After my grandmother called me home in my dream, my spiritual energy revived

Chapter 269 Cat Ghost

In the courtyard of the spirit house, Yue Lin stood beside a round bamboo winnowing basket, his brows furrowed as he looked at the three large fur balls curled up inside.

"Miss!" Her voice was filled with undisguised worry. "Xuetuan and Yuanbao have been getting weaker and weaker lately, and they've even lost interest in their favorite toy birds. Meiqiu isn't much better; yesterday I saw its paws trembling when it drank water."

Song Miaozhu was pruning a paper flower when she heard this, her fingers trembled slightly, and the scissors left an inconspicuous crease on the petal.

She gently put down the scissors, walked slowly to the winnowing basket, bent down to pet the three cats, and the cats immediately reacted.

Snowball struggled to lift its head, Yuanbao let out a soft snore, and Coal Ball tried to move its black body closer to her palm.

Song Miaozhu's fingertips traced their soft fur one by one.

Snowball's fur is no longer as white as it was when it was young, and has a faint yellow tinge; Yuanbao's fur has also lost its former luster; Coal Ball is still entirely black, but its fur has become much sparser.

Their rubbing against her palm was still affectionate, but noticeably slower.

Her gaze fell on Coal Ball's slightly trembling beard, and a pang of pain shot through her heart.

The little ones have been with her for thirty-five years, and she has noticed every tiny change in them.

I remember last winter, Xuetuan could still waddle to the porch to bask in the sun, but now even turning over takes a lot of effort.

"Miss." Yue Lin hesitated, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes.

Song Miaozhu didn't look up, but continued to gently stroke the cats.

She could feel a faint heartbeat beneath her fingertips, like a candle flame flickering in the autumn wind.

The haunted house was quiet, with only the rustling of leaves and the faint breathing of the cats.

She remembered thirty-five years ago, when the calico cat ghost led her to that alley filled with garbage, and the three little furballs curled up beside their mother cat.

Back then, Snowball really looked like a fluffy snowball, without a single blemish. She always loved to roll over and let her touch her belly. Yuanbao always ate every last bit of food from her cat bowl. After eating, she would chase her own tail in circles. Coal Ball always liked to stay in high places. If you looked up at the wall or cabinet, you could always find its figure.

They accompanied her through countless days and nights, quietly keeping her company as she studied paper crafts.

Now, they don't even have the strength to jump onto her lap.

Song Miaozhu knew that in this era of cultivation, it was difficult for cultivators to significantly extend their lifespan through cultivation. To date, no cultivator had lived past 150 years old. At most, they could only keep their bodies in peak condition until the end of their lifespan, let alone a cat that couldn't even actively absorb spiritual energy!
She tried every possible way to prolong their lives: healthy and nutritious fasting red beans, paper vines that could dispel illness and produce flowers. But in the end, she could only make them live a little longer without illness or disaster. Thirty-five years was almost the limit.

Before the first snowfall of winter had finished falling in Xiaozhushan, Yue Lin was collecting the first snow in the courtyard, imitating the ancients by burning snow to brew tea. Song Miaozhu was sitting by the warm sun paper stove making paper offerings when she suddenly heard three clear meows from a cat.

The translucent coal balls, snowballs, and gold ingots sat spiritedly at her feet, a faint yin energy emanating from them, yet they did not touch her.

Song Miaozhu was startled and went to look at the three furry balls in the cat bed next to her. Sure enough, their bodies were no longer moving.

The day finally came. Although she had expected it, she still felt a pang of sadness when it actually arrived.

For a long time, the three of them were always with her.

Later, she had her little paper servants and the Lingxi paper puppets.

The cats seem to have turned back into their younger selves.

Yuanbao was fighting with the tip of its tail, Xuetuan nimbly rolled over to reveal its soft belly, and Meiqiu elegantly licked its paws.

Even though they turned into little cat ghosts, they were still so cute.

However, Song Miaozhu could no longer touch their fur.

Not long after, a grayish-white ball of yin energy appeared behind the three cat ghosts. The cat ghosts sensed something and stopped playing.

“Go!” Song Miaozhu said.

Like human ghosts, cat ghosts are quickly received by the underworld after death.

Previously, one could temporarily refuse the guidance of the underworld and linger in the mortal realm for a while. Now, if one doesn't hurry on their journey, they will be forcibly pulled into the underworld and will be remembered by the underworld.

"Meow!"

The cat ghosts reluctantly came over and rubbed against Song Miaozhu's leg, took one last look at her, and then walked together into a small ball of light.

The cat ghosts disappeared along with the ball of light.

Just like humans, animals also go through the Yellow Springs after they die, and are judged in the King of Hell's palace for their merits and demerits.

In the end, however, he waited for reincarnation in the City of Beasts.

Although Song Miaozhu can go to the underworld, she can only stay in Fengdu City, where human ghosts reside.

This time, it's a true farewell.

All Song Miaozhu could do was to properly bury the cats' bodies and burn more offerings for them.

She had inquired and learned that newly born souls, with weak soul power and insufficient spirituality, all start by being plant-based.

Through repeated reincarnations, one's soul power increases, allowing them to be reborn as an animal.

After countless reincarnations, once the soul power has accumulated to a certain level and the spirituality is sufficient, one can be reborn as a human.

However, if animals are properly buried after they die, they can be given a good place to live in the City of Animals.

If there are still people worshipping them, life will be a little more comfortable.

If one has enough ghost money, one can stay in the Beast City and nourish one's soul with the ghost money, without wasting it. Once the soul is strong enough, one can be reincarnated as a human.

Song Miaozhu, of course, wouldn't be stingy with her cats.

Whenever she had time, she would burn paper ingots for her cats with her paper dolls, expressing her deep affection, and each ingot contained a long lifespan in the afterlife.

Fearing they wouldn't have enough, they even went to the Heavenly Bank to transfer a large sum of ghost money to them.

In this way, they can enjoy a period of bliss in the Beast City, and after their souls are well-nurtured, they can be directly reincarnated as humans.

Although being human may not be as comfortable as being a cat, humans live much longer than cats.

After the cats left, Song Miaozhu felt a little out of sorts for a long time, often staring blankly at the cat bed in the house.

When Zhangli saw this, he took out the photos and asked her, "Miss, a family in town has a newborn cat with several kittens. They are very cute. Would you like to pick a few to raise?"

"No, thank you." Song Miaozhu refused. "Having you all with me from now on is enough."

She loves fluffy cats, but they have such short lifespans.

Song Miaozhu dislikes parting.

And the new kitten won't be the three fluffy balls she raised herself.