"Seven parts human, three parts demon..."
Du ke passed through the door draped with a green curtain and entered the front hall, still pondering over the words of the Knife Grinding Old Man.
As Du ke arrived in the front hall, before he could even settle, he heard a series of urgent sobbing.
Following the sound, Du ke was dumbfounded on the spot. The once clearly defined black and white fur of Little Ha thirteen had now turned ginger yellow.
Not only that, but there had been a fundamental change in the scent emanating from thirteen's body.
Just by looking with his eyes or smelling with his nose, there was no resemblance between the current thirteen and the previous one.
However, the pair of blue eyes filled with wisdom remained unchanged.
Thirteen, restrained by an iron chain, saw Du ke appear and immediately rushed towards him with force, pulling the chain taut.
At this moment, Du ke also noticed that thirteen was bound by a chain, which was as thick as an adult's finger and three feet long, tied to a water jar.
The water jar was placed at the entrance of the shop, with the upper half of the jar filled with water for raising fish, while the lower half served as a small nest.
Du ke approached and took a look at thirteen, especially at the water jar.
The middle part of the water jar was partitioned, allowing for fish to be raised on top while the bottom housed the dog.
"It's alright, it's alright, everything's fine!"
Du ke gently comforted the dog, raising his paw to pat the dog's little head while squinting to observe the situation inside the shop.
The front hall was quite rudimentary in its arrangement, with the water jar where thirteen was situated being the only exception, along with rows of shelves.
The shelves were neatly arranged with various tools such as knives, farming implements, scissors, and other items. Each item had a wooden sign hanging below it, with names written in ink on the signs.
Apart from that, there was the counter on the side with a green curtain hanging over it.
The counter was stacked with thick books, likely accounting ledgers or customer lists.
This shop seemed to specialize in sharpening knives, and one couldn't help but wonder how much the old man could earn in a day, whether it was enough to cover his own meals.
As thoughts swirled in his mind, the dog continued to nudge Du ke's neck with a humming sound.
Taking a glance at the dog, Du ke also looked at the chipped bowl placed next to the water jar, with oil stains clinging to its surface.
Du ke immediately understood what the silly dog meant ─ this guy hadn't eaten enough.
The Knife Grinding Old Man had given him breakfast, but it was probably not a special preparation. Whatever he cooked, whatever was left, he would give a bite to the dog and save a bite for the cat.
But the dog had a picky appetite from birth and fed on the essence of blood and flesh condensed into elixirs as it followed Du ke. Ordinary food was just a way to satisfy its cravings, but to get full, it needed blood food elixirs.
Du ke opened the Black Cauldron Space and took out a blood food elixir, stuffing it into the dog's mouth.
With something in its mouth, thirteen stopped whimpering and instead lay down next to the water jar, grinding the elixir with a crunching sound until it was completely crushed, then swallowed it down with saliva.
On Du ke's side, he also took out two for himself. After the cat finished breakfast, he looked at the Black Cauldron Space.
There weren't many blood food elixirs left in the space.
It's not surprising, after all, not only does the dog need to eat, but he does too, and his appetite is growing. The blood food pills he refined before haven't been completely consumed yet because he prepared a large quantity.
"It seems I need to find a place and refine some blood food pills!"
"My cultivation of sealing demons and meditative observation also requires blood food. I don't have to worry about Moonlight Pills and Sun Essence Pills since I can gather the materials for them every day."
"It's just the blood food pills that require some effort."
Thinking of this, Du Ke couldn't help but recall the words the old man said earlier.
"Seven parts human, three parts demon..."
"Tsk, I always feel like the old man is scolding me!"
"What do you mean by not having the appearance of a cat?"
Du Ke jumped up and landed on the edge of a water tank, standing steadily on the smooth edge, looking into the water.
In the water, a white cat with a pair of golden eyes was staring back at him.
At the same time, because Du Ke used the water as a mirror, the fish in the water were startled, causing a series of splashes that shattered Du Ke's reflection in the water.
"That's normal!"
Du Ke muttered to himself and then looked outside.
A little child was looking at him. The child wore a tiger-skin hat, a big floral robe, and held a windmill in his hand. In addition, there was a trail of snot hanging from his rosy little face.
When the child saw the cat looking at him, he immediately shook the windmill in his hand, and Du Ke smiled in response.
The child, upon seeing Du Ke's smiling face, was taken aback, his eyes quickly turned red, and he turned his head crying and ran away.
"Mom, this white cat scared me!"
As the child's cries faded away, Du Ke's expression also fell.
What do you mean I scared you?
Isn't my smile quite friendly?
Du Ke looked back at the water tank, cracked a smile, and his reflection in the water did the same.
But no matter how you look at it, it's eerie and strange.
Snap!
A black cat paw shattered Du Ke's reflection in the water tank. Du Ke looked up and saw the black cat from last night.
The black cat appeared on the other side of the water tank without him knowing when, squatting on the edge of the tank facing him.
When the black cat saw Du Ke looking, it raised its head and let out a snort from its nose.
"What are you snorting at?"
Du Ke rolled his eyes and said with a touch of annoyance, "Do you forget how I made you hiss last night?"
Upon hearing Du Ke's words, Qian Sui narrowed its eyes, stood up from its sitting position, and walked along the edge of the water tank in a straight line.
Qian Sui, walking in a straight line, came to Du Ke's front, also narrowing its eyes. Ink-like darkness flowed in its eyes, as if it was about to overflow.
"Hey, hey, hey, just teasing you a little, why are you hissing at me again?"
While speaking, Du Ke took a step back without saying a word.
Seeing Du Ke's reaction, the black cat snorted again, raised its paw, and stuck out its tongue, starting to groom itself.
Just at this moment, the Knife Grinding Old Man came in carrying a box of knives from the backyard.
As soon as he entered the hall, Du Ke immediately felt that something was not right.
The clamor and noise from the street outside disappeared without a trace, as if an invisible wall of air separated the interior of the shop from the outside world.
With this in mind, Du Ke also recalled that he hadn't heard the old man sharpening his knives when he came out of the storage room.
According to his hearing and perception, it was impossible not to hear it.
In other words, it was a problem with the old man himself; his presence isolated him from any external disturbances.
While Du Ke was lost in thought, the old man placed the box down and selected various knives from it, placing them on the shelves one by one and attaching name tags to them.
After finishing all this, the old man turned and went behind the counter, picked up a book and placed it in front of him, then took out ink and inkstone to grind the ink.
As he ground the ink, the old man said, "Qian Sui, this kid wants to learn the cultivation techniques of the Spirit Cat sect."
"Take him under your wing and help cleanse him of the demon aura and human aura on his body."
"I don't know who raised this little guy, but everything is too chaotic and mixed up. If he wants to learn the cultivation techniques of the Spirit Cat sect, he'll have to learn to be a cat again."
"As the current leader of the Spirit Cat sect, you must teach him well."
"Meow!"
Upon hearing the old man's words, Qian Sui let out a howl, acknowledging this matter.
In fact, even if the old man hadn't spoken, she would have taken the initiative to guide Du Ke in practicing the cultivation techniques of the Spirit Cat sect.
After all, for a Spirit Cat to not practice the specific methods of its own lineage and instead pursue martial arts or demon cultivation would be completely upside down.
Only the cultivation techniques of the Spirit Cat sect are most suitable for Spirit Cats!
With this in mind, Qian Sui looked at Du Ke, who happened to be looking at her too.
Between the two of them, Qian Sui jumped down from the water tank and walked towards the outside of the shop. Du Ke clicked his tongue as he saw this. This black cat is too self-centered!
Not even a single word of greeting!
But a cat under the eaves has to lower its head!
Enduring it for the sake of learning the cultivation techniques of the Spirit Cat sect!
While Qian Sui and Du Ke walked out of the shop one after another, Thirteen also wanted to follow along. However, he was restricted by a leash and could only pace around near the water tank.
Thirteen, with the leash pulled straight and taut, gazed anxiously at Du Ke's fading figure, howling incessantly.
I want to go too, I want to go too!
Master Cat, you can't leave your dog behind!