Lin Ye, You Big Pervert!

The moment Lin Ye grasped the doorknob, Zhu Zhuqing's voice came from behind him again.

"Lin Ye, wait..."

Lin Ye's hand paused, and he whipped around.

"Big kitty, what is it now?"

Zhu Zhuqing was sitting on the edge of the bed, her feet dangling and swaying. The tips of her ears were still flushed red.

Then she pursed her lips and tilted her head slightly.

"Can't... can't you call me something else?"

"Call you what?"

"You call me big kitty every single day. Count for yourself how many times you've said it!"

There was an aggrieved yet perfectly justified tone in Zhu Zhuqing's voice.

"My ears are practically pregnant from hearing it!"

Lin Ye froze when he heard that.

Pregnant ears?

What kind of ridiculous saying was that?

"Then tell me, what should I call you?"

Lin Ye asked, tilting his head.

Zhu Zhuqing quickly turned her face away, and her voice suddenly dropped.

"At least... at least you should call me little kitty."

Huh?

Lin Ye was instantly dumbfounded.

After waiting two seconds without getting a response, Zhu Zhuqing added in an even quieter voice.

"Don't you think little kitty sounds gentler than big kitty...?"

After saying that, Zhu Zhuqing wanted nothing more than to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.

What was she even saying?! That was way too embarrassing!

Yet all she received in response was silence.

Zhu Zhuqing bit her lip and secretly looked toward the door.

Lin Ye was staring blankly at her.

More precisely, he was staring at a certain part of her body.

His gaze slid from her face to her collarbone, then lower...

Once she realized it, Zhu Zhuqing's heartbeat rapidly accelerated.

"Big kitty..."

Then Lin Ye spoke, his tone utterly natural.

"B-but you're not small either."

The moment he finished speaking,

Zhu Zhuqing blanked out for a moment before blood rushed straight to her head.

"Lin Ye, you—!"

Then she looked down and realized that her collar had somehow come loose, exposing a large stretch of pale skin.

"Ah—!"

Zhu Zhuqing cried out, swiftly covering her chest with both hands as she shrank into the blankets.

Her face had completely turned pink.

"Lin Ye, you big jerk! You big pervert! You shameless hooligan!!!"

"What pervert?"

Lin Ye spread his hands with an innocent look on his face.

"Big kitty, I was talking about your cat paws. Your cat paws really aren't small. What were you thinking about?"

"Who are you trying to fool?!"

Zhu Zhuqing grabbed a pillow beside her and hurled it at him.

Lin Ye swiftly sidestepped. The pillow slammed into the door, scattering feathers everywhere.

"Feeling guilty, aren't you?"

Lin Ye bent down, picked up the pillow, and casually tossed it back onto the bed.

"Alright, alright. I'll call you little kitty from now on. Satisfied?"

Zhu Zhuqing was wrapped in the blanket, with only her eyes exposed.

Those eyes were wide as bells.

But Lin Ye keenly noticed something.

Her ears were even redder than before.

"Big jerk, what did you just call me?"

A muffled voice came from beneath the blanket.

"Little kitty."

"..."

The person under the blanket said nothing more, but the exposed tips of her ears had turned so red they looked ready to bleed.

Lin Ye smiled.

"Fine, I'll call you little kitty from now on."

"But there's one condition."

The blanket stirred, then a voice came from within.

"What condition?!"

"Outside, you're still big kitty."

A corner of the blanket instantly flipped open, revealing half of Zhu Zhuqing's face.

"Why?!"

"Because you really aren't small outside."

"Get out! Lin Ye, get out of here!!"

This time, it wasn't a pillow that flew at him, but a book from beside the bed.

Lin Ye caught the book in one hand, placed it on the table, and flashed out the door.

In the hallway, Lin Ye leaned against the wall and lowered his head with a smile.

Teasing this cat really was quite fun.

After smiling, his expression gradually turned serious.

Tomorrow, they would enter Sunset Forest to find Zhu Zhuqing's third Soul Ring.

She had to break through the threshold of level thirty as soon as possible.

The effects of the Immortal Herbs had not fully faded yet. Absorbing a Soul Ring during this window would give her the highest chance of success.

The key was... finding a soul beast suitable for her.

The Netherworld Spirit Cat specialized in speed and agility, so the ideal soul beast should also be speed-based.

A feline or leopard-type soul beast would be best.

As for the age, by normal standards, the limit for a level-thirty third Soul Ring was roughly between one thousand and eighteen hundred years.

But Zhu Zhuqing had just taken the Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone. Her physical constitution had undergone a qualitative leap, and her soul power foundation was far deeper than others at the same level.

So raising the limit by another two or three hundred years should be manageable.

That meant the ideal choice would be a speed-type soul beast between eighteen hundred and two thousand years old.

Lin Ye calculated it all in his mind.

There were quite a few soul beasts at that cultivation level in the outer regions of Sunset Forest.

But finding one whose attributes matched the Netherworld Spirit Cat would depend on luck.

Forget it. Thinking more was worse than setting out early.

The next day, dawn had only just begun to break.

Lin Ye knocked on Zhu Zhuqing's door.

"Hey, big kitty, are you up yet?"

The door was pulled open with a snap, and Zhu Zhuqing was already dressed.

"I was up ages ago."

Lin Ye then gave her a quick once-over.

Zhu Zhuqing looked far better than she had last night. Her skin glowed with a healthy sheen, and her eyes were more lively as well.

The effects of the Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone were clearly still at work.

"If that's the case, let's go."

The two stopped wasting time, quickly left Heaven Dou City, and headed straight for Sunset Forest.

Morning mist filled Sunset Forest, while sunlight was sliced into golden fragments by the towering canopy.

The air was mixed with the damp scent of soil and plants, and birdsong occasionally drifted from deep within the forest.

The two followed a forest path for around four or five li.

"Wait, there's an aura ahead."

Lin Ye stopped, quickly spreading out his spiritual power.

"It's a roughly three-hundred-year-old Rock-Horned Deer. Not suitable."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded and followed him around it.

They walked for a while longer.

"There's a big one on the slope to the right. Its cultivation is above four thousand years."

Lin Ye frowned.

"It's too old, and it isn't suitable for you either. Let's move farther away. Don't waste time here."

The two then changed direction again.

Over the next half day, they encountered no fewer than a dozen soul beasts.

Ironback Boar, six hundred years old, not a match.

Red-Tailed Spirit Fox, twelve hundred years old, fire-attribute, unsuitable.

Stone-Armored Rhinoceros, three thousand years old, too powerful for Zhu Zhuqing to withstand.

Shadow Bat, nine hundred years old, a flying type that had nothing to do with the Netherworld Spirit Cat.

They even ran into a twenty-five-thousand-year-old giant python. Without a word, the two turned around and ran.

Time passed bit by bit.

The sun moved from the eastern sky to the west, and the setting sun dyed the entire forest orange-red.

Zhu Zhuqing's steps had visibly slowed.

"Lin Ye, are we having bad luck today?"

"Luck isn't something you can rush."

Lin Ye looked around.

"It'll be dark soon. Let's find somewhere to camp first. We'll continue tomorrow."

The two set up camp in a sheltered hollow beneath a rock face.

Afterward, Lin Ye took out two simple tents from the Wishful Hundred Treasure Pouch. Once he had set them up, he went to gather some dry firewood.

The campfire was soon burning brightly.