Chapter 7: Such a Fierce Little Cat

“Mimi—”

The familiar voice belonged to Little Wan Sis!!

Li You panicked and twisted his head away. He raised his head and roared from his mouth: “Meow——”

“Where are you——”

“Meow——”

“I hear you! Little Wan Sis is coming to find you! Stay right there and don’t move——”

“Meow woo——”

Li Ye: “……”

The cat in his arms seemed eager to leave. It struggled, its fur all over its body shaking. It looked fluffy like a giant cotton ball, and its four legs kicked back and forth in resistance on Li Ye’s body.

Li Ye let go of his hand, and the cat immediately jumped off him. In just a few bounds, it landed on the floor and dashed toward the door on its legs.

Li Ye quietly watched the ragdoll cat leave. His eyes were calm, with dark shades of light and shadow intersecting within.

But when the cat reached the slightly ajar door, it stopped. It looked back at Li Ye once.

The obscurity in Li Ye’s eyes faded a bit, and his gaze shifted.

“Meow.”

Li You let out a short meow toward the inside, like a farewell, without the anger from earlier.

After meowing, he slipped through the door crack and left.

Li Ye’s gaze lingered on the door crack for a long time before he finally withdrew it. He lowered his sight to stare at the hand that had just been petting the cat.

At that moment, his palm felt empty, yet the residual warmth remained. The soft touch seemed as if it still lingered.

His gaze slowly shifted, and he saw on his military uniform the spots where the ragdoll cat had stepped earlier: several wrinkles, a few irregular cat paw prints, and some light-colored cat hairs.

Still a shedding cat.

–

Li You ran very fast. His brother’s two sentences from earlier left him with lingering fear. The more he recalled them, the faster his four legs pedaled, his fur shaking like a sieve.

The talkative little cat meowed “meow woo” all the way, and the calling sounds drew Little Wan Sis, who was searching for him, over.

Little Wan Sis spotted the charging white cat ball from afar. She joyfully squatted down and opened her arms: “Come here!”

“Meow!”

Li You’s legs pedaled so fast they blurred into afterimages.

“Oh my god! Little Mi, you’re limping!”

“……” Li You slammed on the brakes, lowered his head to look at his paw. Due to the excessive, fluffy, and messy fur in front, he only saw the tip of the paw pad that had stepped out.

The kitten twisted its body in place for a circle, repositioned itself, and stepped out a paw again.

Wait, it still seemed to be limping……

He twisted in place for a good while, walking all crooked and messy. Helplessly, he looked up at Little Wan Sis.

Little Wan Sis burst out laughing with a “pfft,” stood up, came over, and picked up the cat: “Alright, alright, you’ll be fine after a nap. Let’s go back.”

“Meow——”

“Did Little Mi have fun playing in the Sunlight Palace?”

“Meow!”

Not fun, almost scared to death!

“Had fun? Then is Little Mi hungry? Back home, do you want to eat cat food or cat rice?”

“Meow woo——”

Cat rice, cat rice, want to eat cat rice!

“Cat food? The new batch of cat food is a flavor everyone loves. You’ll surely like it too.”

Li You: “……”

Complete communication barrier. Cat meows cat stuff, human says human stuff—totally not on the same wavelength.

This was too awful.

Li You obediently stayed in Little Wan Sis’s arms. He poked his head over her shoulder and glanced at the slightly ajar door of the lounge.

The distance grew farther, and the door shrank smaller. Until they turned a corner, and the door vanished from sight.

Li You lowered his eyes. Little Wan Sis’s nagging voice filled his ears, stretching longer and farther, until he gradually zoned out.

He still felt his recent experiences were utterly fantastical. He had been reborn, become a cat, and reunited with Li Ye.

But the current Li Ye seemed different from before, acting strangely.

Suddenly, Li You felt an emptiness in his heart, indescribable, as if something was missing inside.

Back at the pet shop, after eating some choking cat food, he drank water from the pet water fountain. Exhausted from the day, Li You finally returned to his nest and began to brew sleepiness.

But thinking of the information he had learned that evening, he couldn’t fall asleep. He stayed up until dawn before dozing off lightly.

The next morning, a scream tore through the clear sky. The cats in the house scattered in fright, and Li You in his nest jolted awake with a shudder. He nervously chased his tail in circles inside the nest, then calmed down, froze in place, poked his head out, and looked around left and right.

Sunlight shone perfectly outside the window. After that scream, it stayed quiet for a long time before noisy voices gradually rose outside.

Li You sensed something was wrong. He nimbly exited the nest, jumped to the highest spot on the cat tree by the window, and looked out. He only saw a crowd gathered at the corner of the neighboring house.

Little Wan Sis didn’t enter the cat room. Li You anxiously waited in the room until noon before seeing her.

Little Wan’s expression was grave. She came in to refill the automatic feeder with cat food and prepared to leave again. Li You hurriedly followed, deftly slipping through the door crack.

Little Wan, who had just closed the door and was about to turn, caught a glimpse of a ball by her leg from the corner of her eye. She stopped, looked down, and said in surprise: “Little Mi? How did you follow me out?”

Li You’s gaze fixed on the outside of the main gate. The spot where the crowd had gathered earlier was now cordoned off, the people dispersed, and now Imperial Military officers guarded it.

“Don’t you want to stay in the room?” Little Wan Sis squatted down to rub its head, then stood to seal the garden door outside. She turned back, picked up the cat, and said softly, “Sorry, no walk today. Something happened in town.”

Li You perked up his cat ears, looked up at her, then glanced outside. Among the busy officers, he spotted Peisengke but not Li Ye.

Going out was impossible now. He had no way of knowing what had happened outside.

That day, Little Wan Sis left the pet shop many times. Officers went door-to-door investigating, and nearby residents were called in for statements. It wasn’t until evening that Li You saw Little Wan Sis return.

She looked utterly exhausted but still smiled to provide good vibes for the cats. Only after feeding them did she go upstairs to rest.

Li You stayed in his cat nest, gazing at the night sky outside the window. He closed his eyes to brew sleepiness and finally fell asleep after a long while.

But soon after, several “crunch crunch” sounds woke him.

Li You slept lightly. The sounds weren’t loud—actually quite faint—like some hard objects scraping against each other, or…… the sound of gnawing bones.

They came from outside the window, right by this room’s window, very close.

Li You’s heart leaped. He stared tensely at the window. The next moment, a head appeared at the edge, its shiny eyes peering inside.

Li You shuddered in fright but held back any sound. Those eyes scanned the room for a long time before shifting away, followed by the “crunch crunch” continuing.

Intermittently, accompanied by strange low hums.

Li You smelled a fragrance, very familiar—tulip.

Only in the latter half of the night did those sounds gradually fade. Li You hadn’t slept a wink all night. The next day, he faced Little Wan Sis, who came to add cat food with two baggy, tired eyes.

Communication with Little Wan Sis was difficult, so he clung to her and finally got a chance to go out.

It had rained lightly near dawn, leaving the town streets damp. Every household had already brought their front-door and window tulips inside. The air held no tulip scent, only the smell of wet soil.

Li You lay on Little Wan Sis’s shoulder and looked toward the pet shop cat room’s window. The ground outside it was spotlessly clean, without a single footprint.

The rain had washed away any possible clues completely.

Little Wan Sis headed to the Imperial Military outpost this time, not far outside the town. She arrived holding the cat, temporarily placed it at the reception deposit area, entrusted it to several officers, and then left reassured.

The only live thing at the reception desk was very popular. Li You, squatting on the counter, had his fur messed up by passing officers petting him. He retreated to the back, hid in a corner, and listened to the officers talk.

The Imperial Military was a place of strict discipline. Conversations stayed only at greetings, never touching on mission details. Li You got no useful info, but he was lucky. After hiding in the corner a short while, he saw a familiar face.

Peisengke led troops back and headed toward the other end of the corridor.

Li You timed it perfectly, darted out, and sneaked along at the end of the group. By sheer luck, he slipped into the conference room.

With a room full of officers, he was spotted the moment he entered.

The kitten shrank its head. Spotting Li Ye at the front of the conference table, it ignored the gazes from everyone else, nimbly weaved through the crowd, jumped onto the table, squatted in front of Li Ye, and raised its head in a roar: “Meow——”

The crowd exclaimed in shock. Peisengke clicked his tongue repeatedly and clapped in praise: “What a loud voice.”

Li Ye looked at the cat squatting on his documents and raised his hand.

Li You leaned his head forward and bit Li Ye’s finger with his mouth. His ears flattened, and a “grrr” rumbled from his throat.

Li Ye, who had only wanted to pet the cat: “……”

The surrounding officers gaped at this bold cat that had appeared out of nowhere, then at the serene-faced Your Highness. They were all astonished. Only Peisengke crossed his arms, whistled, and considerately reminded: “Your Highness, the meeting is about to start. Will you hold the cat during the meeting?”

Li Ye glanced at him.

“Of course, if you don’t want to hold this little cutie, I can reluctantly take over for you.” Peisengke reached out both hands toward the cat.

Li You, who wanted to stay and eavesdrop on their meeting, was about to extend a paw along with Peisengke’s words when Li Ye’s hand blocked it. Suddenly, all four paws were airborne, then the paw pads landed on Li Ye’s leg.

Everyone’s gazes shifted downward in shock at the cat stepping on Your Highness’s leg.

Li You blanked briefly, then settled comfortably into a lounging position. He shifted around on his brother’s leg, poked his head toward the blue transparent light screen on the table, and raised his head: “Meow——”

Li Ye lowered the light screen desktop a few degrees until the cat pressed its two paws on the table edge to stop it.

Li You was extremely satisfied. His tail, pressed against Li Ye’s abdomen, swished left and right. As officers sat around from all sides, he lowered the “purr” in his mouth, focused intently, and listened to the meeting.

Peisengke, who hadn’t gotten to hold the cat, grinned at the ragdoll poking its head over the long table and smiled: “Does Cat Sir want to meow a few words first?”

Li You glanced at him and opened his mouth: “Meow——”

I meowed, but you wouldn’t understand anyway.

“What a cute little guy.” Peisengke took a liking to this kitten but couldn’t pet or hold it, so he boldly negotiated with Li Ye: “Your Highness, holding it too long will make your leg sore. How about this: you hold it for a bit, then I’ll take over for a while?”

Li Ye gave him a sidelong glance. His left hand covered the cat’s tail and slowly stroked the fur: “No need.”

“……” Peisengke shrugged. “Alright then.”

The meeting began. The blue long table projected a light screen showing a photo—a black-haired man’s ID picture.

“The deceased, Entel, 26, the eldest son at home, currently unemployed.” The reporting officer stated the man’s personal info from the screen image, then switched photos again.

Li You only caught a flash of red before his head was held down. Li Ye’s hand gently pressed his face, covering his entire cat face. Everything went pitch black before his eyes.

Li You wriggled his head in dissatisfaction but couldn’t break free. He heard the person above say: “Don’t move.”

The kitten stopped moving and let out a soft “meow.”

The reporting officer continued, detailing the deceased’s torn and gnawed condition, the contaminated areas— the descriptions alone painted a vivid picture.

A brutal death, no intact corpse, gnawed into countless chunks of meat.

Li You stayed perfectly still. The hand over his eyes never lifted. Only then did he realize what that flash of red was: the on-site photo displayed on the light screen.

By the time the officer finished reporting, his brother released his face, and the light screen now showed other photos.

Li You dazed for a moment, looked up at his brother, his heart tight.

He no longer lay on the tabletop. He turned around, curled up facing his brother, head against Li Ye’s body, and didn’t move.

Though he didn’t look anymore, he perked his ears and listened attentively.

Li You had never participated in such military missions before. His several brothers and sisters had all joined, but he alone refused.

Because he had gone once and couldn’t do anything, only feeling awful.

Li You had no command talent. Back then, he sometimes felt pretty useless himself.

The kitten’s mood sank. Li Ye glanced down at it during a pause. As he raised his eyes, a low voice echoed in his ear.

【I really am a coward.】

Li Ye paused, his brow furrowing as his gaze returned to the cat.

It was like this again, that familiar voice.

Li Ye felt he was close to going mad. He actually saw Li You’s shadow in this cat.

After a moment’s contemplation, he removed his glove, lightly scratched the ragdoll cat’s chin with his fingertip, and released the black snake.

The dejected Li You spotted the little snake on his brother’s hand at once. His bloodline awakened uncontrollably. He opened his mouth and chomped down on it.

His cat tail swished excitedly left and right as he eagerly chased the black mini-snake.

Li Ye’s attention returned to the meeting. His hand stayed placed in front of the cat. Even when it nibbled on him, he showed no reaction. Some unclear emotions in his heart inexplicably found a bit of relief.

He thought that if it were Li You, he would probably indulge it even more.