The next day, early morning.
On the long street.
"Baor, Baor, my Baor!"
With heart-rending cries, disheveled and ragged Huniu was shouting her son's pet name on the main street.
As passersby looked towards Huniu, many cats also glanced over at Huniu.
"Oh my, isn't this the daughter of the carriage driver who just got married?"
"I heard the child who just turned one month old in her family is lost!"
"What, the child is lost!"
"Who is so unscrupulous and immoral to steal a family's one-month-old darling!"
"That's right, which family's child is not like their own cat, the apple of their eye!"
"Alas, such sin!"
"Where is her husband?"
"He went to the yamen early in the morning."
"Stop talking, hurry to help her!"
...
Amid the chatter of passersby, the pancake seller on the street slammed the dough on his chopping board. At the same time, he called to his wife,
"Lianzi, put down what you're doing and go see the carriage driver's daughter. The carriage driver helped pass a letter for our family before!
We should return the favor."
"Oh, I know!"
The crude, red-faced woman came out from the house, wiping her flour-covered hands on her apron.
As soon as this woman named Lianzi came out, seven or eight other women also walked towards Huniu. Some were new mothers, some had been married for years, and some were old ladies doting on their grandchildren.
Many women gathered around Huniu, first helping her up. Cats also came over, circling around Huniu and meowing softly to comfort her.
Then, surrounded by cats and women, Huniu left the street and returned home.
After Huniu left, Xiangzi, with bloodshot eyes, ran back in big strides, heading home.
"Xiangzi!"
The pancake seller called out to Xiangzi, who paused and looked towards the man with bloodshot eyes.
"Big Brother Dalang!"
"Here, eat this. Running around like crazy without breakfast early in the morning, you'll get sick."
Big Brother Dalang handed a pancake wrapped in oil paper to Xiangzi, and patted the shoulders of this new father.
"Every problem can be solved, townsfolk will help you find your child. If someone else stole him, we'll beat the kidnapper to death first before anything else!"
"Daring to take a child from our Maocheng, killing him won't get the yamen involved!"
Xiangzi took the oil paper package and took a deep breath, "Thank you, Big Brother Dalang!"
"Go back, take care of your wife, don't let anything happen to her. I'll gather some people and visit your family later, we'll think of something together!"
"En!"
Xiangzi nodded heavily. Big Brother Dalang patted his shoulders again and sighed.
At the same time, Qian Suisui, who was on her way back to the knife shop from the City Lord's manor, also witnessed this scene. Her eyes, like jade, flashed with annoyance.
All along the way, she had seen no less than five such scenes.
In Maocheng, humans and cats coexist harmoniously.
But now, someone dared to move the pillar on Mount Tai!
Really boring!
With a flash of killing intent in her eyes, Qian Suisui strode into Old Li's shop. There were customers inside collecting knives, but Qian Suisui just glanced over without paying much attention.
Just as she was about to go to the backyard, Qian Suisui was suddenly blocked by a figure in front of her.
Looking closely, it was Du ke's dog, Shi San.
Seeing Shi San blocking her way, the black cat frowned. What was this silly dog trying to do again?
Seeing the black cat frowning, Shi San immediately smiled, lowering his head and shaking it to show off his tiger head hat. At the same time, he raised his legs and began to imitate a lion dance, swaying his body.
Woof woof can cultivate now too!
Black cat, from now on woof woof is not afraid of you!
Haha!
Not only does woof woof have the hat given by the cat, woof woof can also cultivate to be with the cat forever.
Let's see if you're upset, upset, upset...
"Meow!!"
Qian Suisui slapped Shi San on the head, sending him rolling like a gourd back into his doghouse.
Qian Suisui shook her paw and glanced contemptuously at Shi San. So what if he can cultivate?
Go cultivate for another hundred years before showing off in front of me!
The black cat threw a look at Shi San to let him reflect on his own, then sauntered to the backyard.
Poking his head out of the doghouse, Shi San sniffed towards the black cat's departing figure, silently noting this down in his heart.
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, don't bully the poor woof woof.
The black cat didn't know the dog's thoughts, and wouldn't care even if she did.
Having cultivated for so many years, would she still be afraid of a silly young puppy?
In all these years, apart from that one time when she was caught off guard and suffered a beating from Du ke in close combat, when had she ever eaten any loss?
It's just that her temper has improved now. In her younger days, if the dog had been so impetuous, she would have pulled out all his fur first, then strung him up and whipped him with his tail dipped in chili water for three days and nights as an appetizer.
However, even as she said this, she really needed to make up for the weakness of the Lingmao lineage's frail mortal body.
She had witnessed Du ke demonstrate the Tiger Panther Fist set many times, more than once.
Every time Du ke practiced, he would practice the Tiger Panther Fist dozens of times over and over until the medicinal efficacy dissipated before stopping.
The black cat Qian Suisui had watched Du ke practice and also perceived the changes in his qi, blood, and power circulation through spiritual resonance.
There would be no difficulty in replicating the Tiger Panther Fist, and cultivators would have an added boost when practicing mundane martial arts, with faster progress.
However, did she really want to practice it herself?
As Qian Suisui was lost in thought, she arrived at the roof. But this time, Du ke was not on the roof. Through spiritual perception, Qian Suisui noticed Du ke was in the storeroom.
With blinking eyes, Qian Suisui thought to herself, how odd for the cat to not do his morning practice today. Did the sun rise from the west, or did he give up altogether?
Curious, Qian Suisui jumped down from the roof and entered the storeroom.
As soon as she entered the room and perceived Du ke's spiritual resonance fluctuations, Qian Suisui's expression darkened immediately. No wonder this little bastard wasn't practicing, he had already reached the threshold of breaking through to the next realm, just one step away from a breakthrough.
It seemed he was waiting for the medicinal ingredients she brought back for him to attempt his breakthrough.
Thinking of this, Qian Suisui felt somewhat unhappy. She had been busy running around for this kitten, yet he was leisurely enjoying himself at home.
Especially since he didn't even give her a gift.
Of course, it wasn't as if Qian Suisui cared about his gifts, no. She just didn't want the kitten to develop the bad habit of comfort and sloth, and didn't want him to become an ungrateful housecat.
Yes, that was it. She didn't care at all about his gifts, she just wanted to hear him say thank you.
"Oh, you're back!"
Du ke poked his head out of the basket and cried out joyfully when he saw Qian Suisui. Qian Suisui noticed the bright look and delighted expression in Du ke's eyes, and felt strangely elated in her heart.
Even so, the black cat still suppressed the emotional fluctuations within her, looking expressionlessly at the white cat.
Du ke jumped down from the bamboo basket and came before Qian Suisui.
"You must have had a really hard time out for so long!"
"Are you very tired? Do you want to eat or drink something?"
"Come, come, sit down quickly, don't stand in the doorway and get blown by the morning breeze!"
Under Du ke's solicitous inquiries, Qian Suisui felt quite comforted, looking approvingly at the black cat. She thought to herself that this kitten wasn't entirely ungrateful after all.
After the black cat had settled on a blanket, Du ke also stood up and said while rubbing his paws, "Now that you're back, my medicinal ingredients..."
Upon hearing this, Qian Suisui's expression darkened immediately.
This kitten was still the same as before, a real little bastard!
So his earlier solicitude was just for the sake of his medicinal ingredients.
He didn't care one bit about her hardship!
Noticing Qian Suisui's change in expression, Du ke thought badly in his heart, but before he could speak, Qian Suisui's cat paw had already slapped his face.
Pa!
Sent flying by the slap, Du ke stuck flat against the wall, then slowly slid down.
Qian Suisui took out the fetched medicinal ingredients from her inner space and threw them at the storeroom entrance, also spitting towards Du ke.
Pei, trash cat!
After Qian Sui flicked her tail and left, Du ke, who had slid down against the wall, also flopped down on the ground with a slap.
The cat lying on his back sniffed and said, "That Qian Sui really has strange thoughts!"
"Getting angry for no reason, I didn't provoke her!"
"Whether in my past life or present, women and mothers are so hard to figure out."
"Sigh, it's so difficult being a man. When can I stand up!"
After grumbling a few words, Du ke also got up and turned around. When he saw the pile of medicinal materials, his eyes lit up immediately.
"Although I got hit, at least I got the medicinal materials."
"My current cultivation has reached the stage of Grand Circulation, and I'm only a thought away from breaking through to the next realm. With these medicinal materials, I can refine the Extreme Realm Dan made with mercury blood and silver marrow. Then I'll be able to break through the limits of my Foundation Mirroring stage!"
"Once I succeed in building my cultivation, I can change all my blood, fuse my energy, strength and vitality into one, and successfully nurture my inner force!"