Chapter 71: Treating the Cat Demon

After conducting a thorough examination of the cat demon’s condition, Yun Jiao realized the situation was far worse than she had expected. There was a fist-sized hole in the cat demon’s chest—so deep that it nearly pierced through her entire original form. Though the wound had been treated with some kind of spell, it was only barely keeping her alive. Her inner core was missing, and even with the spell’s suppression, the spiritual energy within her body was leaking out like a breached dam, flooding away uncontrollably.

What made matters worse was that the spell on the wound was incompatible with her own spiritual energy. Although it somewhat prevented the leakage, it had also caused violent turbulence within her energy channels. The unstable spiritual energy rampaged through her body, straining her already fragile meridians to the breaking point. Even her soul seemed to be showing signs of instability.

“Who sealed her wound?” Yun Jiao’s brows furrowed slightly.

The little fox and Ji Chen exchanged a glance before hesitantly answering, “It was my father. He did it to stop the bleeding earlier…”

“This is nonsense!” Yun Jiao snapped, irritation flashing in her eyes. “The worst kind of case isn’t a severe one—it’s when the patient’s family interferes and makes it worse! Quickly, undo the spell on her wound.” As she spoke, she took out a set of silver needles, preparing her tools.

“But…” The little fox hesitated, glancing between the cat demon on the bed and Yun Jiao, her face filled with worry.

“Hurry up!” Yun Jiao urged impatiently. “If you want to save her, then do it now!”

Ji Chen gritted his teeth, inhaled deeply, and stepped forward. “I’ll do it.” He raised his hand and summoned his spiritual energy. In moments, the faint cyan demonic aura covering the cat demon’s wound vanished completely.

Almost immediately, the cat demon’s body twisted in agony. Yun Jiao quickly began inserting needles. Within moments, a glowing formation appeared over the black cat’s wound. The creature’s limbs, which had been curled tightly in pain, slowly began to relax. Her pained expression softened, and even her pitiful meowing quieted. It was as if she had finally regained some consciousness.

Though both the little fox and Ji Chen already knew Yun Jiao’s medical skills were exceptional, they were still stunned by what they saw. Looking closer at the silver needles in the cat’s body, they noticed a strange pattern—each needle seemed connected by faint, thread-like lines, almost resembling meridians.

The little fox couldn’t make sense of it, but Ji Chen suddenly froze as realization struck him. Those weren’t true meridians—though they looked similar, what flowed through them was purely spiritual energy. Yun Jiao had used the needles and her formation to temporarily reconnect the cat demon’s broken meridians, allowing her spiritual energy to circulate again.

“This technique ensures her spiritual energy runs smoothly,” Yun Jiao explained as she inspected the needles one last time. Then she infused them with a spell, turning them into invisible threads buried beneath the cat demon’s skin. “Until her meridians heal completely, these needles must not be removed. This way, they won’t fall out accidentally, and the formation within her body will help her meridians recover faster.”

After completing everything, Yun Jiao stood up and looked at Ji Chen. “However, this can only stabilize her for now. To truly fix the problem, we have to deal with the missing inner core. Even if her life is saved, this condition will only hold temporarily. If she wishes to continue cultivating—or to transform again—she must either recover her original core or find something that can replace it. So—where is her inner core?”

The moment she asked, both the little fox and Ji Chen fell silent.

“What’s wrong?” Yun Jiao frowned slightly. “Don’t tell me… her core was destroyed?” But that didn’t make sense—if it had been destroyed, her soul would have shown signs of damage, yet it was perfectly intact.

“That’s not it,” Ji Chen replied, shaking his head. “It’s just that… we don’t actually know where her inner core is.”

“You don’t know?” Yun Jiao blinked. “What, is she adopted or something?”

Ji Chen sighed and explained, “Some time ago, Li’er suddenly left the demon realm. We don’t know where she went. I was injured recently while searching for her. We couldn’t find her for a long time, and then three days ago, she suddenly returned—already in this state.”

“You didn’t try using a Source-Tracing Spell?” Yun Jiao asked. “The core is part of her body. A tracing spell should’ve led you right to it.”

“We tried,” Ji Chen said grimly. “But the spell showed nothing. It’s as if her inner core has been completely hidden. I suspect she must’ve encountered someone extremely powerful—someone even she couldn’t handle. That’s how she ended up like this.”

Yun Jiao turned to glance at the cat demon again. Truly, her situation was pitiful.

“Doctor Yun!” Ji Chen said urgently, full of worry. “We’ll do everything we can to recover her inner core. But before that… is there any other way to save her?”

“There is one,” Yun Jiao replied after a brief moment of thought, narrowing her eyes. “If we can find a suitable replacement core, it might temporarily restore her human form. However, her body would likely reject it. That means she wouldn’t be able to channel spiritual energy or use spells.”

Ji Chen’s expression immediately grew more despairing. But before he could speak, the little fox suddenly clenched her fists, stepped forward, and said resolutely, “Use mine! I’ll give my inner core to the princess!”

“No!” Ji Chen’s face darkened. “You just completed your transformation. Without your core, you’ll die!”

“It doesn’t matter!” The little fox looked at the unconscious cat demon, her gaze firm. “It was the princess who enlightened me. If not for her, I would have died in that trap long ago. She shared a wisp of her demonic energy with me, which awakened my spirit and allowed me to save Your Highness later. The princess granted me new life—I owe her everything. We foxes always repay kindness. I… I want to return my life to her.”

“Hu Ji!” Ji Chen’s tone sharpened. “Don’t be ridiculous! You already repaid your debt when you saved me. I consider you my brother—how could I let you sacrifice yourself for Li’er?”

“But the princess gave me life—”

“I said no!”

“Your Highness…”

Just as the two seemed ready to reenact a dramatic scene straight out of an eight o’clock melodrama—one determined to die, the other desperately trying to stop him—

Yun Jiao couldn’t take it anymore and interrupted, “The little fox is right. A debt of gratitude should indeed be repaid.”

“Doctor Yun!” they both exclaimed at once—one with relief, the other with outrage.

But Yun Jiao continued calmly, “However, speaking of debts… when do you plan to repay mine?”

Hu Ji froze, caught off guard by the question. “Didn’t I already pay… the consultation fee?” he blurted out instinctively.

Yun Jiao: “…”

Seriously? So the cat demon’s life-saving grace is worth a life, but hers is only worth a few chickens?

What kind of discriminatory demon logic was this?

(End of Chapter)