CH 11

Chapter 11: Apologies and Reconciliation

The ebony-colored fur of Wu Mu clumped together, and the tension in his hind legs made him involuntarily scratch, but as soon as he saw the person's face clearly, he immediately froze.

The black triangular ears flicked back, and the person turned his face slightly, speaking with a hint of awkwardness, "Why have you come, sir?"

Ao Yu's long eyelashes fluttered slightly, and he maintained his composure as he replied, "I'm afraid you'll cause trouble, so I've come to take you back."

Wu Mu raised an eyebrow suspiciously and looked at him, saying, "Do you really care about me?"

The round cat eyes scanned the man in black clothing and then realized, "I know! You've come to find Xu Liu to avenge Yun Zhao! Hmph, it seems you care a lot about that mountain spirit!"

Ao Yu's figure paused for a moment, raising the black kitten to eye level, and the faint golden pupils made Wu Mu inexplicably uneasy.

Wu Mu averted his gaze and struggled with his ears, "What are you doing... put me down quickly!"

"Alright."

Ao Yu curved his lips, preparing to casually throw the cat onto the stack of firewood from before.

"No, no, no!"

As soon as the black tail touched the damp firewood, it curled up and retreated into Ao Yu's embrace, held tightly by his four paws.

Wu Mu didn't want to be covered in moldy ash again, so he quickly pleaded in a low voice, "I was wrong... I was wrong! Sir, you've come to take me back!"

Ao Yu brought Wu Mu back in front of him and turned his head to look at the kitchen, asking, "What have you done?"

Wu Mu grinned, his whiskers trembling, and he leaned his little head closer to Ao Yu's ear, explaining the mischievous things he had done.

"If you dare to cause trouble, be prepared to face the consequences!"

Wu Mu appeared quite righteous. Since Yun Zhao's cooking suited his taste, helping him vent his frustrations would also please Luo Xue. Perhaps this way, they could mend things with the crybaby?

Ao Yu glanced at the mischievous black cat and nodded approvingly, then lifted the cat and turned, disappearing into the rain and mist.

...

Inside Yuming Mountain, when Yun Zhao woke up, he didn't see Ao Yu around. He had to get up on his own and woke up Luo Xue, who was still half-asleep, so they could wash up together.

Luo Xue snuggled softly in Yun Zhao's arms, half awake, and rubbed his eyes with his front paws, continuing the story of how he used to be teased by Wu Mu before falling asleep.

Yun Zhao held a redwood comb, gently smoothing his fluffy fur that had gotten tousled from sleep, occasionally responding with a sound to indicate that he was listening.

The system was quite enthusiastic and came up with an idea: [Host, since this little cat is so good at storytelling, why not have him by your side when you set up your stall? You'll have plenty of customers!]

Yun Zhao was taken aback, "What? People would actually listen?"

The system sighed in frustration, [Don't you understand the concept of artistic presentation?]

With that, the system coughed lightly, and the electronic voice automatically transformed into the voice of a popular TV show host, [Born a hundred years ago, my heartless master treated me as air, and my twin brother treated me like a toy. Every time I resisted, it only resulted in even more torment! This time, I will definitely win! Just for fifty spiritual stones, listen to me tell my revenge plan!]

The system was proud, [How about that?]

Yun Zhao: "..." He couldn't believe it, but he was actually getting interested!

"Meow!"

Seeing that Yun Zhao's hand stopped combing, Luo Xue tilted his head and rubbed against his palm with his furry head.

Yun Zhao snapped back to reality and continued providing the grooming service. Just then, the door opened.

He looked towards the sound and was slightly surprised.

The rain outside hadn't stopped, and the misty rain followed the person into the room.

Ao Yu was dressed in black, with raindrops still lingering on his handsome face. Backlit, his figure was outlined with attractive contours.

Carrying the elegant fragrance of post-rain magnolias, a delicate floral scent wafted through the air, mingling with the earthy smell of rain-soaked soil, blending into the bittersweet aroma of plants.

Yun Zhao was momentarily stunned, instinctively pausing his actions without uttering a word.

Today, he witnessed something that seemed divine.

"Meow... Sorry, can you put me down first?"

Wu Mu's dissatisfied voice broke the sudden silence in the room.

Yun Zhao regained his composure, but before he could speak, Ao Yu raised his hand and tossed the black cat onto the carpet.

In an instant, a flash of light appeared, and the black-clad youth disappeared, replaced by a small silver-white dragon.

Ao Yu shook off the water droplets from his paw, sprawled on his own cushion, and rested his head on his tail with half-closed eyes.

Yun Zhao stood up and picked up Wu Mu, only now noticing that he was covered in dust and had a faint musty smell.

He couldn't help but wonder, "Where did you go off to?"

Wu Mu hmphed a couple of times, and in the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Luo Xue on the bed.

Luo Xue turned his face away, avoiding his gaze, and Wu Mu, seeing this, stubbornly refused to make a sound.

Yun Zhao sighed and moistened a handkerchief with water. He held it out towards Wu Mu.

Being naturally averse to water, Wu Mu tensed up, instinctively wanting to evade, but Yun Zhao swiftly grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.

Wu Mu kept his little face stiff, eyes closed, but the damp sensation didn't come.

He sneakily opened his eyes and saw Yun Zhao wringing out the handkerchief. Gently, he wiped the dusty fur, and with a mahogany comb, he untangled the knots and removed the dirt from the fur.

Yun Zhao extracted the last tiny piece of wood chip from the fur and asked again, "Where did you go?"

Wu Mu, being cleaned and feeling comfortable all over, met Yun Zhao's concerned eyes. With his ears flattened behind, he muttered, "Went... to find Xu Liu..."

The unexpected answer made Luo Xue turn her head and redirect her gaze.

Yun Zhao was surprised, "Why did you look for him? You weren't hurt, were you?"

Saying that, he lifted Wu Mu and kept examining him in his arms.

Tickled by Yun Zhao's actions, Wu Mu shook his four paws and used his front paws to embrace Yun Zhao's hand, gently biting his fingertips a few times.

Then, somewhat embarrassed, he said, "Just... went to teach him a lesson. But don't worry! I wasn't discovered, oh!"

Afraid that Yun Zhao wouldn't believe him, he added, "Lord Ao Yu was worried that I would cause trouble, so he brought me back! Right, Lord Ao Yu?"

Ao Yu responded indifferently, "Hmm."

Yun Zhao rubbed the cat's head, "I'm not worried that you'll be discovered. Even if your spiritual power isn't low, don't engage in risky activities. Both Luo Xue and I would worry."

"He wouldn't worry about me..."

Wu Mu bumped his head against Yun Zhao's chest, softly complaining.

Yun Zhao quickly noticed what was bothering Wu Mu. He picked up the black cat and turned around to retrieve the small rabbit plush toy.

The torn ears had been sewn back together by Yun Zhao with needle and thread, and he even stuffed some shredded fabric inside to make the plush toy fuller and more three-dimensional.

He placed the small rabbit plush toy between the two cats, one black and one white, and said, "This is the first toy I gave to Luo Xue, so he cares about it so much."

Wu Mu was momentarily stunned, lowered his head guiltily, and played with the rabbit plush toy, flicking its ears with his paw.

Wu Mu always thought of himself as an immortal cat with a long lifespan, living carefree on the immortal mountain with humans, but he forgot that his younger brother didn't have the same carefree nature as him.

He crouched down, ears flattened back, and apologized softly to Luo Xue, "I'm sorry."

Yun Zhao turned his head towards Luo Xue again and said, "You see, Wu Mu knows he was wrong. His face wound hasn't even healed, yet he went alone to find Xu Liu to vent for me..."

"Mew..." Wu Mu softened his body and rolled on the spot, showcasing his weak physique and the bright red scar on his face.

Luo Xue turned his head and looked over, letting out a soft meow, but then lowered his head and remained silent.

Seeing that Luo Xue still refused to look at him, Wu Mu stopped his movements and stood up, squatting down. His ears drooped on top of his head, showing his despondence.

Could his stupid brother be breaking ties with him?

The more Wu Mu thought about it, the more scared he became. Just as his cat eyes brimmed with tears, a snowy white tail stretched out in front of him.

Wu Mu exclaimed, "!"

With tearful eyes, he looked up and saw Luo Xue looking straight at him, his tail swaying from side to side in front of him.

Wu Mu cautiously touched it with his front paw, then lowered his head and tentatively gave it a gentle lick. He nervously raised his head afterwards.

Seeing that Luo Xue didn't retract his tail, Wu Mu happily purred, pounced over, and hugged Luo Xue in his arms, blissfully licking his fur.

The black tail intertwined with the white one, swaying joyfully.

Yun Zhao, seeing the two little brothers reconciled, also let go of his worries. He turned around intending to thank Ao Yu, but he found that he had fallen asleep on the soft cushion.

He gently touched the jade-like scales on Ao Yu's back, then covered the little dragon with a blanket and turned to the kitchen.

Although he said not to bother Wu Mu, he had searched for the cat all night. He must be exhausted and needs a good rest!

In the kitchen, while rummaging through ingredients, he suddenly remembered the promise he made to the system last night. He then opened the store in his mind.

The system excitedly greeted the customer, [Dear host, have you decided what you want to buy?]

While browsing through the new products, Yun Zhao asked, "Why weren't these things available before?"

The system explained, [With the revival of the spiritual energy in Yuming Mountain, the store's products will be as abundant as those in the mortal world's supermarket!]

Yun Zhao was astonished, "So that's how it is."

He clicked on the Yuming Mountain icon and found that Luo Xue's satisfaction was almost full, while Wu Mu's was steadily increasing and was close to fifty percent.

No wonder there are so many new good things in the store!

Yun Zhao cheerfully placed an order for a set of oven utensils, and the system excitedly cheered as it swiftly brought the oven out from its spatial storage and even thoughtfully installed it in the kitchen.

Yun Zhao looked at the thing in front of him, resembling the alchemy furnace of the Supreme Lord, with a puzzled expression. "Is this supposed to be an oven? It seems a bit off..."

The system's disdain was hard to hide: [Host, the Lingxu Realm is still a part of the immortal realm, and I made some minor modifications to blend in with the local customs.]

Yun Zhao touched the oven in the shape of an alchemy furnace and asked, "Minor modifications?"

The system coughed lightly, [Just the appearance is different, but the usage is the same.]

Yun Zhao understood and accepted the oven.

The system eagerly wanted to continue its sales pitch, but unfortunately, Yun Zhao was not receptive. After flipping through the recipes that came with the oven, he confidently stated that he could figure it out himself and didn't need any additional intellectual assistance.

The system was annoyed and gritted its teeth. Sometimes, having a host with strong hands-on abilities wasn't necessarily a good thing.

The system grumbled unhappily, [So, has the host decided what to make?]

Yun Zhao pushed open the window and called his team of bunny workers. Hearing the system's question, he proudly raised his eyebrows.

"Of course, I've decided!"