Chapter 129: The Cat
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It's truly eerie, a different kind of horror from supernatural elements.
Zhang Yuanqing stared at the skinned cat carcass hanging from the ceiling beam, silently pondering.
Whether someone sneaked in or something escaped, it was not a good sign. The group exchanged silent glances, their eyes filled with vigilance and seriousness.
Only "Lili on the Original Grass" broke the silence, her face filled with anger, as she lowered her voice and said:
"Such a brutal animal cruelty is unacceptable. I will make her pay for it. Everyone, shall we just kill Wang Po directly?"
Zhang Yuanqing glanced at him and said:
"Don't act impulsively. It's obvious that there's a plotline connected to this Wang Po. Let's observe and wait for the mission trigger. Based on my experience of clearing S-level instances twice, thinking more and doing less is the key to survival.
"Because S-level instances have a very low margin for error, one small action could cost you your life."
"Please call me Queen," she turned to look at the young wood spirit, and her two silver earrings jingled as she spoke:
"The captain is right. The higher the level of the instance, the fewer hints there are, and danger is everywhere. This isn't like the C-level or D-level instances we encountered before, where the mission requirements and rules were clearly explained.
"In these high-difficulty instances, one wrong move could lead to a wipe."
Li Chunfeng pondered for a moment and said, "On the flip side, maybe if we kill Wang Po now, we can resolve this event smoothly. It's like Schrödinger's cat."
Fire Marshal Jun asked, "Who is Schrödinger? Do they also like to torture cats?"
Li Chunfeng, who had a wealth of knowledge, was momentarily stunned, then with a strange expression, he opened his mouth and said:
"Close enough."
Fire Marshal Jun nodded, then looked at the room across the courtyard. Seeing that Wang Po hadn't come out yet, he whispered:
"Have any of you considered why it's a skinned cat hanging there, and not a chicken, duck, goose, sheep, or dog? If it were one of those, we might even get a meal here."
His question implied that there must be a reason for the skinned cat, perhaps a hint provided by the instance.
Zhang Yuanqing shared his perspective from the Night Roaming God and said:
"These cat carcasses are yin in nature, and extracting yin energy can nourish yin spirits. They can also be used in the production of zombies."
Li Chunfeng added:
"They can be used to create tools, perform special rituals, or in witchcraft, and so on."
Just as they were discussing this, the wooden door creaked open, and Wang Po walked out, leaning on her cane and hunched over, holding a white porcelain teapot with bright glazing.
Li Xianzong led his teammates along the road, with a small river running alongside it, and a stone bridge built on the river made of greenish stone slabs.
"What a lousy place, not a single soul in sight, let alone a beautiful girl," the middle-aged man with a thin build complained, looking left and right.
In his past experiences in multi-player spirit realms, one of the scenarios had been a midnight hotel, where a cold-blooded murderer was hiding. The mission was to find and kill the powerful criminal.
The hotel was also inhabited by many "civilians," who were no different from real people. During the mission, the middle-aged man had indulged in many women living in the hotel.
No need to deduct any morality points.
For evil professions like his, spirit realm instances were not only opportunities for growth and leveling up but also a paradise for indulging in wicked thoughts. They could do anything inside without consequences.
"Yin-Yang Town is a confrontational spirit realm, not an exclusive realm for professions like us, so there won't be an environment for you to do as you please," the burly bald man assessed the thin middle-aged man and said with a smirk:
"Before you became a witch doctor, you weren't a rapist, were you?"
The thin middle-aged man chuckled lewdly, "I can only say those peacekeepers were too incompetent. How about you?"
The bald man replied indifferently, "Murder! Li Xianzong, we've already used up eight minutes, if we don't find the blacksmith's shop soon, we're done for."
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Just as they were talking, they faintly heard the sound of someone hammering metal.
Li Xianzong looked ahead, a smile playing on his lips, "We've arrived."
His teammates cheered, "You actually guessed right! It's right here on this street."
"Guess?" Li Xianzong sneered and said, "Use your pig brains to think. A blacksmith's shop doing business would not be in a deep alley. High-temperature forging requires good ventilation, so large mansions are out of the question. For quenching, a lot of water is needed, so being by the river is the best choice."
As they were discussing, they stopped in front of the blacksmith's shop, where a burly figure, two meters tall, was bending over, wielding a hammer, pounding on a piece of iron.
Li Xianzong scrutinized the person and asked, "Are you Wang the Blacksmith?"
The blacksmith slowly raised his head, revealing eyes as red as blood.
"Thank you, Granny," Zhang Yuanqing said as he held the teacup, glancing at the young wood spirit.
Lili on the Original Grass took a sip and nodded slightly.
Zhang Yuanqing immediately felt relieved and took a sip of the tea. As a recovery wizard, the wood spirit was highly sensitive to toxins, so if the water had any issues, it wouldn't go unnoticed.
Guanyao and the others either drank water to quench their thirst or avoided it cautiously, all while pondering their next steps in the plot. Then, the team leader, Yuan Shi Tianzun, asked in a familiar manner:
"Wang Po, why is there no one in the town? We've been walking all this way, and we haven't seen a single person."
The old voice of Wang Po replied slowly:
"The town used to be bustling, but a few years ago, something happened, and gradually, everyone started moving away from Yin-Yang Town."
"Oh? What happened?" Zhang Yuanqing quickly inquired, sensing that they were triggering a plotline. Everyone in the group immediately perked up.
"Well," Wang Po seemed somewhat reluctant and fell silent for a moment before continuing, "Many years ago, one day, people in the town started dying one after another, their hearts and livers were being stolen. Everyone was terrified, saying that there was an evil creature in the town. The richest man in the town, Zhao Yuanwai, hired a Taoist priest from outside."
"After the Taoist priest arrived in town, not long after, he identified the culprit. It turned out to be the descendant of a hermit who practiced Yin-Yang arts in secret. She had been secretly harming the townsfolk and using their hearts and livers to make elixirs. The townspeople and the Taoist priest joined forces and eliminated that demon woman."
"Before she died, she cursed the people in the town, saying that they would all turn into cats."
Descendant of a hermit who practiced Yin-Yang arts. Zhang Yuanqing and his teammates exchanged glances and asked, "And then?"
Wang Po sighed, "At first, no one paid much attention, but gradually, more and more people went missing, and there were more and more cats in the town. That's when people started to get scared and dared not stay in the town anymore. They moved away one by one."
"This lady sure knows how to chat," Queen smiled and glanced at Zhang Yuanqing, taking over the conversation, "But Granny, why didn't you leave?"
Wang Po shook her head, "I'm old, I don't want to leave my hometown. We're all one foot in the grave already, so I'm not afraid of these things."
The young wood spirit looked up, gazing at the skinned cat carcass hanging from the ceiling beam, and said in a cold voice:
"Then why are you hanging these cats here?"
Wang Po calmly replied, "This is a method left behind by that Taoist priest. He said that hanging cat carcasses in the house, after removing the skin, can prevent the curse."
The young wood spirit sneered.
Just a moment ago, she claimed not to be afraid of curses.
Zhang Yuanqing continued to ask, "Granny, who was this hermit practicing Yin-Yang arts, and why did her descendants resort to harvesting people's hearts and livers for elixirs?"
Wang Po sighed and said, "The hermit practicing Yin-Yang arts was a highly skilled individual, rumored to be almost like an immortal. He established this town and not long after, ascended to become a true immortal. I've heard this from my ancestors since I was young, but I don't know if it's true or not."
"His descendants remained in this town because of his legacy, and the townspeople respected her greatly due to her connection to the hermit. Who would have thought that she would commit such deeds?"
"His descendants stayed in this town due to their connection to the hermit, and the townspeople respected her greatly because of it. Who would have thought that she would commit such deeds?"
Zhang Yuanqing pondered with a furrowed brow. Why did the Ming Dynasty cultivators seem so wicked? The Temple's Priest had killed disciples, and now the hermit's descendant was harvesting hearts and livers for elixirs.
"Is this hermit's descendant the only one?" Zhang Yuanqing took a sip of the tea.
"Yes, most of the hermit's descendants died young, supposedly because one of them ascended and consumed the family's fortune," Wang Po explained.
But in reality, the hermit practicing Yin-Yang arts hadn't ascended; his long-cherished goal had failed. Could his descendants' heart-harvesting be related to his pursuit of immortality? Zhang Yuanqing wondered. He was lost in thought when Guan Ya asked, "Granny, besides us, have any outsiders visited the town before?"
Wang Po looked at her and said softly, "Yes."
"Then what did they do here?" Guan Ya smiled.
Wang Po hesitated and said, "The old lady can't remember."
Others didn't understand why Guan Ya was asking this, but Zhang Yuanqing and the Queen were deep in thought.
They had read several guides, none of which mentioned the curse. Moreover, the guides described Yin-Yang Town as having people in it; otherwise, how could they have solved the case at the inn?
Could it be that the side quests for every group of spiritual realm travelers were different because the dungeon kept changing?
If that was the case, would I still encounter the hidden quest the Demon Lord mentioned? The side quests he experienced must be different from mine. If the hidden quest could only be triggered on a specific side quest route, that would be disappointing and unfair.
Forget about the hidden quest for now. What is this side quest with Granny Wang? Breaking the curse?
With these thoughts in mind, Zhang Yuanqing asked cautiously, "Granny, is there anything you need help with?"
Wang Po shook her head.
Scholar Li Chunfeng filled in, "Granny, besides you, were there any other people in the town?"
Wang Po thought for a moment and said in her aged voice:
"Besides the old lady, there were five others. One was Widow Xu on the west side of town, one was Zhao Yuanwai, who lived in the center of town in the largest mansion. One was Wang the Blacksmith.
"And there was the Taoist priest that Zhao Yuanwai hired, but I'm not sure where he lived."
Round-faced youth raised an eyebrow, "That's only five, what about the last one?"
Wang Po looked at him and said, "The last one is my son."
"Eh? Your son? Where is he?" The round-faced youth asked in surprise.
Wang Po turned her gaze towards the room they had just come out of and said softly, "He's in there."
As she spoke, she turned back to face the group, her wrinkled old face revealing a sinister smile:
"You'll get to see him soon."
For some reason, Zhang Yuanqing felt a sinking feeling in his heart.
Suddenly, he witnessed a terrifying scene. The soldier sitting across from him, Huo Dexing, had his pupils constrict into slits, turning into emerald green cat eyes. Black fur sprouted on his cheeks, neck, and the back of his hands, and his mouth and nose protruded outward, with cat-like ears sprouting from his head. In a matter of seconds, Huo Dexing had transformed into a fifty-centimeter-long black cat.
"Y-Yuan... Yuan Shi..." Zhang Yuanqing heard Guan Ya's trembling voice.
He turned to look at her and saw Guan Ya's complexion change, her gaze strange as she stared at him.
"What's wrong?" He instinctively tried to speak, but the words that came out of his throat were a sharp, elongated meow.
He felt an inexplicable fear as he looked down at himself, noticing the cat fur covering his hands.
At the same time, the young wood spirit, the earth elemental, Guan Ya, Scholar Li Chunfeng, and the Queen all underwent similar transformations. They meowed in unison, and all seven of them had turned into cats of various fur colors.
Wang Po, leaning on her cane, stood in the shadows and gazed at the room, her voice hoarse as she said:
"Finally, some outsiders have come. My son, you must be impatient, aren't you?"
(End of this chapter)
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PS. Has anyone watch the Kdrama series "Who Are You: School 2015"?
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