When the Tsundere Rival Turns Into a Cat - Chapter 25

After applying the medicine and cleaning up, it was already past midnight. Jiang Qingyue went to the front desk to fetch a new blanket, replacing the one Li Xingcan had soaked. She couldn’t help but yawn.

“Let’s get some sleep. We have to wake up early tomorrow to continue our journey.”

With that, Jiang Qingyue lifted the blanket and lay down on the bed.

The beds here were different from the spacious ones in human-world hotels—they were much narrower. If two people slept together, there would hardly be any space between them.

Li Xingcan stood hesitantly by the bed, lifting a corner of the blanket. Just as she was about to lie down, she abruptly stood back up. “Jiang Qingyue, can you turn into a cat to sleep?”

Jiang Qingyue, already half-asleep, lifted her eyelids slightly to glance at her. “Why should I turn into a cat?”

“Isn’t that how we always slept before? I’m not used to you like this.” Li Xingcan felt her face grow warm as she spoke, though she couldn’t pinpoint why it felt awkward.

Jiang Qingyue gave her a cold look and refused outright. “I don’t want you hugging me while I sleep.”

“But if we sleep like this, won’t it be you hugging me instead?!” Li Xingcan blurted out in a fluster.

Jiang Qingyue narrowed her eyes. “Hmm?”

“Ahem…” Li Xingcan cleared her throat awkwardly, her ears burning red as she scrambled for an excuse. “I just meant the bed is too small for both of us.”

“Such a fuss.” Jiang Qingyue threw Li Xingcan’s earlier insult back at her, then silently recited an incantation and transformed back into a cat.

This arrangement suited Li Xingcan much better. She climbed into bed and immediately reached out to scoop the cat into her arms.

Smack!

A paw slapped the back of her hand. Jiang Qingyue glared at her warily—she had known Li Xingcan would get handsy the moment she turned into a cat.

“Hmph, as if I care.”

Li Xingcan withdrew her hand indignantly. After all, she only wanted to cuddle the cat, not Jiang Qingyue herself.

Only after Li Xingcan had settled down and closed her eyes did Jiang Qingyue curl up into a ball on the pillow and drift off.

The night was deep, and exhaustion soon claimed them both.

By the time the sun rose the next morning, its light filtered through the green plant-covered walls. Li Xingcan frowned in her sleep and rolled over—only to accidentally press on her injured arm. A sharp, skull-piercing pain jolted her fully awake, and she sat up instantly, clutching her shoulder with a grimace.

Glancing at the cat still snoozing soundly on the pillow beside her, she swallowed her groans of pain and leaned back against the headboard, her gaze distant.

A knock sounded at the door. Before Li Xingcan could get up, Jiang Qingyue had already awakened—sharp and alert despite just rousing. In one fluid motion, she flipped off the bed, transformed back into human form mid-air, slipped on her shoes, and went to answer the door.

Outside stood Bai He, reminding them to come downstairs for breakfast before setting off.

Jiang Qingyue nodded. Only after closing the door did she let out a small yawn, turning to look at Li Xingcan still sitting on the bed. She was surprised to see her up so early. “Since you’re awake, we might as well get going.”

Li Xingcan yawned as she got up, her bare feet padding across the wooden floor. “Let’s go.”

Jiang Qingyue glanced at her feet and slipped off her own shoes. “These are yours.”

“No need. This feels fine.”

Li Xingcan stepped barefoot on the floor, savoring a sense of freedom no expensive shoes could provide—a return to primal simplicity.

“But we need to hurry,” Jiang Qingyue reminded her.

“That’s fine, I can—” Before Li Xingcan could finish, Bai He handed over a pair of straw sandals. “I brought these for you. The conditions are limited, so this is all we have. Make do with them.”

“Then I—”

“Let me try them!” Li Xingcan snatched the sandals from Jiang Qingyue before she could react, leaving her no choice but to keep wearing her original shoes.

It was Li Xingcan’s first time wearing straw sandals, and she found them oddly fascinating. After slipping them on, she examined them from all angles. “They actually look pretty nice.”

Jiang Qingyue watched her, amused by her boundless curiosity. “Tell me if they start hurting later.”

“They feel fine to me,” Li Xingcan dismissed the concern.

Jiang Qingyue glanced at the rough surface and woven soles, unconvinced.

The group headed downstairs for breakfast, where the spread was surprisingly varied. After a quick meal, they set off.

Once outside the “cabbage,” Li Xingcan was struck by the world’s wonders. Sunlight filtered through the trees, casting dappled shadows on the forest floor. She marveled at ancient trees so massive it would take several people to encircle them. A woodpecker landed on a trunk, tapping away—only to be swatted by a branch. It fluttered off, squawking what must have been quite the insult, given how the tree retaliated by hurling an unripe fruit at it.

“This is amazing! Are they all alive?” Li Xingcan asked without hesitation, her excitement overriding any sense of unfamiliarity.

“…You mean whether they’re all awakened spirits, right?” Jiang Qingyue found her phrasing baffling. Obviously, they weren’t dead.

“Yes, exactly! Can they all turn into humans?” Li Xingcan’s voice brimmed with enthusiasm.

“Not necessarily,” Bai He answered. “Awakening requires the right conditions, and becoming a full-fledged spirit takes even longer. Most here only have basic awareness and limited spiritual energy—far from true transformation. As for taking human form, that’s advanced cultivation. Not all spirits pursue it.”

“Oh,” Li Xingcan turned to Jiang Qingyue. “So you’re actually pretty impressive?”

“Shut up.” Jiang Qingyue didn’t want to discuss it. Her early ability to shift between cat and human forms stemmed from her bloodline—the very thing complicating her mother’s situation.

Remembering yesterday’s conversation between Jiang Qingyue and Bai He, Li Xingcan noticed her troubled expression and decided not to provoke her further.

After an hour of walking, the novelty wore off. Li Xingcan’s feet felt raw. Staring at the endless forest ahead, she groaned, “How much longer?”

Jiang Qingyue pointed to the distant, towering mountain. “The summit is our destination.”

“What?!” Li Xingcan’s eyes widened. “That’s a death march! How many days will that take?”

Jiang Qingyue stayed silent. Even she had to admit this would be grueling for someone as pampered as Li Xingcan.

After walking a few more steps, Li Xingcan looked up at the mountain countless times and still felt it was too much. “Don’t you have any vehicles here? And since you’re all spirits, aren’t there any teleportation arrays or something? You know, the kind where you stand on them and instantly arrive somewhere else? If not, sword flight would work too.”

“None of those. The spiritual energy consumption for what you mentioned is enormous and not worth it. As for vehicles, there’s nothing from the human world here,” Bai He replied.

“Why not? Human inventions are so convenient!”

Li Xingcan had to admit this place was magical, but incorporating some human technology wouldn’t hurt.

“Spiritual energy only comes from nature, and human civilization destroys nature.”

Bai He gazed at the azure sky and lush green forests—this was the pure land of the spirit race.

Li Xingcan: “…Alright.”

She couldn’t argue with that and continued trudging forward, but the increasingly sharp pain in her feet was becoming unbearable.

During a break, she took off her shoes to inspect her reddened, nearly blistered feet. Standing on the cool grass provided some relief, and she realized going barefoot might be better.

Jiang Qingyue sat beside Li Xingcan and handed her shoes back. “Stop being stubborn. There’s still a long way to go.”

“No need. I can walk barefoot just fine.”

Li Xingcan glanced at Jiang Qingyue’s feet. If her own feet hurt this much, she couldn’t let Jiang Qingyue suffer the same.

“With feet like yours?” Jiang Qingyue scoffed. “A single pebble could cut your soles. Do you think mountain paths are your living room carpet?”

“Who do you think you’re looking down on?”

Naturally defiant, Li Xingcan stood up to demonstrate. “See? It’s perfectly fine… Ow!”

A sharp pain shot through her foot, nearly making her fall. Lifting her foot, she saw various sized pebbles embedded in her sole.

“Still want to act tough?”

Jiang Qingyue helped steady her. Fortunately, the stones were just hard without sharp edges, leaving Li Xingcan’s feet merely reddened rather than cut.