Chapter 108

Chapter 108

When Chen Ji awoke, a faint fishy scent already hung in the air. The sky was barely touched by dawn, so he closed his eyes again, absently stroking the white tiger's silky fur before burying his face in it and taking a deep breath.

"Mmm... Xiangxiang..." Chen Ji mumbled, his voice muffled. "When did I fall asleep... What time is it?"

The white tiger, roused by Chen Ji, turned its head and affectionately nudged his shoulder with its nose. Its whiskers tickled Chen Ji, who gently pushed the large head away, then pulled it back into an embrace. Without opening his eyes, he kissed its head. Something springy met his lips, and he instinctively bit down. "Good boy... don't fuss, let me sleep a bit more."

Chen Ji had no idea what he had bitten. Xiangxiang awkwardly turned its head away, the once majestic tuft of fur on its ear now a damp, bedraggled clump. The thin tip of its ear was flushed bright red, visible even through its fur.

Chen Ji... was just like when he kissed his own fat cat—kissing its paws, its ears, its belly... Actually... it should be the same, right?

The white tiger lowered its head, gently resting it on Chen Ji’s arm. For some reason, it suddenly felt a little sad.

It couldn’t explain why, but it just felt a little sad.

Another half hour passed before Chen Ji fully woke up. The first thing he saw was the white tiger's magnificent black and white-striped fur. He casually stroked it, thinking that the coat quality was excellent. Don’t move—it’s really comfortable as a pillow, and it’s body-temperature regulated too.

Chen Ji chuckled softly, and the white tiger also stirred from its sleep, turning its head to look at him. Chen Ji leaned closer, casually resting a hand on its front paw. The white tiger lowered its head and gently licked the back of his hand, leaving a warm, wet sensation that soon turned cool.

But Chen Ji grabbed its tongue, his fingertips lightly brushing over the papillae. One by one, the milky white, semi-transparent papillae stood up under his touch. Chen Ji said lazily, "I thought they’d be harder..."

Chen Ji had never really felt them carefully before. After all, these papillae could scrape meat off bones, and he didn’t want to get hurt. But to his surprise, they weren’t very hard or sharp—just not smooth and even.

"Mmm..." Xiangxiang let out a low sound, and Chen Ji released its tongue. The pink tongue quickly retracted, and its sapphire-blue eyes even held a reproachful look, as if disapproving of Chen Ji pulling its tongue. Chen Ji laughed, hugging its neck and nuzzling his face against it. "I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Xiangxiang. Don’t be mad, good boy."

The white tiger rubbed back against him, accepting his apology.

Then the white tiger stood up, its tail smoothly sweeping Chen Ji onto its back. It leaped gracefully down two stone steps, and Chen Ji saw his basket half-submerged in the water.

He: "...Huh? What’s wrong?"

A thick tail reached over, lifting the basket out of the water. For a moment, water splashed everywhere as clear streams flowed out from the gaps. Chen Ji clearly saw a dark fish tail slap fiercely against the edge of the basket twice, but it was useless—the receding water level pressed it to the bottom, leaving no chance of escape.

Unless it suddenly mastered the legendary "Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate" move.

The basket was placed in front of Chen Ji. He looked down and saw it was half-full of fish, crabs, and even some shrimp. Surprised and delighted, he asked the white tiger, "For me to eat?"

The white tiger nodded. Beside them, a flame burst forth inexplicably, as if ready to grill the fish the moment Chen Ji said "okay."

Chen Ji didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Thank you, baby."

The white tiger then set the basket down on the ground.

Chen Ji jumped off its back and hesitated before saying to the white tiger, "Xiangxiang, I’d like them grilled over fruitwood. Can you go back and get some for me? I’ll have the robot deliver it outside the temple."

The white tiger nodded and leaped into the ghost path. At that moment, the System Cat in Chen Ji’s mind burst out laughing: [Hahahahaha Chen Ji, you’re really pushing your luck! How many years do you think you’d get sentenced if you ate all of these?!]

Chen Ji sighed. [Just stall Xiangxiang for a bit.]

Chen Ji knew how fast Xiangxiang was. He stared thoughtfully at the oddly shaped fish, each with unique characteristics, in the basket. If he were caught, it’d probably be ten years or more... right?

Ugh, no!

Chen Ji turned and saw the pile of supplies on the shore. He put on a pair of protective gloves—who knew if these strange-looking fish had venomous spines?

This one’s inedible—toss it back.

That one’s inedible—toss it back.

This one too... Chen Ji threw them back into the water one by one, the splashing sounds continued incessantly. The System Cat felt heartache watching: [Hey, hey, don’t throw that one! Aren’t you gonna try it? Xiangxiang went through all the trouble to catch these for you. That one’s delicious—how about just one? There are no cameras here anyway; no one will know.]

Chen Ji’s response was to release the fish into the water. [Forget it. It’s not like I’ll die without eating this. There are plenty of delicious and legal things to eat—no need to insist on this.]

[It’s just once, it’s no big deal...] the System Cat muttered.

[Well...] Chen Ji paused for a moment, a meaningful smile appearing on his face, but he didn’t continue.

People need to have principles and not challenge them lightly. Once you start compromising, it’s easy to keep compromising step by step. Eventually, when faced with other transgressions, you’ll think it’s no big deal.

If Chen Ji stayed in the mountains forever, it wouldn’t be a problem. He could eat and drink as much as he wanted in Little Green Mountain—even three meals a day of these fish might not wipe out the pond. But he was human, and humans are social animals. Eventually, he’d have to return to society.

He wasn’t thinking about others but himself. If one day he moved back to the city, his lowered principles would quickly land him in prison. Then he could forget about retirement, a cozy home, two cats, and three meals a day—he’d be lucky to be working a prison sewing machine instead of facing a firing squad.

Take the Yun family incident, for example. If it weren’t for the fact that it was shameful, the Yun family was at fault, and he acted quickly and left some leeway, would he be living peacefully in the mountains now?

This time it was the Yun family. Who would it be next? Did he really have the ability to escape the law?

Chen Ji didn’t think he was that capable.

Seeing Chen Ji fall silent, the System Cat stopped persuading him. Only when the basket held just seventeen or eighteen mountain crabs did Chen Ji stop—these were legal to eat.

Not only edible, but delicious.

But who eats these things first thing in the morning? Chen Ji stood up and walked to the side, pulling out a packaged bun to munch on, to tide him over. Though he had little appetite so early, Xiangxiang had gone to the trouble of catching these—he had to eat a few bites even if it was hard to swallow.

[Heads up: Xiangxiang has the fruitwood. He’ll be here in about ten minutes.] The System Cat reminded him, adding: [Save me a couple of crabs! I’m coming over!]

[OK.] Chen Ji acknowledged, then got up to arrange a few stones into a simple stone griddle. Just as he finished, Xiangxiang leaped out of the ghost path, carrying a large bundle in its mouth and the seemingly carsick System Cat on its back.

Chen Ji blinked in surprise, then said sadly, "Xiangxiang, I’m sorry."

He placed a hand on Xiangxiang’s ear, rubbing it apologetically. "I accidentally tripped and knocked over the basket just now... all the fish escaped..."

Xiangxiang tilted its head and let out a soft sound, as if comforting Chen Ji.

"Wah, you worked so hard for nothing..." Chen Ji pressed his face against the white tiger's neck. "But there are still some crabs left. Let’s grill them! They’re delicious too."

The white tiger nodded. Relieved that it didn’t seem bothered, Chen Ji felt like a useless owner whose house cat goes hunting, bringing home mice and snakes, terrifying the owner, who can’t show disgust and has to accept them through tears before figuring out what to do.

At least Xiangxiang was a supernatural being—he didn’t have to pretend to eat them.

Chen Ji tied the stone crabs with straw ropes and tossed them onto the now-hot stone slab. Water droplets sizzled and evaporated quickly, filling the air with the distinct pungent aroma of crabs.

Maybe it was the right season, or maybe these were just unnaturally plump crabs raised by a supernatural being, but each crab’s belly was plump and full. As they grilled, their thin shells burst open, and golden crab roe oozed out with the juices.

Chen Ji swallowed hard.

Sorry, he’d been proven wrong. What "who eats these things in the morning"? Sorry, he wasn’t a good person—he was a bad one. He was going to eat these, and he was going to finish them all!

The System Cat was also drooling. Staring fixedly at the crabs, it muttered: [Xiangxiang is so great. Everyone should have a Xiangxiang. Xiangxiang is too good—I want one too...]

Chen Ji: [Do you even know what you’re saying?]

[These crabs look so tasty...]

Chen Ji: [...]

The white tiger sat politely to the side, her tail covering her paws. When Chen Ji looked over, she gave him an inquiring look. Chen Ji poked her with his finger: "Xiangxiang, did you catch these crabs in the pond too?"

Xiangxiang nodded.

"Are they hard to catch?" Chen Ji asked again.

Xiangxiang nodded earnestly.

Chen Ji rubbed her head: "You've worked hard. Catching such small crabs must be tough! I love Xiangxiang best, Xiangxiang is so good!"

Hard to catch, right? He decided that another day, he'd go down the mountain to buy some raw pig liver and set up a small trap. That way, he could catch them easily and eat his fill.

He wouldn't put Xiangxiang through that trouble anymore!

Chen Ji thought to himself, as he looked at Xiangxiang's paw, which was larger than his face, and the small crab that was less than half the size of his palm.

Soon, the mountain crabs turned an enticing orange-yellow. Chen Ji used chopsticks to pick one up—it was so small that it had roasted to a crisp. With a light pinch, a leg came off, and he popped it straight into his mouth. There was no need to spit out the shell; it crumbled completely when chewed, leaving no residue. The meat inside was small but very tender, and a sweet, fresh juice burst out from it. Chen Ji's eyes lit up as he ate.

"Come on, eat up!"

Chen Ji told Xiangxiang and System Cat to dig in quickly. One person and two cats finished off the dozen or so crabs in no time. After eating, Chen Ji, lazily rubbing his full belly, thought of an important question: "Hey, wait—where did Second Grandpa and Little Red go?"