Chapter 3: This Plump Little Cat

Li You believed his mental fortitude was decent, but the completely unprepared reunion with his brother still nearly made him lose his composure.

The little cat carefully withdrew the paw pressed against Li Ye’s chest, yet he did not know where to put it, because he realized an even more serious problem—he was sitting entirely on Li Ye as a whole cat.

Li You awkwardly licked his paw twice and glanced below. His brother was still looking at him.

“……”

The little cat pretended to be calm and let out two light “meows” as if nothing had happened. He tentatively shifted to the side and suddenly saw something black crawling across his brother’s face.

Li You was shocked. A strange impulse stirred within him. When he saw that thing resembling a black mini-snake crawl across his brother’s face again, his cat paw could no longer hold back. He pressed a paw toward that thing, with the paw pad landing on his brother’s face, but he grabbed nothing.

The little cat was puzzled. He buried his head and looked at his empty paw, then at that black thing. It had stopped moving on his brother’s face. He hurriedly tried to catch it with his paw, pawing back and forth across that expressionless face like scooping up little fish, but he could not reach it no matter what.

This completely baffled Li You. The uncontrollable stirring impulse in his heart gradually faded. Only then did he realize what foolish thing he was doing. He quickly withdrew his paw and retreated, leaving a dent with each of his four paws on Li Ye’s military uniform.

Before he could slip away, his scruff was gripped. He was lifted up.

Li Ye bent his knee and sat up on the couch, lifting this cat that was nearly round like a ball with one hand. His gaze lingered for a long time on those cat eyes as clear as a blue sky.

After a moment, his line of sight slowly shifted downward.

“……” Li You blinked and looked down following his brother’s descending gaze. He spotted his fluffy belly, and…

He jolted in shock. The fur on his body instantly bristled. His big tail, like a feather duster, hurriedly tucked back to cover the little cat’s important parts.

What are you doing??

Can you just casually look at a kitty’s crotch?!!

Li You fiercely raised his cat fist, then softly patted it on Li Ye’s nose. He pressed his paw pads together on his brother’s face and pushed him away.

Li Ye remained silent. He glanced at the cat’s eyes again, then lifted the cat farther away and placed it on the floor beside the couch. He ignored this little guy that had suddenly appeared and leaned back on the couch to continue resting with his eyes closed.

The four-pawed Li You nimbly ran far away and hid behind the flower bed. He poked his head out to peek at Li Ye on the couch.

That monster integrated with his brother was still leisurely crawling over his brother’s body. Li Ye wore a military uniform with buttons fastened all the way to the top one, impeccably neat. The only exposed skin was his left hand and face.

That black mini-monster drilled into his brother’s collar, then appeared on the back of his hand shortly after, and disappeared again. Li You watched in a daze.

Li You actually did not know exactly what this little monster was. Before his death, he had desperately pieced together some information and could only confirm that this thing was part of his brother’s body. But long ago, his brother would not have so blatantly let this little monster out like this. Why was he not wary now?

The little cat awkwardly licked his fur for a while. When nervous and uneasy, he also licked his fur. Li You hid behind the flower bed, glancing at his brother and licking his fur once.

Later, tired of licking himself, he simply focused on stealthily watching his brother.

Over the ten years, his brother had not changed much. He just looked more mature and taller.

He was still as handsome as ever, though a bit less so than Your Highness Youyou—that was still very good.

The little cat pressed his face against the cool tiles of the flower bed and tilted his head to observe.

After Mito disappeared, the dark clouds dispersed. Bright sunlight descended from the sky. Li You knew this light was artificial, but he still felt a trace of comfort, along with a strange sense of the passage of time.

The sunlight fell on the little cat, making his fur gleam with a golden goose yellow. It elongated his shadow, and the shadow of his perked cat ears happened to fall on Li Ye’s distant face.

Li You’s ears twitched and pressed down. He saw the shadow on his brother’s face shift, perfectly covering that little monster.

He inexplicably felt happy inside and secretly gave himself a point. This time, he had won. He had caught the little monster, albeit with a shadow.

The next second, the little monster crawled away and slipped into his brother’s collar, vanishing. Li You snapped back and looked up, meeting those emotionless red eyes again.

This time, he did not pretend to be busy and shift his gaze away. Instead, he stared straight into Li Ye’s eyes. After a long while, he turned his head, hid behind the flower bed, rolled over to conceal himself—unaware that he had left his tail sticking out.

In the distance, Li Ye quietly watched the cat tail exposed at the flower bed. His gaze slowly followed the tail’s left-and-right swishes. It seemed devoid of spirit, yet he was actually pensive.

Li You did not know his tail was exposed. He had something on his mind and was a bit absent-minded.

It had only been half a month since his rebirth. He had been scrambling outside, very tired and tough, but very free. He had never thought of meeting his brother again.

Death was in the past. Rebirth brought him many surprises and the courage to live on, but he did not want to return to the track of his previous life. He hoped that in this life, as a little cat, he could be happy and free.

Meeting his brother was a bizarre coincidence. A few distant glances were enough; there was no need to reunite.

His brother was now the empire’s sovereign. Although that little monster was still there, it no longer seemed to interfere with or threaten his brother’s life.

That was enough.

Li You rubbed his face with his paws. He had thought it through and resolutely decided to follow that pet shop lady. This garden was beautiful, the town was lovely—it was the place he hoped to spend his cat life.

The little cat puffed out his chest and turned to head back along the path. At that moment, a deep male voice approached from afar, carrying a lazy amusement.

“You are indeed here.” Peisengke sauntered in with lazy steps, tossed the nutrient agent in his hand over, pulled over a nearby chair, and sat down boldly. “I say, Your Highness, have you finished handling the empire’s affairs?”

Li Ye did not open his eyes and steadily caught the flying nutrient agent with one hand. The black mini-monster coiled around his wrist shot out at light speed, opened its sawtooth mouth, and crunched through the bottle cap in a few bites, drinking the nutrient agent clean.

“This monster is still so energetic.” Peisengke chuckled, then got to business. “The reinforcement troops have all returned to Prime Star. The follow-up work is handed to the local garrison. Your Highness, Kara Star is not far from Prime Star. This place hadn’t seen abyss pollutants for years, yet suddenly a high-tier mutant species like Mito appeared. Don’t you find it strange?”

Li You, who had been preparing to leave behind the nearby flower bed, stopped upon hearing this and perked up both cat ears to listen carefully.

“Your Highness Youyou cleared all the pollution sources in the empire, big and small. Except for occasional mutant species popping up in unstable fringe planets, other areas have been stable.” Peisengke toyed with the light brain in his hand. “Starting last year, mid-to-high-tier variants appeared every three or four months. Though effectively exterminated each time, the frequency of monster appearances is clearly increasing.”

He pointed at the little monster clinging to Li Ye’s finger. “You’ve eaten so many of these monsters. Haven’t you noticed anything?”

Li Ye looked at the little snake on his finger but did not give a direct answer. He placed the nutrient agent tube on the nearby tea table, recalled the detached part, rose from the couch, and tossed the light brain to Peisengke.

A silence followed.

Li You waited a long time but still heard that unfamiliar male voice speaking.

“Fine.” Peisengke stood up, rolled his shoulders and neck, and let out a long sigh. “Looks like I guessed right.”

“Abyss pollutants are starting to surge again.” Peisengke’s voice lost its laziness, gaining a touch of world-weariness. “Your Highness, the peace that Your Highness Youyou traded his life for is about to be broken, isn’t it?”

Li Ye lowered his head and quietly stared at his right hand in its black glove. After a long silence, he said, “It won’t.”

“What?” Peisengke was stunned.

“Not this time.” Li Ye raised his eyes and gazed at the light beam reflecting through the distant glass window.

This time, I will protect the empire he left behind.

“You…” Peisengke paused, unsure what to say, and simply changed the topic. “Your Highness, I’ve actually always wanted to ask—do you keep pets?”

Li Ye looked at Peisengke, not understanding why the topic suddenly jumped to pets.

Seeing the sovereign’s confusion, Peisengke shrugged. “I mean, perhaps you could try keeping a pet, like a kitty or puppy. Little ones can warm the heart and even provide comfort.”

Li Ye said nothing, just quietly watched him.

“……” Peisengke smacked his lips and lightly coughed with a fist to his mouth. “Alright, I admit I was presumptuous. But Your Highness, is your mental state really okay? You look…”

He shook his head as he spoke. “You look like you haven’t gotten over Your Highness Youyou’s death. You should let go…”

“Peisengke.” Li Ye’s voice was calm, laced with icy indifference.

“Present.”

“Have you found my childhood friend?”

“No, oh God, please don’t change the subject.”

“I have reason to suspect you’re not seriously looking for him, because you seem very idle.”

“This is pure slander!” Peisengke realized he could not outtalk Li Ye. He took a deep breath to adjust, about to speak when he heard the other say.

“We cannot forget him. No one can.”

“……”

Li Ye lowered his eyes, put on his light brain, and spoke with serene composure, word by word: “In this world, no one in the empire—including me—has the right to forget him.”

Peisengke’s lips pressed into a tight line, and he said no more.

Li Ye raised his eyes. “I’ll go check the abyss pollutant leak on Kara Star. No need to follow.”

With that, he lifted his leg—but it did not lift. Instead, he felt something heavy yet soft and squishy on his leg.

Li Ye paused and looked down. The chubby little cat that had hidden behind the flower bed earlier was now sitting on his military boot. Its two white paws, round like mountain hawthorn fruits, were neatly together, properly stepping on his shoe and denting the leather boot.

The little cat sat there like a ball, tail coiled into a circle. It looked up at Li Ye. Those clear, round blue eyes were now much more watery. The little cat’s face showed much worry, looking quite aggrieved. It let out several soft meows toward Li Ye, its paws restlessly kneading.

Li You could not speak; he could only meow.