The next day, Bai Luxin arrived early.
Liu Wushang saw Nuobai crawling onto her head, wagging her tail out of boredom.
She took out a box of Snowflake Pieces, opened it, and placed it in front of Nuobai.
“Little cat, want some?”
Nuobai sniffed, as if catching a cold, cool scent in the air.
She really wanted to eat…
She was already drooling, but Nuobai held back and didn’t respond. Instead, she patted Bai Luxin underneath her.
“Quick, think of something! That bad woman is luring me away!”
“Sorry, Nuonuo can’t just eat things from strangers.”
Bai Luxin refused and took out some homemade snacks. She placed them in Nuobai’s hands, and with something to eat, Nuobai no longer craved the other’s.
Her sister made these herself—definitely better than Snowflake Pieces.
“I see.”
Liu Wushang felt a bit regretful. She placed the box on the armrest of the throne and resumed her daily cat-watching enterprise.
Long Qianwu frowned as she walked toward the throne. Liu Wushang’s sudden arrival put a lot of pressure on her.
She wasn’t sure what this person’s true goal was. If it really was just about Nuobai, that was fine, but if it conflicted with her own objectives…
She couldn’t defeat Liu Wushang in a fight. No, she had to find a way to test her.
As soon as she got close, Long Qianwu saw Nuobai acting like a tyrant on Bai Luxin’s head, and Bai Luxin was even spoiling her, playing along.
Jealousy instantly stoked her anger, but reason told her not to stir up trouble right now. The best course of action was to wait and see.
Yet an inexplicable rage burned in her chest, and in the end, she couldn’t hold back her sarcasm.
“Bai Luxin, do you even have any dignity as a Beast Master?”
“She’s climbed right onto your head, and you don’t discipline her?”
“Is she the Beast Tamer or are you? Just who is taming whom?”
Bai Luxin glanced up, steadying Nuobai, who was trying to climb down. A sweet smile curled at her lips.
“Nuonuo is my sister. I can spoil her however I want.”
“Let alone lying on my head—even if she danced on my head, I’d be happy.”
As she casually stroked Nuobai’s tail, she changed her tone and struck back at Long Qianwu: “But you—always meddling with someone else’s cat, don’t you think you’re overstepping?”
Liu Wushang heard this and nodded in agreement. She also thought it wasn’t great for a Beast Pet to lie on its Master’s head, but she would never point fingers.
But if it were Nuobai, lying on top of her head would still be very cute—lively, cheerful, like a little sun.
Stung by Bai Luxin’s words, Long Qianwu gave a cold snort and returned to her own throne with a frosty expression.
Yet secretly, she still cared deeply about Nuobai’s every move. She just couldn’t understand how Nuobai had become so captivating.
Over the past year, raised with love, Nuobai had been well cared for.
She was no longer cautious, no longer pretending to be cold, no longer trapped in self-doubt. She freely let her true nature shine.
Bai Luxin taught her how to live, indulged her little whims, and supported her in pursuing her dreams.
She constantly ran toward Nuobai, just to get a little closer to her.
Nuobai naturally felt her love. Instead of waiting in place, she too chose to walk toward her.
Maybe at first, she didn’t move quickly—there was hesitation, resistance.
But seeing Bai Luxin’s unreserved care and experiencing their daily close contact, her affection level for Bai Luxin visibly rose.
The “Affection Level +1” notifications above Nuobai’s head popped up faster and faster. If there were sound effects, they’d be clanging nonstop.
The Snowflake Pieces in the nearby box melted, and the surrounding air cooled by three or four degrees.
Those Snowflake Pieces were clearly made by Qin Nian. Only she would add Snow Mint to them—it was her secret recipe.
No wonder that cat was so tempted earlier; even she almost couldn’t resist.
Catching the scent of Snow Mint in the air, Nuobai jumped onto Bai Luxin’s lap and licked the back of her hand.
The soft little barbs scraped against her skin, tingling and a bit ticklish. Bai Luxin raised her hand to dodge, or pretended to push her away.
As Nuobai nuzzled, her nose pressed against Bai Luxin’s waist.
“Stop it.”
Their playful antics made Liu Wushang envious. She couldn’t help but look at her own Beast Pet. The Nether White Tiger was startled and immediately used a skill to hide in the Netherworld Realm.
Of its own Master, the tiger knew well: she was an extreme cat fanatic, especially fond of kittens. When it was young, it had been “tormented” by her more than a few times.
On the other side, a clear fingerprint was pressed into the edge of Long Qianwu’s throne.
‘Shameless…’
Over the past few days, Nuobai was forced to meet fans every day. The lively atmosphere on site didn’t diminish; it actually grew.
If not for the rule that each person could only challenge once, everyone would have wanted this “Torch” selection to go on until next year, never to end.
So much so that later, the main goal of these enthusiastic fans shifted from watching Nuobai up close to finding ways to get close and touch her.
A big crowd started planning and discussing how to get a single touch of Nuobai. All kinds of creative tricks popped up.
“Start off by kneeling and begging for an autograph…”
“I have a friend who, before he died…”
Shouting “Miracle Cat!,” the Beast Tamers charged faster than their Beast Pets. “Please, hit me!”
These humans really opened Nuobai’s eyes. Each one was more absurd than the last—all fun seekers.
Others’ challenges were tense life-and-death struggles, but over on Nuobai’s side, the atmosphere suddenly shifted, filled with joy everywhere.
Long Qianwu watched helplessly as Nuobai was sought after by thousands. It hurt her more than death. Her entire aura grew colder and colder.
But the ones challenging her suffered—each one got beaten to a pulp.
Liu Wushang was constantly distracted, her eyes automatically following Nuobai. Her mind had already wandered off somewhere.
Her mind was full of images of Nuobai snuggling with her. Tears at the corners of her eyes grew more alluring, nearly dripping with desire.
Some people liked Nuobai, but naturally others were displeased with her.
After several days of attrition, most of the contestants had been weeded out. Nuobai wouldn’t be constantly challenged anymore.
A person who had been plotting for a long time stepped onto the arena.
“Heiyao Shiling chooses to challenge the Snow Joy Cat!”
Long Qianwu immediately perked up. “This is going to be a good show.”
She had observed this Heiyao Shiling before. Like her Beast Pet, it was already at the late Third Tier.
Even her Silverback Dragon would need to use a trump card to defeat it. It was arguably the strongest challenger so far.
‘Nuobai, your good luck ends here.’
“Heiyao Shiling, from Core City Shouling. It possesses great strength and has the trait of being immune to elemental attacks to a certain extent.”
“Its outer layer is armor, and inside it has a core. You must attack the core to deal damage to it.”
Bai Luxin heard Liu Wushang’s introduction as she stood up and nodded to thank her.
Nuobai had also intended to thank her, but when her eyes met Liu Wushang’s, she shivered and hid in Bai Luxin’s arms.
‘Those eyes—lustful, deep, unfathomable—does she want to drown me in them?’
Bai Luxin stood on the platform, looking at the giant humanoid Heiyao Shiling.
Sunlight shone on it, its surface translucent and radiating a deep brown glow, like a carved stone statue.
She thought of their shared statue on Bujianjun Peak, and felt a slight regret.
“Nuobai, don’t scratch it too badly.”