Chapter 117 – A Sea Of Vinegar
After our names were recorded onto the wooden badges, Wu Daochang gave us a long lecture about his beloved Maoshan Sect and how a filial disciple should help the Shifu earn lots of money. Looking below to where the other disciples were, they didn’t seem to take in his words to their hearts either. Many of them were chattering away and appeared idle. Only Xiang Qing stood up with a straight back and wore on a serious expression, but from time to time would throw a glance over to myself.
I didn’t care about other people as long as he looked at me. By the end of the lecture, I quickly rushed towards Xiang Qing so that I could have a chance to speak with him, but many of the senior brothers had suddenly formed a wall around me. All them were telling me that they wanted to take me on a tour of Maoshan Sect.
Who wants to take a tour of the scenery? I tiptoed over this human wall, looked left and right, and jumped up to see that Xiang Qing had already slipped out of the door. I wanted to chase after him, but these senior brothers were all deliberately ruining my plans. Yin Zi had an apologetic smile plastered on his face, grabbing my hands, he led me away while telling the others that we should get along in the future.
It wasn’t easy for this crowd to finally disperse. I took advantage of this situation to slip away from the audience hall, quickly racing to the direction Xiang Qing had left from. After running for a while, I eventually caught a glimpse of him. He was in a bamboo forest practicing his sword, step by step, extremely focused.
I quietly closed in on him, creeping beside a stone. I was hoping Xiang Qing would discover me, but was at the same afraid he would find me, thus I could only watch him in silence. After a long time, Xiang Qing put his sword away, turned his head in my direction, and said, “What are you doing here?”
I was momentarily unable to think of an excuse and began to panic. I stammered as I tried to conceal my eccentric behavior, “I was…..taking a walk…..in a daze.”
Xiang Qing’s eyes squinted, didn’t seem to believe my words.
I immediately and honestly confessed, “I wanted to see.”
“See what?” Xiang Qing let out a surprised laughter, his smile still very gentle. I was caught in a trance by his actions. This situation was similar to how Bi Qingshen Jun use to hold and play with me. I really wanted to rush into his arms and act spoiled.
“Miao Miao is just here to see…..” I lowered my head and no longer continued my words as I remembered Yin Zi’s teachings.
Xiang Qing tucked his sword away and walked towards me. Like the sunlight, his gaze landed upon my face as if he was in a daze. After a while, he slowly asked a single question, “Have I met you somewhere in the past before?”
He must mean that time when I knocked him out and carried him back, right? Yin Zi informed that this situation mustn’t be ever leaked to him, otherwise our big secret will be revealed. I desperately shook my head to express denial and that it was impossible.
“I see,” Xiang Qing’s face sunk, he only let out a scoffing laughter, “There’s no reason for me to have met you before.”
I wanted to tug at his sleeves, but remembering his rejection last time, I quickly shrink back.
“Are you lost?” Xiang Qing bent down, reached his hands forward to touch my head, but had also retracted them. He kindly reassured, “From here, just make a left turn and you will return to the courtyard. If you ask anyone available, then they can bring you back to your room.”
“I…..don’t want to return…..”
“Want to go sightseeing? The most beautiful view is atop Maoshan Mountain, follow that small path there and you will arrive there shortly.” Xiang Qing’s reply was greatly detailed.
My eyes were wide open as I stared cutely at him, “How about you accompany me?”
“I still have thirty sword moves I haven’t finished practicing yet.”
“I’ll wait for you.”
Afterwards, I sat firmly with my butt planted on the stone refusing to get up. Xiang helplessly nodded, and sighed, “It’s fine, I can always practice later.” He then accompanied me to visit the mountain peak.
The view from Maoshan Mountain was absolutely stunning. Rock formations, luxurious mountain flora, and by the cliff side, you could see the villages, buildings, and everything below.
Xiang Qing found a stone to sit upon, and pointed to a distant village and said, “Look, that is where my family is.”
“My family…..is in heaven.” I looked at his slender fingers, remembering our home Xuan Qing Palace.
“I’m sorry for bringing up some sad memories.” Xiang Qing quickly apologized. We were silent throughout, however, we used the corners of our eyes to take a glimpse of each other. The atmosphere felt a little nervous.
An adorable ‘meow’ suddenly sounded behind our backs.
As I turned my head, I surprisingly saw a beautiful 3 coloured calico cat. It had a magnificent coat of fur as well as long and slender tail. Her four limbs were dextrous and soft, had an amazing figure, and its fur was thick and shiny. Its golden almond-shaped eyes appeared very mysterious. All of a sudden, the cat lazily jumped into the arms of Xiang Qing and gave him a kiss on his face while letting out whiny ‘meow’ calls.
My mouth dropped and I stared blankly at this scene. Because of my anxious heart, I raised my head up to look at Xiang Qing and see what he would do. Contrary to my expectations, that jerk actually brought out a steamed bun and tore it little by little feeding that cat.
“Meow woo~” From behind, the sound of several other cats were heard. There were four or five additional cats that ran over towards us, and of the bunch three were female. All of them surrounded Xiang Qing while begging and acted spoiled for food.
How can he act like so? I stared at the group of shameless cats, tears welling up in my eyes. Could it be that the reason Miao Miao has fallen out of favor is because of them? But I was obviously more beautiful, and the color of my coat was definitely more vibrant.
Even after they had finished eating the steamed bun, they refused to leave. Each and every one of them took turns playing roll and rubbed against his legs! That was clearly my strongest talent! His thighs are a place that only I could sit on!
My anger was to the utmost extreme. I fiercely glared at the group of shameless cats, releasing my malicious aura and preparing my claws for a fight. Feeling my wrath, the hairs on the bunch of cats stood up and they immediately fled into the forest without a single trace.
Xiang Qing turned around to give me a glance, he strangely asked, “Miss Miao Miao, your complexion doesn’t look too good.”
I was extremely depressed. Before I even had the patience to give him a reply, I stood up and went into the forest. While no one was looking, I changed back into the body of a cat and marched back towards Xiang Qing in a manner a hundred times more graceful than those shameless cats. I gently rubbed against his legs and let out a few cute meows.
“Hmm? What happened with Miss Miao Miao?” Xiang Qing watched the forest in bewilderment. I rubbed my body against him for a while before he finally took note of my existence. He bent down and picked me up, and said, “Are you a new cat? How come I’ve never seen you before? Very cute indeed.”
You womanizer! I dejectedly gave him a vicious bite with my fangs. He didn’t seem to feel any pain, and just stroked my coat of fur in stupor.
“I feel a kind of familiarity with you.” Xiang Qing suddenly spoke, “This coat of fur, where have I seen it before?”
I proudly raised my head. How can those mortal cats even be on par with my beautiful fur coat!
Xiang Qing was very absentminded. He continued to whisper to himself perplexing things, “This really is strange. In the past I would have strange dreams, I always saw the same woman who was always laughing and smiling in a carefree manner. My heart felt tight every time I saw her, however, I’m unable to clearly see or remember her appearance…..”
What does his words mean? What woman? I felt a little sadness but dared not speak out, I just listlessly swung my tail.
All of a sudden, Xiang Qing stood up and then stared at me for a long time. He brought me down the mountain with him and came to a conclusion, “Hmm, how about I raise you, in the future…..I’ll call you Ah Hua.”
“Meow woo?”