Marry First, Love Later With The White Cat Princess - Chapter 80

The physical teleportation in the real world still consumed a massive amount of stamina. Nestled in Liu Fenyun’s arms, Lian Yi fell into a deep sleep almost immediately.

Holding the large white cat who had returned to her original form, Liu Fenyun returned to their resting place. She informed the others of the outcome, omitting the existence of the God and simply stating that the Guardian had provided them with this sanctuary free of charge. They could leave once they had recovered.

The group’s condition was indeed poor, especially Yu Qingyue and Luo Binglun. One was still periodically tormented by the side effects of the Love Bug antidote, while the other feared her body being seized by Qingyuan’s consciousness.

Liu Fenyun, having thoroughly distanced herself from the original owner’s biological mother, no longer felt unwell. However, both she and the cat were due for their menses in two days, so resting as much as possible was the priority.

The osmanthus forest was completely isolated from the outside world. Unable to contact Xian Lihua and the others, Liu Fenyun settled down to craft medicine for the side effects and find a way to communicate with Qingyuan inside Luo Binglun.

With the System and the Medicine Garden, crafting the medicine was easy and took only a few days. The biggest remaining hurdle was negotiating with Qingyuan.

Liu Fenyun tried entering Luo Binglun’s sea of consciousness, but Qingyuan refused to interact. Aside from her and Luo Binglun, no third person or demon could see Qingyuan’s consciousness.

Qi Ran offered an explanation: “She thinks you aren’t qualified. She’s an ancient divine bird, after all; she’s bound to have a temper. Since Master Liu isn’t a pure demon, of course it won’t work. If you brought a Great Demon close to godhood, she’d definitely listen.”

Since witnessing the divine might of that white lion, Qi Ran’s mind had been filled with her. Naturally, she thought of the God of Nurturing.

“A Great Demon close to godhood…” Liu Fenyun mused, also remembering the God of Nurturing, whose true form was a lion.

That night, she went to see Jin Fei alone, fearing the cat might feel uncomfortable facing the God.

Jin Fei had always looked down on mortal demons. Upon hearing the request, she said coldly, “A mere Qingyuan, no matter how much she is deified by those in the lower realms, is still just a mortal demon.”

Taking advantage of the deep night, she followed Liu Fenyun into Luo Binglun’s sea of consciousness. Revealing her demon form, she dragged Qingyuan out from a corner, ruthlessly pinning her under her claws. With a few swipes, feathers began to fly.

Qingyuan had no idea they could actually summon a true God. Terrified by the ferocious white lion, she could only wail, quickly shifting into human form and shielding herself. “Stop plucking! Stop plucking! I don’t want to be a bald bird…”

Jin Fei grunted in agreement, but as she shifted back to human form, she casually yanked out Qingyuan’s most beautiful tail feather and handed it to Liu Fenyun. “The God of Time loves collecting various feathers. Keep this as a greeting gift for her.”

Qingyuan trembled in pain, not daring to make a sound.

Liu Fenyun didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at her pathetic state. Holding the tail feather, she asked Jin Fei, “If she really goes bald, will Luo Binglun go bald too?”

Jin Fei huffed, “Won’t you find out tomorrow morning?”

Liu Fenyun and Luo Binglun slept in different locations. The next morning, the first to discover Luo Binglun’s overnight “molting” was, naturally, Yu Qingyue.

Yu Qingyue never expected to be choked awake by feathers. Realizing what was happening, she instinctively leaped out of the nest, standing on a branch to check herself. Once she confirmed the feathers weren’t hers, she returned to the nest with a complicated expression and picked up a handful of cyan-blue feathers.

Fortunately, shedding in demon form didn’t translate to hair loss in human form. Luo Binglun escaped the disaster of overnight baldness. Upon waking, she felt Qingyuan’s consciousness had weakened significantly not gone, but hidden away.

Thanks to the God of Nurturing’s intervention, she regained full control of her body without effort. Looking into a conjured water mirror, she successfully transformed back into her human form.

Seeing her looking at her reflection with great excitement, Yu Qingyue asked timely, “Are you going back to the Kingdom of Zhuhuang?”

Luo Binglun’s smile faltered for a moment, but she nodded without hesitation.

She had been away from Zhuhuang for too long. Coupled with Qingyuan’s constant mental suggestions, she had nearly forgotten she was once a human. Even so, she wanted to return to see what the kingdom had become and if the Priestess Hall and the Sky Peering Pavilion were safe.

“In that case, I will accompany you back,” Yu Qingyue said calmly. “The High Priestess of a nation shouldn’t actually be eaten by a Great Demon in the wild.”

Yu Qingyue had originally intended to escort Liu Fenyun’s group to the Demon Realm, as she didn’t trust Qi Ran, fearing the leopard might attack Liu Fenyun mid-journey.

But after several days of observation, she found that Qi Ran seemed to have changed. Though her tone was still sharp, she no longer spoke of committing evil every day.

Thus, she chose a day to bid farewell to Liu Fenyun and the others, accompanying Luo Binglun back toward the Kingdom of Zhuhuang.

Qi Ran also wanted to leave early, she felt the scent of that great white lion everywhere in the ruins. However, both Liu Fenyun and Lian Yi had started their menses one after another, and their reactions were severe. She had no choice but to wait patiently, wandering the osmanthus forest with Meng Nie every day, recovering what little demon energy she could.

During her menses, Lian Yi acted as if she were gravely ill. She couldn’t even eat her dried fish over rice, wanting only to curl up in her cat bed and remain motionless.

Liu Fenyun had cared for her before and was used to it. Meng Nie, who had never experienced menstrual pain, looked at Lian Yi’s suffering and asked Qi Ran foolishly, “Is the Cat Princess pregnant with kittens?”

Qi Ran felt like Meng Nie had water in her brain. Lacking common sense, how could she be pregnant if she was on her period? She couldn’t help but tease her: “They’re both women, how would they conceive?”

“Why couldn’t they?” Meng Nie pressed. “I remember Physician Yu saying that women can also have children with women…”

“Then go ask Physician Yu in Zhuhuang,” Qi Ran huffed. “Or ask Master Liu.”

Meng Nie waved her hands hurriedly. “Never mind, I was just curious.”

In her cat bed, clutching a hot water bottle, Lian Yi was half-asleep. Hearing them bickering outside, she fell into a dazed dream about having kittens.

However, she didn’t dream of giving birth; she dreamed of being a newborn kitten herself, pink, tender, and incredibly weak, whimpering under her mother’s fur.

But soon, she left her mother. She was placed in a cardboard box filled with cotton and scraps of cloth. Her vision was pitch black, and suddenly, the air was filled with noisy sounds, people shouting and haggling, the sharp ring of bicycle bells… it felt like a wet market.

Lian Yi felt her body temperature dropping rapidly. Even with the cotton and cloth for warmth, and despite the lack of wind, she felt cold. Her consciousness began to blur.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself lying in a tiny cat bed. Not far away was a small water bowl and a bowl of milky white liquid.

She struggled to crawl over, drinking some water first to regain her strength before sniffing the other bowl. Finding it was goat milk, she drank it with relief.

After finishing the milk, she napped in the cat bed. When she woke up, she met a gaze that was both familiar and strange.

A woman wearing lime-green pajamas was observing her curiously. Lian Yi gave a soft meow, and the woman happily picked her up, carefully stroking her tiny head.

“So good,” the woman smiled, followed by a sigh. “Such a good little thing, how could someone discard you? If I hadn’t happened to go out for groceries, I’m afraid you would have died in that market.”

Lian Yi looked at the woman’s face and found it familiar, she looked exactly like Liu Fenyun. But she wasn’t quite sure, only gently rubbing against the woman’s finger.

“I can stay here for ten more years. Living alone is a bit lonely, it’s great to have you with me,” the woman kept smiling. “You’re still small. Use my spiritual sense to ‘see’ your surroundings for now. Once you can open your eyes, I’ll take it back.”

Lian Yi began to observe her environment. She found this place was very similar to the bedroom in Liu Fenyun’s sea of consciousness. But because she was so small, her range of movement was limited. The woman wouldn’t let her run around, so she could only stay in the bedroom every day.

The woman didn’t go out much, she liked to stay home researching medicine. When Lian Yi was held in her arms to “patrol the residence,” she could see the bookshelves lined with medical books. The woman also had a laboratory specifically for crafting medicine. However, according to the woman herself, the smell in the lab was too strong for a kitten to go inside.

Before Lian Yi was a month old, the woman called her “Meow-Meow.” Once she reached a month, she received her name: Lian Yi. Apparently, it was also a type of medicine.

Upon receiving the name, Lian Yi was certain the woman was Liu Fenyun.

It was her first time seeing a Liu Fenyun like this. There wasn’t a hint of youthful greenness about her; yet, when doing research, she still possessed the passion and fire of youth. She loved to laugh, not a reserved smile, but a laugh from the heart, which even seemed a bit wild at first glance.

Cats grow very fast. Lian Yi quickly passed her kitten phase. With Liu Fenyun’s careful feeding, her fur was snowy white and smooth in Liu Fenyun’s words, it felt like high-quality silk.

However, she was a long haired Lion Cat. Before Liu Fenyun could fully enjoy petting her, she had to start worrying about the fur everywhere. Even when not in shedding season, Lian Yi managed to fill the house with floating fur.

Fortunately, Liu Fenyun was broad-minded and knew magic. Even if she found her clothes covered in fur, a simple spell would make it fall right off, which she would then gather and store in specific jars.

Research Titan Cloud wasn’t great at self-care, but she was incredibly diligent about cleaning the cat’s bed and feeding her. She bought cat supplies more frequently than her own research materials. There were three cat trees of various heights in the house while Liu Fenyun was in the lab, losing track of time, Lian Yi would leap back and forth between them.

Lian Yi was dreaming of pouncing to the top of a cat tree to show off to Research Titan Cloud when she was suddenly nudged by a warm hand. She woke up instantly, meeting the gaze of Liu Fenyun, who was taking away the hot water bottle.

“I made some soup. Do you want to drink a little while it’s hot?” Liu Fenyun spoke while bringing a spoonful of soup to her lips.

Lian Yi wasn’t fully awake yet, unable to distinguish dream from reality. She took a sip, found it a bit salty, and immediately shook her head. “I’m not drinking it. Cats shouldn’t eat salt, or their fur will fall out.”

Liu Fenyun fell silent for two seconds. “…But you’re a demon?”