Cat Demon

Chu Qiguang's hands stiffened abruptly. Horror welled in his heart as he stared at the cat that had suddenly begun to speak. The ghost stories of various fox spirits and cat demons he had heard from the village elders over the past few days flashed through his mind one after another. Judging from the demonic tales he had gathered recently, monsters were extraordinarily cruel toward humans. The orange cat bobbed its head and spoke with righteous conviction: "Remaining calm and collected without the slightest panic even after hearing me speak—your temperament truly isn't bad. And you like cats, don't you? Excellent, excellent. Loving cats is a massive advantage! What hero throughout history hasn't loved cats? Only those who love cats are true men of caliber! Come, pick me up, and we'll keep talking." Chu Qiguang remained on high alert and dared not hold this cat demon. Putting on an innocent face, he said, "I... my legs have gone numb. I can't stand up." The orange cat coughed lightly and continued, "Then keep petting me. Don't stop." As Chu Qiguang petted the cat, he asked, "You..." Orange Cat: "You don't need to speak aloud. As long as you focus your mind on what you want to tell me, I'll be able to hear it." Chu Qiguang: "Then..." Hearing Chu Qiguang's inner thoughts, the orange cat froze for a moment, then bristled its whiskers and snapped, "I can't turn into a woman! I'm a tomcat!" Chu Qiguang let out a disappointed sigh, then tentatively asked in his mind: 'Are you a demon?' The orange cat licked its paw and said with an air of complete composure, "This ancestor is an immortal among cats, roaming carefree through the mortal realm. Coming here to Wang Family Village to wait for you was entirely by the guidance of heavenly design." Surprised, Chu Qiguang asked, "You can really hear my thoughts? There really are demons and immortals in this world? Are there people who cultivate the Dao and immortality?" Orange Cat: "Naturally there are, though it might differ from your wild imaginings." Chu Qiguang tested it further and found that as long as he kept his thoughts to himself as solitary contemplation, the other side indeed couldn't hear them; only when he intended to convey an idea to the cat would it be received. 'Thank goodness. This isn't true mind-reading after all. It won't know everything I'm thinking.' Listening to the orange cat's words, Chu Qiguang's feelings grew exceedingly complicated: 'Supernatural powers truly exist in this world. I wonder what this cat's motive is in approaching me...' Watching Chu Qiguang's expression, the orange cat seemed to divine his thoughts. A strange grin crept across its feline face. Flicking its tail, it stood up, arched its rear, leaned forward on its paws, and gave a long, vigorous stretch. "Tonight at the hour of the rat, come find me in the back mountain. I have a tremendous opportunity to grant you." With that, the orange cat turned and departed, its silhouette vanishing from Chu Qiguang's sight in the blink of an eye. Staring at the spot where the orange cat had disappeared, Chu Qiguang murmured helplessly, "This wretched village is pitch-black at night, without even a night watchman striking the hours... How am I supposed to know when the hour of the rat arrives?" *** Full of doubts, Chu Qiguang headed toward home, the bizarre scene of the cat speaking aloud still flashing through his mind from time to time. The dirt roads of the village were thick with mud after the rain. Animal and human excrement could often be seen scattered haphazardly across the ground, giving off foul stenches that made Chu Qiguang, accustomed to big-city life, frown incessantly. By the roadside, several old women knelt on the ground. Their clothes were tattered beyond measure, the sleeves frayed into hanging strips of cloth, yet the idol of the deity before them was kept immaculately clean, with an incense burner and candleholders neatly arranged. Amid billowing plumes of smoke, they repeatedly kowtowed and muttered incantations, their expressions pious to the point of fanaticism. Impoverished, filthy, backward, feudal, superstitious—that was Chu Qiguang's present appraisal of Wang Family Village. Over the past few days, Chu Qiguang had not only observed the surroundings himself, but had also merged with Ergou's original memories. Most of those fragmented recollections had likely slipped from Ergou's own mind long ago, yet Chu Qiguang could perceive them with absolute clarity during the fusion process. There were countless details Ergou had casually overheard, seen, or glanced past in daily life—neighborhood gossip, snippets of conversation from the young master of the Wang family, and even idle chatter from passing county yamen runners... The wisps of memory scattered deep within Ergou's subconscious over the past dozen-odd years had all fused firmly into Chu Qiguang's mind, amounting to over a decade of synthesized intelligence on Wang Family Village and Qingyang County. Combined with the information he had actively gathered and verified against his memories these past few days, he had become thoroughly familiar with the situation in Wang Family Village, and even possessed a fair understanding of the county seat. 'Ergou's memories are clearer to me than my own recollections from Earth. Could this be a transmigrator perk?' Yet after taking only a few more steps, a violent wave of nausea surged into Chu Qiguang's chest, followed by whole-body tremors, cold sweat, and rolling waves of intense agitation crashing through his mind. 'Hm?' Chu Qiguang's expression darkened instantly. 'Did this illness follow me here too? I thought getting transmigrated would cure it...' 'Looks like those doctors back then were right. It's a psychological condition, having little to do with the physical body.' Ergou's frail, malnourished body made it all the harder for Chu Qiguang to resist the flare-up of this old affliction. Waves of intense impulses battered back and forth relentlessly within his mind. He forced himself to walk toward Ergou's home, replaying the stories he had heard at the village entrance earlier to divert his attention. 'I wonder if this world's supernatural powers can cure my condition.' Struggling forward, he reached Ergou's home and placed a hand on the main gate to steady himself. The wheat-straw mud on the walls had been eroded by wind and rain, exposing the sun-dried adobe bricks beneath and bearing the heavy marks of time. Stepping into the small courtyard, there was practically nothing besides an earthen cottage and a few farm implements, epitomizing utter destitution. A frail little girl of about six or seven was doing a handstand against the wall. Before her were two cats rubbing back and forth against each other, looking very affectionate around her. Chu Qiguang knew this was Ergou's younger sister. Looking at her upside down, he asked in confusion, "What are you doing inverted like that?" His sister replied, "I thought if I stayed upside down, the food would stay in my belly, and I wouldn't be hungry." Chu Qiguang let out a helpless sigh. Suddenly, he gasped heavily for air, his face turning frighteningly pale and his entire body shaking as though he were suffering severe withdrawal. His sister gave him a strange look, then a sudden look of realization dawned on her face. "Brother, are you holding in your poop?" "..." Chu Qiguang forced a faint smile. "Uh... my stomach's acting up. It hurts a bit..." With that, he let out a muffled groan, inwardly cursing: 'Damn it, when this illness flares up it's too unbearable. I have to find a way to resolve it.' His sister got to her feet, scooped up a white cat by her ankles, and tried to thrust it toward Chu Qiguang. "Brother, why don't you try wiping your butt with this?" She added with an air of great secrecy, "I discovered that kitties lick their own fur clean."