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Chapter 16: Devilish Catnip

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A couple of levels below at the tiny valley, Wonlai, Kyu Cao and them stood among a micro sea of flowers which reached to their waists.

Wonlai, Ti Ping and Bi Gong faces were lit with both surprise and delight, and also some disbelief.

Especially Ti Ping's, his expression was so moved that he looked as if he was about to cry from happiness at any moment.

"Spi- Spirit herb! Spirit herbs! These plants are, spirit herbs!" His voice was quivering, showing how excited he was.

The moment they came on contact with these plants, they could instantly feel their rich Qi through their fur and skin, a feeling that obviously meant that these were no ordinary plants. This could only have one explanation.

"Yo- Young Master, you wouldn't think that this entire field is all spirit herbs, right?" Even Bi Gong was so shocked that his speech tripped for a moment, but this scene was truly too unbelievable.

An entire small field of spirit herbs, who would believe such a thing actually existed?!

"What do you mean with spirit herb?" A feminine voice chimed in from above. Looking up, Li Ling was peering through the hole in the ceiling.

She originally had been meditating, calming her mind and extinguishing her inner fire, but hearing the ruckus she'd decide to take a look.

Ti Ping laughed loudly. "Spirit herbs! This small field of flowers is all a field of spirit herbs!"

"Are you sure? How can such a thing be possible? Do you think spirit herbs grow like turnips?" she asked skeptically.

"You don't believe?" responded the rat, suddenly feeling extremely smug. "Then why don't you come down and confirm it yourself?"

She hesitated. While it could be possible, sometimes too good things came with a catch. She actually already half believed Ti Ping's words, but she also suspected that there could be something else.

"No, I am fine. Young Master, Senior Cao, please be careful." While she didn't mind sacrificing the treasure nut rat, she was concerned about the others. After saying this, she again retreated to meditate and keep watch.

Wonlai too was excited with this discovery, but a hint of seriousness was also present in his eyes.

He hadn't forgotten that both Kyu Cao and Li Ling had showed a reaction previously, which he was almost sure had to be because of these herbs.

This close, he could now smell that sweet aroma that Kyu Cao had mentioned before. Only, it was not as rich as the cat had described it. It was more mellow and mild, without the sourness that often accompanied a fresh flower's fragrance, kind of soothing.

He turned toward Kyu Cao, and found that the cat was surprisingly making a face.

This one's browns were arched in a frown, his lips tightened, his droopy eyes slightly narrowed, it was an expression that conveyed both concentration and irritation.

"Are you fine, Brother Cao?"

This call snapped Kyu Cao out of his pondering, and he looked up to the tiger, his expression returning to his usual impassive one. "Yes, I am fine. Only, the smell has become a bit too concentrated, so it is stuffing." Just like when you have too much of the same thing, he was growing sick of it. To begin with, he preferred salty flavors.

"Really?" questioned Bi Gong with surprise. "I don't think it's that strong." He lowered himself and took a whiff from a bouquet, finding the fragrance mild and nice.

"This scent must be perceived different by the cat race," spoke out Ti Ping. He was probing around the plants and the ground, trying to absolutely make sure that this field was indeed a spirit herb field. His tail swished slowly from side to side with his good mood. "They're spirit herbs, so it's not that strange. Young Master, what spirit herb is this?"

"I don't know." Wonlai shook his head.

He knew about most of the most common spirit herbs that could be found in the area of the Mortal Bridge Mountain Chain, but not this one.

"Devilish Catnip," someone threw in.

"Huh? Brother Cao, you... Right, you said you may recognize this plant, right?"

"Yes, it is Devilish Catnip."

"Devilish Catnip?" Wonlai repeated, his frowning. It was not a very reassuring name.

"Catnip? Like the plant that's said is used to get cats drunk?"

"That's merely a misconception." Finding the bull's wording a little to crude for a cat's presence, Wonlai hurried to correct. "Catnip can be used to make alcohol, which theriopes of the cat race find especially tasty. Actually, we tigers do it too, to a lesser extent, admittedly. Both the flower and catnip alcohol have a sweet smell, so it's rather alluring."

"So it's actually used to make alcohol!" This actually picked more the young male ox's interest, and he took another whiff. "Can alcohol also be made with these?"

"You..." Ti Ping was instantly speechless.

This lug wanted to use such precious spirit herb to make simple alcohol? How preposterous!

However, who could've thought that Kyu Cao would respond this one.

"Yes. A beverage called Lovetrap Devilish Catnip Alcohol can be brewed with Devilish Catnip."

"It does!?" Once again, Ti Ping was speechless.

"Why is called Lovetrap Devilish Catnip Alcohol?" inquired Bi Gong with a mouthful.

"Because it is a powerful aphrodisiac."

All of sudden, the trio's movements froze.

Did they hear well, an aphrodisiac?

"Ehm, Brother Cao, can you elaborate further?" Wonlai requested. He was suddenly having a bad presentiment about this.

"Devilish Catnip is a devious spirit herb." Just this sentence alone, was like a war hammer mercilessly striking their heads, but the cat was not finished. "It has no actual effect on cat theriopes, but for all the other races it works as a powerful aphrodisiac. It also has the effect of turning them more receptive and submissive. I am not clear on how much must be ingested, but brewing it into alcohol refines and strengthens its effects. However... This is not exactly as the book described it. It should have no effect on cats, yet it feels as if I let my guard down I would become drunk and muddleheaded by its fragrance." He glared at the dense bouquet of flowers, trying to recall all he had read.

The leaves were small and with dented edges, colored in a solid dark green. The flowers in contrast were bright pink with little red splotches. Their shape was quite peculiar, resembling a beast's head with a gaping maw, surprisingly ferocious. If Kyu Cao had to compare it to something, he would say it looked like a feline beast's head.

Because it bloomed plentifully, from afar this plant looked quite lively and pretty. But up close, it turned out quite savage.

This was indeed the appearance of Devilish Catnip.

In fact, Kyu Cao actually didn't know how common catnip looked like.

He'd coincidentally found this herb's entry inside a book at the Infirmary, and because it had the word cat in its name he had decided to investigate it a little.

"Devious spirit herb..." mumbled Ti Ping in a depressed manner. His countenance was as if he had suddenly lost a great fortune, which wasn't a too exaggerated analogy.

For Cultivators, if true spirit herbs were the treasures that everyone strove to find, then, devious spirit herbs were the evil traps to catch idiots.

Devious spirit herbs were the same as other spirit herbs in that they nourished on the world's Nature Qi. The feeling they gave off was the same too, one which was rich and full of energy.

However, instead of refining and storing the Qi, creating a source of beneficial energy, inside a devious spirit herb the Qi was transformed into strange energies. These were practically impossible to absorb, useless for advancing one's Cultivation. Furthermore, these strange energies had many outlandish effects when consumed, the most common being poisoning.

If this Devilish Catnip was an aphrodisiac, then this was not much different from a poisonous spirit herb.

Truly, worse than not finding gold, was finding the fools' gold.

Wonlai couldn't help but be greatly disappointed as well.

As for Bi Gong, he stared at the tiny little flowers with some contemplation, but when he noticed his young master staring at him with an eyebrow raised, he straightened his back and gave a fake cough.

"Well, I guess these won't be of much use for us then." When he looked again, everyone was now staring at him intently, Ti Ping even somewhat disdainfully. He suddenly felt embarrassed. "Ehm, maybe we should leave? This place is a bit hot."

"Sure it is!" spat the rat.

Wonlai smiled amusedly, before seeming to realize something. "Fuck!"

"Young Master?!"

"The cold, can you feel the mountain's cold?" he asked the others hurriedly.

Hearing this question they were taken aback, but after confirming it themselves their expressions too changed.

"I can't."

"Young Master, this is..."

"Yes, I think we have been actually affected by the aphrodisiac," he said with a strange expression.

Ti Ping and Bi Gong's faces too became similar.

Now that it was mentioned, since coming down here they had stopped feeling the chilling air of the mountaintop, but they had been too distracted to notice this. And even if they had, they might have credited this to being too excited about the spirit herbs to feel it.

Well, it could be said that this became true, though it was another kind of excitement.

"You are all aroused?"

A calm and somewhat flat voice reached their ears. But for some reason, when they heard it a tremor ran through their bodies.

They turned toward the source, and found a cat fixedly staring back at them, his tail leisurely rocking back and forth behind him.

"Brother... Cao?" Wonlai began, but then found that he didn't know what to say.

Then they remembered. Hadn't he said that this devious herb's effects were only effective on all races but cats?

And that Lovetrap Devilish Catnip Alcohol... From a cat's perspective, wasn't it practically the perfect tool to get someone into bed?!

Looking at that face that didn't let anything, they couldn't garner at all what the cat could be thinking at this moment.

From their time together with the cat, they had gathered that he was a curious individual; his scope of interests was quite broad, and he could turn quite adamant when it came to satisfy his own curiosity.

But... he couldn't be curious about that right?

...

"Ehem, I think Bi Gong is right. We should come out from here, since there's nothing we can use." Wonlai tried to say that as nonchalantly as possible. Next, he turned his head upward, "Li Ling!" he spoke loudly.

He waited for a moment, but she didn't show up. He tried to call again, but still she did not appear.

"Where's she?"

"She ditched us!" roared Ti Ping out of the blue, making the bull's eyes too to reveal realization.

Wonlai's lips thinned in a helpless smile.

He couldn't really blame her.

If she had heard them, then he thought that as a girl it was normal of her to want to take some distance, for various reasons. Everybody could see that there wasn't much danger here either, so she wouldn't be too guilty of taking some distance.

"Young Master, how do we get out of here? We jump up?"

The crevice in the rock was actually truly spacious. Calling it a wide cave was more appropriate. It was broader that it was deeper; the walls were smooth and concave at the top, the ceiling was muddy and from it the grass' many little roots hung down.

It was not exceedingly tall, but this distance was still a bit outside of their vertical jump prowess.

Wonlai considered the bull's suggestion, and found it feasible. "Yes, if we combine our strength, at least one would be able to go out and the assist the others."

Both Bi Gong and Ti Ping understood what he meant, but then the young ox showed some reluctance. "Ehm, so, does that mean, that we will be holding each other?"

This question surprised Ti Ping, but soon he too couldn't help but feel some hesitation.

While males were less shy concerning these matters, entering into physical contact with someone you knew was aroused under the effects of aphrodisiac was still a bit...

Wonlai as well was not too comfortable with the idea. The heat inside him was such that it was becoming itchy, and his breathing got deeper.

Circulating their Qi did nothing, so they were currently relying on pure mental fortitude to hold back from "standing to full attention".

The group stood there in silence, contemplating if there was another way, or maybe they were thinking how to go about it without ending in an awkward position, but they knew they had to decide soon.

"Should I give you a paw?"

They were so focused, that when this came all of sudden from a blind spot, and from a very close distance, they were almost startled out of their fur.

"Wha-, Brother Cao?" Wonlai turned around a little flustered, and found that Kyu Cao had sneaked behind him.

Seeing his reaction, the cat, incredibly, smiled.

Though it was a faint smile, it conveyed perfectly a mischievous mirth and a slightly dangerous feeling, like a calm predator finding an amusing toy.

When the others saw this, involuntarily they clenched their rears, and their tails dropped defensively over their buttocks.

As for why... instinct?

Wonlai tried to calm himself, something difficult with the rising flames inside him. "Excuse me, Brother Cao was saying?"

"I asked if I should give you all a helping paw?"

"Eeehm... what do you..."

The mirth in the cat's fiery blue eyes increased, giving them a dazzling gleam that made the trio's hearts jump.

Then Kyu Cao looked away and pointed with a paw.

"We can easily climb up through there, right?"

The three turned their heads with neck-breaking speed, and looking in that direction they saw at the distance a sturdy looking ladder of roots which conveniently stretched all the way to the top.

While their maws hung agape, Kyu Cao began to walk forward. That mischievous smile still on his muzzle.

The three only watched as the cat walked away in complete shock.

Were they just toyed with?

Senior Cao, you could actually be this evil?!

Some time later, everyone had calmed down.

The group had reunited with Li Ling, with only a bit of bickering between her and Ti Ping, and excited the area of the Tiger's Scar.

"So Brother Cao will still stay?" asked Wonlai to the cat, who nodded. "Then it seems we will part ways here. Our permission of absence was only until today."

While this was true, Wonlai had also started to suspect that the cat couldn't come out of the forest yet.

Or at least, he wouldn't come out together with them.

Wonlai didn't think the reason was something negative; the cat should have his own situation, so they would no longer inconvenience him.

"I see. I bid you all a good farewell. I have truly enjoyed your company."

"No, no. It was us who benefited the most from Brother Cao's presence. It was fun. Brother Cao, take care of yourself."

"Take care, Senior Cao."

"Farewell."

"We should meet again sometime, Big Bro Cao!"

"... Yes. If the opportunity presents itself."

Though the cat's voice could be said to be the same as ever, a softer intonation could be appreciated this time if one perked the ears.

The other nodded, and not delaying any longer they turned around and left.

Kyu Cao stood there and waited for a moment before also setting off, his destination being the wild lake.

Since he was already at the Backdoor's Forest, he decided to cultivate for some time.

Then, he quickly groomed himself with the lake's cold water, before inserting a paw in his pocket and taking out a ring.

This ring was simple and unadorned, but seemed made from dark green jade with the air of a relic, surely precious.

He donned the ring, and with an intention, a new long robe appeared out of nothing, together with some medicinal pellets.

Kyu Cao first ate the pellets, before turning his attention to the robe.

This robe was vibrant green in color, embroidered with gold. It was a truly majestic piece, the outer robe from a formal outfit.

Kyu Cao put on the robe in one practiced movement, the silk flapping in the air like the wings of a bird about to take flight.

Soon, the air of the Third Young Master was restored.

Then he walked forward, to finally return to the Bloodstripe State.