[Ding. You have been cursed.] The Spirit Realm's notification chime sounded in Zhang Yuanqing's ears.
A curse? Didn't I just accidentally swallow some of Parkinson's cat fur? he thought, finding humor in adversity.
He instinctively tried to activate a skill, only to discover that he had lost all his abilities, as well as his connection to his inventory.
After transforming into a cat, every single ability was gone.
A curse... This must be the power of the Witch Doctor profession. Yinyang Town is a team confrontation dungeon, so elements of evil professions make sense. But when was I cursed? I didn't sense a thing.
Was it the herbal tea? No, Queen and Li Chunfeng didn't drink any.
With that in mind, he looked toward his six companions. The Huode Xingjun cat had his fur bristling on end. The orange cats that Chi'ou and Li Chunfeng had turned into were looking all around, yowling constantly, seemingly still trapped in the sheer terror of turning into felines.
Lili Yuanshangcao was examining his new body with curiosity. Though a solemn look showed in his eyes, he did not seem to dislike the fact that he was now a cat.
The Queen cat sat curled on the ground, surrounded by scattered clothes and shoes. Two silver hoop earrings dangled from her pointed ears, and her feline paws kept clawing at them as she meowed in anxious distress.
Are her earrings props? It seems she can't use them. That means even props taken out beforehand are 'sealed' all the same... Zhang Yuanqing looked over at Guan Ya.
The Guan Ya cat was the calmest. The moment Granny Wang had called out "Son," she had already stepped back silently on all four paws.
"Son, come out. Mother has brought you two pretty girls. You finally have women to keep you company. Ah, if only you could control your lust, you wouldn't have ended up like this today..."
"These two girls have tender white skin and pretty faces. Son, what are you waiting for?"
Granny Wang's voice was hoarse and aged, calling out over and over like a sinister soul-summoning chant.
Creak~
On the other side of the skywell, a tightly shut door swung open. Everyone—or rather, all the cats—immediately craned their necks to look over.
Through the opening of the door, one could see a coffin propped up on two wooden benches in the center of the room. The coffin was coated in crimson lacquer, and the floor around it was strewn in disorder with red threads and a purple talisman.
The red threads and talisman were meant to bind whatever was inside the coffin. When she went in just now, she broke the bindings... As a Scout, the Guan Ya cat immediately deduced this detail.
Scritch, scratch~
From inside the coffin came the sound of fingernails scraping against wood, chilling and horrific.
Immediately after, the coffin lid flipped open and tumbled to the ground with a loud clatter.
An ugly male face peeked out. His features leaned feline, but it was undoubtedly a human face—grotesque and hideous to an extreme degree.
Even more horrifying was that when he crawled out of the coffin, the cats finally saw clearly: this was a skinned giant cat, its raw, bloody flesh exposed bare to the open air.
The giant cat was about a meter long. A blood-red tail swished gently behind it, its tip tipped with a bone spike.
His face was hideous, his eyes glittering with the savage glint of bloodlust and lechery.
A chill ran down Zhang Yuanqing's spine. Sensing a primordial threat rooted in his very genetics, he instinctively arched his back, bared his teeth, and hissed.
His companions reacted in the exact same way.
With light, supple steps, the giant cat fixed its predatory gaze on the seven feline creatures in the hall.
Zhang Yuanqing spoke up: "Meow, meow, meow (We've triggered the plot! We have to kill this monster cat before we can leave!)"
His six companions stared blankly at him.
Although they had turned into cats, they could not understand cat language.
Just then, Guan Ya, who had kept her eyes fixed on the bloody cat, let out a clear, sharp yowl, warning, "Meow, meow (Careful!)"
The next instant, the dripping, bloody cat blurred into a red afterimage and pounced, lunging straight for Li Chunfeng, who appeared the weakest.
Li Chunfeng displayed the agility befitting a cat, raising his tail and darting to the side like a loosed arrow.
Yet the giant cat was faster. It swiftly overtook him, clamped its jaws around Li Chunfeng's neck in a single pounce, threw its head back, and whipped him violently back and forth.
Li Chunfeng let out a bloodcurdling shriek.
The black cat that was Huode Xingjun leapt into the air with a shrill screech, pouncing and biting at the giant cat.
Smack!
The spiked tail lashed out like a whip, sending the black cat flying. Huode Xingjun slammed into the ground, twitching.
The difference in their strength was too vast. Before this giant cat, the others were as weak and helpless as mice.
Seeing that Li Chunfeng's neck was about to be snapped, Zhang Yuanqing darted forward, sidestepping the reach of the cat's tail, and leapt with all his might.
He landed on the giant cat's nape, bared his fangs, and sank them viciously into its ear.
"Awoo!"
The giant cat howled in pain. Its jaws loosened, and Li Chunfeng dropped to the ground. His neck fur stained red with blood, Li Chunfeng fled frantically to the side.
When he reached the wall and the adrenaline faded, he collapsed limp against the floor. His gaze grew vacant, and he let out faint, mournful whimpers.
In just a single exchange, a teammate was already on the verge of death.
The giant cat shook its head twice, unable to dislodge Zhang Yuanqing. It immediately lowered its head, raised a paw pad, unsheathed its claws, and slashed violently across its head.
Deep bloody gashes instantly tore across Zhang Yuanqing's back, bright crimson blood pouring forth.
He had no choice but to release his bite, tumbling from the giant cat's head and fleeing on all fours as fast as his legs would carry him.
With blood dripping from its torn ear, the giant cat chased after Zhang Yuanqing in a rage. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through its tail—Chi'ou had clamped down on it.
"Awoo!"
The giant cat spun around and snapped its jaws around Chi'ou's neck. Unexpectedly, this was a chubby orange cat whose skin was thick and rough, and the sharp fangs failed to pierce through the hide right away.
The giant cat reared its head, whipping its neck again.
At that very moment, Zhang Yuanqing charged back into the fray, pouncing toward the giant cat's back. The Queen cat and Guan Ya cat struck from the left, while Huode Xingjun and Lili Yuanshangcao attacked from the right.
The cats swarmed forward together. They had no way out. This human-faced cat had nearly killed Li Chunfeng in a single clash; any retreat or hesitation right now would result in a total team wipe.
With the fat orange cat dangling from its jaws, the giant human-faced cat reared up onto its hind legs. Claws shot out from its paw pads, and it slammed its left and right forepaws down, pinning the Queen cat and Lili Yuanshangcao beneath them.
Then, its tail whipped around.
Crack!
Zhang Yuanqing, mid-leap, was struck like a tennis ball and smashed brutally into the wall.
He slumped to the floor, blood trickling from his mouth and nose, several punctured holes in his chest and abdomen gurgling blood.
Guan Ya, who had escaped the attack, raked her claws across the human-faced cat's flesh, leaving streak after streak of bloody gashes. Huode Xingjun bit down furiously on the monster's belly, tearing away a small chunk of meat.
The human-faced cat let out a piercing shriek. It spun its body, its tail lashing out to knock the black cat flying, and then thrust its head forward to snap at Guan Ya.
Yet Guan Ya held her tail high and agilely leaped back, narrowly evading the razor-sharp teeth.
With no choice, the human-faced cat drew back its head. It spat out the half-dead orange cat, scooped up Lili Yuanshangcao beneath its right paw into its mouth, and gave a violent jerk of its head. With a sickening snap, Lili Yuanshangcao's neck was broken.
That loud crunch caused the hearts of every cat to seize.
The human-faced cat casually tossed Lili Yuanshangcao aside.
Lili Yuanshangcao lay limp on the ground, his limbs twitching and his abdomen heaving violently for air. He clearly had only minutes left to live.
Slumped against the wall, Zhang Yuanqing felt his heart sink to rock bottom.
Li Chunfeng was already breathing more out than in. With his neck broken, Lili Yuanshangcao would likely die even faster than Li Chunfeng. Huode Xingjun had taken two blows from the spiked tail and was grievously injured, completely incapable of fighting.
His own condition was hardly any better.
Right now, only Guan Ya and Queen were uninjured, but the latter was pinned beneath a feline paw. Guan Ya was the only one left who could fight.
This was heading straight for a total wipe.
After snapping Lili Yuanshangcao's neck, the human-faced cat did not continue attacking Guan Ya. Instead, it lowered its head, sniffing persistently all over the Queen cat, its nostrils flaring.
What is it trying to do? An ominous foreboding welled up inside Zhang Yuanqing.
The very next second, that premonition became reality. As the human-faced cat snuffed at her, a dark red organ protruded from a bulging sheath on its lower abdomen. This sickening creature was in heat.
Sensing what was happening, the Queen cat struggled desperately, letting out shrill, terrified shrieks.
The black cat Huode Xingjun struggled to stand, but blood loss and agony kept him pinned down, leaving him able only to utter cries of fury and helplessness.
At this moment, Granny Wang, who had been watching from beneath the skywell, chuckled:
"Girl, don't fight it. My son has been stuck in this wretched place for many years, and he's very lonely. Show some kindness and keep him company for a while. He won't kill you. All these people have to die, but you can live."
Queen shrieked pitifully, her eyes filled with helplessness and despair.
Guan Ya arched her back, poised to strike.
The human-faced cat bared its teeth at her in warning, simultaneously arching its back as its lower body moved toward Queen.
Guan Ya shifted forward as if to pounce, and the human-faced cat immediately paused, baring its fangs at her once more.
The two stood locked in a standoff.
Guan Ya cast repeated glances toward Zhang Yuanqing. If she charged in right now, Queen's impending fate would likely fall upon her instead.
Given the creature's size, speed, and strength, it was simply invincible against them in their current state.
Is she stalling for time so I can find a way out? Zhang Yuanqing understood Guan Ya's intention. His thoughts spun furiously, but for the moment, he could not think of any solution.
Props were unusable; otherwise, he could have used the Demon-Subduing Pestle's purification effect to dispel the curse.
In raw physical combat, they had no chance of winning.
The Spirit Realm notification hadn't displayed any curse duration, which meant this curse had no time limit and would persist indefinitely.
Think of something, think of something...
Anxiety burned through him, yet the more anxious he grew, the less he could find a way.
Just then, Zhang Yuanqing caught sight of Li Chunfeng across the room by the wall. Near death, the scholar struggled to turn his head and tilt his chin upward, motioning toward the cat corpses dangling from the ceiling beams.
Cat corpses?
Inspiration struck Zhang Yuanqing's mind like a bolt of lightning.
What is the source of the curse? The walkthroughs for Yinyang Town never mentioned a cat-transformation curse. It couldn't be from the descendant of Yinyang Sanren as Granny Wang claimed.
What was the medium for the curse? Teammates who hadn't drunk any tea had also transformed into cats, so it wasn't the tea.
It's the cat corpses hanging from the beams?!
Enduring his wounds and exhaustion, Zhang Yuanqing dragged himself up. With clumsy movements, he dashed toward a wooden pillar, unsheathed the claws from his paw pads, and scrambled up toward the ceiling beams.
Beneath the skywell, Granny Wang's face changed drastically. She screamed, "Son, quick, kill him!"
The human-faced cat lifted its head to look at Zhang Yuanqing climbing the pillar. It abandoned Queen without hesitation, sprang with a light bound onto the pillar, and rapidly caught up with Zhang Yuanqing.
"Meow (Fuck!)"
Zhang Yuanqing's scalp went numb. The mortal peril sent his adrenaline surging, and he leapt into the air.
The moment he jumped, the spot where he had been clinging was taken over by the human-faced cat.
Zhang Yuanqing splayed all four limbs in midair, his claws barely managing to hook into the flesh of a skinned cat corpse, stopping himself from falling.
He scrambled upward along the corpse, opened his sharp jaws, and bit through the hemp rope with a loud snap.
Both cats plummeted together.
As the cat corpse crashed down, an unseen formation seemed to shatter, and a chilling, sinister gale swept through the living room.
"Awoo!"
The human-faced cat tumbled from the pillar, writhing on the ground in agony. Its human face rapidly morphed into feline features, turning completely into a grotesque beast of a cat.
What little sanity remained in its eyes was entirely displaced by madness and bloodlust.
Densely packed bone spikes sprouted from its flesh.
Within seconds, it grew even more monstrous and horrifying.
It slowly rose to its feet, shook its head, and let out low, guttural growls from its throat.
Granny Wang turned pale with fright and hobbled over with trembling steps. "Son, quick, get back into the coffin..."
Hearing her voice, the creature—now a monstrous cat rather than a human-faced one—whipped its head around, tackled Granny Wang to the ground, and clamped its razor-sharp teeth onto its mother's neck.
Crunch!
Her neck bones shattered, and crimson blood spurted forth.
Pinning Granny Wang's body down with its massive paws, the giant cat tore into her flesh ravenously.
Granny Wang's limbs twitched for a few moments, and soon she went still.
At that moment, Zhang Yuanqing heard the popping and crackling of his own bones. The cat fur began receding into his pores, and his paw pads gradually morphed back into human hands.
Guan Ya clamped her clothes in her mouth and dashed off. Glancing back, she saw Queen curled on the ground, still paralyzed with shock. Guan Ya dragged her clothes over and delivered a sharp slap across Queen's feline face.
Only then did the Queen cat snap out of her stupor. Realizing her body had begun to revert, she immediately picked up her clothes with her teeth, dashed across the skywell behind Guan Ya, and rushed into the room.
It's finally over... Zhang Yuanqing's eyes lingered reluctantly on the backs of the two female teammates as they ran.
Ten or so seconds later, his limbs lengthened, his toes and fingers emerged, and he fully regained his human form.
The curse had lifted!
Beside the wall, Li Chunfeng; by the skywell, Lili Yuanshangcao; near the table, Huode Xingjun—all of them returned to human form, completely naked.
However, their injuries had not healed; they remained on the verge of death.
"Grrr..."
Sensing the commotion behind it, the giant cat turned its bloody maw around and caught sight of Zhang Yuanqing standing up.
It instantly bared its teeth, its pale fangs stained crimson and tangled with shreds of flesh.
Casting aside Granny Wang's corpse, the giant cat lunged like a red blur.
Looking at it now, it seems downright pathetic... Zhang Yuanqing stepped forward, locked a hand around the giant cat's throat, and summoned the Bloodthirsty Blade into his other hand.
Just as he was about to drive the blade into the monster's skull, he suddenly recalled the Demon Lord's words: If I could resist beauty and slaughter, perhaps I could trigger the hidden quest...
Beauty was easy enough to understand, but what did resisting slaughter mean?
Was it even possible not to kill in a dungeon like this?
It definitely didn't refer to killing between the orthodox and evil factions; otherwise, the Demon Lord couldn't have survived or cleared Yinyang Town.
Could resisting slaughter mean not killing the monsters within the dungeon?
Zhang Yuanqing swung the monster overhead and slammed it violently into the floor.
The creature went instantly still, its chest heaving faintly as it fell into a semi-conscious state.
At that moment, Guan Ya and Queen stepped out of the room fully dressed. Both glanced briefly at Zhang Yuanqing's naked body before averting their gazes. Guan Ya hurried forward, heading straight for Li Chunfeng.
She knelt beside the dying Li Chunfeng, a syringe already in hand filled with pale golden liquid.
Guan Ya drove the needle into Li Chunfeng's jugular vein and injected half the golden liquid. Then, she divided the remaining half between Huode Xingjun and Chi'ou.
"Why aren't you treating him?" Zhang Yuanqing asked, looking toward Lili Yuanshangcao.
The Wood Demon youth groaned, opened his eyes, and sat up. "I don't need it. I have a recovery skill. When a Wood Demon is on the brink of death, it automatically triggers a revival, usable once per day."
He twisted his neck with a series of pops. "I revived a while ago. Sorry, I was just playing dead."
By this point, Li Chunfeng, Huode Xingjun, and Chi'ou had all scrambled to their feet.
"Life Essence... You actually have Life Essence! Even though it's diluted, this is a strategic resource of the Five Elements Alliance," Li Chunfeng said gratefully. "Thank you so much!"
This woman likely holds a considerable status within the official faction.
"That was close! We almost wiped out! This is only an A-rank dungeon? Just how hard is an S-rank?" Huode Xingjun didn't dwell on such thoughts. He cursed under his breath before turning to thank Guan Ya: "I owe you my life. I'll definitely repay it."
Guan Ya swept her eyes over the roomful of naked men and said with an amused smile, "Aren't you going to put your clothes on already? Is parading those little caterpillars around something to be proud of?"
"..."
Once the men had gotten dressed, Queen let out a soft breath, walked over to Zhang Yuanqing, and whispered, "Thank you. If you hadn't broken the curse, I can't even imagine what would have happened to me just now."
As long as you don't develop a psychological trauma toward men... Zhang Yuanqing didn't take all the credit, replying, "It was Li Chunfeng who gave the hint."
Li Chunfeng said, "The medium of the curse was the cat corpses; they formed a curse array. I figured it out earlier, but unfortunately you were all too busy dealing with that monster to notice. By the way, why did you spare it? Just kill it."
"Keep it alive for now; I want to run an experiment." Zhang Yuanqing looked around at everyone. "So far, I haven't received any notification from the Spirit Realm. What about you?"
His teammates shook their heads one after another.
"Looks like there won't be any prompts. These kinds of dungeons are the most troublesome," Zhang Yuanqing sighed.
Guan Ya pulled a figurine from her pocket and said, "We found this in the room just now."
The figurine was woven from straw, crudely made, and stuck full of fine needles. A slip of paper was pasted on the front, reading:
"Xu Xiu'er."
Xu Xiu'er... Zhang Yuanqing pondered for a moment before saying, "In the first S-rank Spirit Realm I went through, all dungeon information had to be deduced and solved by the Spirit Realm walkers themselves. Yinyang Town seems to be the same.
"Fortunately, this Granny Wang has already provided quite a bit of information. Let's do a debrief. But first, I'm going to run an experiment with this thing."
With that, he hoisted the half-dead giant cat and walked toward the room.
What is he doing? The others exchanged glances and quickly followed behind him.
Chapter 128