Immortal Takeout - Chapter 8

After a long silence, the human spoke up to break the deadlock.

“Cat food isn’t very tasty; it tastes as strange as it smells,” he said gently. He smiled and didn’t mock Ta Nuo’s strange idea, but patiently explained, “But if you’re hungry, you can try my bread.”

The human handed the bread to Ta Nuo. The bread had just been bought from a convenience store and was still unopened, soft to the touch. Ta Nuo caught a faint, sweet scent of wheat.

It must be delicious!

Ta Nuo reached out instinctively to take it, but only realized what he had done after he had taken the bread, and immediately felt embarrassed. He was not good at lying, and his entire body turned red. He stammered out an excuse, saying he had a cat at home, though it wasn’t his own, and he needed to bring dinner back for the cat. He knew the story was poorly made up.

“I can pay for it. Please sell it to me.” He took off his hat and bowed.

The human was startled and hurriedly stopped him, saying, “No need for that. I can give it to you. You don’t need to buy it. I’ll give it to you. It’s just for feeding the cat anyway.”

Ta Nuo felt a bit flustered and uncomfortable. Especially since the human was so kind, he felt embarrassed. However, it was wonderful that the human was willing to share the canned food with him.

The human took out the cans from his bag and let Ta Nuo choose one himself. Ta Nuo looked around the small pile of cans, trying to find the one Manager Lin  had requested, but he couldn’t find it. He felt a bit torn and asked softly, “Are these all you have?” The human had already promised him one can, and it was rude of him to be so picky.

But the human didn’t mind. He smiled apologetically and said, “Sorry, I only brought these with me today. What flavor do you need?”

Ta Nuo mentioned a name, and the human widened his eyes in surprise. Nervously, Ta Nuo asked, “Is it a hard-to-find canned food?”

The human shook his head, lowered his head thoughtfully, and reached into his backpack with one hand, searching for something.

Ta Nuo watched him curiously.

The human looked up and smiled, revealing a prominent dimple on his left cheek.

The human seems to smile a lot, Ta Nuo thought.

“Sorry, I just find it amazing,” the human said. “I happen to have the kind of canned food you mentioned.” ” He then pulled his hand out of the backpack, holding the exact special can that Manager Lin had requested. The human reached out and handed the can to him.

Ta Nuo didn’t ask the human why he hadn’t taken out the can earlier. He had a vague feeling that perhaps the human didn’t want to share the can with others. So he shook his head and said, “If it’s inconvenient, I won’t take it.”

The human insisted, placing the can in Ta Nuo’s palm. “I was just carrying it just in case, but…” the human paused, smiled, and changed the subject, “Anyway, the can will expire if it’s not eaten, so if your cat likes it, just give it to him.”

“He’s not my cat,” Ta Nuo corrected.

Ta Nuo’s task was complete, and the otter relaxed, lazily sitting on the bench and watching the human feed the cat. He took small bites of the human’s bread. He was right—the bread was indeed delicious! It was soft and fluffy, and when he chewed it slowly in his mouth, he could taste the natural sweetness of the wheat, which reminded him of the autumn forest filled with ripe fruits.

The human’s movements were swift, and the stray cats around him seemed familiar with him and were not afraid. The human could call out many of the cats’ names and perform simple physical examinations on some of them.

“Xiao Hua, I haven’t seen you in a few days. Where did you give birth to your kittens? Hmm?” The human spoke to a calico mother cat while rubbing her belly with his hand.

The calico cat named Xiao Hua purred contentedly, completely unfazed by the human touching her belly.

“The kittens are safe now. I’ll go back once I’m full.” She replied, nuzzling her chin against his hand.

Unfortunately, the human couldn’t understand her.

“Why don’t you bring the kittens over one day and come home with me? It’s too cold outside right now,” the human said softly.

He had finished eating his bread and was now holding the equally well-fed little yellow cat. He gently brushed the cat’s fur, trying to resist the urge to sprinkle salt on its belly and give it a sea salt bath. Hearing the human words, Ta Nuo curiously asked, “Do you have many cats at home?”

The human had already tidied him up and was sitting on the bench with Ta Nuo. A small black cat lay at his feet, quietly licking its paws.

“There should be about forty-five cats now,”the human thought for a moment and replied, “That’s probably the number of cats who live there.”

Ta Nuo wowed, his mouth wide open. “That’s a lot!”

The human told Ta Nuo that he had originally only kept one cat, a beautiful white one. Later, the cat went missing, and the human would take the white cat’s favorite canned food with him whenever he had time to go look for it. The white cat was never found, but the human discovered many stray cats in need of help. He transformed his empty house into a cat shelter, taking in stray cats that couldn’t survive in the wild due to their health conditions.

As more cats moved in, the human also made many like-minded friends. Together, they established a personal stray cat shelter, using their spare time to help stray cats in need. If the cats were in good health or unsuitable for living with humans, they would be neutered and released back into the wild, with regular follow-up checks on their health. Those suitable for adoption would be helped by the shelter to find loving homes.

“You’re amazing,” he praised sincerely. “But what about your white cat? How did it go missing?”

The human’s expression darkened. “It lived with me for five years. One day, it fell ill, so I took it to the vet. The vet said the condition was painful and incurable, so I had to take it home to care for it. I brought it home, took a week off work, and stayed with it. On my first day back at work, it ran out of the house and never came back. I have no idea where it went. It was always well-behaved and never ventured outside before.”

The little yellow cat curled up on Ta Nuo’s lap and fell asleep, purring softly like a little heater. Ta Nuo felt deeply saddened.

“The doors and windows at home were all intact, showing no signs of disturbance. My cat just vanished. It was sick, and I knew it was in a bad state. But I couldn’t help but think that maybe it wasn’t that certain—maybe it had its own way of surviving, stubbornly clinging to life in some corner I couldn’t see. I always carry its favorite canned food with me, hoping that one day, when it recovers, it will reappear and be the first to see me. But after searching for two years, I found nothing.

Some say cats are intelligent and can sense their time is near. It must have gone to the Rainbow Bridge, to the animal paradise. It didn’t want me to see its suffering, so it chose to leave quietly. But I’m also selfish. I always felt that I’d rather hold it in my arms and watch it leave in my embrace than imagine it wandering outside, enduring hardships. It had suffered so much before, and it came to me for help on its own. I helped it, brought it home, and thought that from then on, I could take care of it.”

“No,” Ta Nuo said seriously, “there is no such paradise.”

The human man choked up and couldn’t speak. He knew those legends were just human wishful thinking, a prayer for inner peace and relief. But hearing someone say so bluntly that such relief didn’t exist was still hurtful.

He gave a wry smile.

“Your cat didn’t go to heaven; he probably became a spirit,” Ta Nuo continued.

Uh.

The human’s sorrow had not yet dissipated when it was disrupted by this inexplicably confident conclusion. He tried to smile but failed, his expression somewhere between a smile and a cry. “Thank you for comforting me.”

“It’s not comforting,” Ta Nuo shook his head. “I think your cat was too shy to become a spirit in front of you, so he had to leave first. Once he’s perfected his cultivation, maybe one day he’ll come back to visit you.”

…

“Does becoming a spirit happen suddenly?” the human man asked hesitantly.

Ta Nuo thought for a moment, furrowing his brow slightly, and said, “This is a bit complicated to explain, and I can’t tell you too much. However, it’s true that some animals can suddenly become spirits. This is because they’ve reached a certain level of cultivation and suddenly achieve enlightenment. But more often, it’s because they have the bloodline for becoming spirits. As long as the conditions are right, they can achieve enlightenment. There is also a very rare group that becomes spiritually enlightened immediately after birth. Of course, no matter how one becomes spiritually enlightened, hard work is still very important. Becoming spiritually enlightened does not guarantee success; one must continue to learn and improve constantly.”

The human was at a loss for words.

“Don’t worry too much,” Ta Nuo reassured him. “I think your cat is very smart. It won’t be long before he breaks through, and then you’ll be able to see each other again.”

He secretly guessed that the white cat the human gentleman was talking about must be Manager Lin. But to be on the safe side, he politely asked the human gentleman for a photo of the white cat. The human’s phone had a large folder filled with photos of the white cat, in various formats—both images and videos.

Ta Nuo flipped through the photos and silently nodded to himself. It was indeed Manager Lin. He hadn’t expected Manager Lin to be so beautiful before becoming a spirit.

He returned the phone to the human and said confidently, “No doubt about it, your cat is very smart. Don’t worry, he’s progressing quickly.” He’s currently an intern manager at the Cat Consultation Office. Working at such an office allows one to earn far more points than ordinary transformed animals, and the training period was significantly shorter. And Lin the Manager is also quite intelligent; there will definitely be no issues.

The human looked at Ta Nuo with a complicated expression, unsure of what to say, and could only mutter a thank you. “How do you know my cat is intelligent?” he asked with a smile.

“I…” Tanuo stuttered, making up a lie, “Because I can read faces.”

The human smiled gently. Ta Nuo felt like he had become a liar. But how could he explain the concept of becoming a spirit to a human?

Fortunately, the human didn’t seem intent on probing further. He appeared to fully believe Ta Nuo’s words, or perhaps he chose to believe them. “Will the cat be healthy after becoming a spirit?” This was his primary concern.

Ta Nuo nodded.

The human man sighed in relief and asked, “Then, if it comes back, will it still recognize me? Or will I still be able to recognize it?” In TV novels, it’s written that after becoming a spirit, they change their form and become so unfamiliar that they can’t be recognized. The human man felt like he was going mad, actually worrying about such trivial matters.

“Yes,” Ta Nuo nodded firmly. “It will definitely remember you. But whether you can recognize it, I don’t know.” After all, if it transforms into human form, it will inevitably be different from its original form.

“When will it return? Does it take a long time to become a spirit?”

“It depends on the cat. Some cats are faster, some are slower.” What Ta Nuo didn’t tell the human was that if Manager Lin chose the path of cultivating immortality, it would indeed take a long time , so long that the human would no longer exist in this world, and they would never meet again.

But if Manager Lin chose the path of cultivating humanity, then with his intelligence and talent, given enough time, he would surely succeed. Then they could meet again very soon, as long as Manager Lin was willing.

The human looked at Ta Nuo quietly, smiling beautifully. “Thank you,” he said sincerely.

Ta Nuo shook his head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“This is my business card,” the human said, pulling out a small white card and handing it to Ta Nuo.

Ta Nuo took the card with both hands, struggling to decipher the human characters on it. So the human’s name was Lin Zhou, and he was an interior designer. What was an interior designer?

“Hello, my name is Ta Nuo.”

“Ta Nuo…” Lin Zhou repeated, “What does the cat you know look like?”

Ta Nuo rolled his eyes and stammered, “He’s also a white cat, and he looks a lot like your cat.”

“Is that so?” Lin Zhou mused, “I really hope to meet your cat friend one day.”

“Yes,” Ta Nuo said confidently, “He likes your canned food very much.”

“If you have a chance, come to my studio. I still have a lot of canned goods..” Lin Zhou paused, then continued, “If you need any more, you can come and take it.”

Ta Nuo nodded, then hurriedly added, “I can pay you.”

Lin Zhou smiled, revealing a dimple. “No need,” he said. “As you said, once he becomes a spirit, he’ll recognize me. Since he’ll recognize me, he’ll still be my cat. And since he’s my cat, he should eat my cat food.”

Although he felt something was wrong, Tanuo could not find any words to refute it for a moment.

After the stray cats in the area had all eaten, Lin Zhou packed up the food bowls and remaining cat food, and started walking back with Ta Nuo. He reached into his pocket and frowned in frustration.

“What’s wrong?” Ta Nuo asked.

“I forgot my keys again.” From Lin Zhou’s expression, it was clear this wasn’t the first time he’d done this.

“What should we do?” Ta Nuo asked worriedly.

“It’s okay, I’ll go to a friend’s place to get the spare key.” Lin Zhou smiled, suddenly recalling an old story from his youth, “Back then, before I had my own studio, I used to work overtime at the company every day, getting home very late, and I often forgot my keys too.”

Ta Nuo looked at him seriously.

“Back then, it was always Meimei who opened the door for me. He was so smart—I only taught him once how to open the door, and he remembered it. Every time I came home, I’d just knock on the door and call his name, and he’d run out of the bedroom and jump onto the doorknob to open the door for me. If he had two hands, I’d suspect he’d even cook dinner for me.”

Ta Nuo asked in confusion, “Who is Meimei?”

Lin Zhou was a bit surprised. “Oh, sorry, I forgot to tell you my cat’s name. His name is Lin Meimei.”

Huh?

Huh??

“Isn’t your cat a male cat?” Ta Nuo stammered. (#meimei in sister)

Lin Zhou smiled awkwardly and said, “Meimei is indeed a male cat. But when I first found him, I didn’t know much about cats and thought that such a delicate and beautiful white cat must be a girl. Plus, my last name is Lin, so I decided to name him that. Later, the vet told me that Meimei is a boy, but I couldn’t think of another good name at the time, so I just kept the name.”

No wonder Mr. Lin never introduced his full name. He swallowed hard, feeling as though he had inadvertently uncovered a great secret.