Chapter 20 A near death experience

“Meow!” There was no way Cheng Xiaoxiao was eating milk paste with all this delectable food around her! Xiaowu looked at the cat as it hissed and suddenly stepped back. Chu Yunshen glared at Xiaowu. Xiaowu immediately stood behind Chu Yunshen without daring to offend this cat who had the backing of Prince Jing. Xiaowu prepared milk paste for Cheng Xiaoxiao out of the kindness of his heart, but she didn’t accept his goodwill. He was confident that Cheng Xiaoxiao would appreciate his gesture when she got hungry later. A sumptuous spread was placed on the table before long. Cheng Xiaoxiao almost drooled onto Chu Yunshen’s arm. “Meow.” Chu Yunshen took a piece of chicken and placed it on a small plate in front of him before pushing it over to Cheng Xiaoxiao. Cheng Xiaoxiao was so touched that she was on the brink of tears, so she nodded to Chu Yunshen with tears welling in her eyes. Then she picked up the chicken and ate it. Though the kitten’s mouth was too tiny, so she couldn’t display her prowess as the competitive eating champion. After finishing the chicken plate, Cheng Xiaoxiao clawed Chu Yunshen by the sleeve and said, “Meow,” as she looked at the table. “Master!” retorted Xiaowu when Prince Jing fed the kitten in his arms some duck, “Allow me to help feed it. Please go on and eat first.” Chu Yunshen glanced at Xiaowu, and Xiaowu instantly shrank his hands back. After turning into a cat for so long, it was the first time Cheng Xiaoxiao ate to her heart’s content at a restaurant like Wangjiang Restaurant. The moment she rubbed Chu Yunshen’s arm with her head, he placed some meat onto her plate. After Cheng Xiaoxiao had her fill, she brought the baby bird on the horse carriage some jerky strips. Cheng Xiaoxiao wriggled under the couch after she got back onto the horse carriage. Then she poked the sleeping baby bird and said, “Meow.” “Chirp chirp!” The baby bird opened its eyes to see a white cat offering it some meat. Then it readily ate the jerky. As the horse carriage went into motion, Cheng Xiaoxiao played with the baby bird in the corner of the horse carriage. And Chu Yunshen picked up a military book and leaned against the couch as he read it. The journey went on smoothly. They arrived at the next post that night. In the middle of the night, a surge of pain suddenly woke Cheng Xiaoxiao up. She curled up in the bed and kept rolling around nonstop as she shouted, “Meow!” She was in so much pain! “Meow.” Cheng Xiaoxiao was dying from agony! Her white fur fell all over the bed with her rolling, and Chu Yunshen already got roused by the unusual noise. He suddenly sat up and saw the little fellow huddling together as she rolled around in bed. “Xiaowu!” shouted Chu Yunshen immediately towards the door. “Yes, Master!” replied Xiaowu instantly. He hurriedly entered to see Chu Yunshen looking anxiously at the white bundle of fur lying on the bed. Then Xiaowu instantly ran over and asked, “Master, what happened?” “Meow!” Stop chatting, you two! Hurry up and send for a doctor! She was dying from pain! “Send for Mu Bai!” Chu Yunshen stood by the bed with his hands in mid-air. He was too afraid to touch the cat. “Yes, Master!” Only then did Mu Bai cross his mind! Then Xiaowu hurried over to Mu Bai’s room. “Doctor Mu, His Highness’ cat is losing her fur and rolling around on His Highness’ bed! Hurry up and take a look!” Xiaowu rapped on Mu Bai’s door anxiously for a while before Mu Bai rubbed his eyes sleepily as he opened the door. Then Mu Bai asked, “Who did you say was losing fur?” “It’s His Highness’s cat who’s losing fur!” said Xiaowu as he barged into Mu Bai’s room. Then he yanked Mu Bai’s clothing off the rack and stuffed it into Mu Bai’s hands. “Doctor Mu, where’s your medical kit?” Mu Bai looked at Xiaowu in a daze as he rummaged around the room. In an instant, Mu Bai woke up. Then Mu Bai asked, “What happened to His Highness?” “His Highness is fine! It’s his cat that’s sick!” said Xiaowu. He finally located Mu Bai’s medical kit and carried it as he dragged Mu Bai over to Chu Yunshen’s room. Mu Bai was dragged by Xiaowu all the way to Chu Yunshen’s bedroom. “Master, Doctor Mu is here!” There was a breeze gusting outside the room, and Mu Bai naturally woke up. Then he saw the cat balling up on the bed and said, “Your Highness, please let me examine her.” But Mu Bai failed to diagnose her illness after examining her for a long time. “Could be poison from the dark green snake?” asked Xiaowu anxiously. Mu Bai shook his head and said, “Your Highness, I think we need a vet. I can’t diagnose the problem here.” “Xiaowu!” said Chu Yunshen as he swiftly turned to look at Xiaowu. “I’ll ask the post officer and find out if there are any vets nearby!” replied Xiaowu before he left. “Meow!” It hurt so badly! She was in excruciating pain! Cheng Xiaoxiao felt as though there was a knife stirring around in her stomach. Can someone save Cheng Xiaoxiao, please? A large hand suddenly stroked her. Then Chu Yunshen’s voice rang by her ears as he said gently, “Little fellow, you’re going to be fine. I’ll be with you.” Cheng Xiaoxiao subconsciously leaned towards Chu Yunshen’s hands. Was it Chu Yunshen? Was Chu Yunshen comforting her? “Meow.” Hurry up and save me Chu Yunshen! “Meow.” As the cat kept leaning closer to Chu Yunshen, his eyes turned dusky. Then he furrowed his brows hard as he said, “Mu Bai! She’s in pain! Help her ease her pain first!” Mu Bai looked at Prince Jing as he panicked. Then his eyes turned dark as he replied, “Your Highness, I can’t randomly give her painkillers without knowing what’s ailing her!” “How can we leave her in pain?” shouted Chu Yunshen hoarsely. Then Xiaowu’s voice came from outside, “Master, the post master here possesses some veterinary knowledge, so I brought him over!” “Your Highness!” The post master knelt and paid respects to Chu Yunshen right after he entered the room. Mu Bai looked at the murderous look in Chu Yunshen’s eyes as he pointed to the bed and shouted, “Hurry up and examine her!” “Yes, Your Highness! Please let me take a look!” The post master walked up to Chu Yunshen’s bed. He figured out what was wrong with the cat after taking a quick look, but he still examined Cheng Xiaoxiao carefully before he paid obeisance said, “Your Highness, this cat consumed too much salt. It will feel better in a few days after drinking more water.” Chu Yunshen’s eye gradually turned dark. He looked at the cat as she huddled on the bed. It must be all that salty food that he fed her at Wangjiang Restaurant yesterday. “Just water?” asked Xiaowu as he instantly sent for a bowl of water. “Yes!” replied the post officer, “Your Highness, you can’t let the cat eat salty food from now on. Cats can’t eat salt, so they will lose their fur after consuming too much salt and might even die.” When the maid came in with a bowl of water, Chu Yunshen took it from Xiaowu just as he was about to take it. Then Chu Yunshen walked up to the bed and gently supported Cheng Xiaoxiao’s neck as he poured the water into her mouth. Shortly after Cheng Xiaoxiao drank water, the pain in her stomach abated. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw Chu Yunshen looking at her with his brows deeply furrowed. “Meow.” Cheng Xiaoxiao meowed obediently. A shred of emotion flashed across Chu Yunshen’s eyes as he tightened his grip on the bowl of water. Then he said, “Drink up.” “Meow.” Cheng Xiaoxiao blinked her teary eyes at him. Was Chu Yunshen being worried earlier on? Was he worried about her? Chu Yunshen felt better after seeing Cheng Xiaoxiao drink the water. Then he looked at the post master and said, “Reward him.” “Yes, Master!” acknowledged Xiaowu as he turned to look at the post master, “Come with me.” “Your Highness, allow me to take my leave as well,” said Mu Bai now that the cat was conscious. Chu Yunshen didn’t take his eyes off the cat for a moment. “…” After not hearing from Chu Yunshen for a long time, Mu Bai shook his head and smiled helplessly. Then he took his medical kit and left. The little fellow was starting to affect Prince Jing more and more severely. At daybreak the next morning, Chu Yunshen sent Xiaowu into town to buy some books about the art of rearing cats to help him pass the time while they were on their way to the capital. Mu Bai saw Xiaowu coming back with a pile of books in his arms when he left the bedroom. “Xiaowu, I didn’t know you liked to read,” said Mu Bai. He pulled a book from Xiaowu’s arms and took a look. Then Mu Bai was stunned to see that the title read, ‘How To Make Your Cat Like You’. “Huh?” Mu Bai looked at a few more books. They varied from ‘Approaches To Cats’ to ‘Cats’ Encyclopedia’, but they were all books about the rearing of cats. “Xiaowu, why are you into cats now?” The moment Mu Bai finished the sentence, Xiaowu glanced at Chu Yunshen’s room with a miserable look on his face. Then Mu Bai realized what had happened. Then Mu Bai patted Xiaowu’s shoulder and said, “It’s a classic case of not doing any better than a cat. It looks like both you and have lost favor.” Xiaowu twitched his lips as he walked over to Chu Yunshen’s room with the books in his hands. “Master, will these books do? Otherwise, I can keep looking.” Xiaowu saw Chu Yunshen lowering his head to feed the cat water the moment he entered. When Chu Yunshen heard Xiaowu’s voice, he gestured for him to place the books on the table. Xiaowu put down the books. The furry kitten had now lost most of its fur and looked immensely pitiful. “Meow!” When Cheng Xiaoxiao saw the look of pity in Xiaowu’s eyes, she suddenly hissed at him. Cheng Xiaoxiao didn’t need his pity! Xiaowu turned to flip the ‘Cats’ Encyclopedia’, to learn that cats hissed when they were preparing for battle and wanted to threaten its opponent. Did she want to fight him? Xiaowu looked at the cat before reading the explanation in the book again. It seemed to be right. After Chu Yunshen finished feeding Cheng Xiaoxiao water, he signaled for Xiaowu to bring the books over. “Master, here you are. I bought the most popular cat rearing books on the market.” Cat rearing? Cheng Xiaoxiao instantly reached her head out to see the book in Chu Yunshen’s hand. It was entitled, ‘How To Make Your Cat Like You’. Cheng Xiaoxiao instantly went speechless. Was Chu Yunshen trying to rear her properly as a cat? She glanced at Xiaowu’s hands with the corner of her eye and saw four other books. Were those four books about rearing cats too? Cheng Xiaoxiao reached her neck out and took a clear look at the books. They were entitled, ‘Approaches To Cats’, ‘Cats Are The Best’, ‘Cat Rearing 101’, and ‘Cats’ Encyclopedia’. “Your Highness, are the books okay?” asked Xiaowu as he looked at Chu Yunshen reading engrossingly. Chu Yunshen acknowledged him without even raising his head. “I will inform everyone to get ready and leave.” “Mhm,” replied Chu Yunshen as he nodded while he read intriguingly. Xiaowu bowed to Chu Yunshen before leaving with four books in his hands. After Xiaowu left, Cheng Xiaoxiao grew curious about the contents of his books. What could keep Chu Yunshen so absorbed that he couldn’t stop reading? In the end, she reached out to look at the page Chu Yunshen was on to see it reading: How do you make your cat like you? You have to interact with it regularly on a daily basis. Stroke it on both sides of its neck and chin while it’s sleeping. Then Chu Yunshen reached his hand out to stroke Cheng Xiaoxiao on her neck when he finished reading the page. Cheng Xiaoxiao blushed and dodged Chu Yunshen’s hand as she attempted to leap off him. “Don’t go running off!” Chu Yunshen grabbed Cheng Xiaoxiao by the back of her neck when she wanted to escape his embrace. The little fellow had just recovered from illness and was already misbehaving. Then he recalled reading in the book that cats hated being lifted by the nape and might get hurt in the process. So he suddenly released Cheng Xiaoxiao. Cheng Xiaoxiao regained her freedom in an instant. She wriggled under the bed after her paws landed on the ground. After Chu Yunshen saw that the little fellow had stopped running around and had only crawled under the bed, his lips curved into a smile. So she merely wanted to play with her pet. Then Chu Yunshen continued focusing on reading his book without attempting to catch Cheng Xiaoxiao.