Chapter 17.1 - Hua-jie, your future husband is here.

Seeing her younger brother's expression, Li JingHua somehow felt that his brother was up to something mischievous. "What is it that you need to keep safe...?" she asked cautiously. "You didn't secretly pick up another stray cat while you were out with Xue Rui, did you? I'll tell you in advance, I cannot store living beings," Li JingHua directly informed him. Li XinWen just grinned at her before rushing upstairs.

She was suddenly reminded of when Li XinWen secretly brought back a cat and hid it in his room. At that time, Li XinWen was still in middle school. They weren't living in this house then but in a much smaller and humbler house. She remembered the cat that Li XinWen fancied at that time and brought home, its black fur was falling off, and it was skinny from not eating well. Her brother managed to keep the cat in his room for three days before their mother found out.

If it wasn't for their mother's allergy, Li XinWen would've kept the cat until now. Unfortunately, he had to give it away to a shelter. Since then, he never brought back a cat again. But after he began working as an actor, Li JingHua found out Li XinWen had once again secretly taken care of a cat. Except, this cat was placed in a different housing. A certain apartment in the city, one where Li XinWen stayed in if he had ongoing work. At first, Li JingHua did not mind, but when she went to visit a few months ago, she saw that the number of cats in that apartment had increased from one to thirteen.

Li JingHua scolded Li XinWen for a while for being irresponsible. His work usually required him to go over to the set and sometimes, he would need to stay for a few days. When that happens, who would feed the cats then? She still remembered the desperate look on Li XinWen's face and she couldn't help but feel sorry. In the end, she offered to help look after them while Li XinWen was busy as long as Li XinWen promised not to pick up another stray cat. Li XinWen was grinning too back then, and it was the same grin he showed earlier.

"…-jie, Hua-jie..." Li JingHua felt a light shake on her shoulder and saw Li XinWen looking at her worriedly. "I've been calling you for a while now. What were you reminiscing about? Hua-jie should smile more. You look more beautiful when you smile," Li XinWen said and only then did Li JingHua realize that she was indeed smiling.

"It's nothing. I just remembered about you and your cats."

"Cats?" Li XinWen quickly consulted the original's memories and sure enough, the original did keep some pets in another apartment. "Have you been taking care of them all this time?"

"Of course. I promised, didn't I?" Li JingHua said before noticing the large wooden box on the coffee table. "Is this... The one you wanted me to keep safe?" Li JingHua asked. "What is it?"

Li XinWen could hear the curiosity from his sister's tone. "A cauldron! Hua-jie, you must help me keep this safe. This tre--... I mean, this antique costs ten million!"

"Cauldron? The one that you and Mr. Min bid against?"

"The same one!"

Li JingHua's heart started to pound rapidly. 'Is this the same cauldron that Mr. Min used to make that medicine that could help fight the zombie virus?' she wondered. Though in that distant future Li JingHua did not have a good life, some news still reached her ears such as the magical cauldron of the Min family that managed to produce medicine. "Ah'Wen, do you know the use of this cauldron?" she asked. 'Ah'Wen doesn't know how important the cauldron is for Mr. Min… I have to tell him…' she thought as she prepared to explain it to Li XinWen.

"Of course! This is one of the Twelve Celestial Cauldron of legends! Such a great treasure, it'll make refining pills much easier!" Li XinWen became overly excited as he explained what the cauldron was to Li JingHua. Despite being a man of over three centuries old, when faced with such legendary treasures, even a thousand-year-old cultivator would act like a child.

"Pills? Do you mean medicine? Can you make medicine with this?" Li JingHua asked, excitement building inside her. 'Does Ah'Wen actually knows?' she thought and her eyes didn't even hide her expectation.

"En! As long as I have the ingredients!" Li XinWen nodded his head proudly.

"Then can you make medicine to fight against the zombie virus?"

"Vi... rus?" Li XinWen suddenly remembered where he was currently.

'Ah! I've been too excited that I've forgotten my current situation!! Virus? Let's see... Oh, it's like a plague that enters the body system and poisoned the body...' Li XinWen quickly composed himself before he replied to Li JingHua.

"Of course. As long as I know the composition of the virus, and as long as I have the ingredients, then it's possible."

When Li JingHua heard Li XinWen's answer, she became hopeful. But then a sudden realization dawned on her, which immediately crushed that hope. "I see... Unfortunately, I don't know the composition of the virus nor do I know what ingredients are needed..." she sighed, feeling defeated.

"Well, maybe we'll figure it out when the time comes?" Li XinWen said as he tried to comfort the suddenly depressed Li JingHua.

"Hopefully..."

Just as the word left her lips, the doorbell rang. Li XinWen looked over at the clock and saw that it had only been a mere ten minutes since he told Xue Rui to return. "Hua-jie, I think your future husband is here."

Li XinWen only said it in order to gauge her reaction. As suspected, Li JingHua suddenly showed an uncomfortable expression and even looked away from him, as if feeling guilty. "I will go and open the door for him. Help me hide the cauldron in your space."