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Quan Yizhen wasn’t sure how long the trek to Yin Yu’s home was. He only stirred when he heard a door shut and they were already there. Yin Yu was still carrying him, a god cursed into a stray cat, in his arms, so Quan Yizhen blinked the sleepiness from his eyes and looked around at the surroundings that passed by.
It seemed like a lavish place. It was a deep crimson color, but while it had all of Paradise Manor’s hallmarks, Quan Yizhen was pretty sure this wasn’t the same place. While lavish, it wasn’t tall nor grandiose. If Yin Yu jumped and stretched his hand out, he could easily touch the ceiling, and most parts of Paradise Manor weren’t like that. They passed by two windows while Yin Yu strode down a long hall, but they had thick blinds that Quan Yizhen couldn’t see out of.
Ah well, he didn’t care too much about where he was, or even what time it was. It was his shixiong’s home, and that’s all that mattered to Quan Yizhen. He let out a long, excited trill at the concept of being here, which Yin Yu replied to by scratching his fluffy cheek. When Yin Yu stopped, Quan Yizhen pushed his forepaws on Yin Yu’s arm. He was intending to then hop out from Yin Yu’s arms and have a look around on his own, but Yin Yu’s hand covered his shoulders and stopped him.
"There’s no way I’m letting you walk around just yet!" Yin Yu said with a slow shake of his head. "Just carrying you around has dirtied these clothes so bad that it’ll probably take two washes to get them completely clean. Who knows what you’d dirty next!”
Quan Yizhen looked at him, thought about it, and then tried to escape from his arms again. Before he could get away, Yin Yu snagged the scruff of his neck in his hands, but Quan Yizhen still had his forelegs stretched out and ready for the very second Yin Yu dropped his guard. So, Yin Yu made sure not to drop his guard.
They reached a door near the end of the hall that Yin Yu was intent on getting past. He went to reach with his other hand, but as soon as he did, Quan Yizhen’s hindquarters twitched. Quan Yizhen was ready to leap, so Yin Yu had to clutch that hand right back into the cat’s fur.
Quan Yizhen let out a determined meow.
Yin Yu gave his own determined proclamation. "It’s not going to be THAT easy to outdo me, little guy! I’ve faced worse than you!"
Quan Yizhen meowed again, and Yin Yu gave no comeback this time. Yin Yu was much too busy opening the door with his foot. Once he opened it, he then pushed the door open with his bicep and carried the energetic cat into a bathroom. Once in, Yin Yu kicked the door closed behind them. At that point, both of them relaxed. Quan Yizhen no longer had anywhere to wander off to, and Yin Yu knew that. Sure enough, Yin Yu was happy to plop Quan Yizhen on the floor now.
While Yin Yu prepared a small bath for his cat, Quan Yizhen took the opportunity to at least look around the room. It was small, it was just the necessities, but Quan Yizhen curiously poked around the soap and towels with great interest. It was all Yin Yu’s belongings, so even if it was average stuff, it was like treasures in a museum to Quan Yizhen.
Eventually, Yin Yu picked him up again and dropped him into the water. Right after he did, Yin Yu flinched back and shielded his face. Yin Yu was ready for the cat to flip out, but Quan Yizhen did no such thing. He’d been a cat for a bit, and, frankly, he didn’t get what their problem was with water. Licking yourself was way worse, so Quan Yizhen was happy to finally clean up.
As Yin Yu relaxed, Quan Yizhen sprawled out in the water and rolled around. The clear bathwater quickly darkened from all the grime the cat had picked up over the past week. Quan Yizhen was happy to wash himself off and rolled onto his back. As soon as he got on his back, his head dipped under the water, so he hastily rolled back over to his paws and snorted out the water. The cat vigorously shook his head and sneezed. The next attempt at cleaning his back had Quan Yizhen being a little bit more careful.
By then, Yin Yu had already sat down beside the tub and was quietly watching the cat do his own thing. He had an arm propped up on the side of the bath and his head resting in his hands, all while his eyes nearly sparkled watching the rare sight of a cat who liked water.
Eventually, Quan Yizhen soaked all but his face. Rather than dunk his head under the water again, Quan Yizhen plopped his forepaws on the side of the bath and meowed loudly at Yin Yu. At first, Yin Yu only raised a brow. He likely wanted to wait and see what this cat would do next, but Quan Yizhen took this to mean he needed to be more clear with what he wanted so he scuffled himself closer to Yin Yu before rubbing his dirty face across Yin Yu’s hand and face.
Yin Yu tried not to open his mouth when he instinctively grimaced--but he did get the idea that Quan Yizhen was trying to put across and soon enough Yin Yu was wetting his hands and rubbing the soot off the cat’s muzzle and from around his eyes. Quan Yizhen happily purred at the attention.
Once Quan Yizhen was cleaned up, Yin Yu let him have free reign of the home. While the cat scampered off, Yin Yu focused on cleaning himself up. He fetched fresh robes for the night and prepped a bath.
In his absence, Quan Yizhen checked all the rooms. He didn’t bother with exploring every last detail right away, and instead just excitedly scampered from one room to the next to learn the layout, and to see what Yin Yu had. Now and again while he looked, he’d let out a loud meow. He figured that’d help Yin Yu find him when he was ready.
Yin Yu’s home was a small but nice siheyuan. The house had some pretty decorations but the rooms weren’t too big and Yin Yu only had two rooms that weren’t for some pragmatic use. The extra two rooms included a little armory-- very cool --and the other looked like Yin Yu kept a lot of books in it, and also a desk with nothing on it. Eh.
More exciting than that was the fact that Yin Yu had two bedrooms. They were both clean and had some simple decorations in them, so Quan Yizhen wasn’t too sure which one was the one that Yin Yu preferred sleeping in. He hopped up on both beds to judge them individually when he noticed a closet in one of the bedrooms. It was shut, so Quan Yizhen had to stretch his full length from hind paws to forepaws to reach the latch and open it.
He entered and found it had very regal clothes in it, probably for special occasions.
Eh.
Then, Quan Yizhen noticed that on the far end of the closet, on the wall opposite to the door, there were a few illustrations hung up! One was a drawing of a group, and at first Quan Yizhen didn’t recognize who they were but then he started to pick out a few vaguely familiar faces; namely Yin Yu’s and Jian Yu’s. Oh, it was the old sect!
Quan Yizhen couldn’t help but meow curiously. He put his paws on the wall to have a closer look, but it only gave him a bad angle. There were no selves nearby, so all Quan Yizhen could do was climb the hanging silk robes if he wanted a closer look. He scrunched up his hindquarters to prep for a powerful jump that’d launch him as far up on the robes as possible.
He did well and actually hooked onto the wooden bar the robes were hanging from! He was happy with himself. Although now he too was hanging from the bar and with no leverage to change that unless he wanted to drop back down to the floor again. It’d just have to do for now, and Quan Yizhen satisfied his curiosity by getting a closer look at the illustration.
Something about the picture had felt a little off, and Quan Yizhen wasn’t sure why at first. It wasn’t that he wasn’t there--actually, he could recognize himself as one of the youngest disciples in the lineup. No, it was more like, this picture looked different from pictures Quan Yizhen had that were about as old.
The parchment was crisp and bright. The linework was nice but it also looked like quick brush strokes. No colors, which was a little unlike any centuries-old illustration that Quan Yizhen had kept. This must have been a bit more new. What’s more, some of the details of people were just how Quan Yizhen remembered them, while others he felt were questionable; this was definitely not drawn centuries ago with the whole sect standing in front of an artist.
Did Yin Yu draw this…?
Quan Yizhen couldn’t help but wrinkle his muzzle while thinking about that. He just couldn’t remember ever seeing Yin Yu paint or sketch before. He knew there were sides to his shixiong that he didn’t know, and maybe never would if Yin Yu always insisted on being so aloof, but Quan Yizhen liked to think that if he would have noticed if Yin Yu drew. He would have wanted a drawing from Yin Yu for sure!
"There you are!" Yin Yu’s voice rang out.
Still hanging from the wooden bar, Quan Yizhen whipped his head around to see Yin Yu standing there. He just stared at Yin Yu, still thinking deeply about Yin Yu's painting. While he thought about it, his face was still scrunched up. Yin Yu was greeted with the face of a hanging, cringing cat upon opening his closet. Yin Yu couldn’t help but puff out a laugh before scooping the cat up.
As soon as Quan Yizhen was in Yin Yu’s arms again, he started to meow incessantly. He wanted to ask questions about the drawing, but Yin Yu couldn’t understand anything he said! It was frustrating, but he calmed down once Yin Yu scratched under his chin. With the closet door shut, and Quan Yizhen quieted, Yin Yu set the cat back down on the floor to roam as he pleased again.
"Be careful where you wander!" Yin Yu lightheartedly scolded the cat. "What if the door accidentally shut behind you? Then I wouldn’t know where you went! You’ll worry me!"
Quan Yizhen gave a sharp little meow at that. He knew the feeling! Centuries of it..! Yin Yu was good at disappearing on him too!
Yin Yu ruffled the fur at the base of his tail and Quan Yizhen took this as reassurance. After that, Yin Yu near immediately headed to bed. He welcomed Quan Yizhen to explore as he pleased, but was keen on getting some sleep himself.
"Tomorrow is an early day for me." Yin Yu explained.
He tucked in and Quan Yizhen jumped up on the bed to join him. Quan Yizhen hopped up on the bed and sat beside him for a little bit. He actually sort of expected that Yin Yu might just shove him off the bed, but was pleasantly surprised when that wasn’t the case. Still, Quan Yizhen didn’t stay there long before he became restless and wanted to look around some more.
Quan Yizhen slipped out of the bedroom and strolled down the hallway to have a better look around the rooms. He went to the armory and looked over all the weapons in there with curiosity. This was one aspect of being a cat that he definitely didn’t like; he wouldn’t be able to do anything he enjoyed so much as a martial god until he was able to turn back to normal. Some of the weapons in Yin Yu’s collection looked completely foreign to Quan Yizhen too, and he wondered what they might feel like in his hand.
Yin Yu was a person keen on shrinking into himself, and Jian Yu would yell about Yin Yu being in Quan Yizhen’s shadow, but Quan Yizhen simply didn’t see it. This armory he had was a good example of Yin Yu’s prowess; maybe Quan Yizhen would win in a duel between the two, but Yin Yu had an eye for things that Quan Yizhen didn’t even think about. Swords with curious, curling hilts and blades, claw-like weapons that Quan Yizhen didn’t even realize he wanted to play with until just now! Quan Yizhen purred excitedly while gazing up at the selection.
Then, something small caught his eye. It wasn’t one of the things up on display, but something shiny underneath an end table within the room. Quan Yizhen crouched down and pressed his chin into the floor in order to peer through the narrow space.
Looked like a paintbrush? Quan Yizhen gave a loud meow to exclaim his discovery before he stuck his whole foreleg under the table to grab it. He hooked a claw into the wooden handle before dragging it out. So, Yin Yu really did take up painting at some point! Excited, Quan Yizhen pawed at the brush a little.
Pawing at it a little bit quickly turned into batting it around as a game. He didn’t get to do any martial arts in this form, but swatting things around was oddly satisfying. His big eyes were keen to every little movement made by anything, and his big ears perked straight up as the brush rattled across the tiles.
He smacked that paintbrush straight out of the armory and chased after it. It banged against the opposite wall before clattering to the floor a yard away. Quan Yizhen took the opportunity to make a big leap and pounce on it. He trilled happily before smacking the brush again, this time down the length of the corridor.
It didn’t make it all the way down, and Quan Yizhen quickly realized this could make a good game. He ran down to the brush, batted it to the end of one side, and then absolutely punted it down the length again. He tried to make note of where it landed so that he knew when he had beaten his previous score. Back and forth, trying to smack this brush as far as felinely possible. He let out a good, victorious meow when he hit it further than expected.
Just then, he heard a groan come from Yin Yu’s bedroom. Quan Yizhen paused and flicked an ear. His keen ears could hear the rustle of blankets; Yin Yu was shifting around. Maybe it was the big ears to blame, but Quan Yizhen felt like he could tell that his shixiong was uncomfortable.
The game could wait then, and Quan Yizhen padded back into the bedroom to check up on his shixiong. What he quickly found was Yin Yu blinking and staring at the ceiling. He hadn’t noticed Quan Yizhen, but Yin Yu did shut his eyes tightly shortly after Quan Yizhen had entered. Yin Yu took a deep breath and then drew out a long breath.
Was he having trouble sleeping..?
Quan Yizhen didn’t know why, but Yin Yu was normally a pretty stressed-out person, so it really could have been anything. What Quan Yizhen was sure of was that he could probably help out. He hopped back up on the bed and headbutted the sleepy man in the cheek.
"Ah," Yin Yu scrunched his face, but Quan Yizhen caught a smile in there. "Done with your games?"
"I think so!" Quan Yizhen meowed in reply.
Yin Yu sighed with relief. "Please, stay here for the night.."
Quan Yizhen was already getting on top of Yin Yu’s chest when he said that, and the cat paused and looked down at him. He’d already planned on staying regardless, but it was very nice to hear Yin Yu say that. Quan Yizhen gave him a reassuring meow before standing on his chest.
As soon as he stood there, Yin Yu gave a little, uncomfortable huff and furrowed his brows. Quan Yizhen could tell he didn’t like this, but Quan Yizhen also wasn’t done with what he planned to do! He started to knead Yin Yu’s chest, pawing at the muscles without his claws out and trying his best to give his favorite person through the centuries a little massage.
Quan Yizhen wasn’t regularly massaged as a god, or even in his mortal life, but he’d learned that being handled and scritched felt nice as a cat. It was soothing, it was comforting. It made Quan Yizhen feel assured, and it was easy to fall asleep when Yin Yu gave him such comfort. He figured that giving Yin Yu the same would help his shixiong sleep.
Sure enough, Yin Yu’s expression softened and he began to look more relaxed. His breathing eased and slowed. He didn’t utter any thank you’s but Quan Yizhen felt accomplished all the same. Honestly, it felt kind of nice to do! Quan Yizhen liked this.
Quan Yizhen kept this little paw massage up for a little bit before curling up on Yin Yu’s chest. Yin Yu didn’t push him away or even move very much at all, so Quan Yizhen was content to stay here. He’d never rested on someone’s chest before, but the rise and fall of Yin Yu’s breathing beneath him was oddly relaxing. Another comfort that Quan Yizhen was learning, and he soon fell asleep.
…
Morning came and Yin Yu was quick to get ready and head out. He was insistent on Quan Yizhen not following this time, saying it’d be too much walking for a cat and that he was worried he’d lose track of him if he didn’t have a leash on. Quan Yizhen could accept this as a real possibility; he liked to think he would keep up just fine but it was pretty hard to keep track of anything when your face was only a few inches from the ground. As Yin Yu left, Quan Yizhen sat himself down at the front door and watched him go. He raised a paw up, attempting to wave, and got one last smile out of Yin Yu before he was gone for the next several hours.
Time without Yin Yu around dragged on for Quan Yizhen. Normally, Quan Yizhen didn’t mind being indoors all day, but it felt stuffy and boring today. He played with the paintbrush again, he chewed on a string dangling from one of Yin Yu’s fancier robes, and then he buried himself under the blankets for a nap.
He stirred to the sound of a door shutting. Excitedly, he scooted himself out from under the blankets and sprinted out of the bedroom. He ran right for the front door and was faced with an exhausted-looking Yin Yu. Yin Yu’s face was sweaty and his hair stuck to his cheeks a little bit. He let out a sigh upon entering the home but brightened up as soon as he saw his tawny-colored companion come trotting over.
Quan Yizhen greeted first, giving an excited meow for each stride he took towards his shixiong. Yin Yu replied happily, crouching down right there to give him a "hello," and a vigorous pet to the head. Quan Yizhen pushed up into his palm and purred loudly.
"I got you something," Yin Yu then said.
Quan Yizhen immediately tilted his head to the side in order to look past the hand and straight at Yin Yu’s face. Yin Yu smiled down at him and reached into his sash, pulling out a small, soft mouse. It looked like its body was made of lambskin leather, with embroidered eyes, and a long tail that ended in a thick knot.
With a little chuckle, Yin Yu said, "I figured you might like this more than whatever you were playing with last night..!"
Quan Yizhen’s eyes were big and glistening with excitement. A gift! A gift from his shixiong! He didn’t have the chance to meow some kind of gratitude before Yin Yu underhand tossed the toy across the room. Quan Yizhen kicked off with his back legs and immediately gave chase. He yowled loudly and exuberantly as he did so.
With a laugh, Yin Yu followed after the cat. Before Yin Yu had caught up with Quan Yizhen, the cat had grabbed the toy in his mouth and trotted back, meeting him halfway. Yin Yu raised his brows.
"You play fetch..?" Yin Yu questioned, the awe apparent in his tone.
Of course, Quan Yizhen could play fetch! And the two enjoyed this game for a little while together. They ended up in the longest hall in Yin Yu’s home, with Yin Yu sitting at one end with his back against a wall so that he could toss the toy as far as possible for Quan Yizhen to chase and retrieve.
"Yin Yu?" A familiar, deep voice called out from elsewhere in the house. "Where are you?"
The voice was gentle yet commanding. It was Hua Cheng.
Immediately, Yin Yu shouted a reply, "Ah! My Lord! I wasn’t expecting you so early!"
Yin Yu picked himself up quickly and hurried off to find Hua Cheng. Quan Yizhen was left standing there, blinking in surprise. He was taken off-guard by anyone else coming to Yin Yu’s home. What would Hua Cheng want by coming here? Quan Yizhen followed after his shixiong.
He found the two standing in the kitchen. Hua Cheng stood near the doorway while Yin Yu prepared some tea for his guest. They were talking, and Quan Yizhen had missed a good chunk of the conversation, but it didn’t sound like it was an exciting conversation for either party.
"And did you find anything out there?" Asked Hua Cheng.
Yin Yu gave a small shake of his head. "Nothing.."
Hua Cheng gave a pensive hum before shrugging. He extended his arms out in front of himself and laced his fingers together, stretching.
"Well! It’s one more place to cross off the map! That’s still something." Hua Cheng replied. "As always, I’m thankful for your thorough work. I know partaking in all of this hasn’t been easy on you, but you’re their best bet."
Yin Yu heaved a quiet sigh and his shoulders drooped. He didn’t give a reply and instead focused heating water for their tea.
Quan Yizhen strode in and passed right by Hua Cheng’s feet. He paused for a moment and glanced up at the ghost king. Hua Cheng didn’t notice him at all, so Quan Yizhen felt no need to give any sort of greeting. The cat only tried to puzzle out what Hua Cheng was here for.
The red-clothed ghost had with him a bag that hung from a strap over one shoulder. It had something in it, but its smell was too subtle for Quan Yizhen’s little nose, and from this angle, he couldn’t make out any extra details. Quan Yizhen decided that Hua Cheng and Yin Yu had probably worked out a trade of prized items, and Yin Yu had come up empty-handed thus far with his side of the bargain. It probably meant he wouldn’t get to see what was in the bag, so Quan Yizhen lost interest and padded over to Yin Yu.
As he approached, he gave an acknowledging trill. In an instant, Yin Yu’s face brightened up and he looked down at the cat.
"Ah! You caught up with me, did you?" Yin Yu beamed. "Just give me a moment, little guy. My hands are full right now!"
Yin Yu held the teapot up for the cat to see before bringing his attention back to the tea, taking out a fine cup and making sure it was clean. Quan Yizhen didn’t want anything in particular out of Yin Yu’s attention, so he just sat down somewhat close to where his shixiong was moving around.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Hua Cheng was now looking at him. Quan Yizhen turned his head and met the ghost king’s gaze, although he stared with a lot more disinterest than Hua Cheng did. Hua Cheng’s expression was a bit intense. It was like he was pissed off. Yet his face then shifted into a smile as he spoke up.
"Yin Yu, when did you get a cat?"
"Just yesterday, my lord!"
Yin Yu turned to face Hua Cheng, a small tray with a ready tea set on it. Hua Cheng stepped out from the doorway of the kitchen and strode towards a small courtyard of Yin Yu’s, with Yin Yu following just behind. Hua Cheng seemed to know exactly where they’d have tea, he likely came here quite frequently. Quan Yizhen scampered after them.
Yin Yu continued to speak while they walked. "I found him at the easternmost Qi Ying temple stealing pheasants from hunters. He’s a remarkable cat, but I haven’t picked a name for him yet."
Hua Cheng sat down at the outdoor table and Yin Yu set the tray down before taking a seat as well. Hua Cheng offered no immediate reply to Yin Yu’s story beyond a strained hum as if he thought the story was very interesting. If Yin Yu noticed, he didn’t pay it any mind.
Or, perhaps Yin Yu would have responded to it had Quan Yizhen not jumped right into his lap as soon as he sat down. All of Yin Yu’s attention went from the conversation to watching Quan Yizhen put his little paws on the table. Hua Cheng was staring down at the cat too, unblinking.
Yin Yu chuckled at the cat before brushing his paws off the table and giving Quan Yizhen a scritch on the top of his head.
"Perhaps something like ‘Qi Ying’ would be a fitting name." Hua Cheng proposed casually.
Hua Cheng's light-hearted mood returned as soon as he returned to conversing with his subordinate.
As Hua Cheng picked up his cup of tea, he pointed out, "You did find him near a Qi Ying temple after all. Perhaps the cat likes that temple and the sound of that name."
Hua Cheng had been giving Quan Yizhen glares routinely ever since noticing his presence, and Quan Yizhen could only, at best, assume that Hua Cheng hated cats. Quan Yizhen intended to ignore him, but at this suggestion of Hua Cheng’s, Quan Yizhen couldn’t help but light up.
"Yes! That!" Quan Yizhen meowed. "Shixiong, please! Say my name!"
Hua Cheng’s brows raised for a moment and his attention went straight to the cat again. Quan Yizhen’s excitement was muddled immediately, his ears turned back and he narrowed one eye at Hua Cheng. If he didn’t know any better, Quan Yizhen would say that Hua Cheng understood him. Yin Yu was petting Quan Yizhen again, but the god cat kept his attention squarely on Hua Cheng this time.
Yin Yu replied to Hua Cheng only. "Ah.,. I don’t know. Maybe that’s a fair assumption, and the name suits his fur color, but I still think it’d be a little creepy of me to do."
Quan Yizhen’s whiskers twitched and he meowed. "If you can understand me, you can convince him it’s okay, right?? I’m okay with it!"
Hua Cheng narrowed his eye but smirked. Seemed like he understood, seemed good. They had an agreement! Yet Hua Cheng nodded to Yin Yu’s words and took a sip of his tea. His motions were slow and lax, content to take his time in Yin Yu’s company. The topic was dropped, and soon Yin Yu and Hua Cheng were talking about something else. Perhaps Hua Cheng couldn’t understand him after all…
After an hour, Hua Cheng stood up and said he’d be taking his leave early.
"I know we had plans today, but perhaps it’d be better for you to rest." Hua Cheng said with a smile.
Yin Yu did look a little disappointed by this. Still, he was polite to his boss, so he smiled and bowed. Still, to Quan Yizhen, Yin Yu looked even more tired for Hua Cheng’s rescheduling.
"Another day then," Yin Yu agreed. "Whatever day works for you, my lord, I would be pleased to have your company."
Quan Yizhen followed quietly as Yin Yu led Hua Cheng out of his home, sitting on the steps while the two exchanged a few more friendly words before Hua Cheng disappeared with a roll of the dice. As soon as he left, Yin Yu’s crestfallen mood became more and more obvious. His shoulders and posture slumped a little and he gave a small groan.
Hua Cheng and Yin Yu probably saw each other a lot, so Quan Yizhen wasn’t sure what Yin Yu was so upset about. As the two walked back into the home, Quan Yizhen considered how to get Yin Yu’s mind off things.
The night passed, Quan Yizhen slept at Yin Yu’s side, and then Yin Yu left for another early morning. Another day where Quan Yizhen had the whole house to himself. Yin Yu’s mood was still on Quan Yizhen’s mind, so he explored the house again but this time to find something he could set up to improve his shixiong’s mood. As a cat, making Yin Yu smile felt very easy, so Quan Yizhen was primarily scoping out things he plan that’d really up his felineness. Maybe even catch a mouse or something for him!
Quan Yizhen went to the storage room, looking for useful supplies or mice, but as soon as he managed to open the door, he was faced with a red-clothed figure. Quan Yizhen instantly jumped back, tail puffed out before he calmed down again. It was Hua Cheng, nothing dangerous.
The ghost king had his arms folded and was glaring down at the cat.
Deciding to ignore the ghost king, Quan Yizhen padded between Hua Cheng’s boots to get into the storage room. Yet as soon as he tried, Hua Cheng crouched down and picked him up by the scruff of the neck.
"Oh, no you don’t!" Hua Cheng snapped.
Quan Yizhen wriggled in his grasp, outstretching his legs and trying to get some footing on some part of Hua Cheng--any part--to get something solid to kick off of and free himself. No luck! Hua Cheng had a good hold on him.
He gave a complaintive meow. "Let me go!"
"And why should I?!" Hua Cheng argued.
The cat froze immediately and stared at Hua Cheng, stunned. So, Hua Cheng did understand him! Hua Cheng took the opportunity, while Quan Yizhen was completely still, to stroll out of the storage room and shut the door behind him.
Hua Cheng sneered, "You were turned into a cat, and rather than try and get that message out to anyone--Yin Yu included--you just decided to.. Live your life as a pet?"
The red-clad ghost made it just a few steps out into the next room before unceremoniously dropping Quan Yizhen. The cat landed on all fours, but with a loud THUMP. Quan Yizhen stared straight ahead but flattened his ears and licked his muzzle.
Quan Yizhen grumbled, "It’s not really a problem. No one’s hurt."
Hua Cheng scoffed at that and folded his arms across his chest. He hardly looked pacified by Quan Yizhen’s reasoning. They were both quiet for a moment before Hua Cheng lifted a hand. His ring finger was pressed to his thumb, ready to snap at any moment.
"I can change you back--"
"NO!" Quan Yizhen yowled at him.
Even if he was a cat, Quan Yizhen thought he’d sound very commanding and stern, but even he could hear the desperation in his voice. Quan Yizhen slowly sat down with his back arched and his head low. While he was all scrunched up, his tail lashed wildly behind him.
He meowed, "I wanted to turn back at first, but then shixiong found me! He.. He usually avoids me, but he really likes me as a cat."
"Irresponsible! All of heaven is looking for you!" Hua Cheng said flatly.
"Then tell them to stop looking!"
Hua Cheng laughed coldly at that. "That’s so fucking far from being my call to make! Oh, yes! Let me tell all of heaven to give up on finding their beloved Martial God of the West! What a completely normal request to make!”
The ghost king then pursed his lips and tilted his head. His tone became mocking. "But you know, I’m sure they’ll understand if I tell them it’s because their god is having too much fun playing pretend!"
Quan Yizhen gave a little huff out of his nose. He still wanted to remain a cat.
"All I’ve wanted to do was live a happy life with him in it..!" Quan Yizhen argued. "I want that, and I can finally make him happy too if I’m like this! So let me have this for a while!"
A while. Quan Yizhen wasn’t even sure how long that meant, and he didn’t know how Hua Cheng would take it either. Quan Yizhen didn’t like the idea of it just being a few days of joy with Yin Yu, but was asking for the entire lifetime of a cat asking for too much? A decade meant nothing to gods and ghosts, so part of him felt like it was fine to demand that out of Hua Cheng. Another part of him felt like there was something wrong with that. That there were many things wrong with wanting that.
Quan Yizhen didn’t want to think about a time limit yet! He just wanted to enjoy this for now!
When Hua Cheng spoke again, his voice was stern. "Yin Yu has been looking for you since the day you went missing--"
Quan Yizhen gazed up at Hua Cheng with big eyes.
"--By the request of many gods, he was hired for the job." Hua Cheng explained. "It’s not my choice anymore if he stops. It’s between him and heaven. And you."
Admittedly, Quan Yizhen was disappointed by that bit of information. It wasn’t like Yin Yu was looking for him because he missed him, he was looking for him because the rest of heaven was missing one of their martial gods; while Quan Yizhen usually did things by himself, it was still a weakness in Heaven as a whole to be missing one of their strongest gods. It was probably Xie Lian who convinced Hua Cheng to let heaven borrow Yin Yu for a while.
Quan Yizhen wasn’t sure what to say. He knew this still meant everything he wanted in being a cat could still only be done as a cat, but now he felt like he was tricking his favorite person. Hua Cheng must have sensed the uncertainty brewing in the little cat and kneeled down to his level.
"I’m offering it again, Quan Yizhen." Hua Cheng said.
Hua Cheng extended his hand out towards Quan Yizhen, fingers ready to snap. Whatever had been done to Quan Yizhen, Hua Cheng could undo so easily, but the ghost king refrained from forcing that decision.
"You can go back to normal, and meet Yin Yu as you truly are. Or, you can stay like this. What will it be?"
Quan Yizhen’s fur raised as he thought about it. Hua Cheng waited quietly for the cat to give a response, so Quan Yizhen took a minute to debate the choice.
Then, the cat meowed. "If I can make him happy like this, then it won’t matter what he has to do for work..! I can make him happy! So, I want to be like this for now!"
Hua Cheng gave a disdainful sigh. The ghost king stood back up and his arms were crossed again.
"Have it your way then, brat!" Hua Cheng muttered. "Tell me when you’re done playing games."
Hua Cheng then stepped around the cat and strode out of the room. Quan Yizhen stayed where he was, crouched and small on the floor. He could hear the clomp of Hua Cheng’s boots heading down a hall. Then the footsteps disappeared. And Quan Yizhen was alone again.