Chapter 142: Saving the Cat, the Local Tyrant

Holding three sticks of incense, Xu Qing performed the martial steps of the Dipper, and once the spiritual incense stirred the yin evil in the courtyard, he began to chant the "Commanding Chang Soldiers Incantation."

"Righteous Heaven's Injury, the Head follows the Good.

The Celestial Master has issued an order, swiftly capture the calamity.

Penetrating all Nine Earths, killing ghosts and capturing injuries.

The good receive blessings, the evil receive calamities.

The wicked hate me, all shall die in retribution for the injury.

I now command you, to fully unleash your wildness."

After the Commanding Chang Soldiers Incantation was finished, black smoke suddenly gushed from the place where bodies were buried in the courtyard; nearly two hundred skeletal corpses extended bone claws from the soil, and skull heads also broke through the earth one after another like spring bamboo shoots after rain.

These skeletons had yin evil swirling around their mouths, noses, eyes, and ears; hearing the incantation, the corpses all faced the ritual altar, opened their mouths to spit out the evil, looking just like believers on a pilgrimage.

The Method of Refining Chang was originally a technique of the Celestial Master's Mansion to command yin soldiers; this method does not always succeed in condensing the ghost soldiers and Chang generals into form; succeeding two or three times out of ten is considered good.

The reason for this is largely because the Celestial Masters of past generations were all living humans; when some yin corpses broke through the earth, they did not take a person of the mortal world as their leader, and the yin evil they spat out would be like headless flies, unable to condense in one place; when the scattered yin evil became too much and the condensed evil qi was insufficient to form a shape, the refining of the Chang general would fail.

However, Xu Qing never worried about this.

The high failure rate for living humans refining Chang soldiers is because the path is wrong and the specialty does not match; if you were to switch to the King of Hell and Ghost King, no refining would be needed; those Chang generals and ghost soldiers would break through the earth on their own, rush forward, and offer themselves to be commanded.

Matters of the Underworld are handled by people of the Underworld, matters of the Mortal World are handled by the paths of the Mortal World; this is true professional matching.

Just as the Ghost King commands ghost soldiers and minions, and the Ten Halls of the King of Hell manage all affairs of the Underworld.

Although Xu Qing was not the King of Hell or Ghost King, at this moment he was the existence with the heaviest yin qi in the courtyard; when he waved his hand to plant the Chang flag upon the ritual altar and stood in the center of the altar, the skeletons in the courtyard all took him as their leader, and those yin evils also obeyed the order, gathering before the ritual altar.

In the courtyard, two Chang generals condensed from corpse evil crawled out of the ground almost simultaneously; first, bone claws over two feet long and one foot two inches wide split open the soil layer, followed by large skull heads and bodies about a zhang tall crawling out.

The two Chang generals had fierce horns and features; in the empty eye sockets deep as a well bottom, ghost fire gushed forth; seeing this, Xu Qing nodded in satisfaction.

Adding the Chang general previously refined within the Chang flag, he effectively possessed three silver-armored zombies; in the secular world, this would be a first-rate martial arts faction possessing three martial artists who had condensed the Gang.

Xu Qing waved his hand toward the roof ridge; the black cat, which had long been unable to hold back, immediately leaped down from the eaves and came before the ritual altar.

The Embroiderer, who had fallen behind, dared not go over no matter what.

Those Chang generals looked even more like ghosts than she did; she even felt these were the legendary "Jian."

It was truly ghost-scaring!

"What are these big guys? Are they ghosts?"

As soon as Xuan Yu's voice fell, a female ghost behind on the roof ridge broke down and said, "Such ugly things, how could they possibly be ghosts? They must be Jian, definitely Jian!"

"What is Jian?" Xuan Yu asked curiously.

"Jian is what ghosts become after death; humans become ghosts when they die, ghosts become Jian when they die. Ghosts fear Jian, just as humans fear ghosts; if Xuan Yu gets bored in the future, you can dress up as Jian to come play with the Embroiderer, saving her from always saying she guards an empty house alone."

On the roof ridge, the Embroiderer opened her eyes wide, looking at Xu Qing in disbelief; clearly a human, why could he so easily speak such vicious words?

Xuan Yu pondered and said, "Then are these two big fellows Jian?"

"No." Xu Qing explained patiently, "These are Chang generals, products formed by the gathering of corpse evil and yin evil; as for why they are called Chang..."

"Legend says dragons and pigs mate to give birth to Chang; this creature is as large as a jar, with a head like a pig, cow hooves, a rabbit tail larger than a dog, good at devouring people, greedy and fierce in nature, with a sound like a child crying... The Chang general's appearance is similar to it; both are ugly and ferocious things; presumably because of this, they have such a name."

Xuan Yu said, half-understanding, "Then are they powerful?"

"A bit weaker than Xuan Yu."

"Then compared to a big tiger?"

"..."

This map of the Yan Kingdom is simply too short.

Xu Qing smiled slightly and said, "Even ten big tigers are not as powerful as one Xuan Yu."

"Really?"

"Of course."

After storing the Chang generals into the Chang flag, with nothing else to do, Xu Qing sat under the locust tree, watching the cat and the female ghost in the courtyard kick a shuttlecock.

On the shuttlecock, the feathers of the Golden Phoenix were incredibly bright; every time it flew toward the night sky, it would trace a golden path.

At the fifth watch, Xu Qing and Xuan Yu left the courtyard; at the courtyard door, the female ghost in white clothes sat on the eaves, and only after the youth and the cat crossed the water gate bridge and their figures completely disappeared on the opposite side of the arch bridge did the female ghost finally withdraw her gaze.

Legend has it that some souls who cannot transcend after death due to unresolved grudges are bound within specific areas and cannot leave.

Such souls are usually unable to rest because of unfulfilled wishes or unresolved resentments from their lives, causing their souls to remain in the human world, lingering in places of sorrow.

The Embroiderer could not sense the path to the Underworld, nor could she leave the borders of Jinmen; however, she did not feel lonely at this moment.

At least after her death, there was still one person and one cat willing to keep her company and chat to relieve boredom.

"I will often remember Mr.'s kindness, I will often think of the seclusion of Nanshan; I will miss the rustling purple bamboos and the moon like a hook, the stream light rippling and the house like a boat.

Thinking of Mr., the straw sandals worn through the misty realm; often accompanying, the waters vast, the mountains layered; pitying Mr., abandoning family and wife, lost in the study of the Dao; a beautiful youth endured until his temples turned white; always thinking Heaven would protect her husband with full mystical power, not failing me, relying on a single green lamp to guard ten years of hidden sorrow..."

In the deep courtyard, a woman's voice softly recited these words.

On Flower and Bird Street, a youth was strolling along the path, playing with walnuts and leading a black cat.

Some vendors selling birds and flowers nearby would greet the youth as soon as they saw him; it was not because they were particularly familiar with the youth; the reason they were so enthusiastic was purely for the sake of that black cat.

Through subtle questioning, Xu Qing learned from those vendors that the cat he raised came here to stroll every now and then; currently, quite a few people on Flower and Bird Street recognized this black cat.

Walking into an alley with few people, Xu Qing asked, "Does Xuan Yu often come here to play?"

"Not often playing, just occasionally coming to wander..."

"Heh." Xu Qing let out a light laugh; cats have always had a special affection for birds, insects, and butterflies; saying it was wandering, but in his view, Xuan Yu mostly came just to see these birds and insects.

Passing through the alley, a vendor selling cats and dogs was arguing with someone there.

"This is a purebred Lion Cat; look at this snow-white long fur, look at this large build; one eye is blue and the other green, a heterochromia! This is a tribute cat from the imperial palace; those high officials and nobles love raising this; how can ordinary cats compare?"

Speaking thus, the vendor selling pedigree cats suddenly glanced at Xuan Yu passing by; he immediately said, "Look at that cat, pitch black, like a braised egg; for this kind, don't say one hundred taels, even one hundred copper coins might not find a buyer!"

"..."

This is what is called disaster coming from one's mouth; Xu Qing turned his head to look at that vendor, his gaze dim and deep.

This was not the first time Xuan Yu had heard someone insult it; the last person to say such a thing had paid a full hundred taels of silver!

Xuan Yu pricked its ears and swished its tail back and forth.

Just as it prepared to take action, a pair of large hands suddenly scooped it up by the waist.

"My cat was not bought; it was hired. Its worth cannot be measured by price. Besides, isn't this cat of yours stolen?"

Xu Qing glanced at the lion cat in the cage, looking at the cat merchant with a distinctly unfriendly gaze.

"What nonsense! This is a cat I personally raised. If you don't buy it, stop blathering. If you ruin my business, you'll have to pay for it!"

Xu Qing ignored the merchant's threat; he looked at the lion cat and made a sound in his mouth that was like a bird or a cat.

The lion cat opened its eyes wide, as if understanding his words, and kept emitting hoarse cries.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "You have a lot of nerve! You dare steal a cat from a noble family!"

A noble family's cat? A customer who had intended to buy the cat immediately stopped his hand from paying.

The language of birds and beasts could only be used for shallow communication; Xu Qing could tell the lion cat had been stolen, but he had no way of knowing whose cat it actually was.

This was related to the limitations of the language of birds and beasts, and also to the lion cat's lack of spiritual intelligence.

However, in this era, anyone who could afford such a precious cat would certainly not be an ordinary family.

Hearing this, the cat merchant vehemently denied it, while passersby who had come to watch the commotion were already looking over.

Xu Qing stroked Xuan Yu's smooth back with one hand while saying, "What you say to me is useless. If you have anything to say, go tell the government office officers. Stealing from a noble family is no light crime!"

The Flower and Bird Market was very lively; government office officers often patrolled. Seeing the young man in front of him persisting relentlessly, the stall owner, in a panic, simply reached out and opened the cage door.

After the cat in the cage darted out, the stall owner cursed, "Meddler! Go report it! I'll wait for you to report to the authorities. Everything requires catching the thief with the stolen goods. Here I have only an empty cage. If you can get the authorities to act, then you have some ability!"

Hearing this, Xu Qing laughed, turned his head, and whistled at the cat that had darted to the opposite side of the street.

The latter hesitated for a moment; when it saw the black cat in the young man's arms also open its mouth and cry twice, it returned along the same path to the cat merchant's cage and used its paw to close the cage door.

"..."

The cat merchant was dumbfounded, while the onlookers around him stared at one another.

A ruffian clapped his hands and said, "This lion cat is truly amazing! So it really can understand human speech!"

The cat merchant panicked; he opened the cage door, shouted threats at the cat, and tried to drive it away, but the cat hid in a corner. Even though it trembled into a ball, it refused to dart out of the cage.

The stall owner tried to leave, but Xu Qing tripped him with a kick.

Seeing the stall owner still trying to get up, Xu Qing flicked his wrist, took out the Fetal Taint Pearl obtained at the Temple of Childbearing, split off a wisp of gray Fetal Taint, and flicked it onto the stall owner.

The unluckiest thing in the world is undoubtedly when a living being has just been born, has not yet lingered in the world, and dies a violent death.

And this kind of bad luck is called Fetal Taint.

The gray mist entered the stall owner's body; the next moment, the stall owner's forehead visibly darkened.

If one were to speak in the words of a fortune-teller, a darkened forehead certainly means that some misfortune is about to happen.

Sure enough, just as the cat merchant stood up and, in a fluster, prepared to pack up his stall and leave, his foot slipped; with a clatter, he fell and bumped his head on the bluestone ground.

"Ouch!" the merchant cried out in pain; other places were fine, but two of his front teeth had fallen out!

After the merchant finally caught his breath and was preparing to get up, two kind-hearted people suddenly stepped out from the crowd of onlookers and lifted him up, one on each side.

There are still more good people in the world!

The cat merchant, enduring the pain, turned his head to look at those beside him; if he hadn't looked, it would have been fine.

But when he looked, oh my! It turned out to be two government office officers!

Xu Qing kindly reminded them, "This cat thief has stolen a cat that is no ordinary one; perhaps it is a beloved pet from some noble's residence. If the two of you return this cat, I imagine you will receive some benefits..."

Hearing this, the two government office officers' eyes immediately brightened.

Watching the government office officers carry the cat cage and escort the merchant away, Xu Qing reached out and patted the black cat in his arms, saying, "Did that vent your anger this time?"

Xuan Yu broke free from Xu Qing's embrace and jumped to the ground.

It turned its head to look around, then walked forward without saying a word.

When they arrived at the alley where Second Master Feng resided, Xuan Yu suddenly asked, "Do all humans like white cats?"

Hearing this, Xu Qing shook his head and said, "Humans are quite complex; everyone has their own preferences. Some like white, some like black, some like tabby..."

"Then what color does Immortal Xu like?"

Xuan Yu paced along, not turning back, as if casually asking a question.

"Look at what color my hair is; that is the color I like."

Xuan Yu stopped pacing, looked up at Xu Qing, and said with a serious expression, "But human hair will one day turn white, while cats never change color."

Xu Qing laughed heartily: "Perhaps other people's hair will turn white, but Immortal Xu's hair will not!"

"Why?"

"Because Immortal Xu likes black so much that he is unwilling for his hair to turn white."

"..."

Seeing the smile in Xu Qing's eyes, Xuan Yu suddenly turned its head away.

Seeing the cat feel embarrassed, Xu Qing found it even more amusing.

"And Immortal Xuan Yu?"

"What?"

Xu Qing smiled slightly and said, "Of course I am asking what color Immortal Xuan Yu likes."

"Hmm..."

Xuan Yu thought for a moment and suddenly had an answer: "Cyan; I prefer cyan."

Beside him, Xu Qing smiled once again.

"Cyan is a color very close to black..."

In a courtyard at Beimen Hutong, Second Master Feng was flying into a rage.

"When I do business in Jingcheng, which faction wouldn't give me face? What is the Jinmen Gang? Where did they get the guts to hijack my cargo?"

Before Second Master Feng, not a single clerk dared to speak up.

Only the steward spoke up to advise, "Second Master, a mighty dragon cannot suppress a local snake. Which of the masters at the brokerage isn't formidable? Yet the Jinmen Gang has occupied the Linhe Ferry, and those masters didn't dare utter a sound."

"Second Master should calm down; this matter cannot be handled while you are angry."

Upon hearing this, Second Master Feng was indeed much calmer, though he still felt it was hard to swallow on the surface.

"If the Jinmen Gang hijacked other cargo, I could pretend they were ignorant, but this cargo was promised to a friend. Without this cargo, how can I explain myself to my friend?"

The steward suggested, "Why not delay it and find another batch of cargo to replace it?"

"Replace it with what? Those are grave goods; you can't just dig them up whenever you want!"

Second Master Feng waved his hand and said, "This matter cannot end like this. In Jingcheng, everyone follows the rules and values them most. Dare the Jinmen Gang disregard the rules?"

"First, properly send the bodies of those escort masters back. I will definitely demand an explanation for this!"

(End of this chapter)