I, the little cat, am a substitute for others who are starving and thin

Even so, new buds still grew from the roots of the tree, trying to grow again, but they were directly crushed by Yimi and the girl who fell from above following the bark.

Staring at the new sprouts that had grown again, Yimi reacted.

A guardian spirit used to protect the remains like a stand, it has no direct relationship with this human or the tree, and its true form is the spring water that emits the most fragrant aroma.

"Meow!"

The angry cat trotted over and lay down at the water's edge, and began to lick the water while watching the girl's shocked expression.

Cats and dogs' mouths are only shaped to drink water in this way, so it's naturally impossible for them to drink half a bowl of water in one breath as quickly as humans. However, the girl's eyes, which seemed to be unable to see, reflected the scene of the spring water level decreasing every second.

Just at this moment, the girl once again felt the excitement of the spring water.

What is it excited about?

Very sweet and delicious.

It was more addictive than cat grass, and it couldn't stop eating it, so much so that when the water level dropped, it had to jump in directly until there was not a drop left on the barbs of the cat's tongue.

It is hard to imagine that the whole process lasted less than half a minute, and it is even harder to imagine that Yimi's body shape did not change at all after drinking the entire spring water.

"Congratulations to the host for achieving the achievement [Tom Cat], and the reward is [Skill Book: Introduction to Cooking]."

This time the cat finally felt full, and there was a kind of indescribable discomfort that was different from the feeling of being overfed.

Turning to look at the black-haired girl, he saw dozens of confused figures appearing around her. If Yimi had looked up earlier, he would probably have discovered that these people corresponded to the faces embedded in the bark.

"Woo!" Seeing so many people, the timid little wolf hid behind Yimi again.

Yimi raised his ears, made a gurgling sound and made a threatening gesture.

Hearing this, the black-haired girl quickly spoke out to stop them: "Stop, please stop, we are victims too!"

"Woo?"

"Hugo!" Figures in the crowd who seemed to be the girl's parents stood in front of her, looking around for sticks or anything like that.

They regarded Yimi as a danger instead of the little wolf next to him. It was obvious that they saw everything that had just happened.

"Please let me explain."

This girl seemed to treat Yimi as someone with whom she could communicate from beginning to end.

"We are victims of the Fountain's test just like you. The difference is that we chose to answer honestly." The girl was sweating profusely, holding her crutches in both hands, and explained in a slightly fearful tone, as if facing something terrifying:

"If someone lies out of greed, the vines will rip out their internal organs and punish them. This is inevitable and has nothing to do with us."

But now that fables have become widely circulated, even people with ulterior motives will choose to answer honestly, so she was actually a little surprised when Yimi lied.

"And as I reminded you before, if you answer me honestly, you must use up all the 'gains' you have made at the spring before sunset, otherwise you will become the fruit of the tree like us, and then I will be free because of your replacement..."

The guardian of the spring, or an uncontrollable puppet?

That was pretty much her situation. But even if Yimi replaced her, it didn't mean that Yimi would become a 'guardian'. There were still so many people queuing up on the tree, and Yimi was just at the end of the line.

No one knows who was the first person to be harmed by the spring, and no one knows how the spring has attracted so many people. The rules of the ancient tree have existed since the remains of the saint were buried thousands of years ago.

One thing is certain, it’s all due to human greed.

The guardian's own greed for freedom prompted him to deliberately conceal the fact that he wanted to use up everything before sunset, but most of the visitors saw the spring water with such efficacy and wanted to throw everything on their body into it to complete the sublimation, which resulted in the failure to use it all before sunset and being absorbed into it.

But in fact, the spring has a humane rule. As long as one person successfully "spends" all objects including corpses before sunset, all people trapped in the giant tree will be freed.

However, no one has been able to do this for thousands of years, and now it is being done in such a forceful, brutal and rude way…

Yimi glanced at these people and saw them retreating in small steps. He then remembered that the system had prompted it to make a finishing move to prevent any subsequent trouble.

Yimi's claws popped out.

"Control the power instead of becoming a disaster yourself." As if seeing what it was thinking, the shadow of the Lord of the Remains warned again.

"Meow."

Yimi turned her head away politely to dig through the remains in the rubble and ignored the group of people.

"Oh wow!"

The little wolf followed with his tail wagging, mainly because he was envious of the feast that was given to Yimi along with the remains.

Yimi is not interested in these things. When it was less than one year old, it once stole the braised pork that its mother accidentally dropped on the ground. However, the delicacy that the cat had never tasted in its life was still hot from the pot. As a result, the cat jumped around with its tongue hanging out and meowing. In the end, its grandmother hugged it and rubbed its head for a long time before it calmed down.

However, when the little wolf opened his mouth to touch the big meal, tree roots grew out of nowhere on Yimi's claws.

--------

While the cat was merging with the saint's remains, the villagers left without a moment's pause, fearing the cat would suddenly regret it and come after them. Who could guarantee what a wild beast might do?

"Hugh, can you still see?"

The reason why he supported his daughter was because the child was actually blind. She used to be able to move freely because of the perception provided by the spring water and her familiarity with the terrain. Now that the spring water was gone, she had also become an ordinary blind person.

"Huh? I'm fine mom."

"It seems that the cat didn't catch up..." Someone looked back.

"cat……"

The black-haired girl was slightly stunned.

With the perception provided by the spring water, she 'saw' something other than a cat.

and……

The girl looked back in the direction of the spring that had been swallowed up. When the tree hole was still intact, she did hear a voice that was probably human from the sound of the wind for a moment. Even though it had a ghostly and unreal sound, it was the main reason why she began to feel fear.

It is not a single syllable, but a complete word formed by the rich sound——

"You come!"

Chapter 17: Separation

"Meow meow meow!"

"Ouch!"

After being slapped several times, the little wolf stared at the cat beside him in confusion, then belatedly stepped aside to make room for Yimi.

Only the wolf king in the wolf pack has the right to eat first.

Yimi did not immediately enjoy the dusty food in the ruins. He first looked down at his paws.

Everything has returned to normal, as if the tree roots that had just spread out were just an illusion, but Yimi already roughly knew what was going on.

Neither the system nor the owner of the remains explained it to the cat. The cat drank the spring water directly and still learned the relevant information as naturally as if it knew how to breathe since birth. The blind girl, who was the guardian of the spring, was probably in the same situation at that time.

Everything obtained from the spring must be used up before sunset, but this 'using up' must never be given to others for free, or in an act that is almost equivalent to a gift.

"Meow?"

Yimi didn't understand, it had already drunk up all the spring water.

It was not until this time that it understood the source of the discomfort after drinking the spring water. It was similar to indigestion, but it was more than just physical discomfort.

Yimi looked at the cooked food still steaming in the ruins and touched it carefully with her tongue.

"Meow QAQ!"

"Pee pee pee pee..."

A series of strange noises were emitted.

It is very hot, but it is definitely edible after it cools down. Cats have been strengthened by starvation and have acquired the physical fitness to enjoy cooked food.

The spring water only gives something precious to the "lost" person. If it were an ordinary human being, what he would probably get here is something "more valuable".

In this climate where even a breath can produce white mist, it doesn't take too long to cool the food to a temperature that Yi Mi can accept.

Under the watchful gaze of the little wolf, who went from greed to confusion, and then from confusion to shock and doubt about his life, Yimi opened his little mouth, which was not even big enough for a light bulb, and devoured the meal that ten people might not be able to finish, leaving no bones behind.

good to eat!

Thinking back to what life was like in the past.

After eating, it transforms its limbs into hidden types and lies on the ground to rest and digest for a while.

The ball of hair is still the same ball of hair, without any growth or fluctuation.

Collect all Saint Remains (7/10)

The ears, like the eyeballs, only count as 0.5, but this means there are only three remains left.

Yimi tried to feel the spiritual energy of the substitute. The clear water that was transparent at the beginning had completely begun to emit brilliant light, but until now the cat still couldn't figure out their use.

"Woo..." The little wolf made a sound of grievance again, jumped to Yimi and looked around twice, but saw no one left.

It lay down and looked straight at the cat, wagging its tail to attract its attention.

Little Wolf: To please.

In Yimi's eyes: This stinky dog ​​actually dared to wag its tail and declare war on me!

"Meow!"

He retracted his claws and punched its head hard.

"Woooooooo..."

The system, unable to bear watching, proactively stepped in to assert its presence: "Canines and felines have different habits. Wagging their tails, besides maintaining balance, is often a sign of happiness and affection."

"Meow?"

It turned out that Uncle Nuomi, who was older and knew the customs of cats, did not wag his tail in front of it, and Yimi had no idea.

It began to recall what other habits dogs had that were different from its own, and vaguely recalled that Uncle Nuomi had to go out every day and wear a collar...

……

"A cat that cultivated to become an immortal? What nonsense are you talking about? This is the United States."

The seeded contestant of the competition, Hete Panz, looked speechlessly at Ted Khan who was riding side by side with her unintentionally, as if she had forgotten that her real identity was a church nun.

Why is this person so superstitious?

maybe……

After stroking her smooth chin and pondering for two seconds, she asked, "Besides the strange cat, did you see anything else? Like a 'corpse' or something?"

Ted Khan's face changed drastically after hearing her words: "Corpse? There's another corpse? I knew that cat wouldn't let me go easily. Does the United States sell things like talisman paper? I know you call it a fortune teller here, right?"

"Calm down, you must have been sleepy. There's no such thing as a talking cat in this world. Even if there is, it's probably..."

Before she could finish her words, Het Panz caught a glimpse of something out of place in her peripheral vision. She turned her head and looked in the direction, and saw a kitten with panda patterns walking upright on its hind legs.

A cat's paw held a rope, the other end of which was tied to the neck of a wolf cub that was nearly twice its size.

I woke up suddenly and saw a cat walking a dog (wolf).

"..."

Ted Khan’s face turned pale: “This cat is still chasing me f**king!”

His horse was even more frightened of the cat than he was, and before its master could whip it, it kicked up its legs and ran away.

……

The severe cold is not over yet, and the second falling snow has forced most riders to find a place to camp. Walking on fragile ice and slippery roads will consume the horses' endurance and is not a good idea.

Yimi also temporarily gave up imitating human behavior and walked with the little wolf towards the direction of the next body they sensed.

It’s not very far. If it weren’t for the obstruction caused by the snow, we could have reached the destination in less than an afternoon even with the little wolf as a burden.

Even if other senses become stronger, the habit of relying on smell remains unchanged, especially when the snow may not be high in the mountains.

"Awooo!" This sound was not howled by the little wolf beside him, but by a pack of wolves less than a hundred meters away.

"Oh wow!"

In response to them, the little wolf excitedly circled around Yimi.

"Meow?" Yimi tilted her head.

The little wolf took a step in that direction, gently bit Yimi's front paw and pulled it towards that direction, signaling it to follow him.

Yimi understood what was going on, so he pulled out his claws, wagged his tail at the little wolf twice, turned around and dived into the snow pile to continue moving towards the body. After eating, the snow didn't seem too cold anymore.