Chapter 94 : Little Mi Still Wanted a New Name

Chapter 94: Little Mi Still Wanted a New Name

By the time the conversation reached this point, the two people in the pavilion had both fallen into a brief silence.

It seemed that everything that needed to be asked had already been asked.

Although True Person Mingzhu still harbored layer upon layer of confusion in her heart, she knew very clearly that even if she continued pressing the matter, she would probably be unable to extract any more valuable information from Long Tao, this so-called “pawn.”

At most, he had merely been a tool temporarily used by a wisp of divine sense from that powerful “Itinerant Merchant.”

The only thing that made Long Tao appear even slightly special was perhaps the decent relationship he had established with Nan Yuchen, which caused that senior to feel that he still had a bit of “use value.”

That was why the senior had shown mercy— not only sparing his life, but also conveniently strengthening his divine soul, making it easier to use him again in the future if needed.

True Person Mingzhu was just about to stand up.

However, at that very moment, the small cat in her arms suddenly leapt nimbly, landing lightly on the stone table between the two of them.

It first stretched lazily to its absolute limit as if no one else existed, then lifted its little head and looked toward Long Tao with a pair of moist eyes full of grievance.

It let out a soft “meow,”

“Wait! Wait a moment! Long Tao! That name you helped me come up with before—‘Beat-the-Dog’—Huaisu and True Person Mingzhu and the others all dislike it! But I really don’t want the name ‘Little Mi’ anymore! It’s way too childish! Can you help me think of a nicer-sounding one again, pretty please?!”

!!!

This wasn’t over yet?!

Long Tao looked at the little cat on the table, which spoke rebellious words with an adorably cute appearance—especially those eyes full of yearning, as if he were its only savior—and his heart immediately skipped a beat.

He subconsciously lifted his gaze and happened to meet True Person Mingzhu’s eyes, which had already narrowed, cold light flashing within them.

A wave of icy killing intent made his scalp go numb, and he swallowed with difficulty.

“Oh?”

True Person Mingzhu’s voice was terrifyingly gentle, the corners of her lips curving into a smile without the slightest warmth.

“So… that ‘Beat-the-Dog’… distinctive name was actually your handiwork? Hehe… Little Mi started clamoring to change its true name to this the moment it came back from the Secret Realm.

When Huaisu asked about it, the girl hemmed and hawed and refused to say much.

I was still wondering which ‘expert’ had such ability, to corrupt the Profound Abyss Treading Snow beast I personally gifted to Huaisu…”

Her gaze was like ice awls, stabbing into Long Tao.

“So it was you again! Long Tao, tell me—what kind of grudge do you have against our Moon-Washing Peak? First you instigated Nan Yuchen into doing something so absurd, and now you’ve come to harm my disciple’s spirit pet as well?”

“N-no, no! True Person, please quell your anger! Let me explain!” Long Tao waved his hands frantically, cold sweat instantly soaking his back.

“At the time… at the time I just thought this little one was really too cute and couldn’t help myself… I only joked with it a little! There was absolutely no disrespect whatsoever! Heaven and earth can bear witness!”

In his panic, he hurriedly tried to divert the conflict, pointing at the little black cat on the table that was washing its face with a paw.

“And besides… True Person, think about it—this is a Profound Abyss Treading Snow beast with extraordinary bloodline! It’s destined to become powerful combat strength in the future! Calling it ‘Little Mi’ all the time… isn’t that… honestly a bit too unfair to it? It sounds just like any random little tabby by the roadside.”

Hearing this, the black cat sprawled on the table immediately stopped its movements.

It lifted its head and let out two “meows” at True Person Mingzhu, its voice full of agreement and protest.

It even proactively jumped onto Long Tao’s shoulder, rubbing its fluffy cheek against him, using its actions to show its firm support for Long Tao’s position.

Seeing her own spirit pet behaving in such a “turncoat” manner, True Person Mingzhu was so angry that her chest rose and fell slightly.

Yet when she met the little black cat’s aggrieved and expectant gaze, her heart ultimately softened somewhat.

She snorted unhappily,

“A little cat is supposed to be called Little Mi, Little Snow, Little Jade, or something like that, isn’t it? What’s wrong with such a name?”

Though she said so, looking at the black cat on Long Tao’s shoulder wearing an expression that clearly screamed “If you call me Little Mi again, I’ll go on a hunger strike,” she also understood that the name was indeed a bit too casual to match the status of a Profound Abyss Treading Snow beast.

She sighed, her tone easing slightly.

“It’s not like we never tried giving it a proper name before.

Things like ‘Ink Jade,’ ‘Mystic Snow,’ ‘Treading Clouds,’ ‘Snow Ink’… we thought up several.

But this little thing didn’t like a single one, saying that characters like ‘ink,’ ‘snow,’ and ‘cloud’ were all overused and that it disliked them.

With no other choice, we just kept calling it ‘Little Mi,’ ‘Little Mi.’”

Long Tao could actually understand the little cat’s mindset.

It was like in his previous life, in any random elementary school class, you could always pick out several kids named “Zixuan,” “Haoyu,” or “Zihan.” If those kids had known while still in the womb that they’d share names with so many others, they’d probably have kicked their legs in protest too.

“Then… let’s choose a name whose characters aren’t so overused, but that can still tie in with your features.” Long Tao scratched his head, looking at the little black cat on his shoulder as he thought seriously.

“No black, white, snow, ink, cloud—those overused words… hmm… let me think…”

His gaze swept over the cat’s jet-black, glossy back fur and its four snow-white paws.

After pondering for a moment, his eyes lit up.

“Got it! How about ‘Frost Charcoal’? Frost is the extreme cold white, charcoal is the blazing hot black.

One cold and one hot, one white and one black—it points out your fur colors, and it sounds kind of distinctive too.”

At this name, a trace of surprise flashed across True Person Mingzhu’s face.

She seemed not to have expected Long Tao to actually come up with an option that wasn’t outrageous.

She savored it briefly and nodded.

“‘Frost Charcoal’… the imagery is indeed quite fitting—one yin and one yang, with a sharp contrast.

It just sounds a bit cold and hard, lacking some of Little Mi’s softness.” She lowered her head to look at the little black cat.

“Little Mi, what do you think? Do you like this name?”

“I like it! I like it a lot!” the little black cat responded joyfully at once.

It excitedly kneaded its paws on Long Tao’s shoulder, its big eyes sparkling.

“I want exactly this kind of hard-sounding name! I don’t want those soft, mushy ones! This is it! From now on, my name is Frost Charcoal!”

Seeing the little fellow so overjoyed and decisive, True Person Mingzhu had no dissatisfaction with the name itself, yet she still couldn’t help shooting Long Tao an annoyed glare, as if blaming him for once again tempting away her peak’s spirit pet.

Still, she was not a petty person.

With a flip of her wrist, two small, exquisitely crafted white jade porcelain bottles appeared in her palm, which she casually tossed to Long Tao.

“These two bottles contain Spirit-Nourishing Pills,” True Person Mingzhu said, her tone returning to its usual calm.

“They’re not ordinary goods, but our Moon-Washing Peak’s exclusive Moon-Dew Spirit-Nourishing Pills.

While accelerating the accumulation of spiritual energy, the medicinal properties also carry a trace of moonlight essence, gently nourishing your Dantian Qi Sea.

If used properly, they might significantly shorten the time you spend refining at the Qi-Refining Sixth Layer.

As for the specific effect, that will depend on how you make use of them.”

Long Tao hurriedly reached out to catch them.

The porcelain bottles felt warm and smooth in his hand, with a faint, cool spiritual aura seeping out—he knew at once that these were absolutely rare treasures! Suppressing the wild joy in his heart, he was just about to bow and thank her.

“Many thanks, True—”

Before the word “Person” could leave his mouth, the peerlessly beautiful figure before his eyes, together with the newly named and smug “Frost Charcoal,” lightly wavered like a reflection in water and then vanished without a trace, leaving behind only the lingering fragrance in the pavilion and the drifting clouds and mist outside.

Long Tao froze in place, still half-bowed, the gratitude in his heart instantly turning into confusion and helplessness.

He looked at the now-empty pavilion suspended over tens of thousands of zhang of open air, and at the sheer cliff on the other side where no exit could be found, utterly at a loss.

“True Person… you could’ve at least taken me back with you while you were at it! Th-this… where exactly is this place? And how am I supposed to get down?!”