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Mu Qing wasn't the type to make many friends, actually he only had a couple people he'd call friends; and even that was pushing it.
But he didn't go out of his way to make enemies either. He thought he was just pretty neutral with everyone, other than Feng Xin, his 'friend'.
Which is why he didn't understand why he was fucking cursed, and why Feng Xin found it so god damn funny.
Feng Xin picked him up with ease, considering he's been transformed into a medium sized black cat. He might've actually scratched Feng Xin if he wasn't so embarrassed about the fact that he had the fucking claws to scratch him.
"You look so majestic, Mu Qing," Feng Xin managed between his laughter.
Mu Qing groaned inwardly. This was not funny. He did not want to be a cat, he wanted to smack the shit out of Feng Xin. His hatred might actually overpower the embarrassment and he would do exactly that.
Forgetting he couldn't speak, he went to curse at him and it came out as a loud angry 'meow!'
With wide eyes, he stared at Feng Xin, embarrassed. Feng Xin was holding back laughter from that already, but when he looked down at Mu Qing, he started shaking and laughing.
"Fuck! I don't even want to ask Xie Lian and his Hua Chengzhu for help!"
Mu Qing groaned, which came out as an angry hiss. He jumped out of Feng Xin's arms onto the ground, walking away. When he heard Feng Xin snort and laugh harder, he turned. He realized his tail was sticking up, and dammit he was probably walking like those sassy cats.
He willed his tail to go down, but his instincts wouldn't let it stay down for long. It immediately went back up, curling around nothing back and forth. He hissed again and ran out of the palace. This was so embarrassing! Maybe if he ran away, he'd never have to see them again.
Being picked up by more arms, he realized that isn't an option in the heavenly court. Everyone was so god damn touchy with animals.
"A cat?" A familiar voice spoke. "Did you come out of General Nan Yang's palace? Does he own you? You shouldn't be running off, you know. Unless he said you could, then I suppose it's okay."
His eyes widened again. Does he own me?! Is that what Mu Qing was just asked?
He instantly batted his paw at Pei Ming's face, scratching his cheek in retaliation. Pei Ming's eyes widened and he held his arms out, holding Mu Qing with both hands outstretched like he was handing him to someone.
"Hey! Nan Yang should get more polite cats! I'm just looking out for you."
Mu Qing glared at him, trying to squirm out of his grasp. Pei Ming clicked his tongue. "I'm bringing you back to your owner, little kitty."
He hissed in response, but Pei Ming went inside the palace. "General Nan Yang! Your cat is a little feisty, huh?"
Mu Qing looked over and saw Feng Xin standing, holding back laughter again as he looked to them in amusement. "Ah, thank you, General Ming Guang. He ran out on me, throwing such a fuss."
Pei Ming brought him over to Feng Xin, who held him close to his chest. Mu Qing hissed loudly, trying to scratch at him to get away.
"No problem, I noticed!" He laughed. "I didn't take you for a cat kind of guy."
"Ah, I originally wasn't..." he snickered. "Would you happen to know where Ling Wen is?"
Mu Qing finally clawed out enough to get on Feng Xin's shoulder and he jumped down onto the ground, immediately racing out of the room as fast as he could.
He whined, the noise coming out in a mewl. Where would he even go? Xie Lian had no palace, and wouldn't be here anyway. Ling Wen! Of course, she'll know how to fix this. Actually, would she understand him? Maybe his communication array will work.
Tapping into Xie Lian's communication array with his verbal password, he waited for Xie Lian to respond.
"Mu Qing!" The voice came through his mind. Thank the heavens! "Hello, what's up?"
He tried speaking, but it came out as a meow. He whined out loud and laid down on the ground, tired of this already.
"... Mu Qing?"
He went to say never mind, but realized that wouldn't work either, so he just left the communication array.
He got up and trotted around, mostly going towards Ling Wen. Surely, she could figure this out.
As he approached the Heavenly Court, he snuck in as someone opened a door to leave. He wanted as little eyes on him as possible. He found Ling Wen at her desk, looking at a scroll.
He trotted over to her and jumped up onto the desk, careful to not knock anything over.
Ling Wen's eyes widened slightly as she looked at her guest. "Hello."
He recited the verbal password in his mind to enter her communication array.
She furrowed her eyebrows and entered it herself. Her voice came through his mind. "Hello?"
He let out a reluctant meow and left the communication array. He sat down on his legs, staring up at her with hopeful eyes.
She seemed to understand, and even cracked a small smile. "General Xuan Zhen. I see, this is quite the predicament you've gotten yourself in."
He hissed, which only widened her smile a little. "Alright, alright. What exactly did this? A curse, I assume."
He nodded, and turned his head as he heard footsteps walking towards them. He hissed as he saw Feng Xin walking up to them with a smile. "You found Ling Wen all by yourself, I'm proud."
"I am most often found here, General," Ling Wen added. Feng Xin nodded. "So you already know what I've came for."
She sighed and nodded, "Of course I've seen curses before, but never one that turned a God into an animal. I'll have to look into it, in the meantime I request that you take care of him.
Feng Xin furrowed his eyebrows. "It was funny at first, but why me? I can't stand him just as much as he hates me."
Mu Qing automatically snorted, letting out an annoyed meow instead. He looked over at Ling Wen, strongly disliking this as well.
She lifted her head up slightly, holding back another small smile. "Would you rather stay with someone else? Everyone is quite busy, you know. I know you could probably take care of yourself, but as a cat, you'll need to eat. Perhaps you could find help from His Highness and Crimson Rain, I assume Crimson Rain may know more about this sort of curse."
"Ah, that's a good idea. I'll speak to Xie Lian about it until we hear from you. Thank you, Ling Wen."
She nodded and smiled slightly down at Mu Qing. "Make sure he eats, General."
Feng Xin picked Mu Qing up, who immediately scratched his way up onto his neck. Feng Xin sighed, and allowed him to rest as he spread along his shoulders. "I will."
Feng Xin left and turned his head slightly towards Mu Qing's face. Mu Qing was laying across his shoulders, refusing to be held in his rival's arms.
"You're a whiny ass cat, you know? And spoiled already, god damn."
He mewled in response.
Feng Xin snorted. "True, I guess I am the one allowing you to be spoiled. So, are you ready to be the Heavenly Capital's favorite cat for a couple days?"
He hissed, resting his head down on his paws. This was going to be horrible. Ling Wen, please find something soon.
He opened his mouth to let out a long yawn, unwillingly adding a whiny meow at the end. He closed his eyes, noticing Feng Xin enter the communication array with Xie Lian. He felt embarrassed by how much he enjoyed the warmth of Feng Xin's shoulders, wrapped around his neck under the robes.
After a short while, he heard Feng Xin's voice. "A-Lian said Hua Cheng could probably help us, but he won't be home until tomorrow."
He growled as he looked up at him. Feng Xin's hand reached up and pet his head, earning an extremely unwilling purr. His eyes instinctively shut, nudging his head into the touch. When it was pulled away, he stood up slightly to push his head aggressively into the missing hand. After a minute of nuzzling his own head into his rival's hand, he realized what he was doing.
Fuck.
He looked up at Feng Xin hesitantly, and sure enough, the man was looking down at him with a surprised and confused expression.
He very badly wanted to explain it was the instincts, but he couldn't, so he settled for just laying down with a growl. He still hasn't once stopped purring, and he begged it to go away.
Feng Xin snorted. "Someone's touchy." Mu Qing pawed at his ear, scratching his neck behind it.
Feng Xin's eyes widened and he yelped. "You little asshole."
Mu Qing tried to laugh, but just let out a happy chirp.
He slowly nuzzled his head closer into Feng Xin's neck, feeling an itch from not doing it. He let out a louder purr and continued doing it as Feng Xin walked back to his palace.
Some of the Gods told Feng Xin his cat was adorable, some asked to pet him. Feng Xin denied the petting, thank the Heavens; his reason being 'he's quite insatiable and might scratch you. He doesn't get along with many but me.'
Which wasn't true at all, and he made point of scratching him in front of the Gods to prove he was absolutely no exception. It was a little embarrassing, acting like such a cat in front of Gods of his equal, but he got over it because of the absolute bullshit Feng Xin had spewed.
When they arrived, he jumped down onto the floor and walked away himself, climbing up to the bed once he reached the chamber in the palace. They didn't really need to rest often as Gods, but still appreciated it, so he knew he'd have a bed.
He circled around a few times before finally resting down on a pillow. He closed his eyes, purring quietly as he heard Feng Xin enter the room.
"Would you like to sleep?"
He ignore him in response.
"Shall I take that as a yes?"
What the fuck else would it be, dumbass?
Feng Xin sighed and his footsteps came closer to Mu Qing. He felt the bed dip a little, and he suddenly had a hand on his head. He instantly pressed into it, pushing himself up a little. As the hand pulled away slightly, he stood up more to nuzzle into it. Feng Xin started petting down his back, and down his tail. His eyes widened and he shivered, shaking his head slightly as if he had a chill.
Feng Xin smiled slyly down at him. He mewled and buried himself under the blanket, embarrassed from Feng Xin's laughter, quite familiar to him recently.
"It's okay, when Crimson Rain gets back, you'll be all back to normal. Until then, your instincts will happen. It's fine, I promise not to make too much fun of you," Feng Xin snickered.
He mewled again, not moving.
"Fine, I guess you're going to sleep under there. Do you want me to stay?"
Mu Qing hissed, laying down on the bed, still under the blanket. He felt Feng Xin get off the bed and refused to look out, knowing Feng Xin might be waiting for him to check.
To his surprise, the blanket was lifted after a few minutes of rustling in the room, and Feng Xin laid on the bed next to him. He lifted his head, looking up at his rival. Feng Xin closed his eyes, laying on his back. "Night."
Mu Qing stared at him for a moment, and blinked. He slowly crawled back onto the pillow and circled a few times before laying down. He chirped in response, hoping it was understood as "Night."
After a few minutes, he realized he was uncomfortable. Standing up, he did a few more circles until he laid down in between the pillow he was on and Feng Xin's pillow. Finding this also uncomfortable, he crawled on top of Feng Xin.
Feng Xin looked down at him. "What are you doing? Sit still."
He hissed, and circled a couple times on Feng Xin's stomach. He glared, realizing that wasn't it either. Feng Xin slowly lifted the blanket, and Mu Qing crawled over. As he went under the blanket, he laid down onto Feng Xin's chest. Feng Xin laid the blanket down on top of him, and he curled up into a ball, perfectly comfortable.
"Seriously?" Feng Xin sighed with a light chuckle. "Night."
Mu Qing chirped quietly, closing his eyes.
Okay, so cats didn't fucking sleep for very long. Not that he needed much sleep, but he wanted to rest for a bit! This shit was exhausting. But he couldn't stay asleep for any longer than what seemed to be 5 minutes. He even tried sleeping on different parts of Feng Xin's body, and found that his waist and neck were the most comfortable.
Now he was standing on Feng Xin's chest, staring at him. He had fucking laid in every part of this entire room except his face (and uh, lap...) and he was determined to not stay in the same spot for too long because it got so damn boring. He had even tried sleeping on the bookshelves, under the bed, on the window sill, and so many other spots he realized he could reach.
Maybe he could suffocate Feng Xin and kill the immortal.
So, he crawled up to his face carefully and plopped down. He chirped, feeling Feng Xin's breathing on the side of his body. Slowly, Feng Xin's breathing got deeper and he seemed to wake up. Mu Qing would've laughed if he could.
"Mmf-?!"
His eyes widened and he meowed loudly as Feng Xin sat up, dropping him onto his lap. He reached out for anything, and managed to claw at his sleeping robes, but still fell down. He hissed loudly, and Feng Xin looked down at him annoyedly.
"What the fuck are you doing? Were you on my face?!"
Mu Qing mewled and hopped off the bed, walking out of the bedroom. Bastard. And to think he was the one who wanted to rest, and Feng Xin was mad at him for it. Stupid.
Feng Xin followed him shortly, and picked him up. "Come back to bed."
He let out a chattering noise, looking up at him.
Feng Xin looked down at him, confused. "Huh? I don't know what that means."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Can you not sleep?"
His eyes widened and he nodded.
Feng Xin sighed. "I see. Yeah, I always thought cats didn't sleep for very long. Okay, what do you wanna do?"
Mu Qing crawled onto his shoulder and draped himself over the back of Feng Xin's neck.
"This hurts my fucking neck, you know."
Mu Qing started purring, and Feng Xin just groaned and went to sit in a chair at his library. "I've got nothing to do, so I'm reading. Go ahead and take a nap there."
Mu Qing kept purring as he closed his eyes, nuzzling into Feng Xin's neck.
A few minutes after dozing off, he woke up again but didn't move, just trying to fall asleep again.
Eventually he gave up and looked down at whatever Feng Xin was reading. After a minute of trying to make sense of all the words, he realized it was poetry. Love poems.
He purred against Feng Xin's neck as a subconscious comfort for his rival. Was Feng Xin in love with someone or did he just like the poems?
He hopped down onto Feng Xin's lap and kneading into his thigh a few times before curling up. He started purring when Feng Xin's hand touched him, beginning to stroke his back.
He yawned and stretched out before curling back up again, purring loudly. He slept for a few minutes and woke up again. He lifted his head slightly and noticed Feng Xin staring at him from underneath his book. He almost would've thought he was looking at the book, but the way Feng Xin quickly looked back up to the book gave him away.
He meowed and pushed against his stomach. Feng Xin looked down at him again. "What do you want?"
He continued to meow.
"Are you hungry?"
He let out a happy chirp as he looked up at him.
Feng Xin sighed. "I almost thought I kind of liked taking care of you, but your meowing is obnoxious."
He stared up at Feng Xin with wide eyes. Feng Xin continued, "It is funny to see you so vulnerable, you never let yourself get needy."
He growled and hopped off his lap, walking towards the door of the palace. He smiled inwardly and began scratching at the door.
"Hey! You little shit, hold on! Okay, I'll feed you!"
Mu Qing continued to scratch until Feng Xin came over and picked him up. He crawled onto his shoulder, too lazy to continue any further than resting on one shoulder. Half of his body was on the front of Feng Xin's shoulder; the other on his back.
"I swear, you annoy me just to get picked up," Feng Xin mumbled as he drew a distance shortening array to the mortal realm. As they walked through, Mu Qing closed his eyes and began purring again.
They entered a new temple, and Mu Qing could more or less recognize where they were as they walked outside. It was the South East, the area that Feng Xin oversees.
He instantly tensed up, not liking being here. He crawled over onto his neck and looked down at his robes. He crawled down into them, sitting at the bottom where it opens so only his head peaked out.
"Hey, what are you— ugh, whatever. I guess it's understandable you wouldn't wanna be here, especially not in that vulnerable state. Don't worry, I'll be quick. I'm just getting food, and maybe a couple toys."
He hissed up at him at the mention of toys. Feng Xin laughed. "You're annoying, I'm going to get tired of your insistent need for attention. Toys will be fun for you. And maybe a little entertainment for me watching you run around after a red dot."
He grimaced at the sound and let out a displeased chirp as he turned his head straightforward.
This was so embarrassing! For once, he could barely wait to see that Crimson Rain.
They went into a little pet store and he hid a little more. Feeling Feng Xin's hand rest on his head, he started purring and nuzzling into the touch, completely forgetting their situation.
As the hand was pulled away, he looked up and noticed they were already back to the temple. He was pissed off that he could be distracted for so long, and so easily. He needed to get out of this state as fucking fast as he could.
Feng Xin went through the door, entering the messy palace again. Mu Qing wasn't sure if it was messy because of Feng Xin's horrible habits of disorganization or himself, he couldn't remember.
Feng Xin put a small bowl down on a table and opened a little bag of cat food. The noise made him perk his ears up, hopping out of Feng Xin's robes. He instantly started walking around the bowl, looking up at Feng Xin. Feng Xin snorted. "Hold on."
He waited patiently for Feng Xin to start filling it, but the second he saw food drop he dove in.
It tasted horrible, but in a good way. And that pissed him off even more.
He continued to eat it and ignored the couple pieces of food that fell on his head from Feng Xin still pouring food into it.
"You're a fast fucking eater, calm down. It's not going anywhere."
He looked up at Feng Xin as he chewed. Feng Xin snorted and put the bag down on the ground. "No one is taking it from you, relax."
He bowed his head in shame, realizing he was eating a little fast, and loud. He tried to eat slower to make it quieter. He started purring as he felt Feng Xin pet him again, and he pushed his head into the touch but pulled away to eat more food.
Feng Xin continued to pet him as he ate, sitting down on the chair in silence. When he was finished, he felt tired so he crawled down into Feng Xin's lap and circled a couple times before laying down, curling up into a ball.
"Do you make circles every time you lay down?"
He purred in response, and looked up at him. Feng Xin's face was slightly redder than normal, and his expression changed? Mu Qing was too tired to care so he laid his head back down on Feng Xin's thigh and closed his eyes.
When he woke up after what seemed like a few seconds, he stood up and stretched as he yawned. He looked up at Feng Xin who was staring at him, the latter immediately looking away when he noticed the cat looking at him.
He narrowed his eyes. Feng Xin was acting different. Why?
After several hours, Feng Xin asked, "Wanna go see Xie Lian?"
Mu Qing looked up and purred, lifting his paws onto Feng Xin's chest. He kneaded on his robes until he was picked up. This time, he just laid down on the arm and nuzzled into the touch. Feng Xin chuckled lightly and he ignored it. From his lack of vision from his position, he could hear Feng Xin knock on the palace door and then open it; to warn Xie Lian they're there, he assumes.
"Feng Xin! Hello," a cheerful voice greeted.
Mu Qing looked up and saw Xie Lian gaping at him. He hid his face again, so badly wanting to curl up and die. He changed his mind, he doesn't wanna see Xie Lian. This was so embarrassing.
He pawed at his own face and tried to bury it underneath Feng Xin's arm. Here he was, a tiny black cat, being held in his rivals arms like a fragile little thing. And he was, that's why he was so bothered by it.
"Aw! Is this our little Mu Qing?"
Feng Xin laughed. "He's a little embarrassed by it, but yes."
He felt himself being moved and his eyes widened, realizing he was given to Xie Lian. He looked up at him. He was glad he couldn't blush in this state, he was sure he would.
Xie Lian cooed, "You're so cute! Wait til San Lang sees! He's gonna find it adorable too."
Hey out a displeased mewl, which made Xie Lian just hug him tighter.
"Speaking of him, when will he be back?" Feng Xin asked.
"Actually, anytime now I hope!"
"I see, shall we wait here then?"
Xie Lian nodded and started petting Mu Qing, who started purring automatically. "Of course, Mu Qing is too adorable really."
Feng Xin laughed. "He is."
His rival saying he was cute was not sitting well with him.
After an incense time, the door opened.
"Gege, I'm home! Oh, we have guests?"
"San Lang! How was Ghost City?"
Mu Qing looked up at Hua Cheng and narrowed his eyes. Hua Cheng was smiling softly at Xie Lian, ignoring the other two guests.
"As boring as always, not nearly as interesting as being here."
Xie Lian chuckled. "Oh, San Lang. We have a little issue."
"I see, Feng Xin is here. And Gege has a cat, are we adopting?" He asked with a sly smile.
Mu Qing wanted to die, knowing that implied several things.
Xie Lian cleared his throat. "No, this cat is a dear friend suffering from a curse."
Hua Cheng's eye widened and he looked down at Mu Qing. "You're Mu Qing, I assume?"
Mu Qing hissed, earning a laugh. "I see. And you've come hoping I can help?"
Feng Xin nodded. "Ling Wen said she will have to look into it, but you may also know something."
"I know a few things about curses," Hua Cheng confirmed. "I'll have to go back to Ghost City though."
He took out two dice and frowned. "You guys are taking me away from Gege again, I expect something in thanks."
"What would you like?"
Hua Cheng smiled. "Eat Gege's cooking. He's improved a lot, you know."
Feng Xin grimaced, and Mu Qing hissed. Absolutely not.
Hua Cheng shrugged. "Worth a try."
Mu Qing laid down again as he heard the dice hit the floor. He waited for Hua Cheng to return as Xie Lian pet him, earning loud purrs.
Not long after, he did return. "Okay, I've created something that he should be able to drink and return to normal."
Mu Qing's eyes widened and he stood up, looking over at him. Perfect! Thank the Heavens, and Crimson Rain.
Feng Xin stood up and took the capsule Hua Cheng was handing him. "Thank you very much. I apologize for interrupting your time."
Xie Lian waved his hand dismissively. "No problem."
Mu Qing eagerly pounced onto the floor and looked up at Feng Xin expectedly.
Feng Xin opened the capsule, but Hua Cheng snorted. "I uh, suggest not doing that here."
Mu Qing hissed, not wanting to wait any longer. Feng Xin looked at him. "Why not?"
Hua Cheng shrugged as he walked over to Xie Lian. "You'll find out."
Mu Qing mewled, pawing at Feng Xin's ankle. Feng Xin sighed, "Yeah, yeah. Shut up, I was hoping to not have to carry you ever again too."
Feng Xin drew a new distance shortening array on the door and picked Mu Qing up. "Thank you again."
Xie Lian smiled at them. "Good luck!"
Mu Qing hid his face again as they went back into the palace. He jumped down and pounced onto the table again, looking at Feng Xin with wide eyes as he sat his but down on the table, front legs still standing.
Feng Xin walked over to him and opened the capsule. "Okay, open your mouth."
Mu Qing opened eagerly. Finally, he could get out of this damn state.
Feng Xin poured the liquid into his tiny mouth, and he swallowed it all. At first, he didn't feel any different.
Feng Xin scrunched his face up. "Maybe it takes a while—"
Mu Qing's eyes widened as he felt a strange feeling, and he coughed. He blinked a few times, and looked at Feng Xin.
Feng Xin's eyes were wide, and also very close to his head level. Mu Qing furrowed his eyebrows, wondering why Feng Xin wasn't looking at his face.
He looked down, and realized he was completely naked. His eyes widened and he screamed. "Close your eyes!"
Feng Xin immediately obeyed, closing his eyes tight. "Shit, I didn't think that would happen."
Mu Qing covered his lap, whining. "What the fuck... he could have told us! Dammit! I would've drank it on my own, then! I can't get back to my palace like this... I'm taking your robes, I'll return them after."
He stood up, grimacing from the cold air on his body.
"Right. That's good, go uh, go um. Change. Er, get clothes on."
Mu Qing quickly went to Feng Xin's chamber, going through his wardrobe. Everything looked so large, dammit. Whatever, it'll work for now.
He grabbed the smallest robes he could find and put them on. Now clothed, he went back to Feng Xin. His feet made little putter patter noises as he walked, not wearing any shoes either.
"Don't look at me, I don't want you seeing me in these baggy robes. I'm leaving."
"Understood," Feng Xin said breathlessly. His face was even redder than before, and Mu Qing couldn't say his own was probably any better. It was even more embarrassing than being an actual cat.
He quickly left the palace, trying to go back to his own without being seen. Upon returning to the safety of his palace, he went to his own chamber.
He looked through his wardrobe as he swished his tail back and forth, humming a tune he remembered from his teenage years in Xianle.
He took his normal robes out and laid them down on his bed. As he was pulling Feng Xin's robes off, he got them to about shoulder length before noticing something and he froze his movements.
Something was off. Everything felt normal, but at the same time, he felt different. He pulled the robes completely off, leaving himself bare. Then, walking over to his mirror, his eyes widened.
Behind him was a long black tail, swishing back and forth. He didn't even realize he was doing it until seeing it. Upon checking his head, he had fluffy cat ears sticking out. His face turned red and he entered the communication array.
"Is something wrong?" Feng Xin's voice spoke.
"Get over here right fucking now. I'm going to kill that Crimson Rain for his fourth time."