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It’s not like Ji Bozai wasn’t aware of Ershiqi’s existence at Wugui Sea, but perhaps due to old habits, the spirit beast rarely ever made his presence known without Ming Yi nearby. Even if he did appear in front of Ji Bozai alone, it would only be to pass on a message before he would make himself scarce once again. Which was why the man was quite surprised to enter his study to find the white cat dozing peacefully in his chair. Almost as if he was the actual master of the house.
As a person who rarely ever found himself hesitating in his actions, in this moment, Ji Bozai indeed found himself hesitating.
Would it be appropriate to wake Ershiqi and shoo him off the chair? Should he just pick him up and move him? He’d seen Ming Yi do that many times, and Ershiqi was, after all, just a cat. However, Ming Yi was Ershiqi’s actual master, whereas Ji Bozai wasn’t. Typically one would treat another person’s spirit beast in the same way they treated their master. Given the amount Ji Bozai respected his wife, it would go without saying that he would also want to treat Ershiqi with a similar respect whenever possible.
Preferring to err on the side of caution given that angering Ershiqi may inadvertently anger his wife, he decides the best option is to ask Ming Yi for help.
“My dear husband.” Ming Yi’s tone is dry as she puts down the artifact she had been putting together. “Surely, I must have heard wrong. You need me to pause my work because Ershiqi is... sleeping in your chair?” The look she gives him is, understandably, unimpressed.
Well. When she puts it like that it certainly does make Ji Bozai feel a bit stupid for bothering her with this issue. He tries to pretend the eye roll Ming Yi gives him as she breezes past him doesn’t hurt his ego. Just a bit.
Still, even with the judgment he can feel radiating off of her, Ming Yi does choose to pause her work to grant his request. This is why he loves his wife. And also why he would prefer not to do anything that could properly anger her, like disrespecting her spirit beast. The last time he accidentally angered her she refused to share a bed with him for almost an entire month! Ji Bozai may have survived in the Sunken Abyss, but he doesn’t think he could survive another month like that again.
“Ershiqi, get up!” Ming Yi glides into Ji Bozai’s study and swoops up Ershiqi, who barely even blinks at the intrusion. In fact, even when Ming Yi unceremoniously drops him, he just lands on his feet, gives a little shake and stretch and walks off without so much as a backward glance.
Once again, Ji Bozai pretends that the glare Ming Yi is giving him does not bruise his ego.
“I just...,” Ji Bozai attempts to sound nonchalant as he speaks, “I didn’t want to piss him off?” It doesn’t work.
Ming Yi provides him the honour of another eye roll. “He’s just a cat.”
“But he’s your cat.”
He thinks Ming Yi is giving him some grace by allowing the conversation to end there. His ego has been bruised enough already.
-
Two weeks later, Ji Bozai finds Ershiqi occupying his chair again. This time, he decides to be brave and resolutely walks up to the chair, holding his head up high as if he is entering a court session with the bumbling idiots at Yaoguang Mountain.
“...Ershiqi?” The cat does not react. Of course not, he spoke too quietly.
Ji Bozai clears his throat and tries to stand a bit taller. “Ershiqi.” Still nothing.
“Ershiqi!” One of the cat’s ears twitches, but Ji Bozai can’t tell if it’s because Ershiqi has actually heard him, or if the he is just caught up in a dream.
Ji Bozai extends his arms out ready to pick up the cat. He can do this. He will not bother his wife with something as trivial as asking Ershiqi to move out of his seat.
...
.....
........
Ji Bozai makes sure his wife is not actually busy with anything else and comes armed with a plate of scallion pancakes, fresh off the kitchen pan, when he goes to ask for her assistance.
This time Ming Yi swoops into the room with little patience. “Ershiqi, stop messing with him already!” she says as she picks up the resting cat and all but flings him to the ground. Ershiqi lets out a wounded yowl, and immediately transforms back into his human form to speak.
“I’m not messing with him! I was just sleeping! Is it a crime to sleep now?” Ershiqi pouts at his master and Ji Bozai can’t help but recall the earlier days of his relationship with Ming Yi, when she would act similarly towards him. Playing up her innocence while knowing the exact crime she was committing. Spirit beasts truly were a reflection of their masters.
Ming Yi gives Ershiqi’s forehead a gentle flick. “If you’re bored, go catch fish with Buxiu. If you want to sleep, go do it in your bed. If you need to annoy someone, go wander around the academy!”
Ershiqi makes a disgruntled noise in response and decides to spirit himself out of the room instead of respond to Ming Yi’s lecture. Presumably to find Buxiu to fish or to find another sleeping spot. Ji Bozai honestly isn’t too sure what Ming Yi’s spirit beast gets up to in his spare time when his presence isn’t needed.
“You know he’s just toying with you, right?”
Ji Bozai turns his vision to take in his wife who is still standing in front of him. He takes a moment to appreciate her beauty, and then takes another moment to consider her words. Is that what was happening? Was he being toyed with? Was Ershiqi just... messing with him? Rather than admit that he had been fooled, Ji Bozai responds with:
“Of course I know that!”
Ming Yi, who can read him like a book, gives him another eye roll in response.
Ji Bozai chooses to pretend that the gentle kiss on the cheek she gives him after is just because she loves him, and not because she’s actually trying to console him for being played around with by her own spirit beast.
-
The next time Ji Bozai finds his office invaded by Ershiqi, he is sleeping in cat form promptly in the middle of his desk. However, perhaps due to Ming Yi’s scolding from last time, he gets up as soon as Ji Bozai steps through the door. Ershiqi makes a show of stretching, and then abruptly knocks all of the ink brushes off the table with his tail before sauntering between his legs and out the door. Ji Bozai can’t help but continue to watch him as he walks away. Apparently knowing this, Ershiqi stops about halfway down the path, turns back into his human form, stretches his arms into the sky and loudly says “Hm. I wonder where Buxiu is... maybe we can go fishing together!” before spiriting himself away.
A small part of him is somewhat impressed at the open cheekiness and what feels like slight mockery clearly aimed in his direction. It is only now that Ji Bozai is beginning to realize how much of his wife’s playfulness is also embodied within the personality of her spirit beast.
Yes. Ji Bozai can finally admit that he’s being played around with.
That night, when he tells his wife this, Ming Yi gently pats his head.
“This is actually a good sign you know! It means he likes you.”
“What does he do if he doesn’t like you?”
Ming Yi smirks. “Oh trust me, you would know if he didn’t like you.” She then proceeds to regale him with tales of the long suffering Ershiqi provided to Ming Xin. Ji Bozai does not feel an ounce of sympathy for his wife’s absolute failure of a younger brother, but hearing these stories he can’t help but feel a bit sorry for the suffering the man had to endure.
-
Ji Bozai tries to make sure that the next time Ershiqi “rewards” him with a visit, as Ming Yi so kindly puts it, he will be prepared. On some level Ji Bozai knows he’s being ridiculous. He interacts with Ershiqi regularly whenever Ming Yi is around. He’s also seen Buxiu and Ershiqi getting along rather well. It’s only when it’s just him alone with Ershiqi that he finds himself losing his footing. This is not a situation Ji Bozai is used to finding himself in.
However, the next time Ji Bozai finds Ershiqi in his study, it is in a surprisingly unobtrusive way. The cat is tucked quietly under his desk simply dozing in the corner. He isn’t in the way, and he doesn’t shift at all when Ji Bozai sits down. Even after a moment of staring and waiting, Ershiqi does not move. Given past experience though, Ji Bozai is sure that Ershiqi is aware of his presence.
Maybe Ming Yi is right. Maybe everything earlier had just been a sort of initiation ritual, and now that Ershiqi has grown comfortable, they can co-exist peacefully. Still, just to be safe, Ji Bozai makes sure to keep his feet away from the spirit beast to give him ample sleeping space.
Barely fifteen minutes after reviewing various missives and letters addressed to him, Ming Yi comes into the room. As someone who would never miss an opportunity to skip work to spend time with his wife, Ji Bozai is quite happy with this development. Except it turns out that the one she is seeking is not him.
“Have you seen Ershiqi?”
Ji Bozai glances down at his desk, well aware of the cat sleeping in the corner just beyond his feet. Just as he is about to respond with an affirmative, he feels a paw land on the tip of his shoes. While Ming Yi begins searching around his study, Ji Bozai chances a glance down underneath his desk and makes direct eye contact with Ershiqi who is giving him quite a glare with only one eye, the other remaining steadfastly closed. Message understood.
“Not today. Did you need him for something?”
Ming Yi huffs. “That cat... I need an assistant with my forging. He always runs away for stuff like this. I’m sure he’s in here though.”
Ah. So it appears the only reason Ershiqi had been so kind to him today is because he is trying to hide from his true master. Well. Ji Bozai knows how to take advantage of an opportunity to win some brownie points when presented to him.
“Well he hasn’t been bothering me. Maybe he changed locations when he sensed you were coming? But if you need an assistant, I’m sure Buxiu would be happy to lend a hand. He’s been complaining to me quite a bit these days about not feeling useful enough.”
Ming Yi looks at him, her stare calculating. Briefly he notes her eyes glancing down to the area under his desk before shooting back up to his face. Ji Bozai makes sure to keep his expression casual, all the while feeling the weight of Ershiqi’s paw on his feet. He gets the sense that if he isn’t able to pass this moment, he will either feel the sting of a cat’s claws on his ankle, or the sting of his wife’s anger for lying. Immediately he begins thinking up multiple ways in which he can apologize to either party depending on the outcome.
After what feels like much too long of a pause, Ming Yi turns back to the door. “Fine, I’ll go ask Buxiu. He has seemed a bit down recently.”
Once Ji Bozai is sure his wife has indeed gone away, he glances back down at Ershiqi. The cat has removed his paws from his feet and is back to snuggling in the corner as if nothing had happened. Slowly, Ji Bozai reaches down and gently runs his fingers through the fur on top of his head. He’s not sure why he’s surprised at how soft it feels. Ershiqi doesn’t react at this intrusion, and Ji Bozai finds himself feeling a bit braver.
Shifting his chair back a bit, Ji Bozai reaches down and picks Ershiqi up to deposit the cat on his lap. He braces himself for a moment as he feels Ershiqi’s claws press into his thighs, wondering if he’s going to get scratched for his actions. However, Ershiqi merely gives a brief yawn, kneads at his thighs a few more times, before settling back down, apparently quite content to remain on Ji Bozai’s lap.
Seeing that Ershiqi has no plans to move from his new position, Ji Bozai also allows himself to settle back in to his chair. He proceeds to pick up another document while allowing his other hand to run through Ershiqi’s soft white fur. “If Ming Yi finds out I lied, we’re both going down together you know.” To Ji Bozai’s surprise, Ershiqi’s only response is to nuzzle his head into Ji Bozai’s hand, giving his palm a soft bump, before curling back down to continue his nap.
Postscript:
“...Ershiqi!” Ming Yi’s hands are on her hips as she stands before her husband, who is sitting at his desk, with Ershiqi on his lap. “Come with me right now! I need you to help me test the different effects of the artifacts I’m designing!”
Her husband, whom Ming Yi is questioning if she truly loves at the moment, is the one who responds.
“I already told you, he’s not here.” One of his hands is gently petting Ershiqi as he says this, while the other does not stop writing out what appears to be a training plan for the Yaoguang team. Ershiqi gives a quiet purr as he buries his face even more deeply into her husband’s stomach.
“Ji Bozai, you--!” Ming Yi attempts to make a grab for Ershiqi, but Ji Bozai is able to outmanoeuvre her. He grabs her hand out of the air and uses it to pull her gently forward, planting a quick kiss to her lips, all the while shielding the cat who remains miraculously undisturbed on his lap.
“If my wife needs company, I’m happy to oblige.”
Switching tactics, Ming Yi gives her husband a saccharine smile and leans in to further the kisses. Unfortunately, Ji Bozai is able to read her plan and is still able to keep Ershiqi out of her reach even as she tries to distract him with her advances. One thing leads to the next, and suddenly Ming Yi finds herself being the one in her husbands lap, with her spirit beast nowhere to be found in the room.
Upon realizing this, Ming Yi attempts to remove herself from the situation, but finds Ji Bozai’s arms are keeping her firmly in place. She glares at him before letting out a disgruntled sigh.
“I shouldn’t have let the two of you get so close.” She whines, nuzzling into his neck.
Ji Bozai chuckles, gently caressing her back as he drops a gentle kiss to the side of her head.
“Buxiu will make sure he shows up next time,” his hands move down to her waist, shifting her weight to settle more comfortably on him as he begins to trail kisses down her neck, “But for now, since you’re here anyway...”
Ming Yi rolls her eyes, but allows her husband to continue distracting her from Ershiqi’s escape. Her artifacts can wait until later.