Cat Demon Raising Manual - Chapter 6

Lin Zhixuan noticed that the kitten she had picked up was somewhat unusual. She had no experience raising cats and wasn’t a veterinarian, but based on her years of medical expertise, she even began to suspect that Mimi might be a specially modified creature, altered illegally.

The speed at which Mimi’s wounds were healing was far too abnormal.

Moreover, Mimi was excessively clever.

She seemed to understand human speech, knew how to open doors, and would meow after using the litter box to signal that it needed cleaning. Her favorite pastime was sneaking onto the balcony to eavesdrop on the neighbors’ gossip, all while wreaking havoc on Lin Zhixuan’s spider plants.

Hua Wangxuan, under Lin Zhixuan’s scrutinizing gaze, pretended to be oblivious. She was overjoyed, her demonic powers hadn’t vanished and were working hard to repair her damaged body. Aside from the silly-looking cone around her neck and the unpalatable food, everything was going well.

The bed the “ugly woman” had prepared for her was incredibly comfortable, making her instinctively knead it as if she were back with her mother.

The “ugly woman” was also gentle and knew her boundaries, unlike other humans who couldn’t resist touching her the moment they saw her, presumptuously petting her head as if they were old friends.

Lately, the “ugly woman” hadn’t been going out to hunt, and Hua Wangxuan suspected she might have lost her job.

But the constant appearance of new and unfamiliar objects in the house puzzled Hua Wangxuan. For instance, the feather in front of her, which carried the scent of a small bird, stirred her primal instincts, and she naturally reached out a paw to catch it.

It was too easy. After just a few pounces, Hua Wangxuan lost interest.

The “ugly woman’s” eyes seemed to flicker with disappointment, but she still smiled and praised her for her agility and swift recovery.

Bored, Hua Wangxuan flicked her tail. It had previously been bandaged into a stiff, awkward shape, which had infuriated her.

Although she had always had a habit of nibbling on her tail, it was, after all, a part of her body. How could it be made to look so ugly and emit such a nauseating smell?

The woman truly had no taste. Fortunately, the situation didn’t last long. After just a few days, the woman removed the bandages and even stared at her tail for a long time.

The day her tail was freed, she couldn’t help but cry.

Not out of longing, but because it was so ugly it brought her to tears.

Where had her fluffy, smooth tail gone? Where was her beautiful fur? What evil thief had stolen her coat?

Hua Wangxuan only remembered that on the day of her tribulation, she had caught a whiff of a charred, savory scent and had drooled all over the place.

Probably… it had been scorched off by the heavenly lightning tribulation.

Damn heavens, jealous of her beauty!

Hua Wangxuan grumbled under her breath, unaware that Lin Zhixuan’s gaze had grown more intense as she thoughtfully observed her every move.

Lin Zhixuan put her plan to find an adopter on hold. She was worried that this little cat might pose an unpredictable threat to others.

Her intuition told her that Hua Wangxuan was not as simple as she seemed, but the kitten’s baffling yet adorable antics also made her laugh.

“It’s just a slightly unusual cat,” her rational side reassured her.

At that moment, Lin Zhixuan watched as Hua Wangxuan climbed onto her wine cabinet. Seeing her twitch her pink nose and sniff incessantly, she couldn’t help but step forward to intervene, “Mimi, that’s all alcohol in there. It’s not food for you.”

Hua Wangxuan cast a disdainful glance at Lin Zhixuan. Was there anything here she couldn’t touch? This entire house had been marked by her scent, on her territory, she could do whatever she pleased. Even that plain-faced devotee of hers couldn’t stifle her adventurous spirit.

As she stood on tiptoe to pry open the hanging cabinet, her paws closed around a bottle of liquor. But the surface was too slick, offering no grip, and it slipped from her grasp, tumbling downward.

Lin Zhixuan strode forward in a panic, catching Hua Wangxuan as if cradling a falling moonbeam.

Hua Wangxuan wriggled a few times, cats are liquid, after all, and flowed out of Lin Zhixuan’s hands. Seeing the shattered bottle scattered like a sky full of stars, a flicker of guilt crossed her eyes. But then she caught the sweet fragrance drifting in the air and let out a righteous meow.

How dare they hide such delicious treats and not share with her! So stingy! She always made a point of sharing the geckos she caught from the ceiling with that plain-faced woman.

Even though the woman always cruelly tossed aside her thoughtful offerings of gecko snacks.

What a waste of good food!

The amber liquor spread into a small puddle on the tiles. Enticed by the delightful aroma, Hua Wangxuan couldn’t resist the urge to take a lick. Just as she lowered her head, all four of her paws suddenly lifted off the ground.

How infuriating! That plain-faced woman was trampling on her freedom again!

Hua Wangxuan squirmed in Lin Zhixuan’s grasp. Lin’s cool voice lowered slightly, carrying a hint of authority: “Naughty kitty, you can’t drink this. It could kill you.”

Next thing she knew, Hua Wangxuan was locked in a dark room while Lin Zhixuan cleaned up the mess outside.

No one would ever guess that the aloof, restrained image Lin Zhixuan projected in public hid a secret love for liquor.

Lin Zhixuan enjoyed drinking and even brewing her own alcohol. A light sleeper by nature, she relied on alcohol to drift off or would sip a glass during her leisure hours while reading a book.

Liquor had become an inseparable part of her life.

In fact, she had planned to brew some plum wine today, timing it so it would be ready to savor during the summer rainy season.

From inside the storage room, Hua Wangxuan yowled in protest. Lin Zhixuan knelt on the floor, meticulously wiping up every tiny shard of glass, then splashed water over the area several times to dilute the scent of alcohol completely before turning her attention back to the cat.

The meowing had already ceased. Hua Wangxuan was clever enough to know that when Lin paid her no mind, she’d only cry out a few times for show, never enough to be a nuisance, her voice deliberately sweetened and pitiful.

Lately, Lin Zhixuan had read up on cat care and learned that cats often put on a cute voice to charm their humans when they’re around.

She had never heard Hua Wangxuan use any other tone. Even when the cat was at her most frustrated, she remained utterly adorable, tempting enough to make one want to tease her.

Sure enough, the moment Lin Zhixuan opened the door, Hua Wangxuan zipped out as if her tail were on fire.

When Lin turned to look at her, she saw the cat holding her chin high, putting on a haughty, displeased front.

“I put you in there because I was afraid you’d get hurt. Don’t be mad, okay? I’ll give you a cat treat.”

At the keyword “cat treat,” Hua Wangxuan’s ears twitched. Her face remained turned away, but her eyes shifted slyly.

“Pigeon flavor, your favorite. How about it?” Lin Zhixuan softened her voice, like adding a gummy bear to lemon soda, refreshing and sweet. The moment Hua Wangxuan heard the woman speak in that tone, for some reason, her heartbeat quickened, and she could no longer stay immersed in her anger.

Hua Wangxuan flicked her tail and gracefully walked toward Lin Zhixuan, deliberately stepping over the other’s shoes before winding her tail around the hem of her trousers a few times.

The tacit understanding cultivated over the past few days told Lin Zhixuan that Mimi was willing to trade forgiveness for a cat treat stick.

Lin Zhixuan half-crouched, tore open the cat treat stick, and Hua Wangxuan, feigning reserve, rubbed her head against the woman’s pant leg, sniffed lightly a few times, and only then extended her tongue to lick at it.

Lin Zhixuan found this process quite stress-relieving. She would observe Mimi’s eating habits, mood, and the texture of her barbed tongue.

She squeezed the cat treat out bit by bit with her fingers. At the very end, Mimi’s damp tongue would accidentally brush against her fingers, a strange and novel sensation that made her pause slightly. Every time she finished feeding the treat, she would wash her hands over a dozen times at the sink until they turned red from scrubbing.

Sunlight slanted through the half-open blinds in the kitchen. Lin Zhixuan rolled up her sleeves, her brows and eyes clear as frost, and smiled brightly at Hua Wangxuan: “I’m going to start making plum wine now. Don’t cause any trouble.”

Lin Zhixuan handled the plums as if performing a delicate surgery, meticulously picking out the stems of each plum with a toothpick before scrubbing them in saltwater to remove some of their astringency. The cleaned plums were placed in a pure white ceramic container to air dry.

When the silent Hua Wangxuan tried to sneak a lick of the yellow rock sugar, Lin Zhixuan picked up a plum and gently tapped it on Hua Wangxuan’s nose.

“It’s not time for you to sneak a taste yet,” Lin Zhixuan said, layering the yellow rock sugar over the plums, filling the ceramic jar layer by layer, then pouring in a measured amount of white liquor. She sealed the lid, completely blocking Hua Wangxuan’s curiosity.

“Want to play with a plum?” Lin Zhixuan tossed the remaining plum. Driven by her animal instincts, Hua Wangxuan’s legs moved before her brain could react. By the time she caught the plum in her mouth, Lin Zhixuan was already lounging leisurely in a rattan rocking chair, a small bottle of wine in her slender, porcelain-white hand. Her eyes, veiled with a misty haze, glanced sideways at Hua Wangxuan.

Whether it was the alcohol or an allergy that reddened the corners of her eyes was unclear. Her delicate fingers dangled over the armrest of the chair. Perhaps because she was at home, the buttons of her white shirt weren’t fastened as tightly as they would be outside, revealing a glimpse of her collarbone beneath the half-open fabric.

As Hua Wangxuan trotted over with the plum in her mouth, her pupils suddenly dilated, and the plum unexpectedly fell, rolling to the spot just below Lin Zhixuan’s fingertips.

The “ugly woman” wasn’t actually ugly after all!

Lin Zhixuan’s eyes drooped slightly as she deftly picked up the plum with two fingers. Perhaps it was the alcohol, but her movements carried an innate grace and charm. Her long black hair cascaded over one side of her fair neck, disappearing into the white shirt, a striking contrast of dark strands against snowy skin, utterly captivating.

“How come you can’t even hold onto a plum, Mimi~”

Hua Wangxuan inexplicably felt a tingling numbness creeping up her spine. That strange sensation had returned, her vision seemed clouded as if by mist, something in her heart felt like it was trying to sneak out, and even her mind grew dizzy, reminiscent of the day she was picked up by that woman, when a cold needle injected liquid into her body.

Was her head no longer under her control?

That ugly woman wasn’t just ugly, could she be an evil witch who brewed poisons?

Hua Wangxuan shook her head in terror, backing away step by step. She didn’t want to be skinned and turned into potion ingredients by a witch!

She had to escape quickly, the witch must be coveting her body!!

The more Hua Wangxuan thought about it, the more frightened she became. The fur on her back bristled. Abandoning the green plums she had meant to pick up, her limbs seemed to regain their own will, stumbling clumsily as she fled toward the storage room to confine herself.

She needed to calm down and couldn’t let that evil witch manipulate her so easily again.