Chapter 23: What kind of master has what kind of pet

"Dad, that black cat stole our cured meat!"

Liu Dongzhu ate chicken soup while watching Wang Ping'an, as if afraid Wang Ping'an would disappear from her sight; in her peripheral vision she suddenly saw a black shadow, and upon closer look, it was a black cat dragging a piece of cured meat.

It was precisely the black cat that had been lying beside Ping'an at her home not long ago!

"You beast, dare to steal something, I'll beat you to death!"

Wang Lin, hearing this, quickly looked up and saw the black cat dragging a piece of cured meat, fleeing at top speed from before his eyes; instantly enraged, he grabbed a nearby wooden stick, chased after it, and was about to smash it down with a stick.

"Damn, I told you to get the cured meat, not to openly walk away with it in front of others!"

Wang Ping'an cursed silently; Hei Mao Bu Tou dragging the cured meat away was naturally his doing, but he couldn't let his grandfather get hurt. However, at present he couldn't speak, so he could only wail loudly.

"Old Patron Wang, stop quickly!"

Just as Wang Lin was about to strike Hei Mao Bu Tou with a stick, Yuan Liang hurriedly spoke up; seeing Wang Lin stop, he then breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"This black cat is a spirit cat, the protective divine beast of your family's Ping'an; you must not harm it, otherwise be careful it leaves and no longer protects your family's Ping'an!"

"Young Daoist, it stole our family's cured meat; how could a spirit cat steal things?"

Wang Lin, who was nearly overcome with anger, knew that cured meat was a top-notch delicacy for their rural household, something they could only enjoy a bite or two during festivals; hearing Yuan Liang's words, he suddenly understood.

But he was still dissatisfied!

Not only Wang Lin, even Yuan Liang himself didn't quite understand why Hei Mao Bu Tou would steal cured meat, but he still explained: "Old Patron Wang, perhaps there's something we don't know; why don't we go take a look?"

Zhang Guihua interjected: "Old man, it's just a piece of cured meat; if it takes it, let it take it. As long as it protects our family's Ping'an, not just a piece of cured meat, even my life would be no problem."

Although she said that, a flicker of pain over the meat flashed in Zhang Guihua's eyes.

"Dad, you must not act recklessly; look, Ping'an is crying!"

In the midst of speaking, Liu Dongzhu hastily put down her bowl and chopsticks, picked up Wang Ping'an from the infant bed, and comforted: "Don't cry, don't cry, Mom is here, Ping'an, don't be scared!"

Wang Lin snorted coldly: "I just want to see what that thieving cat is doing stealing our family's cured meat!"

"Let's go!"

Yuan Liang was also curious; he quickly rose and gave chase, soon arriving before a thatched hut.

"Mom, you don't know, those people are too terrible; they pushed me down and even trampled the wild vegetables I had painstakingly picked from the mountain. Fortunately I encountered a divine cat, and it protected me!"

"A divine cat?"

"Yes, that's the divine cat, pitch black and very formidable!"

Wang Lin saw the black cat dragging cured meat, slipping through a window into the kitchen, preparing to move forward to see what was going on, when he overheard the conversation of a mother and daughter coming from the nearby thatched hut.

Wang Lin's expression froze; he glanced at the thatched hut, then at the black cat already slipped into the kitchen. Although he hadn't fully understood why the black cat, called a spirit cat by the young Daoist, would steal their family's cured meat.

At that moment.

Upon hearing that mother and daughter's conversation, he finally understood what was really going on.

Wang Lin whispered: "Young Daoist, let's go!"

Yuan Liang nodded; although young, he had encountered all sorts of people in the Daoist temple, was quite worldly-wise and mature, and naturally understood from the conversation what was going on!

After walking a long distance and moving away from that thatched hut just now, Yuan Liang sighed: "So it turns out this spirit cat was doing good deeds!"

Wang Lin complained: "Even if it's doing good deeds, it shouldn't steal our family's belongings, especially cured meat—don't they know we only get to eat a bite during festivals?"

Yuan Liang reminded: "Old Patron Wang, as the saying goes, what kind of master has what kind of spirit pet!"

Wang Lin angrily said: "Young Daoist, you mean our family's Ping'an will become a petty thief in the future?" "Old Patron Wang, you misunderstand my meaning; my meaning is that your family's Ping'an is a Great Virtuous Person reincarnated, which is why this kind-hearted spirit cat has been attracted to protect him."

Yuan Liang explained: "Aren't all your family's belongings eventually going to be your family's Ping'an's? That spirit cat belongs to your family's Ping'an; taking its own things, how can that be called stealing?"

"Young Daoist, you're right!"

Wang Lin gave a hehe smile, his face full of smug satisfaction.

On the way home, Wang Lin encountered a group of aggressive villagers wielding sticks, and asked in surprise: "Chi Hua, what's wrong? Has something major happened?"

"Uncle Wang, our village has been invaded by monsters..."

Before Chi Hua finished speaking, seeing the panic on Wang Lin's face, he then explained: "It's not a formidable monster; it's a wild cat that has become a spirit, injuring my son or their child. I must find it quickly and kill it, otherwise once it gains power, it might drag away the village's children."

Wang Lin frowned: "Chi Hua, you said the wild cat—is it black?"

"Uncle Wang, have you seen it?"

Chi Hua was startled and hastily said: "Uncle Wang, quickly tell me where you saw it!"

=9+book_bar

"It's ours!"

Wang Lin snorted coldly; combining the earlier eavesdropped conversation, he finally understood what was going on, and angrily said: "Don't you want to know what's going on?"

Chi Hua wondered: "Uncle Wang, what could possibly be going on in here?"

"Your family sure has the talent, bullying helpless orphans and widows!"

Wang Lin sneered.

Chi Hua, not understanding, said: "Uncle Wang, what do you mean by this? I don't get it!"

Wang Lin said nothing, but coldly stared at another man in the group, angrily saying: "Little Zeng, won't you say something about this?"

Zeng Hui unnaturally said: "Uncle Wang, I don't understand your meaning!"

"Are you still pretending to be ignorant here?"

Wang Lin indignantly said: "Your son brought people to bully your niece; don't tell me about this—you don't know?"

"A niece?"

Chi Hua first stared, then realized, and said in astonishment: "Uncle Wang, you mean my child bullied Xiao Cao, seen by your family's little cat, and your cat, acting bravely, injured my son?"

Before his words were even finished, without waiting for Wang Lin to speak, Chi Hua continued: "Uncle Wang, you must be joking—your cat isn't a person, how could it act bravely?"

"Exactly, exactly!"

Zeng Hui echoed: "Uncle Wang, I think you're just looking for an excuse to avoid paying compensation!"

"Both patrons, Old Patron Wang is correct; their family's spirit cat will injure your children, for the spirit cat acts bravely!"

As soon as Yuan Liang finished speaking, he saw Pool Hua and Zeng Hui both open their mouths, about to say something, but he jumped in first and said: "Wang Lin's family's cat is not an ordinary cat; it is spiritual!"

Wang Lin said: "Pool Hua, if you don't believe me, you can go home and ask your child what he just did!"

Pool Hua glanced at Yuan Liang, then at Wang Lin, then at Zeng Hui, and said: "Uncle Wang, I'll go home right now to ask that little brat!"

(End of chapter)