Qian Renxue was taken aback by his words.
"Raise cats?"
"Right."
Meow Meow flicked his tail, sounding perfectly casual.
"This place is well hidden. It's not suitable to have too many people here."
"But cats are different."
"They can watch the entrance, patrol the grounds, keep an eye on the Herb Garden, and they won't blab."
"If someone really does come by, you can't go out to greet them yourself every time, can you?"
Qian Renxue furrowed her brow and thought it over.
The more she considered it, the more it seemed to make sense.
This Villa was a secret place the Qian Family had kept outside their main holdings.
Letting people in, whether they were from the Spirit Hall or from the Heavenly Dou Empire, wouldn't be very safe.
But if it was only a few cats, that would be much simpler.
Cats wandered everywhere. No one would think twice about it.
And cats wouldn't blab, either.
Thinking this, she looked up at Meow Meow.
"You want to ignite the spirits of a few more Sacred Flame Spirit Cats here?"
Meow Meow nodded.
"More or less."
"With a few cats watching the entrance, you'll have less to worry about."
"If I come here again, I won't have to sneak through the formation every time."
Qian Renxue looked at him for a couple of seconds, then finally nodded.
"There are three little strays that often come by the Herb Garden behind the mountain."
"They usually steal spirit mice from the edges of the garden and sun themselves outside the hot spring."
"I've never bothered with them."
"If you want to try, go take a look."
As soon as she finished speaking, the system's prompt rang out in Meow Meow's mind.
[ Ding, linked scene detected: "Qian Family Villa."] [ Sacred Flame Spirit Ignition limit increased: 12 → 15.] [ New slots: 3.]
Meow Meow's eyes immediately lit up.
Great!
Exactly three slots.
The system had finally started acting human again... no, acting like a proper system.
"Let's go."
Meow Meow sprang down from the stone bench.
"Take me to see them."
Qian Renxue watched the white cat, who had been lounging lazily just moments ago, perk up in an instant. She said nothing and turned toward the back mountain.
There was a small bamboo grove behind the Villa.
At the far end of the grove lay a modest Herb Garden.
Some little medicinal plants she usually couldn't be bothered to tend grew along its edges. The valuable things were all in the inner courtyard; most of these were just there to nourish the land.
The three cats often roamed around here.
Qian Renxue had only just brought Meow Meow to the edge of the bamboo grove when rustling came from the grass ahead.
The next moment, two little cats poked out their heads.
One was black all over, with white paws. Its eyes were bright, and it moved quickly.
The other was pure white, with a touch of pale gray on the tips of its ears. Its fur was a little longer than the first cat's, and it looked much calmer.
The two cats had been about to come out and see who had arrived.
But the moment they saw Qian Renxue, they clearly hesitated.
When they noticed the white cat beside her, their expressions changed even more.
They seemed a little afraid, yet also eager to approach.
There was an instinctive, subtle pressure between Sacred Flame Spirit Cats and ordinary cats.
That was especially true now, with Meow Meow's cultivation far beyond theirs.
It was only natural that they would be nervous.
"Only two?"
Meow Meow narrowed his eyes and swept the area with his spiritual power.
He quickly sensed another, fainter presence in a crack between the rocks behind them.
"There's one more."
As he spoke, he pointed a paw at the rock.
"Come out on your own."
Qian Renxue gave a faint start.
She clearly hadn't noticed that another one was hiding behind them.
The next moment, a smaller kitten slowly squeezed out from behind the rocks.
Its fur was a pale, creamy gold, and its belly was white. It was noticeably smaller than the other two, and its steps were unsteady. It looked like the weakest of the three.
As soon as it emerged, it rubbed against the black cat.
They were clearly familiar with each other.
Qian Renxue glanced at the three little cats, her expression shifting slightly.
"I hadn't noticed this one before."
"It probably hides well."
"It's tiny, and it's timid, too," Meow Meow remarked casually.
After speaking, he stepped forward and began to study the three little ones carefully.
The black one was the liveliest.
The white one was the calmest.
The last kitten, with its creamy-gold fur, was the smallest, but it clung to the other two the most.
There was no need to guess—they'd all grown up together.
"Not bad."
"Quite a well-rounded lineup."
"We've got a watchdog, a garden guard, and a cute one. Everything's covered."
Qian Renxue raised an eyebrow at his last remark.
"A cute one?"
Meow Meow was completely unfazed.
"What's wrong with that?"
"When you raise cats, it can't all be about what they're good for."
"Being cute is a talent, too."
Qian Renxue: "..."
She suddenly realized that she was getting more and more used to the strange things this cat occasionally came out with.
Meow Meow didn't waste any more time and got straight to work.
He looked at the black cat first.
"You're up."
The black cat startled and instinctively tried to back away.
But for some reason, when it met Meow Meow's light golden eyes, it stopped halfway.
Instead, it slowly crept two steps forward.
Meow Meow nodded, pleased.
"Not bad. You've got some courage."
The next moment, he raised a paw, and a wisp of pale golden flame drifted down.
The flame was small.
It wasn't hot, either.
When it landed on the black cat, it merely curled around it.
The black cat's fur stood on end.
Then the flame slowly sank into its body.
The cat stiffened at first, then went completely still.
Its eyes gradually grew more alert.
A moment later, a faint flame-shaped mark appeared between its brows.
It wasn't very noticeable, but its aura had already become completely different.
It looked down at itself, then back at Meow Meow, its eyes clearly filled with a newfound affection.
The system prompt sounded at the same time.
[ Ding, spirit ignition successful.] [ Obtained: Sacred Flame Spirit Cat × 1]
In a good mood, Meow Meow turned to the second cat, the white one.
"You, too. Come over."
The white cat was much more obedient than the black one. It almost immediately walked over as soon as he spoke.
Meow Meow raised his paw as before.
A tiny spark of Holy Fire descended.
This time, it went even more smoothly.
The white cat trembled slightly, and the spirit ignition was soon complete.
The flame mark between its brows was a little fainter than the black cat's, but its gaze was gentler. As soon as it was done, it walked over to Qian Renxue and rubbed lightly against her feet.
Qian Renxue looked down at it, and for the first time, her expression changed noticeably.
"It..."
"It's more attached to you."
Meow Meow flicked his tail.
"That's normal."
"There's more Light Soul Power here, so of course it takes to you."
"And it'll be watching the grounds for you from now on. Who else would it cling to—the Herb Garden?"
After hearing that, Qian Renxue found herself thinking he had a point.
Only the smallest kitten, the one with creamy-gold fur, was left.
But it was clearly much more nervous than the other two.
It knew it was supposed to come over, but it shuffled all four paws for ages and still stayed where it was, too afraid to move.
The black cat and the white cat both turned to look at it.
"Meow."
"Meow."
They seemed to be calling it over.
But the little one still didn't dare.
Seeing its timid little face, Meow Meow couldn't help wanting to laugh.
"You really are a timid little thing."
He said that, but still walked over to it himself.
When he reached the kitten, he didn't ignite its spirit right away. He simply lowered his head and sniffed it first.
A very faint scent of herbs.
It must have spent plenty of time wandering around the Herb Garden.
"Fine."
"Since you're so little, I'll do it myself."
He raised a paw and gently rested it on the creamy-gold kitten's head.
This time, the flame descended more slowly and gently.
The little one shuddered at first, then seemed to realize it didn't hurt and gradually closed its eyes.
When the spirit ignition was complete, the flame mark on its forehead was actually the clearest of the three, like a tiny warm glow nestled in its fur.
And as soon as it was done, the first thing it did was lift its head and gently rub its forehead against Meow Meow's paw.
Meow Meow looked down at it, feeling his own mood lift.
"Not bad."
"At least that wasn't a waste of a spirit ignition."
"You even know how to rub against my paw."
The system prompt rang out again right after.
[ Ding, spirit ignition successful.] [Obtained: Sacred Flame Spirit Cat ×1] [Ding, Spirit Ignition successful.] [Obtained: Sacred Flame Spirit Cat ×1]
All three had made it.
Looking at the three little cats before him—one black, one white, and one creamy gold—Meow Meow immediately felt much better.
This trip to Yujing... no, this trip to this place hadn't been in vain after all.
Qian Renxue stood off to one side, watching everything closely from beginning to end.
It wasn't that she lacked experience.
It was just that the transformation from ordinary cats into Sacred Flame Spirit Cats had been so obvious.
Their Soul Power changed.
Their eyes changed.
Even their original wildness and wariness had been replaced by a kind of indescribable spirituality.
She had known that Meow Meow could perform Spirit Ignition.
But seeing it with her own eyes was completely different from just hearing about it.
"So this is what you can do?"
She finally asked.
"More or less."
Meow Meow had no intention of explaining in detail. He simply gathered the three cats closer to him.
Then he looked up at Qian Renxue.
"All right."
"Now we should give them names."
With that, he looked first at the black cat.
"From now on, your name is Ink Shadow."
The black cat's ears perked up. It had clearly remembered the name.
"Your name is White Dew."
The white cat let out a soft "meow."
"And you—"
Meow Meow looked down at the creamy gold kitten. After a moment's thought, he gave his tail a little flick.
"You can be called A Yu."
The little one blinked. It didn't quite understand, but it still gave a happy cry.
"Mew!"
Qian Renxue listened from the side, her brows lifting slightly.
"You're quick at naming them."
Meow Meow looked up at her.
"It's just a name. It's not like I'm coming up with a Soul Skill name for a Martial Soul."
"As long as it sounds decent, it'll do."
As he spoke, he nudged the three cats toward Qian Renxue.
"These three will stay with you from now on."
"Ink Shadow can patrol the courtyard at night, White Dew can stay with you, and A Yu can look after the Herb Garden and the hot spring for now, and learn the paths around here."
"With them around, at least the courtyard won't feel so empty when you come back."
Qian Renxue looked at the three cats in front of her. After a brief silence, she nodded gently.
"Okay."
Her reply was soft.
But Meow Meow could still hear how pleased she was.
Well, who could resist three newly awakened kittens that already knew how to nuzzle people?
Especially when one of them, White Dew, had already trotted over to rub against her ankle again.
In the end, Qian Renxue couldn't resist. She bent down and picked White Dew up.
Her movements weren't very practiced.
But she was clearly much more at ease than when she'd first picked up Meow Meow.
Watching from the side, Meow Meow gave his tail a gentle swish.
"Excellent."
"At this rate, Spirit Hall's young mistress will soon be the first to be healed by cats."
At the thought, he suddenly felt that his original idea of "turning Spirit Hall into a home" might actually be achievable.
At least there were cats in the Pope's Palace now.
And there were cats here with Qian Renxue, too.
And later on...
"Never mind."
"One step at a time. Don't get ahead of yourself."
Though that was what he told himself, Meow Meow naturally hopped back onto the stone bench beneath the corridor.
He settled down and started thinking about other things.
There were still a few fruits on the jade plate.
The Herb Garden was still there.
The hot spring was still there.
And now there were three more cats in the courtyard.
As for the system, he still had four gift packs unopened.
At the thought, Meow Meow suddenly felt an itch to open them.
Unfortunately, Qian Renxue was still right there. He couldn't just suddenly space out and open the system in front of her.
That would be way too strange.
So he could only suppress the urge for now and pretend to be nonchalantly studying the remaining fruits.
As he watched them, another thought suddenly came to him.
There were three cats here now, sure.
But three clearly weren't enough.
The villa was certainly big enough.
But it still lacked a bit of liveliness.
Especially compared to the East Side Courtyard. The difference was obvious.
There, cats chased their tails during the day and patrolled the courtyard at night, while kittens tumbled over one another in litter after litter beside the Warm Nest.
This place, on the other hand, was certainly quiet—but far too quiet.
So quiet it was almost devoid of warmth.
At the thought, Meow Meow suddenly looked up at Qian Renxue.
"Qinghe."
"Hmm?"
"Don't you plan on raising more cats later?"
Qian Renxue was looking down at White Dew. At his question, she lifted her head.
"Raising what?"
"Cats, of course."
Meow Meow said it as if it were obvious.
"You can't just rely on these three, can you?"
"After a while, if I'm not around, this place will still feel too empty."
Qian Renxue looked at him but didn't answer right away.
Meow Meow didn't rush to say anything more.
He merely tapped the stone bench lightly with his tail, as if he'd brought it up in passing.
"Never mind."
"We can talk about it another time."
"For now, it's enough to let them get used to the place."
After saying that, he slowly closed his eyes.
On the surface, he looked sleepy.
In truth, his mind had already slipped quietly into the system interface.
Four gift packs.
At last, he could open them.
Before you continue