[Vol. 6] Chapter 89: The White Cat
“Did you all follow the mountain path when you climbed the mountain? Did anyone take a shortcut or find another way?”
“Hmm…”
Murong Yun frowned, resting his chin in thought for a mont.
“I don’t think so. I rember that before the trial began, the Sage’s ssenger strictly ordered us not to leave the mountain path and enter the inner area of the Peach Blossom Forest. If anyone was caught doing so, they would be imdiately expelled from the mountain. At least the strong warriors who successfully reached the endpoint must have followed that rule carefully.”
“I see. So when you ca to Peach Blossom Peak last ti, did you see any spirit beasts around this area?”
“No, but at that ti, to clear the area for the trial, the entire Peach Blossom Peak temporarily closed off tourism services, and the spirit beasts all hid deep in the mountains. So I don’t think this can be used as a reference.”
“…Let’s keep going.”
Violet nodded thoughtfully as she looked at the peach trees blooming in the cold distance. She didn’t explain much further, just continued using the [Light Protection] to shield from the wind and snow, climbing upward with the others.
The cold on the mountain was not a joke. Although it was strange that the peach trees seed unaffected, it was still a big trouble for the local creatures, as their presence had nearly vanished. Looking around, there was nothing but a quiet, snowy landscape.
The number of travelers grew even fewer, and the cold wind continued to lash at the golden barrier, even creating sharp, slicing sounds like blades cutting glass.
If it weren’t for the endless peach blossoms still surrounding them, one might think they had entered an entirely different world compared to the earlier mountain path.
Suddenly…
“Wait, I think I see sothing ahead!”
The sharp-eyed Bai’er suddenly stopped. Seeing Ling Feng nodding in approval, she imdiately darted out of the barrier. She bent down in the snow, picking up sothing white and bringing it back.
“Milady, Violet, look…”
The group gathered around, looking at each other in confusion. The object shaking in Bai’er’s arms turned out to be a small white cat, about the size of an adult’s arm.
“Is this… a spirit pet?”
“It seems like it’s been frozen.”
Violet placed her hand gently on the cat’s chest, feeling the faint rise and fall of its breathing.
Though the white cat looked weak and barely alive, its fur was exceptionally soft, smooth, and clean, clearly well-maintained. It was a pet, not a wild animal. Around its neck, it wore an expensive-looking gemstone necklace, with a naplate in Ancient Spirit Realm script reading “Miaomiao.” That must be its na.
“Miaomiao… ow?” Violet couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.
The cat’s owner certainly didn’t put much thought into the na…
“This is strange. If it’s a spirit pet with an owner, why was it left alone in this snowy mountain path? Where is its owner?”
While carefully cradling the immobile cat, Bai’er provided warmth with her body and poured so water from her thermos, feeding it to the cat gently. Ling Feng silently took out a [Evil-Repelling Jade] and pressed it against the white cat’s soft fur, using the yang energy to warm it up.
“We can’t be sure yet, but it seems like it was attacked. After being badly injured, it was likely forced to flee here. Look here.”
Ling Feng gently lifted one of the cat’s curled back legs. The red stains had frozen into icy shards, but it was still easy to see the marks of a previous injury.
“So pitiful…”
Having spent most of her ti in the lower ranks of the demon world, Little Mole could empathize with the little white cat and couldn’t help but gently pat its head.
However, the cat had already slipped into a semi-conscious state due to the cold. Despite Bai’er and Ling Feng’s help, its chest was rising and falling more noticeably, but it still showed no signs of opening its eyes.
“What should we do now?”
Looking at the cat in Bai’er’s arms, Murong Yun appeared a bit hesitant. Given the cat’s condition, if it were left in the freezing cold on Peach Blossom Peak, it probably wouldn’t survive for long. The problem was, they didn’t know where its owner was, so they couldn’t just return it.
Additionally, the wound on the cat’s leg was clearly caused by a sharp blade, which raised so concerns, especially in the spirit beast-rich Peach Blossom Peak. This already told them quite a bit.
“…Let’s take it with us for now. It’s just a cat, it won’t be too much of a burden. When we see the Peach Blossom Sage, we can ask her for help finding its owner. What do you all think?”
“I have no objections.”
“Do whatever you want~”
“Ah… Eh! Are you asking ? This little yokai agrees! We can’t just leave it to die…”
After reaching a unanimous decision, the group continued their journey with the white cat they had found along the way.
Violet quickly examined the cat. It wasn’t seriously injured, just had lost a lot of blood, and was in shock from being frozen. Thanks to Bai’er’s ergency treatnt and the warmth from the [Light Protection] shield, which raised the temperature significantly, it gradually began to recover after about ten minutes.
“ow~ ow~”
It seed that the white cat realized it had been saved by Violet and the others. When it woke up, it didn’t struggle or cry out. Instead, it just lay quietly in Bai’er’s arms, using its clear and curious dark vertical pupils to look around at the group and the golden barrier that surrounded them. It softly owed a few tis.
“You’re recovering quickly. It seems you’re quite a special cat, Miaomiao… is that your na? It’s a sha you haven’t learned to talk. Then we could know what happened and take you to your owner. Poor little thing…”
The guard girl with gray short hair gently stroked the white cat’s soft fur. Miaomiao, in return, obediently licked Bai’er’s fingers and owed several more tis.
Suddenly, having regained much of its strength and with its leg injury carefully bandaged by Bai’er, the cat jumped out of the young girl’s arms, leapt out of the [Light Protection] shield, and ran off straight ahead, leaving the group in surprise!
“Wait, where are you going!?”
Ling Feng imdiately made a decision.
“Is it… leading us sowhere? It wants to take us to a certain place. Follow it!”
Except for Little Mole, everyone else was a seasoned expert and quickly reacted. They turned around and followed the white cat.
Despite its injured hind leg causing it to limp slightly, the little white cat’s speed was still impressive. It led them through the peach forest, twisting and turning as though navigating a complex maze. Little Mole almost couldn’t keep up, but Murong Yun, being tall, simply hoisted her onto his shoulder and ran ahead to avoid her falling behind.
As the cat continued to lead them, the surrounding scenery began to change in an unbelievable way.
The howling snowstorm weakened. The sharp, cutting sound of the wind hitting the barrier stopped, and the dense forest of peach trees, which had seed to stretch on endlessly, gradually beca sparse until they completely disappeared.
Finally, the snowstorm ceased, and when the group stopped, they found themselves facing a completely different scene from the mountain path they had just been on.
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