As Chu Qiguang stumbled deeper into the bamboo forest, the bamboo trees grew denser and denser, blocking out the moonlight above and making the surroundings even darker and more unsettling.

His pulse quickened, and he grew anxious with each passing second.

All of a sudden, a strong gust of wind swept through, causing the bamboo to sway and rustle violently, producing a howling sound like that of a wolf or a fox.

At the same time, shadows sprang up into the air like old fiends in the wilderness from ghost stories, prowling the mountains to abduct humans and drink their blood.

The mountain forest, the dark night, the cat fiends, the howling, the shadows... All of this made Chu Qiguang feel as if he had stepped into a demon’s lair, with countless pairs of bloodthirsty eyes sweeping over his body.

When he looked down, he realized that the two feral cats were getting farther and farther away, almost disappearing into the darkness.

He called out and rushed forward to catch up. Even though the two feral cats were walking upright on their hind legs, their bodies twisted from side to side in a serpentine manner, as if moving to some mysterious rhythm that gave them impressive speed, and they soon left Chu Qiguang behind.

Chu Qiguang could only watch as the two cat fiends disappeared into the darkness. After taking a few more hurried steps, he burst out of the bamboo forest and into a clearing.

The sight before him made his heart skip a beat.

All kinds of animals were gathered around a giant rock in an orderly fashion, including feral cats, feral dogs, foxes, crows, sparrows... Some were crouched down, while others were sitting. They were all making strange sounds as they swayed their heads from side to side, like students in a classroom reciting scripture after their teacher.

The two feral cats that had guided Chu Qiguang strode up to the giant rock and knelt down like students paying respects to their teacher. At the same time, they made some childish, incoherent sounds like the babbling of infants.

An orange cat sat at the center of the giant rock with its hind legs crossed, its sharp gaze fixed on Chu Qiguang.

At that moment, all of the surrounding animals also turned toward him, and the sight of the inhuman emotions in their eerie green eyes sent chills down his spine.

“Welcome,” the orange cat greeted with a nod in Chu Qiguang’s direction.

It then turned to the other animals and said, “Don’t get distracted; focus on your own work. Haven’t I told all of you that the difference between humans and beasts is the former’s ability to remain composed and focused under any and all circumstances?

“From now on, you must be composed regardless of what people and events you encounter, as opposed to panicking at the first sign of any disturbance. Only then will you be able to gradually rid yourself of your bestial nature.”

The orange cat spoke very clearly and eloquently, and the slow, meticulous cadence of its speech resembled that of an elderly academic scholar. This sense of civilization dispelled the beastly aura in the air, and it allowed Chu Qiguang to regain his composure.

The other animals obediently turned back to continue their recitation, but there were still a few foxes and feral cats who occasionally snuck glances at Chu Qiguang, unable to suppress their curiosity.

Chu Qiguang’s mind was racing at the scene before him.

There are so many of them! The shadows that I saw in the bamboo forest earlier must’ve been fiends like these too, right?

Even though he had spoken with the orange cat before, he wasn’t familiar with its powers. However, after seeing how it had managed to gather such a well-disciplined group of animal followers, his opinion of the orange cat rose significantly.

Even though he was still only a mere mortal, a thought had already begun to take shape in his mind as he gazed at this band of fiends.

If I can get these fiends to help me or even bring them under my control, then the Wang Clan won’t be a problem at all!

With that in mind, he immediately cupped his fist in a respectful salute, and a reverent look appeared on his face as he praised, “You truly are an immortal among cats! Your willingness to enlighten the masses is a blessing to the Great Han Empire and the entire world at large!”

The orange cat leapt up from its seated position atop the giant rock to stand on its hind legs, then instantly appeared before Chu Qiguang as if it had teleported.

Its whiskers twitched at Chu Qiguang’s praise, and an involuntary smile spread across its face.

Even though it was able to speak, Daoist temples were everywhere in the Great Han Empire, so it didn’t dare speak carelessly with humans, and it had been dying for someone to talk to.

As for its beastly subordinates, even the smartest among them could only utter a few words at most, so expecting them to be capable of giving praise was asking far too much.

After hearing what Chu Qiguang had said, the orange cat deemed him to be a good and honest boy who gave praise where it was due.

It clasped its front paws behind its back, then walked a circle around Chu Qiguang as it explained, “Five days ago, I sensed a transcendence of your soul, and your qi and blood also displayed signs of liberation, leading me to suspect that you had awakened intelligence from a past life, and my suspicions have been confirmed. The past Zhou Ergou would’ve never dared to venture into the mountains alone in the dead of night to come and see me.”

Chu Qiguang found the sight of this upright orange cat evaluating him absurd, and the implications behind its words had him feeling a little apprehensive. However, the look of reverence on his face remained completely unchanged as he praised, “You truly have a keen eye like no other, Master. I have indeed been feeling smarter these past few days.”

The orange cat’s whiskers twitched as it observed Chu Qiguang with a smile and said, “Don’t call me master. You can just call me Qiao Zhi.”

Chu Qiguang was quite relieved that the orange cat hadn’t exposed him as a transmigrator.

He glanced at the other animals, who looked as if they were being taught like students, it was clear to him that the orange cat was fond of educating others. If he could please the orange cat with just a simple title, then he was naturally going to use it, and use it extensively.

“Not only does your wisdom encompass both worldly and heavenly affairs, your efforts in teaching beasts the way of speech place you on the same pedestal as ancient sages. You are truly worthy of the title of master, Master Qiao,” Chu Qiguang praised.

Qiao Zhi’s tail perked up even higher at the praise. Educating fiends was the feat that he was most proud of over the past few years, so how could he not be pleased to hear Chu Qiguang praise him for it?

The two engaged in an amicable conversation, and with Chu Qiguang deliberately flattering the orange cat, the atmosphere became more and more harmonious.

Looking at Chu Qiguang’s reverent and submissive display, Qiao Zhi thought to himself, He’s still just a country bumpkin. Even though he’s awakened intelligence from a past life, all it took was a small display of my immortal abilities to earn his full admiration and worship.

Looking at the orange cat’s triumphant, perked-up tail, Chu Qiguang thought to himself, He’s still just a country fiend. A few words of praise from me, and he’s already so flattered that he barely knows what to do with himself.

Even though Chu Qiguang was inwardly thinking about how he could use the orange cat, on the surface, he made himself appear even more reverent and respectful.

Once he felt the time was right to make a move, he asked, “Can you enlighten me about my current situation, Master Qiao? How will this intelligence from my past life affect me?”

Qiao Zhi had been cultivating in the mountains for many years, but with Daoist temples everywhere, he didn’t dare reveal his abilities to others, and could only pretend to be an ordinary cat.

It was certainly not every day that he was treated with such respect by a human, and the title of Master Qiao was very pleasing to his ears, so he grew fonder of Chu Qiguang as he explained, “It makes perfect sense that you’ve become smarter after awakening your intelligence from a past life. As for how you attained this intelligence, it’s because you were once a heavenly immortal, and I’m here to restore your immortality.”