Chapter 6: Being a Cat God is Tough
“That is to say, this place is under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. The people who usually come here to offer incense and sacrifices to you are all subjects of the imperial court.” Song You paused for a moment. “You have occupied this temple and fed on the incense and offerings from these people. You need the permission of the imperial court or the Heavenly Palace.
Lady Calico asked, “Who are they?”
Song You reconsidered his choice of words, then said, “Theoretically, the imperial court governs all humans in the world. The Heavenly Palace governs all gods in the world.”
“What do all of you want from me?”
“It's not us, it's them. I've just been requested by them to come and check.”
“What do they want from me?”
Song You replied, “They probably wish to cause you trouble.”
Upon hearing this, Lady Calico also fell silent for a while. Then she continued to walk forward, taking small, quick steps to the edge of the altar. She jumped up lightly. When she crouched on the altar, she was nearly as tall as Song You who was standing. She only said, “Those people decided to burn incense for me themselves.”
Song You asked, “Is this temple yours?”
“No one wanted it.”
“I'm afraid that won't work.”
“Why?” asked Lady Calico.
“That’s because the incense and offerings in this world are limited. If someone gives it to you, they can't give it to other gods. In other words, they will have to give less to other gods.” Song You said. “Also the imperial court and the Heavenly Palace won't bother to reason with a little demon with low cultivation skills like you.”
“Then I won't feed on them anymore.”
“I'm afraid that won't work either.”
“Why not?”
“The Heavenly Palace has its rules. Before this, there was also a demon who accepted incense and offerings without permission and was executed. This temple that you are occupying was originally its temple.”
Lady Calico just stared at him with round eyes.
Humans have trouble distinguishing emotions on a cat's face, but Song You thought that she must have been scared.
After a long time, she finally asked again. “Why?”
“Maybe it did something bad.”
“I didn't do anything bad.” Lady Calico stared at him. “I just helped the people below the mountain catch mice. Furthermore, I originally had a little temple of my own. Later, some people carried my clay statue to this big temple. I didn't want to come.”
“Even a little temple is forbidden. It just wasn't discovered before. Now that it has been discovered, someone will come to look for you even if I leave you alone today.”
“What will happen to me?”
“If you have never killed humans, never absorbed human qi, or eaten human flesh, you won't be executed.”
“What will happen to me?”
“If you don't escape, and don't resist, I can bring you to see them. They will handle it according to the rules of the system.” Song You said to the cat in front of him. “This might be better for you.”
Lady Calico’s eyes turned. “Okay…”
Seeing the Daoist looking elsewhere, she immediately ran.
Swish!
Cats were extremely agile and this was a cat demon with cultivation skills. It instantly jumped down from the altar, and in the next moment it was out the temple entrance.
She kept running up the small path like a flash of lightning. He could only see a variegated figure. The calico cat only stopped after running some distance. She turned her head, stretching her neck to see over the top of the weeds toward the temple.
“Huh?”
He didn’t chase after her?
Lady Calico was stunned for a moment, and somewhat puzzled.
After waiting for a while, still no one came out. She changed her position so that she could look into the temple from the entrance. She saw that the man was still standing in the temple. She did not know what he was doing.
How strange.
The calico cat simply sat down on the spot. She sat properly, raising her head in order to stare at him without blinking.
Time passed slowly.
Finally, she couldn’t bear it any longer, and walked a little closer to the temple. She cautiously poked her head in to take a look.
However, she only saw that Daoist looking at her indifferently. “Meeting me was your greatest fortune. If someone else comes next time, they might be much fiercer than me.”
“Why didn't you chase me?”
“How could I catch up with you?”
“What will you do if I run away?”
Song You looked at her expression, feeling extremely helpless. Yet, he still patiently explained, “Virtuous Duke Wang has just requested me to come and check the situation. I did not come to catch you or punish you. Besides, you are deeply connected to the clay statue in the temple, and I can find you no matter how far away you are.”
“Oh!”
The calico cat immediately opened her eyes wide in shock, as if she had been enlightened. She felt relieved from having her doubts dispelled, but she also felt anxious and worried. The little delicate cat face suddenly displayed so many different kinds of emotions.
What should I do, what should I do?
The calico cat almost spun around.
“Daoists take it as their duty to eradicate unauthorized and nefarious temples. You should be glad that I am a fake Daoist.”
“What should I do?”
“I will bring you to see Virtuous Duke Wang. He is a kind person. I will explain your situation to him, and try to let them deal with you leniently. Of course, I will go down the mountain first to make some inquiries to prove that what you said is true, and then…”
“And then!”
“You will get your outcome.”
“What outcome?”
“You will probably be punished.”
“Punished?”
“You will probably be locked up in a certain place.”
“A certain place?”
“For example, a pagoda.”
Lady Calico was shocked.
“I don't want to scare you, but the outcome will probably be this.” Song You looked at the little cat demon, and his heart softened a little. “It’s like this most of the time.”
Lady Calico was even more shocked.
Song You said, “Demons have long lifespans.”
The calico cat still stared at him with widened eyes, her mind working fast.
She instinctively wanted to run away, the farther the better. However, she was very smart, and her intelligence told her that staying here seemed to be the best choice.
She regretted it so much now. When those villagers moved her clay statue from the little temple to the big temple, she should have moved it back secretly at night. If she had stayed in the little temple all along, she might not have been discovered.
After a long struggle with indecision, the calico cat finally decided to enter the temple.
“Where are you taking me?”
“Not far.”
“Are we leaving now?”
“Let's leave tomorrow.” Song You looked up at the sky. “I will spend the night here, and we’ll go over early tomorrow morning.”
“I thought it's not far from here?”
“It's not near either.”
“Okay…”
The calico cat simply sat down on the spot, staring at Song You without blinking.
“Relax a little.”
“Okay…”
“Isn't this your temple?”
“Oh yes!”
The calico cat suddenly realized that but she still couldn't relax.
It was almost dusk outside. The three incense sticks that were burning when he came had long burned out, leaving only a light scent of herbs.
The calico cat jumped onto the altar again and started eating the small, local river fish. She thought that she wouldn’t be able to finish these meats today, and felt that it was a pity. Thus, she turned and tried to share some with the Daoist, hoping he would say a few good words on her behalf in the future. Unfortunately, the Daoist refused to eat it and only ate the food he brought himself.
The sky gradually darkened and the temperature plummeted.
The moon rose very early that night. It was a little rounder than the previous night. It felt even colder in the moonlight. As this temple happened to have no door, the cold wind blew in willfully.
After looking at the moonlight for a while, he gradually felt bored. When he looked back, the calico cat had already laid down. She was curled up into a ball with only her head and body visible, her feet and tail hidden. She turned her head and stared at him without blinking. He did not know what she was thinking.
“What are you thinking?”
“Daoist, if I am locked up, will there still be people offering me incense?”
“Of course not.”
“Will I be able to go out and play?”
“Of course not.”
“Will there still be meat to eat?”
“Most likely not.”
The calico cat looked dejected. In fact, she still didn't know what she had done wrong.
But she was just a cat after all.
She couldn’t afford to provoke most ordinary jianghu people who sought shelter here while passing by, let alone Daoists, the imperial court or the Heavenly Palace.
The night became quieter and there was only the sound of the wind.
After a long while, the Daoist spoke again, “I also have a question to ask you.”
“Huh?”
He repeated, “I also have a question to ask you.”
“Go ahead and ask, make yourself comfortable in my temple.”
“How long has it been since you attained enlightenment?”
“It has been a few years.”
“Just a few years?”
“That’s already quite long.”
“How did you become a demon?”
“I just became a demon like this.”
“Did you have mystical encounters?” The Daoist nodded and looked at her. “Like meeting someone, eating something unique, or staying in a particularly comfortable place for some time.”
“No.”
“Really?”
The calico cat refused to speak any more. She only turned her head to stare at the Daoist without blinking. After a long while, she just said, “I am very smart.”
“Maybe.” Song You looked away and said no more.
As time passed, it became colder in the mountains.
Song You leaned against a corner of the walls and closed his eyes.
The calico cat yawned as she sprawled. She sometimes stared at Song You, sometimes coming up with muddled escape schemes in her head. Actually, she was just bored.
Unfortunately, it couldn't go out to play now, nor could it romp around the temple as usual. It was really distressing.
The period until the fifth watch[1] in the early morning was the coldest.
The cold wind blew in.
Song You opened his eyes slightly. He hugged his arms tighter around himself as if he could lock in the warmth like this. He glanced at the cat beside him. The calico cat was curled up tightly on a prayer cushion woven from straw in the moonlight, looking like a small ball of fur.
Song You seemed to be somewhat moved, and was lost in thought for a moment.
Early next morning, a rooster crowed from the foot of the mountain.
The calico cat had woken up earlier than Song You. She sat on the prayer cushion, staring straight at him. He didn’t know what she was thinking.
Perhaps she was contemplating her future destiny.
Song You ate a cold steamed pancake he had bought on the way yesterday. Then he took her down the mountain to inquire around. He learned that there was indeed a miraculous cat immortal in the temple on the mountain.
If a household was plagued by mice, they only needed to bring some fish, meat, incense and candles over. They would find peace that very night. Its reputation had spread even to farther places. People from all over came to seek help with their mice infestations.
After asking the last household, Song You stood still at the entrance. He looked into the distance, lost in thought.
“Why weren't we leaving?”
The calico cat had followed beside him.
“We'll leave now.”
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing.”
“You're still not moving.”
“I was thinking…” Song You glanced at her again. “Your followers were quite widespread.”
“Yes!”
“People come to make offerings every day, and you go to their homes to catch mice at night?”
“Yes!”
“What if it's far away?”
“I’ll walk faster.”
“It must have been tough for you.”
“It wasn't tough.”
“Let's go.”
“Are we going to look for Virtuous Duke Wang?”
“Yes.”
The man and the cat walked out of the village. Song You walked in front and the calico cat followed, neither too close nor too far behind. Neither of them spoke but just walked along silently. Yet if someone else had seen this scene, they might have found it a novelty.
1. Between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. Refer to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_timekeeping#One-tenth_of_a_day:_g%C4%93ng ☜
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