Chapter 70: Chapter 68: Silver Shuttle Dream Weaving Cat
Zhong Yi chatted with Zhong Ling and Zhao Kai for a while, and then they both went to their rooms to rest.
Zhong Yi had healed Zhao Kai, restoring his maimed body, but Zhao Kai’s own Life Energy had been low to begin with.
This left Zhao Kai completely depleted and extremely weak; he had been forcing himself to keep going the whole time.
Before they all turned in, Zhong Yi had specifically asked Zhong Ling to prepare a nourishing medicinal meal for Zhao Kai.
The Evolution Shop had a guest room that Zhong Chenghuai and Zhong Ling usually kept clean, so it was the perfect place for Zhao Kai to stay.
Inside the shop, even Zhong Yi’s own room was only a little over ten square meters. The guest room Zhao Kai was staying in had just enough space for a bed and a table.
After all, for a public-facing business, most of the floor space was dedicated to the retail area and storage.
Once they chose a mansion in the Central District—one that covered nearly ten thousand square meters—everyone would be able to have their own personal living space. It would also provide an excellent environment for their contracted Guardian Beasts.
Meanwhile, the Soul-Controlling Flower was constantly absorbing Life and Soul Energy and using it to strengthen Zhong Yi’s body.
As a result, even after exploring the Horned Demon World for several days, he didn’t feel the least bit tired.
Zhong Yi went to the bathroom and got the washbasin his predecessor had used as a child. He filled it with warm water, making sure the temperature was just right.
Only after confirming the water was perfectly comfortable did Zhong Yi take the Dream-Acting Cat out of his Storage Pouch.
Zhong Yi had been busy all evening, but he hadn’t neglected the Dream-Acting Cat.
Before dinner, Zhong Yi had placed two Dream-Painting Banana leaves and nearly half a pound of Dusk Dream Grass into the Storage Pouch. These Spiritual-type Spiritual Materials were very beneficial for the Dream-Acting Cat.
The Dream-Acting Cat could eat the dried Dusk Dream Grass directly, especially when mixed into steamed fish paste.
Meanwhile, a Spiritual-type material like the Dream-Painting Banana released a gentle spiritual energy, akin to dream energy, that could nourish the Dream-Acting Cat.
When Zhong Yi took the Dream-Acting Cat out of the Storage Pouch, the once dusty, gray little furball with fur like tangled weeds had already shed most of its grayish-black coat, revealing a moon-white color underneath.
Although the newly grown, moon-white fur was still just a short layer clinging to the Dream-Acting Cat’s body, its color was incredibly soft.
It was like moonlight on milky-white satin, giving off a lustrous, translucent sheen.
Dream-Acting Cats come in two colors: moon-white and mystic-black. To the naked eye, a mystic-black Dream-Acting Cat appears pure black, but it reveals a dark red sheen in the light.
Zhong Yi much preferred the moon-white variety to the mystic-black ones.
Moon-white Dream-Acting Cats were rarer than their mystic-black counterparts, and their fur also grew slightly longer.
As soon as Zhong Yi took it out of the Storage Pouch, the Dream-Acting Cat scrambled into his arms.
It rested its two little paws gently on Zhong Yi’s chest and let out a few soft, kitten-like mews.
Seeing its adorable expression, Zhong Yi immediately reached out and gently stroked the little cat’s head.
Then, he placed his fingers under the cat’s chin and gave it a gentle scratch.
In less than half a minute, a little feline engine started rumbling in Zhong Yi’s arms.
"Little one, one of your eyes is like a blue lake, and the other is like amber. How about I call you Lan Po?"
Hearing Zhong Yi give it a name, the Dream-Acting Cat let out a choked "Mrow."
It immediately buried its face in Zhong Yi’s chest and nuzzled its little head against him.
Zhong Yi hadn’t formed a Contract with the Dream-Acting Cat yet, but he could already feel the mix of sorrow and joy emanating from it.
Zhong Yi held the Dream-Acting Cat close, his expression earnest. He met its gaze with gentle eyes.
"Lan Po, now that you’re with me, I’ll never let you be mistreated again."
"Uncle Huai has already prepared a new home for you. Once I’m done giving you a bath, I’ll take you there to rest."
"There are four people sleeping here tonight, and the other Guardian Beasts in the shop are resting too. Feel free to absorb the dreams of anyone you find interesting."
"You need to eat plenty of dreams to fatten up."
Looking at Lan Po’s dewy eyes and listening to its soft mews, Zhong Yi couldn’t resist picking it up and planting a gentle kiss on its cheek.
Lan Po immediately covered its cheeks with its little paws, the very picture of shyness.
Zhong Yi added a little more hot water to the basin to adjust the temperature before placing Lan Po inside.
The moment Lan Po touched the water, the clear liquid instantly turned murky.
Lan Po turned its little head away in embarrassment. Seeing this, Zhong Yi couldn’t help but chuckle.
"I’ll give you another wash in a minute, and then you’ll be all clean."
"I have two kinds of shampoo here. Smell them. Do you like the citrus one or the milk-scented one?"
Zhong Yi held out both bottles for Lan Po to sniff. The kitten decisively chose the milk-scented shampoo.
During the first wash, the water in the basin was still quite dirty.
But by the second wash, all that was left in the water were suds as fluffy as clouds.
In the process of bathing Lan Po, Zhong Yi discovered it was even thinner than it looked.
With its fur matted down by the water, he could see that Lan Po had almost no meat on it; its skin was stretched taut over its bones.
But it was no matter. In a month or two, after absorbing plenty of dreams and eating more Spiritual-type materials for nourishment, Lan Po would recover.
After toweling Lan Po dry, Zhong Yi began to use a hairdryer. The kitten was clearly a bit frightened, retracting its claws and clinging tightly to Zhong Yi’s hand with its little paw pads.
