The Cat God's Burden

"So this is the court's territory. The people who usually come here to offer incense and worship are all subjects of the court." Song You paused. "For you to occupy this temple and absorb incense and fire from these people, you need permission from the court or the Heavenly Palace."

"Who are they?"

"..."

Song You thought about his wording again before saying, "In theory, the court governs all people in the world, and the Heavenly Palace governs all gods in the world."

"What do you want with me?"

"Not us, them. I'm just entrusted by them to come and check things out."

"What do they want with me?"

"To cause you trouble, probably."

"..."

The Three Flower Lady fell silent at this, then continued walking forward with small steps. She trotted to the altar, leaped lightly onto it, and when she crouched there, she was not much lower than the standing Song You. She only said:

"It was those people themselves who burned incense for me."

"Is this temple yours?"

"It was abandoned by no one."

"I'm afraid that won't do either."

"Why?"

"Because the incense and fire in this world are limited. If someone gives it to you, they can't give it to other gods, or they have to give less to them." Song You said. "And the court and Heavenly Palace won't reason with a low-cultivation little demon like you."

"Then I'll just stop eating it."

"I'm afraid that won't do either."

"Why again?"

"The Heavenly Palace has rules. Before this, there was another demon here who privately absorbed incense and fire and was executed. The temple you're occupying originally belonged to it."

"..."

The Three Flower Lady only stared at him, her eyes round.

It was hard for humans to read emotions on a cat's face, but Song You thought she was probably frightened.

After a long while, she finally spoke again:

"Why?"

"Maybe it did bad things."

"I haven't." The Three Flower Lady stared at him. "I only catch mice for the people down the mountain. And I had a temple before, a small one. Later, someone moved my clay statue into this big temple. I didn't come here on my own."

"Even a small temple won't do. It's just that you weren't discovered before. Now that you have been, even if I don't deal with you today, someone else will come for you."

"Then what do I do?"

"If you haven't taken human lives, sucked human essence, or devoured human flesh, you won't end up dead."

"Then what will happen to me?"

"If you don't run and don't resist, I can take you to see them, and they'll handle it according to the rules and procedures." Song You said to the cat before him. "That might be better for you."

The Three Flower Lady's eyes darted:

"Fine..."

Seeing the Taoist priest's gaze shift elsewhere, she immediately bolted.

"Swish!"

How swift a cat's movements were, let alone a cat demon with cultivation. In an instant, she leaped down from the altar, and the next moment, she was out the temple door.

She ran all the way to the small path, like a bolt of lightning, only a blur of mottled colors visible. After running a certain distance, the Three Flower Cat stopped, turned her head back, stretched her neck to look over the tops of the weeds, and gazed toward the temple.

"Huh?"

He didn't chase after her?

The Three Flower Lady was stunned for a moment, a little puzzled.

She waited a while longer, but still no one came out. She shifted to a different spot to peer through the main door, and saw that the man was still standing inside the temple, doing who knows what.

How strange.

The Three Flower Cat simply sat down on the spot, sitting upright, stretching her neck and lifting her head, staring at him without blinking.

Time passed slowly.

Finally, the Three Flower Cat couldn't help it. She crept a little closer to the temple, cautiously poking her head in to peek.

But she only saw the Taoist priest looking at her calmly: "Meeting me is your greatest luck. If someone else comes next time, they might be much fiercer than I am."

"Why didn't you come chase me?"

"How could I possibly catch up to you?"

"Then what will you do now that I've run away?"

"..."

Song You looked at its eyes, feeling utterly helpless, yet still patiently explained: "I'm only here on Wang Shangong's behalf to check the situation, not to capture you or punish you. Besides, that clay statue in the shrine is deeply tied to you—it could find you even from far away."

"Oh yeah!"

The Three Flower Cat's eyes flew wide open, struck with sudden clarity like a bolt from the blue, mixed with the relief of a puzzle solved and the anxious worry that came with it—all these emotions flickering across its tiny feline face at once.

What now, what now?

The Three Flower Cat was nearly spinning in place.

"A Taoist priest takes it as his duty to purge Licentious Shrines and heretical worship. You should count yourself lucky that I'm a fake Taoist."

"Then what?"

"I'll take you to see Wang Shangong. He's a kind-hearted man. I'll explain your situation to him and try to get them to go easy on you. Of course, before that, I'll go down the mountain to ask around, to verify that what you said is true. And then—"

"And then!"

"You'll get your outcome."

"What outcome?"

"You'll probably be punished."

"Punished?"

"Mostly locked up, confined somewhere."

"Somewhere?"

"Like inside a pagoda."

"!"

"I don't want to scare you, but that's likely the result." Song You looked at the little cat demon, his heart softening. "That's how it usually goes."

"!!"

"Demons live a long time."

"!!!"

The Three Flower Cat still stared at him with wide eyes, its mind racing.

Instinct told it to run, to flee as far as possible, but it was clever—and cleverness told it that staying seemed the best choice.

Now it deeply regretted that when those villagers moved its clay statue from the small shrine to the big one, it should have sneaked it back at night. If it had stayed in the small shrine, maybe it wouldn't have been discovered.

After a long inner struggle, the Three Flower Cat finally entered the shrine.

"Then where are you taking me?"

"Not far."

"Leaving now?"

"Better tomorrow." Song You looked up at the sky. "I'll stay here tonight, and we'll head out in the morning."

"Didn't you say it's not far?"

"It's not close either."

"Alright..."

The Three Flower Cat simply sat down on the spot, staring unblinkingly at Song You.

"Make yourself at ease."

"Alright..."

"Isn't this your shrine?"

"Oh yeah!"

The Three Flower Cat suddenly snapped to attention, but still couldn't relax.

Outside, dusk was approaching, and the three incense sticks lit earlier had long since burned out, leaving only a faint herbal scent.

The Three Flower Cat leaped back onto the altar and began eating the local river fish, thinking these meats would definitely go unfinished today. Regretfully, it turned its head to offer some to the Taoist below, hoping to earn a few good words for itself later—but the Taoist didn't eat, only consuming what he'd brought.

The sky gradually darkened, and the temperature plummeted.

The moon rose early tonight, rounder than last night, its light growing colder and clearer. The shrine had no door, and the chill wind poured in freely.

After gazing at the moonlight for a while, growing bored, Song You looked back. The Three Flower Cat had already lain down, curled into a ball, only its head and body visible, no paws or tail, staring at him unblinkingly, lost in thought.

"What are you thinking?"

"Taoist, if I get locked up, will anyone still offer me incense?"

"Naturally not."

"Can I go out to play?"

"Naturally not."

"Will there be meat to eat?"

"Most likely not."

The Three Flower Cat looked dejected, though it still didn't understand what it had done wrong.

But it was just a cat, after all.

Not to mention the imperial court or the heavenly palace, nor these Taoist priests—even many wandering martial artists who stopped by to lodge for the night were beyond its ability to provoke.

The night grew quieter still, leaving only the sound of the wind.

After a long while, the Taoist priest spoke again: "I have a question for you too."

"Huh?"

"I have a question for you too."

"Go ahead, make yourself at home in my temple."

"How long has the Three Flower Lady been awakened to intelligence?"

"A few years now."

"Only a few years."

"It's been a long time."

"How did you become a demon?"

"I just became one."

"Any lucky encounters?" The priest nodded, looking at it. "Like meeting someone, eating something unique, or staying in a place that felt especially comfortable for a while."

"No."

"Really not?"

The Three Flower Cat refused to speak, instead turning its head to stare at the priest without blinking. After a long pause, it finally said:

"I'm very smart."

"Maybe."

Song You withdrew his gaze and said no more.

As time grew later, the mountain became colder.

Song You leaned into a corner and closed his eyes.

The Three Flower Cat lay there yawning, sometimes staring at Song You, sometimes letting random escape plans pop into its head—really just out of boredom.

But now it couldn't go out to play, nor could it bounce around like it usually did in the temple. It was truly a predicament.

Until the fifth watch of the night, the coldest hour.

A cold wind swept through the door.

Song You cracked his eyes open and hugged his arms tighter against his chest, as if that could lock in the heat. Glancing to the side, under the moonlight, the Three Flower Cat lay curled up tightly on a straw-woven cushion, looking like nothing more than a small ball of fur.

Something seemed to strike Song You, and he fell into a brief contemplation.

The next morning, a rooster crowed from the foot of the mountain.

The Three Flower Cat woke before Song You, sitting on its cushion, staring straight at him, its thoughts unknown.

Perhaps it was pondering its own fate.

Song You ate a cold steamed cake he'd bought on the road the day before, then took the cat down the mountain to make some inquiries. He learned that there was indeed an efficacious Cat Immortal in the temple up the mountain. If a household was plagued by rats, they only needed to bring some fish, meat, incense, and candles, and the place would be clean by nightfall. Its fame had spread far and wide, with people from all around coming to seek its help in ridding themselves of rodent troubles.

After finishing his last inquiry, Song You stood still at the doorway, looking up into the distance, lost in thought.

"Why aren't we moving?"

The Three Flower Cat was right beside him.

"We're going now."

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"You're still not moving."

"I'm thinking..." Song You glanced at it again. "Your followers are quite widespread."

"Yes!"

"People come to offer tribute every day, and at night you go to their homes to catch rats?"

"That's right!"

"What if it's far away?"

"I walk a little faster."

"That sounds pretty tough."

"Not hard work."

"Let's go."

"Going to find Wang Shangong?"

"Yes."

One man and one cat walked out of the village, Song You striding ahead while the Three Flower Cat hung back at a distance, neither speaking, simply walking in silence—though to any onlooker, this scene might have seemed rather novel.