Chapter Eighty-Nine: White Cat

“Did you all stick to the mountain path when you climbed? Did anyone take a shortcut or something?”

“Um…”

Murong Yun furrowed his brows and rested his chin on his hand, pondering for a moment.

“I don’t think so. I remember before the trial began, the Saint’s messenger strictly ordered us not to leave the mountain path and venture into the inner area of the Peach Blossom Forest. If caught, we were to be immediately expelled from the mountain. At least those strong individuals who successfully reached the finish line should have strictly adhered to that rule.”

“I see. When you last visited Peach Blossom Peak, was there any spirit beast lurking around this area?”

“No, but at that time, the entire Peach Blossom Peak was temporarily closed for tourism to clear spots for the trial, causing the spirit beasts to hide deep in the mountains. So, I think this can’t be considered as a reference.”

“…Let’s move on.”

With a thoughtful gaze, Vilyric nodded after scanning the blooming peach trees in the distance, yet she didn’t explain much and continued using Radiant Protection to shield against the wind and snow, climbing upwards with the group.

The severe cold on the mountain was no joke. Though for some unknown reason, those peach trees seemed unaffected, it was clearly a huge trouble for the local creatures, as their presence was nearly extinct here. One could only see a vast expanse of white desolation.

Fewer travelers were around, and the sharp, penetrating wind relentlessly battered the golden barrier, creating a screeching noise like blades slicing through glass. If it weren’t for the seemingly endless Peach Blossom Forest still accompanying us, one might bizarrely feel like this was a completely different world compared to the previous mountain path.

Suddenly.

“Wait, there seems to be something ahead!”

With her sharp eyes, Miss Bai’er suddenly stopped, and seeing Ling Feng nodding in approval, she quickly dashed out of the barrier and bent down to pick up a white object that had accumulated in the snow not far away.

“Everyone, Vilyric, look…”

The group gathered closer, exchanging glances.

The trembling thing in Bai’er’s arms turned out to be a little white cat, about the size of an adult’s forearm.

“Is this… a spirit pet?”

“It seems frozen stiff.”

Vilyric placed her hand on the cat’s gently rising and falling chest to feel.

Although this white cat looked weak and powerless, clearly on the brink of death, its fur was exceptionally soft and smooth, clean and tidy, indicating it had been well cared for, clearly a pet rather than a wild animal.

Moreover, it had a rather valuable gemstone necklace hanging around its neck, with a nameplate inscribed with “Miao Miao” in standard Ancient Spirit Realm script, presumably its name.

“Miao Miao… Meow Meow?”

Miss Vilyric couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

The cat’s owner really had a knack for being lazy and uncreative when it comes to names…

“How strange, since it’s someone’s spirit pet, how did it end up alone out in this snow and wind? Where’s its owner?”

Holding the motionless little cat, Bai’er provided warmth with her body while carefully pouring a bit of water from her thermos and feeding it. Ling Feng quietly took out the Talisman of Exorcism and placed it against the cat’s soft fur, using the Sun’s power to warm it up.

“We can’t be certain yet, but it seems it was attacked and escaped here after getting seriously injured; look.”

Ling Feng gently lifted one of the cat’s curled back legs, revealing a red mark that had already frozen into ice shavings, but it was still easy to tell that it had sustained an injury.

“So pitiful…”

Having crawled through the depths of the Demon Realm, Little Mole couldn’t help but reach out to pat the white cat’s head. However, it had already slipped into a semi-conscious state from the cold, and although with Bai’er and Ling Feng’s help its chest rising and falling became more apparent, it still showed no signs of opening its eyes.

“What should we do now?”

Looking at the little cat in Bai’er’s arms, Murong Yun appeared somewhat hesitant.

Given the cat’s current state, leaving it alone on the frigid Peach Blossom Peak would surely end in its demise soon. But the problem was, no one was sure where its owner was, making it impossible to choose to return it.

Besides, the wound on the white cat’s leg was clearly caused by a sharp blade or sword, which already indicated a lot of problems for the spirit beast’s haven, Peach Blossom Peak.

“…Let’s just take it for now. It’s just a cat, shouldn’t be much of a burden. Once we meet the Saint Peach Blossom, we can ask her for help in finding its owner. What do you guys think?”

“I have no objections.”

“Whatever you guys decide ~”

“Ah…? Wait! Are you asking me? The little demon agrees! We can’t just watch it die…”

So, after aligning their opinions, the group continued on their journey with the little white cat they had found along the way.

Vilyric conducted a simple examination.

The cat’s injuries were actually not severe; it had just bled a lot and was momentarily in shock due to freezing cold.

Thanks to Bai’er’s urgent care, along with the significantly higher temperature thanks to Radiant Protection, it only took about ten minutes for the cat to gradually recover in Bai’er’s arms.

“Meow ~ Meow ~”

Seemingly realizing that Vilyric and the others had saved it, the white cat, upon waking up, neither fussed nor meowed loudly; it just obediently lay in Bai’er’s arms, using its clear and curious black vertical pupils to look around at the others and the golden barrier spanning ten meters around, softly meowing away.

“Wow, you’re recovering fast; indeed a cat with spirit. Miao Miao… that’s your name, right? Too bad it seems you haven’t transformed yet to learn to talk; otherwise, we’d know what happened and take you to find your owner, poor little thing…”

The gray-haired guard girl gently stroked the soft fur of the white cat. Miao Miao also gently licked Bai’er’s fingers and meowed a few more times.

Suddenly, having regained quite a bit of strength and with Bai’er having bandaged its leg, it leaped from the girl’s arms, darting out of the Radiant Protection, running straight ahead to everyone’s astonishment!

“Wait, where are you going?!”

Ling Feng reacted immediately.

“Is it… guiding us? It wants to lead us somewhere, follow it!”

Apart from Little Mole, everyone present was an experienced strong individual, quickly realizing and adjusting their direction to follow behind the white cat.

Despite having an injured hind leg and running with a noticeable limp, the little white cat was surprisingly fast.

It led the group through the Peach Blossom Forest, navigating like they were in a complex maze, to the point even Little Mole struggled to keep up, prompting the tall Murong Yun to simply toss her onto his shoulder and quickly dash along to prevent her from falling behind.

As the little cat continued to lead, the surrounding scenery underwent an incredible transformation.

The howling snow and wind subsided, and the once piercing blade-like sounds were gone, while the seemingly ubiquitous dense peach trees became increasingly sparse until they completely disappeared.

Finally, the wind and snow stopped, revealing a scene before the group that was drastically different from the previous mountain path.

   

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