"I told you, people from the Wu Gu clan all have something wrong in their heads!" the white cat jabbed a claw at its own head and cursed angrily. "Only a lunatic would do something like this. What do you mean the mother worm can't be taken out? Let me try."
"It can't be taken out," Wu Li said through clenched teeth, cold sweat sliding down his temples, though his smile grew more mocking. "The mother worm has been nurtured inside my heart for over ten years. It has long since grown into this body. This worm thrives on parasitism. Even if I destroy this body, it will still regenerate from my heart."
"Save your strength, you old fool!"
The white cat: "..."
It was the first time it had seen someone in such agony still have the energy to insult others.
It opened its palm, and out of thin air, a crystalline droplet of light appeared, like a water droplet condensed and unwavering, warm spiritual energy slowly flowing. "If you cover your heart with this dew, it might ease the pain—"
Before it could finish, it was stunned.
Half of Wu Li’s shoulder was exposed. A hole had appeared over his chest, and under his own control, a killing aura was burrowing into his chest like a storm, devouring his own heart.
Even though the white cat had grown used to bloodshed after countless acts of slaying demons and evils, its pupils still shrank, and it stood speechless.
"What are you doing?!" It looked in horror at the boy’s stoic profile. In the face of such excruciating pain, he could remain as calm as if he had endured it a thousand times before.
Wu Li gazed down at his chest. The wound on the surface slowly healed under the effect of the red blood silkworm, and soon, his heart inside would slowly regenerate.
A frost settled in his eyes as he gave a faint smile. "Didn't I tell you? The mother worm regenerates with my heart. During its regrowth, it cannot gnaw on my heart."
His tone was so cold it bordered on indifference, as if he were not discussing his own body.
Wu Li wiped the blood from his chest expressionlessly.
The white cat furrowed its brows, a mix of complex emotions surging within. This child could endure what others could not. How many unimaginable sufferings must he have gone through?
"Why do you put yourself through this? Whether it’s the mother worm devouring your heart or you devouring it yourself, isn’t the pain the same?"
"It’s better to take control myself than to be controlled by others."
The white cat remained silent for a moment, then gently pushed the drop of crystal dew onto his chest wound, letting it slowly seep into his flesh. Its voice dropped. "You brat, it’s okay to cry out in pain. Every time I teach your senior brother, he screams like a pig being slaughtered."
Wu Li was suddenly taken aback.
The searing pain of ripping and regenerating flesh eased slightly under the infusion of the dew. He abruptly turned his face away and sneered coldly, "Nonsense! I never said I was taking you as my master."
And to have Jiang Zhiyu, that idiot, as his senior brother? That would be an embarrassment just to mention.
Speak of the devil, and he appears.
Footsteps approached, and Jiang Zhiyu’s voice came before his arrival: "Wu Li, Chief Escort Yan is about to leave. He’s waiting for you to come down and say goodbye."
Wu Li’s body stiffened suddenly.
His long, thick lashes trembled slightly, betraying a hint of almost imperceptible panic. Only when he confirmed that no familiar, slight jingling of silver bells accompanied the footsteps did he relax a little.
A streak of killing aura flew from his fingertips and blocked the door.
Just as Jiang Zhiyu pushed the door open a crack, it rebounded shut, nearly hitting his nose.
Rubbing his nose, he said in confusion, "Master, what are you doing in Wu Li’s room?"
In that fleeting gap, he had clearly seen a white cat.
He had intended to call Wu Li first and then find his master, but it turned out they were together.
Behind him, Song Yueyao stopped and listened carefully to the sounds in the room. Hearing no fighting, she silently let out a sigh of relief.
Inside the room.
Wu Li quickly cleaned up the blood and went behind a screen to change into clean clothes.
The white cat glanced at him helplessly. They were both men, yet he was so secretive about changing clothes.
Soon, Wu Li stepped out from behind the screen. He even grabbed a handful of dried flowers from a bamboo sieve and lightly rubbed them on the hem of his clothes to mask any hint of blood. These subtle gestures were, without a doubt, for someone in particular.
The white cat noticed this, and recalling the panic he had shown at the sound of footsteps, suddenly devised a clever plan.
It spoke lazily, "If you won’t acknowledge me as your master, I’ll tell Little Mi girl everything I just saw."
This clearly struck a nerve.
A blast of killing aura flew at it. The white cat raised its fly whisk and barely blocked it, then stroked the feathers on it regretfully.
"You dare?" Wu Li’s gaze sharpened, a dangerous edge in his eyes.
But the white cat deflected the aura without anger, lying back lazily on the table.
"I won’t dodge. If you’re upset, hit me right here." It tapped a paw on its soft cat belly, squinted its eyes, and said in a relaxed tone, "But I’m not as good at bearing pain as you. If I get hurt, I’ll definitely yell. If that little girl downstairs hears it, don’t blame me."
"However, if you take me as your master, then as your teacher, I have a duty to protect my disciple. Keeping a few secrets for you won’t be hard."
Just then, Jiang Zhiyu from outside, sensing the surge of killing aura, grew uneasy and called out again, "Master?"
The white cat called back, "Your master has taken on a new disciple for you!"
There was a moment of silence outside.
Then Jiang Zhiyu’s voice shot up, bursting with surprise he couldn’t contain: "Really?!"
His tone was like a pie had fallen from the sky and landed right on his head.
Wu Li’s face turned pitch black.
The white cat rolled over lazily, its tail swinging leisurely, completely unfazed by the boy’s sharp glare.
"Of course it’s true," it answered Jiang Zhiyu unhurriedly. "But this junior brother of yours is stubborn and needs some smoothing out. Little Mi girl is seeing Chief Escort Yan and his team off, right? Go tell Chief Escort Yan that there’s no time to say goodbye now. Someone here is busy cleaning up blood—"
"...Master."
Wu Li suddenly spoke, his voice cold.
The white cat froze, its tail pausing mid-air.
Wu Li walked straight to the door. As his hand touched the latch, he paused and glanced back, his gaze sweeping coldly. In a low voice, he said, "You’d better keep your word."
With that, he pulled open the door.
He found himself face to face with Jiang Zhiyu’s beaming expression.
Jiang Zhiyu’s eyes were impossibly bright as he looked Wu Li over and broke into a grin. "Junior brother!"
Wu Li walked past him expressionlessly, moving briskly, his robes brushing the doorstep. He didn’t even raise an eyelid.
Left standing there, Jiang Zhiyu scratched his head and shouted into the room, "Master, did he agree or not?"
The white cat laughed heartily. "He agreed."
Back in the day, it had trained many disciples at the Jingming Terrace and later accompanied Jiang Zhiyu at his lord’s request. Taking on disciples was routine for it, but it had never felt this joyful. It hadn’t even received a cup of tea as a formality, yet it felt a strange sense of fulfillment.
It felt like it had picked up a wild wolf cub—untamed and unruly, yet gifted with exceptional talent.
Though the submission hadn’t come from the heart, at least the boy had acknowledged it as his master.
As for how, from now on, to turn this "Master" from hush money into a heartfelt address...
There will be plenty of time—one day at a time.
