Chapter 24: The Cat's Tail
Chapter Twenty-Four: The Cat’s Tail
Lei Ren took one grain each from the five kinds of cereals and placed them together with a red date. Then he spoke to the spirit-bound rat, telling it to make its choice.
Suddenly, I understood his meaning.
If the five sorcerous rats chose one type of grain, it would mean that Lei Ren could decipher what the “great enemy” my old squad leader faced in life truly was. At worst, he would at least learn the identity of this enemy.
Was it someone from within our own ranks, a traitor, or an outside force, or something else entirely?
In any case, everything depended on the choice of that enormous rat.
Holding my breath, my mind raced, eyes fixed on the rat, heart never ceasing to think...
Lei Ren said that my old squad leader’s suicide was because “the great enemy was imminent, and death was unavoidable.” This statement was actually double-edged: it could mean that a great enemy was approaching, and since he “couldn’t win,” he chose death over humiliation. The other interpretation was that, facing this enemy, he had to die—either to fight back or to protect something precious—using death itself as a counterattack.
Both made sense; both were helpless. As for which was true, I had no way of knowing. I didn’t even know exactly who this “enemy” was.
Not because I was foolish, but because I was powerless.
Since coming to Lunan, I had the unsettling feeling that everyone around me... was a potential enemy.
The “Little Nine” who poisoned me with white food magic, Lei Ren who came at me wielding a kitchen knife, the Heaven Breaker who inexplicably wanted to kill me, and even the twisted old nineteen, the half-man, half-demon beneath the Shiren’gu Old Qi Road.
To me, everyone was inexplicable, everyone was shrouded in mystery.
And now, the truth was about to be revealed—just waiting on the choice of the spirit rat!
After sniffing cautiously in the direction of the grains for a while, the largest rat seemed to lock onto its target. It moved its plump body slowly toward the grains, finally settling between the five grains and the red date.
Somewhat predictably, the rat did not immediately make a choice. Instead, it stood before the grains and called out to Lei Ren several times. It sounded like a plea, or perhaps a warning.
Those calls caused Lei Ren’s face to change drastically.
He looked up at the sky, where the clouds were thinning and the sun was beginning to show its rays, then said sharply to the rat, “Stop hesitating! Hurry up and decide; your disciple is waiting to send you off!”
His words jolted me, and the giant rat finally made its choice.
No longer hesitating, it dashed forward.
Quickly, it sniffed and discarded the rice and the grains. Finally, it hovered between a red date and a millet seed, searching back and forth.
Lei Ren glanced anxiously at the sun breaking through the clouds and asked, “Is it the millet or the date?!”
At his question, all of us focused our gaze on the rat, quietly awaiting its answer.
In the nearly suffocating silence... suddenly, a cat’s meow rang out!
The meow was soft and close, yet clear.
That sound... shattered everything!
The rat, startled by the cat’s call, trembled, abruptly stopped its choice, and then ran back. All five rats clung tightly to their tails, ready to flee.
But then, another cat meow sounded again.
This time, it was loud and clear, though from a distance, making my ears tingle.
Most of us turned our heads, following the cat’s call to track down the annoying animal.
Soon, we found it.
The cat stood beneath my old squad leader’s spirit altar.
It was a black cat, but with a white mark on its forehead that resembled a tiger’s “stripe.” Its tail was short, with a scab of dried blood at the tip.
I stared at the cat, especially at the injury on its tail, and gasped sharply!
Wasn’t this the “Bright Lantern” Wang, whose tail I had severed with one slash beneath Shiren’gu Old Qi Road?!
Why the hell was this creature in the Zhao family courtyard?
In shock, I shouted, “That thing is Huo Weilian! Kill it now!”
Huo Weilian! The nightmare of every cook in the Five Organs Temple. Anyone who saw it was doomed to ruin.
Its appearance shattered the most crucial soul-invoking ritual for my old squad leader—an unforgivable crime!
For a moment, my words roused everyone. Except for Zhao Haikun, who could not move, almost everyone surged forward, eager to skin and flay the beast, determined not to let it escape.
I was even more fierce. With a clear mind, I took a bow step forward, leapt onto the spirit altar, drew my self-defense weapon midair, and hurled my military saber toward the beast!
“Catch this blade!” I shouted wildly.
I had already taken its tail! Taking its life was nothing!
In an instant, my wrist flicked, and the saber spun through the air like a chrysanthemum blooming in midair. It roared with lethal intent, flying straight for Bright Lantern Wang’s forehead like a bullet.
The cat, recognizing the blade that had once dealt it a heavy blow, immediately dodged in terror.
It was quick, but not quick enough.
Unlike last night when I was passively struck, now, in daylight, my vision was clear and my reflexes faster. Plus, after I chopped off the “firefly” on its tail last time, the cat’s body had suffered greatly—its dodges and evasions were sluggish.
Even so, it still surprised me by dodging my attack—not by evading, but by blocking with the majority of its remaining tail.
Just when I thought the strike was certain to kill, the cat suddenly skillfully extended its tail, moving swiftly and at a sharp angle, completely catching me off guard.
With a “swish,” the slender, pure black whip-like tail struck my saber.
The cat let out a miserable scream as my blade sliced off another piece of its tail.
But because of that, my blade lost its aim, glancing past the cat’s head and only grazing some fur.
Blood poured as a woman on the scene screamed out.
In frustration, I watched the wounded cat bolt out the Zhao family gate.
That bastard escaped again. My heart burned with resentment.
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