Chapter 044 Senior Brother – “ “Could you…could you take me and the three-tailed cat in temporarily?” ” (09/19)
The three-tailed cat was completely dumbfounded. It stared blankly at the man with a look that suggested he’d just spotted some prehistoric monster.
Ignoring the three-tailed cat’s wide-eyed gaze, the man calmly pulled a mirror out of his storage space. He studied his reflection for a while before suddenly asking with a serious expression, “Do I look a bit old?”
Three-tailed cat: “?”
The man looked far from “old”, of course. With his striking features and powerful aura, a mere glance from him was enough to make anyone instinctively lower their gaze.
“Looking a bit younger might make me more approachable,” the man muttered.
Three-tailed cat: “???”
The man furrowed his brow. “And I look a bit too intimidating like this.”
Three-tailed cat: “???”
“Too intimidating—might scare off my partner?” The man worried to himself. “No, it’s too risky.”
So, under the three-tailed cat’s stunned gaze, the man transformed. His height gradually shrank, his facial features softened, and he took on a more youthful appearance. He then reined in his aura, making himself look just like a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old youth!
He rubbed his chin, somewhat pleased with his current appearance. “This way, I shouldn’t intimidate him, right?” the man muttered.
The three-tailed cat swished its tail and chattered curiously.
Who’s being intimidated?
“Myself, of course…” The man paused, seemingly searching for the right words. After a long moment, realizing he couldn’t find the right phrasing, he simply glared at the three-tailed cat and fell silent.
He’d actually wanted to call that young man his future Dao companion outright, but…
Would the young man find that inappropriate? Would he think the man was being too forward? Would he think the man was acting like a hooligan?
Back in the day, cultivators seemed to be very particular about these things—both parties had to agree before they could be called Dao companions or anything like that, or else they’d get beaten up.
The man sighed.
Although he didn’t care at all if the young man hit him, he was afraid the young man would get angry. What if, while hitting him, he accidentally hurt the young man’s hand? That would truly be a case of losing more than he gained.
The man rubbed his nose dejectedly.
It wouldn’t be too much to call him that a couple of times in my head, would it?
Dao companion, Dao companion, Dao companion.
Calling him that a couple more times would make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Three-tailed cat: “?”
Why stop mid-sentence??
Just then, a flash of insight suddenly crossed the man’s mind—he’d finally found the right words!
“Of course,” the man said with an air of mystery, “the other person willing to be your master.”
Three-tailed cat: “……”
The three-tailed cat shot the man a disdainful look. Why beat around the bush when he could just say “partner” outright?
But since the man was being so evasive, did he already have someone in mind?
The three-tailed cat gave the man a suspicious look, and the man nodded slightly.
Three-tailed cat: !!!
In the blink of an eye, the three-tailed cat suddenly realized who that person was.
No wonder—over the years, the man had only ever looked at one person!
Realizing the three-tailed cat had figured it out, the man crouched down and ruffled its head. The creature jumped back, eyeing him warily.
“You have to help me,” the man said matter-of-factly. “Your master’s marriage isn’t exactly a trivial matter. It’s not too much to ask for you to put in a little effort, is it?”
“I can tell you like him too. What’s the matter? Don’t you want him to become your other master?”
The three-tailed cat eyed him sideways and held out a paw.
The man placed a top-grade spirit stone on the ground. “Take me to him.”
The three-tailed cat flicked its tail, indicating it wasn’t enough.
The man added two more stones and said slowly, “Three-Tailed Cat, I’m in agony and I’m lonely. I need a soulmate to accompany me through these long, dark nights. Do you understand?”
The three-tailed cat swayed its tail, indicating it didn’t understand, its face radiating sweet innocence.
The man fell silent. It seemed playing the victim was useless with this little fellow.
“Take me to him, and from now on, I’ll give you three high-grade spirit stones every day.” The man paused, then quickly added, “Until the day I run out of spirit stones.”
But how could the man ever run out of spirit stones?
This was a deal to feed the cat until the end of time! Only a fool would turn down such a great offer!
The three-tailed cat agreed without hesitation.
The man’s lips curled into a slight smile. What a silly little cat.
Once he had a Dao companion, everything he owned would naturally belong to him—where would he even get spirit stones?
It would only be when his Dao companion bestowed him with spirit stones that he would have any!
After convincing the three-tailed cat, the man began picking out clothes for himself. “You’ve been with him for a long time. Tell me, what color do you think he’d like?”
The man looked at the three-tailed cat, who was dumbfounded. It had only been there to scrounge for elixirs. Who knew what color that cultivator liked?
But the three-tailed cat certainly couldn’t say that. Otherwise, it would lose its spirit stones.
After a moment’s hesitation, the three-tailed cat extended its tail. “Meow, meow, meow!”
That cultivator was always stroking its tail; he must like it! Naturally, if he likes its tail, he must also like this color.
Perfect logic, no questions asked.
The man glanced at the three-tailed cat’s tail, then casually ran a hand through his own hair. In the blink of an eye, his flowing black hair turned silver.
Three-tailed cat: “……”
By the time the man had finally finished getting ready to head out, the three-tailed cat had taken a nap. When it opened its eyes and saw the man, the three-tailed cat almost didn’t recognize him.
Wearing an all-silver outfit was one thing, having all his accessories be silver was fine, dyeing his hair silver was tolerable, and even silver irises weren’t a deal-breaker, but silver lips… what the hell was that?!
The three-tailed cat closed his eyes in agony. Did humans really have zero common sense when it came to pursuing a partner?
Noticing the three-tailed cat’s strange expression, the man whispered, “What’s wrong?”
The three tailed cat didn’t even know what to say.
The man narrowed his eyes. “Didn’t you say he likes silver?”
Three-tailed cat: “……”
“So if I wear more of the color he likes, will he be happy?”
The three-tailed cat nodded with difficulty. That logic seemed to hold up, it guessed…
“If I wear more of the color he likes and he’s in a good mood, shouldn’t he love me a little more by extension?”
The three-tailed cat stared in disbelief. It really wanted to argue, but it simply didn’t know where to start!
There really was nothing wrong with that logic.
In the end, the three-tailed cat nodded.
“So,” the man said slowly, “if, in the end, he doesn’t like me, then that means you gave me false information. It means you deceived me.”
Three-tailed cat: “!!!!!”
Was there still time to rewind and start over?
Clearly, it was too late. The man had even secretly dyed his eyebrows silver.
In that moment, the three-tailed cat felt deep down that centuries of seclusion and isolation had left this man’s brain beyond repair.
So, the heavy responsibility of finding him another master ultimately fell on the three-tailed cat.
After all, it was the beloved three-tailed cat.
And besides, it actually quite liked that cultivator =v=.
By the time the man and the three-tailed cat set out, it was already dark.
But for the man, this was a good thing—it helped him stay hidden.
After all, he only wanted to find his Dao Companion; he had no desire to deal with the current cultivators.
He’d been in seclusion and in a deep sleep for far too long; he’d only just woken up last month and had long since fallen out of step with this world. He couldn’t be bothered to try to fit in.
Of course, if his Dao companion were willing to guide him through the process step by step, he’d be more than happy to do so.
As he thought about it, the man couldn’t help but recall the scene he’d witnessed that day. His Dao companion was gently stroking the three-tailed cat, so tenderly, so adorably.
If his partner were willing to stroke him like that, he’d do anything.
If… if they could practice dual cultivation, that would be even better.
The three-tailed cat gave him a puzzled look, clearly at a loss. Why was he walking along and suddenly letting out such a strange chuckle? And paired with that silver outfit, it was actually a bit of an eyesore.
The three-tailed cat silently averted its gaze. Led by it, the man found Shi Jingge’s residence on Shuixing Peak, but there was no one there.
The man actually wanted to go inside, but he was afraid that barging in would make him unwelcome, so he could only wait outside.
He cast a spell so no one could see him, waiting from night until day, then from day until night, repeating this cycle several times, yet he never saw a soul.
But this room carried a strong scent that belonged to his partner. He knew his partner must be living here.
Or at least had lived here.
Actually, come to think of it, the man was just unlucky.
Just as the man arrived at Shi Jingge’s residence on Shuixing Peak, Shi Jingge had just retreated to the Spirit Vein to go into seclusion for cultivation, temporarily shunning the storms of the outside world.
Back and forth like this, the two of them completely missed each other.
While Shi Jingge was immersed in alchemy, he also missed the three-tailed cat. Every day, he refined a batch of Nurturing Essence Pills for the cat and even prepared a bottle of Snow Spirit Pills for it, nearly driving System 111 to a system crash.
By the fifth day, the man could wait no longer.
He stood before Shi Jingge’s residence, bowed slightly, and apologized three times in a row before steeling his resolve to sneak into Shi Jingge’s room. Daring not to look around, he swiftly grabbed an item from the bed; the entire process took no more than five seconds.
The three-tailed cat moved closer and patted his shoulder in a consoling manner.
The man took a deep breath, glanced sideways at it, and said in a flat tone, “Today’s spirit stones are gone.”
Three-tailed cat: “?”
The man looked down at the three-tailed cat from above. “In the end, didn’t I have to find him on my own?”
He saved his partner a few more spirit stones—he was happy.
Three-tailed cat: “???”
As if you could’ve found this place without me!!
It seemed he really could.
The three-tailed cat deflated instantly.
Never mind, I won’t argue with a human who hasn’t found a partner and is lonely, isolated, and miserable. After all, I am the noble and gracious Three-Tailed Cat!
The weather today didn’t look too promising; there was a damp, earthy scent in the air, as if rain were coming.
The man cast a spell, following the young cultivator’s scent all the way back. When he saw the familiar scenery, he couldn’t help but rub his temples.
…Why did he have such bad luck?
The three-tailed cat glanced at the man, then nuzzled his leg as a gesture of comfort.
The man shook his head and whispered, “You go first.”
Three-tailed cat: “?”
“Hurry up,” the man urged softly.
The three-tailed cat wagged its tail and went ahead anyway.
Upon seeing the long-lost kitten, Shi Jingge’s love for all things fluffy resurfaced.
After finally getting to eat a Peiyuan Pill again, the three-tailed cat genuinely felt that the cultivator in front of him was better than that unreliable one outside.
Only System 111 was so furious it crashed outright, its data becoming somewhat chaotic.
Soon, a bolt of thunder split the sky, leaving a streak of blue-purple light in its wake, and in the blink of an eye, torrential rain poured down.
Shi Jingge stroked the three-tailed cat. “Stay here tonight.”
“Meow~”
The three-tailed cat had barely let out a meow when a weak male voice called out, “Three-tailed cat? Three-tailed cat! Three-tailed cat, where are you!”
The three-tailed cat instinctively ran toward the exit, only to see the man disguised as a teenager. His eyes lit up as he hurried over, shouting, “Three-tailed cat!”
After running inside, he reached out to pick up the three-tailed cat, but realizing he was soaked through, he withdrew. Hesitantly, he stroked the cat’s nose instead, then looked at Shi Jingge and said gratefully, “Thank you for taking in the three-tailed cat.”
Shi Jingge looked up. The first thing he felt was an overwhelming sense of familiarity, and in the very next moment, he was blinded by dazzling silver.
The boy’s cheeks were slightly flushed, his eyes sparkling, and he was soaked through; rainwater dripped from his hair onto the floor.
Vulnerable, pitiful, and helpless.
He took a deep breath, as if finally mustering the courage, and mumbled, “C–Could you take me and Three-Tailed Cat in for a while? I–It’s pouring outside.”
Author’s Note:
Three-tailed cat: I’m just a tool cat 🙂
Man: Follow the three-tailed cat’s path—leave the three-tailed cat with nowhere to go!
Three-tailed cat: ?????
Why get soaked to the bone?
What else could it be? Wet-body seduction, of course, hhhhh.
Edit: Krone
Proofread: Choux_choux
