Chapter 14: Revenge

The cat spoke...

The cat actually spoke?!

This was perhaps the strangest thing Chen Ji had encountered since arriving in this world.

The lamplight flickered in the main hall of the medical clinic, casting shifting shadows across the black cat's face, and Chen Ji's expression was equally unsettled.

He cautiously circled the clinic, first ensuring no one was in the backyard, then confirming the dark streets outside were empty, before turning his gaze back to the little black cat perched on the counter: "Just now—I mean, just a moment ago—you were talking?"

The black cat stared at him motionlessly, silent once more.

But at this very moment, Chen Ji was certain: the one who had just spoken was this little black cat!

Could it be that the Cat-Betrothal Ceremony had triggered some kind of magical effect?

"Why aren't you talking anymore?" Chen Ji studied the cat with confusion. "Can you say just one more thing? So I can confirm what's going on."

But the little black cat merely held its head high with a serious expression, refusing to make another sound.

Chen Ji thought for a moment. "Say something, and I'll save up money to buy you buns."

The black cat: "..."

Chen Ji: "I'll buy you dried fish."

The black cat: "..."

Chen Ji took a deep breath. "Today, Lady Yun's white cat must have given you quite a beating, didn't it!"

The black cat stiffened its neck and said, "It didn't fare much better!"

Chen Ji looked at the cat with a half-smile, and the black cat instinctively shrank its neck.

He asked, "Why didn't you speak just now?"

The black cat fell silent for a moment. "I didn't expect that I could suddenly speak either."

Chen Ji didn't know whether to laugh or cry...

In other words, just now, the little black cat had only subconsciously answered him in its mind, and the sound had accidentally escaped. In fact, during this past period, the black cat had responded to many of Chen Ji's words; he just hadn't been able to hear it.

Chen Ji said, "I named you 'Wuyun' (Dark Cloud) in the betrothal letter just now. Did you know that?"

Wuyun said disdainfully, "It sounds hideous!"

Chen Ji changed the subject. "When did you develop your intelligence?"

He liked cats and knew a fair amount about them, so he knew that most cats weren't actually very smart; in fact, they were quite silly.

But Wuyun had clearly possessed intelligence even before it spoke. It could understand human speech and even respond—something many humans couldn't even do.

Wuyun replied, "When did I develop intelligence? I've always been like this."

"Since birth?"

"Since birth."

Chen Ji pondered for a moment. "Can you open your mouth? Let me take a look."

Wuyun backed away, its sharp claws extending slightly from its paws. "Why should I?"

Chen Ji said helplessly, "Don't be so stubborn, okay? Let's have a little more trust in each other!"

Wuyun thought about it. "...Fine."

"Come closer to the oil lamp. Open your mouth... ah."

Wuyun reluctantly opened its mouth. "Ah..."

Chen Ji peered into its mouth, muttering under his breath, "One, two, three, four... ten ridges?"

In ancient times, cat lovers wrote about their experiences: when betrothing a cat, one must first examine its mouth. The palate has shallow, groove-like ridges. Two ridges mean the cat is foolish, prone to mindless eating and sleeping; nine ridges are the best, indicating a cat that understands human nature and can catch mice to protect the home.

In other words, a cat with nine ridges was the best kind, but in Wuyun's mouth, there were ten.

Beside the oil lamp on the counter, Wuyun opened its mouth and vocalized from its throat, "Are you done yet?"

"Done, done," Chen Ji mused. Could those ten ridges be Wuyun's special trait?

"I'm sleepy," Wuyun said, naturally lying down. Its head landed perfectly in the palm of Chen Ji's hand, feeling warm.

But it quickly felt something was wrong. How could a noble being like itself lie in someone else's palm?

Should it get up?

Forget it, I'll lie here a bit longer.

"Wait, don't sleep yet," Chen Ji said. "I haven't given you the bead yet. I don't know if it will still repel you. Get up and try."

Wuyun bolted upright, its sleepiness vanishing instantly. "I just remembered I came here for that bead... Quick, give it to me, quick, quick, quick!"

Chen Ji handed over the crystal bead. This time, the bead truly did not resist Wuyun.

The pitch-black Wuyun slurped the bead into its belly in one gulp, then zipped out through the crack in the door, leaving Chen Ji standing there in a daze.

It just left like that?!

At that moment, Chen Ji sensed a warm current flowing from the direction Wuyun had departed!

That warm current was like magma deep within the earth's mountains—scorching and hot—yet also like an August torrential rain, majestic and powerful.

Finally, it seeped into his body through his brow, nourishing his limbs and bones before slowly gathering at his heart.

Chen Ji was stunned; this was a power he had never experienced before.

Unlike the violent and rapid ice current, this molten flow moved slowly.

Furthermore, while he could not trigger the ice current, this molten flow actually moved under the command of his own will.

As the molten flow flowed from his dantian through his bloodstream under his control, he felt an extraordinary sense of comfort in every part it passed through, as if he had suddenly stepped into a hot spring in the dead of winter.

In the midnight of the Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital, Chen Ji felt that his life had no more regrets.

He no longer planned his life or looked toward the future; as for whether the food was tasty or the clothes were beautiful, none of it mattered much anymore.

Now, for the first time, he truly felt the mysterious new world and was immersed within it.

And Chen Ji was no longer alone; he had a cat.

...

...

Under the cover of night, Luocheng fell into a deep sleep.

After the chaos at Lady Jing's Wanxing Court, the Prince of Jing's manor had returned to tranquility. The Prince of Jing had not returned to the manor for over ten days; it was said that due to the intense warfare with the Jing Dynasty, the northern iron cavalry had already reached Shanhai Pass and were at the city gates.

Stationed in Luocheng, a major hub of the Southern Grand Canal, the Prince of Jing needed to procure vast amounts of military grain in the south to send north via the canal.

Under the moonlight, a small black cat was walking silently along the eaves, its footsteps light. A surging power surged within its body; after swallowing that crystal bead, the muscles in Wuyun's body had rapidly restructured and grown, increasing its strength by an entire cat's worth!

When Wuyun leaped onto the flying eaves of the Jing'an Hall, if someone had looked up from below, it would have almost overlapped with the crescent moon in the sky, as if it were standing on the moon's hook.

Just then, a manor guard sensed something and turned his head sharply. His armor clattered as his eyes, sharp as a hawk's, scanned the glazed roof of the Jing'an Hall, but there was nothing there.

The guard hesitated for a second, then scrambled up the eaves, holding his long halberd inverted, and pursued in the direction of his suspicion.

A moment later, the guard leaped down from the eaves, his massive black shadow exerting a heavy pressure like a night owl.

He patrolled the area and then crouched down, using the moonlight to check the ground for fresh footprints, but he still found nothing.

"Strange, was I just being paranoid?" The guard slowly departed.

It wasn't until much later that Wuyun, curled into a ball in a corner and blending into the shadows, stretched its body and continued toward the depths of the manor.

It passed through the Mingzheng Hall, through the Wanxing Court, dodged patrolling guards and vigilant servants, crossing mountains and rivers and pushing through thorns, finally arriving before Lady Yun's Feiyun Court.

Wuyun hooked its claws into a wooden pillar and climbed determinedly toward the second floor of the pavilion. The window was open, so it stealthily perched on the windowsill and poked its head inside to peer in.

Inside the room, the white cat opened its eyes and stared straight at Wuyun!

Wuyun: "Tsk!"

It turned and ran.

Seeing this, the white lion cat leaped out of the window and chased Wuyun toward the back garden. It was just a bit confused—how could this defeated opponent be both a coward and a daredevil at the same time?

The white lion cat chased Wuyun all the way into the back garden, through a rockery garden and across a lawn, finally losing Wuyun's trail in front of the manor's famous Feibai Pond...

The Feibai Pond of the Prince of Jing's manor was famous for its resemblance to calligraphy; "Feibai" refers to the dry brushstrokes in calligraphy. In the shallow waters of the pond, rocks stood like forests, and the water flowed intermittently, resembling the strokes of a dry brush, creating a transcendent atmosphere.

The Feibai Pond, the Tinglei Pavilion, and the National Garden of the Prince of Jing's manor were all topics of great interest among the literati of Luocheng.

At this moment, the white lion cat sniffed the air, only to realize with shock that the scent was coming from behind it!

In an instant, the white lion cat's fur stood on end. Just as it tried to turn around, it was too late; a black cat lunged from behind, knocking it off balance with a single blow.

The white lion cat couldn't understand how, in just a few hours, this defeated opponent had turned the tables; its small body actually possessed more strength than its own.

As their figures blurred, Wuyun found an opening to pin the white lion cat to the ground, curling its claws into fists and pounding its head with fierce, heavy strikes!

Chen Ji did not know that Wuyun, being proud, had the capital to be so. Its combat instincts far exceeded those of its peers, possessing a much more powerful fighting intuition.

Even if their strength was nearly equal, the white lion cat was destined only to take the beating.

The white lion cat began to whimper and beg for mercy, but how could Wuyun care? It had endured so many beatings lately; every time Lady Yun visited Wanxing Court, it got beaten.

Revenge was at hand!

Wuyun flipped the white lion cat over, extended a single claw beneath its crotch, and gave it a vigorous flick!

It let out a long breath, stepped one front paw onto its old rival, and looked up at the moon, feeling triumphant.

However, Wuyun felt it still wasn't quite satisfying enough...

It quietly returned to Feiyun Court and licked every single snack the servants had left in the side room before finally leaving, satisfied.

The main hall of the medical clinic.

Chen Ji was flipping through a book when he saw the black cat returning with an elegant gait. He asked curiously, "Where did you go just now?"

Wuyun held its head high. "Triumphant!"

Chen Ji: "..."

Quite proud, aren't we.

Chen Ji closed the book. "Did you go to beat up that white cat?"

"You understand me. Beat it up hard!" Wuyun held its head even higher.

"Were you discovered?"

"No."

"Did you beat it to death?"

Wuyun hesitated. "...No."

Chen Ji's expression was somewhat disappointed.

Wuyun hurriedly added, "But I licked all their snacks in Feiyun Court!"

Chen Ji nodded. "That's acceptable."

"Hehehe."

"Hehehe."

As they were talking, a rustling sound came from the backyard. Chen Ji turned to see Liu Quxing, wrapped in a padded coat, peeking cautiously into the clinic. "Chen Ji, I thought I heard you talking? Who were you talking to?"

Chen Ji fell silent for a moment. "I was just talking to myself. Did you hear anything else, Senior Liu?"

Liu Quxing said puzzledly, "A cat meowing. It seems a stray cat entered our courtyard. Did you see it?"

By this time, Wuyun was nowhere to be seen on the counter.

(End of Chapter)