Brian Carter stood in the middle of the temple, turning his head left and right, surveying the entire place. Then he stepped up to the altar, picked up a strand of hair, and examined it closely for a long while before tossing it away and finding a place to sit down.

　　It seemed that this one was not in the temple.

　　Out on official business?

　　And for now, he still couldn’t determine what exactly was going on.

　　Perhaps it was a local animal that had gained sentience, greedy for human incense offerings, and, seeing a temple here, had thoughtlessly claimed it as its own.

　　Incense offerings have a fatal allure for mountain spirits and ghosts.

　　Or perhaps the locals had set this up themselves, and it just so happened that a wildcat from the mountain had made this place its den.

　　In this era, there were indeed some places that worshipped cats as gods, hoping they would catch all the mice and leave more grain for the household.

　　Or maybe that monster from years ago had truly come back to life.

　　After waiting for about an hour, as the sun slanted lower and lower, golden light shone in through the doorway, inching its way inside. Just as it was about to reach the feet of the cross-legged Brian Carter, there was finally some movement outside.

　　Brian Carter rose unhurriedly to look.

　　A cat was walking slowly along the path in the sunlight. The wild grass growing chaotically on the path was no shorter than the cat, often pushed aside as it passed. When it came to a dirt ditch, its body seemed weightless as it leapt gracefully over.

　　It had long known there was someone in the temple, but it showed no wariness, still swaggering over until it reached the doorway. One paw hooked onto the threshold, and when it looked up and saw a person in Daoist robes inside, its eyes suddenly focused, and only then did a hint of caution appear.

　　Looking left, looking right.

　　Pondering, thinking.

　　The paw on the threshold withdrew and then returned, but finally it decided to come in.

　　Watching it nimbly hop over the threshold and look up to meet Brian Carter's gaze, those eyes were like amber, probably able to bewitch a person even without any tricks:

　　"Daoist?"

　　The vocal cords of spirits and monsters are different from those of humans. Without having taken human form, even if they speak, you can't tell their gender—at most, you can discern their original species, and maybe their age.

　　This cat's voice was clear and delicate, not hoarse at all.

　　"And how should I address you?"

　　Brian Carter politely gave it a bow.

　　"I am Mary."

　　"My surname is Song. Mary, greetings."

　　"Why have you come to my temple?"

　　"Last night I stayed at the village temple and was entrusted by the local deity to come and check on the incense offerings here." Brian Carter stood straight but had to lower his head. "May I ask, Mary, do you have any official decree from the human court to gather incense here?"

　　"What is that?"

　　"That is..."

　　Brian Carter met its gaze but paused.

　　This little cat spirit had shallow cultivation, most likely having only recently become a spirit. Seeing the clear stupidity in its eyes, he figured he needed to choose his words carefully.

Chapter Six: The Difficulties of Being a Cat God

　　"It means that this is territory of the imperial court, and the people who come here to offer incense and worship are all subjects of the court." Brian Carter paused. "For you to occupy this temple and absorb incense from these people, you need permission from the court or the heavenly palace."

　　"Who are they?"

　　"......"

　　Brian Carter thought for a moment before saying, "In theory, the court governs all people in the world, and the heavenly palace governs all the gods."

　　"Why are you looking for me?"

　　"Not us, them. I was just entrusted by them to come and take a look."

　　"Why are they looking for me?"

　　"To give you trouble, I suppose."

　　"......"

　　Upon hearing this, Mary fell silent for a moment, then continued walking forward in small steps to the altar, leaping lightly onto it. Once it was perched on the altar, it was nearly as tall as the standing Brian Carter, and it only said:

　　"It was those people who offered incense to me on their own."

　　"Is this temple yours?"

　　"It was unwanted by anyone."

　　"I'm afraid that's not allowed either."

　　"Why not?"

　　"Because the incense in this world is limited. If someone gives it to you, they can't give it to other gods, or at least they'll give less to other gods," Brian Carter said. "And the court and the heavenly palace won't reason with a low-level little spirit like you."

　　"Then I just won't take it."

　　"I'm afraid that's not allowed either."

　　"Why not again?"

　　"There are rules in the heavenly palace. Before, there was also a monster here who secretly absorbed incense and was executed. The temple you occupy now used to be its."

　　"......"

　　Mary just stared at him, her eyes round and wide.

　　It's hard for humans to read a cat's emotions, but Brian Carter thought, she was probably frightened.

　　After a long while, she finally spoke again:

　　"Why?"

　　"Maybe it did something bad."

　　"I didn't," Mary stared at him. "I only help the people at the foot of the mountain catch mice. And I used to have a temple, a small one. Later, someone moved my clay statue into this big temple. I didn't come here by choice."

　　"Even the smallest temple isn't allowed. It just wasn't discovered before. Now that it has been, even if I don't deal with you today, someone else will come looking for you."

　　"Then what should I do?"

　　"If you haven't harmed anyone, haven't absorbed human essence, or eaten human flesh and blood, you shouldn't be killed."