I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 358

Chapter 358: Nuo’er and Spices

 

In the early morning, a ray of dawn accompanied by a melodious flute sound gently drifted into the bed from the summer breeze outside the tent.

 

The flute’s tune carried a feeling reminiscent of “a broken-winged butterfly unable to find flowers, lingering in loneliness during the plum blossom season.”

 

Sometimes cheerful, sometimes sorrowful, and sometimes melodiously clear, the flute’s music seemed to easily convey the emotions of the player, as if reminiscing about the past while looking forward to the future.

 

Opening my eyes, I picked up my phone to check the time, sat up, and stretched.

 

“Mmm… meow…”

 

In the lingering flute music, I licked the back of my hand and tidied the ears on my head and my messy hair from a night’s sleep.

 

Having long hair is quite inconvenient for girls, especially waist-length hair. Not only does it get tangled from rolling around in sleep, but it also takes a lot of time to style it back to its usual look in the morning. Especially when the girl sleeping with you also has long hair and likes to move around a lot in her sleep.

 

After roughly tidying the fluffy cat ears on my head, I rummaged through the bedside and found a rabbit backpack, from which I took out a small comb that I had prepared beforehand. The flute music outside continued, with the summer ambiance being played out by the surrounding wind.

 

Speaking of which, my sleeping posture is actually not that bad. Even before I became a girl, I rarely kicked off the blanket or rolled off the bed at night. After becoming Yin Nuo’er, according to Xiao Mo, I have excellently fulfilled the role of a hugging pillow, staying still no matter how much she hugged me throughout the night.

 

Therefore, in the morning, my hair usually just needs a quick combing and it’s fine, not as disastrous as the male protagonist in “Onimai: I’m Now Your Sister!”

 

“Toot toot toot—”

 

After combing my hair, I got up, still in my pajamas, and lifted the tent flap to step outside. Since Xiao Mo was playing the flute outside at this hour, it meant there was certainly no one around, so I could safely go out and have some fun.

 

The sky outside the tent was just starting to brighten, with a faint glimmer of dawn seeping over the horizon. At this rate, the first ray of sunlight would probably reach this lake in about ten minutes, and the sun would rise from below the horizon to illuminate everything.

 

Xiao Mo…

 

I slipped on the rabbit slippers I had brought and walked to the lakeside, standing behind Xiao Mo. I was sure the girl in front of me knew I was awake, but she didn’t stop playing. The originally slightly sorrowful flute melody became much gentler.

 

Besides being a painter, Xiao Mo was probably a musician too. Music transcends borders, except for those ubiquitous pop songs in contemporary society. The music of this other world and classical music here share certain similarities.

 

Xiao Mo had mentioned before that her flute playing was always improvisational, without any absolutely fixed melody. Just like her paintings, which had no fixed style—they could be two-dimensional cel-shaded illustrations, realistic as if taken by a camera, or even thickly painted or sketched.

 

Xiao Mo’s flute music could be inspired by her travels in another world, or by the festive celebrations of ancient nomadic tribes or remote mountain villages.

 

The music Xiao Mo was playing at this moment sounded somewhat like the opening theme “Tabi no Tochuu” from “Spice and Wolf”, which perfectly matched our current mood.

 

Driving a carriage loaded with a large amount of spices and food, we traveled along a sunlit path on the plains. Under the sunlight, the cloth at the back of the carriage lifted, revealing a pair of adorable wolf ears that shook a few times to dislodge the straw. Then, a girl with wolf ears emerged from the carriage, showing her playful fangs.

 

It felt like the two of us were lying together on a grassy hillside, a piece of foxtail grass in our mouths, leisurely enjoying the sunshine. The most amazing thing was the many small animals I saw around Xiao Mo.

 

Xiao Mo was standing on a large rock by the lakeside. The girl, wearing a black nightgown, was barefoot and playing a transverse flute by the water. At her feet was a large cat napping, and not far away, several sika deer were drinking water. A few swans in the lake seemed attracted by the flute music, gently dancing together.

 

This large cat… I remember it’s called a Pallas’s cat? This animal lives in relatively high-altitude areas and looks very endearing, but because it’s a protected species, it can’t be kept as a pet. I was surprised to see a Pallas’s cat and sika deer here…

 

I looked at the small animals around. I remember that last night there weren’t so many little creatures here?

 

“……”

 

I stayed on the open ground by the lake, listening to Xiao Mo play the flute until the tune ended. Then I walked towards the girl dressed somewhat like “Homulilly.”

 

“You brought it along?”

 

As I reached Xiao Mo, I looked at the flute in her hand, engraved with the words ‘Nuo’er · Xiamo,’ and softly said, “It sounds beautiful.”

 

Perhaps because I was in my catgirl form, the Pallas’s cat at Xiao Mo’s feet and the surrounding sika deer showed no signs of wariness. Instead, the Pallas’s cat curiously sniffed my feet and then nudged my ankle with its fangs.

 

“Most of the melody I learned from an elven tribe.”

 

Seeing me, Xiao Mo put down the flute and reached out to rub the cat ears on my head.

 

“A gift from Nuo’er will definitely be well preserved.”

 

“It’s not like it’s a particularly expensive gift…”

 

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I squatted down to hide it and petted the head of the Pallas’s cat at my feet.

 

“Little guy, are you not afraid of people? She’s a big demon, you know?”

 

“Ao…”

 

Although a Pallas’s cat is a type of cat, its cry is somewhat strange. Compared to the standard “meow” of a house cat, it sounds more like “ah.”

 

If I remember correctly, the Pallas’s cat is the only species in the genus *Otocolobus* within the cat family. It lives only in high-altitude areas, has very thick fur, and is much smaller than house cats. Though it looks fierce, its combat ability is much lower than that of a cute house cat.

 

There’s a legend that the word “Pallas’s cat” means “stop” in ancient Turkic language. Hunters would shout “stop” when they saw a Pallas’s cat while hunting, and these little creatures would stand still, dumbly staring at the hunters, hence the name.

 

Since they live in high-altitude areas from a young age and are not used to human environments, they have little resistance to common cat diseases and, being a protected species, they mostly live in the wild.

 

Speaking of which, its fur is so soft, even softer than Dingman’s at the café…

 

“Come here, let me pet you.”

 

After lightly petting the little cat’s head, I bent down slightly and rubbed my face against its body. Besides its fur color and weight, the biggest difference between this animal and a house cat is that its ears are on the sides of its head. It’s said that this helps them camouflage as rocks while hunting.

 

“Wearing so little and being out so early, you’ll catch a cold, even if you are a deity’s clone.”

 

After greeting the Pallas’s cat and the other small animals around, I draped the clothes I brought over Xiao Mo.

 

“Take care of yourself.”

 

In private, Xiao Mo usually dresses in dark colors. For instance, her current nightgown is a lace-trimmed dress that looks a bit like a witch’s outfit, or the kind associated with demonic or gothic girls. But for some reason, seeing her dressed like this makes me feel very reassured.

 

“Pfft…”

 

Although my gesture made Xiao Mo laugh, she obediently accepted the clothes I handed her.

 

“What do you want to eat today?”

 

“I want to go to a nearby town to see what they have to eat.”

 

I sat down beside Xiao Mo. “But I’m not really hungry right now. I’d like to watch the sunrise with you first.”

 

Come to think of it, this should be considered the first day of our honeymoon.

 

This province is further north and higher in altitude compared to Shenzhen City, so even in summer, the temperature here isn’t very high. I looked it up online before; the average temperature here is around minus four degrees Celsius. There are no distinct seasons—only cold days and hot days. Generally, it warms up a bit in May, June, and July when the sun is strong, but other months are particularly cold.

 

For example, the current temperature is like being in a room with the air conditioner set to the lowest temperature, even colder than that.

 

Conservatively speaking, the current temperature might not exceed 12 degrees Celsius. It’s June, and if the weather is good in Shenzhen City, the temperature starts at 30 degrees. At this rate, the temperature here might only reach 20 degrees at the hottest point around noon.

 

However, precisely because it’s so cold and remote here, there aren’t many people around. Xiao Mo and I can do all kinds of things we usually wouldn’t dare to do.

 

“What’s so great about the sunrise? We watch it every day at home.”

 

Despite her words, Xiao Mo still pulled me into her arms, allowing me to lean on her shoulder and face the east.

 

“Someone keeps calling herself a man, but in reality, her heart is just like a little girl’s.”

 

“Can’t a man watch the sunrise?”

 

Feeling the dawn’s light gradually enveloping me, I responded proudly, “You don’t understand a man’s romance.”

 

“Yes, yes.”

 

Xiao Mo wrapped one arm around my shoulder and used her other hand to tidy my messy hair. “Whatever our Nuo’er says goes. I chose you, and I’ll spoil you.”

 

“It was obviously me who chose you.”

 

I happily twitched my ears. “By the way, since turning into a catgirl, my sense of smell has become much sharper. I noticed that you seem to have a scent similar to roses.”

 

“Roses? What roses?”

 

“I can’t really describe it. This fragrance immediately makes me think of roses. Maybe it’s a cat’s intuition?”

 

I laid my head on Xiao Mo’s lap. “Anyway, it smells wonderful.”

 

There’s a saying that most people feel very happy when they travel to high-altitude areas. The scientific reason behind this is that high altitudes have thin oxygen levels. People who have lived at low altitudes their whole lives find it hard to adjust, leading to brain hypoxia.

 

This makes them forget many memories, effectively shedding all their burdens and worries: school assignments, conflicts with classmates, work, and social intricacies with colleagues—all forgotten. With worries gone, naturally, they feel happy.

 

“Xiao Mo, no, Momo.”

 

I spoke softly in the morning sunlight.

 

“What is it? Why are you calling me that all of a sudden?”

 

“Nothing, I just wanted to try calling you like Fei Luo and the others do.”

 

I rolled over on Xiao Mo’s lap.

 

“Calling you Momo does feel more intimate…”

 

“It’s up to you.”

 

“Speaking of which, is there a special nickname that suits you and is exclusive to me to say?”

 

“Hubby dear.” Xiao Mo said.

 

“Too cheesy, try again.”

 

“My beloved master.”

 

“Too improper, try again.”

 

“Then I don’t know. In Nuo’er’s eyes, what is love on Earth like?”

 

“Love, huh? On Earth, love is… calling someone ‘wife’ is flirting. Calling them ‘old lady’ after many, many years, that’s love.”

 

“I won’t grow old.”

 

“Xiao Mo, my old lady.”

 

“……”

 

“Um……”

 

“……”

 

……