Chapter 99: Settling in the Small Courtyard

So, Lin Xiao had no choice but to rub the sleep from his eyes and start steaming dry food.

By sunrise, the four of them were ready and had gathered at the village entrance.

Since Sun Yigao had already mentioned their current cultivation level to Sun Landlord, the landlord didn't arrange for a bullock cart this time. After all, the cart wouldn't be faster than their walking speed.

Moreover, Sun Landlord wasn't planning to accompany them. Sun Aunt wanted to go, but Sun Yigao managed to persuade her to stay behind. It must be said that Sun Yigao finally had some say in matters concerning his mother, unlike in the past.

Sun Landlord simply handed over the address and the rental receipt to Sun Yigao and, with a smile, bid farewell to the four boys. He then headed home with the somewhat reluctant Sun Aunt.

Without the presence of any adults, the four youths exchanged glances, suddenly bursting into laughter. They playfully chased each other out of the village, racing towards the county town.

The county exams were scheduled two days later.

The county town was quite a distance from Shushui Village. For an average person, it would take at least two or three days to walk there.

The four of them hurried along, mindful of Jiang Youfu's and Liu Yunian's pace and stamina. By sunset, they had managed to reach the county town.

They arrived just in time, entering the town before the gates were closed.

Following the address, they asked around and finally found their lodging.

An elderly, kind-faced man welcomed them.

As they entered the small courtyard, they found it modest but very clean and peaceful. It was clear that the place had been well-maintained.

The tranquil environment was ideal for preparing for exams. However, because the courtyard had been vacant for a long time, it lacked a bit of warmth. But the arrival of the energetic youths brought some liveliness to the place.

The old man who welcomed them was the owner of the courtyard. He had lived here with his wife when they first got married. After earning some money and having children, they moved to a larger house. Unfortunately, his wife had passed away early, so he kept this courtyard as a memento.

The old man had been an old acquaintance of Sun Yigao's grandfather. When he heard that Sun Landlord wanted to rent a suitable place for his son to prepare for the exams, he decided to rent out this vacant courtyard, hoping it would bring some life back into it.

Seeing the clear-eyed and polite boys, he felt reassured. After giving them a few words of advice and handing over the key, he left them to settle in.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the old man left, and the four of them closed the courtyard gate, preparing to organize their luggage, they were suddenly attacked!

In a flash, Lin Xiao noticed a cold gleam of light flashing towards them from the right side of the courtyard wall. He quickly drew his peachwood sword and parried to the right, barely blocking the incoming attack!

"Meow—!"

The group looked closely and realized that the attacker was a small, skinny orange cat!

The orange cat, seeing its initial attack fail, immediately used the force of the parry to leap aside, avoiding the sharp edge of the peachwood sword. As soon as it landed, it sprang up again, raising its small paw for another swipe at Lin Xiao!

Lin Xiao quickly blocked the attack again, gently deflecting the orange cat.

By now, the group, who had been cultivating for over two months, understood that this was likely a spirit beast similar to Xiao Luan.

The cat demon, after being deflected, was still unwilling to give up. It prepared to attack once more, ready to charge at them!

Lin Xiao immediately activated the "Beast Whispering Art" and spoke, "We have no quarrel with you, so why are you attacking us?"

Given Lin Xiao's current mastery of the Cloud Sword Technique, he could have easily severed the cat demon's paw with a single strike. However, having spent so much time with Xiao Luan, Lin Xiao had come to realize that not all demons were as vicious as portrayed in stories. They could be reasoned with.

Thus, he decided to try communicating first.

The cat demon seemed surprised that it could understand the human's words. The aggressive aura it had been building up instantly dissipated.

"Are you here to buy this house?"

Hearing this, the clever boys immediately understood that the little cat demon was concerned about the courtyard.

The four of them, who had also learned the Beast Whispering Art, quickly shook their heads in unison like rattles.

Liu Yunian was the first to respond, "Absolutely not! We just rented this place from the old man for a few days. Really, we're only staying here for a short while and will be leaving soon!"

The other three quickly nodded in agreement.

The small cat demon appeared thoughtful.

Noticing this, Lin Xiao surmised that the cat demon was knowledgeable about human society, similar to Xiao Luan, and had been living among humans for a while.

The cat demon hesitated, asking again, "Are you sure you won't buy this house?"

At this point, Sun Yigao stepped forward and bowed to the cat demon. "I am here to prepare for the county exam in two days. After the results are out, whether I continue to the prefectural exam or return home, I will not stay in the county for long. We certainly won't buy this house."

Seeing this upright and well-mannered young man politely explain the situation, the cat demon seemed a bit embarrassed. It quickly retracted its sharp claws with a 'swish.'

"Alright then, you can stay, but don't damage the house. I'll be checking in regularly!"

With that, the cat demon lightly jumped onto the courtyard wall, then disappeared over the edge.

Watching the cat demon vanish, the group exchanged puzzled looks. Jiang Youfu patted his belly and suddenly remembered something, turning to ask Lin Xiao, "Brother Xiao, do you know what level that little cat was? I couldn't tell at all."

Hearing his question, Liu Yunian nodded in agreement, "Yeah, yeah, that cat seemed really fast. I could barely react."

Sun Yigao, trying to suppress his laughter, pretended not to hear and headed into the house with his storage bag, "I'll go inside and tidy up first."

Lin Xiao, on the other hand, looked at them seriously for a moment before patting their shoulders and saying, "Actually, if you hadn't asked, I wasn't planning to tell you. But since you did… that little cat, hmm, its cultivation level is around the seventh layer of the Spirit Awakening stage, which is equivalent to our Qi Refining Stage Seven. You guys need to work harder; even a little cat has a higher cultivation level than you."

Hearing this, the two of them widened their eyes in disbelief!

"What? That little cat was actually at the seventh layer of the Qi Refining Stage?!"

Jiang Youfu fished a roasted bean from his waistband, popped it into his mouth, and crunched it loudly before swallowing. Then, pulling out the Peach Blossom Spirit Gathering Array Lin Xiao had given him and Liu Yunian the other day, he rushed into the house.

"Don't stop me! I need to cultivate!"