When the Tsundere Rival Turns Into a Cat - Chapter 17

When Li Xingcan was woken by the auntie, grabbed breakfast while yawning, and got into the car, Jiang Qingyue was already waiting inside.

Drowsily leaning against the car window, Li Xingcan seized every second to catch up on sleep.

The short drive to school passed quickly. Yawning nonstop as she stepped out of the car, Li Xingcan was about to head into the school when she noticed Jiang Qingyue, who had gotten out from the other side, walk around to open the trunk and pull out a suitcase.

Mid-yawn, Li Xingcan frowned at the luggage. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I already told you—everything I own is here. Thank you for taking care of me this whole time.”

Jiang Qingyue spoke distantly.

“Put that suitcase back. I never agreed to you moving out.” Li Xingcan’s expression darkened. She was truly being driven mad by Jiang Qingyue. What was the point of her deliberately turning into a cat to stay with her last night? A farewell gesture?

Forget about pride—Li Xingcan gave Jiang Qingyue one last chance. “Tell the driver to take the suitcase back.”

Jiang Qingyue shot her a cold glare. She really hated Li Xingcan’s presumptuous tone. Pulling out the suitcase handle, she walked past her without a second glance, heading straight for the school gate.

The driver glanced uncertainly between them. “Miss…?”

Only then did Li Xingcan turn to watch Jiang Qingyue’s retreating figure. Unable to suppress her anger, she scoffed. “Fine, leave if you want. Who needs her?”

Entering the school one after the other, Li Xingcan watched as Jiang Qingyue turned toward the faculty apartments. She withdrew her gaze, expressionless. From now on, even if Jiang Qingyue turned back into a cat and came to her, she wouldn’t spare her a single glance!

There were plenty of cats in the world—it wasn’t like she was irreplaceable.

Meanwhile, Jiang Qingyue arrived at Zheng Wenbai’s apartment and knocked. The door soon opened.

With little time before class, she left her suitcase behind and returned for now, planning to discuss things in detail with Zheng Wenbai at noon.

Back in the classroom, she immediately spotted Li Xingcan slumped over her desk. She knew Li Xingcan was angry with her, but from now on, the two of them would have nothing to do with each other. She might as well pretend not to see her.

At noon, after eating with Fu Duosui and the others, Li Xingcan headed back to the classroom alone.

Fu Duosui called after her, “Why don’t you come back to the dorm with us? We can share a bed—it’s not like there isn’t enough space.”

“No need. I’m not even tired. Besides, the dorm supervisor checks on us. I’d rather find a good spot to play on my phone.”

Li Xingcan waved dismissively and walked off by herself.

During the lunch break, the school building was eerily quiet, with only the sound of Li Xingcan’s footsteps echoing. When she returned to the classroom, Jiang Qingyue’s seat was empty—unsurprising, since the faculty apartments were right on campus. It wouldn’t take her long to rest there.

Now, she was truly alone.

Not wanting to stay in the classroom, Li Xingcan tucked her phone into her pocket and wandered aimlessly to kill time.

Meanwhile, in Zheng Wenbai’s apartment, Jiang Qingyue had just finished unpacking in her new room when Zheng Wenbai entered carrying a leather case. The two sat down to talk.

“Qingyue, these are the things your mother asked me to bring you. You should take a look now.”

Zheng Wenbai placed the case in front of Jiang Qingyue and opened it.

The contents inside were sparse—a very old ancient book with obscure, hard-to-decipher text, a seemingly small piece of clothing, a few bottles and jars, a letter, and a box containing an iron plaque and a jade plaque. When she took out the two plaques, she couldn’t quite understand the patterns on them, though she could make out the demonic script character for “command” on the iron one.

The letter was written to Jiang Qingyue by her mother, seemingly prepared long ago, though it was unclear why it hadn’t been given to her earlier.

Jiang Qingyue picked up the book to examine its contents. Her mother had taught her a little before—this was demonic script, vastly different from the writing humans used.

Zheng Wenbai sat beside Jiang Qingyue, watching her movements. “I’m human, so my understanding of these things is limited. But if there’s anything you don’t comprehend, you can ask me. I’ll do my best to answer.”

Jiang Qingyue nodded. She discovered that the book contained cultivation techniques for becoming a true demon. Right now, whether as a cat or a human, she was ordinary, without any supernatural abilities. If she truly wanted to become a demon, she would have to cultivate on her own.

The key to successfully surviving the metamorphosis period also lay in cultivation. If she could advance past the first stage, she would smoothly pass through the metamorphosis phase and fully master the ability to shift between human and feline forms.

She could barely recognize the characters, but fully comprehending and mastering them was still too difficult. For now, Jiang Qingyue had to set the book aside.

“Would you like to see what your mother wrote in the letter?”

Zheng Wenbai picked up the letter and asked Jiang Qingyue.

She shook her head, instead looking at the other items, waiting for Zheng Wenbai’s explanations.

He first picked up the small piece of clothing and introduced it to her. “This is a specially made stretchable garment. It can solve the awkward problems that arise when shifting between human and beast forms.”

Hearing its purpose, Jiang Qingyue’s eyes lit up—this was exactly what she needed most right now. However, it could only be worn in cat form. She’d have to test its effectiveness later.

As for the bottles and jars, they contained pills with seemingly miraculous effects. Jiang Qingyue memorized each one’s use, except for the smallest, most tightly sealed bottle in the center, which appeared particularly special.

“Your mother said this will be useful during your cultivation. Try it when you start practicing.”

Zheng Wenbai carefully set the bottle aside and reminded Jiang Qingyue to handle it with caution.

After examining everything, Jiang Qingyue closed the leather case.

“Teacher Zheng, do you know where the demon realm is?”

At this question, Zheng Wenbai’s expression turned solemn.

“Everywhere, yet unreachable. Only demons can pass through. A special spell is required to see the demon gate, and crossing it leads to the heart of the demon realm. Beyond that, scattered demons exist in every corner of the world—like you and your mother.”

He answered patiently, smiling at Jiang Qingyue. “Once you advance past the first stage of cultivation, you’ll be able to enter the demon gate smoothly.”

Jiang Qingyue glanced down at the case. “Why did my mother have to return to the demon realm? Why did she never mention any of this to me?”

Before Jiang Qingyue discovered she could understand animal speech, she and her mother lived together like any ordinary mother and daughter. Later, Jiang Qingyue learned from animals that her mother was actually a cat. Only then did her mother reveal her feline form and explain that they were yao—the legendary kind of yao from myths—and that this had to remain an absolute secret from humans.

Jiang Qingyue took these words to heart, though she didn’t feel her life was all that different—except for the fact that whenever someone caught her talking to small animals, her mother would immediately move them to a new place.

She had even wondered if perhaps only her mother was yao, and that she herself was just an ordinary human her mother had adopted.

Now, she could finally rest assured—she truly was her mother’s child. But this revelation also felt like stepping through a door into a whole new world. And just as she stood at the threshold, most in need of a guide, her mother had more pressing matters to attend to and couldn’t stay by her side.

This dilemma left Zheng Wenbai even more conflicted. After much deliberation, he shook his head. “Your mother made me swear to keep this secret. I can’t tell you. But once she returns, I believe you’ll learn everything.”

Jiang Qingyue wanted to press further, but seeing Zheng Wenbai’s genuine reluctance, she relented. “Then my top priority now is to get through the first stage of cultivation?”

“Yes. Safely pass the transformation period. With your intelligence, I doubt it’ll take long,” Zheng Wenbai encouraged.

Jiang Qingyue shared his confidence. Finally, she opened the letter her mother had left—it contained cultivation guidance and explanations about these matters. Among the instructions, Xuanyu had specifically emphasized that Jiang Qingyue must carry the two tokens with her at all times, though she didn’t explain why.

She could study those details later. For now, cultivation couldn’t wait. Jiang Qingyue didn’t want to live in constant fear of an uncontrolled transformation. Mastering her metamorphosis was the priority—especially since she wanted to find her mother among the yao.

Sitting back in her chair, she turned her attention to the book. Cultivation was a gradual, complex, and lengthy process. As a complete beginner, she couldn’t even grasp the meaning of the text yet, so she had no choice but to memorize it by rote.

Her memory was sharp. Despite the dense and obscure content, she managed to commit the first section to memory within half an hour. Next, as her mother had instructed, she needed to calm her mind, turn inward, and try to sense the energy within.

She cleared a space in the room, assumed the proper meditation posture, and steadied her breathing. Following her mother’s advice, she also opened the mysterious little vial.

The moment the vial was unsealed, a spherical orb floated out, suspended midair, surrounded by a misty emerald glow. As it hovered before her, Jiang Qingyue felt as though even her breath was purifying her body—a warm current flowed through her nostrils, cleansing her lungs and inner organs.

Zheng Wenbai, who had been keeping watch nearby, stood abruptly in shock. “A yao core?”

“What?” Jiang Qingyue turned to him, bewildered by the term, one she had only ever heard in myths.

Zheng Wenbai leaned in closer, examining the small orb carefully. The sphere wasn’t solid—spiritual energy dispersed around it. She shook her head, “It’s not a real demon core, just a bead condensed from dense spiritual energy. Your mother was very thoughtful. In the human world now, spiritual energy is scarce, especially in cities where concrete covers everything, even natural qi has disappeared. Cultivating here would be impossible. Without this spiritual energy, no matter how you practice, you’d make no progress.”

Jiang Qingyue understood and looked back at the orb. “Then where does this spiritual energy come from?”

“Some remnants exist in places far from worldly affairs, where heaven and earth remain pure. There’s also spiritual energy in the territories separating demons from humans, but it’s not enough for cultivation anymore. As far as I know, all spiritual energy for demon cultivation now comes from that great demon who lived thousands of years ago. It survived the era of divine wars until its death, leaving behind a complete demon core. For years, spiritual energy has continuously overflowed from that core, providing a lifeline for demons who wish to cultivate properly after the spiritual energy faded.”

Zheng Wenbai examined the orb again. The spiritual energy was so dense that even though she didn’t practice cultivation, she could feel its comfort—like standing in a pristine forest. “The energy here must have been preserved from that demon core. I heard it belonged to a tree demon.”

Listening to this, Jiang Qingyue felt like she was hearing a fairy tale. So those legends were real? And she was part of it—how incredible.

“Don’t waste it. Try to absorb all this dispersing spiritual energy into your body. Even if your cultivation technique doesn’t progress, your innate demon body can still absorb it. Once enough spiritual energy accumulates, quantity will transform into quality.”

Zheng Wenbai stepped back and sat down again, reminding Jiang Qingyue not to waste time or the spiritual energy.

Hearing this, Jiang Qingyue immediately closed her eyes, silently reciting the cultivation technique she had just memorized while regulating her breathing into long, steady rhythms.

Two hours passed. Jiang Qingyue could even feel a warm current flowing through her entire body. She recalled her mother’s words—explore inward. As she recited the technique, she tried to guide the flow of that warmth. In that moment, though her eyes were closed, it was as if she could see her own organs, meridians, and energy channels.

The sensation was miraculous, and the more Jiang Qingyue focused, the clearer everything became.

When the time was almost up and she felt her body nearing saturation, she took out the bottle and stored the orb inside. Closing her eyes once more, she absorbed the remaining spiritual energy in the air before exhaling deeply and opening her eyes.

“How do you feel?” Zheng Wenbai, who had stayed the whole time, asked eagerly.

“Good,” Jiang Qingyue replied after a pause, standing up with visible excitement. “Saying I’ve been reborn might be an exaggeration, but it’s really comfortable.”

“That’s good. Keep this up, and the first stage will be within reach soon.” Zheng Wenbai nodded approvingly—Jiang Qingyue’s talent was as she had expected.

The bell signaling the end of lunch break suddenly rang, startling them both. Zheng Wenbai checked the time. “No rush. Continue when you come back tonight. Go to class for now.”

Jiang Qingyue nodded and packed everything away. “Thank you, Teacher Zheng.”

“Don’t mention it. Focus on your cultivation,” Zheng Wenbai replied as she stood up to leave Jiang Qingyue’s room. She had her own lesson preparations to attend to.