The Aloof Master Relies on This Cat's Kisses to Survive - Chapter 42

The Delusion of the West Lake

Ming Xi’s head was spinning.

It was as dizzying as the moment she first opened her eyes. It felt like a few days ago when Ji Wu had hauled her out of the Ling Water—her entire body felt uncomfortable.

Why is this room so red? It was a glaring, piercing red. White was much better; the white fire was the most beautiful thing of all.

Ming Xi couldn’t stand steadily. She leaned against the table, slipped, and simply sat down. Ji Wu walked over and asked her what was wrong.

Yes, Ming Xi couldn’t hear her… she only saw Ji Wu’s lips moving, her expression tense. Tension. That was an expression Ming Xi had seemingly never seen on Ji Wu’s face before.

Ji Wu was always so detached, distant like a mountain landscape, high and remote like a hanging moon. But now, Ji Wu was anxious because of Ming Xi…

“Are you worried about me?” she asked.

“Did you drink this wine?” Ji Wu asked instead of answering. “What kind of wine is this… it’s too cold.”

It was as cold as if it had been laced with the waters of Southern Ling. But this was an illusion provided by Sang Banzui; how could there be anything harmful to Ming Xi here? Could it have been left by Xiao Xiyue?

That demon flood-dragon had mentioned her original plan: to wait until the Great High Priest chose her as this year’s “bride” and then strike on the wedding night. The reason she was so certain of success was likely because she had made extra preparations.

However, Xiao Xiyue’s luck was poor. Every step had gone wrong, and even the “Hejin” wine (nuptial wine) in the bridal chamber, which had been spiked long ago, was drunk by someone else entirely.

The revenge of a minor character is like a joke in a story—a diversion that adds a bit of flavor, something to laugh at once or twice, but whose removal wouldn’t affect the plot.

“Did they add that ‘bad water’?” Ming Xi’s speech became sluggish. “Who added it?”

“It was likely Xiao Xiyue,” Ji Wu replied, checking the other wine pot. It felt icy to the touch as well.

“Who is Xiao Xiyue… oh, that fish.” Ming Xi dazed for a moment. She really wanted to be close to Ji Wu because she felt unwell.

Ming Xi needed comfort, but her brain was so foggy she forgot Xiao Xiyue was a flood-dragon, remembering only the fishy smell in the cold wind. “That fish… is she here?”

“She intended to come here,” Ji Wu explained, finding another pot of tea. That one was hot.

Ji Wu poured a cup for Ming Xi. “Take a sip to soothe yourself.”

Ming Xi obediently took a sip but set it down, complaining it was too bland. “But this Ling Water can’t hurt Sang Banzui. That fellow grew up on the Southern Ling coast; how could she fear Southern Ling seawater? It would have been better to just poison her.”

But then, Sang Banzui was half-ghost. To poison a dead person—wasn’t that the same as the flood-dragon jumping into the sea to commit suicide?

It was funny. Ming Xi suddenly burst out laughing.

“She doesn’t fear Ling Water, but Xiao Xiyue has flood-dragon blood. She can use Ling Water to draw more tide-essence. She likely wanted to use these external forces to gamble everything in a fight against the Great High Priest.” Ji Wu shook her head. “How naive.”

“Yes, very naive,” Ming Xi agreed.

How could revenge be so easy? Like in a storybook, where one endures humiliation for years, plans meticulously for a few days, and then the stars align? An ant trying to shake a tree—no, a flood-dragon trying to shake a tree.

“What about me? Am I also quite naive in your eyes?” Ming Xi asked again.

Ji Wu still shook her head. She wasn’t drunk, yet she felt herself becoming lightheaded alongside her.

“Do you also think talking to me is too much trouble and your throat is dry, so you’d rather ignore me?” Ming Xi braced herself against the edge of the table and stood up again. “Or is it better if I don’t remember? Is it better for me to just obediently be a guardian beast?”

“I never thought that. I have never once thought that way.” Yet, Ji Wu didn’t dare look at Ming Xi.

Was she truly beyond reproach?

She had wavered. Before, she had thought about tricking this Dream Beast into staying by her side, binding her as a guardian beast. Wasn’t that true?

What was the motive? Selfishness, or love?

It wasn’t love. It couldn’t be.

Was Ji Wu selfish? She had cultivated the “Way of the Righteous Body” for centuries. How could she be selfish? It was just that even now, she didn’t know what was wrong with her; she seemingly still couldn’t let go of Ming Xi.

But Ming Xi’s friends were the Great High Priest Sang Banzui, the rebellious Dongfang Konggu, and every free soul. They weren’t Ji Wu. Ji Wu should never have been the one Ming Xi yearned for.

The relationship between them was that of arch-enemies.

This Dream Beast would look toward anyone who chased the wind, not toward someone like Ji Wu, who stayed in place, obedient and bound by rules. Not toward someone who, even after ascending and attaining the Way, was still easily controlled by her clan.

Thinking of this, Ji Wu couldn’t help but let out a self-deprecating laugh. She wasn’t even as good as a tree; once her roots were set, she never thought of moving. She had never truly taken flight, had she?

Did she even have a soul left?

“Then when do you plan to tell me… what kind of thing I am?” Ming Xi wasn’t standing very steadily, but her gaze toward Ji Wu became firm.

She was uncomfortable and unhappy, but she wasn’t confused. Because she truly didn’t care much about her identity; what she cared about was Ji Wu’s lack of honesty.

Except… could she blame her? Ji Wu was the “Light of the Righteous Path”! What else could she do? Could she tell the world that the Grandmaster of the Jiyue Wind—who was supposed to be pure and upright—had not only failed to slay the Spirit Mountain God-Lord eight years ago but had also formed a “Same-Heart Covenant” with her? That they were hiding their identities and… carrying on an illicit affair within the Xuanling Sect?

How… how embarrassing!

Ming Xi’s mind could only think of this. But if that were the case, what did that make Ming Xi?

The Big Baddie of Spirit Mountain?

Ming Xi’s head throbbed. She probably still couldn’t accept her new identity—or rather, her old title. That “Spirit Mountain God-Lord” she had been cursing for days… was actually her own cat-self?

The bitterness in her heart had nowhere to go. Ming Xi wore a miserable expression and just stared at Ji Wu. As long as Ji Wu comforted her and soothed her, she was willing to listen. But why didn’t Ji Wu speak?

Feeling distressed, Ming Xi reached out to the table and scratched at the carvings, muttering under her breath, “Hmph, those who lie to kitties are the real baddies.”

Regardless of the past, Ming Xi had been sticking to Ji Wu’s side for days. Could Ji Wu not see Ming Xi’s true nature? Was she bad? She was just a little mischievous. Where was she “bad”?

She was very good. When told not to eat the chickens in the backyard, she didn’t. When told to dress as a sect disciple, she did—well, maybe not all day—but she had worn those plain colors several times. How much she had suffered!

“You actually wanted to kill me,” Ming Xi pouted in resentment, her body swaying again.

She didn’t remember the events of eight years ago, but she remembered this feeling of instability. “Was it on a boat? It was on a boat, wasn’t it? I always remember this feeling of not being able to stand steady.”

Swaying, rocking.

“Yes,” Ji Wu nodded.

The day of the ambush against Ming Xi, the location for her to meet her end was set at one of the Imperial City’s most famous scenic spots: the Heart of the Imperial River.

It was a place everyone visiting the Imperial City had to see. The lake was surrounded by green willows and banks full of camellias—red and green, opulent and grand. It was especially beautiful at night.

Many boats of all sizes for nobles and tourists were on the lake, including a massive vessel exclusive to the Imperial Family. Only those from the palace could board it.

Someone from the palace had married a woman of the Dongfang Clan, and thus the Dongfang Clan was considered half-royal, their status soaring. Not to mention the Dongfang Clan was a prominent power in their own right, moving freely within the palace.

How hard was it for them to get a boat?

The Dongfang Clan held all the cards. Their ambush against Ming Xi was meticulous and rigorous, prepared for over half a year. It was likely planned even before Dongfang Konggu was harmed; Dongfang Konggu must have been heartlessly killed because she refused to cooperate and was too outstanding.

If she had been as easy to trick as Ji Wu, it would have been simple.

Hmph.

Ji Wu shook her head, unwilling to recall even a fraction of the past. She hadn’t even asked for a reason back then. She had simply listened to her clansmen’s pleas, who claimed the Spirit Mountain God-Lord had slaughtered half the city, her dream-fire burning white and piercing the sky, making the entire Imperial City as terrifying as broad daylight. They claimed that if the rebellious beast wasn’t slain, she would continue her atrocities in surrounding towns.

Why had she seen red and started the slaughter?

Ji Wu hadn’t asked. Ji Wu never asked why the Spirit Mountain God-Lord acted so recklessly, because in the centuries she had known this Dream Beast, that wild creature had always been that way.

Ming Xi had told her once: the rules of humans didn’t protect her, so why should she follow them?

“You accept these principles because you are human, living within these boundaries. When you were weak, these boundaries protected you; now that you are strong, it is right for you to guard them.”

“But I don’t have to. I am not human. I don’t live within these boxes, so…” She had laughed cunningly as she said it. “I can throw a fire into this box, just to hear you all scream in terror.”

Was Ming Xi bad? Was she a bad person?

If she were human, then yes, she would be bad. But she wasn’t.

Ji Wu closed her eyes. Correcting the body, clearing desires, remaining indifferent, and keeping a quiet spirit. She had achieved every single one, but was she “Righteous”?

“Look at me… why won’t you look at me?” Ming Xi was still aggrieved.

Having lost her memory, she lacked her former aura of reckless evil. She still naturally did whatever she wanted, but what she “wanted” was very limited. Because she was tied to Ji Wu. Because of Ji Wu, she had entered the “box” of humanity.

“You actually teamed up with that old lady of the Dongfang Clan to lie to me, saying I was a guardian beast. I am clearly the Spirit Mountain God-Lord, the Lord of an entire mountain!” She was still indignant, but she was only angry that Ji Wu had lied to her—not that the covenant had damaged her cultivation, and not that Ji Wu had once joined an entire city to kill her.

Ji Wu shook her head slightly, opening her mouth but not knowing what to say.

Ming Xi hadn’t yet realized what kind of trap she had fallen into, or what kind of disaster she was walking toward. Humans had never protected her with their rules, yet they demanded she follow them. Because her abilities were extraordinary, they wanted to use her. In fact, if the Dongfang Clan had truly succeeded in killing Ming Xi back then, the beast’s fate wouldn’t have ended with just death.

The Dongfang Clan’s plan was to divide and consume Ming Xi. Spirit Mountain was wealthy and humans coveted it; therefore, Spirit Mountain should change hands, and Ming Xi should die and be devoured until nothing remained.

This was wrong. Ji Wu’s brow furrowed. The Ming Xi she knew was someone she found hard to agree with, but that Ming Xi was the one who was right.

She must be let go.

Her memories must be restored. She needed to know what she was originally like, what kind of life she yearned for, and who her true companions should be. She never needed restraints, she didn’t need a Same-Heart Covenant, and she certainly didn’t need Ji Wu.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Seeing Ji Wu unmoving, Ming Xi finally couldn’t help but pounce forward, hugging Ji Wu tightly, refusing to let her pull away.

“Okay, okay, Wuwu has recovered so well, she has so much strength now.” She was only throwing a small tantrum.

Ji Wu felt extremely uncomfortable—uncomfortable that she couldn’t explain the relationship between them clearly, because she herself didn’t understand her current feelings for Ming Xi.

Did she only see her as a guardian beast who could heal her spiritual dwelling? Clearly, it was more than that. But she and Ming Xi were not on the same path; they never had been.

In the past, the world loved to say they were one righteous and one evil. Now, Ji Wu couldn’t tell who was righteous and who was evil.

“Are you feeling unwell?” Ming Xi felt the Ji Wu in her arms trembling.

Clearly, it was Ming Xi who had drunk the “bad water,” and Ming Xi who was heartbroken. Why was Ji Wu trembling?

Ming Xi didn’t understand, but her heart ached for her.

“I’m not angry anymore, I won’t scold you, okay?” she asked. “Wuwu, we are fine like this. You are very powerful, and I am very powerful. We just won’t be friends with the old lady of the Dongfang Clan anymore, okay?”

“Let’s go to Spirit Mountain, to the Dream Pavilion, okay?”

“As long as I’m with Wuwu, Ming Xi is very happy. We—”

“Ming Xi.” Ji Wu finally spoke.

“Hmm?”

“Ming Xi, do you think I treat you well?”

Ming Xi nodded. “Of course. Wuwu is the best.”

“Don’t you know now? I wanted to kill you. During the ambush in the Imperial City eight years ago, I was the one who swung the sword at you,” Ji Wu stated coldly.

“That was because the people of the Dongfang Clan tricked you into going, wasn’t it? You don’t hate me, do you?” Ming Xi only needed Ji Wu to say “yes,” and that would be enough.

But Ji Wu shook her head.

“I don’t hate you.”

“Back then… I just thought you deserved to die.”