The Aloof Master Relies on This Cat's Kisses to Survive - Chapter 18

East Street Daydreams

After speaking, Ming Xi lowered her massive head and nudged the Great Grandmaster.

Her beast form was indeed a cat, but not entirely; at the very least, no ordinary cat could stand taller than a human. Nor would a cat’s fangs protrude so brazenly from its mouth.

“What kind of transformation is this?” Ji Wu frowned.

She had seen many of Ming Xi’s forms. The Dream Beast’s true original state was actually half-human, half-beast; a fully bestial body like this was merely a mimicry Ming Xi maintained through illusion. Sometimes she was a small cat, sometimes a large one; sometimes black and white, sometimes gold and silver. Even those two large fangs appeared and disappeared depending entirely on her whim.

Ji Wu was seeing her like this for the first time.

“Master, pet me, pet me quickly. I can’t hold it anymore; transforming is so exhausting.” Ming Xi raised her round cat face, her plump cheeks quivering as she offered her large head to Ji Wu’s hand.

A purring, coquettish sound rumbled in her throat. Seeing that Ji Wu hadn’t raised her hand, Ming Xi blinked her palm-sized cat eyes with a wronged expression, staring straight at the Grandmaster. “Ming Xi is tired. Ming Xi needs Wuwu’s touch to find her spirit again.”

“Stop trying to fool me. Why transform now?” Ji Wu’s expression remained cold and stern as she took a resistant step back.

As expected, this rebellious beast could not be indulged even slightly. If she listened to Ming Xi, she feared that not only Ji Fang, but even Dongfang Qianyao would never make it out.

“The transformation looks good,” Ming Xi answered earnestly. “My two legs are tired from standing. I have to switch to four legs to keep supporting this.”

She leaned toward Ji Wu’s side again, her fluffy fur brushing against the back of Ji Wu’s hand and making it itch. “It’s all Master’s fault for refusing to pet Ming Xi.”

Ji Wu pulled her hand back, resting it on her sword hilt as a stern warning. “You were told to resolve the dream and save people, not to play. These departed souls must not be disturbed, yet you transform right in the middle of the street. They are but ordinary folk who have never seen a demon; how could they possibly endure this?”

Furthermore, these neighbors had just been torn apart and consumed by the Nian-Demon. Seeing sharp fangs so suddenly, how could they possibly remain calm?

“I did it precisely to scare them,” Ming Xi said righteously. “Master, Ji Fang is already in a state of soul-detachment. There is an even bigger trouble behind her—you’ve sensed it too, haven’t you?”

It was the Nightmare Demon—the Xuanling Sect disciple named Zhubai.

“Wuwu wants to find her, doesn’t she? She is hiding in this dream now, likely waiting for Ji Fang to perish so she can seize the dreamscape and become the Dream Lord. But Ming Xi doesn’t understand why.”

She understood nightmares, but she did not understand the heart of a Nightmare Demon.

When Ji Fang first spoke, she wasn’t laughing; she had said the word “Role Model”—two words entirely unrelated to joy.

And Ming Xi, who originally could not taste the sweetness of candy, later tasted a fragrant cake. At that moment, Ming Xi knew Ji Fang had been possessed by the Nightmare Demon, she just didn’t know why.

Role model. Ji Fang’s role model, and also Zhubai’s?

Who was it?

Naturally, it was the Great Grandmaster whom the entire cultivation world looked up to.

That spirit was aiming for Ji Wu, and her resentment likely stemmed from Ji Wu as well; in a place like the Xuanling Sect, this was all too common. Which cultivator didn’t carry the weight of their family’s expectations like Ji Fang did, viewing Grandmaster Ji Wu as their life’s guide, working hard from childhood just to become another Ji Wu?

Even an outer disciple like Ji Fang had decent talent in forging; how much more so for an inner disciple like Zhubai? She must have spent agonizing effort on her cultivation, yet remained unable to break through.

Or perhaps Zhubai was not just one person. Zhubai was “them.”

The Nightmare Demon was a monster formed from the gathered persistence and grievances of many; she was the nightmare of a thousand Xuanling Sect disciples who could not sleep at night. Perhaps there truly was a person named Zhubai in the world, or perhaps there wasn’t, but the world never lacked for “Zhubais.”

“She is coming for me. You have done well; take me to find her.”

Ji Wu knew the Nightmare Demon had used Ji Fang to build this dream specifically to lure her inside so it could strike.

Just as these words left her mouth, Ming Xi simply sprawled onto the ground and suddenly jerked her head forward, knocking Ji Wu directly onto her back.

The Grandmaster certainly hadn’t expected Ming Xi to do such a thing. Just as she was about to roll off, the Dream Beast beneath her leapt up. With a toss that jolted Ji Wu, Ming Xi planted her front paws, kicked off with her hind legs, and with a swift bound, leapt onto the tiled roof of a house on the side of East Street.

Ji Wu felt her vision blur. No matter how calm and composed she usually was, she was startled by Ming Xi’s movement. “Absurd! Let me down at once!”

The arc of the beast’s leap was massive. Ji Wu instinctively clamped her legs around Ming Xi’s sides and was forced to grip the thick fur in front of her just to maintain her balance.

Even that reaction wasn’t enough. Sensing she was about to be bucked off, Ji Wu had to lean forward and press her torso against Ming Xi’s spine to keep from losing her equilibrium.

“Wuwu, sit tight. Ming Xi will take you there now.” The naughty cat stretched her front paws, wagged her tail triumphantly, and shook her head.

Ji Wu watched as the fluff surrounding the Dream Beast puffed out even further. The soft fur felt like cotton in her hands. For some reason, if she were to let go right now, she felt a trace of… reluctance.

Nonsense!

Ji Wu let out a cold snort. Just as she was about to climb down from the rebellious beast’s back, Ming Xi suddenly broke into a full gallop.

The fanged, furry creature streaked across the rooftops of East Street. Ming Xi ran a joyful lap before stopping to twitch the tufts of fur on her ears, shaking so much that Ji Wu was forced to hug her tightly once more.

The beast’s eyes, two pools of cunning emerald green, turned back toward Ji Wu. “That Nightmare Demon won’t get away. I’ve caught her scent.”

“Take me there quickly,” Ji Wu said, her fingers buried deep in the fur.

“Mm, it’s just that being held by Wuwu feels so good. Having Wuwu lean against my ear to talk feels so good, too. Wuwu, will you rub Ming Xi’s head some more?”

“Silence!”

Truly maddening!

Ji Wu nearly lost her temper with this Dream Beast.

She had always despised Ming Xi’s arrogant and unrestrained behavior. This wild thing claimed she was looking for the Nightmare Demon Zhubai, yet she had only taken Ji Wu on a lap around the rooftops of East Street because…

Because it felt “good” to be close to Ji Wu?

She truly had no sense of shame! Utterly unreasonable!

Ji Wu found it impossible to reconcile with such logic. Was this Dream Beast something she could actually control? She had been too overconfident before, even entertaining the deluded thought of coexisting peacefully with Ming Xi.

Humans have their rules, and demons have their ways, yet Ming Xi followed no logic at all. It was true she didn’t actively commit evil, but the danger of her recklessness was perhaps greater than any ghost or monster.

How could Ji Wu possibly spend a single day in peace with such an alien creature?

Once she recovered her cultivation, she would certainly—

She would certainly—

For some reason, even though she was annoyed, Ji Wu couldn’t bring herself to harbor the thought of killing Ming Xi anymore.

Not only that, the Grandmaster’s reprimand even softened slightly. “Find the Nightmare Demon first. After we exit the dream, I will… I will groom you.”

Ji Wu could hardly bring herself to use words like “intimacy” or “petting.”

But the word “groom” was enough to move Ming Xi. The Dream Beast let out a satisfied purr. “Really? Really? Wuwu is willing to snuggle with Ming Xi?”