What to Do If You Pick Up a Cat Girl, Waiting Online, Urgent

"Senior, can we fly a bit slower?"

Ye Qing manipulated the Chaos Green Flame to spew a trail of cyan fire behind him.

He traced an S-shaped curve through the air, barely managing to keep pace three yards behind Dugu Bo.

The Chaos Green Flame could release both extreme cold and extreme heat, making it perfectly suited to serve as a thruster.

The stream of extreme heat provided the thrust.

It was truly cool.

But it was also truly exhausting.

"Slow?"

Dugu Bo didn't even turn his head.

His emerald-green Soul Power dragged a long trail through the sky.

"I acted as your beast of burden in the Star Dou Great Forest for so long, and now that I'm eager to return home, you want me to slow down?"

"I was just worried you might get tired, old man..."

"Shut up."

Ye Qing obediently shut his mouth.

Fine.

Ever since that old geezer failed to find a single hair on the seventeen wolf corpses last time, his temper had been as foul as if he'd eaten three pounds of dynamite.

He looked down at the Star Dou Great Forest below, the boundless sea of trees receding rapidly beneath his feet.

Suddenly!

"Hm?"

Ye Qing's gaze sharpened.

In the bushes below, a small, thin black shadow was curled up on the ground, motionless.

And less than five yards away from that shadow, a giant, pitch-black snake was slithering forward in complete silence.

A soul beast with roughly two thousand years of cultivation.

At this moment, its vertical pupils had already locked onto the unconscious figure on the ground.

Its tongue flickered, poised to strike.

"Senior, there seems to be someone down there!"

Without waiting for Dugu Bo's response, Ye Qing shifted the direction of his Chaos Green Flame and plummeted toward the ground like a meteor.

"Hey! You brat, causing trouble for me again!"

Dugu Bo's scolding still echoed in the air, but Ye Qing had already landed.

The Chaos Green Flame condensed into a miniature green lotus at his fingertips, which he flicked away with a casual motion.

The green fire lotus traced an arc through the air, landing precisely on the Black Mamba Snake's vital spot.

"Boom!"

The flames exploded!

The extreme cold instantly froze the snake's body, and the extreme heat followed immediately to incinerate its internal organs.

The two-thousand-year-old giant python didn't even have time to hiss before it turned into an ice sculpture charred from within.

One-shotted.

"Is that it?"

Ye Qing brushed some non-existent dust off his hands and turned toward the unconscious figure.

As he drew closer, he saw it was a girl.

She looked to be about ten years old.

Her black hair was scattered messily across the ground, and her small face was pale, devoid of any color.

Her clothes were tattered, covered in mud and dead leaves.

Ye Qing crouched down and placed two fingers against the side of her neck.

There was a pulse.

Though weak, she was still alive.

Dugu Bo landed beside Ye Qing, frowning as he glanced at the girl on the ground.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know. I found her unconscious here, nearly eaten by a snake."

"How could such a young girl be in the outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest?"

A flicker of confusion crossed Dugu Bo's emerald eyes. He crouched down to lift the girl's eyelids, then probed her Soul Power fluctuations.

He stood up immediately, his tone returning to its usual cold indifference. "Nothing serious. Just Soul Power exhaustion; she'll wake up after some rest."

"Let's go."

"Go?"

Ye Qing pointed at the unconscious girl on the ground. "Are we just going to leave her here?"

"What else?"

Dugu Bo raised an eyebrow. "You want to take her back with us?"

"Senior, saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda."

"Building a what?"

Dugu Bo wore an expression that clearly said, What kind of nonsense is this kid spouting now?

"Uh, it just means accumulating virtue."

Ye Qing scratched his head, decisively switching to phrasing Dugu Bo could understand.

"Think about it, we're in the middle of the wilderness. If another soul beast comes along, this girl is as good as dead."

"If we stand by and watch her die, how are we any different from the villains?"

"Villains?"

"You know, bad guys."

Dugu Bo was silent for a moment.

His emerald eyes swept across Ye Qing's face before he suddenly let out a scoff. "Since when have you been so kind-hearted? Don't tell me it's because this girl is pretty?"

"Uh, Senior, she's still just a child."

"I didn't say anything, why are you so anxious?"

Ye Qing rolled his eyes, too lazy to argue with this impure-minded old man.

He bent down and scooped the unconscious girl up into his arms.

She was frighteningly light.

It felt like holding a bundle of dry firewood.

Dugu Bo watched his overly familiar behavior, his brow furrowing into a deep frown.

But in the end, he didn't stop him.

He merely snorted, turned, and took to the air.

"Handle the trouble you picked up yourself; don't expect this old man to clean up after you."

"Got it, got it."

Ye Qing held the girl, and the Chaos Green Flame surged forth once more.

A trail of green fire arced through the sky as he steadily followed Dugu Bo.

After returning to Heaven Dou City.

Ye Qing did not immediately head back to the academy.

Instead, he found a hotel in the city, rented a room, and settled the girl he had picked up.

Dugu Bo checked her pulse once more.

He stood up and brushed some non-existent dust off his sleeves.

"Soul Power exhaustion, physically weak, but no internal injuries. She'll wake up after some rest."

He turned to Ye Qing, a hint of impatience flashing in his emerald eyes.

"Handle the aftermath yourself; this old man is leaving."

"Wait, Senior, you're just dumping her on me like this?"

"You picked her up, so naturally, you're responsible."

Dugu Bo glared at him irritably.

He reached the door, then stopped, tossing a final remark over his shoulder without looking back.

"Right, if Yanyan asks when you get back to the academy, explain it yourself. Don't expect this old man to say a word for you."

"And one more thing..."

He paused, a sinister curve touching the corner of his mouth.

"If you let Yanyan misunderstand that you're out philandering, I'll be the first to poison you to death."

"..."

The door was slammed shut without mercy.

Ye Qing stood where he was, the corner of his mouth twitching three times.

So, what exactly was his relationship with that old geezer?

He threatened to poison him every single day, yet helped him hunt soul beasts and covered for him whenever things went south.

A total tsundere.

"Forget it, never mind that old tsundere for now."

Ye Qing's gaze fell back onto the bed.

The black-haired girl lay quietly amidst the bedding.

Her breathing had steadied significantly, and a hint of color had returned to her pale cheeks.

He pulled up a chair to the bedside, propped his chin on his hand, and began to study that small face.

At around ten years old, her features hadn't fully matured yet, but one could already tell she was a budding beauty.

Her skin was fair, her looks were quite good, and she had long, straight black hair.

"Whose child could she be?"

Ye Qing muttered to himself, his fingers tapping lightly against his knee.

"The outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest are no place for a child."

"Was she being hunted? A family tragedy? Or perhaps..."

He suddenly recalled a certain plot point from the original story.

Zhu Zhuqing.

The second young lady of the Zhu family, also around this age, who had run away due to matters involving her family and the royal house.

"It couldn't be that much of a coincidence, could it?"

Just then, the person on the bed moved.

The girl's eyelashes fluttered gently, and then her eyes snapped open.

A pair of amber cat-like pupils.

The moment she saw Ye Qing, her entire demeanor shifted instantly from unconsciousness to extreme vigilance.

She flipped herself into a sitting position.

Her hands pressed against the bed, her body slightly arched.

Immediately following, a pair of black cat ears popped out from her dark hair, and a slender black cat tail rose up from behind her.

This was Martial Soul Possession!

She made a standard cat-hissing gesture toward Ye Qing.

"Hiss--!"

That expression, that posture—it was exactly like a little black cat with its fur standing on end, hissing in warning.

If the atmosphere weren't so serious, Ye Qing would have almost wanted to find a cat teaser to test her.

"Calm down."

Ye Qing placated her calmly. "I'm not a bad person; to be precise, I'm your savior."

The girl's cat ears twitched.

But her hissing posture remained unmoved.

Those amber cat eyes continued to stare at him intensely.

"It's true."

Ye Qing tried his best to make his expression look harmless.

"You were unconscious on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. A snake-type soul beast was very close to you at the time. If I hadn't happened to pass by, you would be snake feed by now."

"!"

The girl's breathing hitched slightly.

She remembered.

She remembered fleeing into the Star Dou Great Forest, remembered her Soul Power being exhausted, and remembered everything going black as she collapsed to the ground.

This person in front of her... did he really save her?

Although she believed him a little, her instinctual vigilance did not fully fade.

She remained in the state of Martial Soul Possession, her cat eyes locked onto Ye Qing.

"Who are you?"

She spoke, her voice as raspy as sandpaper rubbing together.

"Where is this place again?"

"My name is Ye Qing—'Ye' as in Ye Hei, 'Qing' as in the Azure Emperor."

After shrugging to introduce himself, Ye Qing explained, "This is an inn in Heaven Dou City."

"I found you unconscious in the Star Dou Great Forest, so I brought you back."

The young girl's cat ears twitched once more.

Heaven Dou City?

She had actually been brought all the way to Heaven Dou City?

"You..."

She started to say something else.

"Gurgle!"

Her stomach growled.

The sound wasn't loud, but in the quiet room, it was exceptionally clear.

The girl's cat ears instantly drooped.

A hint of color finally appeared on her pale little face.

The corners of Ye Qing's mouth twitched as he fought to keep from laughing out loud.

"Are you... hungry?"

"..."

The girl didn't speak.

Her amber cat-like eyes turned away, and her tail curled in front of her instinctively.

It was as if she wanted to find a crack in the floor to crawl into.

"I'll go get you something to eat."

Ye Qing stood up and walked out the door.

The room fell silent.

The girl remained in her state of Martial Soul Possession, her amber eyes fixed on the closed door for a long time.

She was thinking.

Was what that person named Ye Qing said true?

She lowered her head to look at her own filthy hands.

"Ye Qing..."

She whispered the name to herself.

Complex emotions flickered deep within her cat-like eyes.