Chapter 289: The Cat Witch is Checking Your Mental State
“Hm? Xiao Han, it’s nice to see you again. It’s truly a coincidence to run into you at the library.”
Just as I was registering the books I was borrowing at the front desk, a familiar voice sounded behind me.
Silent as a shadow, this figure had approached from behind me. When I turned around, I met those cat-like vertical pupils. In that instant, her playful demeanor, as if she had captured her prey, flashed away.
The next moment, the pitch-black cat in her arms gently meowed at me, pulling my dazed thoughts back.
“Deina… Teacher.”
I instinctively greeted her. This extraordinary witch’s full name is Deina Landen, and she is the true “Store Manager” behind the Witch Cat Café.
In response to my greeting, Deina chuckled lightly but said nothing more. She simply found it interesting to encounter someone familiar here.
“Our last meeting was also brief, just a few hurried words. This time is the same. I see a lot of unresolved anxiety and impatience in your eyes. I thought I must have been mistaken last time.”
“Uh…” Faced with this extraordinary witch’s greeting, I didn’t know how to respond. My gaze instinctively assessed her and quickly moved away, and the most noticeable thing about this extraordinary witch was the pair of cat ears atop her head, which seemed to quiver gently along with her soft voice.
“Would you like to come sit with me? I have plenty to talk about with you. I—I just love guiding lost children.” As she spoke, her other hand playfully scratched the chin of the little cat in her arms.
“I… um…” I instinctively shook my head, always feeling that I tend to fall into the rhythm of such a presence.
“I also work part-time as a counselor in the Witch Academy’s psychological counseling room. In the academy, every student may feel pressure for various reasons, and at those times, most of them come to me. I quietly listen to their confessions.”
“Are you interested in coming over? I see exhaustion in your eyes, a hollowness caused by long-term inner turmoil. It seems you are trying to fill that void with these books?” Deina stepped closer to me, gently pressing her hand on the cover of the books I was holding to my chest, smiling as she asked.
“It’s not good for you to do that~”
“Uh… actually, I’m okay, right? I shouldn’t have too many problems.” I forced a smile at Deina, realizing that my quick exchange with her last time had been insufficient; I couldn’t handle someone like her at all.
“Hmm~ Alchemy. It seems you’ve chosen one of the paths that causes hair loss the fastest.” Deina Landen didn’t directly deny my assertion that I had no problems; instead, she diverted the topic. “I’ve encountered quite a few students who studied alchemy to the point of mental instability. This time I can help you without charge, consider it an early thank-you for the new cute little ones you’re about to bring me~”
“Uh…”
I nodded while holding the books, fully aware of what she meant by new little cuties—those Fool Dreams.
It seems this cat witch has already started taking an interest in my little ones who have yet to take shape.
However, I still followed her out of the library, as if she possessed an inexplicable charm that led me to her other residence.
Cat Psychological Counseling Room.
“Meow~”
Upon arriving here, the gathered cats scattered, as if welcoming their owner. They approached me with curious looks. I don’t know if it was an illusion, but I saw a glint of wisdom gleaming in their vertical pupils. They rubbed their faces against my calves, purring contentedly.
“It seems they really like you.” As Deina Landen’s voice rang out, I felt as if I had awakened from a dream, my body instinctively tensing… but I quickly covered up that moment of awkwardness.
While there was no evidence that this extraordinary witch had used any spells or techniques on me, the fact that I obediently followed her here was already suspicious.
But looking at the enthusiastic little cats that suddenly jumped into my arms and meowed at me, I felt as if my entire body and mind were being healed.
“Although the academy has a counseling room, not many students know about it, so those who find their way here are mostly due to fate.” Deina opened the door, guiding me inside.
The first thing that caught my eye was a soft pale green tone. A sound, like background music, gently rose and then vanished into silence. The layout inside resembled a typical living room, creating an illusion of returning home.
Every arrangement here—furniture, sofas, cushions, green plants, and the lazy little cats lying on the cat climbing frame—broke the silence as I passed by, only slightly opening their eyes to see if someone had arrived.
“Alright~ Since you’re in, sit down and relax properly. You need to rest.” Deina came up behind me, placing her hands on my shoulders and gently pressing me into the soft couch, which made me sink in comfortably.
“Now… you are my guest, the most special guest. Relax.”
“Hmm.” I quietly agreed, still holding the cat that had jumped into my arms from the start, carefully grooming its fur over and over…
“Okay~ Xiao Han, have you heard of meditation?”
“Meditation? Which kind?” I asked curiously, as I had encountered quite a few types of meditation by now, from the spirit-nurturing meditation before enrollment, to the Witch Meditation Method learned after enrollment, and the Meditation Technique obtained through the spellbook from the Academy Head.
“Just a very ordinary form of meditation, the kind where you close your eyes and calm your mind. Have you ever tried it?” Deina asked, smiling.
“No…” I shook my head, indicating I had never done that, as it seemed pointless, incapable of enhancing mental power or bringing any other improvements.
“Your eyes tell me that you really haven’t, because… it’s not worth it, right? I can see your disdain for this most primitive form of meditation.”
“It’s quite normal; it really is, because it can’t bring you any tangible improvement, right? But… this reflects your impatient nature. Every effort has its reward, and the mistakes lie not in the effort itself, but in personal choice. Let me guide you to experience the most primitive form of meditation~”
Deina Landen positioned herself behind me, then reached out to cover my eyes.
“Since you’re not resisting, I’ll take it as you will cooperate with me.”
“Now… close your eyes, steady your breathing, and clear your mind. Inhale~ Exhale~”
Following Deina’s words, my body instinctively acted according to her instructions, my chest rising and falling as if time had slowed down.
“Your breathing is still a bit irregular. Now, let me impart some experience for meditation. The first step is breathing.”
“Do you find it a bit hard to believe? Breathing is just an exchange of air in the lungs, but it truly reflects your condition.”
“Adjusting your breath serves to help you confirm your own existence.”
“It’s like when you’re nervous, you subconsciously take deep breaths, but deep breathing does not eliminate that nervous emotion. You don’t need to eliminate it, because your consciousness, your essence, exists above the feelings of tension and impatience. Feeling your breath will gradually lead you to understand this; don’t let your emotions control you; instead, you control your emotions…”
Under Deina’s guidance, I felt as if I had entered an entirely new spiritual realm—different from the forgetfulness of the initial Meditation Technique, and not the cultivation of the advanced meditation technique, but a higher form of sublimation…
This was an experience I had never felt before, a state of having no burdens, fully in control of myself, reaching a point beyond words until… the sound of a crisp snap of fingers.
Snap!
“Hmm?”
Suddenly awakened, I instinctively wanted to savor that feeling again, but everything seemed as if I had just awakened from a great dream, unable to return. I instinctively brushed my hand over the cat in my arms, only to find that I was holding nothing now.
“You’re awake~ How do you feel? This kind of guided meditation usually works best the first time. From your expression, it seems like you’re reminiscing.”
“Not really.” I shook my head, denying that assertion. I didn’t deny that the state was indeed beautiful, but I couldn’t remain immersed in such a state.
“Such a stubborn child.” Deina chuckled, shaking her head as if she had seen this scenario many times before. “Could you share a bit about your past stories? You must be a child longing for love…”
“…” At Deina’s request, I acted as if I hadn’t heard. I didn’t like bringing up past matters with others. That night during the exchange competition was special; I had clearly stated that I had said farewell to the past.
“Don’t want to talk? Your thoughts are written all over your face. No one can truly say goodbye to their past lives… I’m not saying it’s right or wrong to bid farewell to the past; I’m just stating the fact that no one can accomplish this. The remaining choice is evident; confronting it is the only thing you can do, and just avoid self-deception.”
“Self-deception…”
“Yes… the essence of self-deception is essentially your own unnecessary spiritual inner turmoil. The more you try not to care, the more you care.”
“You must have been a very obedient child in the past, praised for being mature and sensible, but deep inside, you were keenly aware of your suppressed feelings of loss and trauma. Most of your energy is used to care for your emotions, and that has become the root of your inner turmoil…”
I lay quietly without speaking, allowing Deina to speak. Was she right?
Half right. That was in my previous life. In this second life, I once again experienced it. I saw more clearly than anyone else, but Deina wasn’t wrong; I was just deceiving myself.
Putting energy into soothing my heart had indeed become a habit, almost a given, which is why I wouldn’t express, nor did I want to express…
“You always think too complicatedly. Your eyes already gave the answer after the other person spoke the first sentence. The impatience shown in your gaze before the words have even left your mouth is the best proof, because you know this will be a meaningless conversation.”
“But conversation and communication themselves are part of meaning. Speaking is no longer just a simple acquisition and exchange of information; it’s a process of promoting relationships and emotions—a form of artistic communication. You have lost the ability to appreciate the beauty of this art, and that is the sad part.”
“I’m not expecting you to change all at once; you can even choose not to change. It’s precisely because everyone’s experiences and thoughts are different that there are different ways of speaking and collisions in communication—whether pleasant, awkward, joyful, or angry. When you learn to control your emotions, these naturally occurring feelings become the spices of your conversations. Otherwise, you would just be a slave to your emotions.”
“Hmm~ It seems I’ve been talking to myself. I can tell that you’ve been listening. I must say, you know a lot. You are, to my knowledge, the most clear-headed individual with the most muddled life… It’s hard to imagine what kind of evolution the outside world has undergone to spawn someone like you. It seems I need to take a long vacation to experience life outside, to feel the changes out there.” Deina chuckled, shaking her head as she spoke to me.
“Maybe I’m just an exception?” I began to speak.
“That simply means your experience is special and worth savoring. When you can read your past as if it were a story, you won’t feel so tired anymore. I’ll tell you this ahead of time—when you truly understand, I hope my words can still echo in your ears; this proves that what I said was not in vain.”
“Thank you, I understand what the educational loop is.”
“That’s why I say you know too much. Do you know? For psychologists, we fear encountering someone like you; it brings a sense of helplessness when I don’t know how to proceed.” She shook her head, laughing.
“So tricking me here was a mistake.”
“‘Tricking’ sounds so harsh~ I was merely curious about you, and I never said this was a mistake~” Deina shifted her previously gentle tone, her change reminiscent of a cat switching moods seamlessly. “So… let’s change the subject~ Those Fool Dreams, I heard from the Academy Head that you intend to transform their shells into little cat girls, right? I believe something crafted by the Academy Head must be worth a good petting.”
“That might still be a bit early…”
“Is it? I’m already looking forward to their innocent figures appearing at the Witch Cat Café. Can you give me a specific timeframe?”
“I’m afraid I can’t, but… Teacher Deina, as an extraordinary witch, did you go through all this trouble just to ask when the Fool Dreams would arrive?”
“Of course~ When we first met, I expressed my wishes. I’m only interested in the cat girl Fool Dreams. Cats can’t have any bad intentions, right? Cats just want to know when their new partners will come.”
“Really?” I didn’t believe it. From the start, Deina had given me a gentle yet dangerous feeling, much like when I first met Teacher Ji.
But time would give me the answer; I just needed to wait patiently.
“Of course it’s true~ However, guiding a lost child along the way is something I also love to do. I can see the most primitive desires and obsessions of certain things in your eyes. Unfortunately, your efforts are misguided. When you don’t know what to do, it’s best to let go of everything and start searching for answers within yourself~”
