Chapter 180: An Unusual Day
During the three hottest periods in the summer, even midnight was cool.
With the windows open, a breeze flowed in.
In the center of the room stood a ceramic pot filled with fire wicks made by the neighbor next door. When lit, they didn’t produce an open flame but burned very slowly, emitting no sparks and giving off a herbal fragrance.
The Daoist lay on the cool mat, which should have felt refreshing, but unfortunately, he had a calico cat laying on him.
Ever since returning from Mount Beiqin, Lady Calico’s mouse-catching business had thrived again. However, to ensure sustainable mouse-catching while balancing study and rest, the Daoist had agreed with her to continue the previous arrangement: catching the mice from each household over five days, taking a two-day break after finishing with one household, and requesting leave when necessary.
Today was a scheduled day off, but the cat couldn't fully relax. First, it needed to devote more time to studying to maintain its facade of being a gifted cat.
Additionally, today marked Dashu, with the yang energy at its peak during the day. At night, both the moon and the yin qi were abundant.
Lady Calico cultivated her yin-yang spiritual energy, working hard during both day and night to absorb the essence of the sun and moon.
As midnight approached, she felt exhausted and not very energetic after finishing her training. However, having been on night duty for quite some time, the calico cat hadn’t really slept well for a long while. It wandered around the room and climbed on and off the bed, changing positions and locations repeatedly, until finally settling on the Daoist’s belly and drifting off to sleep.