Immortal Takeout - Chapter 6

When Ta Nuo returned home, the sun had already covered itself with a blanket and fallen into a deep sleep. At some point otter Mom had come by and left a small basket outside Ta Nuo’s little house, containing a white porcelain plate of fried scallops.

It was Mom’s oil-drizzled scallops!

The otter mother had also left a note on the door, which read: Dear Nuonuo, Mom left you some scallop shells. Have fun crushing them yourself.

Ta Nuo happily finished the full plate of scallops, the juicy scallop meat splattering everywhere, and he had to spend some time cleaning up the dishes. After dinner, he took out his favorite stone and crushed the scallop shells into fine pieces. This simple, repetitive labor relaxed his mind and body.

The shell fragments were evenly scattered in the flower bed in the courtyard. The flower bed contained seeds of pennywort. It was the only plant he could keep alive, brought to him by his otter brother from the city.

His older brother said that pennywort grows quickly, and it would sprout in a few days, so he needed to water it regularly.

Ta Nuo watered the flower bed with half a teapot of water from his own teapot, but his mind was preoccupied with the lily of the valley flowers at the Cat Agency. If only I could grow such beautiful flowers too, how wonderful that would be.

Having secured his first important business deal in his otter life, Ta Nuo slept soundly that night, dreaming of the sweet scent of lily of the valley and the bamboo chair from the young boss’s house. In his dream, there were many friends, all praising him for being so capable, the most amazing otter in the world.

Ta Nuo woke up laughing from his dream.

The next day, the weather was uncooperative, with a light drizzle falling early in the morning. By midday, the rain had intensified, not abating. Ta Nuo sighed, put on his rain boots, held his umbrella, and reluctantly set off from home.

The waterways were difficult to navigate, with large raindrops falling swiftly, like strings of pearls connecting heaven and earth. Ta Nuo’s fur was soaked by the splashing rainwater, and he couldn’t help but shiver when he transformed into human form. He slowly made his way along the main road, the rubber water shoes making a splashing sound as they hit the puddles on the ground.

This wasn’t the first time he had come to the city, but he walked very cautiously, pulling out the map Lin had given him at every intersection to carefully verify his location until he finally confirmed his direction. Finding the target location wasn’t that difficult; Manager Lin had provided a fairly specific landmark: the pear blossom forest in Wutai Mountain Park in Maochun City.

Wutai Mountain Park was still a considerable distance from the main urban area of Maochun City, but its unique scenery and lush greenery had already made it a favorite leisure and sightseeing spot for the people of Maochun. On a normal day, the park would be bustling with visitors, but today was a non-holiday, and with the rare spring rain, the entire pear blossom grove was much quieter.

At the entrance to the pear blossom grove stood a massive stone sculpture. Ta Nuo stood beneath the sculpture, tilting his head back and squinting for a moment before finally recognizing it as a plump, fluffy cat. The stone cat sat upright with its tail curled, its chin slightly raised, and a faint smile on its lips, its expression betraying a touch of cunning and pride.

It is widely acknowledged that the people of Maochun love cats. While there are certainly cat lovers in other cities, only in Maochun would one expend so much effort and resources to erect a stone statue of a cat and place it in the most beautiful pear blossom grove in the entire city for everyone to admire.

Ta Nuo found it fascinating, completely forgetting the purpose of his visit, and walked around the statue several times. The base of the statue was engraved with the life story of this legendary tabby cat, hailing it as one of the most beloved cats of its time, accompanied by a short poem written in human language. Below the poem, in smaller font, was a translation in cat language. Humans probably couldn’t understand it, and Ta Nuo could only recognize a few words, but he found the poem beautiful.

“Life”

— An Unknown Poem by Cat Biscuit ①

I have walked through this life

and must admit

that this life was too hurried.

Every path

has its own destination.

When I look back,

this earth

is covered with my paw prints.

I am grateful

that I only met you once in this life

neither too early nor too late

You saw me as I am

From now on, there will be no parting, no ashes

There are countless eternal moments

All things in the world are without regret, meow

What a thoughtful gentleman cat , Ta Nuo marveled. He paused to savor the moment, noticing that though there were few humans around, there were many cats coming and going. Ta Nuo carried the unique scent of a wild animal, and the cats did not shy away from him, but they kept a cautious distance. However, Ta Nuo behaved gently, and soon the cats grew accustomed to the presence of this strange creature.

Many cats, like Ta Nuo, lingered before the statue, sitting with their paws folded, as if admiring it or praying.

—I want lots and lots of dried fish.

He heard a short-haired black kitten make this wish.

—I want to become smarter, get perfect scores on exams, and become the cat among cats.

He heard another kitten with yellow eyes and a tri-colored coat express its ambitious aspirations.

Ta Nuo felt moved and wanted to clasp his hands together to pray for peace and smooth sailing, but then he thought, perhaps Mr.Poet Cat can only bless cats, so he shouldn’t disturb the other cats’ tranquility. However, before leaving, Ta Nuo quietly made a wish for Mr. Guokui. He hoped Mr. Guokui would find a new job smoothly and become a happy cat. Since Mr. Guokui is also a cat, he should be within the Poet Cat’s protective realm, he thought.

He arrived at the spot marked with a cross on the map—the stone bench at the end of the pear blossom grove, his destination. As agreed, Ta Nuo needed to find a special human here and purchase a special cat food can.

So, standing before the empty bench, he thought to himself, “The question now is, how do I confirm which human is the special one?” Humans must have names or something, he realized. He had failed to properly inquire about the information of the person the Lin Manager was seeking. No wonder the Lin Manager had given him that sinister smile before leaving—he must have known that Ta Nuo’s first attempt was doomed to fail.

How terrible, he sighed deeply and blamed himself, saying, “It’s my fault for being so careless. I should have thought about confirming such an important matter beforehand.”

His good mood vanished, and he suddenly felt discouraged. He was at a loss, wondering what to do next. His older brother was in the city; perhaps he should go seek help. But the moment that thought crossed his mind, he shook his head in denial. A mature otter shouldn’t cause his family worry; he should learn to solve problems on his own.

He sat down on the bench, resisting the urge to sprinkle salt on himself, rubbed his face for a moment, and finally calmed down. He decided to ask the local residents.

“Canned food? What canned food? You look like a can of food!” a hot-tempered dairy cat.

“Humans with canned food? Really? Can I eat it too? Is it tasty? Can I eat it every day? How many can I eat in a day?” a curious tortoiseshell cat.

“What is canned food?” A stubborn city stray cat that only eats the prey it catches.

“Woof woof!” A dirty little white dog.

After asking around, he came up empty-handed. Maybe he was just unlucky; he didn’t encounter any local cats familiar with the area.

On his first day delivering takeout, he failed miserably and returned in defeat.

Author’s Note:

The systems of becoming a spirit are different, so please don’t mind the time details. You can think of him as a Spartar from a parallel world.

TL note: 

The cat and the poem was from the novel named ‘The Cat’s Legacy’ written by MC Sparta under its pen name . Sparta transformation was different from current novel so the author said to think as a parallel world