Chapter Forty-Four: To Ask in Person and Find Clarity

I kept stepping back, but what could I do? The other party wasn’t just any cat—she was my owner. What choice did I have? Once I realized this, all I could do was slump in defeat, no longer moving, and not nearly as stubborn as I’d been at first.

I suppose every cat undergoes a process of transformation. In the beginning, although I was a cat, my soul was human: independent, unyielding. Now, I am wholly feline. Whatever I was as a human has probably faded far into the distance. I might not even resist licking my paws, even if I returned to being human.

I giggled foolishly, letting go of my dullness and preconceptions, and sat still, watching as they fastened the lock around my neck and led me away. The other thing around my neck was handed over to Wangchuan.

Wangchuan squinted, examined the object, and the cold smile on her lips was something terrifying I had never seen before. Thus, I was shut in a dreadful, gloomy cat room, but surprisingly, I wasn’t harmed.

They simply locked me up and left, changing into human forms outside to play poker. It was amusing, really—cats, once transformed, would squat on chairs playing poker, occasionally licking their fingers. Indeed, habit is a poison that seeps into the bones. I had only just understood this, but it seemed already too late.

It was probably afternoon when I lay on the grass mat in the cat room and heard a soft rustling sound nearby. It was the same sound I had heard before—the quiet, deliberate footsteps of Ningning?

But wasn’t Ningning dead? No, all cats walk quietly like this. I began to get nervous, watching the outside, until I saw Claudia, the cat I had always found so annoying.

Since it was her, there was nothing left to say. I was in prison, after all—she couldn’t possibly cause me trouble here, could she?

But I was wrong. I was right in predicting trouble—she still managed to get me even while I was locked up!

“We meet again,” she smiled slightly, the curve of her lips tinged with an unbelievable calculation.

I ignored her, but the next moment, several little cats in charge of the cat room came rushing in, grabbed my chain, and dragged me away!

“Hey, hey—!” I flailed my paws in panic. “Where are you taking me?”

Claudia didn’t answer, but I could see at once: we were headed toward the Yinluo Hall.

“Tsk, tsk—letting you meet that man, what a stroke of luck for me! Ha!” Her wild laughter left me bewildered as to what she meant.

“What are you talking about?” I was utterly confused.

Claudia continued to laugh. As soon as we entered the hall, she broke into a run, stopping only to crouch before Wangchuan.

She pointed at me behind her. “This is the traitor. Last time, I saw her in contact with the Underworld, and that’s why we fought—but she managed to escape.”

I looked up at Wangchuan, seated above, with Rebecca at his feet, gazing at me with an expression full of regret, as if praying for me.

Wangchuan raised his eyebrows, shifted his crossed legs to the other side, and smiled lazily. “I didn’t expect it would be you they brought.”

“Didn’t expect?” I laughed boldly. “Is there anything here you can’t foresee?”

Wangchuan ignored me, instead extending his hand toward Claudia. “Come, the evidence.”

Claudia turned, signaling to the transformed cats. “Remove the collar.”

They crouched down to take off my collar. I struggled. “What are you doing?”

But Wangchuan did not stop them; he didn’t care! In the end, my collar was pried off, and my neck, trapped for so long, suddenly felt cold.

But what chilled me even more was the sight of a fiery red plum blossom pin tucked inside my collar, like a brooch!

I had never seen this thing. When Wangchuan gave me my collar, it hadn’t been there! But when I raised confused eyes to look at the others, Claudia’s sinister face told me everything—this was a setup.

They claim I’m a traitor? This is their evidence?

Sure enough, Claudia immediately spoke up. “See, this is the proof. Last time, she was just a Soul-Eater Cat, yet she injured me. How could she have managed it without help?”

I was speechless, or rather, I didn’t want to say a single word.

Wangchuan nodded. “You’re right. Is there anything else?”

Claudia wagged her tail happily. “This plum blossom pin belongs to the Soul Hunter of the Underworld. She brought those evil spirits in and let the souls escape—isn’t that all evidence?”

Wangchuan nodded, seeming to understand, but then asked, “Why did she bring those souls back?”

With a flick of his wrist, he produced the bottle of souls I had brought back that morning, hanging from my chest.

I stared at the gleaming souls, like a jar of fireflies, in Wangchuan’s hand, thinking only one thing:

Don’t make me hate you.

Claudia was briefly stunned, then burst out laughing. “Of course, to gain your trust. She did wrong—how could she not try to keep her position?”

Wangchuan uncrossed his legs, his boots landing neatly on the floor, followed by his laughter.

The boots hit the ground with a sharp slap, making Rebecca beside him shiver inexplicably.

“I never thought I’d have a traitor in my midst. Take her away. Lock her up. I’ll decide what to do later.”

“But Master…” Claudia cast a shadowed glance at me. “Wouldn’t it be better to simply kill her?”

“If she’s a spy, I need to ask her myself.” With that, Wangchuan came over, crouched down, and poked my nose. “Don’t you agree?”

“I’m not a traitor!” I shouted angrily.

“No.” Wangchuan slipped his fingers into my mouth, poking my barbed tongue as he had before. “You are.”

I turned my head, spat out his hand, refusing to say another word. He believed others—never me!

Wangchuan picked up my red collar, disdainfully blew on it, pried off the plum blossom pin, and placed it in his palm.

His pale hand, a fiery pin—it was beautiful, yet blinding.

So blinding my eyes hurt, and I dared not look.

With a crack, the pin shattered in Wangchuan’s hand. He then fastened the collar around my neck once more, locking it with a click.

If I were just an ordinary cat, perhaps such a gesture would have brought happiness.

But perhaps the next moment I would be dragged out and killed, yet I still watched Wangchuan’s inexplicable smile.

My heart burned with pain. How could I ever love a demon?

Wangchuan looked at me, his dark eyes tinged with an intriguing blue. He blinked and laughed, “Take her away. Don’t let her be in the way.”

Claudia smiled as well, but just then, a shadow darted in from outside, much larger than most cats—it was Fishball.

Wangchuan curled his lips in a smile. “Oh, you’re here too.”

Everyone laughed, except me. I looked at Fishball, my eyes misty, unable to see him clearly.

But stubbornness kept me sniffling, refusing to cry or call out.

Fishball gritted his teeth, unwilling to look at Wangchuan, but still muttered, “Qianqian isn’t a traitor. If you must catch someone, take me.”

“What?” Wangchuan found it very amusing. “You are?”

Fishball hesitated, then shouted, “Just assume I am!”

“How loyal,” Wangchuan nodded again. “But she has evidence. You don’t.”

Fishball frowned, biting his lip, lost in thought.

Wangchuan paid him no mind, simply waved his hand dismissively, pointing at me.

“Take her away.”

Fishball watched helplessly as I was dragged off by the crowd.

In that moment, Rebecca’s face was full of venomous resentment, no different from Claudia’s.

Inside, I laughed almost hysterically—Wangchuan didn’t believe me; he didn’t believe me.

Why didn’t he believe me?

That cat’s story was full of holes—why did he choose to trust her?

I couldn’t understand, but at last, I lay once more on the grass mat in the cat room, sighing in despair.

Who would have thought, in this situation, it was Fishball who tried to help me—a true friend, though perhaps I’d never see him again.

I sighed again and rolled over.

Well, no matter what, I couldn’t escape this cat room. Whether I lost the souls by accident, or Wangchuan caught me, or Claudia framed me, I would still end up here.

Since this was fate, there was no need to struggle. Now, I would enjoy each day as it came.

If I couldn’t survive, I wouldn’t need to worry about Xin’er.

At least she still had Han Mingxuan. Though he was a playboy, he seemed good to her. With him around, I could be at ease.

Yes, dead is dead. If I can’t be at ease, what can I do? I should think happy thoughts…

“Heh heh…” As I thought, I lay on the grass mat, laughing weakly.

But even in prison, there was never a moment’s peace. Before I knew it, I heard footsteps again.

Whose shoes? The sound of steps, coming closer?

I rolled over, listening intently. No one stopped the intruder—where had the little cats guarding the room gone?

Before I could hide, wisps of black smoke appeared. The next second, he slipped through the iron gate of the cat room and came straight to me.

I rolled over, refusing to look at him, only to have him kick me.

He kicked me?!

I moved away, determined not to speak to him!

But this time, instead of kicking, he grabbed me outright!

I gritted my teeth, made no sound, watching as the little black dragon in Wangchuan’s hand wrapped around me like a snake, coil by coil!

“Ugh…”

I was squeezed so tightly I could barely breathe, my four paws stretched out like a flying rat.

Wangchuan grabbed my ears and carried me, making me grimace in pain, unable to resist.

At first, I didn’t want to speak, but now I was literally speechless!

He hauled me by the ears all the way out, and the little cats outside were all dazed!

Wasn’t he the owner? Why did he stun the guards? Shouldn’t a word have let him in?

But my face was flushed and my neck thick—I couldn’t ask. I was simply dragged back to Wangchuan’s room.

What on earth did he want from me?!