Chapter 91: Chapter 85: First Date with Feng Bei

Feng Bei was Ye Weiyang’s Upper Three.

She normally led a reclusive life, rarely interacting with others except when on duty.

However, as an Innate Mystic who bore an Omen, her every move affected the city’s Ravens.

Whether the Ravens cried out, whether they flew—it was all inextricably linked to Feng Bei.

Thus, word quietly spread throughout Ye Weiyang that Feng Bei had spent the night at the Zheng Family’s estate and only left just before lunch.

「At noon.」

For the first time in a long while, Zheng Xiu had a full, satisfying lunch at home.

Zheng Erniang was in high spirits and personally cooked a sumptuous feast, allowing Zheng Xiu to savor the tastes of his childhood once more.

It was unclear whether she did it by chance or by design, but Zheng Erniang had specially prepared a steamed spring chicken. At the dinner table, she grinned as she tore off a drumstick, placed it in Zheng Xiu’s bowl, and said, "Eat up. You need to grow bigger."

The lovely ladies at the table, oblivious to the deeper meaning, erupted in boisterous laughter, teasing, "Yes, Young Master, eat more spring chicken so you can grow big and strong!"

The Young Master’s return to the clan and the Second Lady’s recovery had brought a long-absent joy to the Zheng Family.

Zheng Xiu had wanted to ask Feng Bei to stay for the meal.

You know how it is with mealtime negotiations—it’s always easier to talk business over food.

But Feng Bei had refused outright and left alone, saying she disliked dining with others.

’But you ate noodles with me the other day,’ Zheng Xiu muttered to himself.

「After the meal.」

Zheng Xiu equipped the Traits for his Incarnation and the Deceit Jiazi "Form One," then hurried to the Ye Weiyang Post Station.

In front of the Post Station, Feng Bei stood quietly with her hands clasped behind her back. She seemed utterly out of place amidst the bustling street, as if she was surrounded by her own desolate, lightless world.

At her feet rested a cage, and inside was a small Orange Cat.

The Orange Cat was dozing listlessly inside, sprawled out lazily.

Sensing his approach, Feng Bei opened her eyes. A lock of her long hair fell naturally, covering her Omen-bearing right eye. She smiled slightly. "You’re here."

From inside the Post Station, a Night Guard peeked out, watching furtively.

’Who does Lord Upper Three have a meeting with?’

Feng Bei glanced back, and the gossiping Night Guard flinched, pulling his head back inside the Post Station, not daring to peek again.

"Are we taking a carriage? Where are we going?"

Zheng Xiu had successfully arranged a meeting with Feng Bei.

Feng Bei had accepted the young man’s invitation.

To put it simply, it was an appointment—a meeting to be kept.

Zheng Xiu was dead set on using Feng Bei as a super-sized experience pack to grind his Skill’s Experience Level.

Feng Bei, for her part, wanted two things: first, to learn the truth and whereabouts of her benefactor from twenty years ago from Zheng Xiu; second, to repay that debt of gratitude by raising Zheng Er into an elite among elites—a Miracle Master who could never be bullied.

With each pursuing their own agenda, they found common ground instantly and agreed to meet.

"To a quiet place," Feng Bei replied, answering both of Zheng Xiu’s questions in one fell swoop. Then, she pointed to the cage at her feet. "From now on, you’ll be taking care of it."

An... Orange Cat?

"Is this your cat?"

Zheng Xiu curiously opened the cage. The cat’s eyes shot open, its glistening green orbs fixing on Zheng Xiu as its whiskers twitched slightly.

Man and cat stared at each other.

"Meow."

The Orange Cat extended a paw toward Zheng Xiu, its pink pads facing him.

"Whoa!" Zheng Xiu exclaimed, his initial surprise turning to a hint of disdain. "Why isn’t it black?"

He knew this Orange Cat was supposed to come from the same stock as the Mao’er raised by Dou Xie and Yue Yan, but its fur color was completely different.

"Meeeooow..."

The Orange Cat’s expression soured, as if it understood the look of disdain in Zheng Xiu’s eyes.

Feng Bei shook her head, hailed a carriage, and hired a Night Guard to act as the driver.

"My apologies, the horses dislike my scent. I’ll have to trouble you to drive us to my residence."

"Of course, of course! You’re too kind, Lord Upper Three!"

"Giddy-up!"

The driver cracked his whip, and the carriage sped off in a cloud of dust.

The cage was left behind at the Post Station; the Orange Cat was well-behaved and didn’t run off. Inside the carriage, Zheng Xiu and Feng Bei sat facing each other, with the Orange Cat plopped right on the young man’s lap.

It was only then that Feng Bei explained the Mao’er’s origins.

Apparently, the Ravens and Soul-Chasing Lamps raised by Ye Weiyang were fed "Soul Cores" from a young age, which granted them the Ability of Spirit Communication.

Simply put, they could sense anomalies that ordinary people couldn’t.

Long-term consumption of Soul Cores would turn the fur of the Mao’er known as "Soul-Chasing Lamps" jet-black; only then were they considered fully matured.

This Orange Cat, however, was a reject that couldn’t tolerate the Soul Cores.

Feng Bei hadn’t been directly promoted to Upper Three. Years ago, she had spent half a year in the position of a "Yue Yan."

When she went to claim her Soul-Chasing Lamp, the sound of a thousand Mao’er crying out in unison had startled all of Ye Weiyang’s cat-breeders.

Feng Bei, knowing this would happen, was not surprised. Later, in a corner, she found this little Orange Cat, trembling uncontrollably.

The Orange Cat was just as frightened as the black cats, but the way it stood out, so different from the others, made Feng Bei think of herself.

Even knowing she couldn’t raise it herself, she still chose the Orange Cat. Otherwise, following the standard procedure for "rejects," the cat would have met a dead end.

She usually left the Orange Cat in the care of the Spirit Binder, Bi Shui. Now that she planned to train Zheng Xiu as a member of Ye Weiyang, she remembered the cat. She figured that since Zheng Xiu had innate Spirit Communication and didn’t rely much on the ability of a Soul-Chasing Lamp, this Orange Cat would be a perfect match for him.

After explaining the Orange Cat’s origins in one breath, Feng Bei propped her chin in one hand and gazed out the window.

From his angle, Zheng Xiu couldn’t see Feng Bei’s expression. She continued in an even tone, "A Soul-Chasing Lamp is optional for you. It’s just that having one makes you look more like a member of Ye Weiyang. But if you don’t want to raise it, I won’t force you. We can send it back to Bi Shui’s place to live out its days in peace. For the cat, that might even be for the best."

"Is that so?"

Zheng Xiu slipped his hands under the Orange Cat’s front legs and lifted it up. Master Zheng’s gaze shifted downward.

’Hm, a little female,’ he noted.

The Orange Cat’s hind legs went stiff, a little tense.

Zheng Xiu held the Orange Cat out toward Feng Bei.

The cat’s tail shot straight up.

When he pulled the cat back, it relaxed.

Closer to Feng Bei, then back again. Closer, then back. Watching the little female cat’s tail shoot up and down, Zheng Xiu had a realization. "It seems it really is afraid of you."

Feng Bei pressed her lips together, silent. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Heh, I’ll take her!" Zheng Xiu said, testing the cat’s weight in his hands. "As the saying goes, ’Nine out of ten orange cats are fat, and the tenth will break the bed.’ This one is so skinny, maybe she’s some kind of innate variant. By the way, what’s her name?"

Feng Bei was still looking out the window. "She doesn’t have a name."

"You see?" Zheng Xiu said, teasing the Mao’er’s paws. "Your master didn’t even give you a name. It seems you were destined to fall into my hands." He said it jokingly, then glanced at Feng Bei. For some reason, he felt the cat and Feng Bei were a bit alike. He couldn’t say how, but he just felt a resemblance.

A name slipped out. "From now on, you’ll be called Xiaofeng."

CRACK!

Feng Bei’s left hand clenched into a fist, and a large chunk of the window frame was sheared clean off, letting the wind whistle in. She finally whipped her head around, a look of shock on her face. "Wh-what did you call her?"

"Xiaofeng. It’s a nice name," Zheng Xiu said, ignoring Feng Bei’s outburst. He pointed at the cat. "Come on, Xiaofeng, give me a few of your most charming meows."

"Meow!"

"Xiaofeng!"

"Meow!"

"Xiaofeng!"

"Meow!"

"Xiaofeng, Xiaofeng!"

"Meow, meow, meow~"

Feng Bei: "..."

She suddenly regretted her decision to give the Orange Cat to him.

Listening to the exchange inside the carriage, the Night Guard driver felt like his world had been turned upside down.

’Lord Upper Three is training a rookie personally?’ he thought.

’And she even gave him a Soul-Chasing Lamp ahead of time?’

’Aha! Now that’s a valuable piece of intel!’

Mentally filing the information away, the Night Guard driver remained silent as he steered the carriage off the main road and onto a remote side path.

For the entire two-hour journey, Zheng Xiu played with Xiaofeng, calling out her name while the Orange Cat answered with a "meow" each time. Watching the bond between man and cat deepen, Feng Bei sat to the side, clenching her fists. For some reason, every meow grated on her ears.

The torturous journey finally came to an end as the carriage arrived at its destination.

A cold wind kicked up withered leaves, sending them spiraling high into the air.

Gloomy clouds hung low in the sky. In the distance stood a steep, sheer mountain peak.

From the mountainside up, it soared into the heavens, its summit shrouded in swirling clouds and mist.

"We’ve arrived, Lord Upper Three."

The Night Guard driver departed in a hurry, not daring to linger.

On the bare branches of a withered tree, a few Ravens, startled by Feng Bei’s presence, erupted into a brief, chaotic flurry.

Zheng Xiu recalled Feng Bei saying her home was on a cliff. His mouth fell open. The Mao’er perched on his head also opened its little mouth wide in a silent meow.

Man and cat stared up at the towering, precipitous peak.

"Don’t tell me you live at the summit?"

"Follow me."

Feng Bei plunged into the forest alone, making her way toward the sheer peak.

Deep in the woods, Zheng Xiu saw an iron stake driven into the earth. Attached to it was a chain that stretched all the way up the face of the mountain.

The iron chain was as thick as a man’s fist. Though it should have been rusted from exposure to the elements, its top surface was polished to a brilliant shine, clear evidence that someone frequently used this perilous path.

"Can you make it up?"

Feng Bei glanced back, the corner of her lip hooking into a smirk that wasn’t quite a smile.

Xiaofeng the Orange Cat’s cheerful meows had inexplicably irritated her for the entire journey, and now it seemed she wanted to get a little payback.

"Climbing the chain would be a little difficult," Zheng Xiu said, shaking his head with a frown. He sensed something strange about the peak; the clouds and mist around it seemed to twist and distort in an unnatural way.

With no one else around, Zheng Xiu dropped the pretense. His chest began to pulse with the thumping sound of a "heartbeat" as claw-like markings spread across his body. Fangs extended from his mouth, and a single wing unfurled from his back.

"So I’ll just fly up."

The young man held Xiaofeng the Orange Cat in his arms and pointed toward the summit of the cliff not far away.