Chapter 17: Empty Joy
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Is this neither a cat nor a lion? How does it look so much like a general? A Bengal white tiger cub... Could it be that the general secretly had offspring?! Ji Xun gasped sharply. He immediately lifted the little creature up, inspecting it carefully from all angles.
Its round head bore silver stripes that were not very distinct, but its nose bridge was long, the body elongated, and its limbs sturdy, short, and thick. When he had seen it upstairs amid the storm, it seemed fragile, but now it looked like a robust little beast.
This was definitely not a cat.
Cats have inverted triangular ears, slender limbs, and small, cute heads.
This little beast was round and chubby, appearing somewhat simple-minded.
The “little lion” Ji Xun held kept meowing incessantly. After a while, its voice became hoarse and plaintive from calling so much.
Ji Xun couldn’t understand it, so he quickly washed and dried the little creature with a blower.
Soon, he saw a white-furred cub with fur standing on end from static electricity, looking a bit “mentally unhinged,” bouncing about on his bed.
It hopped from one side to the other, then back again.
Finally, it bumped its head into Ji Xun’s arms and anxiously looked up, meowing.
“Let me see what you really are.” Ji Xun’s heart filled with joy as he scooped it up, sat at his computer, and pulled up images of white lion and white tiger cubs for comparison.
White lion cubs have whiter fur, sometimes with faint patterns, but mostly spots—not stripes like this one.
As for white tiger cubs, even at a young age, the black stripes on their heads are very distinct, unlike this one’s faint silvery-gray stripes that are hardly noticeable unless examined closely.
Ji Xun couldn’t determine for sure, so he placed the cub on the table to let it choose.
The little one paced anxiously across the table, meowing at Ji Xun each time it finished a lap, then bent down to try biting the sleeve of his shirt.
Ji Xun pulled his sleeve free from its mouth, gently stroked its little head, and said, “Your teeth aren’t even grown yet, and you’re already trying to bite me. Now, tell me, what species are you? Behave yourself.”
He gave it a little nudge.
The “little lion” turned to look at the screen after being nudged.
Neither picture was familiar.
Instinctively, it raised both front paws and pounced toward the white lion image, letting out a fierce “meow-ow” and revealing tiny claws beneath its paw pads. Even though small, these claws betrayed its naturally combative nature.
Ji Xun misunderstood.
He thought the little one had chosen the white lion, and seeing its determination, he went wild with joy. Scooping it up, he showered it with kisses. “Ah, ah, ah! I knew it! I knew you were my little lion! My king! You are my king!”
The “little lion” was stunned by the sudden affection from its young guide, tilting its tiger-like head in confusion. “Meow-ow?”
Ji Xun chuckled and hurried downstairs, excitedly announcing the news to his parents.
“Your spiritual form?” Ji’s father glanced briefly and said, “Impossible.”
Why impossible?
Ji Xun wasn’t convinced and wanted to tell them about his efforts over the past few days.
His mother gently kicked her husband under the table, not wanting to discourage their son, and chose a softer approach: “Xun Xun, tomorrow I’ll ask around if anyone nearby has lost a spiritual form. If no one claims it, you can keep it. Now, come sit down and eat.”
In truth, whose spiritual form would wander around without reason?
Most likely, someone nearby was unstable—either mentally disordered or trapped in a deep well of consciousness.
Hearing his mother’s words, Ji Xun calmed down and admitted it might really not be his.
He then asked, “Mom, is the milk warmed up?”
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His mother said, “A spiritual form doesn’t need to eat; if its master is full, it’s satisfied too.”
“That’s different. It just got soaked in the rain; it must be cold and hungry...” Ji Xun’s eyes suddenly lit up, excitement shining. “Yes! Just like me! I came home soaking wet, cold and hungry! So the king is definitely my spiritual form!”
Ji Xun: “Ahhhh!!”
Overwhelmed with joy, he spun around with the “little white lion” cub, showering it with kisses, lifting it high, then kissing it again.
The little creature, dizzy from the affection, meowed softly.
Its bright green, round eyes made it look even more simple and adorable.
It raised both front paws, stretching its claws as if trying to pin Ji Xun down, but after waving its short limbs for a while, it couldn’t reach him.
Nearby, Ji’s father muttered, "...What kind of logic is this?"
He dared not say more, instead looking at his wife for guidance.
Seeing their son so happy was rare, Ji’s mother didn’t want to spoil his mood and smiled, “Alright, come eat before the food gets cold.”
“Okay! Right away! But first, I have to feed the king some milk!” Ji Xun dashed upstairs, rummaged through his snack box, and finally found a bottle of nutritional liquid. He tore off the seal and tasted it himself to confirm it still had the familiar sweet and sour flavor, then poured some onto the cap and carefully fed it to the cub, cheerfully saying, “Here, king, drink this nutrition. Drink up and grow big!”
Ji Xun was truly delighted. After dinner, he returned to his room to express his heartfelt thanks to the metaphysics expert online.
He even tipped five hundred star coins with a flourish!
Then, holding the warm, fluffy “little lion,” he watched various videos of mighty lions reigning supreme.
He imagined what he would say to sound cool when his king defeated General Fu Shuxing.
Ah, he could hardly wait!
Ji Xun was so excited he stayed up half the night, finally dozing off in the early morning with his spiritual form held close.
After he fell asleep, the “little white lion” stirred, slipped from his arms, and began meowing softly in the dark.
Its bright green round eyes gleamed in the darkness as it moved to the foot of the bed and bit Ji Xun’s pants leg, as if only now waking from the young guide’s warm embrace and remembering its original purpose.
It gripped his pants leg, struggling to drag him off the bed to another place.
Ji Xun slept soundly, unaware.
The next day, Ji Xun woke up.
Still sleepy and not fully rested, he turned over in bed, and immediately his mind snapped awake—his king!
Ahhh, he had a spiritual form!
Ji Xun sat up excitedly and looked around but found nothing.
“King?” he called, lifting the entire blanket to check the bed, then barefoot got down and peered under the bed. “...King?”
“King, where are you?”
“King???”
At the dining table.
Ji’s mother saw her son’s red-rimmed eyes but was not surprised. She gently patted his shoulder and said, “It probably got lost last night. This morning, the master called it back. It’s okay.”
Ji Xun experienced a rollercoaster of joy and grief, unable to accept it. Especially after his mother’s comforting words, he finally burst into tears, sobbing, “Waaahhh! It’s not someone else’s! That’s definitely my spiritual form! My king! Not anyone else’s!!”
His mother hadn’t expected him to be so upset. Seeing him nearly break down, she quickly soothed his back, “It’s okay, it’s okay. If you want, I can ask around to find out whose spiritual form it really is.”
As she spoke, her spiritual tendrils quietly extended to help calm Ji Xun’s emotions.
At the street corner, Zhao Zhanlei saw Ji Xun’s red eyes and asked, “What’s wrong, Xun Xun? Did you get sick from the rain yesterday?”
Ji Xun’s nose tingled as he listened. He had been ready to embrace his king and enjoy Zhao Zhanlei’s amazed praise all day.
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But things didn’t turn out that way.
It was just an illusion, an empty joy.
Ji Xun wiped his eyes. Feeling too sad to eat much breakfast, he tried to turn his sorrow into appetite and asked, “Do you have anything to eat?”
“Ah.” Zhao Zhanlei patted his clothes and pockets—nothing. But his eyes brightened when he spotted someone approaching nearby. He immediately waved, “Xing Ge! Why so late today? Got any food on you?”
Ji Xun: “...”
Enemies always meet on narrow roads.
Ji Xun did not want to look back.
He had just rebuilt his mental defenses, only to risk them collapsing again at the sight of Fu Shuxing.
With the government compound gate less than a hundred meters away, Ji Xun reached out to pull Zhao Zhanlei, intending to board a flying vehicle first.
But footsteps echoed behind them.
Footsteps?
Ji Xun thought, since when does Fu Shuxing make noise when walking?
The footsteps grew closer, right behind them.
Unable to resist, Ji Xun glanced back and saw Fu Shuxing walking directly between him and Zhao Zhanlei, eyes filled with disdain.
The gate area was so wide.
Why did Fu Shuxing have to walk right between them, stirring up a gust of wind?
The wind carried the faint scent of medical disinfectant.
Ji Xun frowned, watching Zhao Zhanlei get pushed aside slightly by Fu Shuxing. His lips pressed tight, trembling with anger—this was sheer arrogance!
Outrageous!
“Stone,” Ji Xun thought, “I won’t argue with you now.” Zhao Zhanlei started to walk away, but before Ji Xun could finish his thought, Fu Shuxing stopped and said, “Zhao Zhanlei, the flying vehicle’s driver took it home. You’ll use mine for the next two days.”
Zhao Zhanlei instinctively replied, “Okay, no problem.”
“!!!”
Ji Xun stepped on Zhao Zhanlei’s foot and glared at him, silently conveying: What the heck are you doing?!
Zhao Zhanlei: “...Damn, forgot.”
But Zhao Zhanlei’s mind worked fast. He immediately thought of a solution and said to Fu Shuxing, “Xing Ge, I still have a flying vehicle at home. You know how to drive it, right? You can use it temporarily.”
Fu Shuxing said, “No.”
Zhao Zhanlei: “???!!!”
Why did I even ask?
You’ve been flying fighter jets for years, and now you say you can’t fly a flying vehicle?
Fu Shuxing’s voice was cold and firm: “My hand is injured.”
Ji Xun immediately looked at Fu Shuxing’s hands.
Sure enough.
Both hands were in his pockets, but his wrists were wrapped in layers of bandages.
Injured? Zhao Zhanlei had never heard Fu Shuxing utter those words before! Nervously, he cursed and strode over, “Xing Ge, what happened? Who dared to hurt you?”
Fu Shuxing didn’t answer, only glanced back slightly.