Chapter Ninety-One: I've Stirred Up Big Trouble

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Everything seemed so fresh and new, yet for some reason, I felt a bit dizzy and sleepy. I forced myself to stay alert, watching as the little cats placed the bottles one by one around the altar. The bottles were beautiful, emitting tiny flickers of light like fireflies, dazzling my eyes. But as I stared at those twinkling souls, I realized I was probably about to fall asleep—I could even see double images!

Quickly, I scratched my head with my paw to snap myself back to focus. The ritual was truly beginning. After nodding to each other, the little cats pulled out the stoppers from the jars! Countless souls poured out, those tiny sparkling points that once belonged to humans, destined from this day forward to no longer be reincarnated.

I’ve always thought this was cruel—no matter what a person did in life, or how much virtue or kindness they accumulated, in the end, all would be swallowed by the River of Forgetfulness, dissipating everything, with no past and no future.

But Yu Bao explained to me that life and death are governed by fate and destiny. These souls have existed for millions of years, and when one soul is lost, another fills its place. Over countless millennia, the underworld has lost more than one soul. A human life is just a lifetime—born without memories, leaving with nothing.

Therefore, regardless of reincarnation or the accumulation of virtue, it’s all futile. In the end, nothing is remembered. Each life cycle is an independent existence, disconnected from past or future lives.

This explanation pained me deeply, yet strangely also brought a measure of relief. I don’t know why—perhaps because I am a woman and tend to overthink—I feel the River of Forgetfulness’s actions are sinful. But Yu Bao’s words helped me relax somewhat.

Moreover, Yu Bao told me that deep within the underworld is a swamp that produces souls. These souls emerge blank, live an ordinary first life, and then choose to do good or evil. No one teaches them; each life is independent and follows a unique path. So when the second life begins, the person is no longer the same as before—everyone changes to some degree.

Souls, like most creatures, follow the law of the jungle—survival of the fittest. Some demons must consume souls to grow. Even if the River of Forgetfulness doesn’t eat them, other monsters will.

The soul-producing swamp of the underworld has never ceased for millions of years, meaning each soul has a final life and will not exist eternally.

As the souls floated away, my mind wandered. Suddenly, my head drooped!

“Hey!” A sudden paw slap jolted me awake.

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I saw Yu Bao standing beside me, looking at me nervously. The message was clear—how could I bow my head and almost fall asleep in such a moment? Was I heartless or what?

Feeling embarrassed, I straightened up quickly, but a wave of nausea swept through me, my mouth bitter. It wasn’t just sleepiness—I felt utterly unwell. Was this a lingering effect from losing the baby? Why only today? Was I too tense?

I tried to relax and took a deep breath, only to notice the River of Forgetfulness watching me from the stage.

Anxiety surged through me.

He glanced at me, and suddenly every bone in my body seemed to freeze in place. Why was he looking at me so boldly, without a hint of avoidance even though I had caught him?

Well, now we had nothing to do with each other. It was normal for him to observe me.

I didn’t expect the man before me to feel awkward upon seeing me again after all this time.

If anyone should feel awkward, it was me. So I quickly lowered my head and stopped looking at him, focusing instead on my two fluffy paws.

Before I knew it, the River of Forgetfulness withdrew his gaze, and the souls had almost all dispersed.

Unlike the first time when they were released freely, this place seemed sealed by him—souls could only drift out of the jars and move around inside the room.

A mist suddenly enveloped the space, as if something was cloaking it. Darkness gradually fell, and all I could see were those flickering souls ahead.

With a soft pop, strange formations linked beneath our feet!

I nervously moved my paws, as did the other little cats. Yu Bao seemed calm, having heard of this before, but Xiao Yun and the newly arrived cats panicked, moving wildly.

I almost forgot—Xiao Mi was not here. Xiao Mi’s current task was soul hunting, also entrusted to Yu Bao. She didn’t need to risk herself as a guarding cat anymore, only to remain a soul-settling cat, since guarding cats maintain balance for the River of Forgetfulness’s soul-shaping.

Xiao Mi was pregnant, different from the others, unable to maintain this delicate balance, so she couldn’t join.

The darkness deepened as the souls began gathering around the River of Forgetfulness.

Soul shaping seemed simple. Though I was nervous, it ultimately felt no different than watching him quietly eat a meal.

At first, the souls lined up to approach his body and were absorbed. Eventually, they swarmed eagerly, as if desperate to be consumed.

The process was neither long nor short.

Several little cats, including myself, gradually relaxed from previous nervousness.

Though the ritual sounded solemn, it was more like the River of Forgetfulness quietly enjoying a meal.

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We stood by simply to ensure the meal’s nutritional balance. If nothing happened, we might not even be needed.

During this dull wait, I stared at the little stars and felt drowsy again.

This time, as sleepiness overtook me, I shook my head hard, forcing myself to stay awake and go home to rest.

But again and again, it was as if sleep had caught hold of me, and eventually, with a soft thud, I drifted into a confused slumber.

Though asleep, I could still faintly see.

It was as if my will remained, struggling to stay awake while my body surrendered, with my eyes barely lifting the veil to glimpse the surroundings.

I saw the other little cats panic as they looked at me, but I had no strength even to raise a paw.

I was asleep, my body paralyzed as if unconscious or numb.

In the haze, I heard a tremendous roar, like a thousand lions and tigers howling together, shaking the little cats around.

Then, an object glowing with dark purple light suddenly appeared above the altar!

It was wrapped in arcs of black light. As soon as it appeared, it whipped up a violent wind, roaring thunder, lightning, and the terrified screams of the little cats—deafening!

The altar trembled violently! Everything beneath its feet shattered! The massive claws crackled with black energy and lightning as they struck the ground, cracking the altar as if a mountain had collapsed, scattering stones everywhere!

“Oh no, oh no!” Several little cats shouted loudly nearby.

“Quick, protect the master!” Rebecca darted out with a whoosh!

Was that the River of Forgetfulness…? I squinted through my foggy vision, trying to see clearly.

But my numbness worsened, my eyes barely opening, and I could no longer hear the panic around me.

Rebecca stood before me, blocking my path, trembling as if bearing some immense burden.

“Roar—!!!”

She howled, her scream like thunder exploding in my ears, blood spurting inexplicably from her mouth.

In my final view, I saw the vague shape of a colossal beast erupting violently, engulfed in terrifying flames and lightning. After a mighty roar, it collapsed with a thunderous crash.

The wind gradually subsided. The little cat before me collapsed with a soft thud, unconscious like me…