Chapter 14: Demonic Cat
This was supposed to have been a quick and simple makeup application, but due to Li Yunyao's good looks, the makeup artist and stylist unknowingly spent additional time on the two of them.
Li Pin had been in the waiting room for nearly an hour when the two of them finally came out, looking glamorous with their completely new look.
When Li Pin saw Li Yunyao come out from the makeup room, even he, who was only after the greater desires in life, was slightly stunned.
Li Yunyao was rocking a traditional hairstyle, with her fringe slightly parted to both sides. Her hair was adorned with two purple accessories bedecked with cherry blossoms.
Her hair, previously draped over her shoulder casually, was now parted on both sides, coming down as two ponytails past her collarbone. Her beautiful hair formed a contrast with her fair skin.
She wore an orange dress and a pink outer coat, combining gentleness and cuteness into one.
When Li Yunyao walked out of the room and saw Li Pin staring at her, she turned a little shy and lowered her gaze, pursing her lips into a smile. Her joy was genuine, and it instantly lit up the waiting room brightly.
Li Yunyao's character seemed to have become a little more restrained after she had changed into the traditional costume. She now had a hint of the gracefulness to her that belonged to a well-educated and cultured young lady.
She walked over in small steps, wearing an expression that seemed to be asking to be praised. She looked up at Li Pin and said, "Brother, how do I look?"
Li Pin smiled as he commented, "Shyness blooming into a smile like a flower, slender waist close together like swaying willows." [1]
When Li Yunyao heard this, she did a turn happily while lifting the hems of her dress. "Brother, it's good that you like it."
At this moment, Lin Xiaolu also walked out.
Her looks were shy of Li Yunyao, but she gave off a delicate and fragile feeling. After changing into the traditional costume and having makeup that accentuated this disposition, she gave off a vibe that made it hard for others not to love her.
Li Pin smiled at her and praised her too. "You look good."
Finally, a lady who couldn't have been older than thirty came out after them.
She was their stylist.
"Sir, is this your sister? I have to say, she has a really excellent foundation," the lady said sincerely.
However, as soon as she caught sight of Li Pin, she seemed to have realized something and began to size him up. With a tone filled with pity, she said, "Sir, your hairstyle and choice of clothes are a complete mismatch with your looks, disposition, and vitality... Please give me a chance. I'll definitely increase your image points by ten or higher."
"There's no need," Li Pin said.
No one in their family had bad looks.
The original Li Pin was an introvert and didn't have a bright personality. Neither did he like to dress up. That was why when people looked at him, they'd only feel that he didn't look bad. At most, they'd feel that he was better looking than your average person, that's all.
However, ever since the current Li Pin started practicing martial arts, his vitality changed. He became more bright, confident, and high-spirited. Even if he didn't put in extra effort to dress up, his good looks would make up for it.
However, Li Pin had no intention of becoming a celebrity, so why would he bother putting in the effort to dress up?
It was enough for him to sport a comfortable look.
"Sir—"
"Just take the photos for them. We'll need to leave after the photos are taken," Li Pin said.
In the end, the woman could succumb to this regretful outcome.
Very soon, the two girls arrived at the bridge a little over ten meters away from the shop together with the shop staff. They took a few photos there. After that, they took a few more photos inside and outside the shop.
The two girls had looks that put the six ladies from earlier to shame, and they attracted many more gazes from the passersby.
There was even a child who was about four to five years old who asked to have a photo taken with Li Yunyao after her mother encouraged her to do so.
Li Yunyao felt extremely happy when she carried this child. Her beautiful face was all smiles.
Li Pin on the other hand turned into an emotionless photo-taking machine, snapping all these beautiful scenes.
Perhaps the only regretful thing about this entire event was that they hadn't prepared any professional cameras.
***
After nearly an hour of taking photos, Li Yunyao felt very satisfied.
They shopped around for a while after that. Li Pin bought them a meal and then had them experience a magical VR session.
Time flew, and before they knew it, it was 10 P.M.
Thinking that his condominium was spacious enough, Li Pin brought them back to his place while he made do on the sofa for the night.
On the second day, Li Pin took Li Yunyao to some tourist spots nearby and then bought some local specialties in the afternoon before they took the bus headed for their hometown.
Luchuan County was over eighty kilometers away from Zanglong City. They took the 4:10 P.M. bus, so if the traffic was smooth, they should reach their destination before 6 P.M.
His hometown, Sanshun Town, was previously under the jurisdiction of Liuchuan County. However, Liuchuan County had recently been upgraded to become a county city. This opened up public transport between the city and the countryside. It'd only take half an hour for the ten or more kilometers journey.
At 6:05 P.M, Li Pin, Li Yunyao, and Lin Xiaolu took the last bus out of the county city.
"We'll be home soon! Although I've only left for a day, it feels like a lot of time has passed."
Li Yunyao was very excited as she sat in the public bus.
Li Pin, on the other hand, was looking out the window. He had some impression of these sceneries, but he didn't share the same sentiments that Li Yunyao and Lin Xiaolu had for this little piece of land.
"Which university are you aiming for, Yaoyao?"
"Uh..."
Li Pin's words seemed to have dumped a basin full of cold water over Li Yunyao's excitement, fizzling it out.
A short moment of silence later, Li Yunyao mumbled, "I'll go to whichever I can get into."
Amongst the three siblings of the Li Family, Li Pin was the only one who did good in school. Neither Li Yunyao nor Li Yunyan was that good at studying.
Li Yunyan, who was three years older than Li Pin, had even decided to join the workforce directly instead of applying to university, but that was largely due to their family situation.
She had gotten married a year ago and moved to Jiang Province City.
Li Pin didn't bother telling his sister that there was nothing loftier than education, he merely said, "Just do your best."
Li Yunyao nodded vigorously. "Mmm."
Quickly after, she snuck a peek at Li Pin. "Brother, do you think I can pick up martial arts?"
Li Pin glanced at her. "You?"
Li Yunyao was inherently lively and active. However, if one decided to practice martial arts based on that alone, then they'd be severely undermining the hardship one would have to go through while practicing martial arts.
However, it wasn't a bad idea for girls to learn some self-defense techniques.
"I'll teach you when I'm free after we get home," Li Pin said.
An idea had come to Li Pin's mind, an alternate way to make use of his gift.
However, he'd have to test it out first before he could ascertain if it could really be put to use.
At this moment, the bus rolled to a stop.
A commotion broke out in front of the bus.
"Why did we stop?" Li Yunyao asked.
"Hurry up and run! It's a demonic cat! A demonic cat!"
"That demonic cat is so big! It's even bigger than a leopard! It has killed several people! Hurry up and hide!"
"Didn't they say it was killed half a month ago? Why is there another one?"
Horrified voices continued to ring out from the front accompanied by many people fleeing in all directions.
Li Pin was shocked. "A demonic cat!?"
The descent of the Astral God didn't just bring the Astral Cultivator system to the humans. The animals, plants, and even other creatures had also undergone a new round of evolution after bathing in the starlight.
The creatures that had bathed in starlight, just like human Astral Cultivators, were commonly known as ferocious beasts and demonic creatures.
Those ferocious beasts and demonic creatures didn't cultivate and study martial arts as humans did, so they were generally weaker than humans. However, their ferocity was still far from what ordinary martial artists could compare against.
Demonic cats were amongst the most commonly seen ferocious beasts. These creatures were a result of domestic and wild cats undergoing mutations.
As the information regarding demonic cats flashed in Li Pin's mind, he saw a monster that looked like a cat but was standing upright like a human in front. It looked to be about 1.6 meters tall as it came charging in their direction at an unbelievable speed.
This creature originated from the feliae family, but its agility wasn't affected in the least just because it was standing and moving in an upright position.
1. An extract from a poem by Qin Guan from the Song Dynasty. Used to describe a situation of a lady having a date with her lover. ☜
Comments
Top