Chapter Eight: Consumed Too Much Vital Energy

My stomach had been rumbling and swelling the entire way, and I kept hiccupping nonstop. Xiaoyun was so startled by me that she kept giving me incredulous looks.

"Qianqian, how much vital essence did you eat? Why are you so bloated?"

"I don’t know either… hic! That man and five women… hic!" My mouth was so full of vital essence that I couldn’t even finish a sentence.

Xiaoyun was terrified by my state and dashed all the way on her four little paws until we reached the Yinluo Hall by the River of Forgetfulness.

When we saw Wangchuan, he was still reading as usual, something twirling between his fingers—I couldn’t tell what it was at first. Only when I got closer did I see it was Rebecca, sprawled across her master’s lap, her entire cat body stretched long so he could rub her belly.

I hesitated, unsure if I should approach, still hiccupping uncontrollably. Wangchuan must have heard me from afar, because he looked up, then patted Rebecca’s hind legs. “Go on.”

Rebecca gave a meow, leapt off his lap, and walked over with her tail in the air. As she passed me, her mouth curled into a strange, mocking grin, as if she were laughing at me.

What was she mocking me for?

I was baffled, but then another huge hiccup escaped, and a burst of vital essence misted from my mouth, like smoke.

Rebecca suddenly stopped, staring at me in surprise, her brilliant blue pupils narrowing. She didn’t say anything, just stared for a moment, then turned and bounded away, vanishing in a few leaps.

Wangchuan beckoned me over, and I obeyed without daring to raise my tail, anxious I was disturbing him. Xiaoyun stood behind me, one paw lifted, frozen in indecision.

“Hic—” Another hiccup overtook me as I walked, spewing smoky mist everywhere, and the itching in my belly only grew worse!

In Wangchuan’s usually inscrutable black eyes, a rare flicker of astonishment appeared. He actually rose from his chair—a throne, really, all entwined with black dragons, perfectly matching his black robes. I’d thought it was just a fancy chair, but as he stood, the dragons seemed to move!

Alive?!

Startled, I backed up several steps, pressing my forepaws down in nervous tension.

Wangchuan smiled and gently scooped me up, placing me on the throne with unprecedented tenderness.

He actually smiled at me! So out of character!

Heaven knows how scared I was! When someone acts nice for no reason, it’s never good! I hadn’t forgotten how he’d strung up my tail in the cat room all last night!

“What’s this? One punishment and you’re this nervous?” Wangchuan’s voice was full of teasing as he stroked my ear and cradled my face, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking.

So I didn’t dare answer, only shook my head in his hand.

His pupils were so dark, reflecting my own image—ears flattened, only a round, startled cat face with wide eyes, looking utterly ridiculous!

Suddenly, Wangchuan crouched to face me, his fingers scratching at the back of my neck. His gentleness shocked me even more—I scratched at the throne in panic, leaving visible marks.

He soothed me with another gentle stroke, just as another huge hiccup escaped—inevitably, right onto his chest.

“Master, I—” I tried to explain in haste, watching the mist swirl around him and drift upward.

He glanced at himself and shook his head with a smile. “What did you eat?”

“Fetal souls. I ate a lot of fetal souls—hic! That’s why… hic!” I couldn’t even speak clearly with the hiccups.

Still, as his hand stroked the fur at the back of my neck, I felt an overwhelming urge to collapse in comfort, just like Rebecca, stretching out for him to pet.

Ashamed by the pleasure, I backed away agitatedly. Wangchuan reached for me, and I retreated further, desperate to escape the dreadful throne.

“Don’t move.”

He pressed me down onto the chair, sitting himself on the stone platform beside it. Propping his chin on his left hand, his right stroked my back, calm and terrifyingly at ease.

He might be relaxed, but I was a bundle of nerves! My belly kept swelling, and with him so close, I dared not hiccup, biting my tongue so hard I almost burst.

I must have looked cross-eyed by now, or at least terribly ugly from holding it in!

Wangchuan kept stroking me, smoothing my back to my hind legs, and then gently massaging my swollen belly, helping me release the gas just as I would for Xin’er when she’d eaten too much.

But Wangchuan’s hand seemed to radiate a strange, fiery warmth that seeped into my belly with every stroke!

I was so tense that my claws dug deep into the cushion, puncturing the cotton stuffing as I held my breath.

“You’re quite bold, daring to mess with someone from the Spirit Realm.” He suddenly laughed, his hands never pausing.

I froze. “…Spirit Realm?”

Wangchuan didn’t answer, just pressed his hand against my belly. “Still, not bad. That fellow is generous, haha—”

His laughter made him seem all the more terrifying, especially with the flash of tiny, sharp fangs beneath his lips.

Wangchuan kept kneading my belly, and though I shook from fear at first, I gradually relaxed, stretching out to let him stroke my soft, white belly fur.

Xiaoyun sat nearby. I remembered how, when she’d first met Wangchuan, she’d fawned and rubbed against his feet. But ever since I’d become his cat, she’d stopped.

Suddenly, a sharp pain twisted my insides, as if something were trying to force its way out, circling restlessly in my belly. I cried out.

Wangchuan slid his fingers into my mouth, fiddling with my teeth and tongue. I dared not bite him and tried desperately to hold everything in.

But I failed. My tail flicked involuntarily, and I let out a long, misty fart!

It hissed out, and I leapt up, every hair on my body standing on end! If not for all the fur, I’d have been scarlet with embarrassment. Even so, I wanted nothing more than to vanish into the floor.

Even Xiaoyun, perched nearby, burst out laughing!

Jaw trembling, I stammered, “Master, I-I-I—”

I really hadn’t meant to fart!

There was no bad smell, only a lingering white mist that hovered around me like a giant sign reading ‘embarrassment.’

At the same time, I coughed up four little blue orbs—fetal souls, which I always spat out for my master after a mission.

Wangchuan collected the four orbs, waved his sleeve to disperse the mist, then gently rapped my forehead with his long fingers.

“It’s fine now. Off you go.”

“Where to?” My head echoed with two soft thuds.

“Go sleep. Rest well. There’s work to do tomorrow.”

“Oh…” I got up, took a deep breath, and prepared to leave, but my paws felt weak and wobbly.

Wangchuan carried me off the throne and set me on the floor. Only then did Xiaoyun dare to scamper over.

“Qianqian, are you alright?” she asked, eyes full of worry.

I glanced at my master, remembered my recent humiliation, and dashed away, tail tucked, without looking back.

Behind me, my master’s laughter echoed. I didn’t dare glance over my shoulder!

Only after returning to my own place did I breathe a deep sigh of relief. My belly was still warm, but in a pleasant way.

I felt filled with more spiritual energy than ever before. Even after coughing up the orbs, so much remained inside me that I couldn’t possibly digest it all.

My master said I’d tangled with someone from the Spirit Realm… What exactly was the Spirit Realm? Was Han Mingxuan from there? No wonder he could release so much vital essence all by himself!

The more I thought about it, the more puzzled I became. I lapped some water from my little bowl, then went to the door to peek outside.

Our house was small, but compared to my current size, it felt spacious. There were cushions and fresh water.

Alright, I admit it—it was just an ordinary cat house, but there was a green, dinosaur-shaped cushion that I really liked.

Xiaoyun hadn’t returned yet—perhaps she was reporting her mission. She’d gotten two fetal souls today; I wondered if our master would praise her?

Xiaoyun and I shared a room with three cat beds. Hers was shaped like a white rabbit; the third, a little lion, was empty.

Every cat had a different bed. When we’d visited other cats, their beds were always different.

This led me to conclude that our master was definitely a cat enthusiast. Why else would he keep so many cats and make their beds so adorable?

Still, even if he was a cat lover, he was an evil one—never hesitating to punish us!

We lived near the Yinluo Hall. There were three small houses: ours belonged to the Soul-Eating Cats, behind us was the Soul-Guarding Cats’ house, and the last one—I wasn’t sure.

That place was forbidden. Low-ranked cats weren’t allowed there; even the Soul-Guarding Cats were kept out.

I shook my head and turned back inside. The door was a typical pet door, which I could latch with a paw.

But I left it unlocked, waiting for Xiaoyun.

She didn’t return for a long time. Eventually, I fell asleep in my cat bed, letting out a lazy little fart—utter bliss!

While I slept, I felt something nudging me.

No—licking!

A cat’s tongue, rough and raspy!

“Mm… Xiaoyun, stop it.” I rolled over, stretching out my paws in a lazy yawn, eyes closed.

Xiaoyun had been a cat longer than I had, so she had more feline habits. This wasn’t the first time she’d done this, so I wasn’t too worried.

But when I opened my eyes, I jolted awake and leapt three feet into the air!

Because it wasn’t Xiaoyun I saw—it was—