"Cat Immortal, did you sleep well last night?"
Orange Cat rubbed her eyes and said against her conscience, "...Mm, I slept so soundly."
Breakfast was thin porridge and pickled vegetables.
While eating, Orange Cat turned into a little girl again.
Holding the bowl in her small hands, she brought her mouth up to it and drank a little at a time.
Clearly, eating in human form made her very uncomfortable.
"I examine myself three times each day: have I been disloyal in acting on another's behalf?
Have I been untrustworthy in dealing with friends? Have I failed to practice what I was taught..."
Jiaze recited, then reflected on himself.
Had he faithfully carried out what others entrusted to him?
Mm, he had.
Had he treated others honestly?
Uh...yesterday, he had farted at Brother Ox's head.
Afraid of getting beaten, he had said his teacher did it.
Jiaze drew a circle, lamenting that he still had not done enough.
After breakfast, Jiaze said he wanted to visit the local school.
It had to be said, as he read more and more books,
he had indeed acquired something of a Confucian scholar's gentle, refined bearing.
Before, Old Ox had to force him to study; now, without anyone telling him, he worked diligently from the moment he opened his eyes each day.
Li Ping'an could also feel at ease letting him go out alone.
"What is this?"
The little girl looked curiously at the book beside her.
"It's a book."
"And these?" The little girl pointed at the crooked, crisscrossing characters in the book.
"Characters."
Orange Cat said, "This immortal doesn't know them."
Li Ping'an said, "Would you like to learn, Cat Immortal?"
"I don't want to learn right now."
"Then would you like to go for a stroll, Cat Immortal?"
Cat Immortal