The Aloof Master Relies on This Cat's Kisses to Survive - Chapter 13

East Street Dream-Talk

Cannibalism?

“Whoa!” “I’ve heard a bit about that too!”

Macabre stories are always the most captivating; the voices of the crowd grew loud and chaotic as they discussed the matter.

A loud-mouthed diner clamored to regain control of the conversation. “I know this! That Divine Lord of Spirit Mountain was always rumored to be mysterious. They say she was born with a sacred body and celestial grace. No matter how poor or withered a person’s natural talent was, if they stood by her side, they would receive her blessing and protection, turning into prime material for cultivation. Therefore, it’s not like the cultivation world hasn’t been coveting her for a day or two.”

“Hey, even so, you can’t just divide her up and eat her. That’s too barbaric,” someone sighed, wanting to say more, but was cut off by another person.

“Oh! Indeed. They say that after the Divine Lord of Spirit Mountain took human form, her jade-like countenance was peerless and unparalleled. What a waste to eat her! If only—”

“—Shut your mouth and show some decency.”

The person being rebuked was dismissive. “Tch, the cultivation world ate her, yet we common folk are the ones who have to show decency? Why didn’t they… leave a little ‘mouth-fortune’ for us?”

Several diners laughed upon hearing this, while others shook their heads, not knowing what to say.

The loud-mouthed one, unwilling to be upstaged, spoke again after the laughter subsided. “If you lot are truly craving a taste, it’s not like there’s no way.”

She feigned mystery, speaking in riddles and stopping to take a bite of her pancake.

This provoked the crowd to urge her on. “Speak up, quickly!”

“Don’t be anxious. I’ve only heard tell that even the bowls that held the Divine Lord’s meat soup, and the plates where her bones were spat out, still carry the scent of the Divine Lord to this day!”

“What does it smell like?”

“Sweet! It’s truly sweet! Nowadays, if one could find something that touched the beast’s flesh back then—I can’t guarantee anything else, but if you just poured a bowl of clear water into it and drank it, increasing your cultivation by a hundred years would be a breeze!”

“That incredible!” the crowd exclaimed.

“You bet. Every bit of bone, blood, and flesh on the Divine Lord of Spirit Mountain was nurtured by the mountain itself. Eating her is practically the same as eating Spirit Mountain!”

“Then the people of the cultivation world certainly knew how to plan. Eating Spirit Mountain is exhausting; it’s much easier to just eat the Master of Spirit Mountain.”

“True, true. No wonder Spirit Mountain has been so withered for the past eight years. It turns out it was gnawed clean.”

Again, some people laughed, while others looked uncomfortable.

Outside the clamor, someone remarked, “That makes sense… but speaking of which, now that Spirit Mountain is reviving, could it be—”

The expressions of the diverse group changed instantly, likely thinking of the reality of losing their lives to the monsters of Spirit Mountain.

Dongfang Qianyao carefully observed the emotions of the diners.

Were they angry, or full of resentment?

Surely, they couldn’t actually be feeling joy, right?

“Hee hee.”

That familiar laughter appeared again, this time pressed right against Dongfang Qianyao’s ear.

“Ah, who exactly is it?” Dongfang Qianyao could truly sit still no longer. “Sister Ji Wu, can you hear a young woman’s voice? The one who just laughed?”

After asking, she realized she was afraid that the woman actually existed, but also afraid that the woman didn’t exist.

This experience was truly agonizing.

Ji Wu, of course, noticed Dongfang Qianyao’s panic. “I do. You needn’t be afraid, but we might have been wrong.”

“Wrong?” Dongfang Qianyao pondered for a moment. “Are you talking about the ‘Angry Ravings’? If it’s not an Angry Rave, then what is it?”

She had also suspected it wasn’t an Angry Rave, but according to the books, these raving ghosts’ emotions are supposed to guide the Dream Master to empathize with them.

So, whether it was anger, joy, or annoyance, there should be at least one emotion intended to make Dongfang Qianyao’s feelings fluctuate.

But she didn’t have any. Whether it was Ji Fang or the Divine Lord, Dongfang Qianyao didn’t know them. She had remained calm up to this point; could she even praise herself for being composed?

“Is it really that hard to guess?” Ming Xi couldn’t help but shake her head and sigh, explaining with a look of great reluctance, “Actually, the answer was obvious the moment we stepped in. What was your first impression when you entered this street?”

“It was… quite good, peaceful and happy—ah!”

Dongfang Qianyao was actually quite clever.

With Ming Xi’s hint, she quickly understood. “It’s Joy! It really is Joy!”

“Spirit Mountain has just revived, and the night patrols in Yunming Town have become stricter. People setting up stalls at night shouldn’t be this relaxed, right?” She stamped her foot in annoyance. “It was my oversight.”

Ming Xi remained noncommittal.

She had been to East Street earlier and had seen the real street scene, so she knew the real street vendors weren’t as joyful as those in the dream. But Dongfang Qianyao didn’t know that.

As for Ji Wu, having practiced the Pure Heart Dao for hundreds and thousands of years, she was accustomed to not understanding worldly emotions.

Ming Xi concluded that humans were just silly—except for Wuwu. Wuwu just didn’t understand, and as a kitty, she had to protect her master even more.

Furthermore, Wuwu didn’t like to talk, so for the sake of Wuwu not being bothered by Dongfang Qianyao, Ming Xi had to be merciful and clear up Dongfang Qianyao’s confusion.

Ming Xi was such a good kitty!

“Damn it, I’m so useless!” Dongfang Qianyao was very frustrated. “Then… no, no, that’s also fine.”

Her emotions fluctuated for a moment before she regained her calm, realizing it was fine even if she guessed wrong, because she hadn’t been affected.

Dongfang Qianyao was neither angry nor joyful; she hadn’t empathized with the dream ravings, so it didn’t matter if she was wrong.

“It’s okay, don’t panic.” Ji Wu’s expression was serene. “But the ‘wrong’ I spoke of wasn’t about the emotion. We guessed the Dream Master wrong. Qianyao, after those dream ravings were dispersed, the one who was invaded wasn’t you.”

“Then who is it?” Dongfang Qianyao looked at Ji Wu, then at Ming Xi. “Is it the Junior Sister?”

She was a bit worried. “Junior Sister, are you okay?”

If it really was a Joy Rave, and the Junior Sister had secretly chuckled several times just now, she might have long since had her essence devoured.

“It’s not me.” Ming Xi made a face and couldn’t help saying, “Silly Beauty Sister.”

“Huh?”

“Ahem.” Ji Wu cleared her throat, not letting Ming Xi interrupt.

But this Dream Beast was mischievous and found teasing Dongfang Qianyao very interesting. “Then, Silly Sister.”

“Ah?”

“Fine, Beauty Sister.”

Dongfang Qianyao was inexplicably led in a circle by these strange titles. When it was over, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You, this Junior Sister… just stop. It’s important that we leave the dream; don’t be naughty.”

She turned back to Ji Wu. “Sister Ji Wu, please continue. Who else could the Dream Master be? Besides me, there doesn’t seem to be a more suitable candidate.”

Raving ghosts choose bodies with high spiritual power but low defenses and unstable temperaments. Ji Wu had no spiritual power and her cultivation was high, so she clearly wouldn’t be liked by a raving ghost.

And the Junior Sister was only low-rank; her spiritual power and cultivation weren’t enough, and she was very strange. Dongfang Qianyao couldn’t see through her, so she figured a raving ghost wouldn’t enter her dream either.

Furthermore, a Thought Demon had just run rampant on East Street. Besides the corpses, where could there be any other living person to provide…

“Oh! That surviving stall owner?” Dongfang Qianyao’s eyes darted around. “Low cultivation, that’s right, but her spiritual power definitely isn’t high.”

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for her to fail the selection for even the outer sect of the Xuanling Sect.

Ji Wu also couldn’t figure it out. “It should be her, but why didn’t Zhubai rescue her…”

Clearly, Ji Wu had left that fellow disciple to save the person; why would she still leave the surviving stall owner here, causing her to be invaded by a dreamscape?

Moreover, it was understandable for a dying stall owner to be easily invaded, but how could “high spiritual power” be explained?