Just as a muffled thunder rumbled, a bestial howl grew closer from afar.
Wu Zhen turned her head and glanced in that direction, saying, “Here comes that oddity I’ve nearly driven mad.”
Mei Zhuyu, initially on high alert, couldn’t help but repeat, “Oddity?”
Wu Zhen shrugged, “It has horns but isn’t a deer, hooves but isn’t a cow, fur but isn’t a tiger, scales but isn’t a snake, hence the name ‘oddity’.”
Seeing Mei Zhuyu’s expression, she added, “Actually, I think it’s not just an oddity. It doesn’t resemble anything. I can’t even tell what its original form might have been.”
Listening to the angry, pained roars, Mei Zhuyu could almost feel the monster’s fury. He truly didn’t know how Wu Zhen had angered it to such an extent, so he asked.
Wu Zhen, who had just noticed a small wound on his arm and was examining it, responded casually, “Oh, earlier I saw it throwing a huge tantrum for no reason, which seemed odd. So when I was turning some demon servants later, I happened to learn about its past. This oddity once had someone it liked. I made some guesses, and when I broke its barrier, I taunted it a bit.”
In truth, Wu Zhen hadn’t expected it to be so effective… But if she had to say, those few words weren’t that powerful. Rather, when she turned into a cat and toyed with the oddity for a while, it became even more agitated. In short, it went berserk the moment it saw her transform into a cat, chasing after her intent on killing her. She had to expend considerable effort to escape.
Wu Zhen thought that this oddity either had a grudge against cats, or against women who loved to laugh and sing, or perhaps against women who could both laugh and sing and transform into cats.
These thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant. Wu Zhen looked at the wooden box Mei Zhuyu was carrying on his back and squeezed his distinctly knuckled hand. “Hey, my lord, is this the box the oddity wants? What’s inside?”
Perhaps because of Wu Zhen’s casual attitude, Mei Zhuyu found it hard to remain tense as long as she was by his side. His vigilant, sharp eyes softened involuntarily when they turned to her.
“Yes, I don’t know,” he replied. His gaze had softened, but his words remained few.
Wu Zhen, seizing the moment to flirt amidst their serious conversation, giggled and squeezed his fingers. “Let me see.”
The wooden box was something Mei Zhuyu’s father had always protected. Both his parents had died for this object, and now the son continued to guard it. But in all these years, Mei Zhuyu had never thought to open it and see what was inside, mainly because he still harbored some resentment.
Now that Wu Zhen wanted to look, Mei Zhuyu hesitated only briefly before unfastening the box with one hand and holding it out to her.
Showing it to her as soon as she asked – truly her sweet, docile young lord. Wu Zhen inwardly praised him as she took the box and opened it. The box had a peculiar lock that looked like a curled-up cat. It fits seamlessly with no keyhole, and Wu Zhen was about to force it open when her hand touched the small lock, and it clicked open automatically.
Wu Zhen raised an eyebrow and lifted the lid.
Surprisingly, inside the arm-length wooden box was… a cat. A tabby cat very similar to her cat form, but slightly larger. The cat in the box had smooth fur and lay motionless, appearing to be asleep. However, when Wu Zhen reached out to touch it, she realized that this well-preserved cat was dead.
Finding no other mysteries in the box, Wu Zhen picked up the cat’s corpse and showed it to Mei Zhuyu. “Look, my lord, isn’t this cat quite fat?”
Mei Zhuyu astonished that this was what the box contained, felt that peculiar sense of not knowing what to say when he saw Wu Zhen holding up the cat and commenting on its weight.
At this moment, the oddity, now even more decayed than before, had reached Wu Zhen and Mei Zhuyu. It seemed to have calmed down somewhat on the way, but upon seeing what Wu Zhen held, it became frenzied again. Opening its gaping maw, dripping black saliva, it stared at the cat’s corpse and shouted uncontrollably, “Give it to me! Give her to me! She’s mine!”
Wu Zhen looked at the oddity, then at the cat in her arms, and held it up, asking, “Oh, could this be the one you liked?”
She had just guessed randomly, but surprisingly, she was correct. The usually frenzied oddity suddenly regained some rationality and answered her question, “Yes, I once loved her very much.”
Once loved. Wu Zhen heard other implications in these words. She said, “It sounds like you don’t love her anymore. Going to such lengths to get this corpse, surely you’re not trying to ease your lovesickness or let her rest in peace. Why don’t you tell me what you want this corpse for? If I find your reason compelling, I might give it to you.”
The oddity’s eyes, peering from its decaying skull, coldly regarded Wu Zhen, but she remained unfazed by its intimidating stare. Finally, the oddity let out a soft laugh, its voice for the first time revealing a hint of normalcy, though its words were far from gentle.
“If I eat her, I won’t look like this anymore. I can live on, live well!” At this point, the oddity’s tone grew fervent, saliva dripping more profusely from its mouth in anticipation. “I’ve searched for her for so long. I’m tired of this body. Quick, give her to me. If you do, I promise not to kill you.”
Wu Zhen wasn’t surprised at all. Seeing how it seemed ready to pounce and snatch the cat, she calmly stroked the cat’s fur, finding the texture unexpectedly pleasant. As she continued to pet the cat, she said with a smile, “Give you what you want, and you won’t kill us? What, do I look like a fool who’ll believe whatever you say?”
She flashed a wicked grin, “It seems you don’t understand the current situation. You’re no longer in a position to threaten us. I’m the one holding what you want.”
The oddity, with its particularly short patience, leaned its massive body forward, brimming with murderous intent. “Then I’ll kill you and take her back.”
Mei Zhuyu had been silent beside them the whole time. Typically, he wouldn’t engage in such lengthy conversations with enemies. Usually, he’d attack without a word, letting the outcome of the battle decide. But with Wu Zhen beside him, following her cues, he stood guard, silently observing every move of their opponent, his body tense and gaze focused.
Seeing the oddity ready to attack, Mei Zhuyu immediately prepared himself. However, Wu Zhen spoke again, breaking the tension. Holding the cat’s corpse, she said, “I advise you to calm down. Look, what you want is in my hands. Don’t you believe that if you make any rash moves, I’ll destroy it immediately? I’ll turn her to ashes and scatter them. Would you then swallow all the soil for miles around?” As she spoke, she seemed to find amusement in her own words, looking at the cat corpse with a hint of eagerness.
The oddity hadn’t expected her to say this. It visibly faltered, angrily shouting, “You’re threatening me!”
Wu Zhen swung the cat corpse carelessly, “Smart, aren’t you? Yes, I am threatening you.”
The oddity, its weak spot exposed, still glared fiercely at the two of them, but its aura weakened. The one who should have been threatening them had become threatened. Mei Zhuyu hadn’t expected the situation to change so quickly. He had never played the role of a threatener in his life, but Wu Zhen seemed perfectly at ease in her role, her manner and tone unmistakably that of a bully.
Mei Zhuyu hesitated for a moment but decided to play along with Wu Zhen.
The oddity was silent for a while, then suddenly calmed down and said, “You turned into a cat earlier. That’s when I realized you must be the current Cat Master of Chang’an’s demon market.”
Wu Zhen retorted, “No need for flattery. I won’t give you face.”
Rebuffed, the oddity’s mood seemed to worsen, its tone growing even deeper, “Then you should know that what you’re holding is the first Cat Master of the demon market. Chang’an’s demon market began with her.”
Wu Zhen genuinely didn’t know this and was caught off guard for once. The oddity continued, “That Mei boy next to you, his father was the Cat Master before you. He died protecting the first Cat Master’s corpse. Since you’ve inherited the position of Cat Master, you’re also considered her descendant. Knowing this, do you still dare to threaten to destroy her remains?”
More than the fact that she was holding the first Cat Master, Wu Zhen was surprised by something else. Her lord’s father was the previous Cat Master? She remembered her father mentioning that her lord’s father had previously been the Prefect of Qu Prefecture. How had he also become the previous Cat Master?
Wu Zhen’s brow furrowed involuntarily as she recalled something. She remembered the previous Cat Master. She was only a few years old then, and that enormous cat had given her a pearl to save her life and brought her to the demon market. It told her that as the price for saving her, she would become the future Cat Master of the demon market and be responsible for it.
The young Wu Zhen had only met the previous Cat Master twice – once when he saved her, and once when he bid farewell. He seemed to have mentioned that he was no longer the Cat Master and was leaving Chang’an in a hurry. But Wu Zhen barely knew him then and didn’t care much, finding it more interesting that she could turn into a cat. As time passed, she forgot about the previous Cat Master. In both encounters, he had appeared in cat form.
Her lord had once mentioned that he had lived in Chang’an until he was three, before moving to Qu Prefecture with his father who had been reassigned. The timeline seemed to match up.
Another thunderclap sounded overhead, startling Wu Zhen. She felt a coolness on her brow. Mei Zhuyu had reached out to press her forehead gently with his cool fingers.
Wu Zhen looked at his expression, relaxed her frown, and said with a smile and a sigh, “Is this some kind of hereditary occupation? It turns out your father helped choose me as your wife. He must have had good foresight to have picked so early.”
Hearing this, Mei Zhuyu was stunned for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter. Wu Zhen had never seen her lord laugh like this before. It wasn’t just a slight curving of his eyes and lips; he seemed genuinely amused, laughing out loud. His laughter was pleasant to hear. Laughing like this, he truly looked like the young lord he was, a few years her junior. Wu Zhen wasn’t sure which of her casual remarks had tickled her lord’s fancy to make him laugh so, but she couldn’t help smiling along with him.
While the two of them were laughing happily, the oddity on the other side was not so pleased. Although its decayed head made it impossible to read its expression, Wu Zhen imagined it probably wanted to rush over and kill these two who were flirting and talking about love in the face of a great enemy.