My wife is a witch princess

Chapter 56 Tao Yao is also a fool.

"Her name is Tao Xiang, she's Xia Li's cousin, she's here to play house." Song Che quickly glared at Tao Xiang, hastily covering up the lie.

Aunt Lan finally came to her senses. The little girl in front of her looked to be only eleven or twelve years old, six or seven years younger than Song Che, but she had still been startled. As she got older, her reactions slowed down, and she couldn't handle this kind of joke.

She breathed a soft sigh of relief and glanced at the children.

"Song Che, have you been under too much pressure lately? Tell your auntie about it."

"A little," Song Che replied, following her lead. "Maybe it's because the holidays are coming up soon, and I'm always thinking about having fun, so I can't concentrate on my studies and my performance isn't very good."

"It's alright, it's alright, having some fun is good too, the most important thing is to be happy." Aunt Lan smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes curving up. "Auntie just came to see you. Come to my place tonight, I'll cook something delicious. Auntie has missed you so much."

"Okay, I'll buy some groceries and come over to help you. We'll cook a nice meal." Song Che felt a warm glow in his heart. Aunt Lan had been close to his mother since childhood, and was practically like a second mother to her. Back in the countryside, her family always loved to grow sunflowers, and every year he would go to their house to eat sunflower seeds.

—And back then, the hands that held him tightly in the flood were also Aunt Lan, He Lan.

Song Che chatted with her for a while, and before leaving, he asked, "Auntie, how have you been lately? You need to get more rest... Making money is a small matter; health is the most important thing."

"I do get tired a little easily," He Lan smiled. "I'm usually in pretty good health... it's just that I'm getting old. I fainted once, went to the hospital for a checkup, but they couldn't find anything wrong."

"It's good that there are no problems." Song Che didn't want to ask too many questions. The term "exhaustion of yang energy" sounded quite mysterious, and he couldn't say for sure what it would actually manifest in a person.

After He Lan finished the porridge that Song Che had served her, she got up to leave. Song Che didn't linger and saw her to the door.

He Lan maintained a kind smile: "I live right across the street, it's close by. This time I won't go far away to work, I plan to retire in Nanhui."

"Okay, I'll come to see you tonight."

Song Che asked for the floor number before turning around and going back inside.

As soon as he entered, Xia Li stood by the door waiting for him.

"Song Che," she said softly, "there was someone following behind Auntie just now. Did you see them?"

"A person?" Song Che was taken aback, a chill creeping down his spine. "What kind of person?"

"A little girl, holding your aunt's hand. She looks younger than Taoxiang, wearing a dress... and she even called you 'brother'."

Song Che fell silent, a guess vaguely rising in his mind.

Many people went missing during that flood. Aunt Lan's daughter disappeared during that time.

So… that little girl is her daughter? Was it because she was always following her that her yang energy was depleted?

Little ghost girl?

Song Che still remembers playing with her often when they were little. They would eat sunflower seeds and play games at Aunt Lan's house. If she hadn't disappeared, even if they weren't childhood sweethearts, they would have been great playmates.

But he was still confused: why couldn't he see it?

However, Xia Li wouldn't lie. If she said she saw it, then there really must have been a little girl nearby.

In that case, Aunt Lan's fainting spell last time was probably not due to poor health, but rather because she was possessed by something—a ghost that was draining her yang energy, causing her physical discomfort.

The explanation makes sense. But if ghosts really exist, Xia Li couldn't have only seen this one. So "ghost" is just a tentative guess; it might be some other strange thing, or... a spirit like Tao Yao.

"Meow!"

A meow interrupted Song Che's thoughts. On the sofa, a black cat was hunched over, glaring menacingly at Bruce—it was the same black cat from before, only a size smaller.

Bruce glanced at it lazily, too lazy to bother with it.

"Peach Blossom?"

Song Che tentatively called out.

"what!"

The black cat spoke in human language, its voice resembling that of Momoka, but with an added air of feigned ferocity and arrogance.

"A cat demon?"

"I am the Fox King."

Song Che: "...?"

You are clearly a cat.

"Are you healed?"

Tao Yao's fur stood on end: "The Fox King won't get hurt."

Well, this cat might have something wrong with its brain.

Song Che slowly approached, softening his tone as much as possible: "How about... we talk? I don't want to fight with you. Your sister gets along well with us, and I quite like cats too... Of course, that's on the condition that you don't keep hissing."

"I am the Fox King."

"Alright, Fox King, shall we talk?" Song Che continued in a relaxed tone. Tao Yao hadn't been vaccinated, and being scratched wasn't pleasant. "I didn't mean any harm, and I know it was an illusion before. But I just don't understand why you scared us like that?"

"It's not an illusion! I'm a powerful demon, and powerful demons eat people!" Tao Yao raised her head fiercely. "Are you scared now?"

"I'm scared, I'm scared." Song Che had already walked up to it, secretly holding a handful of cat food in his hand. "Want to try some, King Fox?"

Tao Yao cautiously approached, sniffed it, lowered her head and took a bite, then ate faster and faster: "What is this? It's alright..."

Cat food.

"Pah!" Tao Yao spat it out. "It doesn't taste good at all!"

Seeing Bruce about to pounce on it, Song Che quickly hugged it and continued gently, "If you don't like cat food, you can drink porridge. No one here will hurt you, so you don't need to keep hissing and bristling."

He bent down as he spoke.

Tao Yao backed away from the sofa until she reached the wall, where she had nowhere left to retreat.

Song Che reached out and gently scratched its chin, his gaze sweeping over the tag on its head, and he couldn't help but laugh.

"Gold Coin Thief," "Pretentious," "Lack of Love"

—This cat only looks fierce; it's actually a clumsy show-off.

He scratched her again, and Tao Yao unconsciously closed her eyes.

Meow... Why does it feel so good?

Meow... I don't like having my chin scratched!

Tao Yao abruptly dodged Song Che's hand: "I only spared you because you took care of your sister! Otherwise, you would have died hundreds of times over... Don't be so smug now. I just used my internal energy to injure your internal organs. Without my demonic power to nourish you, you would have died instantly, so don't underestimate me!"

"Then thank you." Song Che smiled.

"You're welcome."

"How about we talk?" Song Che remained true to his original intention.

"What are you talking about?"

"How far can your illusion magic go? How many people can it affect at once?"

"I won't tell you." Tao Yao raised her head, but her whole body screamed guilt.

"Then we'll talk when you want to." Song Che decided to offer a sweet treat first, and if it continued to behave this way, it wouldn't be too late to slap it.

This illusion technique is very useful. Song Che has already vaguely come up with some preliminary solutions to resolve Xia Li's identity issue—although it's somewhat unethical.

He reached out and scratched its chin again, trying to test its limits.

Tao Yao was still bristling, but that was all; she didn't fight back. Song Che was almost certain: this was a stubborn tsundere who only dared to hiss, not bite.

...This kind of cat is the most fun.

Song Che couldn't resist teasing it, and quietly moved his finger toward its belly.

Tao Yao immediately sprang up and hid in a corner: "Perverted human! Don't touch my stomach!"

"I won't touch it." Song Che continued to approach.

"Then stay away from me!"

"Okay." Song Che stopped and looked at the eccentric Tao Yao, then suddenly asked, "What color cat bed do you like? I'll go buy you one."

Tao Yao remained silent for a while, then said, "Black, preferably with a fox pattern."