The white cat let out a long, quiet sigh.
"I truly care for you, young one, which is why I spoke up to warn you." It paused, its ancient voice growing heavy.
"I have walked this world for many years and experienced much. I have found that evil breeds malice, goodness breeds fortune, and a poisoned heart corrupts the body."
"Some things are rooted deep, passed down from generation to generation. Good wood cannot grow in bad soil."
As it spoke, its gaze drifted toward the back of her hand, seemingly by chance.
"Xiaomi, my dear girl, whatever happened to that tattoo you used to have on the back of your hand?"
Chai Xiaomi looked down at her smooth, unblemished hand.
When she looked up again, her peripheral vision accidentally swept over a tall, slender figure standing not far away.
Wu Li had appeared in the courtyard at some point. He was leaning against a rockery by the edge of the pond, holding a piece of almond pastry.
She was someone who always had to be snacking, so he kept treats on him for her.
And right now, the almond pastry in his hand was the very one she had specifically saved for last today, the one she had been most reluctant to eat. Yet, he broke off a small corner, crushed it between his fingers, and sprinkled it finely into the pond.
The goldfish in the pond, lured by the scent, gathered in a flurry, their mouths opening and closing as they feasted eagerly.
A faint smile played on the boy's lips. His gaze crossed the water and landed softly on her.
It was as if he were saying: If you don't come over soon, these fish are going to eat it all for you.
It was clearly a mischievous look.
He was clearly playing a childish trick.
But she could clearly see deep in his pupils a trace of unease he hadn't managed to hide, along with a shallow loneliness.
He was definitely annoyed that she was chatting for so long.
So childish.
He was annoyed to death, but insisted on smiling, showing it in this petty, awkward way.
*
And deep underground beneath the pavilion, unnoticed by anyone.
A tiny Gu insect lay quietly dormant. The white cat's barrier was set on the surface but didn't extend underground.
Every single word of the conversation in the pavilion reached the boy's ears.
Yet he acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, smiling as he continued to carefully feed the goldfish.
Only the knuckles of the hand crushing the almond pastry had turned a ghastly white from the force.
He had always thought he was a bastard unrecognized by his clan.
It turned out that even his birth wasn't a testament to his parents' love, but the dregs of a scheme.
Love turning into hate... but if his mother's so-called "love" was fake from the start, how could that be?
What was even more tragic was that, despite his disdain for his own origins, he couldn't muster even a shred of resentment toward his mother. Because, in the end, he had used the same methods she had.
They really were the same kind of people.
But he was, after all, luckier than his mother, for he had won the pity of the one he loved.
Pitiful mother.
The curse of revenge she had laid upon him, all the scheming behind it—it had all amounted to nothing but a joke in the end...
*
"Old Ji, I really misjudged you." Chai Xiaomi withdrew her gaze and suddenly spoke. "I thought that after slaying demons and monsters for years, seeing all the suffering in the world, and holding compassion for all living things, you wouldn't use prejudice to judge someone's heart."
She hummed softly in her heart. To think Ji Bai was a character she really liked in the original novel.
The white cat pricked up its ears.
"Who says good wood can't grow in bad soil?"
"I've seen someone crawl out of the mud, covered in wounds, but with bones that are completely clean."
"Someone who was never properly loved for a single day growing up, yet learned to save up all their goodness just for one person."
"Someone who was planted with hatred for a lifetime, yet when facing me, has given nothing but love."
She paused, a faint sheen of tears in her eyes, but she curved them into a smile and looked toward that figure.
The boy was still leaning against the rockery, looking down as he broke off a second piece of almond pastry. The goldfish crowded together, splashing water onto his cuffs, but he didn't dodge.
"That's not bad soil; it's an abandoned, fertile field."
"I'm not here to exchange a piece of land," she turned back, her clear, bright almond eyes looking steadily at the white cat. "I'm here to make it grow things again. To sow seeds, sprout new shoots, bloom, and bear fruit. Just you wait and see, Old Ji."
The sunlight from a corner of the pavilion drifted in, falling on the girl's profile.
The white cat suddenly stiffened.
It suddenly remembered the last words its master had spoken to it before ascending:
"My disciple, if your eyes only see evil, you will never see good."
"Good and evil are one and the same, separated only by a single thought. There is no pure good, nor absolute evil in this world. I can only guide you this far on this path; the rest, you must comprehend yourself."
The white cat was silent for a long moment.
It let out a wistful laugh. "In the end, it is I who am foolish."
At this point, it had completely guessed Wu Li's true identity.
He really was the flesh and blood of the Lord and the Holy Maiden.
But the heart full of wariness and rejection had, without it realizing, quietly dissolved.
"You're more than just foolish," Chai Xiaomi snorted coldly. "You had to run over here to break up Brother Yu and Sister Yao. She's such a good girl. Is your Lord's brain fried? Can't even sort out his own old debts, yet he's managing his adopted son's marriage?"
The words "adopted son" struck the white cat like a massive thunderbolt, leaving it completely stunned.
"Th-th-th-this... y-y-y-you know?!"
The white cat's eyes widened in terror, its whiskers trembling.
Jiang Zhiyu was adopted. Other than the Lord, the Lady, and a few cultivators of the Jingming Platform, no one else knew about this.
"What do you mean 'this' and 'you'? I'll just say one thing: if you ever say another unpleasant word about my husband in the future, I'll tell Jiang Zhiyu this secret. Weigh that yourself, Old Ji." She curved her eyes, smiling harmlessly.
After speaking, without waiting for the white cat to reply.
Chai Xiaomi turned and ran toward the pond.
She was going to rescue her almond pastry and her pitiful puppy, who was currently being besieged by little goldfish.
However, just as she ran close.
She saw Wu Li looking at her, slowly and deliberately stuffing the last half of the almond pastry into his own mouth.
Biting down, the small canine tooth he revealed carried a hint of provocation.
"Who said you could eat my almond pastry!"
Chai Xiaomi raised her little fists and pounded his chest.
He wrapped his large hand around hers, engulfing her entire fist in his palm, and gently pulled her close.
He lowered his head and fed the half piece of almond pastry into her mouth.
"The riddle you left me is too hard," he buried his face in the crook of her neck, his voice low, carrying intense grievance, as if seeking comfort. "I can't answer it."
What kitten, puppy, little hedgehog, little chick...
His mind was entirely filled with Xiaomi.
Chai Xiaomi chewed the crispy almond pastry, which melted in her mouth. She swallowed before saying, "No, you have to answer it. You definitely didn't think about it seriously."
Who exactly is the best looking?
Wu Li secretly counted in his heart: so many of the animals in there were like her.
Like a little hedgehog when she threw a temper, like a little rabbit when she buried her head in food, like a little fox when she was being mischievous, and like a little kitten when she nestled in his arms.
"Kitten?" he tried answering.
She shook her head.
"Little rabbit?"
She shook her head again.
"Little hedgehog?"
She curved her eyes and smiled, taking his hand and pointing to the tip of her own nose.
"It's Xiaomi."
"All these little animals put together aren't as good-looking as me. You couldn't even answer a free-point question."
Wu Li said sadly, "There wasn't even an option for Xiaomi in the question you gave me."
His thick eyelashes trembled uncertainly, like a butterfly whose wings had been drenched by a heavy rain.
For the first time, such a fragile expression appeared in those heterochromatic eyes of his.
Chai Xiaomi was stunned. She had only wanted to tease him with a joke question, so how did it end up making him feel so wronged?
"It doesn't matter if it wasn't in the options, as long as it's in your heart. It's my fault, my fault. I won't give you such boring questions next time."
She looked up and coaxed him, smiling brightly and gently.
A tiny crumb of almond pastry still clung to the corner of her curved lips.
Wu Li lowered his eyes. Moved by a sudden surge of affection, he leaned in and gently closed his lips over that little crumb.
Sweeping it away.
"This almond pastry really does taste good."
No wonder she liked it so much.
Sweet and fragrant.
He straightened up, his expression returning to normal. The fragile look from just a moment ago vanished instantly.
Chai Xiaomi seriously suspected he had been faking it on purpose.
Afraid she would interrogate him over the almond pastries.
"You won't even spare a single crumb. Why don't you go snatch them from the goldfish's mouths!" She lightly punched him again in a huff. "That's what you get for wasting them, throwing them all into the pond!"
It was supposed to be a bluffing strike, but it landed precisely on the silver collar around his chest.
It hurt so much that she pulled her own hand back first.
Wu Li grabbed her fist, wrapped it in his palm, lowered his head, and blew on it earnestly.
"Does it hurt? You have such big eyes for nothing, you don't even know how to aim when you hit someone."
He scolded softly, but the end of his tone couldn't hide his tender affection.
In the middle of the pavilion, the white cat lay flat under the stone table, staring blankly at the underside of the tabletop.
"Oh my, why are these two young people always like this..."
So lovey-dovey, it was simply unbearable to watch.
Why was their vibe completely different from his disciple and that girl Yao?
His useless disciple eagerly waited every day to get a flick on the forehead from that girl Yao, and after getting hit, he would cheerfully lean in and ask, "Boss, do you want to give me another one?"
Then look at these two, holding his little wife's hand in his palm, blowing on it softly, and quietly asking, "Does it hurt?"
He suddenly understood.
Why that girl Yao always loved to smack his disciple's head.
Because he was truly too dense, too stupid.
