You are a cat demon

You decide to accompany the big black dog through the last leg of its life.

You just don't know where it wants to go.

It must have foreseen its impending death long ago. Some animals can estimate their time of death months before they die. For example, elephants will leave their familiar herds about a month before they die, and travel long distances to remote, uninhabited forests to find the legendary elephant graveyard, where they will quietly await death.

This morning, the big black dog, dragging its aging body, left the home where it had lived for fifteen years.

Before leaving, it carefully sniffed every corner and nook of the house, deliberately lingering its nostrils on the clothes of Village Chief Zhang Qingshan and Ruoye for a while, like someone who hadn't eaten for days and nights smelling a table full of delicious food, as if it could never get enough of their scent.

After it had done what it wanted, it reluctantly left home, and no one noticed.

You insisted on following them.

It tacitly approves of your following.

You followed it to a very familiar place. At first glance, it seemed familiar, but upon closer inspection, you realized it was the ruins of that holly tree. It was considered ruins because it had been cut down years ago and turned into a pile of furniture that held no meaning for you.

The last object connected to it has also disappeared...

The big black dog stared at the lonely tree stump for a long time before turning away. As it passed by you, you heard a heavy sigh.

You continued to follow it, following it out of the village and into the deep mountains.

It was springtime, with warm weather and bright sunshine, and the mountains and forests were bursting with life as always. Sunlight filtered through the dense foliage, casting dappled shadows, and vibrant wildflowers swayed gently in the breeze, as if celebrating this grand celebration of nature.

You'd guess the big black dog wanted to revisit the place where it was once so powerful in its youth, otherwise it wouldn't have come to this birch forest.

Back then, the big black dog spent most of the day in this birch forest fighting off the terrifying bear demon, buying the hunters precious time to escape. He became famous overnight, and this heroic deed is still talked about by the people of Sakura Village. It has become a common topic of conversation. People have been repeating this story so much that even young children can now recite it fluently and completely, like reciting an ancient poem, without missing any details.

Even you have to admit, that big black dog who risked his life to fight the bear demon head-on was incredibly cool. For the next few days, you even willingly let it lick you. You can't help it, demons only care about strength.

After so many years, a new batch of birch trees has grown in the place that was once ravaged by the bear demon, and new green buds have sprouted from the broken ends of the birch trees that were cut down to waists back then. The vitality of plants is much more tenacious than you can imagine. The saying "wildfire cannot burn them out, the spring breeze brings them back to life" is exactly this principle. They are passed down from generation to generation, and life goes on endlessly.

The big black dog paused for a moment, but seemed unwilling to linger there any longer, and continued on its way.

You might think that, like an elephant, it wants to find a suitable grave to bury itself. But who knows where its final destination lies?

What you wouldn't expect is that the big black dog, like a traveler without a destination, would stop at an inn to rest, and then continue its relentless journey. You really don't know if its old legs can take it. And what you'd even more surprise is that after going around in circles, it actually came right back.

Looking at the blindingly white field of lilies before you, you fall into deep thought.

Are you kidding me? Hmm?

If it weren't for the fact that it was about to die, you would have really wanted to turn on it on the spot.

Dusk had fallen. After walking all day, this was probably the most exercise the big black dog had done in the past six months. It seemed unable to walk any further; drool dripped from its gaping mouth, forming a long, silvery line. Its body swayed unsteadily, and one worried it might collapse from exhaustion at any moment. It certainly knew its own condition better than anyone else and knew it couldn't afford to push itself any further. So it found a relatively flat spot and lay down, staring blankly at the vibrant lilies blooming all around, its thoughts drifting far away.

You're tired too, your feet are almost blistered from walking so much, and you've almost reached your exercise goal for today.

This cat will never stand if it can sit, and will never sit if it can lie down, so it put a little distance between itself and the big black dog and found a comfortable place to lie down.

Wisps of smoke rose from the distant Cherry Blossom Village, and a few familiar calls drifted through the air, as if guiding innocent children home—a scene of peace and tranquility.

Another sunset view. How many sunset views have you seen?

As night fell, the breeze carried the delicate fragrance of lilies, making you involuntarily sniff. But misfortunes never come singly; whether from inhaling some tiny insect or dust, you found yourself sneezing uncontrollably, about ten times, nearly knocking your head off.

When I opened my eyes again, a few pink cherry blossom petals had drifted in before me, like a dream.

Large swathes of cherry blossom trees grow on the mountaintop and hillside, while lilies bloom at the foot of the mountain. When the wind blows, cherry blossom petals are carried down, flying over the lily fields, twirling lightly in mid-air, and then drifting with the wind towards the distant Demon-Suppressing Tree.

Over the years, you have often come to this lily field, especially in the sunny spring. Sometimes you come with Ruoye, and sometimes you come here on a whim, for no apparent reason. You seem to firmly believe that as long as you come here, you can find the answer you have been looking for.

Unfortunately, you haven't found it yet.

Cherry blossoms fall, lilies bloom—a beautiful scene. In your subconscious, there seems to be a familiar memory, but you can't quite recall it.

Whenever you try to dive into the ocean of memories to retrieve those few blurry fragments, the chaotic memories, like a raging torrent, constantly create obstacles for you, giving you headaches and forcing you to give up.

Flowers bloom and fade for no one, but you are always like a kite string swaying in the vast and fleeting world.

Right beside you, the big black dog was as quiet as if it were asleep. The corners of its mouth were slightly upturned, forming a beautiful curve. Its face under the starry sky was so peaceful, as if it were really asleep.

The flower remained silent, as if afraid of waking it.