185: Autistic rat spirit

In a fit of anger just now, I actually forgot that he could maintain a human form.

Lin Hu's human form was a burly, strong man.

Who wouldn't be afraid to see him like that?

"This is bizarre. All this muscle on me, did all my strength evaporate after transforming?"

Lin Hu rubbed his chin, his gaze suspicious as he scrutinized his furry paws.

No matter how he looked, they just didn't sit right with him.

"How did I shrink so much? This looks completely unrelated to my original appearance."

Lin Hu waved his paws, adapting to his new body, and found it quite nimble.

"Well, besides other benefits, at least I'll eat a few bowls less rice."

"Oh no, could it be... the size of the transformation is related to energy consumption?"

As the thought arose, scattered memory fragments suddenly exploded in his mind.

The demon Incarnation came with Legacy memories, but last time, he transformed in a hurry, and before he could digest this information, his main consciousness kicked him out of the Prefecture City to do work...

"Is this what humans do?"

Lin Hu pouted, then angrily found a clean patch of grass to sit down on, forcing himself to sink deep into his consciousness.

A flood of information surged in, not only Cultivation Techniques but also "Survival Bibles" passed down through generations of tiger demon Seniors.

From how to accurately use urine to mark territory to what majestic pose to strike during courtship, it even clearly detailed "which prey has the tenderest meat."

Even more outrageous, a copy of "108 Ways to Contract a Feeder" was prominently listed, making Lin Hu's mouth twitch.

What kind of nonsense was this?

Lin Hu disdained it!

"Where did this broken System dig up such a bizarre memory bank?"

Lin Hu's face darkened as he frantically searched, finally unearthing the key information amidst the vast amount of useless data—the demon Incarnation's strength was deeply tied to the main body's Cultivation level. With his current Qi reserves, forcibly transforming back into an adult tiger form would likely leave him weak and sore, unable to maintain it for long.

"So the System gave me a cub form?"

Lin Hu suddenly understood, but then he gritted his teeth.

Weak, too weak!

He couldn't possibly maintain this appearance forever, could he?

Was he not going to fight, but rather to charm his opponents to death?

He tried to transform into a larger size.

Lin Hu tried to circulate the demonic Qi within him and indeed found that every time he wanted to expand his body, his demonic Qi would rapidly deplete, while shrinking his body was much easier.

"Tsk, looks like I need to conserve it."

"Wait, since a smaller body consumes less, doesn't that mean I can..."

His eyes lit up, and he suddenly shrunk into a palm-sized tiger cub, then tried running and jumping.

"Whoosh—"

The tiny figure was as fast as lightning, instantly darting over ten meters away!

As if it had wings.

"Hahaha! So that's how it is!"

Lin Hu excitedly rolled on the ground.

"Although my body is smaller, the demonic Qi consumption is extremely low, and my speed is actually faster!"

He tried adjusting his size again and found that as long as he maintained the cub state, his demonic Qi would barely be consumed, but once he tried to grow larger, his demonic Qi would rapidly drain.

"It seems that I am currently more suited to be a flexible, assassin-type tiger, rather than a beast that confronts head-on."

Lin Hu stroked his chin, lost in thought.

"However... it's useful, but if I go to Black Rat Mountain in this form to recruit subordinates, I'll probably be laughed to death."

***

The afternoon on Black Rat Mountain was always languid.

The lingering glow of the setting sun pierced through layers of maple leaves, painting the entire mountain a bloody hue.

The mountain wind swept by, and the maple leaves rustled, like countless little demons whispering.

In the center of the platform, a vibrant Little Green Snake coiled on a soft cushion, next to a large gray rat, both demons squinting, enjoying this rare leisure time.

The green snake lay lazily coiled on a flat bluestone, the tip of her tail tapping the stone surface idly.

She was entirely verdant, with only a crimson dot on her forehead, glowing with an eerie luster under the setting sun.

Beside the stone were several opened jars of osmanthus wine, the aroma of wine mixed with the scent of mountain flora, making her drowsy.

"Big Sister, stop Cultivating, come and feel nature!"

"Oh wind, you blow 'whoosh whoosh', oh days, you are truly beautiful..."

The rat spirit used her tail to scoop up a peanut and accurately threw it at the Little Green Snake's forehead.

"Stop your drunken antics. If you keep making noise, I'm going into seclusion."

The Little Green Snake clutched her forehead, suddenly falling silent.

She rolled over and turned to look at the rat spirit.

The rat spirit was propping her chin with her two front paws, her eyes fixed on the distant mountain peaks.

The lingering glow of the setting sun gilded her dusty fur, making her appear particularly forlorn.

"Little Green..., I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gotten angry at you just now."

Ever since Rat Chestnut left, the Little Green Snake, seeing her in low spirits, would come over every now and then to play and cheer her up.

The rat spirit sensed the Little Green Snake's kindness and always had her cubs prepare the fruit wine the Little Green Snake loved.

The green snake's tail paused for a moment, then slowly coiled up her body.

"Hm?... Oh, it's fine."

The wine jar tipped over, and the remaining wine slowly seeped into the cracks of the bluestone.

Several small rats attending them noticed the change in atmosphere and quietly retreated.

The rat spirit used her paw to pick up the soul stabilizing pearl from around her neck and held it before her eyes, staring unblinkingly at the misty interior.

But she could feel that Rat Chestnut's soul was still inside.

This pearl still had warmth.

"I want to revive Rat Chestnut."

The tip of the Little Green Snake's tail paused, and she asked cautiously.

"You... still haven't let go?"

"Let go? How can I let go? This Black Rat Mountain, it's all our memories. I don't know how to let go."

"He was killed by humans. He saved so many people in his life, but in the end, they not only killed him but also wanted to eat his flesh..."

The Little Green Snake silently watched the rat spirit's frenzy.

He knew the rat spirit's dilemma. They believed in Lord Chuping, and Lord Chuping protected humans, but they could no longer extend their love to protect humans.

The pearl in the rat spirit's paw glowed faintly green under the setting sun, with mist swirling inside, and a faint black shadow could be vaguely seen moving.

The Little Green Snake quietly moved closer, gently touching the rat spirit's trembling paw with the tip of his tail.

"Tell me... what exactly happened that day? You've never been willing to elaborate."

The mountain wind suddenly stilled, and even the maple leaves stopped rustling.

Several fireflies rose from the grass, casting a faint light.

The rat spirit took a deep breath, tilted her head back, and took a large gulp of wine. The wine dripped down her chin, indistinguishable from tears.

"Around that time, Yan Province suffered a severe drought, and large numbers of refugees poured into Qing Province..."

"..."

"When we arrived, he was already dead, killed by a hunter's arrow. It was just a Mortal, yet he killed Rat Chestnut."

"Lord Chuping said his soul is in this pearl."

"Do you think he's afraid of the dark in there?"

"Lord Chuping protects humans..."

The rat spirit gave a bitter laugh, "But humans want to eat his believers! What kind of logic is that?"

The night wind swept over the mountain, carrying the chill of early autumn.

Even the cold-blooded Little Green Snake felt a chill in his heart.

No wonder, after the rat spirit returned to Black Rat Mountain, she never went to the village again.

She only occasionally went to burn incense at the temple halfway up the mountain.