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While Gong Yi pondered how to get closer to Ziche Duanyuan, Pei Bufan was moping with a grim face.
Just now, he had received another mission from the rip-off1 system:
[Mission: Please ensure the Male Lead and Gong Yi leave the Taixu Secret Realm together.
Completion Reward: 1000 EXP, 10 Gold Coins, Transformation Card 1/4
Failure Penalty: All fur falls out]
This is getting more and more outrageous!!
Forcing him to live in a cat’s body every day was already annoying enough. Do you know how proficient he’s become at licking his paws, licking his fur, and digging a hole to do his business and bury it? How is he supposed to be a human again after this?! And now you’re even taking away his fur-licking rights, forcing him to go into battle completely naked?!
System: …
Ziche Duanyuan, unaware of Pei Bufan’s inner turmoil, held the little kitten and prepared to leave. Gong Yi grew anxious and was about to follow, but when his eyes met the killing intent in the male lead’s, he froze.
Seeing Gong Yi getting farther and farther away, Pei Bufan went for broke!
For the sake of not losing his fur!! He leaped out of the man’s arms, pounced on Gong Yi, and clung to his robe.
Gong Yi jumped in surprise. When he came to his senses, he saw the male lead turn to look at him, a slow smile gracing his lips. He lowered his hand, about to cradle the kitten, but Ziche Duanyuan beat him to it. A blade formed from water sliced through the robe. He disgustedly tossed the corner of the fabric away and scooped the cat into his arms. Gong Yi, who had been about to hold the cat only to have his clothes ripped, looked a bit awkward, a half-smile on his face.
Ziche Duanyuan’s expression darkened as he glared at Pei Bufan.
Pei Bufan waved his paws and meowed pitifully, but alas, their languages were different.
For the love of god, can I get a translator!! I’m seriously tired!
Ziche Duanyuan thought for a moment and asked in a low voice, “You like him?”
Pei Bufan shook his head decisively. He couldn’t handle the real-life version.
Ziche Duanyuan’s face gradually brightened. “You want him to come with us?”
Pei Bufan nodded rapidly.
The male lead’s face darkened again. He sized up Gong Yi from the corner of his eye, genuinely unable to see what was so great about him. After a moment of consideration, he suddenly said to Gong Yi with a smile, “Since you want to follow, then follow.” I’ll torment you to death.
Gong Yi’s eyes immediately lit up, a triumphant smile on his lips. Pei Bufan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The male lead saw the change in both of their expressions, and his eyes grew dark.
On the way out of the secret realm, Gong Yi was completely in the ‘a pestering suitor can win any man’s heart’ mindset. He constantly fawned over Ziche Duanyuan, his words ambiguous and his posture seductive. If the male lead hadn’t suddenly become so cold towards him, Pei Bufan estimated he would have even tried to climb into his bed at night. Of course, there was another reason he couldn’t climb into bed: another little life was already on Ziche Duanyuan’s bed—Pei Bufan.
The man he admired was always holding a cat when he slept, when he ate, when he walked!! And it was just a low-level spirit beast, a Firewood Cat!! And this man was clearly from a prominent family, judging by his clothes and aura. Gong Yi found it very strange; even he wouldn’t look twice at this cat.
You can tell a man’s taste in partners by his preferences. Gong Yi believed Ziche Duanyuan liked small, cute creatures, so he always played the part of a weak, dependent, beautiful youth in front of him—a beautiful youth who was also in love with him. How could this man not be moved? And he… why wasn’t he moved at all?!
Forget being moved; he couldn’t even be bothered to lift an eyelid for Gong Yi, treating him as if he were air. Ziche Duanyuan heard what he said but didn’t answer or acknowledge him. Ziche Duanyuan also ignored all his actions. As long as he didn’t touch him, Ziche Duanyuan gave no reaction at all.
Except for one time, when the male lead did react to Gong Yi’s fawning, and for Gong Yi, it was a very bad reaction.
Gong Yi’s skills were excellent. To please the old ancestor, Gong Yi had been trained by his family in many “useless” arts, such as music, chess, poetry, and painting; making delicious food; the art of the bedchamber; and…
Among them, he was best at making delicious food. Ziche Duanyuan had already achieved Bigu,2 and the Bigu pills he carried were for Pei Bufan. After all, a trip out could last from a few days to a few years, and Ziche Duanyuan didn’t want anything to happen to Pei Bufan because of food. He was even reluctant to let Pei Bufan eat the grilled fish that Gong Yi had made right before his eyes. If it weren’t for Pei Bufan throwing a tantrum…
Pei Bufan: My mouth has been so bland these past few days it could grow a bird!!3
Pei Bufan was still a toothless kitten, so Ziche Duanyuan had to mash the fish into a paste for him to eat. But he was being naughty while eating and accidentally knocked the whole bowl of paste onto the male lead. Because the male lead was sitting on the ground at the time, the spot where the bowl landed was right between his legs…
Gong Yi immediately felt his chance had come. He rushed forward, pinched the soft flesh on the back of Pei Bufan’s neck, and tossed him aside. He then leaned in to help wipe the man clean. While wiping, his body was practically snuggled against the male lead, his head half-lowered to expose a stretch of his snowy-white neck. The male lead only needed to lower his head a little to kiss it.
Both the posture and the distance were perfectly controlled, but he had overlooked one problem. In Ziche Duanyuan’s heart, the black cat who had shared life and death with him held a much higher position than Gong Yi, who had come to seduce him with ulterior motives.
So, before Gong Yi could even anticipate a reaction, he was thrown aside. Ziche Duanyuan turned to confirm that Pei Bufan was only covered in a few blades of grass and was otherwise unharmed, then viciously pounced on Gong Yi, grabbing his throat.
“If you don’t want to live, I’ll grant your wish,” Ziche Duanyuan said to Gong Yi.
Pei Bufan was furious at being thrown. The male lead didn’t even mind, what’s a sissy like you getting involved for? But before he could turn around and scratch someone, he turned his cat face to see Gong Yi, who was about to be strangled to death.
Holy shit shit shit shit shit!!!
My fur!! Male Lead, let go!!!
Pei Bufan pounced forward, whimpering pitifully. Until he could confirm whether the punishment the system mentioned was temporary or permanent, he didn’t want to test it at all! Can’t you wait until we’re out of the secret realm to kill him?
Then you can do whatever you want, whatever you want, awoooooo~~
Just spare my fur for now!!
Ziche Duanyuan’s hand gradually loosened. He spared Gong Yi’s life on account of Pei Bufan’s foolish, snot-and-tears-covered face. Later, I should find a way to get some medicinal pills to see if I can make the black cat talk. This inability to communicate is really taxing. I don’t even know what the black cat is so worked up about.
From that moment on, until they left the secret realm, Gong Yi didn’t dare to pull any more stunts.
After leaving the secret realm, Ziche Duanyuan took out his flying gourd magic treasure and suddenly remembered there was someone else behind him. The thought that he had to take this person with him made Ziche Duanyuan’s face darken. He held the black cat and sat steadily at the front, saying, “Get on yourself, sit in the back.”
Gong Yi, who had been afraid he’d be abandoned, instantly brightened. Is this man planning to take me to the Middle Realm? He happily agreed, but when he walked forward, he looked a bit troubled.
Pei Bufan covered his face with his black paws, unable to watch.
The flying gourd was huge, about three meters at its widest point. Except for the flattened spot at the top for people to sit, the rest of it was round and bulging. The gourd floated in mid-air. Gong Yi, who was not even 1.7 meters tall, could only reach the smooth, rounded edge when he stood in front of the flying artifact.
Gong Yi looked at Ziche Duanyuan pitifully. Ziche Duanyuan didn’t even turn his head. “Hurry up.”
Gritting his teeth, Gong Yi scrambled up on all fours. The posture was quite unsightly. After finally climbing up with Herculean effort,4 Gong Yi was sweating.
Actually, we can just leave him here now. Pei Bufan’s mission was complete, and he didn’t really want this person to be an eyesore anymore. Unfortunately, Ziche Duanyuan didn’t understand his words.
Pei Bufan squinted at Ziche Duanyuan. Maybe I should write to him when we get back? I know a little traditional Chinese; it should be enough for communication.
Noticing Pei Bufan’s gaze, Ziche Duanyuan reached out and scratched his neck. “The wind will be strong in a bit, come into my arms.”
Gong Yi felt his nose sting. He was less important than a cat!
When they returned to the Ziche family’s grand residence, Ziche Duanyuan led Gong Yi through the main gate and saw Zhong Yanqing from afar. He was bandaging his wounds and was startled to see Ziche Duanyuan appear. Ziche Duanyuan let out a cold laugh. This one probably thought I had died in the secret realm, which is why he dared to swagger back to the Ziche family. Zhong Yanqing also saw Ziche Duanyuan, feeling very conflicted, not knowing whether to approach him or hide. Before he could decide, he saw Ziche Duanyuan give him a cold smile, turn, and leave, with a beautiful boy following behind him. Ziche Duanyuan didn’t curse at him, didn’t mock him, and certainly didn’t shout about how he had abandoned him. Zhong Yanqing frowned. Ziche Duanyuan had changed a lot compared to before. Is it because of that boy?
When… did they meet? And why was Ziche Duanyuan there? After thinking it over and over, he couldn’t find an answer.
Gong Yi carefully followed behind Ziche Duanyuan, his eyes darting around to size up the luxurious mansion. He didn’t know much about the Middle Realm, but in the Lower Realm, no family could possibly own such a lavish residence. Rare treasures he had and hadn’t seen before in the Lower Realm were displayed everywhere, as if they were just worthless decorations. Gong Yi gained a preliminary understanding of the Ziche family’s vast wealth. And this only strengthened Gong Yi’s determination to rely on this great mountain.
Ziche Duanyuan led him towards the guest rooms and arranged for him to have the one with the best lighting.
“You’ll live here from now on,” Ziche Duanyuan said to Gong Yi with a smile. “If you need anything, you can ask the maids here. If they treat you poorly, you can tell me directly.” He then turned and gave the maids detailed instructions before ‘reluctantly’ bidding Gong Yi farewell. That day, the maids and servants began to whisper among themselves about how Ziche Duanyuan had met a new love while he was out. When Zhong Yanqing heard these rumors, his face turned ashen.
Returning to his room and placing a restriction on the door, Ziche Duanyuan put Pei Bufan on the bed and began to take off his clothes.
Pei Bufan huddled under the covers, a pair of big eyes peeking out, drooling over the male lead’s fine physique.
His external wounds were mostly healed, with only the scar from the Netherflame burn remaining on his shoulder. Ziche Duanyuan touched it. The burnt area was still hard. Unless he used a high-level beauty potion, this scar would be permanent. After all, besides celestial fire, Netherflame was the most powerful and tyrannical.
Seeing that dark patch, Pei Bufan immediately felt guilty. He turned his head and played dead.
********
Author’s Note:
System: Punishment for failure: all your fur will fall out!
Pei Bufan: (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
Ziche Duanyuan: After he loses his fur, when he transforms into his human form, will he be missing his skin, or just his clothes?
Pei Bufan: =皿=
System: Of course it means no hair (all of his body hair)! What a stupid question.
Pei Bufan: …
Ziche Duanyuan: (Imagining it)… Sounds good.
Pei Bufan: (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻ A triple table flip!!
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Reika’s Notes:
- 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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- 坑爹 (kēngdiē) is a very popular internet slang term that literally means “to screw over your father.” It’s used to describe something that is a rip-off, outrageously unfair, deceptive, or just generally sucks.
- 辟谷 – a Daoist practice of abstaining from grains (and eventually all food) to purify the body and achieve a higher state of cultivation. High-level cultivators in these novels often no longer need to eat.
- This is a humorous exaggeration. 淡出鸟来 means something is so bland or tasteless that a bird could literally fly out of one’s mouth.
- 九牛二虎之力 – literally “the strength of nine bulls and two tigers,” meaning to use tremendous effort.