The Nine-Lived Cat and Her Hapless Taoist

A cold, celibate, sharp-tongued Taoist priest x a spoiled, beautiful, forthright cat demon Synopsis: Wuguo, a Taoist priest from Qingquan Temple who has renounced worldly desires, finds a cat. The cat has no real powers and no interest in cultivating immortality. All it wants is to become the most beautiful, adorable cat in the world, dazzling everyone it meets. Wuguo has no intention of adopting the cat, but discovers that it is connected to his own childhood. Why was his clan wiped out? Why did the master of Qingquan Temple find him and take him in, then make him cultivate without allowing him to formally join the sect? Why must he be locked away in the mountains on certain days, only to emerge with no memory of what happened? Wuguo wants to figure out all of it. As time passes, Wuguo grows more and more accustomed to life with a cat. He also gets caught up in the tangled relationship between Gao Ye, a herb gatherer from the mountain village, and a mulberry farmer’s daughter. What seems like an ordinary love affair between mortals eventually leads to nearly irreversible consequences. The little cat demon asks the sour-faced Taoist, “Is love really a terrible beast that sweeps everything away?” The sour-faced Taoist reflects for a moment. “The master once asked his disciple what was most precious in time. The disciple replied, ‘What has been lost and what has yet to be gained.’ Years passed, and the world changed beyond recognition. The master asked again, and the disciple replied, ‘What we have now.’” The little cat nods thoughtfully. “I get it. So I’m the daddy you can’t have.” The great monk: “…No. You’re the airhead I have right now.”