CH 8

Chapter 8: Contentment without Thinking of Home

In the room, Ao Yu's entire dragon body was immersed in soft pillows. He had slept the entire day and wasn't feeling particularly sleepy at the moment. He turned over, swaying his silver tail to pass the time.

"Ao Yu!"

With a "bang," the door was pushed open, and Ao Yu turned his head to see Yun Zhao, wearing a thin robe, entering.

His ink-black long hair was loose, and water droplets fell from the tips, forming a small puddle of color on the carpet.

Yun Zhao's thin clothing still carried some warmth and moisture from the hot spring, fitting snugly against his chest, outlining a pleasing silhouette. Between the folds of his clothes, a faint protrusion could be seen.

For some reason, Ao Yu thought of the snowy peaks of Yunming Mountain, covered in blooming red plum blossoms. His jade-like, warm dragon horns turned red in an instant.

No shame!

Ao Yu buried his head in the soft pillow, intending to scold this audacious little mountain spirit, but before he could speak, Yun Zhao lifted his entire head in his hands.

Ao Yu watched as those soft lips approached closer and closer, and the moist and warm breath sprayed onto his dragon horns. Ao Yu's dragon claws involuntarily curled up, and he instinctively closed his eyes.

He heard Yun Zhao saying, "Ao Yu! Luo Xue has turned into a human form!"

"?"

Ao Yu opened his eyes unhappily, only to see Yun Zhao's face filled with disbelief. He gestured excitedly, "The Luo Xue fell from the basin, and then I went to retrieve it, only to find a child... he still had ears and a tail..."

As he spoke, Yun Zhao made two gestures on his own head. "He had cat ears!"

Ao Yu: "..."

Ao Yu didn't know what he was expecting just now and embarrassedly buried his head in the pillow.

Yun Zhao tilted his head in confusion and asked, "Ao Yu? What's wrong with you?"

A muffled sound came from Ao Yu, buried in the soft pillow, "You're so clueless. He's a spirit cat, of course, he could shapeshift!"

"Oh, I see..." Yun Zhao murmured. He had thought that Snow would always remain a little cat.

Lost in his thoughts, Yun Zhao suddenly slapped his forehead, realizing that he had been so shocked that he had left Luo Xue in the bathroom.

Yun Zhao hurriedly rushed back to the bathroom, only to find the white-haired, cat-eared child soaking in the warm spring, with a little rubber duck on his head.

Upon seeing Yun Zhao return, Luo Xue's round, watery eyes regained their sparkle, and he reached out his tender little hand, calling out with a pitiful tone, "Big brother, I want a hug..."

The cat spirit had spent decades under the care of Sage Kongming, growing from a small cat into a young child. Despite consuming many precious materials, he still showed no signs of transformation.

While Sage Kongming didn't say much, he would sigh and shake his head, looking at Luo Xue with a hint of disappointment.

He thought that he would never be able to transform. However, just a moment ago, a warm sensation flowed from his lower abdomen to his entire body, and he suddenly had the idea of transforming.

But as soon as he transformed, his gentle brother Yun Zhao ran away!

"Come here, let big brother pick you up."

Yun Zhao picked up a clean towel and gently wiped the water off the child's body. As he helped him get dressed, Yun Zhao heard the child ask softly, "Big brother, is my human form ugly?"

Yun Zhao raised his head in surprise. The child Luo Xue had transformed into was beautiful, with clear eyebrows and bright, round cat eyes. Anyone who saw him couldn't help but want to pinch his little face.

Yun Zhao said, "How could you not look good? Snow, you are the cutest!"

"But..." Snow shook his head, kicking his chubby little feet in the water, causing ripples in the reflection. His eyes showed some confusion.

"I heard the powerful spirits in the mountains say that whether in original form or human form, one should be tall and mighty. But they said that when I sit up, I look like two steamed buns..."

Yun Zhao: "..."

He dried Luo  Xue's hair and patiently corrected his perception, "You are a spirit cat. When you grow up into a big cat, they won't make fun of you anymore."

After much persuasion, Yun Zhao finally managed to bring a smile back to Luo Xue's wrinkled little face.

He carried Luo Xue in his arms and took him back to the divine beast dormitory, where Luo Xue had fallen asleep in his embrace.

The small bed made of bamboo wouldn't be suitable, so Yun Zhao spent 500 spirit stones at the marketplace to purchase the "Exquisite Baby Crib."

The powder-white intricately carved stool was adorned with a thick, soft quilt, and a few cat-shaped pillows were arranged around it. Yun Zhao expressed great satisfaction with the setup.

After Yun Zhao finished arranging the bed and settling Luo Xue in, he heard a series of "ding-ding-dong" sounds from the system: [Congratulations to the spirit cat cub, Luo Xue, on successfully transforming! You have been rewarded with 500 spirit stones!]

The system further notified: [The satisfaction level of the spirit cat, Luo Xue, has reached 50%. The Yunming Mountain spiritual vein system will provide double spiritual power. Please continue to maintain it, host!]

Yun Zhao opened the system's interface and indeed saw that the progress bar representing Luo Xue, the small cat icon, was already halfway filled.

"You are truly an easy-to-please little cat," Yun Zhao remarked while looking at the sleeping Luo Xue, who held a small bunny plushie. He couldn't resist poking Luo Xue's soft cheek before getting up to go to his own room to sleep.

The next morning, Ao Yu leisurely stretched his body, rolling over and letting out an unrefined yawn.

He turned his head to look at the still sleeping Yun Zhao. The little mountain spirit seemed to be lost in his dreams, with faint red marks at the corners of his eyes.

Ao Yu stared at Yun Zhao for a while, gradually narrowing his golden eyes, and then playfully flicked his tail onto Yun Zhao's face.

"Mmm..." Yun Zhao rubbed his face, emitting a few grunts like a pig before resuming his sleep.

Ao Yu propped up his head and leaned closer, his gaze fixed on Yun Zhao's blushing cheek. He silently observed him for a while, then lowered his head and licked...

When Yun Zhao woke up, Ao Yu was resting his head on the tea table. The trembling small black rabbit had poured a cup of tea for him and held the teacup with its furry paws, bringing it to Ao Yu's lips.

Seeing Yun Zhao waking up, the small black rabbit let out a relieved breath, put down the teacup, and quickly went out to tend to the fields.

"Are you hungry?"

After Yun Zhao finished tidying up, he placed Ao Yu on his shoulder. Ao Yu didn't respond; he simply rubbed his itchy dragon horn against Yun Zhao's temple.

Yun Zhao immediately understood what the little dragon meant and went to the kitchen after getting dressed.

He had bought a lot of pork at the market yesterday. He took a piece of lard and cut it into small chunks, adding water and simmering it. The snow-white fat gradually reduced to golden oil residue, filling the kitchen with a delightful aroma.

Yun Zhao pinched a small piece and blew on it cautiously before offering it to Ao Yu's mouth.

Ao Yu turned his head disdainfully, avoiding it. How could he eat the residue from simmered fat?

Seeing him constantly evading, Yun Zhao directly stuffed it into the little dragon's mouth. "It tastes delicious. Give it a try."

Audaciously daring! He dared to put anything in his own mouth!

Ao Yu held onto the piece of oil residue, chewed it twice, paused briefly, and then swallowed it.

"I didn't deceive you, did I?" Yun Zhao knew from his silence that it suited his taste.

Ao Yu ignored him but his tail swayed slightly, intermittently patting Yun Zhao's back as if urging him to cook faster.

Yun Zhao didn't waste any more time. He directly fried a fish bone, added water and lard to simmer it into a fragrant porridge, and then added fish slices and shredded ginger to simmer over a gentle flame.

While waiting for the porridge, Yun Zhao took a cabbage from the spirit field and tore it into small pieces before tossing it into the pan with the oil residue, stir-frying them together.

The delicate aroma of the cabbage mingled with the rich fragrance of the oil, attracting a few curious rabbits who poked their heads near the kitchen door.

Observing this, Yun Zhao prepared extra portions and invited them all to have their meal in the courtyard of the divine beast dormitory.

Luo Xue had just learned to transform, but being young, he still struggled to control his spiritual power, with his white cat ears and tail still visible.

Yun Zhao didn't have suitable clothes for young children, so he reluctantly spent 500 spirit stones at the market to buy a few sets as backups for him.

Despite his young age, Luo Xue had an unexpectedly voracious appetite. He drank four or five bowls of fish slice porridge from a large basin.

Luo Xue licked the corners of his mouth. When he lived on Mount Yuming with the Kongming True Immortal, the disciples conveniently fed him raw meat. Over time, even the tenderest meat failed to stimulate his appetite.

Ao Yu silently muttered, "Silly cat," and swished his tail, lowering his head to elegantly enjoy the fish slice porridge Yun Zhao fed him. As a divine beast, he believed that eating should be as graceful as he was.

Meanwhile, the Kongming True Immortal felt restless in the Floating Immortal Mountain.

He typically traveled outside and paid little attention to the spirits and creatures under his care. However, once they were entrusted to someone else, he couldn't help but worry.

The young lord of the dragon clan had always had a bad temper. The Kongming True Immortal feared that Luo Xue would be mistreated and also worried that he would be forgotten if Luo Xue became too happy.

Kongming recalled the words Yun Zhao had said to him that day. If given another chance, Luo Xue probably wouldn't choose to return to the mountain with him...

"I wonder if Luo Xue still remembers me..." The Kongming sighed, standing under the banyan tree with his hands behind his back.

A black cat head emerged from the dense foliage. The golden cat eyes narrowed as they stared at the back of the Kongming True Immortal. The cat crouched down, held its breath, and then propelled itself with a powerful push of its hind legs, leaping directly onto the Kongming's head!

"What... What is this!" The Kongming True Immortal felt a weight on his head, and fuzzy paws blocked his line of sight, causing him to become flustered.

"Meow!"

"Wu Mu!"

As the Kongming True Immortal pulled the black cat down, his head had already been scratched into a messy bird's nest by Wu Mu.

Wu Mu was held in place by his front paws, looking fearless as he glanced at the Kongming True Immortal, pitifully meowing a few times with his head tilted.

The Kongming True Immortal instantly softened. This black cat, Wu Mu, had been found together with Luo Xue. However, their temperaments were worlds apart. Wu Mu ran wild everywhere in the mountains and was rarely seen even once a year.

Playfulness was a cat's nature, and after thinking it over, the Kongming decided to let him go.

Wu Mu regained his freedom with his front paws and immediately licked his messy fur near his mouth. He secretly glanced at the Kongming and then, taking advantage of his inattention, leaped up and playfully swatted his nose with a paw.

"Wu Mu!" Kongming angrily tried to catch him again. "You little beast!"

Wu Mu dodged left and right, his eyes filled with excitement as if he were enjoying this playful encounter.

After the Kongming True Immortal missed several attempts, he grew tired and leaned against the banyan tree to rest. Wu Mu then leaped lightly onto Kongming's shoulder, his black tail swaying in front of his chest.

"Old man, where did Luo Xue go?" Wu Mu asked.

The Kongming True Immortal took a breath and looked at the black cat on his shoulder, forming a plan in his mind.

...

It had only been a few days since the last visit to Mount Yuming, and Kongming felt that the air there was a bit purer.

"Old man, is Luo Xue really here?"

Restlessly, the black cat in his arms used its paws to tug at Kongming's beard, asking curiously.

Kongming winced in pain, impatiently grabbing the troublesome ancestor. "Yes, he's here!"

The Kongming True Immortal arrived at the entrance of the main hall but didn't see Yun Zhao. The little rabbit spirits surrounded him, chattering away, "Master Yun Zhao and the others went to the back mountain!"

"The back mountain?"

The Kongming True Immortal, with Wu Mu still in his arms, followed the rabbits as they made their way to the back mountain. Upon reaching the area of falling flowers and drooping willows, he gently brushed aside the hanging branches and was immediately struck with astonishment.

Yun Zhao stooped down, firmly gripped a fully grown cabbage, and with a powerful twist, snapped it off before casually tossing it behind him.

The cat-eared child caught the thrown cabbage, emitting a soft grunting sound as he carefully placed it into a large bamboo basket carried by the rabbits.

The more Kongming looked, the more something seemed amiss. This child, with mud stains covering his face, appeared to be the same cat cub from his own home that had not undergone transformation for decades!

************

Tl's note: Naughty dragon! hehe...