Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Human Tongue Is Very Soft

The dazzling night enveloped me; this was the first time I felt the kiss of Wang Chuan. That thick, masculine scent poured out, overbearingly flooding my mouth, even seeping into my lungs and every pore of my body. Unconsciously, I reached out and wrapped my arms around his strong back. Sensing the faint curve of his lips against mine, as if he was smiling, it struck me—this was lips on lips?!

Panicking a little, I touched Wang Chuan’s mouth and then my own, and let out a sound—one so normal, so human, I could hardly believe it myself. When I was a cat, my voice had been higher, and speaking always felt unnatural. But this body—this was the one I’d lived in for twenty years.

“Master, I…” I stammered, suddenly hugging my chest tight. If I could disappear, I’d have done so in an instant!

Wang Chuan narrowed his eyes, smiling as he placed my hands aside and pressed me down beneath him. “Why do you always cut corners? With such a small body, how can you possibly satisfy me?”

“Uh?” Only then did I realize how large Wang Chuan was, almost twice my size, pinning me to the soft bed so that I practically melted into it. I was still just over a meter tall, just like last time, except now my tail was gone—though my ears remained atop my head. But what did he mean by satisfy?

I looked up at him in terror, searching his eyes for some clue to his thoughts, but it was useless. His eyes were like deep pools of indigo ink—one glance and I felt myself falling, dazzled, all reason swept away.

So I decided: I wouldn’t listen, wouldn’t look, wouldn’t breathe. I slipped into meditation. This is all a dream, just a dream, only a dream… I chanted to myself, wishing to escape this awkward predicament as soon as possible.

“Answer when your master asks a question.” Wang Chuan’s voice, suddenly stern, shattered my breath-holding spell and the fragile illusion I’d woven.

“I don’t know,” I replied evasively, desperate to avoid the situation.

With a sharp smack, he swatted my bottom—not enough to hurt, but enough to make me freeze in place. My cheeks burned, a flush spreading as if I would catch fire. I had to stay calm, or I’d embarrass myself again.

“What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“I just… I…” I stammered, unable to face the scene before me. But he said I was cutting corners—how could he accuse me of that? This time, I really hadn’t! Wang Chuan himself had crushed those black, foul-smelling souls. One of them must have been Brother Wang’s, right? Wang Chuan had said as much when he destroyed them—that it was his fault my tail had gone bald.

Now the tail was gone, and at least I didn’t have to feel awkward about its baldness. With a flick to my forehead, another sharp pain snapped me out of my thoughts.

“What are you thinking about?”

I glanced up at Wang Chuan, sheepishly rubbing against his arm. “Nothing.”

“Sent you to collect souls, told you twenty, and you bring back exactly twenty. You have no sense of diligence at all.” Wang Chuan scolded, and I smacked my lips in embarrassment. Honestly, I’d done well to bring that many. Xiao Yun was a soul-devouring cat and couldn’t hold so many souls in her belly. All of them ended up with me; after stuffing in a dozen or so, I was so bloated I could barely move.

And this demon, upon my return, immediately forced me to drink water, making me feel like a stuffed hose about to burst—yet he still complained I hadn’t brought enough souls?

I grumbled at Wang Chuan in my heart, glaring at his face and silently cursing him with satisfaction. But as a consequence, the collar around my neck began to crackle with electricity.

Yelping at the shock, I instinctively grabbed Wang Chuan’s fingers. “Master, I was wrong! I was wrong!” No response—the collar still crackled with electricity. Panic dried my mouth. I didn’t know what to do.

Then Wang Chuan shoved his finger into my mouth and issued a command. “Lick.”

Stunned, I stuck out my tongue and began licking his finger. Only when the electric current in the collar faded away did I breathe a sigh of relief—though I didn’t dare stop. Wang Chuan watched my tongue, twisting his finger slightly.

“A human tongue… it’s rather soft,” he mused, prying open my mouth to examine it as if he’d never seen one before.

I obediently opened wide, thinking: Of course the human tongue is soft—there’s no need to lick fur! It’s just for eating, so naturally it’s soft! But then I realized—wasn’t Wang Chuan in human form? Didn’t he have a tongue of his own? Why study mine?

As I puzzled over this, Wang Chuan suddenly leaned in and kissed me. In the next instant, I started to whimper and protest—his tongue was covered in tiny barbs, pricking my lips! He really was a big cat, with a tongue full of spines!

Clamping my lips shut, I stared at him in horror. My lips felt as if they’d been scratched open, the taste of blood faint on my tongue. He’d done it on purpose, clearly, for when his lips and tongue touched mine again, the sensation was gentler, even comfortable.

His large hand circled my waist, and because I was still so tiny, I felt wrapped in an overwhelming sense of security. I flicked my ears and suddenly thought: This wasn’t bad at all.

Hadn’t I always hoped Wang Chuan would like me? Now that he was showing affection, shouldn’t I accept it freely?

So, lifting my head with delight, I asked, “Master, do you like me?”

Wang Chuan seemed a little perplexed. “Like you?”

“Yes, I mean… do you miss me? Do you want to… um… have children with me?”

“No.” His answer was blunt, expressionless.

I froze, still pinned beneath the weight of his breathing chest. Even though I was now a cat in human form, it was… well, still something.

A sudden pang of disappointment hit me—as if when Xin’er saw me today, she’d completely ignored me, her heart set only on Han Mingxuan. I didn’t know when it happened, but Wang Chuan had become an important part of my life. His flat refusal didn’t surprise me, though. He’d said before he felt nothing for me, that he was only teasing.

Only I, foolish as I was, believed that his kisses and embraces meant he liked me. The more I thought, the more it hurt, but I forced myself to suppress the disappointment. Though rejected, he was still my master—high above, and even his refusal was natural.

I’d misread things again. Hairy or not, tongue barbed or smooth, to him, I was just a cat to play with.

So I asked nothing more, awkward and unsure how to continue. Wang Chuan glanced at me, pulled the blanket down so both our heads stuck out. He held me so close it felt as if I’d melt into him.

“Sleep for a while,” he said softly.

“All right,” I replied, my voice tinged with a nasal murmur.

His heartbeat thudded steadily against my ear, strong and reassuring. I listened to it, feeling the warmth of his body, the unmistakable masculine scent that lingered even in human form. My mind raced with thoughts—especially his clear rejection.

I warned myself not to think too much with a human heart; perhaps his idea of “satisfaction” was nothing more than teasing a cat. To me, a girl licking a man’s finger and a cat in human form licking it were worlds apart. I was overthinking.

Wang Chuan’s embrace was almost suffocating, and I barely slept that night, my body growing numb, too afraid to move. By the time I finally drifted off, I had no idea what hour it was—perhaps the sky outside was already beginning to lighten.

But when I woke, sitting up, I discovered Wang Chuan was no longer in the room. I searched everywhere, finally finding one of his usual night robes—a soft, dark gray garment. Inhaling that familiar scent, I felt a pang of sorrow.

Wasn’t it wrong to long for more? Rebecca, standing outside even now, was the clearest example.

In the mirror, for some reason, I’d returned to my normal appearance. My ears were gone, my figure restored to its usual shape—just over one and a half meters tall, not exactly tall, but my original self.

I guessed Wang Chuan hadn’t reclaimed those souls, and I had absorbed them instead.

But right now, all I wanted was to get away from here as soon as possible, to return to the human world and find Xin’er at once.