Watching Little White vanish in the blink of an eye, a flicker of anxiety crossed Ye Xiwu's eyes. She could only chase after him in the direction he had disappeared.
After sprinting all the way, Lin Ran leaped over a courtyard wall and landed in a small courtyard. The smell of blood drifted out of the house. This family had probably already met with disaster!
With no one here, Lin Ran did not have to worry about exposing himself. This monster really was considerate, finding him such a good spot!
"Who's there!"
Since Lin Ran had charged in without the slightest attempt at concealment, the monster naturally noticed the disturbance.
"Hm? A kitten?" The monster looked at Lin Ran in confusion.
Lin Ran sprang up, revealing his true form in midair. A gigantic beast appeared out of nowhere and slammed a paw squarely into the monster.
Naturally, the blow left him with a grade-two disability! Another swipe finished the monster off. This monster was only at the Mid Golden Core Stage, and the gap between their combat strength was far more than a little. He had no power to resist Lin Ran at all.
After digging out the golden core, Lin Ran exchanged his points for a Sacred Beast Origin Pill. Once he swallowed it, he found that his strength had increased by roughly one-fifth.
Not bad, not bad! Even better than I expected! He immediately exchanged all ten thousand Origin Points the system had given him for Origin Pills.
As for the golden core, Lin Ran stored it in System Space.
Lin Ran shrank down and ran toward Ye Xiwu.
Moving against the chaotic crowd, Lin Ran leaped into Ye Xiwu's arms and rubbed against her cheek.
"Where did you run off to? I was worried sick!" Ye Xiwu tapped Lin Ran's little head, looking a little angry.
"Meow-meow-" Lin Ran kicked out all four paws, widened his eyes, and began playing dead, attempting to get off the hook by acting cute.
"I'll let it slide this time, but no running off again, understand!" Ye Xiwu said fiercely. Lin Ran hurriedly nodded his little head.
After that, Ye Xiwu kept holding Lin Ran. As time passed, Lin Ran keenly noticed that her arms were getting sore, so he jumped straight onto Chun Tao's shoulder.
After a round of shopping, Chun Tao followed Ye Xiwu back to the Ye Residence, carrying bags of all sizes. They happened to run into Ye Bingchang and Xiao Lin. Seeing the two together, Ye Xiwu's temper shot straight up.
"Meow-" A cat's cry brought Ye Xiwu back to her senses. She rubbed her cheek against Lin Ran, greeted Xiao Lin, and headed inside, ignoring Ye Bingchang entirely.
When it was time for bed that night, Lin Ran lay beside Ye Xiwu and slept with all four paws in the air!
For some time afterward, Lin Ran followed Ye Xiwu around like a little tagalong every day. Ye Xiwu doted on him more and more, and the whole household at the Ye Residence grew accustomed to his presence.
Ever since Lin Ran had arrived, Ye Xiwu had become much more sensible and was no longer as overbearing as before.
Then, over a month later, Xiao Lin invited some of his friends to a gathering in the palace. Ye Bingchang was invited too. Ye Xiwu only got to go by shamelessly tagging along; in truth, he had never invited her at all.
"Little White! Look at my outfit. Will the Sixth Prince like it?"
"Meow-meow-" Lin Ran lay on Chun Tao's shoulder with nothing left to live for. Being love-brained is no good! The moment Xiao Lin came up, Ye Xiwu's intelligence plummeted.
Ye Xiwu took a carriage to the palace with Chun Tao and Lin Ran. As for Ye Bingchang, Ye Xiwu did not care how she got there.
Following Ye Xiwu as she walked and paused along the way, Lin Ran could tell that she was quite familiar with the palace's layout. An idle glance suddenly perked him up. He had spotted Tantai Jin!
Poor little otouto! Your big brother Ran is here! Lin Ran meowed excitedly twice, and Ye Xiwu stroked him in puzzlement.
"What's wrong? Little White, do you know him?" Ye Xiwu asked, looking at Tantai Jin. At this point, she was not familiar with Tantai Jin and had never even spoken to him.
"Second Miss! You're here. Where's Bingchang?" The sight of Ye Xiwu gave Xiao Lin something of a headache, but he could only receive her properly.
"She's behind us. She'll be here in a little while!" Once Ye Xiwu saw Xiao Lin, she could not tear her eyes away. Exasperated that this iron would not turn to steel, Lin Ran patted her cheek.
"What are you doing? No misbehaving!" Ye Xiwu caught Lin Ran's little paw and handed him to Chun Tao.
"Heh, I saw this exotic beast the last time I met you, Miss Ye. I didn't expect you to be so close to it," Xiao Lin said with some surprise. He knew perfectly well that Ye Xiwu was no easy customer.
"Exotic beast?" Ye Xiwu was rather confused. Wasn't Little White just an ordinary spirit beast? How had he become an exotic beast?
"May I take a look?"
Ye Xiwu was just about to have Chun Tao hand Lin Ran to Xiao Lin so he could see exactly what breed of spirit beast Little White was.
"Meow! Meow, meow, meow!" Lin Ran cursed and refused to get down. He had no intention of letting Xiao Lin examine him. Xiao Lin was a disciple of an immortal sect. Who knew what trouble might arise if he recognized him as a sacred beast!
Tantai Jin looked at Lin Ran in surprise. This kitten had quite a temper, and his curses were truly filthy!
"If it's unwilling, then never mind." Seeing how fiercely Lin Ran resisted him, Xiao Lin could only give up helplessly. Still, he took note of it. He vaguely sensed that Lin Ran was no ordinary creature.
"Little Jinjin! What are you looking at!" Lin Ran meowed twice at Tantai Jin.
A trace of shock flashed through Tantai Jin's eyes, but he quickly returned to normal. He absolutely could not let a second person learn that he understood the language of beasts.
Next came the small talk. Ye Xiwu's attention remained fixed on Xiao Lin, which gave Lin Ran room to move freely. He rubbed against Chun Tao's plump cheek and jumped to the ground.
"Off to play with Dandan Jin!"
Seeing Lin Ran run off, Chun Tao hurried after him, only to find that he had run to Tantai Jin's side. Chun Tao knew even less about Tantai Jin; all she knew was that he was a hostage prince from Jing Kingdom.
Chun Tao cautiously approached Lin Ran and curtsied to Tantai Jin, then tried to pick Lin Ran up and take him away.
"This kitten is quite adorable. If you don't mind, could you let me spend a little time with him?" Tantai Jin asked courteously.
"Mm-all right. I'll be right over there, then. Keep an eye on Little White, and don't let him run off." Chun Tao nodded and moved aside.
"You don't look anything like Tantai Minglang!"
"You've met Tantai Minglang?" Tantai Jin asked in some shock.
"Yep. I ran all the way here from Jing Kingdom. I saw plenty of Tantai Minglang before, and Fu Yu too."
"Fu Yu?"
"One of your brother's subordinates. His right-hand woman."
"Then what have you come here for?"
"Nothing much. I heard you weren't doing well in this palace and were always being bullied. Your big brother Ran couldn't stop worrying about you, so I came to find you."
"You know me well?"
"Well enough. But I can point you toward a path. I'm staying at the Ye Residence. You could find a way to get into the Ye Residence. Ye Xiwu is pretty good, and she's a worthy match for you. What do you think?"
"I'll consider it."
It was clear that Tantai Jin had not completely believed Lin Ran. Lin Ran did not mind. There was plenty of time ahead, so he could take things slowly.
"Oh, right. When you're bullied, do you hear a voice inside you?"
This time, Tantai Jin was utterly shocked. This was his greatest secret. Absolutely no second person in this world knew about it.
"Don't listen to his nonsense. I'll find a way to get him out of your body later. And here, take this too!" Lin Ran placed the golden core in Tantai Jin's hand.
"You can try absorbing the power of the golden core. But there are quite a few experts in the palace, so be careful. With this golden core, you should have enough to deal with the people who torment you."
"How do I absorb its power?"
"How would I know? But it shouldn't be hard. It's something you were born knowing how to do. Go back and work it out!"
"All right, I'm off. Chun Tao is getting anxious waiting."
Lin Ran promptly leaped into Chun Tao's arms and rubbed against her. Chun Tao stroked him dotingly and carried him off to find Ye Xiwu.
Ye Bingchang arrived late for the midday meal. There was some anger in her eyes as she looked at Ye Xiwu. Though she hid it well, Lin Ran still noticed it.
Tantai Jin sat at the edge, quietly studying Ye Xiwu and Lin Ran. It seemed Lin Ran's proposal had tempted him. He merely lacked the seven emotions and six desires, but he did not want to be bullied either. If he could leave the palace and live out his life in peace, wouldn't that be better than suffering here?