The Aloof Master Relies on This Cat's Kisses to Survive - Chapter 33

West Tan’s Deceptive Nightmare

Zhaoli County was a small port town in West Tan.

According to Ji Fang’s description, because it was near the disembarkation point for waterways, there were quite a few merchants coming and going. However, these traders wouldn’t stay in Zhaoli for long; if they traveled a bit further along the mountain paths, they would reach the center of West Tan, “Tanxi.”

Except.

Ji Fang had been away for nearly ten years, and Zhaoli was no longer the Zhaoli of the past.

The current Zhaoli County was bustling. One didn’t even need to ask around to see that it had become a large-scale trading market in its own right.

Even at this hour, with the moon hanging high in the night sky, the county was still a scene of excitement, far noisier than the East Street of Yunming Town.

Every lantern along the street was painted with different designs, shining as brightly as daylight. Yet, this level of brightness was only visible upon entering Zhaoli; earlier, when Ming Xi and Ji Wu were walking through the dark bamboo forest, they hadn’t felt that the direction of Zhaoli was particularly luminous.

It was strange.

But there were many more eerie things to come.

Ji Fang’s family used to own a small shop on this street, but now it was gone.

“My family sold carved handicrafts—combs, jewelry, food boxes, gift boxes, that sort of thing. We earned a living through craftsmanship,” Ji Fang explained. This was also why she had recognized the lacquer used on the sword tassel at a single glance.

Her family were artisans; they naturally knew the most about various paints and oils.

But now, the location of the small shop had become a beef noodle stall.

Ji Fang didn’t recognize the people inside either; they were a young couple who, in turn, didn’t recognize Ji Fang’s family.

“The shop space was bought, not rented,” the owner explained, saying her shop was purchased directly from the county and had no landlord.

But Ji Fang was certain her family’s shop was their own property, passed down for several generations. Artisans valued heritage; didn’t a port-side shop like this rely on its long-standing reputation?

“What about the other shops?” Ji Wu asked simply.

Ji Fang said she didn’t recognize the people in the other shops either.

Of course, Ji Fang was very young when she left Zhaoli. Now that nearly ten years had passed, it was possible she simply failed to remember them at first glance.

She couldn’t be sure. “Sister Ji Wu, my family’s matters don’t matter much. I know where the lacquer you’re looking for is sold.”

Ji Fang knew the purpose of this trip and didn’t dare let her own affairs delay Ji Wu.

“This entire Zhaoli County is quite unusual. Perhaps it’s related to the person who set the trap. Starting the investigation from your house is a grounded approach,” Ji Wu responded.

Perhaps they really did need to ask Xiao Xiyue, who claimed to be a local.

However, since Xiao Xiyue was carrying a corpse, it wasn’t convenient for her to stroll the streets; she had gone elsewhere after entering the county.

“What kind of meatballs are these!!” A diner in the shop interrupted their thoughts.

“Boss, there’s something wrong with these meatballs!” The diner pushed away the half-eaten noodles. “It’s not beef; there’s a strange smell. Could it be spirit beast meat?”

“What spirit beast meat? Guest, please watch your words! Our family only does beef and has been open for nearly ten years. We have a reputation among the neighbors and passing merchants!” The young shop owner walked over and glanced at the noodle soup on the table.

“Exactly, shouting about spirit beast meat—what spirit beast? Which kind? Have you even eaten a spirit beast?” The other owner, who was boiling sauce in the back kitchen, poked her head out. “The government has been investigating cases of spirit beasts losing control lately; don’t go slandering people and bringing us a lawsuit for no reason.”

“Spirit beast meat?” Ming Xi followed suit, peeking curiously.

Before she could even find a meatball, the diner smashed the bowl directly. “I’m only losing my temper because you’ve been open so long! How many times do I come to West Tan every year? Every time the boat docks, I eat a bowl of noodles at your shop before entering Tanxi. But why did you serve me this junk this year?”

“What ‘junk’? Make yourself clear!”

“I’d like to ask you which spirit beast you think it resembles?”

“Yeah, isn’t this just beef? I think it tastes fine.”

“Boss, ignore her. Outsiders don’t understand good stuff.”

The other diners in the shop chimed in, creating a noisy commotion.

The soup bowl lay in shards, and the unfinished noodles spilled across the table, dripping onto the floor. The rich aroma of beef soup wafted through the air, awakening Ming Xi’s appetite.

“I want to eat this too.” Ming Xi hooked her arm into Ji Wu’s.

Ji Wu fluidly slipped her arm out the moment the Dream Beast grabbed her. “Eat spirit beasts? Or beef?”

Both Ming Xi and Ji Wu were hundreds or thousands of years old. Even with their current respective states of depletion, fasting was no problem at all. Yet Ming Xi constantly cried hunger; her greatest pleasure was seeing what others were eating and wanting it for herself.

Ji Wu really wanted to give her a cold retort: What you want to eat has nothing to do with me.

But while her tone remained cold, the content of her words softened slightly. “…We are here to find the source of the token.”

“Well, Ji Fang’s shop is gone anyway.” Ming Xi shrugged, sending a telepathic message to Ji Fang’s soul inside the hairpin. “Where did your family live?”

Ji Fang’s soul had been empowered by the Elder Matron; manifesting was actually not an issue, but she was unwilling to see the people of Zhaoli County.

She hadn’t expected that there would be no one she recognized in Zhaoli now.

“My home is behind this street. There are also inns there for guests. If Sister Ji Wu is tired, you can go there to rest. I’ll go back to my house alone to take a look.”

Ji Fang was an honest child. Ming Xi had eaten her candy before and had spent the last few days on the boat watching her tinker with spiritual tools, so she had a good impression of her and didn’t find her a bother. “I’ll listen to Wuwu. If Wuwu says we check from your place, then we check. You don’t need to be so polite; I am very capable.”

“The little guest is naturally very capable,” Ji Fang replied.

The argument about spirit beast meat was still going on in the shop.

It seemed there were rumors that some technicians were using spirit beasts to refine certain Dharma tools, and after failing, a large number of beast carcasses had leaked out. Consequently, food establishments had recently been terrified of such rumors being spread about them.

“Pay up! Apologize!” The diner angrily slapped down a gold leaf. “I am invited to watch the ceremony tomorrow. Can you afford to offend me? If I mention to the High Priest that I ate something unclean at your place, can you imagine the consequences?”

“Don’t try to scare us! We run an honest business; we’re butchering cows right in the back. If you don’t believe it, you can—”

“—No need to prove yourselves.” Ming Xi paced over with her hands behind her back. The diner didn’t even realize when she had stood behind her.

They only heard a soft word: “Sleep.”

The woman, who a moment ago had been furiously slamming the table, felt her eyes go dark and fell asleep right into the spilled noodle soup.

Ming Xi casually took her gold leaf and looked up at the boss with a smile. “Problem solved. Could you trade me a meatball for this?”

Naturally, the boss was willing and gave Ming Xi two skewers of fragrant, grilled beef meatballs.

She ate with satisfaction. If Ji Wu hadn’t been walking so fast, she could have traded for more things along the way.

“Wuwu, speaking of the spirit beasts losing control in Zhaoli, I have a lead.” Ming Xi chased Ji Wu around a street corner. “The wind in the bamboo forest earlier was very strange; it smelled of resentment.”

“There was also a fishy smell.”

“A fishy smell.” Ji Wu inevitably thought of the Demon Dragon. But when the dark wind was blowing hard earlier, Xiao Xiyue was clearly unable to withstand it; she herself would be affected by the resentment in the dark wind.

Those white-clothed disciples from the Xuanling Sect were reckless in their actions, but they weren’t wrong—not just spirit beasts, but even demons would be driven to frenzy by that strange wind.

“Is it that person? The one who left the sword tassel?” Ming Xi’s train of thought was very direct. “Last time she got a Nightmare Demon for me to eat; what about this time? A fishy smell… a Demon Dragon?”

Ji Wu frowned at her, silently retracting her evaluation of Ming Xi’s “direct train of thought.”

Where did this rebellious beast get a “train of thought” from? Her brain simply lacked a circuit.

In this wild creature’s eyes, there were only things to eat, things to play with, and things that looked pretty!

Others were plotting against her, yet she treated it as them feeding her? Huh?

Absurd.

“If it’s resentment, it’s very likely to be one person.” Ji Wu calmed her mind. “Regardless, let’s find an inn first and investigate tomorrow.”

The two of them casually chose a medium-sized inn.

The owner was a graceful beauty whose every frown and smile was very endearing. After introducing the prices, she looked at Ming Xi and Ji Wu and suggested with a smile, “Would you two like to experience our shop’s specialty?”

“Yes,” Ming Xi replied directly, without asking what the specialty was at all.

Ji Wu sighed and shook her head. “No need.”

“Our specialty is the waterfall shower. While the guests are washing and soaking, our staff also provide other services.” The owner clapped her hands, and a group of staff members walked forward. “The girls here can speak many local dialects. Where are you from? Would you like someone who speaks your dialect?”

“Thank you, we’re tired from traveling tonight. Maybe another day,” Ji Wu politely declined, nodding at the staff standing nearby.

The girls were all beautiful and had excellent figures; they were likely handpicked by the owner.

“Please don’t misunderstand, our staff are all upright women who work with their own hands. You’ll know once you’ve tried it.” Seeing Ji Wu’s serious expression, the owner feared she was wary and quickly explained. “Of course, if you need something else, Zhaoli has always been a place of free customs; we can help you find it.”

“Really? Do you have Demon Dragons?” Ming Xi asked curiously, looking at the price list again. “What is this ‘scrubbing’? How is the back massage done? Essential oils—”

“—You don’t need to know.” Ji Wu shot her a glance and turned to the owner. “Thank you for your trouble. We don’t need anything else for now. Please arrange for us to check in; we want the quietest location.”

Ming Xi was quite disappointed by this, but when away from home, one must listen to one’s wife and give her face; Ming Xi understood that.

She obediently followed Ji Wu and settled into the room at the far corner of the third floor, taking out the gold leaf she had snatched earlier.

It was a small plaque painted with a totem.

“Wuwu, do you know the High Priest they mentioned?” Ming Xi asked curiously.

Ji Wu nodded. “We don’t know each other personally, but we are aware of each other.”

People from West Tan hated the Dongfang clan because West Tan people worshipped the Spirit Mountain God-Lord.

And it was the Dongfang clan who had besieged the God-Lord in the Imperial City, and Ji Wu had killed her.

So, whether it was the true identity of the Ancestor Master Ji Wu or the disguised identity of the Dongfang descendant Ji Wu, it was impossible for the people of West Tan to like her. That High Priest would certainly not have any friendly relations with her.

They were simply both famous, so they knew of each other.

“Is she very powerful? I see everyone mentions her with great admiration, just like how the Xuanling Sect admires Ancestor Master Ji Wu,” Ming Xi continued to ask.

“I don’t know much about her; she rarely has contact with the outside world, but…”

Ji Wu had lived within the Dongfang clan for the past few years and had heard many conversations among the elders. It seemed that in the siege eight years ago, this High Priest had a hand in the design.

A person from West Tan, involved in the design of the siege against the Spirit Mountain God-Lord?

Whose side was this High Priest actually on?

“Wuwu, it’s water.” Ming Xi’s attention was never focused for long. While her mouth asked about the High Priest, her eyes had already found a new joy.

She discovered the “waterfall shower” the owner had mentioned.

“Earlier, Wuwu promised me that in the rain—”

“—When did I ever promise to be in the rain with you!”

“Fine, in the water is okay too.”

“I never promised you in the water either.” Ji Wu was organizing their luggage, not even bothering to turn around to see where Ming Xi was exactly.

She should have gotten two rooms. What happened? How did she lose her mind and only book one?

“Wuwu, come look,” the Dream Beast urged.

“Don’t be noisy,” Ji Wu ignored her.

She finished setting out the items she needed to use and put away the bundles before finally turning back to take a look.

The place that surprised Ming Xi was nothing more than a bathing hot spring inside the bedroom. As for the “waterfall,” it was just artificially constructed, barely considered exquisite.

Lanterns illuminated the water curtain as it poured down from a high-hanging faux mountain, looking quite like colored fireflies.

By the time Ji Wu walked over, Ming Xi had already circled behind the waterfall to play.

West Tan was most famous for its abundance of water; waterfall scenery was everywhere. Ji Wu had been here before and no longer found it rare.

“You play, I’m going to wash up and go to bed,” she said softly toward the faux mountain.

But she was suddenly embraced from behind.

An arm wrapped around her waist, so white it seemed to reflect the moonlight.

Then, a soft murmur, like the flowing waterfall, spilled into her ear: “Master~ you look so weak. Ming Xi needs to give you a kiss for you to get better!”