Raising the Villain in Wrong Way

Ji’an’s jaw dropped. "Did... did the cat just complain about our emotional baggage?"

«I am a Nekomata, mortal. Not a common alley mouser,» the beast corrected sharply, its twin tails twitching with annoyance.

It turned its gaze away from Blue, locking its crystalline eyes onto Ji’an.

The kitten’s head tilted slightly, an expression of profound curiosity crossing its face.

«You, however, are interesting,» the Nekomata mused, stepping daintily off the rock and pacing toward them, ignoring Blue’s warning stance entirely. «You smell of blood, heavy iron, and... chaotic intent. You are not native to these currents of fate, are you, little human?»

Ji’an stiffened, a cold spike of panic hitting her chest.

Could the beast see through her?

"State your business, beast," Blue interjected, stepping forward to block the Nekomata’s line of sight to Ji’an, his disguised Qi flaring aggressively. "If you seek a fight, I will oblige you. If not, return to the mist."

The Nekomata stopped pacing.

It sat back down, wrapping its two tails around its paws again, looking at Blue with a mixture of amusement and utter disdain.

«I don’t fight fakes,» the kitten scoffed telepathically. «And I’m exceedingly bored. I have lived in this humid, miserable, mud-soaked purgatory for three hundred years. I have watched the giant crabs eat each other until it lost its entertainment value. I wish to see the human world. I wish to sleep on silk, eat cooked fish that doesn’t taste like sulfur, and observe the petty, dramatic squabbles of the imperial courts.»

The kitten looked past Blue, addressing Ji’an directly.

«Contract with me, human. In exchange for a tether that allows me to bypass the ancient wards of the forest, I will serve as your shield. I will keep the lesser, filthy trash of the mortal realm away from you. A mutually beneficial arrangement for a boring century or two.»

Ji’an stared at the glowing, two-tailed kitten.

Her brain went into absolute, hyper-speed overdrive.

’A Rank 7 Enlightened Beast,’ Ji’an calculated rapidly. ’It’s offering me a contract. Normally, I’d just ignore these kinds of troublesome things. I can’t fight it; I’m strong, but not to that extent, so it’s no wonder it would obliterate me. Contracting it would guarantee my safety. But... I don’t need a bodyguard for now. I have a spatula. And I don’t want the political nightmare of explaining to the Celestial Sword Sect why I have a legendary, talking cat sitting on my shoulder.’

But then, a completely different, selfless thought slammed into her mind.

’Wait.’

Ji’an looked at the pristine, silver-furred, glowing ice-blue-eyed kitten.

It was beautiful, majestic, and possessed a haughty, arrogant, deeply introverted personality.

It was, aesthetically and spiritually, the perfect match for someone with the Flawless Ice Root.

’Wangchen,’ Ji’an’s eyes widened, a brilliant, excited spark igniting in her soul. ’My Little Puddle is locked in a freezing cave, fighting his inner demons. He’s lonely and is probably brooding. He has no friends except me! If I bring him back a legendary, talking, two-tailed spirit cat... it would be the ultimate pet! It could keep him company! They could brood together in the snow! It’s the perfect gift!’

"Young Master Ji’an. Don’t even consider it," Blue warned, his voice tight, sensing the shift in her aura. "Contracts with Enlightened Beasts are incredibly dangerous. They can consume your soul if your willpower falters."

Ji’an completely ignored him.

She stepped out from behind the towering rogue, lowering her spatula, walking toward the glowing kitten.

"I don’t want a permanent master-servant contract," Ji’an negotiated, dropping to a crouch a few feet away from the Nekomata. "I am too free soul for you, and you are too shabby for my kitchen. How about a temporary, escort-level soul-tether?"

The kitten’s ears perked up, intrigued.

«An escort tether? You wish to bind me merely to transport me?»

"Exactly," Ji’an beamed, her silver-flecked eyes shining with pure, genuine affection as she thought of the Ice Demon. "I have this... this friend, back home on my mountain. He’s incredibly strong, but he’s really brooding, icy, and totally isolated. He has terrible social skills and zero party members. He needs a cool companion to keep him company so he doesn’t go crazy and freeze the world."

Ji’an gestured enthusiastically to the kitten. "You match his aesthetic perfectly! You’re both majestic, slightly arrogant, and glow in the dark! I’ll give you a temporary tether. I’ll take you out of the swamp, bring you to the human world, and introduce you to him. If you like his ice palace, you can stay. If not, I release the tether, and you can go wander the capital. Deal?"

The Nekomata stared at the kneeling chef.

«You are willing to risk your soul to establish a temporary tether with a Rank 7 apex predator... simply to procure a pet for your brooding roommate?» the kitten asked, its telepathic voice dripping with profound disbelief. «That is either the height of mortal arrogance, or the deepest display of absolute devotion I have ever witnessed in three centuries.»

"I just want to give him the best," Ji’an shrugged honestly, a soft, fond smile on her face. "He deserves something nice for once."

The Nekomata let out a sound that was half-purr, half-laugh. «Very well, strange cook. I shall accept your terms, but the vessel that will contract with me needs to be strong enough to endure my power. The Ice Palace sounds significantly cleaner than the mud. Present your hand.»

Behind Ji’an, the red-haired rogue known as Blue had stopped functioning as a rational entity.

Xie Wangchen was standing perfectly still, his dark eyes wide, staring at the back of Ji’an’s head.

The devastation of what he was witnessing was absolute.

She wasn’t contracting the beast for power.

She wasn’t doing it for glory, or protection, or to boost her own ranking by using this priceless beast.

She had looked at a terrifying, lethal, Rank 7 legendary anomaly that could vaporize her soul... and her only thought had been, ’Wangchen would love this.’