks as he returned to camp.
"Your Highness, there's no need for such formalities!" The newcomer was none other than Cen Jin's eldest son, Cen Li, the heir apparent of the Prince of Zhenbei. He had not been present when the matter was discussed earlier, presumably because he was busy with important matters.
“Your Majesty, this is my memorial concerning matters related to mineral mining. In addition, I have discovered a coal mine by chance, and I intend to arrange for people to mine it.” Cen Li handed the memorial to Xiao Liunian.
Xiao Liunian opened the memorial and quickly browsed through it. It was clear that since Cen Li obtained the gold and silver mine distribution map, he had worked a lot of overtime. His employees were truly excellent!
"Your Highness has done a good job. As for the coal mine, what are your plans?" Xiao Liunian praised.
“There have been precedents for coal mining before, but on a small scale. This time, I plan to gather a large number of craftsmen to carry out large-scale mining. In addition to supplying the military, any surplus can be sold,” Cen Li said.
"I will send a message back, the Ministry of Works will send people, and folk craftsmen will be recruited. You can make the arrangements then," Xiao Liunian said.
Once coal mining technology matures, more derivative products will emerge, and perhaps the future development of Tianji Star will be in the direction of science and technology.
"By the way, how are you getting along with Lan Sa? If you two have made up your minds, I will grant you a marriage!" Xiao Liunian's bombshell really shocked the kid and Cen Li.
“Your Majesty! Your subject… Your subject…” Cen Li was a little flustered.
"This is a matter between me and Miss Lan. I need to go back and discuss it with Miss Lan."
"Thank you, Your Majesty! I take my leave!" Cen Li bowed and hurriedly left.
"Mumu, Cen Li and Lan Sa? The two of them?" After Cen Li left, it was finally the system cat's turn to be shocked.
"Yes, they are a very suitable couple!" Xiao Liunian had visited many times, and the two seemed to have a very stable relationship.
"Two people who are top earners are indeed a good match, but shouldn't compatible work skills make them excellent business partners? Romantic relationships should be complementary, right?" System Cat was a little puzzled.
"They should be considered a couple with both strong personalities," Xiao Liunian analyzed, based on what he had read in some books and materials.
“However, Thirteen!” Xiao Liunian called out, his tone clearly indicating his intention to gossip.
"Can the system fall in love? Have you ever been in love? Did you find me a son-in-law or daughter-in-law?" Xiao Liunian asked.
No, I don't think so!
"How is that possible!"
"With my abilities, who could possibly catch my eye!"
Xiao Liunian briefly gained a furry friend and a series of denials from the friend.
Xiao Liunian originally intended to tease the furry child, but he didn't expect that there might actually be a son-in-law or daughter-in-law. He wondered if the other one was a cat.
If so, I wonder if they can have kittens? If they can, Xiao Liunian will have at least three fluffy kittens, how wonderful!
"Really?" Xiao Liunian stared into the boy's eyes.
"No, there isn't!" In the blink of an eye, the furry child disappeared, refusing to continue the conversation about romance.
Seeing this, Xiao Liunian stopped teasing. Even pets have privacy, after all. As a responsible mother, Xiao Liunian decided to temporarily reduce her curiosity about her pet's love life.
Xiao Liunian turned around and went back to his tent. He tidied up and went to sleep. When he went to sleep, there was no furry thing beside him. Xiao Liunian regretted it a little. He should have known better than to ask. Now there was no furry thing beside him to pet.
I wonder which cat caught this confused cat.
In the middle of the night, a furry creature crawled out of the space and kicked Xiao Liunian's face hard. Xiao Liunian felt something on his face, reached out his right hand to scratch it, but did not wake up. He turned over and continued to sleep. Seeing this, the system cat found a place, chose a comfortable position, and started to sleep.
A while later, Xiao Liunian opened her eyes. Raising a pet is really not easy. Tomorrow, she'll make some delicious food and fun toys to coax it.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com