Chapter 20: Pas

After a session of training with Xi Ya, Lei Kedun suddenly felt that last night's clown was nothing special; apart from being weird and a bit scary, it couldn't compare to Xi Ya's horror! Every time Xi Ya beat him to a blood‑splattered skin, the opponent would recover and pull him back, repeatedly ravaging him.

He kept getting beaten until dusk, when it was almost quitting time; the standard office worker Xi Ya had no intention of overtime, and only then did she spare Lei Kedun.

When he got back to the office, Lei Kedun's coat was already torn to a beggar's version; fortunately today his standardized brown long coat had arrived. Otherwise Lei Kedun wouldn't know how to explain to the butler when he got home, saying he had sparred with a colleague practicing combat techniques; the butler would certainly not believe and might think he was being threatened and call the police.

He changed into the Executor Squad's uniform brown long coat, attached a gun pouch and dagger at his waist, placed a bronze‑phosphorus metal box into the inner pocket, and also carried the two bottles of healing elixir Xi Ya gave him, plus the two talismans he learned to craft with Ke Si that morning—a Dispersal Talisman and a Binding Talisman. The former can dispel extraordinary effects within a certain range; the latter can bind any target within sight, with the binding duration decreasing as the target's strength increases. Lei Kedun estimated that for a Tier Five extraordinary being the binding might last only a breath.

Lei Kedun wanted to craft more talismans, but the squad's material reserves were insufficient; the remainder would have to wait for the church's material approval.

When Lei Kedun finished packing, the squad only had the on‑duty captain and Ke Si left. The captain and Ke Si were discussing something in the office, and Lei Kedun didn't disturb them, leaving the building directly.

Just like in the morning, Lei Kedun chose from the heart to take the public carriage.

Back on White Maple Street, Lei Kedun cautiously surveyed the surroundings, found nothing amiss, and headed toward his home.

After only a few steps, a black silhouette suddenly darted out and pounced on Lei Kedun.

"Meow! ~"

It was still that black cat; the creature hadn't left, but stayed nearby waiting for him?

Lei Kedun watched the black tail flickering before his eyes, tried to reach out to pull the cat perched on his shoulder, but the moment he stretched his hand the cat let out a pitiful cry, as if being abused.

"Your cat is so cute, even runs out to fetch you home, and you're still so harsh to it?" a passing lady couldn't help but say.

"Meow~" the black cat also acted cute, shaking its head and meowing.

Lei Kedun glanced at the onlookers, felt the cat was definitely doing it on purpose. After a moment of hesitation, he held back and took it home.

As soon as Lei Kedun entered his house, the black cat jumped off him, shook its body twice on the floor, as if Lei Kedun were dirty.

Lei Kedun, his face dark, kicked the cat, but the cat dodged, then turned back to mockingly glance at Lei Kedun.

"Young master, what about this cat?" the butler asked, as he waited for Lei Kedun at this hour each day.

"Found it on the road, keeping it for now; probably has an owner, will return it when they show up," Lei Kedun explained.

Lei Kedun thought there was reason to believe the cat had an owner; it was an extraordinary creature, likely fed demon elixir by someone. Only a fellow extraordinary being—especially one not a mere wild extraordinary—could afford to keep such a supernatural pet, so its owner would eventually come looking.

"Alright, do we need to buy special pet food for it?" the butler asked.

"Meow~ Meow!" the black cat loudly meowed twice.

"No need, it eats whatever we eat; it's not really my pet, don't worry, we'll return it anyway," Lei Kedun said, shaking his head.

"Meow~" the black cat, hearing Lei Kedun, immediately turned and lunged at him.

But this time it failed; Lei Kedun caught it mid‑air, then grasped the cat's neck and lifted it up to the second floor.

Back in his room, after closing the door, Lei Kedun tossed the black cat out; the cat twisted in mid‑air and landed smoothly, then prepared to charge at Lei Kedun for a fight.

"Stop it! Otherwise I'll throw you out, send you to that clown," Lei Kedun said, staring at the black cat.

The black cat halted, then spun in place as if nothing had happened, then stared blankly and meowed at Lei Kedun twice.

"What's your name? Which path's demon elixir do you drink? Warrior? Or Arbiter?" Lei Kedun asked, guessing from the cat's behavior last night.

"Meow?" the black cat meowed, puzzled.

"Don't pretend, or I'll throw you out," Lei Kedun said, his face dark, internally scoffing, "This cat really is a drama queen."

"I'm called Pas, Meow!" the black cat's voice was a bit high‑pitched and childish, slightly different from a human's, sounding like a male cat.

"Alright, Pas Meow." Lei Kedun nodded, the cat finally spoke.

"It's Pas, not Meow~" the black cat Pas corrected.

"Alright, Pas has no Meow," Lei Kedun couldn't help teasing the Pas cat.

"Ah! It's Pas, Meow!" Pas corrected again.

"Yes, that's right, Pas Meow," Lei Kedun said seriously, nodding.

"Fine, you can call me whatever, as long as you don't throw me out," Pas gave up correcting Lei Kedun's naming.

"Why are you staying with me? Wouldn't it be better to return to your owner? The blood clan's side is probably safer than my house, right?" Lei Kedun asked, puzzled. When the cat said its name was Pas, Lei Kedun recalled that yesterday at the Crimson Advanced Hospital, Yi Li Sha had mentioned that her Pas was lost; Lei Kedun had originally thought Pas was a doll like his brother's, but it turned out to be a supernatural black cat, proving Yi Li Sha's family is truly wealthy.

"Meow? Do you know Yi Li Sha? No wonder I smelled Yi Li Sha's scent on you yesterday afternoon, Meow," Pas said curiously.

"Hm? Yesterday afternoon? You noticed me while traveling with your Cat Spy Squad?" Lei Kedun asked curiously.

"Cat Spy Squad? Nice name, Meow! From now on that'll be our gang's name. Your scent was so obvious I definitely noticed, Meow," Pas said, nodding his cat head.

"Your gang? Those cats?" Lei Kedun said incredulously.

"Yes, Meow. Yi Li Sha said that to control demon elixir I need my own territory and subordinates, so I recruited all the nearby cats as my underlings. But yesterday we met that strange guy, the clown you mentioned; he became even scarier, and my Cat Spy Squad is now effectively extinct, Meow~" Pas's voice turned mournful.

"He even uses idioms," Lei Kedun thought, surprised by the cat's cultural level. In this world many ordinary people can't reach that, so indeed he's a cat from a rich family—no, a rich vampire's magical animal, Meow.

"You still haven't said why you must stay with me," Lei Kedun reminded.

"Of course, because staying with you scares that terrifying guy away, Meow!" Pas said, as if obvious.

"Hm? Why can't he come to me?" Lei Kedun asked, puzzled.

"Didn't you see last night, Meow? That super‑scary clown was after you, but suddenly got scared away," Pas said, shocked.

"Scared away? I didn't see it; when I turned to look, it was gone. Also, do you know that clown? Does 'more scary' mean he wasn't that scary before?" Lei Kedun realized the black cat knew far more than he thought.

"I know him, Meow. He used to stay in the hospital; at first he was just an ordinary person, a bit odd, but starting last month he became scary, Meow~. A lot of incidents have happened in the hospital lately; I know he did them, Meow. Every time I try to tell Yi Li Sha, accidents occur that inexplicably mess things up. Until a few days ago I discovered he can steal my thoughts and memories; he even said he wants to steal my identity, impersonate me to stay by Yi Li Sha's side. To prevent him from stealing my identity, I had my subordinates cause chaos and escape, Meow." Pas seemed to finally find someone to vent to, speaking more animatedly, his paws waving in the air.

"After I fled, I recruited more subordinates nearby, planning to rescue Yi Li Sha. But before we even entered the hospital, my Cat Spy Squad started fighting each other; I couldn't stop it, Meow~. I had to withdraw with them. Later I re‑formed the squad—you saw it yesterday—but our goal suddenly shifted to hunting a pack of foolish big dogs. This time even I was controlled, until that terrifying clown appeared last night; you know the rest, Meow!" After finishing, the cat looked despondent.

"Do you think I can't save Yi Li Sha, Meow~" Pas's tone was very despondent, his previously flickering tail now lay still on the ground.

Lei Kedun frowned, pondering Pas's story. Turning from an ordinary person into a Sequence Five in a month seemed impossible; if he became a Sequence Five monster, Lei Kedun could believe it, but the clown clearly hadn't lost control. Though the clown is crazy, his actions also show he's rational—or insane but still intelligent.

"Are you sure the clown started changing last month? That's a short time; could he have been like that all along, just constantly disguising?" Lei Kedun looked at Pas and asked again.

"Definitely that, Meow. All members of my Cat Spy Squad are my eyes; they're not very smart, but they're not stupid either, Meow!" Pas nodded his cat head.

"But whether he was disguising before, I don't know, Meow~; after all I'm just a cat," Pas added.

(End of Chapter)