Chapter Thirty-Six: How Dare You Harbor Feelings for the Master

I ran all the way, feeling unbearably stifled inside, and before I knew it, I saw that statue.

Damn it!

Almost unable to control myself, I rushed forward, leapt onto its stone pedestal without a second thought, and stomped hard on its giant paw!

After stomping for a long time, I pouted, hugged its front paw, and began to cry.

“It’s all your fault, all your fault! You didn’t guard my bag, and Master found out! Now he’s punishing me, making me find fifty fetal souls… Waaa…”

Of course, the great statue remained silent, unmoving as ever.

But I couldn’t help myself; my claws scratched a few more marks into the stone as I clung to its enormous paw and sobbed.

“You didn’t watch over my treats! And Master is a terrible master too! You’re all big jerks, all of you!”

Like venting, I shouted at the statue for a good while, until suddenly a voice appeared.

“What are you doing?”

Startled, I looked around, quickly wiping the tears from the corners of my eyes so no one would notice.

Could it be that one who made me hop on one foot?

A figure gradually emerged from the grass, and I let out a sigh of relief.

“Fishball, why are you here…” Shouldn’t you be drinking with the Guardian Cats in their apartment? How do you have time…

“Are you unhappy?” Fishball squatted at the base of the stone pedestal, curled his paw slightly, signaling me to jump down.

I hesitated for a moment, then bit the statue in frustration again before jumping down to Fishball.

The statue was so hard, I couldn’t even make a dent, and I stuck out my tongue.

Fishball reached out and touched my head. “Your tooth?”

I licked my mouth. “Snapped it off.”

“You don’t want the other one either?”

“It was me biting it, but it didn’t come off, see?”

Fishball nodded. “I heard from the little cats guarding the hall for Master that you were punished. Need any help?”

“No.” I bit my tongue, extremely displeased.

“Why?” Fishball sounded genuinely puzzled. “They said you even asked Master if you could get help, and didn’t he say yes?”

“I don’t want it.” I looked at him, almost stubbornly defiant.

Master’s meaning was clear—if I didn’t finish gathering the fetal souls, I couldn’t return to the Rift. Wasn’t that just a way to send me off? I’ll treat it like a business trip! I don’t need anyone’s help!

Fishball sighed, as if wanting to say more, but in the end, said nothing.

I didn’t feel like prying—whatever he wanted to tell me was probably just more words of comfort, and I didn’t need to hear it all.

“I’m leaving.” Sniffling, I almost bolted away the moment I finished speaking.

Fishball stood behind me, silent and unmoving, watching me vanish.

A lone cat, I left the Rift, my mood heavy as I took one last look at the entrance, still feeling stifled.

I still couldn’t understand why I was suddenly punished with gathering fifty fetal souls for no reason, but I tried to be optimistic. There was no time limit, so who said I couldn’t have some fun while I was at it!

But then I remembered—I was desperate to return to human form! How could I waste time playing around!?

“Sigh—” I let out a long breath and sat down by the street.

Watching the passersby, I eyed their crotches, searching for any sign of heat.

I’d do as Jiang Taigong once did—wait for the willing ones to take the bait!

After half an hour, to my surprise, I actually found a pair: likely a kindergarten teacher and a man with a child.

After leaving the kindergarten, the teacher followed the man all the way to a hotel.

I followed them, watched as they got a room, saw the child settled in the living room, while the two adults disappeared into the bedroom to indulge in their affair.

I won’t describe the details—my spirits were far too low to bother watching. I just drooped my ears and listened.

Even when the low growls started, I was so slow to devour the fetal soul I nearly missed my chance.

I felt sad and listless.

But then I thought of Pei Mu—he was a terribly boring divine beast, yet he still found ways to amuse himself. Why shouldn’t I?

When I left the hotel, I noticed a crack in the bedroom door. It was the little one, barely two years old.

Mumbling unclearly, “Old West… Daddy…”

I pressed my lips together, looked back at the two sprawled naked on the bed, and sighed deeply.

In this world, unless you keep your own counsel, nothing is truly secret. Who would have thought that in the midst of an affair, a child might be watching from the shadows?

I only hoped that the teacher and the parent could show some restraint, lest their momentary desires destroy a family and a child.

I left, turning to search for a second fetal soul. The second came surprisingly easily—a couple reuniting after a long separation.

Watching their intimacy, I couldn’t help but recall the first pair.

These two kept cuddling and laughing, while the teacher from before, for all her passionate words, barely kissed her lover.

Her actions were more provocative, her expression lost in lust, unlike this couple, who smiled constantly. Even a simple caress would make them giggle and laugh, their lovemaking light and joyful.

Indeed, the feelings between spouses and those between secret lovers are different.

What does Master feel for me?

I pouted, listening to the woman say, “Honey, today’s my ovulation day. You’re rarely home… Let’s have a baby, okay?”

The man, in the throes of passion, frowned in thought before smiling and looking at her tenderly.

“All right.”

The woman smiled gently, saying nothing more.

After a long while, the man added, “If you really get pregnant, I’ll quit my job and stay home with you and the baby!”

I listened, strangely moved.

When the man finally roared, I was already at the bedside, but didn’t open my mouth.

Countless pale fetal souls burst from the man’s body, streaming into three places within the woman.

She arched her body, and as the souls returned, only a few drifted back. The majority remained within her, and I could see them gathering at her navel, seeping into her womb.

Soon, they would merge, becoming the soul of a child. She would probably see her dream come true—her family reunited.

As I turned to leave, the woman pointed at me with a smile, “Honey, look—a cat.”

Startled, I realized I’d been seen, and stared in alarm at the woman.

Her husband frowned again. “Must have slipped in when the door wasn’t closed. Looking for food.”

The woman smiled and nodded. “I’ve heard that after a long-separated couple makes love, seeing a cat means they’ll have a baby!”

The man kissed her eyelids. “You… You’re obsessed with having a child…”

I looked back at the entangled pair, smiled faintly, and walked away.

Today I felt so much. Before, when Master set a time limit, I only cared about eating. Now, with no deadline, I began to notice their behavior and motives.

After watching so many, it was all just mating, really, all for the same purpose—procreation.

Yet each act of procreation hides different motives.

That reminded me of the time Wangchuan teased me with my own tail.

What was his motive? Why did he do that?

I couldn’t figure it out, so I drooped my ears and kept walking, when suddenly I heard laughter.

It took a long time for me to realize, and then I raised my tail, lowered my body, and watched my surroundings warily.

“Hehehehehe—” Low laughter echoed around me.

At last, the laughter turned sharp and piercing: “Hahahahaha—”

Winds swept past my ears, chilling and real. It was as if someone was shrieking and yelling right beside me.

I could almost picture her, eyes blood-red, her expression filled with anguish and resentment.

“Come out… I know it’s you. Don’t try to scare me. I’m not afraid.”

After listening for so long, how could I not recognize her? She was the resentful ghost Fishball and I had met before.

“Ohohoho… Little white cat, you were so scared before, you ran away at once. Why aren’t you afraid this time?”

I watched as the woman gradually materialized before me, still utterly naked, her body a pale blue like ice, her face set in a seductive smile.

From the day she fled, I knew we would meet again someday.

“Little white cat…” The ghost’s legs suddenly turned to smoke, and she drifted toward me, sneering just before my face. “I can feel it—you’re full of resentment and anger, full of grievances… Why don’t you turn around now, climb that tall building, and jump?”

“Why?” I asked, looking up before she could finish, my eyes clear and fearless.

“Because you don’t want to live anymore! You spirit cats, your flesh, bones, and hearts are destroyed in an instant, and your souls are devoured. It’s a clean death—no more endless suffering, no more half-life torment. Isn’t that wonderful?”

“A clean death…” I repeated her words softly, realizing she was trying to influence me, just as she’d tried with Fishball.

“That’s right! Jump from that building, and you’ll leave your master forever! Your soul will be your own, no more bondage, no more punishment, no more resentment, no more grievances!”

Her voice, sharp and coaxing, pierced my ears—I admit, I was tempted.

But what do I truly feel for Master?

Is it like Ningning and the others, who fell for him without even realizing it?

Yes… Otherwise, I wouldn’t feel so down just because he punished me.

Before, even when I was punished, I never felt like this.

The more I thought about it, the more startled I became. Had I, without realizing it, fallen for my master?

Fishball once said that all cats who love their master are courting their own doom. So what will happen to me? What can I do?

Will I always be bullied by him like this? Forever trapped in this half-life?

But now I’m a Guardian Cat—in three years, I’ll have to leave the Rift and return to the human world. When that time comes, where will I go? What will become of me?