Crimson Eyes

"So pretty." Qin Siyu's eyes lit up as she looked at the kitten poking its head out of the cardboard box.

"It really is beautiful." Jiang Hou was somewhat amazed as well. Qin Buyi wore a smug expression; he had known his daughter would like it.

"Meow...~" The kitten let out a soft, milky cry. It looked up at Jiang Hou, its tiny pink mouth opening slightly before it made another faint sound.

"Meow!" Jiang Hou answered as well, his tone unconsciously becoming gentler.

That was the treatment good looks got. It applied to all living things, especially people.

For example, when a single woman was walking down the street and a man approached her, her reaction would differ based on his looks. If he was handsome, they would usually have a pleasant conversation.

As for ugly ones, that was called harassment...

The kitten carefully crawled out of the cardboard box. Its body was only a little bigger than a palm. It came over to sniff Jiang Hou, then rubbed against his pant leg affectionately.

"So cute, Jiang Hou, let me hold it." Qin Siyu crouched down and reached out to pick up the kitten.

"Meow!!" The kitten that had been rubbing against Jiang Hou's pant leg suddenly fluffed up its fur, its tail standing straight as it let out a "fierce" cry at the approaching Qin Siyu.

"Uh..." All three of them froze.

Qin Buyi was a little surprised. "I thought this kitten would be closer to Xiaoyu, since she's a girl. I didn't expect it to like Xiaohou more."

As he spoke, Qin Buyi comforted his daughter.

"It's okay, Xiaoyu. It's probably a little afraid of strangers right now. Once it gets used to you after a while, you can hold it whenever you want."

"Fine." Looking at the kitten with all four paws stretched out, baring its teeth at her in complete vigilance, Qin Siyu felt a little depressed but could only nod.

Cats might look tiny and cute, but if they were hostile, one swipe of their sharp claws could leave a wound, and one bite could leave four bloody holes.

The injuries might not be fatal, but they hurt...

"Right, this kitten doesn't have a name yet. What do you think would sound nice?" Qin Buyi changed the subject.

"Little White." Qin Siyu spoke first.

Jiang Hou said indifferently, "Anything's fine."

"Little White is too ordinary." Qin Buyi shook his head and rejected it. This cat was so beautiful that giving it such a simple name felt a little perfunctory.

The girl tilted her head and thought for a moment. "Then how about Little Red, Doudou, or Little Meow?"

"Meow!!" Before Qin Buyi could reject them, the kitten at Jiang Hou's feet had already issued a "stern" protest.

"It can understand us?" Qin Siyu was a little shocked.

Qin Buyi chuckled and shook his head. "It isn't a person, so how could it understand human speech? But cats are very spiritual animals. Maybe it just doesn't like the sound of those names."

Jiang Hou pondered slightly. "Legend says cats have nine lives. How about calling it Crimson Eyes?"

Crimson Eyes... Qin Buyi and Qin Siyu thought about it and felt the name sounded pretty good. But what did nine lives have to do with Crimson Eyes? The kitten that had bared its teeth at Qin Siyu earlier let out a soft meow, seemingly very satisfied with the name.

"Fine. Since the little thing likes it, we'll call it that." Qin Buyi made the final decision.

However, around noon, Qin Buyi received a call from the company while they were eating. Though he was supposed to have two days off, he hurried back as soon as lunch was over.

"Jiang Hou, I'm planning to go hang out at Rou Rou's place later. What about you?"

Jiang Hou, who was washing the dishes, looked back. "...That female classmate's house? Go ahead. I'm going to school this afternoon, and I might come back late."

Although there were no classes today, Jiang Ruochan had sent a message in the group that morning saying she would bring the divine weapon fragments to the activity room that afternoon.

Speaking of that, Qin Siyu asked curiously, "You've been practicing that fist technique for two days now. How does it feel?"

"Not bad. I feel much more energetic overall. I feel like all eight abs are about to show up."

"You're bragging again." The girl smiled faintly, not believing him at all. Even professional trainers needed a long time to develop abs.

"By the way, Siyu, who's at your classmate's house?"

"Rou Rou's place? It's just her and her older sister."

Just two girls. That was fine. Jiang Hou nodded and casually said, "Now that I think about it, Shen Gong is a pretty rare surname. They aren't from around here, are they?"

The girl nodded. "They aren't from Wing City. Rou Rou said they only moved here a few months ago."

"Her sister is a freshman at Wing City South University, so she transferred here with her."

Her sister was attending university, so why had the younger sister transferred schools and moved cities with her? Were there no other family members? Jiang Hou found it a little strange, but strange or not, it was someone else's family matter and had nothing to do with him.

"Go ahead. Call me if anything comes up."

Because Qin Siyu had been pretty and adorable since childhood, both Qin Buyi and Jiang Hou paid close attention to her safety, especially when she was going to a classmate's house.

If there had been men in the home of this classmate named Shen Gong Feirou, Jiang Hou definitely would not have agreed to let Qin Siyu go over.

The two of them could meet outside at a café or dessert shop or somewhere like that, but not at home. After all, who knew what kind of people the other family members were?

Since Jiang Ruochan had arranged to meet at three in the afternoon, Jiang Hou, having nothing else to do after Qin Siyu left, came to sit beside the balcony window.

Feeling the warmth of sunlight fall over him, Jiang Hou began to feel slightly sleepy and could not help yawning.

Spring drowsiness and autumn fatigue. Taking a nap in the sun at a time like this should be pretty nice. With that thought, Jiang Hou lay down directly on the floor.

Meow~ The kitten lying on the sofa jumped down and came over to rub against Jiang Hou's face.

"Don't mess around. It tickles." Jiang Hou stroked the kitten's head, then gently pushed it away.

Meow~ The kitten gave a soft cry, then jumped hard onto Jiang Hou. It kneaded his chest with its paws, lay down with its head facing his face, and swished its little tail behind it.

Looking at the kitten basking comfortably in the sun on top of him, Jiang Hou could not help shaking his head. Bored, he stretched out a hand to grasp at the sunlight spilling in from outside.

Feeling the warmth of sunlight on his skin, Jiang Hou became thoughtful.

This evolution of his Behemoth Form, the advancement of his bloodline, and the leap in his life level had not affected his human form much. Only his basic attributes had increased somewhat.

As for the awakened bloodline power, World-Shaking Overlord Power, it had not appeared in his human body either.

It seemed humans were humans and behemoths were behemoths, the two clearly separated. Aside from their connection through his basic physique, they were practically two entirely different entities.

That had both disadvantages and advantages for Jiang Hou.

The disadvantage went without saying. As the gap between his human form and Behemoth Form grew wider, his human form would become Jiang Hou's weakness in the future.

Unless he remained in Behemoth Form forever and never returned to his human body.

The advantage, however, was that the more clearly separated the two were, the greater his chance of successfully fusing the divine weapon fragments. His human form might even be able to walk a Path to Godhood as well.

Thinking of this, Jiang Hou could not help marveling.

"As expected of the experts of the Ancient Era. The life-conversion ritual they developed together is incredibly powerful. It actually lets me switch freely between behemoth and human."

Of course, Jiang Hou did not know whether it was entirely because of the blood formation.

Either way, praising it was enough.

First update, more to come.