When the Imperial Carriage finally came to a stop before the Hall of Blessed Tranquility, Yu Zeming had barely lifted the curtain before Rendong shot out like a dart. He trotted ahead to the hall’s entrance, then sat himself down, tail curling instinctively beside his front paws and giving a little tap, like a gentle urging.
Why did humans walk so slowly!
Four legs really were the superior design!
Once Tantai Tian reached the hall, Rendong streaked inside again, running a stretch, stopping a stretch, as if playing, or as if clinging to the man. Either way, the rule was clear: humans could not touch the cat, but the cat had to stay within the human’s line of sight.
By the time Tantai Tian had changed his clothes, Rendong was still perched on the desk, a tiny black speckled ball of fur that would have been nearly invisible hidden in the shadows.
Tantai Tian noticed the cat was still there and strolled over to the desk.
Rendong, lost in a daze, instinctively stretched out his head and tried to nudge the man’s palm, just as the man asked, “Sleeping here tonight?”
Ever since Tantai Tian ascended the throne, Rendong’s living arrangements had undergone a complete overhaul, transformed from top to bottom. The cat beds in the Side Hall grew plusher and plusher, one outdoing the last, and Rendong would pick one at random to grace with his presence.
It seemed that once they moved to the Hall of Blessed Tranquility, the little cat had lost the habit of sleeping pressed against his human.
The place changed. Now the human won’t freeze to death so easily, thought Rendong.
A cat no longer needed to keep a human warm naturally reverted to his wild ways, carousing outside every night and returning filthy, his little paws leaving a trail of plum-blossom prints across the floor each time.
And every time he came back, he got chased down for a paw-wiping.
Escape always failed, and after each wiping session, the cat would laboriously lick his paw pads clean all over again.
Tantai Tian never restricted Rendong’s freedom.
He simply had no idea how lively a cat could be at night!
Though Rendong had long since explored every corner of the Hall of Blessed Tranquility, he had never yet spent the night inside the Emperor’s bedchamber!
This night, Rendong wreaked absolute havoc upon the Hall of Blessed Tranquility.
The obedience he’d shown at the Hall of Peace and Ease might as well have been a dream. By night, Rendong was a little terror, a mischievous demon spirit that never once settled down.
If a demon spirit ever wanted to bring a kingdom to ruin by this method, it would hardly be a bad one.
Deprived of sleep long enough, any human would turn irritable.
When the first pale light of dawn crept in, Rendong, having clawed table legs, pounced at moonlight, rolled across the floor, and shredded the hanging curtains, finally began to feel sleepy.
Time to sleep with the human. Meow~
The cat yawned and started weaving unsteadily as he walked.
He ambled back to the side of the human’s bed at a lazy pace, nimbly hopped onto the footstool, and set to work on the bed itself, his little cat head burrowing this way and that beneath the heavy drapes until he finally wriggled out a gap.
Ha!
One cat squeezed inside!
The bed was enormous.
To a cat climbing up, it felt like straying into unfamiliar territory.
In the dimness behind the bed curtains, Rendong staggered and rolled his way over to Tantai Tian’s side, intending to sniff whether the human was still breathing. But through the slit of light leaking in from the gap he’d forced in the curtains, the cat found himself staring straight into a pair of pitch-black eyes, wide awake!
Rendong’s ears flattened into airplane wings!
You scared the cat!
When did the human wake up?
Rendong couldn’t help nudging that face with his damp little nose, rubbing back and forth in curiosity.
Tantai Tian silently drew his arm out from under the covers, and the cat pounced on it in delight, wrapping himself around it and giving a few gentle kicks with his hind paws.
Hm?
The cat, standing on the back of the human’s hand, tilted his head in confusion.
Why are the paw pads cold?
The human’s temperature is so low.
Strange. Ever since he became Emperor, his hands have never been cold.
The cat always remembered Tantai Tian’s palms being warm. Almost hot, even.
Rendong, wholly absorbed in kneading the back of that hand, never noticed the pair of deep, fathomless black eyes fixed upon him.
At this moment, Tantai Tian looked precisely like a vengeful ghost crawled up from hell.
He truly had not slept all night.
And he had truly listened to the full night of Rendong’s frenzied rampage.
Tap.
The sound of paw pads landing lightly on the floor, soft but crisp.
Pat pat pat.
The sound of something being chased in excitement, though what, who could say.
Riiip, riiip.
The mournful cry of curtains suffering under a cat’s claws.
This episode seemed worse than any before it.
Hoarse, shrill, frenzied sleep ravings crashed against him like waves against the shore, and beneath Tantai Tian’s crumbling reason coiled a deranged, violent urge to destroy.
Weaving through that venomous, keening chorus came the small, noisy sounds of Rendong, punctuating the din here and there like an errant note played in a dissonant chord.
And now this reckless, tender young life was rubbing its most vulnerable spot right against his hand. Where his fingertips touched, a pulse beat, vivid and quick.
Faint, but vigorous enough.
Snap that fragile little spine, and the blood that spilled out would surely be as striking as brilliant petals. A dying cry mingled into those sleep ravings. That would be the most harmonious melody of all.
Those ravings, those shrieks, waited in gleeful anticipation for that moment.
Just as they had every time before.
That ice-cold hand rose slightly, then settled gently on Rendong’s little head, sliding down along the fragile spine beneath.
So heavy, so heavy!
Rendong pushed up into the big hand, rubbing against it without thinking.
Wants pets.
After a long moment, Tantai Tian withdrew his hand.
“Go outside and play.”
His voice was low and husky, carrying a strange coldness.
How could anyone refuse a cat asking for pets!
Rendong threw a tiny tantrum, chasing after him and chomping down on Tantai Tian’s wrist.
【Side Quest: Pacify Tantai Tian】
With a chime, the System’s cold voice sounded in Rendong’s ear.
The cat, having just taken a bite of the human and been about to follow it with a few suckling licks, froze. He tilted his head strangely, ears twitching.
The human really does have problems!
The cat offered pets so willingly just now, and the human still had the heart to refuse!
Rendong sat down beside Tantai Tian.
The black cat settled in the shadow of the human, as if melting into the darkness itself.
Hffff.
It sounded like the ragged, out-of-control breathing of a wild beast.
A chill ran down Rendong’s spine. He felt as if something terrifying had locked its gaze onto him, and instinctively turned toward the source of the cold, meeting Tantai Tian’s eyes once more.
“Why… don’t you run?”
Tantai Tian spoke slowly. Each word that left his mouth seemed to cost everything he had. His voice trembled, but not from fear. It was more like he was suppressing some violent, surging emotion.
Restraint pushed to its absolute limit becomes a bowstring drawn taut.
And the snap comes in an instant.
Tantai Tian raised his hand again. This time it was not refusal, but a malice he could no longer contain.
In a flash, a small black shadow charged forward instead of retreating, hurling itself straight at him.
Tantai Tian’s vision went dark, then sank.
His damp, ice-cold face was smothered under something warm and fluffy. Gurgle, gurgle. At such intimate proximity, he could even hear the noises churning inside that little belly.
So noisy.
So thought Tantai Tian, his eyes buried under a small cat’s stomach.
So this is how loud it is, inside a cat’s belly?
Rendong sprawled across Tantai Tian’s face, pressing down on the human’s eyes with deliberate malice. Hmph. Those eyes scared the cat earlier. Now the cat scares them back.
Sensing the human shift slightly, Rendong even wiggled his bottom, smothering Tantai Tian’s face with even more soft flesh.
Heavy, isn’t it! Squishing, isn’t it!
What pressed down on the human’s eyes was Rendong’s belly.
That was a cat’s most vulnerable spot. Even through the fluff, it was terribly sensitive. And so the cat felt the human’s high-bridged nose press against his little tummy and inhale.
…The human inhaled a bit of fur.
It clogged his nose, and he couldn’t help coughing, a muffled, smothered sound.
Then came a strangely long silence.
A silence so long the cat started to worry the fur had suffocated the human.
Slowly, Rendong felt a faint tremor beneath his belly.
“Rendong smells,” Tantai Tian’s voice was very slow, as if every single word drained him, carrying a strange restraint, “…of milk.”
So he was, after all, a cat who especially loved milk.
And cats do love milk.
The Imperial Cat Bureau faithfully delivered all manner of foods a young cat might enjoy every single day, and among all of it, Rendong’s favorite was the special Baa-Baa Milk.
He could drink two whole basins of it a day!
How wonderful Baa-Baa Milk is.
At the memory of today’s milk, Rendong licked his lips.
The first time he’d tasted it, Rendong had generously tried to share with the human. Sadly, Tantai Tian had just taken the throne then, drowning in affairs of state, working until midnight every day before he could rest. The cat had been forced to enjoy it all alone.
Rendong was really very small.
Even sprawled across Tantai Tian’s eyelids, his belly only covered as far as the bridge of that high nose.
After all, the human was just SO biiiig!
The soft fur tickled against his lips, a little sticky.
It was a mildly irritating warmth, and at the slightest movement, the little cat ball wobbled like fragile crystal jelly.
Gurgle, gurgle…
The little cat’s stomach rumbled on and on, the sound traveling ceaselessly through their touching skin into Tantai Tian’s ears.
It was noisy, yes. Yet somehow, unnoticed, it drowned out those sleep ravings.
So this was the sound inside a living creature, like a clamorous drumbeat, endless and unbroken.
After a long while, Tantai Tian placed a hand on Rendong’s spine and swept it slowly upward. The cat went limp and pliant in his palm, pushed up until they touched foreheads, and the fluffy little belly wiped away the cold sweat on his brow.
Tantai Tian’s eyes were finally free.
The cat, blissfully unaware he was being used as a sweat towel, twisted around and bit down anyway.
Chomp, right on the edge of Tantai Tian’s palm.
Light. It didn’t hurt at all.
Tantai Tian counted two beats in his head. Sure enough, Rendong had already released his tiny fangs and begun licking the spot he’d just bitten.
A cat’s tongue is rough.
It dragged over his skin again and again, leaving a faint prickling sting.
Rendong seemed accustomed to doing this.
It was called attacking a human, yet before the first bite could even hurt, the second move was already frantic licking.
And as he licked, the little head burrowed down into the palm.
Apparently petitioning for pets.
Tantai Tian was silent a moment. His sweat-soaked palm slid upward, and in the end he did rub Rendong’s head.
The cat, entirely oblivious that his own skull had also just been used as a sweat rag, was thoroughly satisfied once the human finally petted him.
Human, isn’t a cat’s head lovely to pet?
【Side Quest Complete】
【Host may choose to receive energy, or unlock the System Mall】
Rendong knew what energy was.
It could make a cat’s body big and strong.
“But what’s in the System Mall?”
Rendong, draped across the human’s forehead, hooked his two little furry paws over the brow bone, tail swishing curiously before flopping down against the man’s shoulder.
【Once the System Mall is unlocked, the Host may convert rewards into Points, and use Points to redeem items within the System Mall】
He could save up Points and trade them for things. Rendong liked this!
He had watched humans walk into little convenience stores, trade slips of paper or simply scan with their phones, and walk out with bags and bags of goods. Now the kitty had a convenience store of his very own.
The System did not correct Rendong’s phrasing. It simply, silently, unlocked the System Mall for the cat who had made his choice.
At first, the System Mall was tiny. Level one only.
The level-one mall held exactly three items: <Small Red Potion>, <Cat Teaser Wand>, and <Surveillance Camera>. The naming style was delightfully unpretentious.
Rendong examined the detailed descriptions of all three.
<Small Red Potion>: Continuously restores health for 20 seconds. Note: Appears to be a consumable from some game. Regardless of injury severity, health will return to 100% after 20 seconds.
Points required: 50 Points
Note: Newcomer special discount
<Cat Teaser Wand>: A toy all cats will love. Seems to possess some mysterious properties.
Points required: 10 Points
<Surveillance Camera>: Worried your master might get hurt or die while out hunting? Purchase this surveillance camera now for real-time recording!
Points required: 40 Points
And for completing this Side Quest, Rendong currently possessed 50 Points.
The System analyzed his situation with calm precision.
【Host currently has 50 Points. You may purchase the <Small Red Potion> for emergencies.】
Only the newcomer special discount made it that cheap.
But before the System could even finish speaking, the little cat paws had already slapped impatiently down on the surveillance camera, followed immediately by the cat teaser wand.
The text beneath both items promptly changed to Purchased.
Rendong tilted his little head, eyes round and wide.
“The System talks too slow.”
The cat has fast-fast speed. Already bought them!
He sulked for exactly one second before bouncing back. Points could be earned again, but a fun cat teaser wand was worth having right now!
And the surveillance camera too!
Now the human can’t mysteriously die somewhere the cat can’t see.
Rendong knew by now that he couldn’t reveal the System’s existence in front of the human. Which naturally meant he couldn’t just produce a cat teaser wand out of thin air either.
He gave a disappointed little whimper. He’d actually wanted the human to play with him.
Desperate to find some secluded spot to try his new cat teaser wand, Rendong went boneless and slid down along Tantai Tian’s forehead, then flipped himself upright!
He lifted a paw. Hm? Why was it wet?
Rendong looked down. Mrow! His furry belly was all damp too!
Furious, the cat bounded and rolled over to Tantai Tian’s hand, slapping the back of it with his paw pads. Pat pat pat.
“Rendong has become a sweaty little kitty!”
Tantai Tian let the cat gnaw on his fingers, and as if he understood exactly why Rendong was flailing his Cat Fist about, he said unhurriedly, “Rendong asked for the pets himself.”
His voice was slow. Very soft.
As if it took every ounce of his strength just to speak steadily, carrying a frailty that made the cat’s heart ache.
Rendong, who had been daydreaming about his cat teaser wand, bumped his muzzle against the man’s arm. He hesitated a moment, then chose to return to Tantai Tian’s shoulder, sniffing at his scent with a certain melancholy.
It’s bitter. Smells different somehow.
Like back when the human had a fever.
The little furry face grew grave. This much cold sweat. Something is definitely wrong!
“The next time I am like this, do not come near me,” Tantai Tian said, his expression flat. “Lest I kill you by mistake.”
“Cats run very fast,” Rendong rumbled, Kneading away even though he knew Tantai Tian couldn’t understand him. “Humans, so slow.”
The cat isn’t running.
Rendong purred loudly, Kneading on the human’s shoulder all the while. That small, warm bundle of fluff pressed into the curve of Tantai Tian’s shoulder like a pool of soft water.
As if one squeeze, and it would simply flow away.
A cat that didn’t dare eat people. That didn’t eat human flesh. A timid cat.
Tantai Tian closed his eyes wearily, listening to the little cat’s purring by his ear.
As noisy as the gurgling of that little belly had been.
And yet, somehow, it coaxed a faint thread of true drowsiness out of him.
“Mm… it’s nothing,” Tantai Tian murmured, his voice light and faint, as if he really were drifting off. “The people you don’t dare kill… I will kill for you.”
Rendong licked Tantai Tian’s damp, chilly face. Humans are so strange.
Why would a cat need to kill anyone?
But since the human is trying to protect the cat, the cat will lick you extra!
Hmph hmph. Cats are so generous!
