Chapter 163: A Special Offering
When Xu Zhi lifted her head, she realized that the tree belonging to the black cat had disappeared without her noticing.
Was it because its remains had been taken away?
But this wasn’t the time to question it. Xu Zhi tied the bone and the scabbard together, slung them across her back, put her cloak on again, and hurried toward the entrance.
Not long after she left, strange, guttural howls echoed from behind her.
The black cat’s tone suddenly grew weary. “Tch… that was close.”
Xu Zhi frowned. “What were those things? They won’t chase us, will they?”
The black cat’s voice sank low. “No. You moved fast, and I’ve hidden your tracks. Don’t stop—keep going. Go farther.”
She could hear the fatigue in its voice. Combined with the powers of its lineage, Nightmare, it wasn’t hard to guess how it had managed to conceal her trail.
It really did want to leave this place.
Xu Zhi kept moving quickly until she neared the rift. Only then did she stop.
The hand branded by Midnight showed no signs of change. Other than the initial burning sensation, everything seemed the same as before—but that very normality made Xu Zhi uneasy.
Seeing her stop, the black cat sounded puzzled. “Why aren’t you leaving? What are you standing here for?”
It looked around anxiously—so different from its earlier confidence.
Why was it nervous?
What had changed?
—The bones.
Was it uneasy because she’d dug up the bones?
It seemed those bones were truly important.
“You haven’t fulfilled your end of the deal,” Xu Zhi said calmly, not at all in a hurry.
“Do you even know how dangerous it is to linger here? If you’re discovered—!”
“Human, we can talk after we get out. Once it’s safe, we can talk for as long as you like—I’ll tell you anything you want—”
“No.” Xu Zhi cut it off immediately. “I want to know now.”
The black cat’s back arched, fangs bared in a low growl. “Human, you’d better learn your place!”
Xu Zhi wasn’t one to be intimidated. Her eyes were cold. “You’re the one who should learn your place.”
“If you don’t talk, I’ll throw this bone away.”
“You—!” The words hit the black cat’s weak spot. Its fur puffed up again and again, but it couldn’t do anything to Xu Zhi.
Its emerald eyes flickered. If not for that damned lamp light, it could’ve trapped Xu Zhi in an illusion long ago and made her willingly take it out.
But now, it seemed it had no choice but to pay a price.
“Fine, human. What do you want to know?”
Xu Zhi already understood where this place was. What mattered now was—
“Why do you want to leave? Did something happen here?”
“Hmph.” The black cat dissolved into a wisp of blue smoke. “You ask good questions.”
“Every creature here wants to leave—not just me.”
That was the first answer to her question.
It didn’t surprise Xu Zhi. She already knew this was a graveyard. The beings within Midnight were all dead; leaving it might mean returning to life.
“But you’re right—something did change in Midnight.” The black cat floated weakly in the air.
“That rift disrupted certain arrangements. Since we can’t leave, even Midnight has become dangerous. Those who’ve regained their consciousness all want to escape as soon as possible—before they become sacrifices.”
As it spoke, the black cat suddenly cried out in pain and fell to the ground. Its fur lost its luster, as though it had suffered a heavy backlash.
It lay motionless for nearly half a minute before slowly opening its eyes again. The emerald gleam in them had dimmed. In a frail voice, it said to Xu Zhi:
“I’ve given you your answer. Now… it’s your turn to keep your promise.”
The cat’s condition was pitiful, but Xu Zhi wasn’t satisfied. “Is that all?”
At her greedy demand, the cat’s voice turned shrill. “Human! Don’t be too greedy!”
“I’ve told you everything I can. Even so, I’ve already suffered backlash. One more word—and I’ll never make it out!”
Seeing its attitude, Xu Zhi realized that this truly was its limit.
An offering, huh…
A thought formed in her mind, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. She nodded. “You’d better hide inside the cloak. You’re too conspicuous like this.”
Relieved that she didn’t press for more, the black cat relaxed slightly. The backlash couldn’t be hidden; it had only feared she’d keep demanding answers.
With Xu Zhi’s permission, the lamp’s light no longer burned its soul, allowing it to slip into the cloak.
“Oh, right,” Xu Zhi said suddenly. “There’s a guard at the entrance. If it notices me, you’d better cover for me.”
The cat inside the cloak bristled again. That guard? Did she think he was something it could fool so easily?!
Human! So greedy!
But it couldn’t just stand by—if Xu Zhi got caught, its remains would…
Those bones could never be left in Midnight. They had to leave.
The black cat lay weakly on Xu Zhi’s shoulder, gathering what little strength it had left. When the moment came, it would act.
Damn human. Once I’m out of here, I’ll take back my bones—and make her pay for threatening me!
As Xu Zhi neared the rift, she replaced the lamp’s core, changing its light from Lamp to Cup.
The moment the light shifted, the cat hidden in her cloak grew tense—it clearly hated the aura of the Cup even more than that of the Lamp.
When she reached the entrance, the creature that had once lounged lazily by the crack was now pacing restlessly, perhaps alerted by the commotion in the forest.
Xu Zhi didn’t dare look up. High-tier transcendent beings had an unnaturally keen intuition—they could sense even a glance. She held her breath and slowed her steps, inching toward the rift.
Beneath the cloak, Xu Zhi looked like a wisp of mist gliding swiftly across the ground—silent and without presence. Yet in this windless forest, even a moving mist seemed strange.
Fortunately, when she passed by the towering creature, the black cat acted just in time to conceal her presence.
Thus, Xu Zhi managed to reach the rift safely.
Once she crossed it, she would return to the real world— and her pact with the black cat would end the moment she did.
