Who Says Merfolk Aren't on the Cat Menu?

[Please check out my dear friends’ ongoing stories!] The Gloomy Emperor Is Carrying My Baby by Cheng Jiu Xing The Actor Gong Pretends to Be Weak and Gets Exposed by Mu Mei Mei Mei * Ting Qi was a long-haired orange cat. His senior brother had found him and brought him back to the sect, where he was carefully looked after. Every day, he either curled up under the covered walkway to sunbathe or slipped off to the Demon Palace to beg the merfolk for a bite to eat. What could he do? Merfolk were probably on an orange cat’s menu, too. Ting Qi could never resist the smell. Every time, he would crouch hopefully beside the merfolk’s tail, staring and drooling with no dignity at all. The merfolk would coldly sweep his tail away, and the little orange cat could only meow and wheedle, trying to coax him into catching a few fish. * It wasn’t until the demon-binding rope wound tightly around Ting Qi and a sharp knife point pressed against his heart that he belatedly realized his senior brother had only picked him up and raised him so tenderly because this little demon had a rare, innate spiritual bone. An innate spiritual bone could restore his senior brother’s crippled spiritual root to its former state. So his senior brother had taken in the badly injured stray cat demon and raised him as a lifesaving medicine. Now it was time to harvest him. That was all. His senior brother’s expression was complicated, but his hand remained steady as he brought the knife forward. He said quietly, “...Don’t blame your senior brother. I want to live.” Ting Qi’s throat bobbed. With difficulty, he said, “Senior Brother...” He wanted to say, Senior Brother, just a little longer, and I’ll have completely transferred my innate spiritual bone into your body. Then I’ll have repaid you for saving my life. But before Ting Qi could finish, blood suddenly spattered everywhere. * The sun had set. The little orange cat, who should have been sneaking into the Biluo Palace to beg for dried fish, was nowhere to be seen. The man seated on the throne was peerlessly handsome, but his sharp brows and eyes darkened. After waiting through several more incense sticks, the black-robed man’s brows twitched with hidden irritation. Unable to help himself, he irritably patted his merfolk tail and muttered, “This makes no sense... Why hasn’t he come?” The taciturn female demon guardian glanced down at the crispy dried fish, kept warm with magic in her arms, and felt a strange heaviness settle in her heart. The sunset at the palace entrance slowly faded. Just before the Demon Palace was swallowed by darkness, a disheveled figure stumbled inside. The man on the throne relaxed his furrowed brows, then a moment later put on a stern face and scolded, “Is it so much fun out there? You don’t even want your fried fish anymore? You’ve been dawdling outside for so...” The little orange cat, covered in blood with its fur in disarray, staggered forward two steps and silently collapsed. In the dim light, a bloody trail of pawprints stretched all the way from the distance to the little orange cat, whose life had been snuffed out. Everyone in the Demon Palace turned pale. Anti-piracy: 80% Ting Qi (qi) 1. Cat gong × merfolk shou. 2. The little orange cat’s innate spiritual bone never falls into his senior brother’s hands. His senior brother will get a trip to the crematorium (literally), while the little orange cat will be the pampered kitty in his new home. Happy ending. 3. There is a girls’ love side couple, but they don’t get much page time. 4. This is a short story. 5. Synopsis written on 20230703. 6. The author has unusual tastes and is writing this for personal enjoyment. Readers who are particular about character dynamics, please proceed with caution. [Ting Qi is the gong. A cute 1 is still a 1. Please don’t switch or reverse them, thanks for understanding! (Heart)] [The author doesn’t enjoy weak or short gongs, so I don’t write them. I like the spicy kind. The two characters are about the same height. Ting Qi is probably the type of lively, adorable cat 1 with a decent cultivation level. If that’s not your thing, feel free to skip it. Thanks for understanding.] Coming soon: After My Mortal Enemy Kidnapped Me Back to the Palace Bo Shuyan, the greatest sword immortal in the Three Realms, was aloof and cold, with unfathomably deep cultivation. With white hair and robes as pale as snow, he looked like a god. He had poured his heart and soul into building a golden age for humanity, only to be left frail and sickly. In the end, his mortal enemy, with whom he had fought to the death for over a thousand years, seized the chance to kidnap him and take him back to the Demon Palace. Humanity was outraged. The demon realm erupted in celebration. * Ever since Su Shi could understand things, he had heard of Bo Shuyan. Su Shi had seen him and remembered him. He was so beautiful that one glance was enough to make him unforgettable. Bo Shuyan had killed his useless Demon Lord father with a single sword strike, then looked down at him with cool indifference before leaving with his sword. Su Shi heard him say, “I don’t kill underage little demons.” Su Shi laughed on the spot. The famous sword immortal didn’t know that the bone blade in Su Shi’s hand had been prepared to usurp his father’s position as Demon Lord. Su Shi climbed through seas of blood and mountains of corpses to become the Demon Lord. At last, he caught the sword immortal’s attention. At last, they crossed swords. At last, he nearly killed the sword immortal, and the sword immortal nearly killed him. At last... His frail, sickly mortal enemy fell into his hands. * At first, Su Shi could only mock the sword immortal for having it coming. He had worn himself out for a bunch of strangers. Coughing up blood was nothing unusual, and fainting was an everyday occurrence. Even when he killed demons who mocked him, his internal organs would hemorrhage badly, and pain would make his fingertips tremble, yet he would still wear the same faint smile. Later, he could only mock himself for having it coming. For falling in love with him so late. For the rest of his life, night after night, he would hate himself for standing by and watching him wear himself out until his body and spirit were shattered beyond the reach of medicine. A sickly beauty who takes control gong vs. an unscrupulous, unhinged shou * Theme: Even when the road ahead is dark, never give up.