Chapter 439 - 228: Where Did the Cat Come From?

Chapter 439: Chapter 228: Where Did the Cat Come From?

Yin Qingqing brewed tea to the side while Qing Shisan, a tobacco pipe dangling from his waist, held a stack of papers and beamed at Zheng Xiu, who was rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Where’s Feng Bei?"

"Miss Feng Bei is outside catching the cat." When Zheng Xiu asked, Qing Shisan answered truthfully. "Miss Feng Bei has taken quite an interest in that orange cat recently."

Not long after he became a Prince, an orange cat had accidentally jumped into Feng Bei’s arms and touched her hand—but the tragic scene of a kitten being annihilated into ash by Feng Bei’s touch never occurred. The cat was indeed strange; it could actually withstand her Omen. From that day on, Feng Bei seemed to have become addicted. She spent all day petting the cat whenever she was free. The cat found it amusing at first, but after being petted into a state of utter helplessness, it started avoiding Feng Bei. In response, Feng Bei put her Mystic’s preternaturally sharp senses to full use, playing a game of hide-and-seek with the cat throughout the Red King Mansion. This chase had been going on for a month, to the point that she had even started to neglect Zheng Xiu.

In truth, she was using the cat to study her own Omen.

After returning from the Cannibal Painting, Feng Bei realized she could touch the cat, so naturally, she had to investigate.

Whether the issue was the cat or her, that was the question.

"Prince," Qing Shisan, who had taken to the new title quite smoothly, said with a smile, "the gifts that have arrived recently have all been inventoried. Would you care to hear the list?"

"The Duan Clan: one thousand taels of silver..."

"Stop." Zheng Xiu waved his hand. "Don’t read out the ones who sent silver. Return it all."

"Alright." Qing Shisan nodded, completely unsurprised. He tossed aside ninety percent of the list and started reading from what was left.

"A pair of Centennial Snow Ginseng from Celestial Yin Mountain."

"One Luminous Pearl from the South Sea."

"One hundred taels of dried Blood Clams from the East Sea."

"One Great Replenishing Chen Whip from a Qiannan Purple Deer."

Qing Shisan read on. With the monetary gifts gone, only a few pages remained. As he reached the end of the list, he faltered, his expression turning strange. "A pair of young, fair-skinned, blonde-haired twin maids from the Western Regions, for... bed-warming."

Zheng Xiu, bracing himself, was about to order them sent back when the words "Western Regions" caught his attention. He couldn’t help but ask, "Wait. Who sent them?"

When Qing Shisan saw the sender’s name, the playful look on his face vanished completely. After a moment of silence, he suddenly split his face in a grin and spoke three words: "Blind Chen Wei."

...

When Zheng Xiu found Feng Bei in the courtyard, she was standing on the roof, eyes closed, listening intently.

"You can hear the Voice of All Things again?"

Zheng Xiu asked from below.

Feng Bei opened her eyes, somewhat discouraged, and shook her head. "This cat is getting better and better at hiding."

Zheng Xiu was quite surprised. He knew Feng Bei was playing hide-and-seek with the little cat, but he never expected that Feng Bei would actually lose to a kitten.

For a while now, they had been trying to tease the cat, hoping the little female would give herself away. But aside from being aloof, cursing at people, and being a master of hide-and-seek, the cat showed no other abnormalities. It was as if it were just an ordinary orange cat that happened to know how to curse.

"Watch this!"

Zheng Xiu ran back to his study and retrieved a treasured stuffed doll from a hidden compartment in the corner. The doll was hand-sewn by Skillful Hands herself and looked like a small, plump, white fish.

Zheng Xiu took out the fish doll, ran back to the courtyard, and whistled. "Look, a fish!"

He then tossed the fish doll into the air.

Feng Bei and Zheng Xiu looked up at the doll.

SWOOSH!

A small figure flashed out of nowhere, snatched the fish doll in its mouth, and landed in the center of the courtyard. It tore at the doll with its teeth and claws, rolling around on the ground as it did, reveling in its new toy.

Feng Bei dropped down from the roof. Watching the cat, she thought, ’So that’s how it’s done.’

"In the World in the Painting, whenever I was about to lose track of who I was, the moment I saw Little Feng Miao, I would suddenly remember who I am." As Feng Bei watched, her expression softened, and she spoke in a low voice. She had unintentionally recalled those ten years, a nostalgic look appearing on her face.

Zheng Xiu, however, was slightly taken aback. "Why?"

Feng Bei said, "Because the real Mr. and Mrs. Xie never raised a cat in the valley. They only had those two camels. So every time I saw Little Feng Miao, I remembered my true self. I remembered that I was always just pretending to be her."

Zheng Xiu was surprised, but his attention fixed on another detail. "How can you be so sure they never kept a cat?"

Feng Bei fell silent and turned to look at Zheng Xiu. "At the very end, when the World in the Painting was shattering, did you not see Gongsun Mo’s experiences? At that moment, Xie Luohe’s entire life entered my heart, down to the smallest detail. I lived it all."

Zheng Xiu’s eyes went wide as he shook his head. "I only saw a few fragments... Wait, I just remembered. In their entire lives, Gongsun Mo and Xie Luohe never touched a cat, let alone owned one. What’s more, two hundred years ago in Daqian, the trend of keeping domestic cats hadn’t started yet. Cats came from the countries of the Western Regions, but Green River Road was cut off, hindering travel between the Western Regions and Daqian. Gongsun Mo had probably never even seen a cat..."

"You can’t paint something you’ve never seen..." Zheng Xiu lowered his head, muttering to himself, "I always mistakenly believed that this cat was something we brought out of the painting when we left—that something had possessed the original little orange cat."

"No, this creature didn’t come from the painting at all. Gongsun Mo probably never painted a cat in his life."

"The ’thing’ that possessed the original little orange cat... it came from somewhere else!"

"From where?"

A drop of cold sweat appeared on Prince Zheng’s forehead.

He hurriedly ran over to the orange cat rolling on the ground and crouched down beside it.

"Oh, Little Feng Miao..." Zheng Xiu said to the cat in a solemn, meaningful tone. "We’ve been raising you for years now. You’ve eaten well, lived well. I dare say I’ve treated you well, both inside and outside the painting."

"Just tell me honestly. If it’s true, just blink."

The cat stopped its clawing and biting, raised its head dazedly, and met Zheng Xiu’s gaze.

Zheng Xiu stared into those emotionless, vertical pupils.

"Are you... from the Darkness?"

Zheng Xiu asked, gritting his teeth.

"Meow!"

The response was immediate.

The kitty blinked its eyes and meowed.