Chapter 809: A Trash Can

The girl with orange gradient long hair stood on the vacant lot by the street, her single ponytail tied high, and the red lotus hair ornament glittered dazzlingly in the sunlight.

She wore a red strapless short bustier, its gold trim shining blindingly in the sun; the detached red long sleeves fluttered in the air with her movements, and the deep‑cyan ruffled cuffs resembled two butterflies dancing.

Black tights covered her slender straight legs, and the black leg band on her right thigh sat at mid‑thigh, outlining a crisp, alluring curve.

She was performing acrobatics.

To be precise, she was tossing and catching five orange balls simultaneously.

The five balls formed a perfect arc in the air; her hands moved so fast only a red after‑image remained, her fingers long and agile, each ball lingering on her fingertips for a time so brief it was almost invisible.

A circle of spectators gathered around, some clapping and cheering, a child gaping with an open mouth, eyes fixed.

Gui Naifen tossed the balls while smiling at the audience, her gilt rhombus‑shaped pupils curving into two crescents, her mouth turned up high, revealing a row of neat white teeth.

Sai Fei Er stopped two steps at the edge of the crowd.

When they had been with Bai Hang before, they had met a few times—not very familiar, but at least they knew each other's names.

Gui Naifen also knew her, probably recalling her as "the strange fast‑handed girl with long cat ears."

Next to Gui Naifen's performance area, two girls who looked extremely alike were maintaining order.

Both had brown ponytails, amber‑gold almond eyes, and wore Cloud Cavalry uniforms: white dresses with black sleeveless over‑coats, and wide yellow sleeves fluttering gently with their movements.

One, with a sword tassel hanging at the waist, stood upright with a serious expression, gesturing the onlookers to step back a few paces.

The other held a Xuanyuan sword, stood casually, and with her free hand subtly rubbed her belly, apparently pondering where to eat after work.

Sai Fei Er tilted her head.

Two Su Shang?

Someone in the crowd whispered, "What day is it today that Cloud Cavalry actually sent two identical people to keep order?"

"You're seeing things; they're obviously sisters."

"Since when has Luofu had twin Cloud Cavalry members?"

The onlookers chattered, and while Gui Naifen seized the moment when everyone's attention was drawn to the two Su Shang, she quietly increased the number of tossed balls from five to six.

Sai Fei Er withdrew her gaze.

The bustle was the bustle, but it had nothing to do with her.

She still had business to attend to.

She kept following the map markings provided by Xi Tong, turned into a side street, passed through a stone archway, and finally found the marked spot in an inconspicuous corner.

A trash can.

Sai Fei Er looked down at the metal trash can.

It was round, the metal surface bearing a few shallow dents, the lid sealed tightly, and a few withered leaves—of unknown origin—scattered nearby.

She glanced left, then right, even walked around to peek behind the trash can.

There was no other entrance, no secret door, no space to hide anyone, except inside the trash can.

The signal point was inside this trash can.

Sai Fei Er tilted her head, her cat ears folding forty‑five degrees to the side.

She hesitated, then reached out and tapped the lid twice with the knuckle of her index finger.

"Dong. Dong."

The trash can was silent for a moment.

Then a familiar, flat, inorganic‑sounding voice came from beneath the lid: "Code."

Sai Fei Er's cat ears twitched.

She found it very amusing; meeting inside a trash can and using a code was something she had only heard in XiaDie's whimsical little stories.

She cleared her throat and, in a solemn award‑presentation tone, said, "Heimu Lady unparalleled in the world."

The trash can gave no response.

"Heimu Lady supremely intelligent."

The trash can still gave no response.

"Heimu Lady a beauty that sinks fish and lands geese."

After reciting the three codes, Sai Fei Er's mouth corner was lifted to the greatest curve she could manage.

She thought that was the end, but the voice inside the trash can sounded again.

"Action. And tone."

Sai Fei Er's mouth corner froze at that curve.

She blinked.

In her mind, a demonstration image sent by Xi Tong popped up: a stick‑figure character enthusiastically spreading its arms, with side notes specifying tone requirements—passionate, moderate volume, rich body language, as if a fan meeting the idol in person.

The stick figure's movements were extremely exaggerated, arms raised to the sky, one leg planted, mouth forming a circle, with several wavy lines drawn around to represent cheering.

Sai Fei Er replayed the image in her mind twice.

She looked up at the surroundings; the street bustled with people passing by, and a mother carrying a basket glanced curiously at the cat‑earred girl, probably wondering why she was staring at the trash can.

A little girl, holding her father's hand, passed by and pointed at Sai Fei Er's ears, saying, "Dad, look, that lady's ears move."

Sai Fei Er took a deep breath.

Smart as she was, she naturally had a solution.

Her finger gave a light flick.

A golden flipping coin sprang from her fingertip, rotating in the air, its edge reflecting sunlight.

At the instant the coin reached its apex, the Time Flow Rate changed.

Everything around slowed down.

Pedestrians' steps stretched into slow motion, street flags hung suspended mid‑air, the little girl's hand still pointing at her ears remained frozen, and the open‑mouth curve was locked in time.

Sai Fei Er spread both arms toward the sky, planted one foot on the ground, lifted the other leg backward, and the cat Tail arched high.

She shouted in an extremely fervent, devoted tone, as if seeing her idol at a concert, "Black Curtain Lady is unparalleled in the world!"

She drew a large circle in the air with both hands.

"Black Curtain Lady is supremely clever!"

She raised both hands above her head, fingers splayed, as if performing a devout ritual.

"Black Curtain Lady, sinking fish and falling geese—"

The voice spread through the air where time seemed to slow, generating concentric ripples of subtle sound waves.

She held the pose for a moment, the still sky reflected in her pupils, and her cat ears trembled slightly from the movement of her body.

Then she silently muttered to herself, "The curtain is quite narcissistic, likes to play shameful PLAY?"

She retracted the pose and extended her hand.

The coin, still slowly rotating in midair, landed precisely in her palm.

She brought her fingers together, and time resumed its flow.

The pedestrians on the street continued walking.

The little girl kept pointing in her direction, saying "The ears move," then was pulled away by her father.

The woman carrying a basket of vegetables had already taken several steps away.

No one noticed what had just happened.

No one saw a cat‑ear girl hold a small personal fan‑meeting in front of a trash can.