Chapter 963: Pa Duo's Mount

Perspective shift.

Heimu walks through the maze corridor, the walls on both sides slowly shifting, the surface of the black high walls glowing with a dim green light.

Heimu walks at an unhurried pace, occasionally turning Heimu's head to glance at the scenery beside Heimu.

Then Heimu's mouth corners lift slightly.

Pa Duo walks ahead to Heimu's left front, the tricolor cat's short stout limbs moving with great effort, its round body swaying side to side with each step, Tail hanging limp behind, the tip of Tail almost dragging on the ground.

What Heimu finds amusing is not Pa Duo's gait, but the passenger seated on Pa Duo's back.

A Bo Ni Ya sits upright on the cat's back, legs together and tilted to one side, the hem hanging down to rest on Pa Duo's waist area, the exposed segment of white jade beneath glimmering under the dim green light.

Hands gently folded on the knees, a white nun's veil drapes from the crown, its fringe resting on the shoulder, swaying with Pa Duo's walking rhythm.

A few strands of light golden‑brown hair escape from beneath the veil, brushing the cheek, the teardrop mole standing out vividly in the dim green light.

The whole appearance resembles attending a solemn mass in a cathedral, except the conveyance she now rides is rather absurd.

Pa Duo pants heavily after a few steps, heterochromatic eyes half‑closed, whiskers drooping, the entire cat looking as if it had just been hauled from water and re‑dried.

"I never thought I'd spend this life as someone's mount."

Pa Duo mutters softly, just audible to Heimu, "Sister A Bo Ni Ya, to be honest, your weight is quite solid, my legs are trembling a bit."

A Bo Ni Ya lowers her head to glance at Pa Duo's wobbling cat ears, ice‑blue eyes filled with gentle light, a smile curving her lips.

She reaches out, gently stroking Pa Duo's head, fingers sliding from the base of the cat ears down the back of the neck, pressure just right.

Pa Duo's ears twitch, and its steps become steadier.

"I'm just speaking casually."

Pa Duo adds, Tail lifting slightly again, drawing a small wave at the edge of A Bo Ni Ya's hem, "Just sit steady, sister, my legs are fine."

Heimu withdraws her gaze from the odd pair and continues forward.

Heimu internally understands what's happening; A Bo Ni Ya's reduction in size includes not just the body but her mind noticeably shrinking as well.

The previously 1.7‑meter nun would never sit on a cat's back, but this petite version does so naturally, exuding a Calm aura of "this feels comfortable."

Heimu even wonders whether she will later make Pa Duo stop to chase a butterfly.

Pa Duo truly suffers.

Though she has the strength to complain verbally, those four short legs are clearly wobbling, each step feeling as if she must kneel.

Yet she carries A Bo Ni Ya steadily, the tricolor cat's spine straightened like a rigid line, as if fearing to tip the little nun on its back.

Heimu does not expose the cat's pretension.

Her attention shifts from Pa Duo, eyes falling into the depths of the forward maze corridor; the dim green light on the wall bends there, beyond the corner nothing is visible, yet she senses the passage extending onward.

"Those mechanical constructs that chase you,"

Heimu thinks aloud, the voice directly entering A Bo Ni Ya's consciousness, "Were they created by Wei Er Wei?"

A Bo Ni Ya does not turn her head.

She sits upright on the cat's back, both hands folded on the knees, only the leg draped over Pa Duo's back shifting slightly.

The voice sounds in Heimu's mind, gentle and soft, like someone reciting a Calm scripture by the ear.

"Many mechanisms in this maze were crafted by her; she herself resides deep within the maze. Those mechanical constructs were originally searching for Ying Jie, and happened to encounter me."

"Coincidence?" Heimu's eyebrows move.

"It would be more accurate to say the maze itself guides all entrants toward a specific area; she excels at such designs."

A Bo Ni Ya's tone remains Calm, showing no emotional fluctuation despite having just been surrounded by five mechanical beings, "I sensed your presence, madam. Hence I stayed put."

Heimu glances peripherally at A Bo Ni Ya's tiny silhouette reflected on the wall.

The shadow's shape is upright and quiet, matching perfectly the petite figure riding on the cat's back.

The mind has shrunk, but that underlying layer still remains.

"Where is Ailixiya now?" Heimu continues to ask.

A Bo Ni Ya's gaze lands on the forward corner, blue eyes crystal clear under the dim green light.

"She has been Corroded."

A Bo Ni Ya says, "In the Herrscher's form she perches at the deepest part of Letu; the energy she radiates disrupts the spatial structure of the entire area, all Ying Jie have been pulled into abnormal states. You have already seen it; both I and Pa Duo have become like this, and others are similar."

Heimu falls silent for a moment after hearing this.

She continues forward.

"Did she deliberately let herself be Corroded?" Heimu asks.

This time A Bo Ni Ya pauses longer.

"It was intentional."

A Bo Ni Ya finally answers, "She treated herself as a vessel, assuming the Herrscher's stance to absorb the chaos left by the god of pleasure within Letu; after she ingests those twisted forces, the underlying logic of Letu can temporarily continue to operate."

Heimu's brows twitch lightly at this, then relax.

"How many perverse whims has Aha stuffed into this Letu?"

Heimu's tone is flat, sounding like a casual complaint about the weather.

"Many."

A Bo Ni Ya says, voice Calm, "You are here to address these anomalies; Ailixiya knows of your presence, she dispersed her power into many carriers to carve a path you can traverse."

Heimu's right hand subconsciously reaches into the cuff.

The fingertip touches the edge of a petal; the Crystal Flower rests quietly in her sleeve, its petals already stained with several colors, each corresponding to a Ying Jie.

After contacting A Bo Ni Ya, the flower's core gains a hint of transparent hue, blending with the flower's own color, discernible only upon close inspection.

"This flower,"

Heimu says, "how many more colors must be gathered?"

A Bo Ni Ya tilts her head slightly, the silver threads of the white veil flutter lightly at her shoulder with the movement.

Her voice came through consciousness again.

「All heroes still in Letu, whenever you encounter one, the flower will record that hero's color; once the colors are all gathered, it will then guide you into the core area of Letu. 」

「Then what? 」

「Then you will meet Ailixiya. 」