Questioning

Huo Zhengkui's woman... Zhang Yuanqing cast his gaze toward the scroll painting, staring at the woman in the qipao for several seconds before looking back at the tabby cat. "What was her name? And what is the story behind this manor?" The tabby leapt onto a round table. Its movements were lithe and its posture slender, exuding the athletic vigor of a feline at the pinnacle of combat strength. "My mistress was named Lu Yueshuang. This manor is where Mr. Huo and Mistress lived. After Mistress and Huo Zhengkui returned to the Spirit Realm, Berent brought the entire manor into Pan's Labyrinth to commemorate them." "Old Berent was on good terms with Huo Zhengkui?" Zhang Yuanqing's interest was piqued. He recalled Zhai Cai mentioning that when Old Berent was young, he had served as the personal bodyguard to the President of the Free Confederation. After the President died, he inherited the President's legacy. And a significant portion of that presidential legacy had been "sponsored" by Huo Zhengkui. From the sound of it now, Old Berent and Huo Zhengkui had an even deeper connection. "Berent was Huo Zhengkui's student. Both of them were Thunder Mages. Back then, Berent was about your age and had just become a Spirit Realm walker. He worked alongside Frank as an assistant and bodyguard, while Frank worked for Mr. Huo." The tabby answered every question, being remarkably cooperative. "Berent was honest and kindhearted, and because they were both Thunder Mages, Mr. Huo took him on as a student and mentored him for a few years." *So that's the connection...* Zhang Yuanqing quietly sensed the tabby's emotions, confirming that it wasn't lying. Moreover, beneath its guard and hostility, he detected a faint sliver of anticipation. Yes, the tabby seemed to have been waiting for their arrival. Just as Zhang Yuanqing was about to ask another question, the tabby raised a forepaw and slammed it onto the round table. "Now it's my turn to question you!" Those pale green feline eyes fixed grimly on Zhang Yuanqing. "How did you learn about the Holy Plate fragment? What organization do you belong to? How did you break into Pan's Labyrinth? It is only because you are all of Chinese descent that I've humored you with this much conversation. If you dare lie to me, I'll kill every last one of you and turn you into fertilizer for Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao." Zhang Yuanqing quickly said, "Lady JoJo, you're a Chinese cat, and I'm a Chinese human. We're fellow countrymen! Don't do anything rash! Here's what happened..." If the guardian of Room 503 had been placed here by Old Berent, he would have considered subduing it by force to seize the Holy Plate fragment. But the bond between the sole heir Knight and Huo Zhengkui made Zhang Yuanqing decide to come clean. Besides, the tabby clearly had no genuine intention of fighting, or it wouldn't have bothered wasting all these words. He laid out the entire sequence of events, starting from the untimely death of Huo Zhengkui's descendant and the theft of the Holy Plate fragment, all the way to how the Holy See's sole successor Knight sought to reclaim the fragments to fight the evil faction. "That is why we came here. We only sneaked into Pan's Labyrinth because Old Berent was simply too stubborn." Zhang Yuanqing pointed at the unconscious Zhai Cai. "He is the Holy See's Knight. Since you were by Mr. Huo's side for so many years, you must know about his relationship with the successor of the Holy See's Knights." "He is the successor to the Holy See's Knights?" The tabby suddenly grew agitated, slapping its paws against the table several times. "Counting down to his era, is he the fourth generation?" "No, no, no, the sixth generation!" Zhang Yuanqing corrected. "Six generations of single-line inheritance." "The lives of those Knights are shorter than a cat's," the tabby remarked with pity. Yet after hearing Zhang Yuanqing's explanation, its mood noticeably brightened. "I have waited for you all for so many years. After Mr. Huo and Mistress returned to the Spirit Realm, the heavy burden of guarding the Holy Plate fragment fell upon me. I followed the fragment to Frank's home, and after Frank died, I followed it here. At last, I can finally be free." *A cat living for decades like you isn't something one sees every day either...* Zhang Yuanqing immediately understood the reason for its anticipation. "How many years have you been guarding the Holy Plate fragment?" The tabby cocked its head. "What year is it now?" "2022." "Around sixty years, then." *Basically a sixty-year prison sentence...* Zhang Yuanqing asked, puzzled, "Since Berent was Mr. Huo's student, why didn't Mr. Huo just entrust the Holy Plate fragment to him?" Before knowing their connection, he hadn't thought it odd, but now it seemed strange. The tabby let out a crisp sigh. "Mr. Huo said that the Holy Plate fragment could either be given to a Knight of the Holy See or to someone of Chinese descent. There was no third option." *Uh, right, I remember now. When Huo Zhengkui's illegitimate son passed the Holy Plate fragment down to his own illegitimate son, Jia Feizhang, he said something similar...* Zhang Yuanqing immediately thumped his chest. "Lady JoJo, please hand the Holy Plate fragment to me! We are of Chinese descent, and we have the Holy See's successor right here with us." The teammates behind him beamed with relief and delight. They had braced themselves for a bloodbath inside Room 503, yet things were proceeding far more smoothly than anticipated. The tabby scrutinized him for a few moments, then leaped off the round table and disappeared down the stairs. About a dozen seconds later, it reappeared carrying a recurve bow in its jaws. "This is an item left behind by Mistress, belonging to the Knight class!" The tabby dropped the recurve bow onto the table and said, "It is of Dominator-grade quality, one of Mr. Huo's prized collectibles, and also the method of verification he left for me." The recurve bow was a light brownish hue, simple and unadorned, its craftsmanship even appearing somewhat crude. Yet when the tabby tapped it with a paw, the recurve bow erupted with a majestic, pure brass light and hovered into the air on its own. The tabby's crisp voice deepened with authority. "The rule of this room: No lying!" The recurve bow rippled with brass light that washed across the manor like waves, establishing an unseen rule in the air. The tabby fixed its gaze on Zhang Yuanqing, speaking with gravity: "What is your class?!" Zhang Yuanqing froze, his expression turning thoroughly awkward. *Can't you just ask about the Holy Plate? What does my class have to do with you?* Seeing him hesitate, the tabby's gaze turned sharp and perilous. The recurve bow drew back its string, its pale yellow light coalescing into an arrow. "Night Walker..." Zhang Yuanqing replied. The tabby glanced sideways at the recurve bow. Seeing no reaction, it nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Since becoming a Spirit Realm walker, have you killed more than twenty ordinary mortals?" "No." "Has your annual loss of Morality Points ever exceeded 1,000 points?" "No!" "How many Morality Points do you currently have?" "Let me check... 10,821 points." The tabby's eyes widened in astonishment, its feline face freezing in shock. "You're actually a moral exemplar?!" As a Saint of considerable strength, even if one never intentionally harmed ordinary people, collateral damage during intense battles was practically inevitable. Yet the young man before it had caused the deaths of fewer than twenty ordinary mortals since becoming a Spirit Realm walker. To attain the rank of Saint meant having walked the Spirit Realm for quite some time. What did that mean? It meant he exercised extreme caution in every battle, always prioritizing the lives of ordinary people above all else. Only with that level of care could he keep collateral damage under twenty innocent lives over such a long journey. And losing fewer than 1,000 Morality Points a year meant he virtually never engaged in illicit or criminal acts. The tabby was both overjoyed and deeply gratified. "Meow~ Mr. Huo has finally found his ideal successor!" Its questions strictly adhered to Mr. Huo's dying wishes, rather than being arbitrary tests. Mr. Huo had placed immense importance on a person's character. *Never give it to bad people—yeah, I know.* Zhang Yuanqing recalled the memories he had extracted from Jia Feizhang: the three golden rules of the illegitimate son's inheritance—never give it to foreigners, never give it to useless trash, and never give it to evil people. Delighted, the tabby questioned further, "What organization do you belong to?" "The Five Elements Alliance!" "What kind of organization is the Five Elements Alliance?" "China's largest official organization. Its predecessors were the Water God Palace, Scarlet Fire Gang, Central Court, White Tiger Guards, and Baihui." Realization dawned on the tabby. "Ah, those groups! Have those little organizations grown into the official authority now?" *Little organizations? If the Five Elements Alliance's demigods heard you call them that, they'd probably want to spar with you...* Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself. "You are not an overseas Chinese, but a citizen of China?" the tabby pressed. "Yes!" "What is your Spirit Realm ID?" the tabby asked. Right at that moment, the slumbering Zhai Cai let out a low groan, his eyelashes fluttering as he showed signs of waking up. Without a word, Brother Red Chicken swung his iron hammer and drove an eighty-buck blow straight into the handsome face of the sole heir Knight. Dominators were remarkably tough. Even in a weakened state, Brother Red Chicken failed to knock him out with a single strike. "Eighty! Eighty! Eighty!" Zhai Cai's legs kicked once, and he slumped back into unconsciousness. Meeting the tabby's bewildered stare, Brother Red Chicken let out a dry laugh. "I felt he needed more rest right now." Lady JoJo paid him no further mind. Once Zhang Yuanqing stated his Spirit Realm ID, it said, "Repeat what you told me earlier under the witness of this item." As instructed, Zhang Yuanqing repeated the entire dispute over the Holy Plate fragment from beginning to end, including Zhai Cai's identity as the successor to the Holy See's Knights. Throughout the entire recount, the recurve bow remained perfectly still without the slightest reaction. The tabby pondered for a moment, then looked over at Brother Red Chicken and the others. "You must also answer my questions under the witness of the recurve bow." Half an hour later, the tabby had formed a clear and direct impression of every Saint present. The foolish Fire Mage wasn't a good person, but neither was he an irredeemable villain. The clever Fire Mage was half a good person. The round-faced Stargazer was quite endearing. The aloof Stargazer was strictly law-abiding. The woman of foreign descent was quite upright and honorable. It was thoroughly pleased with the moral fiber of this group—especially Yuanshi Tianzun, who was practically a modern-day saint. "Do we need to wake him?" Zhang Yuanqing pointed at Zhai Cai. "No need," the tabby replied, shaking its head. "A Dominator-grade Knight cannot be restrained by this item anyway. Young people, you have passed the test. I permit you to take the Holy Plate fragment." Zhang Yuanqing was overjoyed. "Thank you very much, Lady JoJo." He gazed at the black-and-gray tabby on the round table with eager anticipation. Then the tabby abruptly shifted its tone: "However, I do not know where the Holy Plate fragment is hidden." "Huh?" Zhang Yuanqing froze like a wooden dummy, staring blankly at the cat. The tabby stared back with an impassive face. After an awkward silence, Lady JoJo said with a hint of embarrassment, "This is the final trial Mr. Huo left behind. The Holy Plate fragment was sealed by him within an object somewhere in this manor. You will have to find it yourselves. But there are two rules you must follow: "First, you may not destroy any item within the manor. Second, apart from the Holy Plate fragment, you may not take anything else. Old Berent has stored quite a few materials here. I don't care about his possessions, but I advise you not to touch them." "How are we supposed to find it then?" Brother Red Chicken was completely flabbergasted. *Sigh, as expected, the Holy Plate fragment is sealed. Makes sense. If it weren't sealed, Old Berent would have discovered it long ago...* Feeling a headache coming on, Zhang Yuanqing turned to his companions and described how Fu Qingyang had sliced open the seal inside the Zhou Ji Phoenix Zun to retrieve the Holy Plate fragment. Sun Miaomiao immediately pointed at the painting of the beauty in the qipao. "I think the Holy Plate fragment is sealed inside that." Guan Ya promptly looked toward the tabby, attempting to read its reaction. The tabby slapped the tabletop, snapping in irritation, "Why are you looking at me? I really don't know!"