Chapter 475 - 240: The Pillar Cat Strikes

Chapter 475: Chapter 240: The Pillar Cat Strikes

The call ended, and the bloody glow on the Eternal World Painting faded.

Feng Bei had lost interest midway through the conversation and wandered off to groom her cat’s fur in the moonlit garden.

Seeing Zheng Xiu end the call, Feng Bei looked up and smiled. "You want to go to Lu Town yourself?"

Zheng Xiu was looking down, pondering the ins and outs of the case. Hearing Feng Bei’s voice, he was taken aback for a moment before shaking his head with a laugh. "That’s you, alright. It’s like you’re a worm in my belly—you know my thoughts inside and out."

The "worm" comparison made Feng Bei puff out her cheeks.

The Orange Cat looked up too, the fur on its head bristling, its expression matching Feng Bei’s.

Feng Bei: "A worm? That’s disgusting."

The cat: "MEOW MEOW!"

Zheng Xiu dug a finger in his ear. He could have sworn the stupid cat was using this as an excuse to curse him out again.

After a moment, Feng Bei sighed softly. "You’re not going to let me go, are you?"

Zheng Xiu paused again. ’Good, you understand,’ he thought. He gently placed an arm on Feng Bei’s shoulder and smiled. "If that Wutong God is really so miraculous, should I bring it back for you?"

"No, thank you." Now that Feng Bei had heard about the Wutong God’s grotesque nature, she’d completely lost interest in "getting pregnant." The disgust on her face was plain to see.

A moment later, Feng Bei seemed to think of something and whispered, "There are always other..." Her voice trailed off into nothing.

"Hm? What did you say?"

Feng Bei shook her head.

Zheng Xiu had his reasons for not letting Feng Bei get involved. This case was bizarre, but her help... probably wouldn’t be useful without a clear target. Besides, he was terrified that if she went, she might come back pregnant with *something*. The mere thought sent a chill down his spine. He absolutely could not let her take that risk.

The Red King spent the whole night poring over his roster.

He had more people under him now, so whenever a case like this came up, Zheng Xiu had to think about team composition.

Every dungeon crawl needs a healer, so Living Dead Situ Yong was a must. Plus, the Divine Doctor who preached "Medical Compassion" was morbidly curious about "pregnant men." When Zheng Xiu sent the notice in the middle of the night, Situ Yong agreed while sharpening his knife.

Zheng Xiu asked Bi Shui, but she tactfully explained that her Spirit Binder abilities came with a territorial Restriction. Much like the old saying, "every village must have its idiot," most Spirit Binders were bound to a single village to ensure its safety. Bi Shui had lived in the Imperial City for years, so in her mind, the Imperial City was her "village." Only there could her Miracle Technique reach its full potential; its effectiveness would be severely diminished if she left.

For her to be so forthcoming about the Restriction on her Miracle Technique was a sign of Bi Shui’s great respect for him. After some thought, Zheng Xiu set aside the idea of taking a Spirit Binder out of the city for now.

As for the three titans of the Seven—Qing Shisan, Ji Hong’ou, and Pei Gaoya—and the Assassins from the Brotherhood, Zheng Xiu wouldn’t let them stray far from the Red King Mansion unless it was an absolute emergency.

Gu Qiutang, having recovered from multiple compound fractures, was now back in action, but she was tied up with another case in the north.

’Xi’er and Jun Buxiao are already on site. As Ye Weiyang’s former subordinates, they have far more experience with strange cases than I do. And if it comes down to a direct fight, unless we’re facing Zhu, there’s no one I’m afraid of.’

With that in mind, Zheng Xiu decided that bringing one "Post Station" would suffice.

’As for the "Post Stations" I can use... Wei Chen is blind, which would be inconvenient. I’m not bringing Feng Bei, in case she gets pregnant. I’m not even sure if Pillar Cat counts as a Mystic; I never got a ’Cat Post Station discovered’ prompt, so I can’t track it anyway. The Monk is in Shuzhou handling Master Dengdeng’s funeral arrangements and is too far away to help.’

After eliminating all those options...

「The next day.」

"Qingqing, you will accompany my nephew on this trip."

On the other side of the door, Yin Qingqing was already standing guard outside the Red King’s room as she’d been ordered. She had received his message in the middle of the night. Her Eternal World Painting had suddenly lit up—with a summons from the Red King himself. Her heart had pounded with apprehension, afraid it was a command to "attend to him" in his chambers. When she’d read the actual message, she’d breathed a sigh of relief, followed by a secret pang of disappointment. The reason for her disappointment... was that it seemed the Red King didn’t view her as a woman at all.

’Nephew?’

Yin Qingqing froze. A recent file in the Secret Ministry’s records mentioned that the Richest Person, Zheng Xiu, had indeed gained an uncle out of thin air, as well as a "nephew" who appeared and disappeared just as mysteriously.

The door swung open, and an uncommonly handsome young man stepped out. His facial features were a ninety-percent match for the Red King’s, but a red lotus tattoo between his brows gave him an ethereal, spirited air.

"Qingqing, I’ll be in your care. The Red King has ordered that for this trip, all of you are to listen to me."

As he spoke, the young man gestured to the Eternal World Painting at his waist. On its back was an engraved gold coin, and in the center of the coin was a single word: Red. Qingqing recognized it as the Red King’s personal Eternal World Painting, a symbol of his identity.

Qingqing’s expression remained calm as she dropped to one knee, but she hesitated as she opened her mouth to speak.

The young man spared her the trouble. "Call me Young Master."

"This servant, Qingqing, greets the Young Master."

"No need to be so polite. And don’t kneel so easily. At the office, we all know where we stand."

"Yes."

The morning light grew brighter. Bathed in the dawn, Feng Bei entered the courtyard, holding a yawning Orange Cat.

"Take it with you."

Seeing Zheng Er, Feng Bei was inexplicably reminded of the night she and "Little Zheng Xiu" had soaked, naked, in the same tub. The memory was both exasperating and amusing. She feigned ignorance and reached out to ruffle the boy’s hair.

The gesture made Yin Qingqing’s legs go so weak she almost collapsed. Right before Feng Bei’s hand made contact, Yin Qingqing had been sure she was about to annihilate the young man, reducing him to dust. But to her astonishment, he was fine.

’Wait.’

Yin Qingqing looked at Feng Bei with a new, profound thoughtfulness.

’Pillar Phoenix... can she completely control her Omen now?’

"Why should I take it?"

The young man slapped her hand away. He was about to playfully open his arms and ask for a hug, but Feng Bei, having already guessed Zheng Xiu’s mischievous intent, just smiled and plopped the Orange Cat onto his head.

"Be good. Take it with you. Xiaofeng, I need you to look after... him for me."

"MEOW!"

The previously listless Orange Cat shuddered. Its mouth, once indifferent, curled into a smirk, giving it a devilishly arrogant air. With a lightning-fast movement, it extended and retracted a paw. A gray mirror surface flashed in the air, gone so quickly it was almost imperceptible. In its paw, the cat now held a black robe. With another flick, it donned the robe, crossed its paws, and stood proudly on the young man’s head, facing into the wind.

WHOOSH...

A gust of wind blew past, making the black robe on the Orange Cat flap loudly. On its back was a single, eye-catching word written in what looked like blood.

"Cat."