"So, you're saying this is the territory of the court, and the people who usually come here to offer incense and worship you are subjects of the court." Song You paused for a moment. "You've been absorbing incense offerings from these people who are under the jurisdiction of the court or the Heavenly Palace, so you need their permission."

"Who are they?"

"..."

Song You thought about his wording for a moment before saying, "In theory, the court governs all people in the world, and the Heavenly Palace governs all gods in the world."

"Why are they looking for me?"

"It's not us, it's them. I'm just here on their behalf to check the situation."

"What do they want from me?"

"They probably want trouble from you."

"..."

Three Flower Goddess fell silent at the response, then continued to step forward, taking small steps to reach the edge of the altar. When it crouched down on the altar, it was not much lower than Song You who was standing, and it simply said:

"It was those people who burned incense for me themselves."

"Is this temple yours?"

"No one else wanted it."

"That's probably not acceptable."

"Why?"

"Because the incense offerings in this world are limited. If someone gives them to you, they can't give them to other gods, or they'll have to give less to other gods," Song You said. "And the court and the Heavenly Palace won't reason with a low-cultivation little monster like you."

"Then I won't eat them."

"That probably won't work either."

"Why not?"

"The Heavenly Palace has rules. There were monsters here before who absorbed incense offerings privately and were killed. The temple you've taken over originally belonged to them."

"..."

Three Flower Goddess stared at him, its eyes round and shiny.

Humans find it hard to read emotions on a cat's face, but Song You thought it was probably scared.

After a long time, it finally spoke again:

"Why?"

"Maybe it did something bad."

"I didn't." Three Flower Goddess stared at him. "I just help the people below catch mice. And I originally had a temple. It was a small temple, but someone brought my clay statue to this big temple. It wasn't my idea."

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"Even a small temple is not acceptable. It's just that it wasn't discovered before. Now that it's been discovered, even if I don't deal with you today, someone will come looking for you."

"What should I do then?"

"If you haven't harmed anyone, sucked human vitality, or consumed human flesh and blood, you probably won't die."

"What will happen to me then?"

"If you don't run away or resist, I can take you to see them. They will handle it according to procedures and regulations," Song You said to the cat in front of him. "This might be better for you."

Three Flower Goddess's eyes turned:

"Alright..."

Seeing the Taoist's gaze shift elsewhere, it immediately ran away.

"Swoosh!"

The cat's movements were incredibly agile, especially for a monster cat with cultivation. It almost jumped down from the altar in an instant and was out of the temple gate in the next moment.

Running all the way like a flash of lightning, only a multicolored shadow could be seen. After running for a distance, Three Flower Cat finally stopped, turned back, stretched its neck to look over the top of the weeds, and looked in the direction of the temple.

"Huh?"

No one followed?

Three Flower Goddess was puzzled for a moment.

After waiting for a while and no one came out, it changed its position to get a better view through the gate and saw that the person was still standing in the temple, doing nothing.

It was strange.

Three Flower Cat simply sat down where it was, sitting up straight, stretching its neck and tilting its head up, staring at him without blinking.

Time passed slowly.

Three Flower Cat couldn't help it and approached the temple a little closer, cautiously peeking inside.

But all it saw was the Taoist calmly looking at it: "Meeting me is your greatest luck. If someone else comes next time, they might be much more fierce than me."

"Why didn't you come after me?"

"How could I catch up with you?"

"Then what will you do if I run away?"

"..."

Seeing its eyes, Song You felt helpless, but he patiently explained, "I'm just here on behalf of Wang Shangong to check the situation, not to capture you or punish you. Besides, this clay statue in the temple is deeply related to you. Even if you go far away, you can still be found."

"Oh!"

Three Flower Cat suddenly widened its eyes, as if enlightened, then relaxed.

Outside, the night became colder, and the moonlight, which had risen early tonight, became colder, but this temple had no doors, and the cold wind poured in.

After looking at the moonlight for a while, feeling bored, Three Flower Cat, who had returned to the cushion, started eating the local river fish, thinking that it wouldn't be able to finish all the meat today, feeling a bit sorry. It turned its head to give some to the Taoist below, hoping to hear some kind words in return, but the Taoist refused and only ate his own food.

As the night grew darker, the temperature dropped.

At midnight, Song You opened his eyes slightly, holding his arms tighter around him, as if trying to lock in the warmth. When he looked over, he saw Three Flower Cat lying on a bundle of straw, curled up tightly, only its head and body visible, its tail invisible, and its head turned, staring at him without blinking, not knowing what it was thinking.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Taoist, if I'm locked up, will anyone offer incense to me anymore?"

"Naturally not."

"Can I go out to play?"

"Naturally not."

"Will there still be meat to eat?"

"Most likely not."

"..."

Three Flower Cat looked dejected, still not understanding what it had done wrong.

But it was just a cat after all.

Forget about the court and the Heavenly Palace, even ordinary passersby staying here for the night wouldn't want to mess with it.

The night grew quieter, with only the sound of the wind remaining.

After a long time, the Taoist spoke again, "I also have a question for you."

"Huh?"

"I also have a question for you."

"You can ask in my temple."

"How long has Three Flower Goddess been enlightened?"

"A few years."

"Just a few years?"

"It's been a long time."

"How did you become a monster?"

"Just like this."

"Did you have any adventures?" The Taoist nodded towards it. "For example, meeting someone, or eating something unique, or staying in a particularly comfortable place for a while."

"No."

"Really?"

"..."

Three Flower Cat didn't want to speak anymore, just turned its head to stare at the Taoist, without blinking. After a long time, it said, "I'm very smart."

"Perhaps."

Song You withdrew his gaze and said no more.

The night grew colder, and the mountains became colder.

Song You leaned against the corner, closed his eyes.

Three Flower Cat yawned, sometimes staring at Song You, sometimes coming up with all sorts of chaotic escape plans in its mind, but it was

just out of boredom.

But it couldn't go out to play now, nor could it jump up and down like it used to in the temple, which was really distressing.

Until the early hours of the morning, it grew colder.

The cold wind came in.

Song You opened his eyes slightly, and saw Three Flower Cat sitting up, staring straight at him, not knowing what it was thinking.

Perhaps contemplating its future fate.

Song You ate a cold steamed bun he bought on the way yesterday, then took it to inquire at the foot of the mountain. He learned that there was indeed a miraculous cat immortal in the temple on the mountain. If a family suffered from severe rat infestation, as long as they brought some fish and incense candles, the rats would be eliminated that night, and its reputation spread even further. People from all over came to seek its help, just to get rid of the rat infestation.

After asking the last family, Song You stood at the door and looked into the distance, lost in thought.

"Why aren't we leaving?"

Three Flower Cat followed beside him.

"We're leaving now."

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"And you're not moving."

"I'm thinking..." Song You glanced at it. "You have quite a wide distribution of believers."

"Yes!"

"Do people come to offer incense to you every day, and do you go to their houses to catch mice at night?"

"Yes!"

"But what if it's far away?"

"Then walk faster."

"You're working hard."

"Not hard."

"Let's go."

"Are we going to see Wang Shangong?"

"Yes."

The two left the village, with Song You walking in front and Three Flower Cat not far behind, neither of them speaking, just walking silently. If someone else saw this scene, they might find it curious.