The human world.
It's eleven at night.
"Thanks for the 666s, my loyal viewers!"
"My nickname 'Mountain Brother' isn't for nothing. I'll be the first one up the mountain tomorrow morning!"
The streamer, nicknamed 'Ye Yao Chu Shan' (I'm Going Up the Mountain), was live from his home, preparing to boast a bit more before bed.
He was also the first one to announce his plan to climb the mountain.
Ever since he posted the notice about climbing, traffic had been pouring into his stream like it was free.
His follower count had also multiplied several times over, something he had never even dreamed of.
He figured he'd be waking up from dreams with a smile tonight.
Mountain Brother's slightly chubby face was creased with a comical grin. "Come, come, let me show you what I've prepared for the climb."
He turned and pulled out his backpack, bringing it in front of the camera for his viewers.
As he unzipped the bag, about to explain to his audience, he looked up and noticed that the number of viewers in his stream had suddenly dropped by half!
It was like Waterloo, plummeting from hundreds of thousands to just a few thousand in an instant.
"W(ﾟДﾟ)w What happened?"
The backpack in Mountain Brother's hands fell to the ground.
The sudden drop was too much for him to comprehend.
He quickly tapped the camera, "Is my internet lagging? Or did everyone get disconnected?"
"Why did everyone disappear? I haven't finished showing you everything, and I didn't end the stream..."
"My loyal viewers, don't leave!"
In just a few minutes, the number of viewers had dropped by another thousand.
As Mountain Brother frowned, sweat beading on his forehead in confusion, a kind viewer left a comment:
"Mountain Brother, check the chat history. Nothing's wrong with your stream. It's because Jiang Wuchang's live stream camera left on the mountain has become active, and everyone's gone to watch the excitement."
"Gotta go~"
"Mountain Brother, someone has already reached the Covenant Tree. You're not the first anymore."
"As expected, the underworld live streams always surprise me. I'm heading over there now~"
In an instant, even the newly arrived viewers had left.
The stream had fewer than a thousand viewers.
Mountain Brother stared blankly at the chat, his mouth half-open, and sank onto the floor.
His, his traffic, was all gone.
Everyone had left?
How, how could they leave so quickly?
According to the normal progression, he should have become popular, then started selling merchandise, and earned a lot of money...
Mountain Brother patted his thighs in despair, on the verge of tears.
"I haven't even started anything yet!"
No, he couldn't let it end like this.
"My loyal viewers, let's all go check out Jiang Wuchang's stream. I'll get my phone right now..."
Mountain Brother quickly took out his phone, but when he looked up, he realized all his viewers had already left.
The dream had come quickly, and it had woken him up just as fast.
...
On the mountain peak north of the West Hall.
Enveloped in mist, a blood-red tree stood silently.
One side faced the human world, the other a bottomless abyss.
The surroundings were quiet, so quiet that even the sound of a cat's footsteps on the ground could be heard.
On a branch of the Covenant Tree, a small live stream orb hung lazily.
When the wind didn't blow, it didn't move.
Suddenly, the small orb tilted, looking downwards.
A moment later, two figures appeared on the mountain peak.
"Who is it, who is it, climbing the mountain without a sound!"
In the stream, viewers who had been preparing to watch before bed widened their eyes.
If the streamer hadn't left a camera here, they wouldn't have even known.
"Could it be someone secretly coming to arrange a lifelong commitment?"
"Maybe they're here to leave treasure information, who knows."
As the viewers were filled with doubt, in the live stream footage—
The two dark figures walked forward a few steps, arriving beneath the Covenant Tree.
In the faint moonlight, the viewers could finally see the appearance of the dark figures.
It was... a cat and a dog?!
Viewer: ???
They had several big question marks, unsure whether to ask or not.
...
It was an orange cat and a large black dog.
The orange cat extended its paw and hooked out two wooden tablets tied with red thread from beneath the Covenant Tree.
One tablet was for itself, and the other was tossed to the big black dog.
According to Tai Qin's introduction, the wooden tablets were used to store information for the next life.
The cat and dog pressed their foreheads against the tablets, and after a moment, a faint light flashed on the tablets.
Lines of information, visible only to them, were left on them.
The big black dog glanced at the orange cat, then gently took the two tablets in its mouth and tossed them up towards the Covenant Tree.
The red thread tied to the tablets touched the blood-red branches, and the two tablets quickly became entangled.
—Clink.
The wooden tablets fell to the ground.
"Meow?"
The orange cat peeked at the wooden tablets on the ground, then looked up at the branches.
They had indeed become entangled just now.
Why did they fall down again?
The big black dog was also confused. It once again bit the wooden tablets and tossed them upwards.
The red thread touched the branches, and the tablets began to entangle.
—Clink!
The two wooden tablets fell again.
This signified that the covenant had failed.
The orange cat gnashed its teeth, and a cold glint flashed from its paw as its claws extended.
It hooked the red thread and tossed it upwards.
Clink!
The covenant failed.
Silence filled the air.
The orange cat stared at the wooden tablets on the ground for two seconds, then suddenly turned to look at the big black dog.
All its fur bristled, and it spoke human words:
"You don't actually want to be with me for three lifetimes and three worlds, do you, meow~!"
The ghost officer had said that to reincarnate together in the next life, both parties had to be willing.
The big black dog took two steps back, "No, woof~ I really want to be with you forever."
"Then why didn't the covenant succeed, meow!"
"Could this tree be fake, woof?"
"The ghost officer himself said it, how could it be fake, meow!"
Suddenly, the orange cat stared at the big black dog, narrowing its eyes slightly.
It walked forward step by step, "Are you still thinking about that black cat next door?"
Swish~
Its claws, with their sharp nails, popped out in unison.
The big black dog: "Which black cat?"
As soon as it finished speaking, the big black dog's heart skipped a beat.
Oh no!
It looked at the orange cat approaching step by step, its eyes widened. It stood up straight and retreated repeatedly, eventually breaking into a run.
Behind it, the orange cat pounced.
"Meow meow meow!" (Your claws scratched three times in a row) "How many black cats do you have?!"
"It wasn't me, I don't have any, woof!"
"And you lied to me, meow~!"
The cat and dog chased each other around the mountain peak, and finally, the big black dog fled down the mountain as if escaping.
"Meow meow!"
"Woof woof woof!"
Their calls gradually faded until they could no longer be heard.
In the stream, the viewers were dumbfounded from the moment the cat spoke human words.
"My mom asked me why I was watching the stream on my knees..."
"I'm amazing, I can actually understand cat and dog language! ﾉ)ﾟДﾟ("
"I think we need to reflect. Cats and dogs are already dating, and I'm still single..."
...
Looking at the chat in the stream, a viewer fell into contemplation:
"No wonder no one is paying attention... Does this dog only like cats?"
A dog that loves cats?
A dog that likes many cats?
The viewer lowered their head and looked at the black cat in their arms.
So, who was the black cat the orange cat was talking about?
Whose cat was it? What was its name?
He poked the black cat in his arms, which was engrossed in watching the screen, "Meow?"
Is it you, black cat?
...