Chapter 161: The Cunning Human!
So it really was that cat.
Still as much of a chatterbox as ever — completely unlike the docile little cat from her retinue. What was this, balance in nature? Things turning into their opposites?
Xu Zhi simply stared at it in silence. Barely two or three seconds passed before the black cat couldn’t take it anymore.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“You sneaking in here at this hour — you must have some incredible goal. Tell me what it is. Maybe I can even help you.”
The black cat circled her, its voice ethereal and ghostly. It was much larger than her familiar cat — the size of a full-grown feline.
Xu Zhi remembered what the Narrator had said: she could respond now. She didn’t expect the cat to actually help her, but maybe she could pry some information from it.
After thinking a moment, she said calmly, “I don’t believe you’d help me. Nothing in this place ever helps humans.”
She said it on purpose — in truth, she didn’t know if it was true or not. She was just bluffing based on what the Narrator had told her and what she’d seen herself.
Who would’ve thought the cat would immediately confirm her statement?
“You’re right. But I’m different. I don’t have such strong hostility toward humans. You should trust me.”
—That was impossible.
Xu Zhi thought so to herself.
When she didn’t respond, the cat leapt from her left side to her right.
“Why not give it a try?”
“I’ll help you — and all you have to do is give me a little help in return.”
Xu Zhi stayed silent, continuing to walk forward with a look that said she wasn’t buying a word of it.
“Human, why won’t you speak?”
The black cat kept repeating the question as it followed beside her.
For a while, the phrase “Human” echoed eerily through the dim forest, as though the very shadows were whispering it back.
“Human, why won’t you speak?”
“Human, where are you going?”
“Human, what are you searching for?”
“Human…”
A vein throbbed on Xu Zhi’s forehead. Her instincts screamed that letting this cat keep running its mouth was a bad idea. Finally, she sighed and said,
“Can’t you be quiet for one moment?”
The cat, who had been fairly indifferent to her coldness, suddenly froze. Then an extremely human-like expression of disbelief appeared on its face as it leapt in front of her to block her path.
“You want me to be quiet?!”
“Do you have any idea how many years it’s been since I last spoke?!”
“Human, you’re far too cruel!”
Its tone was indignant, but Xu Zhi only regarded it coolly.
“Are you trying to attract something else here?”
At that, the cat’s angry look vanished. Its ordinary feline face twisted into an enormous, grotesque smile — the kind only seen in horror animations. Razor-sharp teeth gleamed silver in the dark.
“Human… do you want to hear my request?”
Xu Zhi stopped walking and sighed.
“Go ahead.”
She needed to figure out a way to shut this thing up.
“I want you… to take me out of here,” the cat said, its tone suddenly shifting — low, strange, and serpentine.
Xu Zhi raised a brow.
“Didn’t you want me to stay last time?”
“No. I want you to take me away from this place.”
So, something had changed.
Last time she’d been here, everything in Midnight had tried to make her stay, not leave.
Even the human skin had lost all vitality the moment it left Midnight. Wasn’t the cat afraid of the same fate?
She asked bluntly,
“Can you even survive outside Midnight?”
The cat’s green eyes flickered. It knew there was no point lying — its next request would give it away anyway.
“I can’t,” it admitted reluctantly. “So you’ll need to make a few… preparations first.”
Xu Zhi stayed expressionless.
“What kind of preparations?”
The cat’s answer caught her completely off guard.
“You need to take my remains out with you.”
What, a free quest item? Not bad!
But wait—
“You still have remains? I thought this was you.”
The cat replied offhandedly, “I didn’t always look like this.”
“You used to be… a cat?”
“Hmph.”
Apparently, it wasn’t fond of its current form.
“I think you look rather nice,” Xu Zhi said lightly, then added, “But if I’m risking my neck to take your remains out — what do I get in return?”
Sometimes, luck really was on her side.
The cat slinked closer, staying just at the edge of the lantern’s light.
“What do you want?”
“There are many treasures here. I know where some of them are. I can lead you to them.”
“But you’ll have to act fast.”
Xu Zhi shook her head.
“No. I don’t want treasures.”
She had no intention of lingering here longer than necessary.
“Then what do you want?” the cat asked, baffled. Weren’t humans supposed to love that kind of thing?
“I want you to tell me why you want to leave. What this place really is. What happened here.”
Her voice was calm but firm.
The cat’s misty form stiffened. Its tone rose in surprise.
“You came in here without even knowing where this is?!”
Xu Zhi saw its fur puff up — clearly, her question had shaken it.
The reason she’d refused the offer of treasure wasn’t just to save time. More importantly, the Narrator couldn’t tell her these things directly — but if the black cat said them, it would bear the backlash, not her.
And she fully intended to use that.
This might be her only chance. Once she left, she’d offer the cat’s bones as a sacrifice — no way would she actually let it live in the real world. Who knew what it truly was, or what it wanted?
“You really want to know?” The cat’s fur remained bristled, its steps uneasy.
“Why do you want to know such things?”
“These are not matters meant to be spoken of. I refuse.”
“Then I refuse to help you,” Xu Zhi replied flatly.
The cat’s fur stood on end, claws extending to score deep marks into the ground. It was clearly in turmoil.
After a moment, Xu Zhi pretended to compromise.
“How about this — you take me to your remains first. I’ll bring you near the exit. Once you tell me everything, I’ll take you out. Deal?”
If the cat had known her real plan, it would never have trusted such a cunning human.
Unfortunately, it didn’t.
After a long pause, it relented.
“…Fine.”
“Getting to my remains won’t be easy. Follow me.”
