Chapter 673: After Binding the Child-Bearing System, Becoming a Winner in Life Chapter 674: Background Board Rabbit Demon (46)

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

The friction at the border continues, with both sides constantly testing one another.

Either you run over to hit me today, or I run over to beat you tomorrow; in any case, the main theme is that I won't quiet down, and you can forget about peace — everyone's nerves have been stretched tight, and who knows when that string might snap.

The two generals personally appointed by the Emperor are still on their way, whipping their horses to hurry.

The System occasionally helps check where they've reached, and finally discovers they're still too far from Qixing Cheng, so it immediately throws most of its energy back into the border battlefield and every corner inside Qixing Cheng.

Shen Yao: ……

Shen Yao really found herself a good job; it was that previous action of hers that gave the System inspiration, letting it know the Host gets uncomfortable when idle for too long.

Right now, the demons big and small in Qixing Cheng are taking turns suffering misfortune.

The System doesn't care whether they're law-abiding, rule-following good demons; anyway, all these discovered demons get packed up and delivered to its own Host.

"Originally the garrison marched to the front line, leaving the city's defenses vacant to this day; if these demons harbor ill intentions, Host, the consequences are unthinkable," the System delivered this line with deep feeling and vivid description, directly rendering Shen Yao speechless.

Ugh, it wouldn't be that serious; after all, even the Charm Demons couldn't overturn Qixing Cheng, let alone those insignificant little demons.

Qixing Cheng isn't a normal city; the commoners inside are mostly soldiers or military households; demons able to survive in such a bitter cold place know better what they should and shouldn't offend.

The System's words are purely making trouble out of nothing; could it be the border conflict has already slowly eased?

"Both sides intend to restrain themselves," the System's tone was resentful, indicating the enemy general was overly cautious, while our side's Clan Head would love nothing more than peace and quiet; it ran itself ragged back and forth, and in the end there was nothing to see.

Suppressing the urge to curse, the System continued suggesting the Host give those demons big and small in the city a bit of a demon-life shock, so they'd know what to watch out for when out in the world.

"N-note, watch out for what?"

The tucked-away tail was frightened out once again; the little cat demon who had cultivated from a civet cat stared with round, rolling cat eyes, speaking with a stammer.

Shen Yao bent at the waist, smiling as she stroked the little cat demon's round head and cat ears, "Naturally it's to pay respects at the wharf — after all, from now on this place falls under my management."

Little Cat Demon: ……?!!!

Waaaaah, it's really too terrifying; I'm just a little civet cat barely weaned, how could I run into this kind of terrifying Great Demon.

I won't be gobbled up in one bite, will I.

"Alright, what are you crying for? I don't have any plans to do anything to you?"

Shen Yao waved her hand, letting the timid little cat demon hurry up from the ground, while she herself raised her head to glance around, reconfirming whether the place she'd found was correct.

Mm

"G-great King"

The little cat demon straightened up; in human form its height only reached Shen Yao's thigh, looking about the same as Lin Chengyan and the others.

Shen Yao asked, then raised an eyebrow — Great King? It reminded her of that wild boar demon she'd dealt with, the one who called itself Heifeng Da Wang.

"Lead me in, and no funny business, or you won't be walking on two legs anymore," she'd just tie the other up and float along.

Little Cat Demon: ……

Forcing back tears, the little cat demon raised a hand to firmly wipe its face, then listlessly led Shen Yao into the cat demon clan territory behind it.

"Xiao Ba Shiqi, you're back?" There were many cat demons in the clan territory; though their colors differed, they got along well enough.

"Xiao Ba Shiqi, who's this woman behind you? The clan territory doesn't permit outsiders to enter; didn't you just go out and find yourself a mother?"

It wasn't that "partner" couldn't be said, but Xiao Ba Shiqi is still a child barely weaned, with not a thought of settling down in its head; and this woman looks so noble and elegant, unlike ordinary women — the other cat demon who was speaking couldn't help blinking, as if discovering some huge secret.

Little Cat Demon: ……

The little cat demon wanted nothing more than to huff and charge straight at this annoying Twenty-Five for a fight; what nonsense? Its mother is the most beautiful tricolor cat; how could it possibly acknowledge an ugly human as its mother? This is an insult to its aesthetics!

Shen Yao: ……

Shen Yao muttered inwardly that the cat's brain circuits were abnormal; even after cultivating to sentience, its brain circuits still had issues.

Continuing to follow the little cat demon forward, they ran into quite a few cat demons greeting them along the way.

Their terms of address for one another were all numerical code names; this should be the cat demon clan's ranking — the smaller the number, the stronger; the larger the number, the weaker.

Reaching the end, the little cat demon could no longer maintain human form, flopping onto the ground and turning into a little tabby civet sticking out its tongue and panting.

Shen Yao stepped forward, cupping this palm-sized little tabby civet in her palm, while simultaneously extending a finger to scratch the little tabby civet's belly and chubby chin.

The little cat demon, subconsciously wanting to act coquettish and cooperate: ……

"Right ahead is your Clan Head's residence; thanks for the trouble, Xiao Ba Shiqi."

Shen Yao, smiling, gifted a pill extremely beneficial to the little cat demon, then scratched it until it purred, only then stepping onto the Clan Head's territory with great satisfaction.

The Clan Head's name is Da Hei; the cat demon clan territory was built single-handedly by it.

From the name one can also infer this is a black cat, also called a Xuan Cat.

"You humans, what are you doing on the cats' territory?" Da Hei was currently lying on its back on a chair, stretching its four limbs in utter leisure.

"Came to take a look; after all, Qixing Cheng has had several major events recently, the Clan Head surely wouldn't be unaware."

Shen Yao propped her chin, walked over, and sat down on the chair opposite the black cat.

"Oh, you mean those Charm Demons and demons not walking the proper path? I've heard a little, but it has absolutely nothing to do with our Cat Demon Clan.

Human, you didn't come today looking to stir up trouble for us cat demons, did you."

The black cat opened its pair of emerald-green, jade-like pupils, speaking directly and bluntly.

Shen Yao shook her head, indicating she wasn't that idle; these cat demons normally don't stir up trouble, their greatest pleasure is lying on rooftops sunbathing, occasionally disguising as ordinary cats to beg food from humans to fill their bellies, and some liking self-reliance go catch mice, insects and other creatures on the menu.

Mice and insects aren't numerous in all of Qixing Cheng; this group of cat demons contributed greatly to that.

The black cat relaxed even more upon hearing this; it began tilting its head to lick its fur, and rapidly gave itself a bath.

Shen Yao: ……

She successfully deepened certain stereotypes she held about cats onto the cat demons; other species might differ, but with this creature called cat, one truly cannot say.

"Speak plainly about why you've come," the black cat shifted into a sprawled posture, blissfully enjoying the feeling of sunlight sprinkling down.

Shen Yao suppressed the urge to pet this cat and spoke seriously: she wanted to make a deal with the entire cat demon clan, having them help monitor and gather intelligence on the internal affairs of Seven Stars City and even several surrounding cities.

"These are Spirit-Transforming Pills, very useful for your daily cultivation and human transformation," a bottle of elixir appeared in Shen Yao's hand, and she presented it before the black cat.

Black Cat:...

A pair of cat eyes stared straight; it fixed its gaze on the beautiful elixir bottle, then blankly at Shen Yao sitting opposite, unable to control its raised voice: "The deal is entirely in Spirit-Transforming Pills?"

Shen Yao nodded, "Of course."

"No day like today," the black cat sat up with a *shua* sound, followed by several *miaowu miaowu* cries to the sky; Shen Yao then heard the dense sound of figures vaulting walls and leaping roofs.

Before long, pairs of beautiful Calan-style big eyes appeared on one cat after another that had returned to their original forms.

Cats filled every direction around the small courtyard where the black cat was; the thick demonic qi nearly choked Shen Yao unconscious.

Shen Yao had to seal her mouth and nose, waiting unperturbed for the black cat to finish communicating with these cat demons; she did not understand the cat language passing back and forth, but the Spirit-Transforming Pills continuously being delivered back and forth let her sit steady on the fishing terrace.

This group of cat demons would not refuse, just like those fish demons in Yuanshui City; the elixirs Shen Yao produced successfully grasped their psychology — moreover, monitoring and intelligence-gathering are cats' specialty, easy money for little work, why not do it?

When she came she had to threaten a newly-transformed little cat demon to guide her; when leaving, the clan leader Da Hei personally saw her off, and Shen Yao even got to touch Da Hei's sleek, glossy fur — unexpectedly comfortable, no wonder cats love grooming so much.

Shen Yao:...

With a slightly stiff expression she bid farewell to the black cat, turned around, conjured a water basin to wash her hands, and incidentally got mocked by the spectating system.

"Good, the easy-to-talk-to ones here are settled; the two of us still need to find other demons."

Not all demons are salted-fish unambitious like this cat clan; it was only because Shen Yao was willing to bring out Spirit-Transforming Pills as bait — otherwise Da Hei definitely wouldn't have given her the time of day.

System:...

"Host, where to next? Snake demons? Fox demons? Or dog demons? Bird demons aren't bad either."

Shen Yao smiled, signaling she already had a plan; the system should stay quiet now and honestly hide in her head watching the show.

Shen Yao turned a corner; instead of seeking the four demon types the system mentioned, she went to find a banyan tree demon that had settled and lived in the city for many years.

Old Banyan Tree:...

Never expected that after running all over heaven and earth, I'd still get caught by someone!

The old banyan tree looked at Shen Yao appearing before it, dropped to its knees in apology, and declared it would never run again — plant transformation into a spirit is no easy feat, begging the other party to spare its life no matter what.

Shen Yao:...

"I'm not those Daoist priests or Buddhist monks, much less some wandering demon-slayer," no interest in taking a demon's life.

The old banyan tree exhaled heavily in relief, scrambled up from the ground, and asked what purpose this High Person had in seeking it out.

Shen Yao pointed at the ground, indicating the banyan's root system has always been extensive; given its current age, it likely covers all of Seven Stars City.

"Wonder what the Lord intends..." the old banyan tree feared the other party wanted to stir trouble in Seven Stars City; it was a rule-abiding tree, could not violate the Heavenly Dao.

"Protection only, won't act against Heaven," Shen Yao wasn't a villain who destroys cities on a whim.

Oh.

The old banyan tree exhaled in relief again; seeing Shen Yao make no further demands, it hurriedly agreed, afraid the other party might change her mind.

Shen Yao:...

She wouldn't change her mind, but would require the old banyan tree to add a bit of monitoring duty while protecting; of course, Spirit-Transforming Pills remained the trade item — she wouldn't let the demons lose out.

Going through category by category, those willing to cooperate all reached mutually beneficial deals; those unwilling were all brusquely chased out by Shen Yao.

Shen Yao didn't kill these demons either; in her view, demons' adaptability is stronger than humans' — even surviving in the wilderness they can fill their bellies.

Since that's the case, untamable demons (prone to impulse and fighting humans) have no need to stay in the city — not only easily exposed but easily killed.

"Host, you could chase the humans out," how come it feels overly cowardly.

"Chase humans out and monopolize the city — you think Li Country's army is a decoration? Demons cultivate not to vie for All Under Heaven; humans' short lives make them willing to scramble, demons' long lives make them prefer stability."

Rolling her eyes at the system stirring trouble out of nothing all day, Shen Yao returned to the courier station to rest.

She thought handling things this way would slowly change Seven Stars City and surrounding cities; unexpectedly her methods — or rather the trade items she produced — were extremely attractive, the effect not quite immediate but visibly apparent.

With proper business these demons paid even less attention to the humans coexisting with them; every day busy working to earn elixirs, wishing they could split extra time.

Without leaving her door Shen Yao learned of more hidden matters of all kinds.

Including but not limited to embezzlement, bribery, confusion of public and private, spies, traitors... truly a tiny city, yet everything imaginable exists.

The system's horizons broadened too; turns out its own surveillance was insufficient — how did it not discover Seven Stars City's hidden attributes?

One person one system discussed Seven Stars City's lively affairs with relish; anything touching bottom lines they found chances to leak out, causing Lin Xingzhi and Changsheng Daozhan, still on the front line, to manage Seven Stars City's major and minor affairs amid their busyness.

Fortunately such matters were ultimately a minority; as time continuously advanced, Seven Stars City restored true peace from inside out.

The two generals personally enfeoffed by the Emperor had already arrived at a place merely one city away from Seven Stars City; Lin Xingzhi and Changsheng Daozhang's hope lay ahead.

"You mean someone wants to attack the two generals, related to enemy state spies?"

Shen Yao looked at the black cat bouncing and running over, thinking: an accident at the critical moment — truly the usual time point for manufacturing conflict.

"My intelligence source won't be wrong; the message has been delivered; the pills."

The black cat spread its claws like a rogue, letting Shen Yao produce the pills traded with them.

The long-prepared pills were delivered before the black cat; Shen Yao smiled and thanked it, watched the black cat leave, then called out the system playing dumb in her head: "You go watch."

The system said nothing, *Check* — whooshed far away and vanished.

After all, the system boasting zero-blind-spot monitoring failed to detect the problem this time; the system itself felt a bit guilty.

Could it be I'm not even as useful as a cat? Then wouldn't my status in future transmigrations be even lower? Would I be the first system in history unable to control its host, instead constantly controlled by the host — a useless system?

(Shen Yao:... wasn't it like that from the start?)

Anxiously watching the official courier station where the two generals lodged, the system prayed the black cat's intel was inaccurate, rather than its own incompetence.