Chapter 110 : Stowaway Cat
It was several days later when Yun Qingyue remembered the little white tiger. It wasn't that she didn't care about her promise, nor that she had forgotten there was a little white tiger waiting for her at the sect. Rather, shortly after she emerged from seclusion, her mind was distracted by other matters...
Mingzong Mountain was located in the far west, with barren surroundings. The nearest town was a hundred miles away—a small town called Xihe. However, because resources were scarce in the far west, and even spiritual energy wasn't as abundant as elsewhere, almost nine out of ten residents of Xihe Town were not cultivators but ordinary mortals. Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator could reign supreme there.
When Yun Qingyue passed through this small town a month ago, Xihe Town was still peaceful, with almost no cultivators in sight. But when she returned after her seclusion, she found the situation had changed dramatically—what else could those people walking up and down the streets carrying magical artifacts be but cultivators?
At first, Yun Qingyue thought the disciples from the three sects had arrived early, but after careful observation, she realized she didn't recognize any of them. Looking at their uneven cultivation levels and the miscellaneous cultivation methods they practiced, what could they be but rogue cultivators? Rogue cultivators naturally flocked to profit and avoided harm—without enormous benefits to attract them, they would definitely not come to the far west!
Yun Qingyue quickly realized something was amiss and, after entering Xihe Town, sought out the largest restaurant to settle in.
The restaurants in Xihe Town naturally had nothing good to offer. Forget about spiritual food—even the ordinary dishes couldn't be considered particularly delicious. But this didn't matter; there were always cultivators who preferred to meet and stay at restaurants.
As soon as Yun Qingyue set foot in the restaurant, she discovered it was much more lively than a month ago. The entire hall was filled with cultivators sitting in small groups. Even if ordinary townspeople wanted to come in for a meal, they wouldn't dare enter upon seeing these cultivators. The waiter, however, having seen many immortal masters lately, was much more composed and immediately came forward to greet the customer.
Due to concealing her identity, Yun Qingyue had also disguised her appearance, so she looked merely ordinarily pretty now. The waiter wasn't struck by her beauty at first glance, but he didn't dare offend her either, and quickly lowered his gaze, saying, "This way, Immortal Lady."
Yun Qingyue followed him inside and saw at a glance that the main hall was full, while the private rooms on the second floor were mostly empty. This wasn't because these rogue cultivators couldn't afford private rooms—even if they lacked spirit stones, they couldn't possibly lack the gold and silver used by mortals. It was just that everyone gathered here intending to exchange information and resources, so the main hall was naturally much more convenient than private rooms.
The waiter also knew these immortal masters' habits and explained as he led the way: "Please don't mind, Immortal Lady. There are no seats left in the main hall, but the private rooms upstairs won't be a problem. If you open the windows, you can still hear the conversations in the main hall."
Yun Qingyue naturally didn't say anything, just nodded and followed the waiter to a private room on the second floor.
As soon as they entered the private room, many people in the main hall began using voice transmission with their companions: "Who is that? How come we've never seen her before? I can't discern her cultivation level—can you? Troublesome figures have been increasing lately. Who knows when things will actually begin at Mingzong Mountain? If we wait a few more days, I'm afraid we won't be able to participate at all and might as well give up."
Their companions shook their heads with bitter expressions, indicating they also couldn't discern her level—when one cultivator cannot discern another's cultivation level, there are only two possibilities. One is that the other person is wearing some treasure that conceals their cultivation; the other is that the person's cultivation far exceeds their own.
At this moment, there was no one in the restaurant's main hall whose cultivation could match Yun Qingyue's, so everyone exchanged glances, feeling a heaviness in their hearts.
Meanwhile, after Yun Qingyue followed the waiter into the private room, she didn't ask him to open the windows but directly tossed out a low-grade spirit stone and asked, "Do you know why so many cultivators have suddenly appeared in Xihe Town?"
Skillfully catching the spirit stone—though low-grade, it was still a considerable income for a mortal—the waiter's face broke into a smile. But not daring to waste words in front of an immortal master, he immediately answered, "I don't know the specifics, but I occasionally overhear fragments. According to the immortal masters who dine here, there seems to be some treasure appearing on Mingzong Mountain west of our town, and they've all come treasure hunting."
What treasure they were hunting, the waiter didn't know. Having never left Xihe Town since birth, he hadn't even heard of Mingzong Mountain before this. But if the immortal masters said there was a Mingzong Mountain to the west, then there must be one, and their treasure hunting had nothing to do with him, a mortal.
Having received an answer, Yun Qingyue didn't inquire further, knowing she wouldn't get more information, so she waved her hand to dismiss the waiter. She then conducted a brief investigation, confirming what the waiter had said, and felt she needed to report this to the sect. Whether it was a leak of information about the Mingzong Mountain Secret Realm or someone deliberately spreading rumors to attract these rogue cultivators, it would be better for the sect to know early and prepare.
It was only when she began to send a message that Yun Qingyue suddenly remembered the little white tiger—now less than half a month remained until the Mingzong Mountain Secret Realm opened, and the sect had definitely already departed, so she couldn't make it back in time. Originally, she should have sent a message to the little white tiger, after all, even if she wasn't returning, she should have given an explanation. Unfortunately, the opportunity for breakthrough had come so suddenly that in her rush to seize it, she had forgotten.
Thinking of this, her beautiful glaze-like eyes blinked lightly, briefly revealing a trace of guilt...
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It was five days after the spirit boat's departure when the little white cat was dragged out from her hiding place. Her discovery was actually an accident—without this accident, she might have made it all the way to Mingzong Mountain.
No one would have imagined that a divine beast would sneak aboard a spirit boat that had already set sail...
That day at Mount Tianyang's square, Peak Master Qingyu's tossing away of the little white cat wasn't just for show. After throwing the cat down, she turned and boarded the spirit boat. Elder Yi Yun, who controlled the spirit boat, didn't go against her wishes and immediately activated it, breaking through the void. By the time the little white cat turned to chase after it, the spirit boat had already flown far away, with that troublesome Zhong Heng waving goodbye to her.
The little white cat immediately became so angry that her fur puffed up again. Fortunately, after a year of cultivation, she had not only improved her cultivation but also received her bloodline inheritance. Combined with two talismans purchased at great expense from the system, she finally caught up with the spirit boat before it left the sect's boundaries.
Of course, she caught up stealthily and then sneaked aboard the spirit boat with her aura concealed.
The sect's spirit boat was very large, constantly carrying disciples back and forth, so it naturally had many rooms. The dozen or so disciples and elders aboard now couldn't possibly fill them all. So after the little white cat sneaked aboard, she found an empty room to settle in.
At first, she was very cautious, even daring only to hide in the wardrobe, fearing discovery at any moment. Later, as one day, two days, three days passed without anyone discovering her—the door to the empty room hadn't even been opened once—the little white cat gradually relaxed her vigilance. Still, she didn't dare cultivate; with nothing to do, she took out a pile of snacks from her storage space and spent time eating and drinking with the system.
However, things happened so coincidentally that the door, which had never been opened before, was unexpectedly pushed open that day. The reason was that Elder Liu Feng's spirit pet had gone missing, and since the rooms on the spirit boat all had barriers blocking divine sense, he had no choice but to open doors one by one to search.
The door creaked open, and at the moment their eyes met, both parties were stunned.
Then, without a doubt, the little white cat was caught red-handed. Fortunately, she had shown herself at Mount Tianyang's square, so Elder Liu Feng didn't treat her as a dangerous element and immediately eliminate her. However, she still couldn't avoid the embarrassment—Jianbing, not daring to reveal her identity, was carried by her scruff to Peak Master Qingyu, appearing weak, innocent, and pitiful.
Peak Master Qingyu looked at the little white cat in silence for a moment, then asked, "Where did this cat come from?"
Hearing this, Elder Liu Feng's face was full of exasperation: "She was hiding in empty room Bing-3, probably sneaked onto the spirit boat earlier." And this cat wasn't the least bit polite, spreading snacks all over the floor, happily eating and drinking.
Upon hearing this, Peak Master Qingyu narrowed her eyes and looked suspiciously at the little white cat. She knew the cat she had thrown away hadn't caught up with the spirit boat, and after the spirit boat was activated, a barrier would automatically form outside. If the barrier had been broken, people on the spirit boat would certainly have known—yet somehow a cat had sneaked aboard without a sound...
Seeing that Peak Master Qingyu remained silent, Elder Liu Feng asked, "Peak Master, how should we deal with this cat? We're far from the sect now, so sending her back is unlikely, but taking her to Mingzong Mountain doesn't seem appropriate either."
The little white cat, hearing the direction of his words, was just waiting for him to say "let's throw her away," and immediately became anxious.
Fortunately, Peak Master Qingyu wasn't so heartless. After thinking for a moment, she said, "This cat seems somewhat extraordinary, and it was originally inside the sect—perhaps it's someone's spirit pet, either a disciple's or an elder's. It wouldn't be right to throw her away if we can't send her back. Let's keep her for now. I'll watch her personally, so there shouldn't be any problems."
Elder Liu Feng hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn't say anything more—the incident last year when the Enforcement Hall of the sect was infiltrated by demonic cultivators to rescue someone was something the disciples didn't know about, but the elders had heard. Seeing that the demonic path was active again, they should be extra cautious in these troubled times. This spirit cat's appearance was abrupt, and there was something mysterious about her, which warranted even more vigilance. However, Peak Master Qingyu's cultivation was profound, and she surely had her own considerations, so it wasn't his place to comment.
Finally, Elder Liu Feng left the little white cat behind and continued searching for his spirit pet, while also informing Elder Yi Yun and the others about this matter. In particular, he needed to have Elder Yi Yun check if there were any problems with the barrier outside the spirit boat.
After Elder Liu Feng left, only one person and one cat remained in the room, but the little white cat didn't feel at all relieved—in fact, she became even more nervous.
Peak Master Qingyu stared at the little white cat for a good while, then suddenly raised her hand and stroked the cat's back. Her palm was soft and white, and her movements could be described as gentle, but the little white cat's body still visibly stiffened. Seeing that the furball was about to puff up again, Peak Master Qingyu stopped playing games. Her hand paused at the back of the little white cat's neck, and she suddenly called out: "Jianbing?"
The little white cat didn't puff up. Her ears twitched slightly, and a trace of panic flashed through her golden cat eyes. But she couldn't believe her flawless disguise had been seen through so quickly, so in one last desperate struggle, she cried out: "Meow, meowwwww?"
What Jianbing or fried pancake? I don't understand! I'm just a pure, innocent little kitty!!!