“Yo, you’re awake?”
“Meow?”
Hearing the voice, the black cat turned its head to look over.
It saw the previously tightly closed outer door swing open directly.
A woman walked in from outside.
She wore a white coat similar to a hospital uniform, round-framed glasses resting on her face.
She approached the small bed and casually picked up the IV bottle to hang it above.
This person must be a doctor, the black cat thought.
“Mm, it looks like there shouldn’t be any major issues.”
The woman observed Bai Ziyu in this state and nodded. She pulled over a chair and sat down beside her.
She crossed one leg and pushed up her glasses with one hand, her gaze slanting toward the cat.
“Let me introduce myself. My name is Wang Jia.”
“Meow?”
What?
Bai Ziyu tilted her head, finding it strange.
This person is really something else… What kind of normal person introduces themselves to a cat?
The black cat could not be bothered to respond. Besides, she felt very weak right now.
She lowered her head slightly, half-closed her eyes, and decided to sleep a little longer first.
Wang Jia gave a light chuckle.
She pushed up her round-framed glasses once more, her tone casual as she spoke offhandedly.
“You should stop pretending.”
“Meow?”
“You are a yokai.”
“……”
The black cat’s eyes flew open.
Her gaze turned dangerous as she stared at the woman. Within those deep pink pupils, it seemed as though glass was flowing.
Things have really been rough lately… This is already the second person who has seen through the fact that I’m a yokai.
And the gap between them has been only a few days at most.
Although she had long prepared herself to be recognized again, this was still far too soon.
The black cat sighed and reluctantly looked toward the woman.
“Meow?”
Are you a half-yokai too?
“No.”
Wang Jia shook her head.
“You actually know about half-yokai. It seems you’ve encountered one before?”
Her tone remained flat, clearly unconcerned about such matters.
She shifted her posture, propping her cheek against one hand.
“Then it seems you must have learned quite a bit about the truth of this world from the other party.”
Judging by the woman’s reaction, she was probably not an enemy.
“Meow.”
I’ve learned some.
The black cat answered honestly.
She paused and glanced at the thin needle taped to her paw, currently connected to the IV drip.
She also looked at the beautiful azure-blue liquid flowing through the tube.
She had many questions right now.
For example, who exactly this person was, why she had fainted, and all sorts of other things.
Wang Jia noticed her confusion and smiled faintly. She raised a finger to her lips in a silencing gesture before continuing.
“I know what you want to ask.”
She looked at her.
“Let’s start with what concerns you the most… Your little master, Luo Yunzhi, is waiting outside right now. She really does care about you quite a bit.”
“When she brought you over, her pant legs were covered in splashed mud. She looked rather disheveled. It seems your relationship is even better than I imagined.”
The black cat’s ears twitched.
She meowed softly.
Bai Ziyu did care about Luo Yunzhi.
However, the current situation was clearly safe, so she was not actually very worried about the girl.
Still, the woman’s words inevitably reminded the black cat of that previous rainy night as well.
Luo Yunzhi had also gotten drenched for her sake back then.
Was the girl foolish?
She did not know.
She only thought that from now on, she should treat Luo Yunzhi a little better.
At the very least, she should stop resisting the girl’s hugs and pets.
The black cat pulled herself out of her thoughts.
Her expression remained blank.
“I thought you would get excited.”
Wang Jia’s smile carried a hint of mischievous interest.
She pulled out a cup of juice from somewhere and began drinking.
After she had downed more than half the cup, she finally looked satisfied and let out a long breath.
“Forget it. I should get to the main points.”
“First of all… you should also know that the world is divided into the human realm and the yokai realm. I won’t concern myself with yokai realm matters. I’ll tell you about our human realm.”
“Just as you can see, I am human. But even so, I can understand your words. The reason is the ‘spirit’ present in the surroundings.”
“It’s not only animals that are affected by the ‘spirit’. Humans are the same, of course. And precisely because of this, some humans have become existences similar to superhumans.”
As she spoke, she raised the juice cup.
She snapped her fingers.
Bai Ziyu watched as the nearly empty juice refilled. However, the liquid inside now seemed diluted.
The black cat stared in amazement.
She lifted her paw, imagining that she too might be able to use this power.
But when she tried, she felt nothing at all.
She could only give up for the time being.
And continued listening.
“I’ll talk about myself. My ability is classified under the water element in the official system. What you saw, controlling water, is naturally the most basic application of the water element.”
“But these things are still too early for you. What I want to talk about is why there are ‘yokai’, why there are awakened ‘humans’, and why the world remains very peaceful right now.”
“That’s because all our lives are inseparable from the spiritual energy that comes from the yokai realm. After being tainted by spiritual energy, we become dependent on it.”
“This is spirit liquid.”
She pointed upward.
At that blue liquid.
“It is spiritual energy compressed into liquid form. The reason you fainted is because your body lacked ‘spirit’, which caused a deficit in your life force.”
Only at this moment did the black cat finally understand why she had suddenly fainted… But now it clearly was not a good thing.
She probably also understood what the woman meant about why the world had not yet descended into chaos.
Those who lacked ‘spirit’ died.
As for those who did not lack it, they were definitely…
The black cat’s thoughts were interrupted.
The woman spoke again.
“You’re thinking correctly. Only the authorities possess the means to turn ‘spirit’ into spirit liquid. So if you want to survive, you have to obey the law and not cause any trouble.”
Her guess had been completely confirmed. Bai Ziyu did not feel much fear.
After all, since the other party had come looking for her, they definitely wanted to persuade her.
Just like the previous Su Qi.
Humans would naturally attempt to make contact with yokai.
The other party was also reminding her that they held important things in their hands.
The black cat’s delicate brows furrowed slightly.
She felt rather unwilling.
“Meow?”
(How do you obtain spirit liquid?)
“Meow.”
(You definitely know.)
This matter was the most important to the black cat.
Feeling she had regained some strength, she propped herself up and peeled the thin needle off her paw.
The medicine in the IV bottle had all been administered.
The previous dizziness had disappeared. What the other party said was true.
She really had been lacking that ‘spirit’.
“Mm, you’re really smart.”
Wang Jia chuckled lightly, her face showing an interested expression.
“That’s right. Obtaining spirit liquid comes at a price.”
“But it’s actually not difficult. You just need to work here for me.”
The woman explained, “I’ll exchange your wages into spirit liquid for you.”
Bai Ziyu could not help feeling somewhat astonished.
Her expression turned strange.
“Meow?”
(Work?)
Even if I, Bai Ziyu, starve to death… or die outside, even if I jump down from here, I still won’t do it.
No, I have to work. Otherwise, I might really die.
Having finally regained her life, the black cat did not want to die young again.
So she did not hesitate in the slightest and nodded right there.
“Meow.”
(Okay.)