Chapter 480: There’s a Cat Behind You

The cat still maintained its old habits from years ago. Whenever she arrived in a new place, she had to take a full tour, sniffing every corner and crevice. Even the number of mouse holes in the room had to be carefully noted to familiarize herself with the environment.

It took her quite some time before she finally felt a bit at ease.

Meanwhile, Song You stood calmly in the room, unhurriedly washing up.

"Splash..."

A wooden washstand, about half a person tall, held a copper basin just right. The towel newly bought in Yangdu was still thick and highly absorbent, with a small flower embroidered in the lower right corner.

Song You carefully wiped his face clean.

Behind him, the cat’s voice suddenly rang out, laced with confusion. "Why don’t they let us eat mice at night?"

Song You's hand paused mid-motion as he wiped his face. He remained silent for a moment before answering, "They are the hosts, we are the guests. Naturally, we eat whatever they provide. We should not be picky."

"Then why don’t they give us mice to eat?"

"..."

After finishing with his face, Song You washed the towel clean in the basin before finally responding, "Even if they did offer us mice, only you should partake. Please don’t try to persuade me to eat them."

"...!" The calico cat instantly tensed up, eyes filled with alertness.

As expected of a Daoist! So sharp-witted!

"Come, time to wash your face."

The Daoist approached with the towel in hand.

The calico cat tensed up again, growing even warier. "I’ve already washed my face!"

Yet, the Daoist’s steps did not falter.

His right hand held the towel, while his left hand spread its five fingers wide. His expression remained calm, as if nothing could stop him.

Sure enough—

His outstretched left hand pressed firmly on the back of the calico cat’s head, while the towel in his right hand

plopped

onto her face. Then came a chaotic, vigorous rubbing. The cat couldn't even retreat; all she could do was squint her eyes, hold her breath, and endure this brief moment of suffocating struggle.

"Mrrrgh..."

Once she could breathe again, the calico cat opened her eyes and stared at the Daoist. The first thing she asked was, "Everyone else eats them. Why don’t y—"

"Not clean yet. One more time."

"Myeoowwwuh—!"

Another round of suffocating, chaotic scrubbing.

Finally, the Daoist put down the towel and turned away. The calico cat remained sitting primly by the window, her tail wrapped around her small paws, staring blankly at him.

She felt certain he was doing it on purpose... but she wasn’t entirely sure.

The Daoist, as always, remained calm and unhurried. He even took out his toothbrush and carefully brushed his teeth before finally extinguishing the candle on the table, fumbling his way into bed, and preparing to sleep.

Outside the house, the bright moon hung in the sky, and its silvery light streamed in through the window.

Not long after lying down, Song You suddenly heard a voice.

"..."

The sound was faint, no louder than the squeak of a mouse.

If he hadn’t been paying attention, he might not have noticed it at all. It was only a vague impression, but it seemed as though someone was calling out to him.

Song You had been on the verge of falling asleep, but now, he couldn't help but open his eyes again. Turning his head toward the source of the sound, he looked over.

Under the moonlight, he saw a small figure standing at the edge of his bed.

The figure was tiny. The Xu family’s patriarch had mentioned before that they were about half a chi tall, but to Song You, this one seemed even smaller—perhaps not even that. He was shorter than the people of the fabled island nation overseas, no taller than half a hand.

It was a young man, dressed in rough, old-fashioned clothing reminiscent of a past dynasty. He wore a headscarf and was staring directly at Song You.

The little man seemed to realize that Song You hadn’t heard him clearly, so he took a few steps closer and repeated his words.

This time, Song You heard him clearly.

The little man was asking, "Who are you? Why have I never seen you in this house before?"

"..."

Song You simply stared at him, unsure if he was too intrigued by the sight or if he was still half-drowsy. He didn’t respond immediately.

Seeing this, the little man assumed he hadn’t been heard again. Emboldened, he took another two steps forward. Just as he was about to repeat himself for the third time, Song You finally sat up, lowered his head to look at him, and replied, "I am Song You, a traveler from Yizhou. I have been wandering and happened to arrive here. The Xu family was kind enough to host me, so I am staying here temporarily."

The little man was momentarily stunned.

"Where is Yizhou?"

Song You, despite the little man’s small stature, didn’t dismiss him with vague words like

‘a place so far you could never reach it in your life.’

Instead, he explained in detail,

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Yizhou is in the southwest of the Great Yan. You must have heard of Great Yan—it is the dynasty currently ruling the human world outside. From Yizhou to here, the journey spans thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of li."

"..."

The little man was taken aback again. After a moment, however, he simply shook his head, choosing not to dwell on it. Instead, he pressed on with another question, "Why aren't you afraid after seeing us? Could it be that the Xu family has already told you about us?"

"They have."

"No wonder you're not scared!" The little man nodded, his voice still soft as he continued to look up at Song You, who was seated on the bed. Then he finally revealed his purpose for coming. "Going to sleep so early? What's the fun in that? Besides, as a traveler, sleeping alone must be terribly lonely. Why not come and play with us instead?"

"What kind of play?"

"Singing, dancing—anything at all."

"I don't know how to sing, nor have I ever danced." Song You shook his head, still sitting on the bed.

"We can teach you!"

"..." Song You still shook his head. "It's already late into the night, the time when people sleep. I’m also tired—I just want a good rest, not to play around."

"Hey, what's with you?"

The little man suddenly raised his eyebrows, his tone growing sharper as he reproached him. "We kindly invited you, thinking you might be lonely at night, offering you the chance to sing and dance with us for fun. And yet, as an outsider, you behave so rudely?"

"Is this how you usually disturb the people in this household?"

"You—what do you mean by that?"

"

Sigh...

" Song You let out a weary sigh, clearly exhausted, and replied helplessly, "What I mean is that, even if you mean no harm, even if it's all in good fun, and your intentions are kind, it’s still unreasonable and inconsiderate behavior."

"You must understand, humans are different from spirits and ghosts. They cannot go without sleep at night. Not to mention, they have work to do during the day. If you keep disturbing them like this night after night, even if you don’t intend harm, the effect is the same as if you did. This household is already full of complaints."

"What nonsense are you talking about? Get up already and come dance and play with us!"

The little man didn’t listen at all. In fact, seeing that Song You spoke so gently and didn’t seem like a fierce or intimidating person, he became even more emboldened. He took a few more steps forward and began tugging at Song You’s robes.

"..."

Song You remained seated, unmoving, utterly speechless.

This little man was barely taller than half a palm—if Song You flicked a finger at him, he could probably send him tumbling. A single slap would be enough to send him flying across the room, and one swing of his bamboo staff might even break all the tiny bones in his body.

But he wasn’t interested in fighting him.

Instead, he simply raised a finger and pointed behind the little man.

"Look behind you."

The little man froze mid-motion, his hand still gripping Song You’s robes. He first looked up at him, trying to determine if he was bluffing, but Song You’s expression remained calm and sincere.

So he hesitated, then slowly turned his head.

Bathed in moonlight, at some unknown moment, a massive beast had appeared behind him—covered in thick, tricolored fur, and even while crouching, it was twice his height.

Its pupils reflected the moonlight like two eerie green lanterns hanging in the air. Its mouth was slightly open, revealing rows of sharp, white teeth—teeth that could easily bite him clean in half.

"

Ahhh

!"

The little man shrieked and fell backward onto the ground.

Then, he scrambled up in a panic, rolling and crawling as he fled. Even as he ran, he kept pointing alternately at the "beast" and at Song You, shouting in distress, "A cat! There’s a cat!

"You heartless outsider! I invited you out of kindness, and you set a cat on me!"

"Just you wait!"

Song You remained seated on the bed, watching calmly.

The cat, too, stayed where she was, staring at the tiny figure in confusion. Seeing how frantic he was, she couldn't resist lifting a paw and deliberately taking a few steps toward him.

The little man nearly lost his mind.

With a frantic yelp, he bolted like mad.

Near the wall, there was a hole—now transformed into a tiny doorway. In the blink of an eye, the little man scrambled up the bed, dashed through the tiny door, and disappeared inside.

"Looks like a monitor lizard!" The cat withdrew her gaze and turned toward the Daoist.

"It should be." The Daoist responded calmly, his tone even.

"They're making a ruckus inside the hole!"

"I hear them."

Although the little man had already left, faint traces of singing and dancing could still be heard in the room. The sound was very soft—imperceptible while speaking, inaudible unless one listened carefully. Even a heavy breath could drown it out. Only by holding one's breath and concentrating could one catch the elusive melodies, all drifting out from the small doorways in the wall.

"Daoist priest, why don’t you shrink yourself and join them?" the calico cat suggested. "I will protect you."

"I’m not interested."

"But they’ve already run away!"

"They’ll be back."

"They?"

The calico cat felt puzzled but sat down nonetheless, staring fixedly at the small door in the wall. Every now and then, she would turn her head to glance at the other tiny doors.

Eventually, her curiosity got the better of her. With graceful steps, she walked to the edge of the bed, leapt down, and padded toward the small doorways. Sometimes she tilted her head, pressing an ear against the entrance to listen attentively. Other times she crouched low, peering inside, utterly engrossed in her observations.

After a while, she pulled back from the holes. Instead of returning to the bed, she jumped onto the windowsill, then leapt out the window. She took a lap around outside before finally coming back and reporting to the Daoist, "They're just like mice, living in burrows. But their tunnels are much bigger. The deepest one is under that little hill in the courtyard."

"It’s an artificial rockery."

"Artificial rockery!"

"Lady Calico, you’ve been a great help."

"Then thank me."

"Thank you, Lady Calico."

"You're welcome." The calico cat tilted her head, then asked, "If we catch this bunch of monitor lizards, will the Xu family head give us mice to eat tomorrow?"

"..."

By this time, the faint sounds of singing and dancing from within the holes had faded.

A moment later, the sudden

thump-thump

of drums echoed through the air, accompanied by a rustling noise.

The drumming started faintly, growing louder as it approached.

In the moonlight, a procession of tiny people dressed in red and green robes—brightly colored, mismatched garments—emerged from the same hole where the first little man had fled. Some carried drums, others held gongs, striking them as they marched. The sound of their performance filled the room, a clamor far noisier than the buzzing of flies or mosquitoes.

Trailing behind the drum and gong players was the first little man, now accompanied by several others dressed in different styles of clothing. They walked out of the doorway, gesturing at Song You and the cat, whispering amongst themselves.

Then, from multiple small doorways, several squads of armored soldiers began filing out. The procession was long and seemingly endless, pouring into the centre of the room one after another.

"These little things really know how to stir up trouble!"

By now, Song You had moved to the edge of the bed, sitting with his back against the window, calmly facing them.

He shook his head inwardly.

No wonder these little people weren’t particularly aggressive, yet the Xu family still found them unbearable.

With such relentless noise and chaos, one or two nights might be tolerable, but over time—who could possibly endure it?