Volume 3, Chapter 202 – Obtaining a Skirt

“What’s the matter? Are you, a cultivator, actually afraid of ghosts?”

Yaoyao remained indifferent, still perched calmly on Qi Huang’s shoulder.

“W-who said I’m afraid of ghosts? I’m a mighty Divine Realm expert!”

Qi Huang stammered in retort, though her trembling voice betrayed her.

“Then why are you shaking?”

Yaoyao teased.

“I—I’m excited! Thrilled! I love making friends with ghosts and spirits!”

Qi Huang stubbornly lied through her teeth, refusing to admit the truth.

“Oh? Then that’s great! We’ll be good friends from now on. I’ll stick with you for life.”

Yaoyao smirked, her tone playful yet ambiguous.

“Cough, cough—”

Qi Huang broke into a violent coughing fit before tentatively asking, “You mean it?”

“What do you think? Didn’t I already say it? You’re a qualified poop-scooper!”

Yaoyao reaffirmed.

“No! I’m really not a poop-scooper! I have standards!”

Qi Huang protested frantically.

“Whatever—I say you are, so you are. You were, you are, and you always will be.”

Yaoyao declared domineeringly.

“Wait, big sister! You’re so powerful, why do you need someone to take care of you?”

Qi Huang was nearly driven mad. The last thing she wanted was vengeful spirits clinging to her.

“I don’t, but my sister and the others do! With so many Nine Nether Demon Cats, don’t you want them? If you find it too troublesome, I can always find someone else…”

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Yaoyao threatened.

“Uh…”

Qi Huang’s heart instantly twisted in conflict.

“But let me warn you—for an unqualified poop-scooper, especially a cultivator, I won’t hesitate to kill.”

Yaoyao continued her intimidation.

“No trouble at all! How could it be troublesome? I love being a poop-scooper!”

Startled, Qi Huang forced a grin.

“You’d better mean that. Otherwise, I’ll make you wish you were dead.”

Yaoyao’s vertical pupils deepened into a bloodier crimson, as if dripping with menace.

‘Fine, for the sake of cat tears! If they cling to me, so be it!’

After consoling herself, Qi Huang asked, “Why do you hold such hostility toward cultivators?”

“Seems you’re a backwater cultivator, huh? You don’t even know how cat tears are obtained.”

Yaoyao sneered.

“Yes, yes, I’m a backwater cultivator!”

Qi Huang broke into a cold sweat. Who knew cultivators could be classified as rural or urban?

“Cat tears are an essential resource for low-level cultivators to exorcise ghosts. The main ingredient is the tears of Nine Nether Demon Cats. Why ‘main ingredient’? Because Nine Nether Demon Cats only shed tears once a month, on the night of the full moon. The quantity is meager, far from enough to meet demand. So, to increase production, other substances are added to dilute it.”

Yaoyao first explained the nature of cat tears before continuing, “But even then, cat tears remain in short supply in the cultivation world. So, many cultivators resort to extreme measures—artificially inducing the cats to shed tears more frequently.”

“Artificial induction? How?”

Qi Huang pressed curiously. Now that she had so many Nine Nether Demon Cats, she needed to understand the details.

“Hmph!”

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Yaoyao snorted coldly before countering, “Under what circumstances would you shed tears?”

Qi Huang thought briefly before answering, “Pain? Grief? Eye irritation?”

“Exactly. So, the artificial method is beating. My parents were beaten to death right before my eyes by those bastards from the Yuxiao Sect. And before that, they had been tortured for five or six years. Not a single patch of flesh on their bodies was left unbroken. Yet even then, in that freezing cellar, they used their trembling bodies to warm me and my sister until their last breath.”

As Yaoyao spoke, her breathing grew ragged, and her yin-condensed form flickered, on the verge of collapse.

“What?”

Shock flashed across Qi Huang’s face before morphing into sympathy.

“And that’s the kinder method. Some cultivators are even more ruthless—they directly irritate the cats’ eyes with foreign objects. That’s how I went blind. Since I was just born then, outsiders believed the Yuxiao Sect only had one Nine Nether Demon Cat.”

Yaoyao’s voice dripped with venom.

“The Yuxiao Sect is downright vile!”

Qi Huang scowled in disgust.

“You think that’s vile? That’s just physical torture. The mental torment—what you called ‘grief’—is even worse. About a month ago, a Yuxiao Sect elder suddenly went mad. To make my sister shed more tears, he tried to kill me. Hah…”

Yaoyao let out a hollow, mocking laugh.

“But he never expected that the cellar’s heavy yin energy and the resentment festering in my heart would transform me into a powerful cat spirit upon death. Remembering my parents’ brutal end and what my sister and I endured, I slaughtered every last cultivator in the Yuxiao Sect. Hahaha…”

Yaoyao’s laughter bordered on mania.

“So you were the cat demon who annihilated the Yuxiao Sect?”

Qi Huang sucked in a sharp breath.

“It was me. Do you think I shouldn’t have?”

Yaoyao’s tone turned dangerous.

“You should have! Absolutely! If it were me, I’d have done the same. To kill one’s parents is an unforgivable sin.”

Qi Huang didn’t hesitate.

“Good. I didn’t misjudge you. You’re a qualified poop-scooper.”

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Yaoyao nodded in approval.

“Heh…”

Qi Huang wasn’t sure whether to take that as a compliment.

“By the way, where are you planning to go now?”

Yaoyao asked curiously.

“Back home. Gotta fulfill the boasts I made, or no one will believe me next time.”

Qi Huang brushed it off casually.

“And where do you plan to house my kin? Let me remind you—I stole them from major cultivation sects. They can’t be discovered.”

Yaoyao warned.

“Why did you steal them? Were those sects also cruel to Nine Nether Demon Cats?”

Qi Huang couldn’t help but ask.

“You didn’t think the Yuxiao Sect was the only one, did you? Most sects in the cultivation world are the same. Look at their bodies—every single one is covered in scars. If I didn’t save them, who would?”

Yaoyao shot back.

Qi Huang fell silent. When she had captured the cats earlier, she’d noticed hidden injuries on each but had assumed it coincidental. Now she understood.

Qi Huang pondered. Nine Nether Demon Cats were already coveted in the cultivation world, let alone stolen ones. They couldn’t be exposed.

“Can I keep them in this spatial ring? Ordinary cats are fine, but I really don’t dare leave Nine Nether Demon Cats out in the open.”

After some thought, Qi Huang posed the question.

“Fine. But this ring’s space is too small—barely the size of a room. You’ll need a bigger one later. If you’re gonna be a poop-scooper, do it right. Or I’ll fire you.”

Yaoyao weighed her words carefully.

“Understood!”

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Qi Huang didn’t dare object. Then she asked, “They’re settled, but what about you? You can’t just perch on my shoulder forever, can you? That’d be way too weird.”

“Fair point.”

Yaoyao appeared to consider it before dissolving into a wisp of black mist. Moments later, she reformed into a humanoid shape beside Qi Huang.

Qi Huang watched with wide eyes as, in the blink of an eye, an adorable cat-eared girl materialized before her. Petite and clad in the same black straight-collar ruqun Qi Huang had worn earlier, Yaoyao’s translucent dress teased glimpses of her soft pink skin, exuding allure. Her furry ears twitched playfully, radiating liveliness. Her cheeks were rosy, exuding youthful fragrance, and her small, jelly-like lips looked irresistibly biteable. Yet her blood-red vertical pupils added an air of untouchable mystique.

“Better now?”

Uncertain, Yaoyao parted her tender lips, revealing delicate little fangs.

“Y-yeah! Perfect!”

Qi Huang stared dumbly before snapping back to reality. “Wait, no! This is even more eye-catching! Those eyes, those ears—anyone can tell you’re a demon! If I’m seen with you, the entire cultivation world will come after me by tomorrow!”

“Then what do you suggest?”

Yaoyao frowned impatiently.

“How about… like before, you turn into a skirt?”

Qi Huang’s eyes gleamed. Though wearing a skirt was still embarrassing, she’d grown used to it. Plus, the ability to block divine sense was an overpowered bonus—like getting two for the price of one.

“Heh, you’ve got quite the scheme.”

Yaoyao smirked knowingly.

Qi Huang laughed awkwardly. Even she felt her request was excessive. This was a mighty demon—what were the odds she’d agree?

“Fine. Since you smell nice, consider this your reward. But you’ll need to change out of your current clothes first. It’d be too ugly if I just stuck onto this.”

Yaoyao wrinkled her cute little nose.

She actually agreed?!

Overjoyed, Qi Huang realized the Golden Fate Blossom’s fragrance had done her a huge favor.

And so, Qi Huang eagerly descended to a small town, found an inn, and marched inside. To gain such an overpowered ability, she’d wear a skirt even if she were still a man—no, she’d wear it for life!