Married a Big Cat After Transmigrating to the Interstellar Era – CH5

Chapter 5

The message he sent out never got a reply. Since it was nighttime, Shi Xiaowang assumed Jian Mo had gone to rest and didn’t think too much about it.

When he turned around, he saw the lion staring intently at the photo and diary lying on the low table. Shi Xiaowang reached out, gathered the items, and sat down on the carpet with his back against the sofa where the lion was resting.

The lion quietly drew back its paw so that he could lean more comfortably.

“These are… my mother’s things.”

Shi Xiaowang hesitated for a moment before speaking.

When the lion glanced at him, Shi Xiaowang raised a hand and gently smoothed its mane, smiling softly as he asked,

“Have you ever seen flowers bloom? She always wanted to see them—real flowers—but she never got the chance.”

The lion said nothing. Shi Xiaowang hadn’t expected a response anyway. He continued talking, almost as if to himself.

“I actually didn’t know her very well. Most of what I know comes from her diary. She loved plants and traveling. Like me, she also had a plant-type spiritual power. She was an idealist… and a gentle mother.”

Shi Xiaowang looked at the photo, then turned it over to read the words written on the back.

“If possible, I hope that one day, I can fulfill their wish.”

The lion’s gaze shifted from that line of text to Shi Xiaowang’s side profile.

He didn’t know when that sentence had been written or what Shi Xiaowang had gone through at the time, but something in his chest ached faintly. Instinctively, he reached out a paw and placed it gently on Shi Xiaowang’s shoulder.

Shi Xiaowang caught the paw, squeezed the soft pad, and laughed when the sharp claws popped out involuntarily.

The lion tried to retract its paw—it tickled when its pads were pressed—but failed. Afraid of hurting him if it pulled too hard, it finally gave up and let him play with it.

“Can you sleep here tonight? I want you to keep me company.”

Shi Xiaowang turned to him, eyes shining, his tone carrying a soft, pleading lilt.

The lion looked at him for a moment, then lay down sideways on the sofa and closed its eyes.

Seeing that, Shi Xiaowang chuckled, dramatically lifted the paw still in his hand, and planted an exaggerated kiss on it.

“Good night, Jian Da Meow.”

When Shi Xiaowang put away the photo and diary, turned off the light, and rustled into bed, his breathing soon evened out. Only then did Jian Mo open his eyes again, staring for a long time at the spot where he’d been kissed. His tail, unnoticed by himself, swayed back and forth slowly.

When his ruffled fur finally smoothed down, Jian Mo gazed at the small figure on the bed with a complicated expression—feelings he couldn’t quite name.

He sighed, pulled himself together, and opened his terminal. He reviewed all the study materials he’d started gathering after dinner, going through them carefully. Anything that might raise questions he annotated and organized—from simple to complex—covering everything from the Federation to the entire galaxy.

By the time he finished, dawn’s light was already creeping through the window.

Yawning and stretching, Jian Mo sent a message to a friend at the research institute, briefly explaining Shi Xiaowang’s situation and asking if they could provide guidance on spiritual power development.

Though he could help himself, he thought it’d be better to have another plant-type ability user guide Shi Xiaowang—just to be safe.

Opening the chat with Shi Xiaowang again, he saw the earlier message about the name and smiled faintly.

[Up to you.]

In the morning, birds chirped brightly outside the balcony. Shi Xiaowang woke up to their singing, rubbing his eyes groggily and sitting there in a daze.

Then he spotted the lion still sleeping on the sofa—and instantly revived.

He tiptoed over and poked one of the lion’s fluffy ears. When it twitched twice in response, he covered his mouth and giggled.

Then he met the lion’s bleary, helpless gaze.

The one who’d disturbed his sleep looked utterly unapologetic—and started babbling nonsense.

“You’re awake! Time for breakfast, Da Meow! I’ve been waiting for you forever—I’m starving!”

The lion sighed softly, stretched lazily as he jumped down from the sofa, then turned to look at him.

Fine. Let’s go eat.

As soon as they opened the door, they ran into Uncle Ye.

“Good morning, Uncle Ye,” Shi Xiaowang greeted politely.

“Good morning, young master,” Uncle Ye smiled. “I was just about to call you for—”

He stopped mid-sentence, pushing his glasses up as he stared, wide-eyed, at the lion walking calmly behind Shi Xiaowang.

He looked at Shi Xiaowang’s room… then at his own Marshal.

What in the world…?

Jian Mo gave him a cool glance and looked away calmly.

“Thank you, Uncle Ye. I’m hungry too.”

Shi Xiaowang, oblivious to the silent exchange between the two, patted the lion’s head.

“Come on, let’s go eat.”

Throughout breakfast, Uncle Ye’s gaze flickered between them at least seven or eight times—one ignored him completely, and the other looked perfectly innocent.

“Uncle Ye, is there something you want to say?” asked the innocent one.

Even though the lion’s ears were clearly pinned back in embarrassment, he still pretended nothing was wrong. Uncle Ye just smiled and cleared his throat lightly.

“No, just making sure the meal suits your taste.”

Shi Xiaowang looked down at the nutrient paste on his plate. The flavor was a little different today, but—

“It’s fine! I can eat anything.”

After all, it was just nutrient paste.

When breakfast ended, Shi Xiaowang opened his terminal. Jian Mo’s messages came flying in—file after file after file.

Shi Xiaowang stared, dumbfounded.

What on earth is all this…?

He scrolled to the top. There were only two words:

[Up to you.]

For a moment, he didn’t get it. What’s up to me?

Then he saw his previous message about the name and went, “Ohhh.”

He turned to tell the lion, “Your owner agrees—you’re officially Jian Da Meow now!” But when he looked back… the lion was asleep again.

Shi Xiaowang stared for a moment, then shook his head, gave up on waking him, and went to find Uncle Ye instead.

“Uncle Ye! I gave the lion a name, and the sir approved! From now on, he’s called Jian Da Meow!”

“Oh? That’s nice,” Uncle Ye replied with a chuckle, handing him a cup of water.
“It sounds like… you’re family.”

“Right?!”

The words hit Shi Xiaowang right in the heart. He took the cup, smiling with crescent eyes.

“That’s exactly what I thought! It sounds like we’re one family—it’s great.”

He laughed as he drank—but then frowned, peering into the cup. The liquid inside looked suspiciously like green juice.

“Uncle Ye, what is this?”

“It’s nutrient fluid—a tonic to promote spiritual power growth.”

Uncle Ye glanced toward the living room, where the lion was sleeping again.

“The sir ordered it last night. It was delivered early this morning—said it’s for you.”

“For me?”

Shi Xiaowang blinked, startled.

Was it because he’d mentioned wanting help with his spiritual power yesterday?

Remembering the stack of files Jian Mo had sent, he immediately opened them.

They were all meticulously organized—so thorough that he practically didn’t need a tutor anymore. It was like reading a concise, perfectly structured encyclopedia that answered every question he could possibly have.

Shi Xiaowang traced the rim of the cup with his thumb, lips curving unconsciously as he looked at the terminal.

Up to this point, he still hadn’t met Jian Mo in person—but he was constantly being cared for by him. If at first he’d only been curious about the man, now he felt genuine gratitude. And the rest—well, he really wanted to meet him face-to-face someday.

“Uncle Ye, when does the sir usually rest?” he asked softly.

“That… I’m not sure,” Uncle Ye hesitated.

Shi Xiaowang wasn’t surprised by the answer. He nodded a little sadly, “I understand.”

He downed the nutrient drink in one go, said goodbye to Uncle Ye, and headed to the courtyard.

Since Jian Mo had gone so far to support him, he had to make sure he lived up to that care.

After his terminal’s data restrictions were lifted, he’d searched up information about Jian Mo.

As someone personally trained by the old Marshal, Jian Mo’s record was nearly flawless. Until the battle three months ago—when he, still a major general, had fought beside the old Marshal. In that campaign, they destroyed the Mother Zerg’s nest, ending a 300-year-long war.

They should have returned home in triumph—but no one knew what had happened on that battlefield. After the Mother Zerg was slain, Jian Mo personally killed the old Marshal and never brought back the body.

He had admitted this himself.

If Jian Mo represented new hope, then the old Marshal had been the Federation’s unshakable pillar—the symbol of peace and stability.

His death devastated everyone, and the fact that his body was never recovered made it even harder to accept.

The soldiers Jian Mo brought back were nearly all on the verge of mental collapse and had to be quarantined. Speculation, hostility, and fear spread rapidly, and the newly promoted Marshal Jian Mo became the target of everyone’s hatred.

At only twenty-seven, he had become the Federation’s youngest Marshal— Yet no one remembered his bravery or his countless victories. They only remembered that he had killed the old Marshal and left his body to rot on the battlefield.

Shi Xiaowang had seen humanity’s ugliness before—back in the apocalypse.

Someone obsessed with power and self-interest would never leave such an obvious handle for others to grasp, never willingly place themselves in such a desperate position.

Shi Xiaowang believed in Jian Mo—but his belief meant nothing.

No one knew what had really happened on that battlefield. There was no way for him to clear Jian Mo’s name.

Still… if his plant-type spiritual power and purification ability could be of use—if he could make any contribution to the Federation—it might at least bring Jian Mo some comfort.

The nutrient tonic couldn’t strengthen his weak spiritual power overnight, but it allowed him to try without the risk of total burnout.

In the courtyard, Shi Xiaowang sat on the grass, reached out to touch a nearby plant, closed his eyes, and tried to connect.

His spiritual power, fine as a thread, flowed through his fingertips and into the leaf veins.

Shi Xiaowang frowned. He could see the thick, black, sticky substance within the veins—corrosive in nature. The instant his energy touched it, pain lanced through him like a sharp sting.

He pulled back his hand with a wince.

He’d never seen anything like this in the apocalypse. He wasn’t sure whether his purification ability would work on it, but it felt similar to the irradiated substances from back then—just as toxic to plant-based abilities.

Thinking this through, he scooped up a handful of soil. As expected, he sensed traces of the same black matter in it.

So, purifying the plants alone wasn’t enough.

Shi Xiaowang recalled his old methods. If his purification ability could recover—and if it worked here—he might have a chance.

He could try purifying the seeds first, then form a protective barrier around them during growth. That way, the plants might be immune to corruption.

“In theory, yes—but in practice, it’s almost impossible.”

A voice spoke behind him. Shi Xiaowang snapped back to reality, realizing he must’ve been talking out loud without noticing.

A young man stood there, smiling gently as he continued,

“Even setting aside the barrier part, just purifying plants alone is beyond reach right now.”

“And you are…?” Shi Xiaowang asked cautiously.

The man smiled and extended a hand toward him.

“Hello, I’m Meng Zhan. Jian Mo sent me to find you.”

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