Chapter 108: Mountain Crabs

When Chen Ji woke up, he could already smell a faint fishy odor. The sky was just beginning to lighten with the dawn. He closed his eyes again, ruffled a handful of the White Tiger’s silky fur, and buried his face in it, taking a deep breath.

“Mmm… Xiangxiang…” Chen Ji’s voice came out muffled. “When did I fall asleep…? What time is it?”

The White Tiger, startled awake by Chen Ji, turned its face toward him and nuzzled his shoulder affectionately. Its whiskers tickled him. He pushed the big head aside with one hand, then hugged it from behind. Without even opening his eyes, he planted a kiss on top of its head. Something springy slipped between his lips, and he bit down on it instinctively. “Good boy… don’t fuss. Let me sleep a little longer.”

Chen Ji had no idea what he had just bitten. Xiangxiang awkwardly pulled his head away. The majestic tuft of fur on the tip of his ear was now a soggy clump, and his thin ear tip had turned bright red, too vivid to hide even beneath the fur.

Chen Ji… treated him just like the fat cat he kept at home—kissing its paws, its ears, its belly… They were probably all the same, right?

The White Tiger lowered his head and gently rested it on Chen Ji’s arm. For some reason, he suddenly felt a pang of sadness.

He couldn’t quite explain why, but the sadness was there all the same.

Half an hour later, Chen Ji finally woke up fully. The first thing he saw was that gorgeous black-and-white striped fur. He ruffled it absently, thinking to himself that this fellow had excellent qualities. No sleeping on him—using him as a mattress was genuinely comfortable, and he stayed perfectly warm.

Chen Ji chuckled softly. Just then, the White Tiger startled awake from his own doze and turned to look at him. Chen Ji scooted closer and casually draped a hand over one of his front paws. The White Tiger lowered his head and gently licked the back of Chen Ji’s hand, leaving a warm, wet sensation followed by a faint coolness.

But Chen Ji reached out and pinched his tongue instead. With his fingertip, he lightly scraped along the rough barbs. The milky-white, translucent spines stood on end from his touch. Chen Ji drawled lazily, “I thought they’d feel harder…”

He had never really examined them closely before. After all, those barbs could scrape meat clean off the bone, and he had no desire to end up covered in gashes. But they weren’t actually that hard or sharp—just not as smooth and even.

“Murr…” Xiangxiang let out a low whine. Chen Ji released his tongue. The pink muscle snapped back inside, and a reproachful look even appeared in those azure-blue eyes, as if he disapproved of Chen Ji tugging on it like that. Chen Ji burst out laughing. He hugged the White Tiger’s neck and rubbed his face against him. “Sorry, sorry! Xiangxiang, don’t be mad. Good boy.”

In response, the White Tiger nuzzled him back, signaling that he accepted the apology.

Then the White Tiger stood up. With a flick of his sleek tail, he slung Chen Ji onto his back and lightly hopped down a couple of stone steps. That’s when Chen Ji spotted his own back basket, half-submerged in the water.

“…Huh? What’s this?”

A thick tail snaked over and lifted the basket from the water. Water sprayed everywhere as it came up. Clear liquid poured from the gaps, and Chen Ji clearly saw a dark fish tail smack hard against the basket’s rim twice. But it did no good—the falling water level pinned it to the bottom, with no chance of escape.

Unless it suddenly mastered that old trick called “carp leaping the dragon gate.”

The White Tiger set the basket down in front of Chen Ji. He peered inside and saw it was filled nearly to the brim with fish and crabs, along with a few shrimp. He felt a mix of delight and surprise as he asked the White Tiger, “For me to eat?”

The White Tiger nodded. With a whoosh, a cluster of flames sprang up nearby out of nowhere, giving the strong impression that if Chen Ji said “yes,” they would start grilling immediately.

Chen Ji laughed helplessly. “Thanks, Baobao.”

The White Tiger nodded with some restraint and nudged the basket a bit closer toward Chen Ji. When it was practically up against his face, he said, “Put it on the ground. I’ll handle it myself.”

Only then did the White Tiger set the basket down.

Chen Ji hopped off his back. He hesitated for a moment before saying to the White Tiger, “Xiangxiang, I want to grill these over fruitwood. Can you fetch some for me? I’ll have the robot deliver it outside the temple.”

The White Tiger dipped his head in agreement, then turned and leaped into the Ghost Path. At that exact moment, the System Cat in Chen Ji’s mind exploded with laughter. [Hahahahaha, Chen Ji, you’re ruthless! If you eat all of this haul, how many years do you think you’d get?]

Chen Ji replied helplessly. [Stall Xiangxiang a bit.]

Chen Ji knew exactly how fast Xiangxiang was. He stared at the bizarrely shaped fish in the basket—each one more oddly distinctive than the last—and fell into thought. If he really got caught, it would probably be ten years or more… right?

Pfft, pfft!

Chen Ji glanced back at the pile of odds and ends on the shore. He went over and grabbed a pair of thick gloves to put on—who knew if these freakish fish had any poisonous spines!

This one wasn’t edible. Toss it back in the water.

That one wasn’t edible. Toss it back in the water.

This one wasn’t either… Chen Ji tossed them one by one into the water amid a chorus of splashes. Even the System Cat felt sorry for them. [Hey, hey, don’t toss that one! You really won’t try it? It was caught with so much effort by Xiangxiang. That one’s delicious—how about just one? No cameras around here. No one would know.]

Chen Ji’s response was to let go and drop the fish back into the water. [Nah. It’s not like skipping this one will kill me. There are plenty of delicious, legal things out there. No need to risk it for this.]

[It’s a rare chance. It wouldn’t hurt…] the System Cat muttered.

[Here’s the thing…] Chen Ji pondered for a moment, a meaningful smile playing on his lips, but he didn’t elaborate.

People needed principles. They shouldn’t casually test their limits. Once you compromised your bottom line, it became dangerously easy to keep sliding, until even bigger violations seemed like no big deal down the road.

If Chen Ji stayed holed up in the mountains forever, it might not be a huge problem. He was just one guy on Little Azure Mountain with plenty of food and drink. Even three meals a day of this stuff wouldn’t wipe out the pond. But he was human—a social creature—and he’d have to return to society eventually.

This wasn’t about other people. It was for his own sake. If he ever went back to city life with his standards already eroded that far, he’d land in prison at warp speed. At that point, forget retiring with two cats and three square meals through the seasons. It’d be a miracle if he ended up with a sewing machine instead of a bullet.

Take the Yun Family business, for example. Truth be told, if it hadn’t been so shady, if they hadn’t been the ones at fault, and if he hadn’t run fast while leaving some leeway, would he be living so peacefully in the mountains now?

This time it was the Yun Family. Who would it be next? Did he really have the skills to evade the law forever?

Chen Ji didn’t think he did.

The System Cat fell silent when he didn’t respond and stopped trying to persuade him. Chen Ji only quit once about seventeen or eighteen mountain crabs were left in the basket—this stuff was legal and edible.

Not just edible, but delicious.

Who ate this kind of thing first thing in the morning, though? Chen Ji stood and walked aside, pulling out a couple of instant small loaves of bread to nibble on and tide himself over. It was a bit hard to stomach early like this, but Xiangxiang had gone to so much trouble to catch them. He’d force down a couple extra bites even if he had to.

[Heads up—Xiangxiang’s got the fruitwood. About ten minutes out.] After the reminder, the System Cat added, [Save me a couple of crabs! I’m on my way!]

[OK.] Chen Ji acknowledged. He got up and gathered a few rocks to improvise a stone grill. He’d just finished setting it up when Xiangxiang leaped out of the Ghost Path. He had a large bundle in his mouth, and the System Cat was clinging to his back, looking a little woozy.

Chen Ji blinked in surprise, then said with some regret, “Xiangxiang, sorry.”

He placed one hand on Xiangxiang’s ear and rubbed it apologetically. “I tripped just now and knocked over the basket. All the fish got away…”

Xiangxiang tilted his head and let out a soft sound, as if to comfort him.

“Woo, what a waste of your effort…” Chen Ji pressed his face against the White Tiger’s neck and rubbed. “But we’ve still got these crabs. Let’s grill ’em! They’re delicious too.”

The White Tiger nodded. Seeing that he wasn’t upset about it, Chen Ji breathed a sigh of relief. He felt like the useless owner whose housecat came home from hunting with a pile of mice and snakes, scaring the daylights out of him. He couldn’t complain outright, so he had to accept them through tears and figure out what to do next.

At least Xiangxiang was a spirit creature. He didn’t have to pretend to eat them right in front of him.

Chen Ji tied the stone crabs down with grass rope and tossed them one by one onto the scorching stone slab. Water droplets skittered across the surface before evaporating in a flash. A distinctive crabby aroma soon filled the air.

Maybe it was the season, or maybe crabs raised by spirits were just that exceptional—every single one had a plump, bulging belly. As the heat built up, their thin shells burst open. Golden crab roe mixed with juices oozed out through the cracks.

Chen Ji swallowed hard.

Sorry—he’d been slapped in the face. Forget “who eats this stuff first thing in the morning.” He wasn’t a good person. He was a bad one, and he was going to eat it all!

The System Cat was gulping too, his eyes glued to the crabs as he muttered, [Xiangxiang’s the best. You should keep one. Xiangxiang’s amazing. I want one too…]

Chen Ji: [Do you even know what you’re saying?]

[These crabs look so good…]

Chen Ji: […]

The White Tiger sat politely off to the side, his tail draped over his paws. When Chen Ji looked over, he met his gaze with a questioning look. Chen Ji poked him with a finger. “Xiangxiang, did you catch these crabs in the pond too?”

The White Tiger nodded.

“Hard to catch?” Chen Ji asked next.

The White Tiger nodded honestly.

Chen Ji rubbed his head. “You’ve worked hard. Catching such tiny crabs must’ve been tough! I love you the most, Xiangxiang. You’re the best!”

Hard to catch, huh? Next time he went down the mountain, he’d buy some fresh pig liver, rig a little trap, and nab them easily. Then he’d feast.

No more troubling Xiangxiang!

Chen Ji thought to himself as he eyed Xiangxiang’s paws—bigger than his face—next to the little crabs that weren’t even half the size of his palm.

Soon the mountain crabs turned an enticing orange-yellow. Chen Ji picked one up with his chopsticks. These crabs were so small that they roasted to a crisp with ease. With just a gentle squeeze, the leg came right off. Chen Ji popped it straight into his mouth. He didn’t even need to spit out the shell—one good crunch and it shattered completely, not leaving a trace of grit behind. The morsel of meat inside was tiny yet incredibly tender, fresh and sweet juices bursting forth from within. Chen Ji’s eyes lit up as he savored it.

“Hurry up and eat!”

Chen Ji called to Xiangxiang and the System Cat to dig in. The one person and two cats swiftly polished off the dozen or so crabs. It was only afterward, as Chen Ji lounged about lazily rubbing his belly, that he remembered an important question. Wait a minute—what about Second Grandpa and Little Red? Where had they gotten to?