Chapter 86: Side Story 3 (3/6)
Little Jiang Heng released his mouth, and the butterfly, its wings broken, twitched feebly on the ground, then peacefully closed its eyes.
He pushed the butterfly towards Big Meow Lu. “Thank you for taking care of me. This is a present for you.”
Big Meow Lu looked down. A cat’s excellent eyesight allowed him to see clearly the mangled body beneath the beautiful wings.
Little Jiang Heng patted the butterfly with his paw, and the lifeless body twitched again in a final, desperate struggle.
Big Meow Lu: “…”
He turned his head away. “I don’t want it.”
Little Jiang Heng, ever enthusiastic, insisted, “Take it! Don’t be shy! It’s just playing dead! If you touch it, it will come back to life!”
“…”
Big Meow Lu jumped onto another rock, putting some distance between himself and the kitten and the butterfly.
His voice was calm. “Do you know…where butterflies come from?”
Little Jiang Heng, still playing with the butterfly, looked up, puzzled. “Where do they come from?”
Big Meow Lu glanced at the butterfly under his paw. “Butterflies undergo complete metamorphosis. First, they start as eggs, small, white eggs, clustered on leaves. If you accidentally step on them, you’ll hear a popping sound, and your paw will be covered in sticky goo.”
Little Jiang Heng’s paw, pinning the butterfly, paused.
“If the eggs survive and hatch, they become caterpillars. Caterpillars eat leaves. A fully grown caterpillar can be half your size, fat and plump, filled with green goo, with strange patterns on its body. If you look closely, you’ll see rows of tiny teeth in its mouth and countless little legs underneath.”
Little Jiang Heng’s paws tingled, and he retracted them.
Big Meow Lu continued, “The bigger the caterpillar gets, the more it eats. When there aren’t enough leaves, they’ll crawl onto animals and suck their blood. Small, round kittens like you are their favorite.”
The big cat’s voice turned slightly darker under the bright sunlight.
“They’ll wait until you’re asleep, their countless little legs wriggling, the giant, green, patterned worm crawling up your tail, onto your butt, then your back, its teeth sinking into your skin, the green turning red…”
Little Jiang Heng: “!!”
He shrieked and darted towards the rock where Big Meow Lu was sitting, scrambling up his back and into his arms.
“Is that true? I caught a butterfly, will caterpillars come and suck my blood?!”
Big Meow Lu covered him with his tail. “Not necessarily, but butterflies can also hold grudges.”
“Waa! I was wrong! I’ll never catch butterflies again!”
He had been misled by his lack of knowledge, after all.
Little Jiang Heng nuzzled against Big Meow Lu. “If they do come, can they suck your blood instead? You’re so big, you’ll recover much faster than me.”
Big Meow Lu: “…”
You’re so thoughtful.
The big cat, carrying the little kitten in his mouth, jumped down from the rock and walked down the path.
Little Jiang Heng wiggled his butt. “Where are we going?”
“To find lunch.”
“Are we going to steal again?”
“We’ll try other methods first. If that doesn’t work, then we’ll steal.”
“Oh…” His scruff hurt from being held in the big cat’s mouth, and Little Jiang Heng struggled to get down.
Big Meow Lu released him, and he heard the kitten ask, “What other methods?”
“I don’t know. We’ll see. I’ll show you around while we’re at it.”
The roar of machinery echoed from the steel factory as the two cats, one big and one small, continued down the dilapidated path.
Passing a puddle, Little Jiang Heng stopped to admire his reflection.
“Wow! Big Meow Lu, look! I’m so cool!”
An even larger, more imposing cat appeared beside him.
“You’re also cool. But not as cool as me.”
Little Jiang Heng turned around, admiring himself from all angles, his short, fluffy tail held high.
“I’m a white cat,” he declared.
Big Meow Lu, watching his antics, nudged the kitten’s back with his nose. “Not entirely white. You have silver tips. They’re not very obvious now, but they’ll become more prominent later.”
Little Jiang Heng looked closer and indeed saw a faint silver sheen on his fur.
He had been meticulously groomed by Big Meow Lu, his fur clean and fluffy, his small body round and plump, like a furry little dumpling.
The little dumpling followed the big cat, his eyes fixed on the large, fluffy tail swaying in front of him.
The tail dipped slightly, its long fur trailing on the ground, and Little Jiang Heng jumped onto it, his paws clinging to the soft fur.
“Big Meow Lu, let’s play horsey!”
The tiny kitten was no weight at all for the Maine Coon, which continued walking, dragging Little Jiang Heng along.
“You’re playing horsey, not ‘we’.”
The air was filled with the fragrance of new grass, small yellow flowers blooming by the roadside, fluffy clouds drifting lazily in the sky.
Little Jiang Heng, afraid of crushing Big Meow Lu’s tail, climbed onto his broad back, enjoying the elevated view.
“Big Meow Lu, where do humans live?” he asked.
“Mm-hmm,” Big Meow Lu replied. “That’s where we’re going.”
Little Jiang Heng’s eyes widened in anticipation. “Are there many humans there?”
“It’s working hours, there shouldn’t be too many people around.”
Little Jiang Heng was jolted by a sudden bump and quickly wrapped his paws around the Maine Coon’s neck.
“What are we going to do there?”
Big Meow Lu’s response was casual.
“Beg.”
He said, “Little Jiang Heng, time to show off your talents.”
Little Jiang Heng: “…”
The two cats, one on top of the other, turned into a narrow alley. Before they even saw any humans, they heard the sound of children playing.
Big Meow Lu narrowed his eyes and said to Little Jiang Heng, “Hold on tight,” then, with a powerful leap, jumped onto the wall surrounding the alley.
A large locust tree grew on the other side of the wall, and the Maine Coon, carrying the kitten, hid among its branches.
A group of children emerged from around the corner.
Little Jiang Heng, peeking down from the big cat’s back, saw the three bullies from before. They were holding a ginger cat, and two girls, about their age, were following them.
“Li Yong, stop!” the taller girl shouted. “Put the cat down!”
The bully in the lead turned around, glaring at her impatiently. “Shut up! Why should I? Is it your cat? I’m warning you, get lost, or I’ll beat you up!”
The other girl also stepped forward. “You’re abusing animals! That’s illegal!”
“Illegal?” the boy beside Li Yong scoffed. “Then call the police! This cat stole Brother Li’s beef! If the police come, we’ll make it pay!”
The taller girl said, “That’s not the cat that stole your meat! It was a big black cat! This ginger cat is so small, how could it even climb into your house?”
The bully didn’t care. “It was sleeping right next to my house! Who else could it be? My dad gave me his old lighter, I’m going to burn all its fur off!”
The two girls’ faces flushed with anger.
The ginger cat in Li Yong’s hand struggled slightly, then, realizing it couldn’t escape, lowered its tail dejectedly.
A few seconds later, it seemed to smell something, and its tail twitched. It looked up at the tree where Little Jiang Heng and Big Meow Lu were hiding.
“Oh!” Little Jiang Heng cried. “Poor kitty! Can we save it?”
He knew his own limitations; his only hope was Big Meow Lu. But he didn’t want to force him. He nuzzled against his fur. “If it’s too dangerous, just forget it, don’t push yourself.”
Big Meow Lu’s narrow eyes, sharp and cold, scanned the three boys. “You said earlier that if they caught you, they would burn your tail. Who burned it?”
Little Jiang Heng’s gaze fixed on the tallest bully. “Him. I just heard the girls call him Li Yong.”
Big Meow Lu put the kitten down. “Stay here and don’t move.”
Then, like a flash, he was gone.
Li Yong, holding the ginger cat, taunted the two girls. “I suggest you go home and play hopscotch or something, before I make you cry.”
“You…” The taller girl was about to retort, when something caught her eye, and she instinctively took a step back, a gasp escaping her lips.
The next moment, a dark shadow fell from the sky.
The shadow landed on Li Yong’s shoulder, then leaped, its hind legs kicking him hard. The boy cried out in pain, stumbled forward, and fell face-first onto the ground.
The ginger cat, seizing the opportunity, wriggled free.
A small white head poked out from the leaves, frantically signaling to him with its eyes.
The ginger cat didn’t understand the signals, but it still jumped towards the tree.
Li Yong pushed himself up and looked up, meeting a pair of smoky gray eyes, narrowed into vertical slits. Unlike other cats, this Maine Coon’s eyes were slanted and sharp, devoid of any kitten-like softness, radiating a wild, untamed energy.
Under its gaze, Li Yong felt like he was facing not a cat, but a wild beast.
He scrambled to his feet and yelled at his friends, “Quick! Get it!”
His friends frantically picked up stones and threw them at the Maine Coon.
The Maine Coon nimbly dodged the stones and pounced on Li Yong again.
Its movements were so fast that Li Yong only saw a blur before a sharp pain shot through his hand.
“Ah!!”
He cried out, lifting his hand. Deep, bloody scratches covered the back of his hand.
The gruesome sight terrified his friends, who stared at the wall above them, frozen.
There, they saw a short tail, raised like a rattlesnake, swaying menacingly, then disappearing.
Little Jiang Heng raised his tail, took aim, and launched himself—
Thump!
He landed in the thick fur of the Maine Coon.
He struggled out, his face beaming with excitement.
“Big Meow Lu, you’re so amazing!”
“You’re my hero!”
Big Meow Lu, wiping the blood off its paws on a patch of dry grass, paused. “Where did you learn such…strange expressions?”
Little Jiang Heng circled him excitedly. “I don’t know! It’s like…they were already in my head!”
Big Meow Lu said, “Is your…knowledge also…sealed away then?”
“…”
Way to rub it in.
