Qi Kingdom, Nocturnal Heaven City.

The rain keeps falling, but thanks to the city’s well-developed infrastructure, there’s no waterlogged pits on the streets. The rainwater, carrying fallen leaves, converges into the drains along the gaps between the green bricks, splashing only when rolling carriage wheels pass by.

A carriage breaks through the rain curtain and slowly stops at the side gate of the Palace City. From inside emerges a figure carrying a palace lantern, the sound of long boots tapping crisply on the green bricks.

The palace gate roars open, revealing a narrow crack that swallows all light, as if an abyss capable of devouring wind and rain. Inside wait two expressionless palace attendants, who silently lead Ying Rushi through the rain-soaked Imperial City.

The city is dazzling with its exquisite architecture, but like the continuous rain, it is cold and devoid of any warmth. Ying Rushi suddenly misses the Thief’s House. Though compared to the Imperial City or even her own residence, the Thief’s House is pathetically small, its bed might be warm, at least offering a peaceful sleep.

The central hall remains brightly lit, its radiance undiminished even by the rain’s veil.

Ying Rushi is not surprised; Your Majesty always sleeps with all the lights on, as the ruler of Nocturnal Heaven, her world knows no night, only a passage from one day to the next.

She waits outside the hall for a summons, but the palace attendants lead her instead to the rear garden.

Ying Le is in the rear garden, or more accurately, crouched beside a staircase, barefoot on the green bricks, wearing a skirt barely covering her knees. Her long legs exposed, drenched, hair sticking to her cheeks and neck, her slender figure is elegantly outlined by the pressing folds of her thin attire.

To the unknowing, her allure would undoubtedly draw comparisons to the fresh charm of a noble princess or a favored consort.

"Rushi’s here? Come over, come over," Ying Le’s voice carries a hint of excitement, "Quietly."

Ying Rushi silently releases her defensive barrier, allowing the rain to soak her entirely, then moves beside Ying Le, bending down to observe the stairs where Ying Le points.

It’s a cat.

It curls under the stairs, its fur a pure black, with four adorable white paws. Next to it are bowls with fresh meat and water, barely touched. It sleeps, but restlessly, its eyelids twitching, susceptible to any sound disturbance.

"It’s injured," Ying Rushi whispers, noticing a piece missing from its ear.

"Pretty badly, look at its rear," Ying Le says, "Seems to be from a cat fight, and it lost, chased and hit while fleeing. In the feral cat world, front injuries symbolize honor, but getting hurt on the rear is a mark of shame, it’s too weak to survive outside now, all the stray cats know it’s easy prey."

"So it fled to the Imperial Palace?" Ying Rushi surmises.

"No, I found it during my patrol, it ran into the carriage wheel. For years, no animal, not even tigers, dared come close... No wonder it lost the fight, amidst feral cats it’s surely an odd one. When I approached, it didn’t flee, even brushed against my foot."

"Perhaps it has a bond with Your Majesty."

"Hard to say, because as soon as I picked it up, it started to... and later I realized it was probably sick and dazed."

"Why did it come here?"

"After I cured it, it started running everywhere. If I insisted on holding it, it froze in panic. Fearing it’d die from fright, I let it go, and it darted all night through the palace, finally settling here." Ying Le snorts, "I set up a cozy cat bed for it, but it chose a dirty rag to sleep on, such a fool cat."

Ying Rushi now notices the black cat on a gray, worn-out rag, too small to fully accommodate it, forcing its head onto the cold ground even curled up. She suddenly recalls the Thief’s House, her lips curling slightly upwards, as if understanding the cat’s sentiment.

"I plan to let it get used to my scent while it sleeps," Ying Le says enthusiastically, "When I was young, Mother gifted me a cat named Tea Leaf, and it took days for Tea Leaf to get accustomed to me like this."

Ying Rushi gazes at Ying Le beside her, struck with a sense of unrealness.

From the time Ying Rushi could remember, Ying Le was already the wise and mighty Grand General Commander, and after ascending as the Celestial Monarch Fengyi, dominated the Central Plains, seemingly born as the tyrant towering above all, wilding arrogance upon the world.

Only upon witnessing this moment does Ying Rushi realize Ying Le, too, had a childhood... Once a princess in the Imperial Palace, growing under parental care, her world was as vast as the palace itself, and joy from raising a cat.

Suddenly, a gentle caress on her head snaps Ying Rushi, meeting Ying Le’s displeased eyes,

"Your hair is soaked," Ying Le chided, "You’re not a child anymore, why foolishly let yourself get drenched? Are you so short of Spiritual Jade to maintain a barrier?" Summoning the palace attendants behind them for umbrellas.