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Eternity Starts From His Seed
Chapter 167: Cat Out of the Bag

Chapter 167: Cat Out of the Bag

Bubai turned around and coincidentally made eye contact with the catwoman stealthily peeking out from the rooftop.

She froze when their eyes met, her large hazel eyes widening with a guilty look, just staring and staring at him, waiting and waiting…

Facing her cuteness, Bubai felt his heart strings being tugged. In the end, he raised his hand, beckoning her over with a finger.

The catwoman’s furry orange ears perked up at his call. With her tail swishing with excitement, she waved back with her paws.

Then, she gracefully bounded off the rooftop, darting down the side of the building like a beast rushing to reincarnate...

Lightly landing on all fours, the catwoman prowled over toward Bubai.

Nearing him, she sprung off the ground and clambered up to piggyback on his shoulders.

With her legs wrapping his neck, she threw her arms up into the air and proclaimed in a bubbly voice, “Ben Meow is back!”

Shifting his stance to balance her weight, Bubai walked forward and chortled, "Yes, yes. Look who finally decided to show up. I was starting to think Xiao Mao had moved on."

"Meow?!” Miss Meow flinched at his words. Then, as if realizing something, she quickly hugged his head, “Nyaver! Nyaver! D-Does yummy fish not want Xiao Meow anymore?”

Bubai didn’t answer. After she stopped showing up, he really did think of letting go and disentangling himself...

As if afraid of the truth, Miss Meow tightened her hug on him, quivering subtly.

"What does Xiao Meow have to do? Meow can steal snacks, Meow can sneak around, Meow can... do other things! Just… Don’t… don’t abandon meow.”

Gah. Bubai sighed inwardly before reaching his hand up to give her head a pat, “Okay, okay, don’t worry. I will never abandon such a cute cat like Xiao Mao.”

The cat’s ear perked up, “Meowy?”

Bubai answered with a serious face, “Really.”

“Meow!” Getting the answer she wanted, Miss Meow bounced back up like the talk never happened and gave his head a couple of pats with her paws, “Good yummy fish. That’s why Ben Meow will always follow by yummy fish’s side.”

Bubai crossed his arms and tilted his head. "Oh? Then, where’ve Xiao Mao been instead of following me?”

"Meow…” Miss Meow scratched her head, her orange ears drooping slightly.

“Meow owner came back. Owner was mad, says Meow hadn't found enough fish while owner was away and grounded Ben Meow for being lazy, even taking away Ben Meow’s boots...”

Bubai raised an eyebrow at that. That reminded him. He almost forgot that this cat had been openly fishing in the wide sea of men in the sect before meeting him.

The mission from the Task Pavilion was a testament to how wild this cat was.

However, after Miss Meow was tamed by him, she obediently became a house-pet, lazily sitting in her cat’s nest and waiting for her yummy meal to be delivered by BubaiEats.

Unfortunately, the daily portion he fed her definitely wasn’t enough to meet the buffet she usually eats. No wonder she was punished for being “lazy”.

Uncrossing his arms, Bubai chuckled, "Sounds rough. Well, good to have you back."

“Meow!” Miss Meow wore a happy smile, her tail flicking back and forth.

Then, another thought crossed Bubai’s mind.

"By the way, did Elder Mo say anything about me?” Bubai tried to sound lighthearted, but he knew that whatever news she brought would be important.

“Meow?” Miss Meow tilted her head, before nodding, proudly placing her hands on her lip.

“Owner found out about yummy fish and Ben Meow, but owner said it was fine as long as Meow don't suck yummy fish til’ your last breath. Nyahahaha~"

Bubai's lips twitched at her words. Well… that was comforting to know.

Honestly, Bubai never expected he’d stay under the radar for long.

Even if he ordered the obedient cat to divulge nothing, it wouldn’t have helped. The elder's got eyes and ears everywhere. His every action was under a microscope.

The cat getting out of the bag was inevitable.

Well, not that he was actively hiding. He’d expected himself to be in for a bumpy ride when he first fed the wild cat.

However, he thought it was going to be like playing a game of cat and mouse, with him being the mouse, and the elder - a very patient cat.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

It’s just that the old geezer’s casual acceptance was unexpected.

This was… good news? Maybe.

But who knows what schemes that so-called paranoid old man had brewed for him.

That’s why Bubai didn't dare to push his luck by going to the old man to claim the task rewards.

Shamelessness is a part of his creed, and the task reward of three low-grade spirit stones was indeed tempting, but...

Bubai didn’t want to increase the risk of an early body search and showdown. Priorities.

Of course, not going in-person didn’t mean there were no other ways...

Keeping a straight face, Bubai patted the bare foot of Miss Meow. “So, did Xiao Mao come to find me just for a snack?”

Miss Meow nodded enthusiastically, her ears bouncing with her movements. "Meow! Meow! Yummy fish knows Xiao Meow best!”

Figures. The cat was addicted to his special cat food.

“Itadakimeow time!” Stretching her arms forward, Miss Meow gripped his forehead playfully as if steering him, “But, can yummy fish feed meow more this time?”

Huh? Bubai raised a brow, “Why?”

“Ben Meow doesn’t want to be bad cat again. So, Ben Meow will be busy working soon and won’t be able to come for yummy fish as often.”

Bubai felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

Before, WeiWei similarly latched onto him for his mysterious green essence, and she similarly told him she would be busy working a side job.

However, that succubus was a danger to his existence, always making requests and twisting situations to her favor.

Thus, when he got the chance to maximize his own benefits, he didn’t stop her. The end? She was now out of the picture.

Now… Different woman. Same demands.

But Miss Meow was a bit different—more pet than predator, her status not losing out to his scorpions…

Both were good experimental subjects for understanding the influences of his mysterious green Qi.

So, was he really willing to risk letting her go like this?

"What do you need to harvest?" The question came out before Bubai could stop it.

“Meow?” Miss Meow tilted her head before holding up three fingers, wiggling them in front of his eyes. "Three small fishies a day.”

Basically, that’s three outer disciples worth of Qi in cat words.

"Is it fine as long as you meet a quota?"

Miss Meow leaned back and nodded enthusiastically, "Meow! All good if meow sea has extra big fishies when owner checks."

Miss Meow stretched her arms dramatically as if emphasizing the size of the hypothetical "big fishie."

Bubai's eyes flashed as he calculated his Qi reserves.

His dantian capacity was five times that of the average disciple, and every condensed Qi dew he produced equated to about five strands of Qi.

That meant his total Qi capacity was an incredible twenty-five times that of a normal cultivator!

Right now, his pool of green dew was already filling a third of that space, which gave him more than enough Qi to spare.

Furthermore, the recent changes in his resource management had created more flexibility in his routine.

Previously, Bubai had been hardcore grinding every day, burning green dew just to earn the contribution points to pick out the unavailable tools and resources he needed from the Exchange Pavilion and the Book Pavilion.

But that repetitive task was done and over.

While grinding more contribution points full-time and exchanging points for pills or other items would always be useful, Bubai knew there was a point where additional resource preparation would become superfluous or even counterproductive.

Considering the time and green dew it would take to make the exchange, it was not worth it, especially when he could just find a good selection of the cheaper resources in the market.

Thanks to his fundraising in the outer sect and the funds he earned from Qian Bage, Bubai was now in a much better position.

Though his stash of spirit stones might not match the wealth of the elite clan disciples, it was more than enough to outstrip many normal inner sect disciples and make him a big fish in the outer sect, well-off enough to start-up an entire gang if he ever so desires.

So, these smaller out-of-pocket purchases were no issue.

Verdict: Resource-wise, Bubai felt more prepared than ever.

Thus, Bubai could consider branching out his daily green dew expenditures to other avenues of combat preparation.

Needless to say, the main priority was piping his freed up quota into cultivation-related aspects.

However, Bubai believed it wasn’t totally necessary to dump all his investment into this sole aspect.

After all, if he invested smartly in the right places, he could unlock much more of his “available” combat strength for use compared to just upping the cultivation-base he needed to hide.

His trade with Jia Shizi was one such place. The cat was another potential stock.

Given his daily dew surplus, feeding her regularly wouldn’t put much of a dent in his daily expenses. As for the returns...

With some of the possible benefits that could be gained by placing his bet on the cat’s stock already popping up in his mind, Bubai felt the idea cementing in his heart.

Thus, Bubai domineeringly ordered, “Xiao Mao, from now on, come to me alone. I'll feed you. You don't need to go looking elsewhere.”

Caught off guard, Miss Meow froze, her ears twitching. But after a moment, she lightly patted Bubai’s head with her paws. Pon. Pon.

"Good yummy fish. But Ben Meow needs a lot. Yummy fish can't handle meow."

Bubai tilted his head slightly to avoid her friendly tail as it brushed against his cheek, his eyes glinting with a dangerous light. "Whether I can handle it or not isn't for you to worry about."

Miss Meow tilted her head to one side, giving him a light squeeze around the neck with her thighs, “Yummy fish really can?”

“Can.”

With that reassurance, Miss Meow quickly leaned over, dangling her head upside down in front of his face, her feline pupils narrowing with suppressed excitement. "Really, really, really meow?"

“Yes, really. Now stop asking. All you need to do is tell me…”

Bubai grasped the furry cat tail swishing energetically on his neck, “Will you be my obedient Xiao Mao?”

The cat froze like a statue, staring straight into his eyes, her cat eyes widening gradually as if letting the news sink in. Then-

“Meow! Meow!” Miss Meow tightly hugged his head, rubbing her face against his cheeks and purring, "Yummy fish is the best! Meow will be yummy fish’s Xiao Meow forever and ever nya!"

Her enthusiasm put a smile on Bubai’s face and he raised his hand to give the cat's head a couple of light pats. "Okay, okay, be obedient, and let me get a clear sight of the road."

“Meow!” Miss Meow stopped rubbing his face and sat back upright, her head swiveling back and forth to look for a good place, clearly excited by the prospect of getting fed.

"Itadakimeow~ Itadakimeow~ Itadakimeow~"

The cat’s cheerful attitude was infectious, yet also attention-drawing.

Spotting a secluded alley up ahead, Bubai hurried over under the strange looks of the passing disciples.

Turning into the dim alley, Miss Meow hopped off his back, obediently squatting on the ground, looking up to him like a student towards her teacher.

Petting the smart cat’s head, a sly smile finally arose on Bubai’s face. "Good, Xiao Mao. Now, let’s work out what you must do and say.”

Obviously, feeding doesn't come free.

She needed to play by his rules if she wanted to reap the rewards. Bubai had no doubt this catwoman was capable of understanding that.

After all, she was much more than just a cute face with paws and a tail.