Chapter 605: Lady Calico Is Truly Pitiful

The Daoist hadn’t stayed in Yundu for long. Most of the demons he exorcised were in remote mountain villages, far less convenient than the bustling Chama Road. In these times, news traveled slowly. Sometimes, just one mountain or village apart could mean entirely different tales.

And so it wasn’t until several days after the Daoist had left that news of the demons and evil spirits being eliminated outside Yundu gradually made its way into the city and reached the ears of the Zhu family.

By then, the Daoist was already well on his way to Zhao Commandery.

The sun had been shining brightly along the journey, warming the body so thoroughly there was no need for thick clothing. Now and then a breeze would pass, and one could feel the cool crispness of autumn. Even the clatter of the horse’s hooves seemed lighter and more cheerful.

Autumn had truly settled over the land.

The mountains beside the road still retained their greenery, though here and there, a few trees prone to turning early had already yellowed, standing out like golden accents on the green hills. The broad, flat lands between the mountains had been cultivated into rice fields. By this season, the rice had long been harvested, yet the golden stalks remained in the fields, dyeing the earth in autumn’s colors.

Neat clusters of white-walled, gray-tiled houses were scattered around the edges of the golden fields.

Bathed in sunlight, everything looked exquisite. This road, too, was a road of demon hunting.

The Daoist crossed one mountain after another, resting at the peaks with the wind in his hair, watching sunsets and stargazing. He passed many lakes, where he built fires to cook, washed clothes, and watched his young apprentice fish.

They begged water from locals whose language they didn’t understand, were sometimes chased by barking native dogs, exorcised demons in mountain forests, banished ghosts in ancient villages, took shelter from the rain in temples, and camped anywhere they felt like stopping.

Nine hundred li, and not even half completed in half a month.

Song You gradually discovered that his little apprentice had developed a strange habit.

The little one would often transform into a cat, then take an ordinary-looking stone and turn it gold, quietly placing it in front of children in the villages they passed. She wouldn’t say anything or ask for anything. She’d just watch silently as the children picked up the stone, thinking it was gold or at least something unusual, and brought it home to show their parents. Then, she would stealthily follow and peek through the door to see their reactions.

If they were delighted, she’d be overjoyed too, as if she were seeing a past version of herself.

If they realized the stone was merely gold-colored and not real gold, she’d still be grinning happily. But if someone got wildly excited and then discovered the stone quickly reverted to its original form, she would dart back like a flash, looking very serious, pretending nothing had ever happened.

No one knew what went on in her little head.

“Lady Calico, this isn’t right,” the Daoist said while resting at the roadside, his eyes calmly gazing out at the scenery ahead. “Though it does no real harm, taking joy in toying with others is not the conduct befitting a righteous and benevolent feline deity. Lady Calico, you must learn to know your bounds.”

“I only gave them a stone.”

“It wasn’t an ordinary stone.”

“It was a prettier stone.”

“Not just that.”

“I was just playing with them.”

“...” The Daoist pressed his lips together, then pointed ahead and said, “Do you know what’s being grown at the foot of that hill?”

The calico cat followed his gaze.

It was a stretch of flat, neatly arranged land planted with rows upon rows of slender trees, each taller than a person and as thick as a forearm. They looked like giant blades of grass, densely packed like a small forest. Crisscrossing paths ran through them in perfectly straight lines, and they could vaguely make out someone pulling a cart along one of those paths. From a distance, it made for a beautiful scene.

“Bamboo!” she guessed.

“No.”

“

Bamao

!”

“No.”

“Reeds!”

“Still no.”

“Reeds!”

“Lady Calico, how pitiful,” Song You shook his head and finally turned to look at her. “You love sweet things and sugary drinks this much, and yet don't know that those are sugar canes.”

“Sugar canes?”

“Yes...”

“I’ve never seen sugar canes.”

“But you clearly have,” the Daoist replied, thinking back. “Years ago, when we traveled from Xuzhou to Pingzhou, we passed through a place that also grew lots of sugar cane. It was just far away and planted in the valley below while we passed over the ridge, so we didn’t go down for a close look. I even picked some

bamao

by the roadside and wove a little

bamao

ball for you.”

“I remember the

bamao

ball.” The cat frowned as she spoke. “Too bad it broke.”

“Back then, you probably didn’t realize yet how much you liked sugar and sweet drinks. Naturally, you wouldn’t have known that a lot of sugar comes from sugar cane.”

“It comes from sugar cane!!”

“Do you know what’s inside sugar cane?”

“It’s hollow!”

“No.”

“It’s cotton!”

“It’s sugar water.”

“Sugar water!”

“Natural sugar water.”

“...!” The cat froze, staring at him intently.

The Daoist smiled faintly, leaned on his bamboo staff, and stood up. As he walked down the mountain, he said, “It’s just the right season for sugar cane to ripen. Last time we didn’t go down the mountain, this time, let’s go have a look.”

“...!”

The cat’s expression turned serious. She stood in place, looked at his retreating back, then at the sugar cane fields down below. She stared for quite a while, then hurriedly broke into a jog to catch up with the Daoist.

Ding-ding-ding...

The crisp sound of the horse’s bell echoed along the mountainside.

Yunzhou was far less prosperous than Yizhou, and its roads were not nearly as convenient. Fortunately, the route from Yundu to Zhao Commandery was one of Yunzhou’s main official roads and was fairly well maintained, winding through the mountains like a dragon or snake.

Off this main road was a small path that led down to the sugar cane fields Song You had seen. In the distance, the silhouettes of village houses could be made out. Great trees stood quietly beside the road, lush and full of leaves, and it was impossible to tell how many years they had been there. Perhaps it had looked just like this hundreds of years ago.

Had the Daoist simply stayed on the main road, this village nestled among the hills would have remained a place he would never set foot in. It was someone else’s hometown, where a group of people he would never meet lived and grew up. But under Yunzhou’s beautiful skies, the Daoist seemed to have more leisure in his heart, and so he decided to go have a look.

The cat continued walking while peering down curiously, filled with both confusion and anticipation.

Sugar canes filled with sugar water... They looked like bamboo.

In her imagination, sugar cane had already turned into something hollow like bamboo, except instead of air inside, it was filled with thick, sweet sugar water. Once sliced open, the syrup would gush out, and you had to catch it with your mouth quickly, or it would go to waste.

They slowly reached the foot of the mountain.

The flatlands below were filled with sugar cane taller than a person, planted in neat rows. Walking among them, a person could only see the distant mountains; everything else was blocked out, and even the cat couldn’t see the mountains anymore.

The Daoist looked left and right, and the cat also did the same. Though her heart was brimming with questions and curiosity, Lady Calico behaved very properly, walking along the path without straying. At most, she would draw near to examine a stalk of cane up close, eyes wide as she sniffed at it carefully.

Gradually, the sound of a rickety cart came into earshot, along with the rustling of leaves brushing against one another.

The Daoist immediately stopped at the side of the path. The cat ran into the grass beside him and stood still, tilting her head up to look in the same direction as the Daoist.

A farmer came along, pulling a cart. He was dark-skinned and thin, and his cart was piled with sugar cane. Some of the leaves had been stripped, but not all. As the cart swayed, the remaining leaves rustled noisily.

“Greetings.” The Daoist gave him a respectful bow.

“

Meow

...” the cat echoed softly.

The farmer wore the local attire, mainly white and blue in color. He had no headgear but wore a headscarf. Upon hearing the Daoist speak, he immediately stopped, looking at him with confusion and a bit of uncertainty.

The Daoist instantly understood that there was a language barrier. But there were other things that were universal, like currency and smiles.

With a warm smile, the Daoist gave a slight bow, then pulled out a few copper coins from his person, held them in his hand, and offered them to the farmer. He then pointed at the sugarcane on the cart, smiling even more brightly.

Moments later, the cart rolled away. The Daoist stood there, arms full of sugarcane, watching the farmer disappear down the path, with the cat beside him also watching.

Clunk clunk clunk...

The sound gradually faded, until it could no longer be heard.

“So cheap...” the cat whispered very softly.

“It’s not that the sugarcane is cheap,” said the Daoist, looking at the sugarcane with a slightly troubled expression, not quite sure how to carry it all. “It’s that the farmer has a kind heart. He saw that we were cultivators traveling far from home and thought we had no water to drink, so he gave them to us.”

“I will give him a golden stone in return!”

Whack...

“Ow!” The cat stood up, clutching her head with her paw.

Sigh!

The Daoist drew the short sword from the horse’s saddle; it was Yan An’s blade, a sacred blade that cuts through iron as if it were air. Using such a divine weapon to cut sugarcane was almost too easy. It didn’t require the slightest effort; with a casual wave, the sugarcane was neatly trimmed at both ends, the cuts smooth as polished jade.

He stuck the trimmed canes onto the horse’s back.

The final cane he chopped into three segments, then called Yan An down. Looking at the two of them, he asked, “Do you want the top part, the bottom part, or the middle?”

“I don’t know.”

“I... I’m fine with any part...”

“Then since you run on the ground, you’ll take the bottom, Lady Calico. Yan An, you fly in the sky, so you’ll get the top. I’ll suffer a little and take the middle, how’s that?”

He handed each piece to them accordingly. Both Yan An and the cat transformed into human form to accept the sugarcane.

The three figures turned back, walking again along the path lined with tall sugarcane, each holding a stalk in hand. The Daoist skillfully peeled off the sugarcane’s outer skin, while the young girl watched his movements closely. Mimicking him, she began to peel her own sugarcane with clumsy effort, making a mess of it but finally exposing the inner core.

It was pale white with a hint of green, semi-translucent like jade. It was very beautiful, indeed, but it was not quite what she had imagined.

“Just like that, once you peel off the skin, you can eat it. Just give it a chew, and your mouth will be full of sugar water. It’s even sweeter than most of the sugary drinks you usually have.”

Crunch...

The Daoist took the first bite, chewing slowly.

The weather was good here, with ample sunshine, so it was perfect for growing sugarcane. He could already tell it would be delicious just from the way it peeled. Sure enough, the moment he bit down, juice burst forth. It was sweet and refreshing, ice-cold with a fragrant aroma of cane. The abundant sugar content filled his mouth, seeping between his teeth. After walking hundreds of li in the sun, it was truly a comfort.

Crunch...

Lady Calico copied him and took a bite as well.

The moment her teeth sank into the stalk, icy cold juice gushed out. The taste stunned her instantly, and her eyes widened in amazement.

It was even more delicious than drinking sugar water.

Gulp...

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Pfft...

Ptooey...

Three distinct sounds rang out.

Yan An had just spit out the sugarcane pulp and stared blankly at the little girl.

The Daoist, still walking and holding his sugarcane, turned to look at Lady Calico and finally said, “Once you’ve chewed out the juice and it stops tasting sweet, you can spit it out.”

“Spit it out? I can’t eat it? That’s such a waste,

meow

!”

“You mustn’t swallow it.”

“What if I already did?”

“Well then, that’s a problem.” The Daoist continued chewing calmly as he walked, his expression serene and tone natural, not sounding like he was joking at all. “It’ll take root and sprout in your belly. Eventually, a sugarcane will grow out of the top of your head. Mm, about as tall as those on the roadside.”

“...!”

Lady Calico immediately froze in her tracks, utterly horrified. The Daoist, however, was already far ahead.