Chapter 17

I don't know if it's because of a preconceived notion, but knowing that a murder had once occurred here, even with the sunny light spilling in from outside, Ling Yue felt as if pairs of eyes in the room's shadowy corners were staring at her.

A chill ran down her back.

The more dangerous the moment, the calmer Ling Yue became; her top-tier martial arts gave her composure, and her keen sense of smell detected something else.

Her gaze wandered over those dark corners and landed on the Black Cat Queen's eyes, as if she were afraid.

It licked its paw and said, "Are you scared?"

Before Ling Yue could answer, it walked in on its own; being pitch black, it merged directly with the house, like a drop of water merging into the sea.

Ling Yue curled her lips into a smile, walked over to the nearby heavy floor-length curtain, lightly sniffed it, and her eyes showed understanding: "What do I have to fear?"

Just then, the curtains inside the house moved on their own, without wind.

A sharp cry rang out immediately, and the curtains swayed like some kind of alien creature.

Ling Yue, however, swiped the curtain open; golden sunlight poured onto the floor-to-ceiling window. She lowered her gaze—there, piles upon piles of fluffy, palm-sized kittens huddled together, sunlight bathing them like a richly colored oil painting.

"Meow~"

"Eat, eat my cat punch!"

The kittens, not yet a month old, staggered in their attempt to attack humans, only to exhaust themselves and tumble about.

In the dark corners of the room appeared several large cats: a beautiful Sanhua, a steady Daju, and husky‑like Nainiumao mothers.

Ling Yue: "……"

Had she just poked a hornet's nest of cats?

The cats in the villa were greatly surprised by the humans' arrival, but it seemed the Black Cat Queen had warned them beforehand—the cat mothers dared not approach, while the kittens were fearless.

Ling Yue casually pulled a chair and sat down, her feet surrounded by limp kittens. She surveyed the room, finding it kept very clean; all furnishings and decorations remained spotless, even if some of the decor looked outdated by today's standards.

As for the initial dust, it was probably the cats' camouflage; in reality, the interior was spotless.

Hearing this, the Black Cat Queen snorted coldly: "Do you think I'm some filthy mutt? Under my command, these cats aren't just freeloaders—they must clean to pay their rent."

"Who dares dirty my house—" it hadn't finished speaking when the cats shrank back in fear.

Ling Yue fell silent for a moment, unable to imagine what that scene would look like.

Her pant leg was suddenly tugged; looking down, she saw a smoky‑colored little Sanhua cat nibbling at her pants, chattering in a cat language she couldn't understand.

Several more tiny ones struggled to climb up; a ring of soft, small kittens mewed cutely, and Ling Yue was engulfed in fluff, momentarily at a loss what to do.

A somewhat disheveled Sanhua cat suddenly leapt out: "Xingxing, hurry back!"

The little Sanhua cat staggered, gurgling as it rolled to its mother's feet.

The Sanhua mother met the Black Cat Queen's gaze, hearing Laoda point at her and say: "Tiaotiao is the little Sanhua that witnessed the murder; years have passed, she's had several litters. You can ask her anything."

The Sanhua cat's body tensed.

Ling Yue looked at the cat on the round table; even its rough appearance could not hide the elegance radiating from within.

"Pop."

She opened a can of meat; the aroma wafted out instantly, instantly drawing the gaze of countless cats.

Ling Yue: "Answer my questions, and this can is yours."

Tiaotiao licked its paw, narrowed its eyes in its companions' envious gaze, and said: "Go ahead and ask."

Ling Yue's questions were few, but each struck at the heart of the matter; she had come prepared.

"Let's take it slow—you were the only cat that witnessed that night, right? When did you notice him in the house? Was it at the start or the end of the killing?"

Tiaotiao was dazed by her questioning, took a moment to collect itself; if not for Laoda, it really wouldn't want to

Recalling it, such a thing is terrifying for humans, and just as terrifying for cats!

It crouched on the tabletop, its long, fluffy tail wrapping around its paws, and began to slowly recount what happened.

A cat's sense of smell is not as good as a dog's but far stronger than a human's; therefore, it did not stumble upon the scene by accident—it was actively drawn by the smell of blood.

A kitten just a month old, whose steps made no sound, ran out and saw its owner collapsed on the floor, human blood covering the tiles, and a man in black clothing crouched on the ground.

He had wrapped himself tightly, like an unmoving stone.

He didn't notice the kitten's gaze; instead, he lowered his head to look at the villa's owner, his low, hoarse voice somewhat distorted as he interrogated the host. The kitten couldn't recall the words fully, only vaguely remembering hearing things like 'seek death,' 'baby,' 'hand it over,' and so on.

By this point, Ling Yue had already noted down most of it in her notebook, her brows furrowed.

Tiaotiao continued: "But the owner ignored him; I heard laughter, the owner's voice. Then that person suddenly moved, pressing a knife to the owner's throat!"

Its tone grew suddenly agitated as it said this.

But at that time, the naive, young little Sanhua cat didn't know better; it thought the owner was playing with it, stumbled over, and let out a sweet meow.

The man suddenly stopped, turned his head, revealing a black mask; seeing the cat, his eyes flashed with disgust: "Why is it a cat again!"

"I hate cats the most!"

"Damn cat, it ruined everything I had!"

Saying that, he walked toward the Sanhua cat, thinking it would be easy, unaware that the kitten had already scented his unfamiliar presence and puffed up its fur in alarm.

It leapt into a narrow crack, looked up, and saw only that the person was tall and thin.

As he approached, it also smelled a fishy sea odor on him—the scent of seafood cats love—strongest around his pockets and hands.

"…I hid for a while, then heard a creak—I knew it was Laoda returning through the main door; that man also jumped in surprise, and when I poked my head out again, he had vanished."

"That's all I know—is that okay?"

Ling Yue nodded, looking at her notebook filled with neat script that highlighted four points: 1. The murderer was a tall, thin man. 2. He hated cats. 3. The fishy smell at the crime scene came from his pocket—why would a cat‑hater carry the seafood cats love? 4. He may have killed to seize treasure. (But he failed.)

Ling Yue reviewed it again, then suddenly heard the queen's sharp cry—not only did she hear it, but the queen herself, who was re‑reviewing the events, heard it as well.

The Black Cat's fur stood on end along its back, its state extremely perilous: "How could I have only just noticed!"

Ling Yue thought it had recalled a clue and didn't have time to ask before the Black Cat Queen slashed a claw across the wall, leaving horrifying marks on the pale wallpaper: "He can still be saved! The owner can still be saved! Why didn't I come home sooner?"

The usually quiet treasure‑seeking rat crawled out fearlessly, despite being stared at by more than ten big cats, and walked straight up to the Black Cat Queen: "Honey, if you're unhappy, just lick me—QAQ"

The agitated Black Cat Queen fixed her gaze on it, anger mingled with hunger, while at that moment the treasure‑seeking rat's wit short‑circuited: "I heard cats love the taurine on mice…"

It trembled, unable to get a full sentence out. The sight of it clearly terrified yet still forcing itself to step forward was simply ridiculous and laughable.

Ling Yue couldn't laugh at all, she said to the Mystic Cat Queen: "Don't worry, I think I've already figured out a clue."

The Mystic Cat Queen leapt up, lightly landing on the tabletop, looking down and glaring at the treasure‑seeking mouse: "Stinky mouse, who would want to eat you? You reek!"

Then she softened her gaze toward Ling Yue: "I just lost control for a moment; it won't happen again."

Ling Yue nodded, not expecting it to volunteer information: "I lost control because I realized something—the owner has many wounds, none fatal; I overheard the coroner say the cause of death was shock from excessive blood loss."

It lowered its head in dejection.

Lowering its head, the whole kitty looked utterly forlorn: "I feel so guilty; if I had come back earlier that day, would the owner not have died?"

Suddenly, it stiffened all over.

A soft girl's voice came from above: "But now that it's happened, what we need to find is the one who hurt your owner!"

"Even if the sky fell, we shouldn't let a little kitty bear it alone—there's also me."

She said, withdrawing her hand from rubbing the kitty's head, crouching and opening her arms: "Free hugs here—want one?"

A warm current impossible to describe flowed from the kitty's limbs to its heart; the Mystic Cat Queen arrogantly lifted her chin and snorted: "Who needs that! I'm a queen!"

The next moment, it was held in a human's arms, its body extremely stiff; the familiar scent felt like soft cotton soaked in sunshine, enveloping it.

Ling Yue lowered her head and sighed: "But I need it."

"Please, Your Majesty, have mercy on me."

Only after Ling Yue let go did the Mystic Cat Queen jump onto the cabinet with a swipe, reverting to her previous aloof demeanor; seeing her look over, she snapped in a particularly nasty tone: "What are you staring at? Don't think you're my master now! That was just an accident—don't touch me again!"

Ling Yue nodded, picked up the notebook placed beside the table, and prepared to leave.

The cats guarding the large villa seemed to sense it, each one poking its head out.

"Is she leaving? Am I not cute enough?" a slightly larger orange kitten tilted its head.

"When will she come back? I still want to eat… meat." The little milk‑kitten curled its tongue and licked its pink nose.

Not just the kittens—even the adult cats, recalling the taste of the meat they'd just eaten, had their eyes light up and involuntarily licked their paws: "I heard the boss say this is the house's new owner; she'll be living here from now on."

"Great, great—does that mean there will be tons and tons of meat cans!"

Ling Yue seemed to sense something; looking back from the car, wow—behind the villa's floor‑to‑ceiling curtains, cats of various sizes were pressed against the glass, wriggling like stuffed toys in a shop window, so cute they could melt one's heart at a glance.

By the time she finally arrived at the agreed spot, keeper Xiao Liu was practically melting from the heat.

Ling Yue's pet shop was closed, with only a small awning out front; Xiao Liu, tall and big‑built, feared missing the chance, so he kept waiting there.

In the scorching heat, the asphalt road was practically sweating oil—let alone people.

Just as Xiao Liu felt he was about to be baked into a human jerky, a patch of shade suddenly fell, and the dazed Xiao Liu instinctively looked up.

Ling Yue lowered her eyes, looking down at him, and couldn't help wondering aloud: "Why are you waiting here? You could have called me."

Xiao Liu: "……"

Yeah, how did he forget to use his phone?

Anyone hearing this would have to call him an idiot.

The zoo.

Not having been there for a while, Ling Yue was astonished to find the zoo had deteriorated to this extent.

Even on a weekday, there shouldn't be so few visitors—just a scattering. To exaggerate, the animals in the park outnumber the people, a complete opposite of its former bustling self.

Xiao Liu's face flushed with embarrassment; he knew deep down what was going on, and it was Zhao Fang—who knows what stupid moves he'll pull next, still trying to cover things up and offending people!

During this period, not only did the government investigate every few days, disrupting business, but netizens also withdrew their support, launching online boycotts; the zoo's business plummeted. That's how we got here—soon it may not be able to stay open.

On the surface, Xiao Liu still said respectfully: "Miss Ling, I'll take you to the incident zone right away."

Ling Yue furrowed her brows, withdrew her gaze, and ultimately said nothing.

Suddenly a voice sounded from behind: "Xiao Liu, during work hours, why aren't you staying at Tiger Mountain instead of wandering around? You're responsible if something happens!"

Another acquaintance: Zhao Fang.

Ling Yue caught sight of his suddenly weary, aged face and felt a wave of disgust; he'd lost a lot of weight—maybe he'd been sweating off oil these days.

Ugh, the more she thought about it, the more nauseated she felt. She quickly cut off any desire to interact; ever since settling her wages, she'd already severed all ties with the zoo.

Zhao Fang, however, spotted her at a glance.

His face showed deep‑seated hatred and anguish; he even thought she had come begging because she had nowhere else to go, and he flared up: "What, you're out there with nowhere to turn, hitting walls everywhere, wanting me to let you come back?"

"Don't even dream of it!"

Before those insults could even leave his mouth, Ling Yue slapped him: "Your mouth is full of shit!"

She looked at Xiao Liu: "Is this how you treat guests? I have other things to do—I'm leaving."

"Please don't go! I'm begging you!"

Seeing the situation rapidly deteriorate, Xiao Liu went blank—after finally securing a savior, it turned out to be an idiot boss!

He was almost ready to hug someone's thigh and beg them not to leave, while explaining: "Director, what nonsense are you spouting? Ling Yue is the master we invited to the zoo; you're busy with zoo affairs and don't know, but now the entire pet scene in Jing Shi is all the rage because of her!"

Zhao Fang stared, hands covering his face; that slap from Ling Yue landed with no mercy, his face swelling high, and instead of anger a chill shot up from his soles straight to his crown.

He'd heard of the hottest pet master in Jing Shi, but back then he paid no mind; never in a million calculations did he expect it to be Ling Yue!

It felt as if he'd swallowed a mouthful of bitter coptis, so bitter tears were about to spill.

He muttered, trying to make excuses, unsure whether it was true or not.

Xiao Liu exclaimed: "Director, you forgot our zoo's Tuan Tuan! Do you want to go to jail?!"

Zhao Fang jerked upright: "Ling Yue, don't go! Don't go!"

"I'll pay you double—just let a grown‑person forgive a petty‑person once!" he said, slapping his own face left and right, a pitiful sight that was hard to watch.

But Ling Yue knew he was inherently a toady, willingly debasing himself; slapping his own face meant nothing—if there was profit, he'd kneel.

She turned to Xiao Liu: "Where is the zone where the incident occurred? Take me there."

Xiao Liu was so embarrassed his toes were gripping the ground, he was about to dig out a Disneyland; upon hearing this, he was overjoyed: "Right away! Right away!"

Originally, zoo director Zhao Fang should have come along too, but given the slap in the face just now, he didn't utter a sound, having made up his mind not to go.

Here, Xiao Liu walked and introduced, and Ling Yue also understood: there were two sick animals in the zoo.

What she didn't know was that, for the current zoo, these two animals were its lifeline! This was also the fundamental reason why Zhao Fang's attitude did a complete 180-degree turn upon learning her identity.

Ling Yue also didn't expect that, after wandering around, she would end up at Tiger Mountain again.

Compared to last time, the protections had been reinforced quite a bit; several big tigers were lying at the base of the fake mountain, and Ling Yue counted: "Another one?"

She was keenly observant; even though she had only met them briefly not long ago, she remembered the characteristics of those tigers clearly.

The extra male tiger at Tiger Mountain had fur that was a slightly deeper orange-yellow, and the markings on its forehead were very messy, forming a crooked 'king' character.

At that moment, it was swaying its tail back and forth by the iron fence, occasionally letting out two roars in a certain direction, forming a stark contrast with the three lazy tigers lounging at the other side of Tiger Mountain's base.

Xiao Liu introduced with a worried frown: "The problematic one is him, named Zhuangzhuang!"

"This tiger was borrowed from another zoo at great expense by the zoo; earlier, to breed cubs, they kept it together with the neighboring female tiger, and after it gave birth they moved it back, but who would have thought it would end up like this—these past few days it hasn't eaten much, and every night it howls at the moon; if it weren't so big, I'd think it was a wolf!"

"If we weigh it every day and it keeps losing weight, if it starves to death the zoo will go bankrupt!" Actually, he doesn't care how the zoo goes bankrupt, but the key is, bankruptcy means no money to pay salaries!

"So can you tell what's going on?" Xiao Liu asked carefully, even using honorifics.

Ling Yue hadn't even answered when the tiger started roaring again.

"Roar! Roar!"

"Cuihua! Cuihua! My wife Cuihua!"

This

At that moment, another tiger on the other side of the wall suddenly let out urgent roars; the two tigers were calling at each other, and although they couldn't see each other, just hearing the sounds made ordinary people feel anxious.

Ling Yue listened and almost laughed out loud; her deliberately solemn expression made Xiao Liu immediately panic: "Could it be that something's wrong?"

"These two tigers have been calling every day; listening to them, they're almost about to fight. After all, they're still a married couple."

He was complaining when suddenly the tiger swung a huge paw at the concrete wall, leaving deep, ferocious scratch marks: "My wife, my children, I want to go home! Quickly let me go home!"

The other female tiger on the other side of the wall also roared: "Husband, quickly think of a way to come back; I can't keep the child! It wants to go to heaven!"

"Little brat, shut your mouth, or I'll bite you!"

"Wife, go easy on me, that's my child! Wah-wah-wah, when can I go back?" As he spoke, Zhuangzhuang's large tiger eyes blinked repeatedly, and he actually squeezed out a few tears.

"Geez, shut up, you're driving the tigers crazy!"

The tigers lounging at the base of Tiger Mountain couldn't take it either, raising their paws to cover their ears: "Annoying the tigers to death! Who dumped this good-for-nothing in here? Every day it's wife and child, and we single tigers haven't provoked you—what kind of justice is this?!"

"Big brother, it's so noisy, when is he going back?" The slightly smaller tiger rubbed its eyes, obviously just woke up.

"Yeah, hurry up and send this troublesome cargo back, you sissy tiger—our male tigers' faces are about to be completely ruined by you!"

For a moment, Tiger Mountain resounded with a grand chorus.

Xiao Liu's face tensed up from nervousness, "Mom, are we about to have a mass brawl?"

He looked at Ling Yue as if seeking help.

Ling Yue had already understood the whole story; under Xiao Liu's eager gaze, she made a gesture meaning "calm down": "I should have found the source of the problem; as long as we resolve this, the tigers will have no illness. But we should first deal with this sudden situation."

Xiao Liu stared at her, dumbstruck, his heart filled with both disbelief and awe; he often watches videos on his phone, and naturally he had seen clips of Ling Yue, and only one word could describe her: miraculous!

Now everyone on the internet knows she's gone viral; probably only Ling Yue herself is unaware.

Xiao Liu couldn't help but ask: "What are you saying? I'll definitely do it!"

Ling Yue smiled faintly: "Let it go back."

No longer paying attention to the stiff keeper, she walked to the enclosure's edge, where the tigers had gathered, and Ling Yue said: "If you keep arguing, Zhuangzhuang won't be able to go back, and will stay here forever."

"No, I was wrong, quickly send it back!" The leader, the big boss, was stunned, his tiger eyes wide: "My mother, it's you!"

Ling Yue waved at it: "Long time no see."

Isn't this the very Northeast tiger that she once tranquilized with a single shot?

The tiger quickly reacted: "No way, you can understand my speech?!"

Ling Yue explained, emphasizing the purpose of her trip; the tigers were dumbfounded, but after reacting they all rejoiced: "Hurry up and send it back! We'd die for a tiger's sake! Without wife and child we can't live!"

Ling Yue snapped her fingers: "Of course."

She had the tigers call Zhuangzhuang over, stared at it fixedly, and suddenly her eyes lit up—under Zhuangzhuang's dedicated panel there was actually a wish: wife, kids, and a warm heated brick bed.

Ling Yue smiled, thinking, "Isn't this a task that literally walked up to our door?"

When the system asked if she would accept, Ling Yue decisively agreed, and the reward left her stunned—it was actually the Beast King's Halo!

And Zhuangzhuang, upon hearing he could go back, immediately leaped a few tiger jumps, practically lunging toward Ling Yue, his urgency evident without words.

His spirited appearance made keeper Xiao Liu shudder, and then he heard Ling Yue's voice: "Is it mealtime? Bring today's food over and see if he eats it."

Xiao Liu was half-believing, half-doubting, but after seeing the tiger wolf down its food he was completely convinced, giving Ling Yue a thumbs-up: "I'll call people right away to send the tiger back; do you want to stay and watch?"

Ling Yue decisively shook her head, having worked at the zoo before and knowing how troublesome the process is, and moved on to the next case.

The tigers of Tiger Mountain were moved to tears, and upon hearing Zhuangzhuang's excited cries they exclaimed: "Heavens, he's finally gone."

"I'm almost traumatized—just hearing about my wife gives me a headache!"

"From now on I'll just stay a single tiger—that's fine."

Ling Yue stumbled on her feet, thinking, "Is it really that bad? Even the tigers have been scared into staying single."

Xiao Liu jumped in fright: "Are you okay? We're about to reach the panda house."

Panda!

Is the incident involving a national treasure?

Although the panda house is a facility, it's quite large, with a grove of trees and various small stands; currently it houses one panda. Before resigning, Ling Yue had heard Zhao Fang paint a big picture, saying they'd bring in two more giant pandas this year, but now it looks completely hopeless.

Even this sole remaining one has now developed a problem.

Since Xiao Liu was the introducer, he naturally knew the panda's data, and together with the round-faced young female keeper he introduced: "It's called TuanTuan, four and a half years old, not yet an adult, but its condition is very poor now—it doesn't eat or move; we immediately had a doctor examine it, and they found no illness, it just doesn't eat or drink, lying around all day."

Ling Yue listened, then decisively called up the exclusive panel for the panda Tuan Tuan.

【Name: Giant Panda】

【Gender: Male】

【Age: Four and a half years】

【Personality: decadent, irritable, depressed】

【Skills: tree climbing, swimming】

【Wish:???】

This wasn't Ling Yue's first time encountering a wish field filled with question marks; thinking back to the first time, it was still Da Hei, who at that time hadn't yet determined his wish, and the second time was the panda Tuan Tuan.

Because giant pandas are naturally gentle and there is a keeper nearby, unlike the tiger enclosure separated by a fence, Ling Yue can observe it up close.

Tuan Tuan truly lives up to its name; its appearance is explosively cute, with two semicircular little ears, the black-and-white colors as distinct as the Chu River and Han boundary, clearly separated.

With its "smoky makeup," the panda's eyes are actually big and round, sparkling like black glass beads: "What are you looking at? Haven't you seen a giant panda before? Boring."

"What's the point? Living is such a hassle!"

Everyone watched wide-eyed as the originally lying giant panda sat up because of a stranger, then suddenly flopped down limp.

Salted fish, slacking.

Ling Yue only wanted to use this word to describe it.

She wasn't entirely sure if Tuan Tuan was truly as she had guessed, so she had keeper Xiao Yuan bring over a basin of milk; the fragrant smell made Tuan Tuan twitch its paws, and Xiao Yuan's eyes lit up instantly: "It moved!"

"Forget it, I don't want to move; just let me starve to death."

The keeper let his gaze fall, disheartened, the atmosphere instantly grew oppressive; only Ling Yue, having finally been certain, said firmly: "It's not physically ill—but it's mentally ill!"

Ling Yue pointed at the pile of fruit beside the panda: "You've spoiled it too much, and with no competition from its peers, Tuan Tuan has become decadent and lazy, so it now feels that nothing has meaning and is preparing to starve itself to death."

Xiao Liu heard this and was shocked speechless, at a loss: "How, how should we deal with this?"

Hearing the system's notification tone, Ling Yue obtained the Animal King Halo, and she smiled slightly: "What to do? Let's get it moving!"

To the panda, the tiger should be a major threat, especially this enhanced halo from her system.

Ling Yue had people take away all its food, leaving only a bare tree stump, and she said to the panda Tuan Tuan: "Do you want to starve yourself to death?"

Tuan Tuan looked at her in surprise, perhaps not caring about anything; it wasn't surprised that Ling Yue could understand animal language, and lazily patted its belly: "Yeah, this life has no flavor at all; what's good about being alive?"

Ling Yue: "Then let me help you; I guarantee I'll make your wish come true, which is much faster than starving to death."

Tuan Tuan looked at her in surprise; in an instant, the Animal King Halo fully activated. As a juvenile panda, facing the overwhelming pressure of a strong predator left it breathless, and fear rose along with Ling Yue's description.

"Panda skin, panda meat—you know humans eat anything, even if you're a panda."

Tuan Tuan stared in horror, eyes wide, continually backing away: "You, you're spouting nonsense—"