Plague Doctor

Chapter 440: Kaleidoscope on the Wall

Translator: Lonelytree 

“Meow, meow, meow meow meow!” Inside the open jail case, the cat who identified herself as Wu Siyu made a huge ruckus, as if warning them of something serious. Gu Jun understood not a single word of it. This was even harder to understand than the Zoog. He picked up the cat from his shoulder to study it once more. For some reason, he did see Dirty-minded Yu’s presence on the cat… ‘The accident that happened to Dirty-minded Yu was that she got turned into a cat? Was it this before he changed the quarantine circle into life circle or after?’

“Captain Gu?” Yu Chi scratched his head in befuddlement. “This… this is your girlfriend?” Before Gu Jun could say anything, the cat nodded and gave Yu Chi a thumb up.

“You’re Dirty-minded Yu, yes? What happened?” Gu Jun decided to believe it for now. “Why didn’t you just write out everything in Chinese but had to depend on numbers? Is there something preventing you from using normal language?” The cat nodded. It meowed with sadness. Gu Jun missed the sweet dream bubble that they once had. Then they could have skipped this charade but for now, he asked, “Then I’ll list out some suppositions. You nod if I’m correct and shake your head if I’m wrong. Did you turn into this state willingly?”

The cat shook its head. With the mention of this tragedy, its eyes dimmed.

“Are you still alive?” Gu Jun asked with a squeeze of his heart. “The human version.” The cat first nodded before it shrugged as if saying it was also only guessing. It could not confirm. Regardless, Gu Jun still sighed in relief. Just like that, he grasped a brief idea from the cat. Dirty-minded Yu was still alive but due to some reason that eluded her, her consciousness was transported into this cat’s body and transmigrated to a different world. Something happened and she ended up here. With her exceptional sense of smell, she sniffed out his real identity. She came here to look for him. He did not ask for too much detail because it was not the time. Plus, the witch was in the room with them. She might use this information against them.

“When I first met Wu Siyu, who initiated the handshake?” Gu Jun launched a surprise question.

“Meow?” The cat was startled. ‘Who would remember something like that…’ She scratched her paws and then shrugged. ‘Don’t know, don’t ask. O well.’

At that moment, a series of voices came from the stairs. The guards were back with reinforcement. From the heavy footsteps, it sounded like there were a lot of them.

“Don’t let her run away!” “I saw her summon that strange cat. Damn witch, she’ll curse this village!” “Sam and Gilman are still under her charm, those poor things.” “We’ll stone both her and that cat…”

Gu Jun shared a look with Yu Chi. They knew those were not empty threats, in fact, the situation might escalate to something worse. Once one was branded a fanatic or a witch, even the dirtiest sin could be committed against one in the name of justice. That was Salem in 1692. In their current state, without any weapon, their instability made casting spell a dangerous effort too. It was unclear whether they’d survive this ordeal or not. However Gu Jun could not let these people get their hands on the cat, he would not let anyone harm it. Because there was a real possibility that this cat was really Wu Siyu.

“Captain Gu, I will try to use spells.” Yu Chi said hurriedly, “I will use Nine Mysterium Arts to summon the nightgaunts that you mentioned. Once they see that, they’ll scurry in fear. If they’re attacked, they’ll be dazed and the strong mental assault would cause nothing more than a headache. Since guns are already available in this era, we need to be careful…” When they were still at the Mysterium World, Gu Jun knew from Yu Chi that the Nine Mysterium Arts was closely related to the Seven Cryptical Book of Hsan, the latter appeared to be a copy of the former. Seven Cryptical Book of Hsan had more missing chapters and was thus far more unyielding. The Nine Mysterium Arts was more holistic and provided an easier solution to mental corruption. Therefore, Yu Chi was more suitable to cast the spell. Gu Jun hoped that Yu Chi would not go completely insane from this…

But at that moment, the cat landed on the ground with a meow. With a bounce, it leaped into the air onto one of the jail cell walls. With unimaginative speed, it waved its claws to scratch out a symmetrical symbol on the wall. It looked like a kaleidoscope. Keziah Mason’s eyes shone. “I’ve seen this before. In my study of occultism, this symbol is related to space…”

Gu Jun looked on in shock. He saw the lines twirling in the centre of the symbol. A thought rose in his mind.

The cat kicked at the centre of the kaleidoscope several times. It seemed to activate it. The kaleidoscope started to twirl. Light emitted from a wall before it turned into a blurry chaos. A dimensional door had been opened.

“Meow!” The cat screamed as if saying follow me. The first to move was Keziah Mason. She did not hesitate. This was the power she had been searching for.

Gu Jun’s heart chilled. The sound of the prison guards approached. In the host’s memory, he knew there was suspicion that Keziah Mason knew how to open dimensional doors and she would eventually use that to escape from imprisonment. ‘Has history really changed? Or this is meant to happen either way? It was the cat who opened the dimension door and everything is moving in circles.’

Yu Chi was shocked. Not only split cross but also kaleidoscope could initiate transmigration. What did this represent? What kind of power was behind this?

Keziah Mason reached the wall. The cat mewled in a hurry. It was having a hard time holding the door open.

“Captain Yu, let’s go.” Gu Jun took a deep breath. “We do not have much choice.”

‘Are they going to enter with the prison guards’ body?’ They did not even think of that in the emergency of the moment. Once they neared the portal, they felt themselves morphing back into the Yith’s shape. This appeared to be part of the Yith’s arrangement… With Gu Jun at the front and Yu Chi at the back, they slipped through the kaleidoscope. Everything shifted.

With two thuds, the two guards fell to the ground.

“It’s right there!” The prison guards returned. They brought with them the police, priests, and other citizens. They arrived just in time to watch the horrifying scene. Their scalps numbed. Two shadows, the cat and the witch disappeared into the wall. Then the twisting lines and light disappeared, everything returned back to normal. But inside the cell, there was no longer the witch, the cat or the shadows.

There was only a pair of empty manacles and two fainted prison guards.