Chapter 39: Arrival at Delphi [A VLOG of a high-energy, self-disciplined day for a 5.5-year-old kitten with slightly short legs and a few missing teeth] Part 2

The clueless little baby met the scarlet beast eyes, flattened his mouth, and burst into wails with a “Waaah!”

The little kitten was stunned. He hugged the little dog to his chest. “Why cwying?”

This scene was so heart-meltingly adorable. Isiris ruffled his head. “Babies are just like that. Alright, let’s head back to the castle.”

A crimson carpet unfurled beneath their feet like blazing flames, stretching all the way to that solemn, massive gate.

The sky elevator steadied. The clamor gradually faded, leaving only countless blazing gazes focused on the little kitten at the center. Li Ao hadn’t yet recovered from the overwhelming welcome when Isiris set him down on the ground.

“Walk forward.” The man’s deep voice sounded by his ear, followed by a large hand gently pushing his little butt.

The little kitten’s tail swished. Standing on the soft red carpet, he looked up at that door. It loomed tall and majestic, inlaid with golden patterns, carved with the Regalis heritage emblem—and at this moment, it was slowly opening.

Li Ao glanced at Isiris, then at the robot and the little dog, and tentatively took a step forward.

His father, his guardian, and the little dog who would accompany him for the rest of his life—they followed behind him. As long as he turned his head, he could see them.

His homecoming was no longer lonely. There would always be someone by his side.

When Li Ao turned back again, the castle gates were wide open. Right in the center stood a tree that filled his vision—that was his path ahead.

“Magnolia tree!” The little kitten’s tail perked up. Without hesitation, his four paws hit the ground and he bolted forward like a rabbit. “This is a magnolia twee!”

He recognized this tree because his grandma had the same name.

The Regalis clansmen who had been waiting behind the gates saw the little kitten charging over like a bunny.

Lian laughed boisterously and squatted down, just about to catch his enthusiastic little nephew—when the Ground-hugging Supercar executed a slick drift and veered off elsewhere.

“Huh?” The dumb lion hadn’t reacted.

Reniya found him embarrassing and kicked his ass, then smilingly lifted her skirt hem to curtsy to Isiris. “Welcome home, brother.”

Isiris nodded and looked toward the little lion beside Reniya. “How’s your health?”

Ryan was a bit surprised that his uncle had proactively asked about him. He was just about to nod when gasps erupted from the crowd.

“The Mother Tree is blooming—”

Li Ao had just reached the base of the tree when he heard some sound. It was the pulse of this planet, its consciousness.

Time and space around him suddenly stretched. Everyone was there, yet it felt like they were separated by something.

“Li Ao.” A voice called to him. Not male, not female, transcending all—it simply and naturally said, “Come to my side.”

Li Ao inexplicably felt close to it. He hopped over the tree’s roots, drawing nearer bit by bit.

No instruction needed; he just knew what to do. His two little paws gently rested on the rough trunk. Warm golden light spilled from his palms, rippling along the bark, seeping into every withered crevice.

In the next instant, the entire tree trembled faintly, as if awakening from a long slumber. A sliver of soft light slowly seeped from the branches.

“Saa—” Gentle radiance flowed through the treetops, then spread like a tide.

Pure white flowers quietly bloomed, dotting the branches. One, two, thousands upon thousands—snow-white petals adorned the limbs like falling snow.

“The Mother Tree is blooming—” someone shouted loudly.

Delphi’s Kingdom Tree was a thousand-year-old magnolia.

Legend held that the first Regalis was birthed by it, emerging from a flower bud. From then on, this land welcomed its first true leader. He expanded territories, saved the people, fused the Crystal of Delphi into himself as an experiment, repelled the insect tide with his own power, struck the first counterblow against the Xenoids for humanity, and fell on the battlefield.

After him, Xenoids were no longer humanity’s invincible terror. To commemorate this emperor who laid Delphi’s foundation, the people enshrined the magnolia that birthed him as the Mother Tree, symbolizing Delphi’s origins and glory.

Yet the Mother Tree had long withered. For a millennium, no new buds on its branches, its once-lush flowers turned to dust, leaving only a silent husk.

But now, it was blooming.

The wind rose, snow flew.

Pure white petals drifted down like a sky full of snowflakes. On this spring day, they scattered to every corner of the kingdom.

Twinkling halos leaped from the treetops like converging stars, surging into the little kitten’s forehead. His tiny wings extended into brilliant light wings, only to disperse into warm light specks that returned to the Mother Tree the next second.

After Aiai’ang’ang, Delphi had also become his cradle.

“Miracle…”

“This is… a miracle…”

The elderly elder was first to kneel on one knee, pressing a trembling hand to his chest and bowing his head. Then ministers, warriors, commoners—regardless of status—all knelt on one knee, right fists to hearts, heads lowered.

Isiris stepped over the Mother Tree’s roots and scooped the little kitten into his arms. “With you here, the kingdom probably won’t have to worry about withering away.”

Li Ao snapped out of his daze and looked up at the flowers. “Gwanny…”

“Does Grandma have the name Magnolia too?” Isiris plucked a flower and placed it in the little kitten’s arms. “Just like the flower blooming again after a millennium, you and her will surely meet again.”

The little kitten believed it too. He waved a paw at Isiris, gesturing for him to lean down.

Golden hair cascaded down. The little one said solemnly with a straight face, “Gwanny says she will wait for me fowevew.”

“Yes, she certainly will.”

The planned banquet was moved to the courtyard. Isiris even prepared a seat for the robot.

“As Li Ao’s guardian, take the seat to my left.” Though the robot couldn’t sit or eat, it still stood at the adults’ table. Because he said it was the little kitten’s guardian.

And naturally, the little kitten dragged the little monster to the kids’ table. Saying “table” was a bit much—it was just one lion cub, one little kitten, and one little dog.

Li Ao rested his two paws on the table, a bib tied around his neck by a maidservant. He curiously eyed the little lion who was sitting prim and proper across from him.

“Your Highness the little kitten, that’s His Highness Ryan—your older brother.”

Xun was also cinched at the waist with an apron, squatting beside the little kitten.

Li Ao pulled his gaze from the little lion and started feeding the little dog. “Eat this.”

Xun’s evolution was going smoothly. Now, when the little kitten pried open his mouth, he could no longer see the colorful domain—just a round throat.

“Li Ao.” The little monster whispered a report to him.

“What?” The little kitten busily cut meat for Xun. “Then tomorrow, we can both turn into people and go swimming at Aiai’ang’ang.”

Lian had long slipped over from the adults’ table to his little nephew’s side. He casually patted the cat head. “Little guy, you can transform into human form now?”

Isiris had introduced this person to Li Ao before. The little kitten was a bit shy and twisted his head out from under the hand. “Susu, I can.”

He’s calling me uncle! The blond lion was utterly smitten by this gap-toothed little guy. He pulled a small box from his pocket. “This is for you.”

“Thank you, Susu. What’s this?” The little kitten, innocent as ever, obediently sat up straight and tilted his face up upon hearing there was a gift.

Lian glanced at his big round face, then at the moon that had just appeared in the sky. Comparing them, it really was just like brother said—like a mini moon!

“It’s something that lets you transform into a person without being naked.” Lian smiled and took out the collar—blue and white, with a small crystal cat head pendant in the middle.

“When you turn into human form, it’ll become clothes and automatically put itself on you.” Lian fastened it around the little kitten’s neck. “When you change back to cat form, it’ll turn back into a collar. No more worrying about bare butts.”

Fierce Cat also knew how to be shy, so he rarely turned into a human. Aside from how exhausting it was to transform back, there was another reason: the human form had no fur, so clothes had to be found… This one was actually pretty convenient. The little cat rubbed against Lian’s hand. “Thanks, Susu. So, how much does this one cost?”

Lian planted a hard kiss on the cat’s head. “This is a gift from Susu. It doesn’t cost anything.”

“I knew it!” The little cat wriggled free and pushed Xun toward him. “I wanna buy one for the little doggy.”

“…” Lian looked at the little coal ball and ruffled his hair. “Got it. No problem then—I’ll just buy another one tomorrow.”

“How much?” Li Ao asked. “Is one yuan enough? Or do two cost one yuan? Three is fine too!”

How could he be this cute? Lian hugged the cat to his face and fiercely sniffed its belly. “No money, no money. Just let Susu kiss and sniff a bit, and that’s payment enough.”

“Th-this can be a trade too?” The innocent little cat had made his first foray into the flesh trade (not really).

The little white lion had been sitting across from them the whole time, its amber eyes fixed on the table full of food, unable to take a single bite.

After dinner, the day of the massively ravenous, high-energy little cat came to an end in the new bedroom.

The square little bed was just like a cardboard box, stuffed full of colorful little decorations and yarn balls.

Li Ao squeezed together with Xun, looking at the robot plugged in and charging by the wall. “Machine, are you happy?”

“…” The nanny robot’s electronic eyes didn’t light up, but it said, “I don’t know if this counts as happy, but I feel like being here makes my programs run very smoothly.”

“Then you’re happy.” The little cat declared it firmly.

“Maybe.” Silver Wing gripped its mechanical arm and gazed at the full moon through the transparent dome ceiling. “Li Ao.”

“Mm?” The little cat was already getting drowsy.

“Tomorrow, will you come with me to a place?”

The little cat mumbled sleepily, “Sure… Is it to see your mama? We’ll… go together… Thanks to Machine Mama for giving birth to our Machine. Machine’s so good, taking care of us…”

In that instant, a surge clogged up Silver Wing’s programming—but not the bad kind. It was an indescribable feeling.

So this short-legged kitten had always remembered. He remembered what it had said. How could there be such a cub? How could he be this good?

If described in cat terms, this feeling was probably like a not-quite-ripe tomato—slightly sour, but very sweet.

“Super sweet, super sweet.”