The Aloof Master Relies on This Cat's Kisses to Survive - Chapter 12

East Street Dream-Talk

In the span of a mere half-incense burner’s time, Ji Wu had already offered her hand to Ming Xi twice.

What charisma!

The cat was gloating.

Ming Xi couldn’t help but flip her palm over, wanting to press closer against Ji Wu’s hand. However, the Grandmaster did not linger; after pressing down on Ming Xi—who had been about to jump up to join the commotion—she quickly withdrew her palm.

“Wuwu.” Ming Xi’s fingers chased after her, her fingertips brushing against the delicate skin, though she didn’t stay for long.

Ji Wu’s hands were well-proportioned, fair, and slender. The back of her hand looked like it should be softer than the palm that held a sword year-round, but Ming Xi couldn’t feel the difference. This wasn’t her dream; she had no sense of touch here.

The Dream Beast turned to hook her fingers into the tie of the Grandmaster’s bracer, fiddling with it twice.

“Do not be vexed, let us listen a bit longer,” Ji Wu spoke to soothe her.

“They’re talking about that Spirit Mountain Lord you killed, aren’t they?” Ming Xi asked.

“…I didn’t kill her.” Ji Wu shook her head.

This wasn’t a lie. Ji Wu truly hadn’t killed Ming Xi.

“Right, it was the Grandmaster who killed her, but you helped. Wuwu is the most amazing,” Ming Xi praised her of her own accord. “Participating in the siege and surviving—how extraordinary.”

“…” Ji Wu looked down at the way Ming Xi was playing with her clothing strap.

If that hand climbed just a bit higher, it would touch the scar Ming Xi had left on Ji Wu back then—a vicious, bone-deep claw mark.

“Sister Ji Wu is indeed extraordinary,” Dongfang Qianyao chimed in. “She is the role model for us juniors.”

“Role model.”

A low whisper drifted on the night breeze. It didn’t belong to anyone present, and it sent a chill down Dongfang Qianyao’s spine. “Who is it?”

“What?” Ming Xi asked lazily. Taking advantage of the other’s daze, she manifested small claws and carved a large triangle into the freshly delivered meat pie.

The cuts divided the round pie into four messy pieces. Ming Xi tilted her head to look at Ji Wu. “Wuwu, which piece do you want?”

“I’m not eating. You have it all,” Ji Wu shook her head.

She had also heard that chilly dream-murmur.

Role model? What was wrong with those two words? How could they be related to the sudden death of everyone on this street?

“Then do you want some?” Ming Xi looked at Dongfang Qianyao. Her tone didn’t sound like a question, but more like a casual narration.

Naturally, Dongfang Qianyao declined.

“Then I’m eating!” Ming Xi pulled out the center triangle of the pie and took a bite. The crust was baked crispy, and the meat was well-marinated—fragrant and delicious.

It was a good flavor. Yes, she could taste it now.

Ming Xi smiled inwardly, not revealing this discovery. It was their own fault for not eating; they couldn’t blame Ming Xi. She continued to watch the show while she ate.

“The Spirit Mountain Lord wasn’t killed by Grandmaster Ji Wu at all! On the contrary, she’s been recuperating for the past eight years and has now recovered, biding her time for revenge!” The diners clearly didn’t know how to restrain themselves. Just moments after saying they shouldn’t discuss this at the foot of the mountain, they were back at it with gusto.

“Revenge?” This sounded like a topic the crowd loved.

Several more passing customers gathered around.

“Shh! Don’t talk nonsense! If that Lord wants revenge, there’s no telling who will suffer. Her strikes were always reckless. We commoners can’t be hoping for gods to fight. You’re muddled!”

“Mmhmm~” Ming Xi nodded in agreement while chewing her pie. “Muddled indeed.”

That Lord was rumored to be so ruthless and fierce, yet she had let Ji Wu slip through her fingers? Hmph, once Ming Xi practiced in harmony with her Master for a few years, even if that Spirit Mountain baddie really wasn’t dead, Ming Xi certainly wouldn’t lose to her.

Thinking of this, Ming Xi turned toward Ji Wu and found that the other was also watching her. “Wuwu, do you not like hearing this?”

“No.” Ji Wu was simply keeping a constant eye on the Dream Beast’s reaction.

With people talking about her like this, could she truly remember nothing at all?

“I don’t like it,” Ming Xi said truthfully.

She didn’t understand why, attributing her instinctive discomfort to a dislike for the Spirit Mountain Lord. “It feels like I reject the very mention of her from the bottom of my heart.”

A strange light flickered in Ji Wu’s eyes. She didn’t know how to explain it to this small beast. “The Spirit Mountain Lord will not hurt you. You need not be wary.”

“But she hurt you!” Ming Xi responded huffily. “So heavily, so deeply.”

Ji Wu didn’t want to answer. She didn’t agree with the lie the elders had woven to stabilize Ming Xi, but she knew it was the only option for now.

“Winners and losers, life and death—it is nothing.”

Ji Wu could only give that answer.

“Okay.” Ming Xi leaned against the table, pillowing her head on one arm as she gazed back at Ji Wu. “I’ll listen to Wuwu. It’s nothing.”

Ji Wu lowered her eyelashes halfway, watching her amidst the street’s clamor.

Looking at the Dream Beast’s current appearance, she didn’t seem any different from before. Whether she had her memories or not, she was just like this—carefree.

Ji Wu suddenly felt a hazy, strange sensation: If Ming Xi truly could never remember anything, and if she could keep this little beast placated…

Keeping her happy like this forever seemed like it might be alright.

While the two had found their own peace, someone else was worrying. Dongfang Qianyao leaned in with a bitter face. “Sister Ji Wu, look at them. They’re chatting idly and aren’t angry anymore. I think they’re quite…”

Quite idle.

But “Idle” isn’t one of the seven emotions!

“Pfft—”

Someone laughed. Dongfang Qianyao thought it was Ming Xi, but the junior sister was lying on the table looking at Ji Wu with great interest, having no time to sneer.

This dream was getting stranger and stranger.

The diners were still talking about the Spirit Mountain Lord.

“Exactly. Besides, that evil creature was slain by Grandmaster Ji Wu herself back then. Everyone knows that Grandmaster Ji Wu detests that wicked beast who toyed with the world the most!”

Dongfang Qianyao didn’t quite agree and whispered a rebuttal, “Not really, I think.”

The Grandmaster shared the same constitution as Dongfang Qianyao; she had extremely high talent from childhood and was easily disturbed when entering dreams. Therefore, she practiced the path of severing desires. To say she “detested” anything was almost an insult.

“Not really?” Ming Xi disagreed. “Does the pretty lady not hate that Lord? Isn’t your surname Dongfang?”

“I don’t hate her.” Dongfang Qianyao blinked. “I don’t know the Spirit Mountain Lord. She and I have no grievance.”

“Eeeh, but she hurt Wuwu!” Ming Xi wrinkled her face.

Dongfang Qianyao nodded. “That is true. It is a great regret that Sister Ji Wu’s body was injured by her. But as for the siege on the Lord, Sister Ji Wu went of her own accord. The Lord died and Sister was injured—those are their own karmic consequences. You can’t blame others.”

“You are right,” Ji Wu agreed.

“Ah~” Ming Xi didn’t quite understand. “You guys are so reasonable.”

Dongfang Qianyao was amused. “What, is Junior Sister unreasonable? Do you like to play foul?”

Ming Xi shook her head. “I prefer to play with people.”

Another non-answer. Dongfang Qianyao was getting used to this junior sister’s strange behavior. “No wonder you guessed the dream-murmur was ‘Joy.’ You only know how to cause trouble.”

Ming Xi laughed, but didn’t speak further.

That laugh didn’t sound quite like the cold one from earlier.

Dongfang Qianyao pursed her lips, struggling to understand. She scanned the surroundings but didn’t see any young girls laughing. Everyone was talking about the siege eight years ago. An entire city’s worth of people died in that event; who could laugh about it?

“Cry! To the west, in those deep abysses, there are many who worshipped the Spirit Mountain Lord. Back then, they rushed to help as soon as they got the news, but they were a step too late. When they went back, the entire Western Pool cried so hard the world shook…”

“Tch, if the world could really shake, it shouldn’t have let the dream-fire burn on the sea back then. A whole city of people.”

“It’s just one city.”

“That was the Imperial Capital!”

“Are the people of the capital so precious they can’t die?”

“What kind of tone is that? Could it be you worship the Lord too?”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

Seeing that several people were about to start arguing again, Dongfang Qianyao’s headache worsened. It seemed… they were turning to “Anger” again?

Alas!

How is this harder to learn than the Spirit Mountain Demon Records?

Just then, someone slammed the table and shouted, “We live at the foot of Spirit Mountain and are considered under its protection. I feel like just because the Lord is dead, we shouldn’t whisper ill of her. She never did us wrong.”

“But she never did us any good either, did she?” The pie vendor, having served several tables, stopped to chime in. “My children were all born at the foot of the mountain, yet I haven’t seen any of them receive a blessing or be able to use spiritual arts.”

“That’s because you haven’t found the right way. If you were braver and went into the mountain to give birth, I guarantee every one of them would be a prime candidate for cultivation!”

“Exactly. Everyone knows Spirit Mountain is full of treasures. The greatest blessing was the Lord herself!”

“Hey, hey, don’t say that. I heard from the butcher Zhang’s sister, who cooks for the sect, that after that evil creature was killed, the Grandmaster cut her into ninety-nine-eighty-one pieces and distributed them to the various cultivation families to cook for themselves.”