Chapter 121: Evil Guests Arrive, Again They Meet

Animal transformation?!

Chu Tianshu’s first thought was of the infamous dark art.

Using secret herbs and incantations, they drape animal pelts over humans, turning them into beasts.

Those with shallow skill can only turn people into monkeys or black dogs, and their victims are mostly children.

Those with deep skill can turn people into donkeys, horses, oxen, and sheep, driving them in herds over long distances.

In old society, some people used this method to disguise children as highly spiritual animals for circus performances, swindling money.

Or, as a cover, to traffic large numbers of people.

However, this dark art carries certain illusionary traits.

If a relative calls out the victim’s true name, it may cause them to shed the beast skin and return to human form.

Yet Chu Tianshu stared at this cat, seeing no trace of illusionary energy on it whatsoever.

His scrutiny placed too much pressure on the cat.

Every hair on the white-browed cat stood erect like needles, and a dull, rumbling vibration echoed from within its body.

Its white eyebrows trembled slightly, energy gathered to its peak, yet it dared not even flee.

After fleeing through ice and snow for so long, it had exhausted its strength and its mind was half-fogged.

It had mistaken this man for someone practicing fists—gentle, warm—and had come close.

But now it saw.

This man was terrifying!

“Meow!”

After its body changed, its voice changed too, now carrying a deep, aged resonance.

It locked eyes with Chu Tianshu, then slowly threw a punch, slashed a palm, swept a leg.

It executed a complete fist set, precise and deliberate.

Chu Tianshu observed its form—broad, open, alternating between loose and tight—with the bearing of a master, fluid as flowing water, except for its tail, which merely drifted aimlessly.

Clearly, this was a human fist set, never designed with a tail in mind.

Could it really be a cat that learned human fist techniques—and even shrank bones and shifted sinews?

Chu Tianshu’s attention flickered slightly.

The cat, sensing the moment, drew renewed courage from the fist set.

It spun around and lunged for the door.

“Meow!!”

The white-browed old cat’s form froze mid-air.

Chu Tianshu remained seated, his long arm extending like plucking a flower, pinching the cat’s tail.

A soft force rippled through the tail, spreading through its entire body.

The white-browed old cat twisted like a rolled-up cloud, rolling in midair, transforming from a humanoid cat back into a normal cat.

Its body curled tightly, shrinking into Chu Tianshu’s palm.

“Meow!”

Chu Tianshu placed it on the table, listening to its soft voice, stroking its head with a smile.

“I don’t touch cats, because the ones back home ran everywhere and refused to bathe, always filthy.”

“But a cat that’s trained to vibrate its whole body? It’s surprisingly clean.”

Chu Tianshu laughed heartily.

“You carry no evil aura, and you don’t look like you’re from the Spirit Realm—where are you from?”

“Can you understand me?”

The cat quickly shook its head.

Chu Tianshu sighed: “So you can’t understand human speech.”

The cat immediately nodded.

Chu Tianshu smiled again: “If you don’t understand, why nod?”

The cat froze in place.

“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.”

Chu Tianshu gently stroked the cat’s head. “I’m not a bad person. Look, I just gave you food.”

This cat was far too sensitive.

He’d only feigned a hint of hostility—nothing close to murderous intent—so why was it so terrified?

Bang! Bang! Bang!!

Chu Tianshu turned north, hearing heavy pounding at the back door.

“Is anyone home?”

A man shouted at the top of his lungs, “There’s still heat behind this door—someone’s in there. Don’t pretend to be dead. Has our cat run over here?”

The cat heard the voice and shrank back.

“Are they really your master?”

Chu Tianshu looked at the cat. “Stop pretending you don’t understand. Tell the truth.”

The white-browed cat hesitated, then shook its head.

It even used its paw to scratch a character on the table.

The character was malformed, but with careful study, its meaning was clear.

Chu Tianshu said: “Stolen?”

The white-browed cat nodded frantically.

The pounding at the back door continued: “If you don’t open up, I’m kicking this door down!”

Chu Tianshu held the cat in one arm, turned, entered the house, passed through the parlor and the side door, and pulled the bolt from the back door.

Before opening it, he’d already sensed two people outside.

When he opened the door, two men in down jackets stood there.

One was a tall, thin man wearing a hat and mask.

The other was stocky, wearing a baseball cap, wrapped in a scarf, with a scar across his nose bridge.

The tall man had been the one pounding.

The moment he saw the cat in Chu Tianshu’s arms, he reached out: “Why are you holding my cat?”

Chu Tianshu stepped back slightly, avoiding the grab.

“This cat clearly belongs to my relative—I never heard he gave it away.”

Chu Tianshu glanced at them. “Who exactly are you two?”

The tall man instinctively turned to look at the burly man.

The burly man’s face darkened, then flicked his wrist—three copper coins shot through the air.

Three emerald-green phosphorescent flames flashed in midair.

The tall man, facing sideways, saw the three green flames fly past his face—each precisely struck by a silver needle.

Ding!!!

The phosphorescence shattered; all three copper coins fell to the ground.

The silver needles had pierced the copper plates from the side, embedding themselves without separating.

“What?!”

The tall man gasped, trying to move—but his body went numb.

A silver needle had struck his knee, elbow, shoulder, and the side of his neck.

His entire body slumped like a log, collapsing outward through the doorway.

The burly man reacted instantly—his body erupted in a glossy golden light.

The silver needles struck his skin but could not penetrate; all three shattered from the impact.

Chu Tianshu didn’t even bend his knees—his form suddenly appeared before the burly man, left arm holding the cat, right hand slapping down onto the man’s chest.

Boom!!

The burly man convulsed violently; the golden light shattered. Everything slightly rigid on his person was violently jolted.

The copper coins in both jacket pockets, the phone in his pants pocket, the leather wallet in his back pocket.

All burst through their fabric, shooting off in every direction.

“You—”

The burly man managed only one syllable before feeling the other’s hand press down on his skull.

His vision darkened—as if the pressure had passed through his skull, crushing his eyeballs and tongue, forcing his tongue against his jaw, rendering it immobile.

His head, mouth, and chest were all suffocatingly muffled; his body went limp, and he collapsed to his knees.

“You strike first with lethal intent—you’re after more than just stealing a cat.”

Chu Tianshu sighed. “Too bad I don’t want to kill anyone near my home. Lie down for a while.”

When he lifted his hand, the burly man had already fainted from suffocation, head bowed, still kneeling.

Chu Tianshu pulled out his phone, about to call the police station for witnesses, when his brow lifted—he turned toward the bamboo grove to the east.

Several figures were moving swiftly through the bamboo.

They ranged from old to young, dressed only in leather jackets, sportswear, and sneakers or work boots.

When the green bamboo was touched, large swathes of snow tumbled down, but they paid no mind, charging forward through the falling snow.

“Right here!”

The leader was a middle-aged man with a shaved head, a round face covered in thick whiskers, yet his frame was lean, his arms long, hanging nearly to his knees.

These men had stormed into Chu Tianshu’s bamboo grove with fierce intent, but as soon as they looked up and saw the two figures—one lying, one kneeling—their steps halted.

“This is...”

The long-armed man’s gaze swept over the scene, exhaled slowly, then bowed respectfully. “Did this gentleman help us capture these two thieves?”

Chu Tianshu stared at the man for several seconds, then suddenly smiled. “Master Qi, don’t you recognize me?”

Qi Lianyong froze. Seeing the silver needles embedded in one of the men, something clicked in his mind.

“You’re... that boy from Master Chu’s house—that little Tian?!”

At the mention of that name, Qi Lianyong’s mind conjured the face of the boy.

He was a child who had opened his spiritual senses at five, and because of that, he suffered endless hardship.

That inner fierceness, that ruthlessness toward himself and imagined foes, was perfect for martial training—yet he could never pass through the threshold of fist art awakening.

Even so, Qi Lianyong couldn’t help but meticulously teach him every detail of the Qi family’s old Tongbei Fist, inside and out.

If only that boy had trained fists at five!

That year, as Qi Lianyong watched Chu Tianshu leave, he still thought of this.

But this child, he probably wouldn’t live past twenty.

The image of that small boy—hardworking, unyielding, face set in stubborn determination—merged with the sight of the tall, elegant young man now holding a cat in one arm.

Qi Lianyong stepped forward two paces and blurted out: “You—you’re healed?”

“Yes.”

Chu Tianshu smiled. “I’m healed, Master.”

(End of Chapter)