“Mommy, I caught a big orange cat.”
Si Zhiruo’s voice wasn’t particularly fast.
She hadn’t even appeared yet, but her childish voice had already reached me.
“In the middle of nowhere, where would a little orange cat come from?” I was arranging the seasonings on the table, replying with a smile to my daughter’s call, not taking it seriously at all.
The next second.
An orange creature—a several-hundred-jin, white-browed tiger—was slammed with a loud thud onto the ground before me by Si Zhiruo’s single hand, kicking up a cloud of dust.
I was completely dumbfounded.
My eyes were blank as I stared at the giant tiger in front of me, my mouth opening and closing, but the words I tried to form never came out.
“How about it, isn’t it cute?” Si Zhiruo put her hands on her hips, waiting for praise.
“Yes, it’s very cute.” I replied, stammering in shock.
So, how did you catch a tiger?
I shifted my gaze. The big tiger had already fainted.
“We can’t keep it. It eats too much. Take it back where it came from,” I said.
Si Zhiruo clapped her little hands and explained, “Mom, it’s about to gain spiritual awareness. If it lives a few more years, it might even turn into a yao.”
“I just took a walk in the mountains. There’s not a single spirit or yao within hundreds of kilometers. This little orange cat is already the animal with the best chance to become a yao.”
“Little animal?” I was confused and gestured with my hands.
“It… is it small?”
I walked up to the big tiger. “It’s several times bigger than your mom. How can you call it little? Zhi Zhi, did you not recognize it’s a tiger?”
“Of course I know it’s a tiger,” Si Zhiruo replied in her childish voice. “Little Orange Cat is the name I gave it. It doesn’t like the name much, but I’ve already made her agree.” She pointed at the slumbering tiger, and her method was self-explanatory.
“She certainly agreed.” I was at a loss for words. “Did you catch any rabbits?”
I added, “There are barely any yao in this world; the conditions for forming them are really tough.”
“At least, I haven’t heard of any places with strange yao sightings.”
Si Zhiruo tossed down a few still-living rabbits. “I caught three big rabbits in total, and picked some mushrooms on the side. They’re all the edible kinds you told me about—none of them are poisonous.”
I picked my daughter up and sat her on a chair, and together we started to prepare the ingredients.
‘It’s not easy for animals to become sentient. We should send it back later.’
“Okay.” Si Zhiruo counted on her little fingers and agreed, “I just wanted to keep it so you could take it for walks, Mom. Having a yao as a pet would be so cool.”
I smiled happily, “Why are you so sweet? You went out to catch rabbits and still thought of me.”
I tapped her on the cheek.
The little one was floating a bit with happiness, but her hands peeling scallions didn’t stop.
“Mom.”
“You smell…”
Si Zhiruo suddenly wrinkled her brow, lifting her little hands in grievance. I leaned over. “It’s the smell of scallions.”
“It doesn’t smell nice anymore.” Si Zhiruo tossed the scallions onto the counter. “I… don’t want to peel scallions.”
She lifted her little hand to her nose and frowned again. “Not pleasant at all.”
“They taste good.” I took the half-peeled scallions from the table. “Alright, if you don’t want to do it, then don’t. Go play for a bit. I’ll call you when it’s time to eat.”
“Yay!” Si Zhiruo washed her hands clean and bounced off to play with Little Orange Cat.
“Get up.”
She kicked the big tiger in the belly. “Come on, get up and play with me.”
“Rawr~”
The tiger’s roar, which would normally make every animal tremble, now sounded weak and timid. If you listened closely, you could even hear the fear in Little Orange’s voice.
Si Zhiruo floated barefoot in the air, and even though the tiger was many times her size, it could only curl up into a ball, not daring to show its sharp claws at all.
Clearly.
This little ancestor had left it with a deep psychological shadow.
She looked every bit the little demon king.
I turned my head. “Don’t keep bullying it. You’ve scared it silly.”
“I just want to play with it.”
“If you want to play with others, there are many ways. You don’t have to force them.”
“You want to play with it, but it might not want to play with you.”
Si Zhiruo thought about it. “Isn’t me wanting to play with it the same as it wanting to play with me?”
Half an hour later.
Si Zhiruo was already enjoying fragrant rabbit meat and roasted mushrooms. The cumin aroma wafted through the air. The sizzling rabbit was perfectly lean and fatty, the meat coming off the bone and leaving a lingering taste between the teeth—impossible to resist.
“It’s so good!”
“Thank you, Mommy.”
I took out a white napkin and wiped the grease off Zhi Zhi’s mouth.
The little one looked as dazed as me, but then shook her head fiercely and became lively again.
Before leaving the mountains, Si Zhiruo waved behind her. “Little Orange, goodbye!”
“Rawr.”
Little Orange walked away slowly at first, but once out of Si Zhiruo’s sight, it sprinted away at full speed.
It didn’t even want what was left in its den, swearing to escape this terrifying place.
Too scary.
What happened two hours ago still made its body tremble uncontrollably.
“Huh, a big tiger. Wait, you want to bite me?”
“How dare you!!”
duang~
A punch to the face, a few teeth flew out.
“Where are you going? Don’t make me grab your tail.”
I hate it most when people say I’m fierce.
“Rawr—”
Bang.
It had never seen someone so terrifying. She looked like a human child but grabbed its tail and performed a series of over-the-shoulder throws, slamming it until it completely fainted. She then clapped her spotless little hands and muttered in her adorable voice, “Now you’re obedient. Really, why make me freeze my hands.”
On the last night of Lunar New Year’s Eve.
Little Zhi Zhi snuggled in my arms, endlessly affectionate. “Mommy, I remember clearly, you got married right here last year. Su Liumeng even gave you a big ancient manor as a wedding gift, and there are still treasures you haven’t taken from the manor’s storeroom. We can pack them all up later.”
“Good memory. Do you want to go see it in a few days?”
“Yes! And I want to watch fireworks tonight, too. Mommy has to watch with me. I heard there’ll be beautiful fireworks at midnight.”
Su Liumeng brought over a roasted corn.
“Be careful, it’s hot.”
“It’s okay.”
I wrapped the corn with a handkerchief. “No staying up late. You can watch fireworks anytime. Go to bed soon.”
“Mommy, I don’t want to go to bed now.”
“I always go to sleep at ten. I don’t want to be such a good kid anymore.” Si Zhiruo argued seriously, openly embracing her coming rebellion. “I’m still a good kid everywhere else, but I want to decide my own bedtime.”
I flicked her forehead lightly. She puffed her cheeks, pretending to be angry. “You make sense. Growing up so fast, you’re already rebellious and not listening to your mom.”
The little dumpling instantly deflated.
“Fine, I’ll go to bed.” As I carried Si Zhiruo away, she didn’t forget to call loudly to Su Liumeng, “I want to watch fireworks tomorrow. Remember to give me another big fireworks show.”
“Calling my name and making me work for you—am I your servant?”
“Hmph, Aunt Su.”
“That’s more like it.”
“Didn’t she want you to call her big sister last time?”
“I don’t have such an old sister.”
Crash—
Su Liumeng nearly fell to the ground.
She’d just turned nineteen, not even twenty yet, and was already lumped in with the “old monsters.”
Ah, time really flies. In the blink of an eye, even a post-25’er like her feels old.
Compared to someone truly in their forties, she did feel a little “aged.”
On Su family’s New Year’s Eve, of course there were performances.
There was even a big ancestral worship ceremony, plus a huge bonfire party for the whole clan.
But.
I didn’t like noisy places. After paying respects to my ancestors, I left with Su Liumeng.
“How do you want to celebrate your daughter’s first birthday?”
“I’ll leave it to you. I don’t like troublesome things.” I leaned against Su Liumeng, my voice dropping to a whisper, misty-eyed as I hinted, “Tonight, we can sleep sideways.”
“Our daughter…?” Su Liumeng’s brow twitched, her heart in chaos, knowing what I meant.
“Don’t worry, she won’t peek.” I yawned.
If I don’t know my girl by now—she may be a little rebellious at times, but she’s more attached to her mom than anyone, and values privacy and principles even since before she was born.
I stood up calmly. “I’ll go see if Zhi Zhi is asleep.”
We still lived in the old Su family courtyard.
It wasn’t small, with many elegant, classical side rooms.
Si Zhiruo didn’t need my help. She could crawl under her own quilt and close her eyes obediently.
Sensing movement at the door, the little dumpling half-opened her eyes, drowsily muttering, “Mommy, is there something?”
“Just checking if you’re asleep.”
I sat on the edge of the bed, patting the quilt gently. Soon, Si Zhiruo’s breathing became steady.
I kissed her forehead.
“Good night, baby.”
After I left, Si Zhiruo slowly opened her eyes, touched the spot where I’d kissed her, kicked out her little legs, poked them out from the covers, rolled over, hugged her quilt from the side, and fell soundly asleep.
“Asleep?”
“She should be. I might wake her by coming in and out, but she’s definitely fast asleep now.”
If anyone knows whether the little dumpling’s asleep, it’s me, her mom.
“There are lots of people in the clan who like her. Take her to meet them tomorrow.”
“Mm.”
“Can you cultivate yet?” Su Liumeng took my hand.
“Almost.” I closed my eyes to sense for a moment. “My dantian just needs a bit more and it’ll be fully restored.”
“Let’s go.”
I walked ahead slowly, trying to sound casual to hide my nervousness, though I was a little clumsy with my steps.
Su Liumeng followed by my side, watching my cute little movements.
In her divine sense, the slender figure beneath the wide dress revealed graceful curves.
She unconsciously squeezed my hand a bit tighter, her mouth swallowing reflexively.