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The Taixu Secret Realm was located in the Lower Realm. It was a small, naturally formed world, abundant in spirit plants, herbs, and rare beast eggs. It had no specific opening time or fixed entrance; anyone with a bit of skill could find a small fissure and enter. Although the interior was filled with a dense, obstructive fog, there was no great danger as long as one didn’t venture into the deepest parts. For the unaffiliated cultivators of the Lower Realm, it was a perfect place to find rare materials.
And in the dangerous depths of this secret realm was where the rare Vermilion Fruit grew.
This Vermilion Fruit grew with twin stalks, twin leaves, and twin fruits. Besides containing a bit of spiritual qi that could enhance one’s beauty when eaten, it was otherwise useless. But because its leaves and fruits always grew in pairs, it also had the nickname “Twin-Stalk Fruit,”1 and was often picked by powerful cultivators to please their partners.
Because it grew in such a perilous location, retrieving it also served as proof of one’s strength and sincerity towards their partner.
This was precisely Zhong Yanqing’s goal. He had thought it through: he was at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, while cultivators in the Lower Realm were mostly in the Qi Refinement stage. Even if there were any at Foundation Establishment, they wouldn’t care about the things in the Taixu Secret Realm and would never show up there. His trip would be completely safe. Ever since he’d heard that Ziche Duanyuan was gay, he’d been considering the possibility of hooking up with him. Although he had no interest in men, he could certainly put on an act. From the moment he followed Ziche Duanyuan’s father to the Middle Realm, he had coveted the Ziche family’s secret manuals and resources. He had originally hoped that Ziche Duanyuan’s father would take him as a disciple, but who knew the man had no intention of doing so. Only then did he get other ideas. As for what would happen between them later, he could figure that out when the time came. Ziche Duanyuan had a bad temper; besides himself, probably no one else could put up with him. Ziche’s parents favored him precisely because of his ‘good temper.’
From his deliberate creation of ambiguity to his later confession, the only thing left in his plan was the final push.2 Once he returned ‘half-dead’ with the Vermilion Fruit and made another heartfelt confession, wouldn’t Ziche Duanyuan be easy prey?3 Zhong Yanqing couldn’t suppress the smile on his lips, and his steps became lighter. He completely failed to notice Ziche Duanyuan following far behind him.
Pei Bufan clung to the male lead’s shoulder, his heart pounding in his chest. His big eyes warily stared at a large green bee tethered by a single strand of Heavenly Silkworm Silk. The other end of the silk was tied to the male lead’s right index finger.
This was called a Jade Bee. Just as its name implied, its body was entirely jade-green. Its special characteristic was its homing instinct. No matter how far away, it could smell its hive and fly straight back. If its hive was smashed into pieces and scattered, it would head for the scent of the nearest piece.
Before Zhong Yanqing left, Ziche Duanyuan had sent a maid to give him a Peace Locket4 to wear in the secret realm. It was this very locket that convinced Zhong Yanqing he had captured Ziche Duanyuan’s heart.
Little did he know, what Ziche Duanyuan really wanted to give him wasn’t the jade locket, but the bead dangling from it, which was made from the hive of a Jade Bee!
The bee buzzed. Pei Bufan’s little paws slowly backed away, and one of his hind legs slipped, nearly causing him to fall.
Ziche Duanyuan chuckled and scooped up the little black cat, pinching its soft paws. “It’s not aggressive, don’t be afraid.”
He wrote the damn setting himself, so of course he knew it wasn’t aggressive. But who wouldn’t be scared of a fist-sized bee? Especially now that his body wasn’t much bigger than the bee itself.
[Mission: The Host must *personally* lead the Male Lead to the ‘first pot of gold’ of his life.
Completion Reward: 1000 EXP, 10 Gold Coins, Cute Meow-Meow Bell Collar 1/4
Failure Penalty: Obliteration]
Pei Bufan: …
Did the system really have to put so much emphasis on the word “personally”?
Can’t I just be a cat who mooches and waits to die without doing anything? The male lead can handle everything without me…
Okay, fine, the male lead’s life is in danger.
Since he knew the male lead would be in mortal danger later, how could he possibly lead him there! This is going to be the death of this cat!
[Failure means obliteration!]
Damn you!
Pei Bufan ground his teeth, jumped to the ground, and suddenly saw a small yellow arrow appear before his eyes: ‘Direction of the first pot of gold.’
Oh, thank you so much. I thank your entire family! @System!
Pei Bufan had barely taken two steps before the male lead grabbed him by his hind legs and cradled him again. “Don’t run around,” Ziche Duanyuan said, tapping his little head.
Your Grandpa here5 isn’t just running around, I’m trying to lead you directly to the treasure, pal! Can’t you cooperate?!
Wouldn’t it be great to just go there directly, bypassing the fog, jungle, swamp, and all the other trap zones I spent so much energy creating I practically wished for a Baidu World Map?!
Hearing the little kitten’s series of anxious meows, Ziche Duanyuan just shook his head. “I don’t understand.” Then he ignored him and continued on his way.
You dragged me into this mess, can’t you at least give me a goddamn translator! @System!
Pei Bufan struggled for a moment but couldn’t escape the male lead’s grasp. Helpless, his eyes darted over to the large bee.
He agonized for a long while. Only after the system repeatedly spammed him with reminders about his obliteration did he finally work up the courage to pounce on the bee… or rather, the silk thread it was tied to.
He didn’t have the guts to face the bee head-on, but he could manage to bite through the thread. But he had overlooked one thing…
He hadn’t grown any teeth yet.
And this thread was Heavenly Silkworm Silk!
Heavenly Silkworms lived in the Middle and Upper Realms. The silk they produced was fireproof, waterproof, dust-repellent, and incredibly tough, not easily broken. See the clothes on the male lead? From his underwear to his outer coat, everything was made of Heavenly Silkworm Silk. Absolutely high-end, classy, and sophisticated.
Dammit, the string was squeezing his mouth, it hurt so much. He desperately used his little paws to climb the thread, but his little feet got squeezed and hurt too. QAQ.
“What are you doing?” Ziche Duanyuan’s face held a trace of anger. He reached out, about to pluck the kitten that was acting like it was on a high-wire, when the black cat suddenly plummeted.
Jade Bee: Sorry, you were too heavy, I really couldn’t hold on…
Pei Bufan rolled on the ground and landed with a thump right on his butt, squashing the big bee underneath him. It was dead.
Pei Bufan turned his little head. The moment he saw what he was sitting on, he shot up as if pricked by a needle and scrambled behind Ziche Duanyuan’s leg, looking terrified.
The murdered bee’s legs twitched neurotically, as if telling the male lead just how unjustly it had died…
Ziche Duanyuan pinched the soft flesh on the back of his neck and lifted the cat up to face him, eye to eye.
After spending some time with this black cat, Ziche Duanyuan felt he could probably read the emotions on its feline face. Right now, it was playing innocent. That’s right. Playing! Inno! Cent!
It was clearly aware that it had done something wrong, not just acting out of ignorance, yet it was playing dumb and refusing to admit its mistake!
This absolutely could not be tolerated!
Ziche Duanyuan helplessly lifted the little black cat and raised a hand to pat its little cat butt a few times as a lesson.
Pei Bufan froze. He was actually! Being spanked!
Pei Bufan struggled with all his might. He felt the male lead’s grip tighten, a clear sign that he wasn’t planning on letting him off the hook!
Seeing that escape was futile, Pei Bufan completely threw his dignity out the window. In perfect coordination with the patting sounds, he began to wail with tragic, blood-curdling meows.
Ziche Duanyuan’s hand stopped. He wasn’t spanking him anymore. Instead, he started stroking Pei Bufan’s little butt, and even began to knead it.
He hadn’t even used any force… why was it screaming so miserably?
Pei Bufan was dumbfounded…
Male Lead, you hooligan! Get your paws off me!!
Taking advantage of the male lead’s momentary lapse, he shot out of his hand, scrambled to the side, turned, and stared at him warily.
Ziche Duanyuan sighed. “That bee was very important.”
Pei Bufan let out a threatening growl from his throat.
Ziche Duanyuan frowned. “Stop messing around. If you do it again, I’ll skin you!” He could be tolerant, but that didn’t mean his tolerance was infinite.
Sensing the killing intent wafting off the male lead, Pei Bufan instantly caved. He meowed in a low, aggrieved tone.
He was just trying to help, but not only did he get a beating, he got threatened too! This damn life is so hard!
********
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Reika’s Notes:
- This is the first beast man danmei project BC Novels has done. Hope you like it so far!
- This text was translated by Kotori Translates, and given to BC Novels to publish.
- I helped with the footnotes, formatting, grammar, etc., the usual stuff that is needed to post this on the website.
- Please let me know if there are any errors. Thanks for reading!
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- 并蒂果 – “fruits on twin stalks.” It’s a symbol of a loving, inseparable couple, similar to the symbolism of twin lotuses.
- 临门一脚 – literally “a kick at the goal’s door.” It means the final, decisive step in a plan.
- 手到擒来 – literally “to catch it as soon as the hand reaches out.” It means to accomplish something with great ease.
- 平安扣 – a traditional Chinese amulet, typically made of jade, shaped like a flat donut. It’s worn for good luck and to ward off evil.
- 爷 (yé), which means “grandfather,” is used here as an arrogant, first-person pronoun, similar to “this daddy” or “yours truly.” It conveys a sense of superiority or playful boastfulness.