Xu Yang woke up drowning.He rolled onto his side,trying to breathe,his claws digging into the wet ground.Rain was falling all around him.Mud covered his body and his fur was completely soaked.For a few seconds,he couldn't understand what was happening.He looked around.There were trees everywhere.The ground was wet and the sky above him was hidden by leaves. Where am I?... he whispered.He tried to sit up,but his body felt strange.He looked down. Then he froze,He saw one small black paw was resting in the mud.He stared at it."..." He slowly lifted it.The paw moved.He turned it over."No." He quickly lifted the other one. Another paw."No,no,no..."He looked down at his body.His body was small.His legs were short.And behind him,a black tail moved slowly from side to side.
Xu Yang stared at it."What..." He tried to grab it.The tail moved away.He tried again.It moved again."Stop!" The tail flicked to the other side.Xu Yang stared at it in disbelief. "Why do I have a tail?" He suddenly remembered something and looked around again."Wait." His breathing became faster."I was..."A memory suddenly came back.He had been walking along the road that night. He was going to meet someone and had been checking his phone while walking.He remembered looking up when he heard a loud horn.A car was coming toward him.He froze for a second."What..." The car was getting closer.He quickly tried to move away,but there wasn't enough time.The headlights came straight toward him.Then he felt a strong impact.He fell to the ground. His phone slipped from his hand.He could hear people shouting around him,but their voices slowly became unclear.Someone was saying something,but he couldn't understand the words.His eyes became heavy.He tried to move,but his body wouldn't listen.
The last thing he remembered was the bright light from the car.Then everything went dark.
Xu Yang went quiet."I died." He looked down at himself again."So why am I a cat?" He quickly shook his head."No.This is a dream." He looked around."I'm probably unconscious somewhere." He took a deep breath."Yes.That's it.I'm in a hospital.I'll wake up soon." He waited but nothing happened.He looked at his paws again."Still a cat." He closed his eyes."Wake up." Nothing."Come on." Nothing.He opened his eyes and looked at a puddle beside him.His reflection stared back at him.A small black cat with wet fur and golden-green eyes."Ah!" Xu Yang jumped back and slipped.He landed in the mud again."Ow!" He quickly got up and stared at the puddle."That's me?" He stepped closer."Why am I a cat?" He tried to speak."Hello?" "Meow."
Xu Yang froze."..." He tried again."Hello?" "Meow." His eyes widened."No." He shook his head."No,no,no." He tried to speak louder."I'm human!" "Meow!" "I said I'm human!" "Meow!" Xu Yang covered his face with both paws."Why can't I talk?!" He dropped his paws and looked at the forest. "This isn't happening." He took a few steps. "I'm dreaming." He stopped."Yes.I'm dreaming." A branch suddenly cracked somewhere behind him.Xu Yang jumped and spun around."Who's there?" Nothing moved.He stared between the trees. "Hello?" He slowly relaxed."Right.Nothing." He turned back toward the puddle.Then he felt something warm inside his chest.Xu Yang stopped.The warmth was small,but he could feel it clearly.It moved through his body for a moment and then disappeared. "What was that?" He placed a paw against his chest.A few seconds later,it happened again.
Xu Yang's expression changed.He knew what that feeling was.He had read about it before."Spiritual energy?" He looked around.The forest suddenly felt familiar."No way." He took a few steps back."Don't tell me..." He looked at his paws again."This is a cultivation world?" He swallowed."The novel?" He remembered the book he had been reading before he died.The cultivation world.He hadn't finished it,but he knew enough to recognize the setting."You're kidding me." He looked up at the trees."I actually got thrown into a novel?" He looked down at himself."And I'm a cat?" He sighed. "Of course.I don't even get to be a human."
Xu Yang slowly walked through the forest, still trying to understand how his life had suddenly become this strange.As he passed between the trees,he noticed tiny blue flowers growing along the ground.They were beautiful,with soft petals that seemed to glow under the pale light coming through the branches.Xu Yang stopped and looked at them.He had never seen flowers like these in the novel.One of the flowers slowly opened and small blue butterfly rose from its petals and flew toward him.Xu Yang watched it curiously as it circled around his head before landing gently on his nose.He went completely still."Uh..." He crossed his eyes trying to look at it."Are you supposed to do that?"
The butterfly fluttered its wings and flew away.A second later,the other flowers around him began opening one after another,spreading a faint blue glow across the forest.Xu Yang stood in the middle of them,quietly watching.The sight was so beautiful that for a moment,he forgot that he had died.Then the last flower opened and single petal floated through the air and landed against his chest.Xu Yang looked down.The petal slowly disappeared into his fur.
Xu Yang slowly looked around."What happened?" A strange cold feeling passed through his mind.Then he heard a voice.[System activated.] Xu Yang froze."..." He looked around."Who said that?" [Host detected.] "Where are you?" [System interface established.] Xu Yang blinked."A system?" [Correct.] He looked around again."Like the systems from those novels?" [Correct.] Xu Yang let out a breath. "Finally. Something that makes sense." [Current vessel: Low-level Cat Demon.] His face fell."..." He looked down at himself."Low-level?" [Correct.] "So I'm weak?" [Correct.] "Wonderful." He sighed."Do I have any special powers?" [Limited.] "Skills?" [Limited.] "Treasure?" [No.] "Then what do I have?" There was a short pause.[Host has been assigned nine lives.]
Xu Yang blinked."Nine lives?" [Correct.] [These lives are not blessings.] Xu Yang looked confused."What do you mean?" [Every life has a destined death.] He stared ahead."..." Then he slowly raised one paw."Wait." [Death is mandatory.] Xu Yang's eyes widened."What?" [Death is mandatory.] "I heard you!" He looked around."Then why did you say it again?!" [For confirmation.] "I don't need confirmation!" He started walking in a small circle."So I have nine lives,but I have to die in every single one?" [Correct.] "Then what's the point?!" [The purpose is to complete each life.]
Xu Yang stopped."That's the worst explanation I've ever heard." [Noted.] "Don't say 'noted'." [Acknowledged.] "That's basically the same thing!" Xu Yang rubbed his face with his paws and sighed."Okay.Let me think." He sat down in the mud."I died in my old world.I woke up as a cat demon.I'm inside a cultivation novel.And I have nine lives." He paused."But every life has a destined death." [Correct.] "Can I avoid it?" The System was silent."System?" No answer."Can I change it?" [Host may make choices.] Xu Yang frowned."That's not what I asked." [Host may make choices.] "You're avoiding the question." [The System does not avoid questions.]
Xu Yang stared at nothing."You definitely are." The System stayed silent.Xu Yang looked toward the forest."So if my death is already decided..." He paused."Can I change what happens before it?" [Possible.] His eyes widened."Possible?" [Possible.]Xu Yang slowly smiled."Then that's enough." He stood up."I don't know why I'm here.I don't know who gave me these nine lives. And I don't know when I'm supposed to die." He looked at his small paws."But if I can make choices..." He looked toward the forest."Then I'll make my own." A sound suddenly came from the trees.Xu Yang froze.His ears moved toward the sound. Another branch broke."System?" [Yes?] "What was that?" [Unknown.] Xu Yang's eyes widened."Unknown?" [Correct.] He took a slow step backward."Can you at least tell me if it's dangerous?"No answer.
He forced himself to stand. Walking on four legs felt awkward but strangely familiar, as if his body remembered things his mind didn't. His tail swayed unconsciously, helping him balance as he staggered forward.Then he saw human.Xu Yang froze instantly, instincts screaming.Footsteps approached through the rain slow, careful, not aggressive.Xu Yang darted beneath a thick bush just as a figure appeared on the narrow dirt path.
Xu Yang saw a young man walking through the rain.He wore plain gray robes that clung to his body because they were completely soaked.A bamboo hat covered most of his face,but a few strands of dark hair had stuck to his cheeks.He wasn't carrying a sword or any obvious weapon,only a cloth bundle over one shoulder.Xu Yang watched him carefully and tried to sense his strength. There was some spiritual energy around him,but it was weak and a little unstable.He didn't seem dangerous.
The young man suddenly slowed down and looked around."Huh?" he muttered."I thought I heard something." Xu Yang froze. His ears stood up immediately.He heard that?...His mind became alert.No,no...don't look here.Just keep walking...Xu Yang stayed behind the leaves,his paws pressed into the wet ground.The man looked around again,slightly frowning.Who is he?Why is he here?... Xu Yang didn't know enough about this world to trust anyone.And what if this man wasn't as harmless as he looked?His ears slowly flattened.I don't even know how strong I am right now.I don't know what can hurt me in this world...
The young man shifted his weight and took a few steps closer.Xu Yang held his breath.If he comes closer,I won't have much space to run...I'm basically helpless right now. His claws pressed into the mud.Calm down! Xu Yang think something.Don't panic.He looked at man approaching.What if he hurts me?... Xu Yang swallowed.I can't afford to find that out the hard way... He lowered himself closer to the ground and tried not to move.
The young man looked around once more, then shrugged."Probably nothing." He turned as if he was about to leave.Xu Yang let out a tiny breath of relief.Then he moved his paw.Mud squelched softly beneath it.The sound was small,but in the quiet forest,it was enough.The young man stopped and turned sharply.Xu Yang's whole body went stiff.Their eyes met through the leaves.
For a moment,Xu Yang's heart seemed to stop.Young man walked towards him."Oh!" he said quietly."There you are." Xu Yang tensed and prepared to run.The man slowly crouched down,keeping his movements careful and slow."Easy." he said."I won't hurt you." Xu Yang didn't believe him.He stayed where he was,watching the man carefully. But his body had started trembling.The cold was finally catching up to him.Rainwater dripped from his fur and collected beneath his paws.The young man noticed."You're freezing." he murmured.He looked at Xu Yang for a moment,then removed his outer robe and placed it on the ground a short distance away."Here," he said."You can use this.I'll be fine."
Xu Yang stared at the robe.He could feel the warmth coming from it.He didn't move at first.He didn't know this person,and following a stranger was probably a terrible idea.But staying in the rain wasn't going to help either.After a long moment,he slowly stepped forward.He stopped and looked up at the young man.The man didn't move.Xu Yang finally stepped onto the robe and curled himself into it.
The young man smiled."That's better." He stood up and adjusted the bundle on his shoulder."I'm going back to the village," he said."It's not far from here.You can come with me if you want." Xu Yang's ears lifted at one word.Village?!He looked toward the direction the man had pointed.Then he looked back at the forest.Being alone in this place is not good option...After hesitating for only a moment,he followed.
The young man didn't say anything about it.He simply continued walking through the rain while Xu Yang stayed a few steps behind him.The village was small and quiet, sitting between low hills and wide rice fields soaked by the rain.Warm lantern light shone through the windows as people hurried inside to escape the weather.No one paid much attention to Xu Yang.To them,he was just a wet black cat.Following the young man,he reached a small house at the edge of the village.
The man opened the door and stepped inside.Xu Yang followed after a short hesitation.The house was simple,but warm. A small stove burned near the wall,bringing some heat into the room.The young man closed the door behind them and let out a quiet sigh."Home." He placed his bundle down,then walked over to the stove.After a moment,he poured some warm broth into a shallow bowl and placed it on the floor in front of Xu Yang."Here.You must be hungry." Xu Yang stared at the bowl.He could smell the food immediately.His stomach seemed to answer for him.He lowered his head and began drinking.The broth was warm,and after being cold for so long,the heat felt almost unreal.As he drank,the tension in his body slowly began to disappear.He hadn't even realized how frightened and exhausted he was until that moment.
The young man sat nearby and watched him with quiet curiosity.After a while,he spoke. "My name's Lin Chen." Xu Yang paused for a moment,then continued drinking.Lin Chen smiled slightly."You don't look like you belong to anyone." Xu Yang lifted his head and looked at him.Lin Chen didn't seem suspicious.He simply looked curious."It's okay," he said."You can stay here."
Xu Yang's tail moved slightly behind him.He looked toward the closed door,then back at the warm stove.For the first time since waking up in this strange world,he didn't feel like he had to run.Xu Yang slowly curled up beside the stove.