You are a cat demon

You continue braving the wind and snow, searching the world for food to fill your stomach, and before you know it, you have arrived in a completely unfamiliar territory.

This is a large grove of cherry blossom trees. Although you have never seen cherry blossoms before, you can imagine that it must be a unique sight in the bright spring. However, now it is a cold winter with raging wind and snow. The cherry blossom trees are left with only bare trunks, which look like chilling skeletons in the vast snow.

At this moment, you are moving forward on all fours with sheer willpower, each step feeling like walking through mud. You don't know where you should go next; you only know you can't stop. Countless eyes are watching you from behind, and if you stop, you might very well perish in the snow and become a meal for other monsters and carnivores.

Having just caught your breath after passing through the cherry blossom grove, you suddenly see bright lights below the mountain – a sizable human village. And you only now realize that this village is situated in the center of a basin, surrounded by rolling mountains covered entirely in cherry blossom trees. From a human perspective, this would be considered a place of exceptional natural beauty and auspicious energy.

Your feelings are quite complicated.

When carnivorous demons are starving, they sometimes muster the courage to venture into human villages to try their luck, stealing poultry like chickens, ducks, and geese, or taking some dried sausages and cured meats. Some powerful demons will even brazenly barge into villages to hunt and kill living people, devouring their marrow and blood. You, however, are just a small cat demon. With your current strength, you might only be able to handle a human cub for a short time, but you don't want to do that.

Stealing from humans, huh? If I remember correctly, in this era, in villages like this, eight or nine out of ten households keep dogs. Dogs have incredibly sensitive noses; you'd probably be spotted before you even get close to your door. Dealing with one or two dogs shouldn't be a problem, but against a pack, even the strongest cat demon would be torn to pieces. Besides, the barking will attract humans, and your flesh and blood can't withstand bullets. And if you're even less lucky, you might run into a demon hunter…

Just then, your stomach rumbled at the worst possible time, and the empty stomach churned with waves of pain, tormenting you so much that you had no time to think anymore.

Since we're already here, let's take a gamble. If we succeed, we'll profit; if we die, it seems like we haven't lost anything.

After making ample mental preparations, you quietly approach the village.

As dusk approached, it was already late afternoon. Winter nights fall quickly, and outside it was pitch black, with only the pale snow reflecting a faint, cold light. Of course, to you, a cat demon, even the darkest surroundings seemed like broad daylight. At this hour, many humans had probably finished dinner, and some families had already gone to bed, their homes shrouded in darkness. You were lucky; you weren't seen by anyone, nor by a single dog.

Just as you were pondering which lucky family to target, a delicious aroma of beef wafted through the air, making your mouth water. Unsurprisingly, you arrived at the door of the house emitting the meaty fragrance.

The houses in this village are all the typical one-story tile-roofed houses common in this era, varying in size and style. But this one house looks exceptionally grand, more than twice the size of the others. And for some reason, the homeowner has hung several different monster bones in the most conspicuous place on the door...

You suddenly changed your mind about barging in.

You don't want to find your own bones hanging on this door in a few days.

The aroma of the beef was so enticing that your feet seemed rooted to the ground, unable to move an inch. You dared not go in, yet you couldn't bear to leave, so you could only smack your lips and chew on the air to satisfy your craving.

"Woof! Woof woof!"

A few unexpected barks startled you, and for a moment your mind went blank. You almost fainted on the spot. Before you could come to your senses, the door was opened.

"Hey? This cat? Is it the one from last time?"

The light inside was so bright you could hardly open your eyes, but the familiar scent wafted towards you, calming your panicked heart a little.

You squinted, finally recognizing the newcomer—it was the hunter you'd met before, now staring at you with a look of surprise. You weren't really surprised to see him again in this place; what you really wanted to know was how he'd recognized you. There were countless black cats with golden eyes in the world; you weren't special.

The big black dog at the man's feet had just been baring its teeth and looking fierce, but the moment it saw you, it immediately licked its lips and became incredibly gentle, as if it had swallowed all its ferocity. Its eyes even became much clearer. This change of attitude was faster than turning the pages of a book.

You've reached a dead end, and you know this is likely your only chance to survive. You have to grasp this lifeline no matter what.

You screamed so pitifully, even more pitifully than someone stepped on your tail.

If your words were translated into human language, it would probably mean exactly what this person in front of you would think. What is it that you can't bear to say directly? You feel it's a bit embarrassing, too cheesy…

In reality, cat demons only make a few kinds of noises: they're in heat and seeking a mate, they're in pain or fear, or they need something from someone... Yours is a typical example of needing something from someone. When you were a child and hungry, you would make that kind of noise to beg your mother for food. In those years, domestic cats kept by humans did the same thing.

It's ironic, isn't it? You've always looked down on dogs who live under other people's roofs, but now you're living worse than a dog, forced to bend over for a bite of meat.

dignity?

Ha, your dignity as a cripple has been trampled to pieces over the past few months. You are no longer the stubborn and proud cat demon you once were.