Marry First, Love Later With The White Cat Princess - Chapter 23

At dusk, before the banquet, Lianyi and Liu Fenyun went early to the outer city and gathered the four cat-demon subordinates who were stationed there.

“Ha! Another blind human came picking a fight today?” The fat orange cat sharpened its claws on the ground, showing a mouthful of sharp teeth. “My lord, should we cripple them again this time?”

“You’ll disguise yourselves as serving maids and wait nearby,” Lianyi said with a smile. “If they want to fight, I’ll handle it myself this time. All right go on.”

The four cat demons answered in unison; their tails flicked, and they disappeared.

After they left, Lianyi remained standing where she was.

“Your Highness is waiting for someone?” Liu Fenyun asked.

Before Lianyi could answer, a tabby cat leapt down from a low wall.

Xian Lihua turned into her human form a young noblewoman in a tiger patterned fur coat. She saluted and asked, “What would you have me do, my lady?”

“Please take the ‘Sun Loss Powder’ we prepared and give it to the proprietress of Night’s Return Tavern,” Lianyi instructed. “Mix it into the wine meant for those men who said they wanted my life.”

“Got it~” Xian Lihua grinned, sprang back onto the wall, and vanished.

Liu Fenyun had never heard of that medicine, but from the name alone she could guess what it did. “Why use something like that on them?” she asked.

“Being crippled and impotent will remind them better than death ever could,” Lianyi said with a playful smile. “If they don’t pay a little price, our days ahead won’t stay this peaceful.”

After giving her orders, Lianyi noticed there was still time and pulled Liu Fenyun to a noodle shop in the northern part of the city. She ordered two bowls of beef ramen.

“This place has the best soup in the whole city!” she said excitedly while waiting.

They were both in plain clothes, looking no different from ordinary townsfolk. Hearing her words, the shopkeeper poked his head out and said in accented Common, “That’s right! These noodles come from a recipe passed down by the Fire God himself! Not to boast, but even the Saintess loves them!”

Liu Fenyun nearly choked on her tea, but Lianyi was delighted it was true that this was her favorite shop.

The bowls arrived, filled to the brim: thin slices of beef neatly arranged on top of noodles, garnished with fried egg, garlic shoots, cabbage, and the perilla leaves the Di people loved so much.

Liu Fenyun wasn’t afraid of spice. Seeing the red oil floating on the surface, she even scooped several spoonfuls of chili paste into her bowl.

Lianyi reached for the spoon to do the same, but Liu Fenyun stopped her. “Don’t eat too much spicy food just to fill your stomach, my… uh, you’ll get a stomachache.”

Once, such advice would’ve earned someone her temper.

“I’ll just take two spoonfuls, not much,” Lianyi bargained, blinking at her.

“Half a spoon.”

“One?”

“Fine.” Liu Fenyun gave in, not wanting to ruin the mood, and spooned exactly one portion for her.

Lianyi beamed, then devoured the noodles and beef in big bites completely unrestrained, so unlike her usual dignified self.

Liu Fenyun couldn’t help laughing. “Eat slowly, my lady.”

The word lady made Lianyi freeze, choke a bit, and gulp down two mouthfuls of soup before glaring at her. “Why are you calling me that all of a sudden? So embarrassing!”

Liu Fenyun stifled a laugh. She hadn’t expected the proud cat to actually blush.
If not for all the people around, Lianyi’s cat ears and tail would probably have popped out in shame.

They were so caught up teasing each other that they didn’t notice someone from Luo Binglun’s faction sitting nearby.

“So the Saintess really comes to the outer city for noodles?” Luo Jiu said, amused. “Well, the food here does smell amazing.”

“Quiet,” Luo San hissed, tapping the table. But her own stomach growled.

Luo Jiu grinned and broke a meat pie in half, holding it to her sister’s mouth. “Here, San-jie, have a bite~”

Luo San took a bite, grabbed her sleeve, and dragged her out.

By the time the hour of the dog approached, Liu Fenyun and Lianyi had changed into their banquet attire and entered Night’s Return Tavern.

The apothecaries hosting the banquet were truly unlucky they had chosen the very tavern that Lianyi frequented. Apparently, they hadn’t done their homework.

It was dinner rush hour. Waiters’ shouts filled the air, blending with the lively music from the stage and the chatter of drinkers somehow harmoniously.

Liu Fenyun checked that Lianyi’s veil was secure before leading her upstairs.

The banquet was on the third floor. Liu Fenyun noticed the entire floor had been reserved probably to make fighting easier without witnesses.
That actually made things simpler for them, too. If civilians got caught in the crossfire, that would’ve been troublesome.

At the end of the corridor stood a man. Before they even reached him, Liu Fenyun’s system voice warned, “Detected: Zhe Quyuan. Distance: twenty paces.”

Liu Fenyun smiled politely. “Brother Zhe, good evening.”

Seeing she had really brought the cat demon, Zhe Quyuan stiffened shock, anger, and fear mingled on his face before he managed to reply, “Good evening. I, Zhe Quyuan, greet the Saintess and the Imperial Healer.”

He led them into the private room. The table was already lined with cold dishes, and at the center a whole roast lamb sizzled over coals, the dripping fat making the air smell heavenly.

Liu Fenyun quickly recognized three fellow apothecaries; the other five looked like military men.

Lianyi had already eaten her fill and wasn’t in the mood for their pretense but the roasted lamb did tempt her.

Just as the atmosphere grew tense, Liu Fenyun felt her sleeve tugged. Lianyi whispered, “After the fight, I want that lamb.”

Liu Fenyun frowned. “What if it’s poisoned?”

But Lianyi wasn’t asking for permission.

The next moment, a surge of demonic aura filled the room Lianyi shifted into her true form, and with a single swipe sent the nearest man crashing to the floor.

Weapons were drawn instantly. These men were well prepared. The flicker of blades in the candlelight was enough to make unarmed Liu Fenyun flinch. Not wanting to reveal her martial skills too early, she kicked the door open and darted into the hall.

Opening her system map, she located the cat demons waiting in the tavern. With a leap, she landed between the second and third floors and called them to her.

Moments later, four colorfully dressed women appeared.

“Master Liu, has Lady Lianyi started fighting the humans?” the fat orange cat now a plump girl asked, cracking her knuckles.

“Sounds like it,” Liu Fenyun said, glancing toward the room where crashes kept sounding. “Should we just wait?”

“Yes,” said the cow-spotted cat girl, laying down cushions. “She said she’d handle it herself this time.”

Liu Fenyun sighed and sat with them. Noticing an empty cushion, she asked, “Is Miss Xian coming too?”

“Big Sis Lihua’s still in the kitchen mixing the wine. She’ll be here soon~” the cow-spotted girl chirped, her black hair streaked with white and little cat ears perked on top.

Liu Fenyun averted her eyes too dangerous, all these cute cats around. She felt like a customer in a cat café who wasn’t allowed to pet anything.

Except, maybe, the big one currently wrecking the private room.

Perhaps eager to finish quickly and eat that lamb, Lianyi fought viciously. Before Xian Lihua could even arrive, all the officials were down some unconscious, others moaning on the floor, faces bloody and clothes in tatters.

Lianyi leapt onto the table, grabbed the roast lamb, threw it to the ground, and tore into it like a beast.

Liu Fenyun led the cats over. Her colleagues were sprawled everywhere, battered and bleeding. Zhe Quyuan was still conscious, both legs broken, one arm twisted grotesquely.

“I told you,” Liu Fenyun sighed, “if she came, you might die.”

Zhe Quyuan glared at her, muttering a curse in the Di tongue: “You don’t know what it’s like to survive a demon attack!”

Understanding through her system’s translation, Liu Fenyun crouched beside him. “Tell me, Zhe Quyuan do you hate her, or do you hate demons but only dare take it out on her?”

He fell silent. At length, he hissed, “Because she stole the Saintess’s body!”

Princess Qilan Yi beloved by all Di men: gentle, frail, kind, beautiful, flawless except for her chronic illness.

“What if she didn’t want to?” Liu Fenyun asked quietly.

“Hah! As if! If she didn’t, she’d have left the palace long ago!”

Before his words faded, the room went dark a bone from the roast lamb smacked him square in the face.

Lianyi was still eating, but he knew the bone had come from her. Deciding to play dead, he slumped over only for Liu Fenyun to grab his collar and haul him up.

“How would you know what she went through?” Liu Fenyun snapped. “If you’re so brave, go to the front lines and fight the real monsters instead of bullying one sick cat in the city! Trash!”

She froze mid-sentence sick cat was what Lianyi hated being called. She glanced over nervously, but Lianyi was too busy gnawing on lamb to care, seeming even pleased by the defense.

Seeing that, Liu Fenyun gently set Zhe Quyuan down. She wasn’t cruel she’d let him live.

Zhe Quyuan gave a weak laugh. “Easy for you to say. With a Heaven-Rank Healer protecting you, life’s good. See a demon massacre once, and you won’t talk so soft.”

He was fading fast. His last sight was of Liu Fenyun walking to the big white cat, softly telling her not to eat too much greasy meat. Smiling faintly, he closed his eyes.

As Liu Fenyun approached, she sensed something wrong.

Lianyi was no longer savoring her food she was devouring it, like a starving beast.

Realizing the meat must be tainted, Liu Fenyun grabbed her by the scruff, trying to pull her away.

But Lianyi’s beast form was huge. Liu Fenyun had to boost her strength through the system and yanked hard both of them crashing to the floor.

A deafening roar exploded beside her ear. A giant paw pinned her down, claws grazing her neck, drool dripping onto her clothes.

“Your Highness! It’s me!” she cried, clutching the paw.

The sapphire-blue eyes she knew were now glowing red.
Her system flashed: Blackening value 50 and rising fast!

That meant the yandere corruption was taking hold.

“Help me restrain her!” she shouted to the cats, but they were instantly knocked down by Lianyi’s tail.

“Go find Xian Lihua!” she ordered. “I’ll handle Her Highness!”

Once they’d gone, she hoisted the huge cat, dashed down the hall, and forced her way into an empty guest room, locking the door behind them.

But as soon as she turned, hot breath brushed her neck a huge mouth lunged.

Instinct took over. She ducked and punched Lianyi in the stomach, sending the cat flying into a screen, then crashing onto the bed.

Lianyi yowled, curling up in pain, and slowly turned back into human form, clutching her abdomen.

The pain cleared her mind a little. “Blood Wind Meat Rain Pill…” she gasped.

“What?” Liu Fenyun asked, signaling her system.

“The roast lamb’s… seasoning…”

She didn’t finish before lunging again. Liu Fenyun twisted her arms behind her back, pinning her down.

The system responded:

‘Blood Wind Meat Rain Pill’: a drug that drives demons berserk. Used by demon slayers to train mindless killing machines. Once taken, the victim loses all reason upon smelling blood.

“No wonder the blackening rose…” Liu Fenyun muttered. “What’s the antidote?”

The recipe appeared. She skimmed it quickly, frowning. “I can’t brew this now. What can I do?”

‘Give her a cold bath.’

That answer stunned her. There was no bath here only, according to her map, a well outside.

Before she could plan, pain stabbed her abdomen Lianyi had broken free, pinning her down and baring fangs at her throat.

If that bite landed, she’d die.

Liu Fenyun caught her jaw in both hands. Their eyes met. Acting on instinct, she leaned forward pressing her lips against Lianyi’s.

The cat froze, grip slackening.

There wasn’t time to find water now. Liu Fenyun issued a command to her system: “Teleport us both into the medicine garden!”

A flash and they were gone.

The medicine garden mirrored the outside world’s night sky, starlit and serene. They landed beside spirit rich fields and a murmuring brook.

The dense aura helped Lianyi recover a bit, though her eyes still glowed red.

“Where… is this?” she asked warily.

“It’s a safe place,” Liu Fenyun soothed, holding her close. “No one can reach us here. Just soak in the stream it’ll help neutralize the drug.”

She undressed Lianyi and tied her hands gently. Knowing she had nearly caused disaster, Lianyi didn’t resist.

“Will this work?” she whispered.

“Let’s try,” Liu Fenyun said, rolling up her own trousers and stepping into the icy water with her.

The stream’s spiritual energy could calm chaotic inner forces at least, that was the hope.

But cats hate water, and Lianyi was no exception. The instant the cold touched her skin, she thrashed wildly, splashing water everywhere.

“I don’t want to bathe!” she yowled, tail whipping against Liu Fenyun.

“Be good, Your Highness”

“Let go of me!”

She struggled so hard that Liu Fenyun really did lose her grip. Splash! Water erupted; bubbles rose.

Panicked, Liu Fenyun dove under, fishing her out.

The stream was deep; it took her a moment before both surfaced again.

“Liu Fenyun! How dare you let go of me!” Lianyi sputtered, flailing.

“I’m sorry! My hands slipped!” Liu Fenyun hugged her, swimming to the shallows.

“You… cough, cough!” Lianyi choked, coughing violently. The earlier punch hadn’t helped; pain stabbed her abdomen and tears welled up.

Alarmed, Liu Fenyun rubbed her stomach gently, massaging in slow circles.

After a while, she asked softly, “Feeling any better?”

The cat glared, turning her face aside.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have let go.”

Lianyi scooped a mouthful of stream water and spat it at her. “Don’t talk to me!”

She was furious truly furious.

“Don’t drink that, Your Highness! It’s stream water!” Liu Fenyun cried, terrified she’d get sick.

But despite her anger, the affection meter didn’t drop in fact, the blackening value was visibly decreasing.

So the cold bath was working.

The night breeze brushed past. Holding the cat demon in her arms, Liu Fenyun took a deep breath. “Do you want to know where we are?”

Lianyi, still sulking, said nothing but her ears perked up.

“This is our medicine garden,” Liu Fenyun said. “No one else can enter. Have you heard of an ancient cultivator’s ‘Mustard Seed Space’?”

Lianyi’s cat ears twitched.

A Mustard Seed Space was a pocket world that cultivators used to store real landscapes a self-contained realm with its own sky, aura, and weather, where its master was like a creator.

“Why do you say our medicine garden?” Lianyi asked suspiciously.

“That’s a secret,” Liu Fenyun said with a smile. “Just know it’s safe.”

“So mysterious…” Lianyi pouted. “If it’s a medicine garden, do you have the antidote for that pill?”

Liu Fenyun shook her head. “It’s not easy to make. We’ll need Lihua to fetch some rare herbs. But if I get the seeds, I can grow them here.”

Lianyi gazed at her for a long while, then said softly, “Seeds are easy I’ll find as many as you need. Then you won’t have to trouble Lihua anymore. She should be watching the temple for me anyway.”

Jealous again. Liu Fenyun smiled. “Whatever my lady commands.”

Still feeling the drug’s pull, Lianyi fell quiet, closed her eyes, and began drawing the stream’s spiritual energy into herself, slowly subduing the madness within.