Ch1 - A Letter from the City

A Chinese Rural Dragon Li Made a Windfall

Editor: Vez 

When Liba Huangli, the newly appointed mail carrier, came to knock on the glass, A-Li was sitting in a loaf, occasionally licking his paws. 

Last night, A-Li kept watch at the town’s peanut warehouse all night and caught two rodents. The fatter one was called Big Grey Rat, who was a frequent visitor of the warehouse and his long-time enemy. The rat was cunning and hard to track. It took A-Li half a month of camping to finally pounce and catch that slippery fellow whilst he was trying to steal. 

The fruit of victory was so sweet that A-Li did not need to worry about hunting food for the next few days. He was in a decently happy mood, laying on a windowsill of the abandoned factory, squinting his green eyes as he basked in the lights of the early hours of  late summers.

The mail carrier’s heart jumped. After a long hesitation, he raised his paw, extended his claw and timidly scratched the glass. He had just turned eight months old and had only taken over the important task of delivering letters for three weeks. However, he had long since heard the reputation of the Dragon Li cat before him. This Dragon Li cat packs a mean scratch and loves to cause trouble. More than a dozen humans had attempted to tame the fearless cat but all ended in vain.

A-Li did not open his eyes even after hearing the rustle outside the window. Even if he, in his opinion, showed an affable smile, the young Huangli, who still hadn’t weaned out of his fluffy kitten coat would clearly think otherwise. Because A-Li looked too scary, meow!

On the whole, he was a pretty Dragon Li cat. Although he appeared to be slightly on the skinny side, he had strong limbs, as well as a powerful tail and tough bones. Anyone could tell he was a good mouse hunter at first glance. If a part was to blame, it would be his face. The colour of his eyes were of a rare green, and unlike a normal Dragon Li cat, his eyes slanted upward instead of drooping slightly, giving off a hard to describe malicious aura. With the bridge of his nose sharp and his chin well-defined, he projected a natural dignity and might. Not to mention the countless scars on his body, in particular the five centimetre long claw mark on his left eye. There were also wounds decorating his body, some old, others more recent, most of them hadn’t even healed properly yet. The fur near the wounds was stuck into clusters, making it very difficult to groom there. A-Li just left them alone. Unlike the other brightly coloured cats, A-Li’s coat wasn’t as good-looking, it was just a grey and gloomy mess.

Too scary, meow!

At the thought of that, Huangli accidentally used too much force and made a series of short screeching sounds. Upon hearing them, A-Li suddenly raised his head and glanced over. The sunlight landed perfectly on the startled cat’s left eye scar. Huangli trembled and almost slipped down the windowsill. 

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

C-Ol aliafv tlr tfjv, delfais rajgfv ja atf nlrlabg jcv rkecu atf alq bo tlr ajli. Lejcuil reqqgfrrfv tlr ecfjrlcfrr jcv rewwbcfv atf mbegjuf ab jrx, “Cgf sbe Olrte Oltej?” Llr nblmf kjr eccjaegjiis qlamtfv vef ab tlr cfgnbercfrr, rbecvlcu jr lo rbwfbcf tjv rafqqfv bc tlr ajli. 

A-Li’s real name is Lishu Lihua. It sounded awkward and not a serious name at all. However, for a place like Quliu Town, any non-domestic cats would rather not put effort into choosing an elegant name. Everyone’s name was arbitrarily decided. Most of the time, their names were composed of where they were born followed by the colour of their coat and their breed. 

Take Liba Huangli for example, he was born beside a bamboo fence and he is a yellow Li cat. While A-Li is a brown striped Dragon Li cat who was born under the ancient pear tree at the entrance of the town that was known to blossom beautiful white flowers. There were also two other kittens in his litter, his younger sisters. Because of how cute they were, they were immediately invited into humans’ homes very early on and became domestic cats. Naturally, they have different names. The middle cat’s name is Mi Mi and the youngest cat’s name is Ni Luo Piaoxue.

C-Ol rdelcafv jcv rtba j uijcmf ja Lejcuil. Vibkis rajcvlcu eq, tf ragfamtfv tlr obgfilwyr, qea vbkc tlr ajli, jcv mjrejiis kjnfv aklmf, ilxf j ugffalcu. 

“Yo-your letter…” When A-Li stood up, Huangli’s tail puffed up immediately and he instinctively took two steps back. Maybe feeling like he was being too spineless again, he toughened up. Head up and paws out. He arched his shoulder and gathered the courage, repeating in a louder voice, “Your letter!”

A-Li waved the tip of his tail again and showed a smile. His chin was notably clean, however, it was contracted against his fangs on display, making the scar on his left eye looking even more ferocious.  

“I see.” He replied, “Thank you for your hard work.”

Huangli stared at A-Li in shock. Although the other party was a big cat of nearly four kilograms, his voice was oddly sweet—Cough, he meant gentle. “Then I will leave it here for you.” When he finished, he jumped off the windowsill, went down the path between the fences, and disappeared quickly.

Sigh, but I can’t read. A-Li stared at the letter in annoyance. He tilted his head and his tail swayed back and forth at a faster pace. A few minutes later, he frustratedly lowered his head, picked up the letter with his mouth, leaped up to the roof and went to Scholar’s house in the east of the town. 

Scholar’s full name was Wang Scholar. A type of golden quilt on a silver bed cat. Because he was raised in the city for part of his life, he was a very knowledgeable cat that could read and write. He lived in the first Western-style house built in town.

A-Li quickly arrived at Scholar’s house and went up the second floor using the drainage pipe. There was a small balcony on the second floor. The cultured cat’s human set out a circle of dried radishes on the fence which were very unpleasant smelling to a cat’s nose. A-Li scoffed at the smell, carefully bypassed the bamboo winnowing basket and gently landed on the balcony’s concrete floor with the letter held in his mouth.

“Who is it?” Scholar immediately rushed out of the French window. At a hefty eight kilograms, he was a cat with a round head and belly. From a distance, he was like a rolling lump ball. “Oh, A-Li, what can I do for you?” He stopped at the threshold and sat down into a loaf and his fluffy stomach immediately squeezed out from between his forelegs.

A-Li put down the letter from his mouth, sat down and tread on his two paws. “I need you for something. Can you read this letter for me?” 

“Oh, you poor child, someone actually wrote a letter to you.” Scholar said in surprise, making his already round eyes appear bigger. He was considered one of the old cats in the town, and had the guts to speak impolitely to A-Li. He waved his paw. “Sure, bring it and I will read it to you!”

A-Li pushed the letter with the tip of his nose towards Scholar’s direction. Scholar opened the envelope with his large paw, wiggled his tail and read it with interest. 

“My dear nephew, by the time you read this letter, I will not be in this world anymore. Although we have never met face to face, I still hope to pass you this inheritance after a long thought.”

A-Li craned his neck with the use of his hindlimbs. “What is this inheritance?” 

“Do not interrupt me!” Scholar glared at him. A-Li stopped obediently. He laid on his stomach with his paws out, listening with his curious round eyes. 

Scholar continued, “You may not know me. About two years ago, I met your mother, A-Hu, in Lingzi Animal Hospital at Maochun City. During that time, you and your sisters were not born yet. A-Hu was rescued from the sewer by the human rescue team. We shared the same interests and soon became as close as sisters. Afterward, your mother was adopted to Quliu Town, while I went back to my home in Maochun City. Our parting was in haste, but we managed to leave each other’s contact information. Later, I also learned in your mother’s letter that she gave birth to you and your sisters as well as of her leaving her adopted family to build her own home independently.”

A-Li had a vague memory about this matter. He remembered that when he was young, his mother had mentioned this beautiful Persian cat who was his aunt by name. A kind lady cat of old age. Later, when his sisters were taken away by humans one after another, and his mother unfortunately died after sustaining injuries from a motorcycle accident. This aunt was covered in dust along with many of his soft and sweet childhood memories.

“I do not wish to talk more about the misfortunes that happened later. I heard both of your sisters are doing well, as for you, I could not stop worrying about you. I have been ill for a long time and will not stay in this world for long. I don’t want to leave my dying two wishes unsolved. One is you, my sister’s only son, and the other is A-Qin, the only grandson of my last human. How could I find peace knowing a cat like you are eating in the open air and sleeping outdoors? And once I am gone, who would look after A-Qin? After I racked my brain, only by leaving A-Qin in your paws could I rest in peace. Your mother was a wonderful cat. I am sure you are just the same as her, son. A-Qin is my only human and fortune in this world. I hope that you will come and take over him for me.” 

His aunt then wrote many things about her human, A-Qin, in the second half of the letter, leaving her paw print and a human address at the end. A-Li was immersed into the letter, and uttered not a sound for a long time. After Scholar finished reading, he found his mouth and tongue dry, so he had to rush back to the living room to lap up water from  his own water bowl. Once he was finished, he returned happily and found that A-Li was still laying in place without any change in his posture. Scholar stared at A-Li for a moment before he sighed, “A-Li, what do you think?”

A-Li shook his head. His mind was blank. In his long two years of solitary life, he also had several chances to follow humans back to their homes, but they all fell through at the end. Maybe he was not born to assume responsibility over a human. After growing into a mature cat, A-Li had completely given up. He would just live a good cat life. He could catch mice, eat sparrows. Sometimes he gets his fill, sometimes he spends the night hungry. He would occasionally visit his two sisters or retreat to his abandoned factory when he got tired—this is the territory he earned at the cost of getting a scar on his eye. Of course, there would be hints of loneliness at times, but cats are known to be solitary animals after all, so there was nothing to be sad about. It never occurred to him that he had such an aunt who cared so much about him. This relative who wholeheartedly cared about him was also gone. 

“In my opinion,” Scholar cleared his throat, “you should go. Maochun City is a good place.” He raised his thick neck and looked into the distance, as if he was reminiscing about something from his memory. 

Maochun City was a decent sized city with picturesque scenery and a pleasant climate. It has been rated as one of the most livable cities in the human world. At the same time, it is also a cat city. From the mayor down to a student, everyone is a cat lover in the city. The whole place had been transformed into a large cat lair very suitable for cats. Even in a small place like Quliu Town, the cat inhabitants of this town yearned to go there. But cats were not one to go on a long journey. Unless necessary, very few cats would make up their mind and leave their birthplace for an unknown place.  

A-Li hesitated and licked his lower lips. 

He was not afraid to leave Quliu Town, to leave his nest. But would that human like him? Would that human invite him home?

Meow…A-Li swung his tail uneasily. 

Autumn came and went, leaving the town full of golden dried trees. A-Li stepped on the dry leaves and ran quickly. He just bid goodbye to his two younger sisters. Mi Mi encouraged him to seek his own cat’s life, while Ni Luo Piaoxue cried for two days. Their earnest admonition and a touch of breeze in his hometown were left by A-Li on the land where he was born and grew up.  

As he ran, he welcomed the unfamiliar wind against his face, which resonated in his chest. He wore a small bundle around his neck, which was all the property he had amassed throughout his life. He took everything he owned in his search for this human that belongs to him. 

A-Li had never felt this happy.

Translator has something to add:

Teo: I have been wanting to translate this novel since October of last year and I been stockpiling chapters since March ( •̀ ω •́ )✧ Since Mutated Pheromones is coming to an end, I went ahead and pull the trigger. Also, please welcome Vez to the team! 

For this novel, unlike other novels, the main character is a cat. Not a human turned or transmigrated into a cat. He is 100% a cat. As someone who is allergic to cats, I was fascinated by A-Li’s life and his thought process. Maybe the readers would as well!

This is a healing novel with a slice of life and slow burn, which I mean the romance is near non-existence but there will be a couple in book III (after the knife after book II). It is a very lovely story and I hope the readers will enjoy it 

For my sanity. Animal’s names will be in pinyin unless they have an English equivalent that is easier or makes more sense. (Example: 尼羅飄雪 will be Ni Luo Piaoxue instead of Nile Floating Snow, 斯巴達 will be Sparta over Sibada).