Toad

Clear Spring Temple was situated right in the county town—not some isolated monastery in the wilds—so there was no need to stay overnight. Having packed their belongings, Zhao Jia led Wang Ruo and the maid Xiaoyue out of the courtyard.

Given Zhao Jia’s status and martial prowess, the temple had little choice but to let them leave, and even provided a cattle-drawn cart for their journey home.

“Oh, what a huge cat!” Xiaoyue exclaimed as she climbed onto the cart, spotting the large black feline sprawled across the seat.

The black cat’s tail swayed lazily, nearly touching the ground. Hearing the little maid’s cry, its ears twitched, eyelids lifted briefly to take in the newcomer, then drooped again as it feigned sleep, letting out a soft snore.

Xiaoyue settled beside the cat, her gaze shifting from its eyes to Wang Ruo. “Madam, does this cat belong to the temple? I’ve never seen it before.”

Wang Ruo’s expression betrayed a hint of unease. The child could not understand—the black cat was clearly a creature of the supernatural. She cast a reproachful glance at Zhao Jia, who sat upright beside her.

“It’s not from the temple,” Wang Ruo replied.

Immediately, Xiaoyue’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Madam, Master, may I keep it?”

“Well…” Wang Ruo was at a loss, unable to explain the truth, and looked to her husband for help.

Zhao Jia took Wang Ruo’s hand and patted it gently, smiling at Xiaoyue. “He’ll stay with us for now.”

“Wonderful!” Xiaoyue cheered.

The rest of the journey passed in silence.

After delivering the Zhao family home, the young monk who had driven the cart headed back.

“Master, Madam, why are you home so soon?” Aunt Chen greeted them at the door, her face full of surprise.

Zhao Jia waved dismissively. “It’s better to rely on oneself than others. I never put much faith in ghosts or spirits.”

“Aunt Chen, prepare the east wing.”

“Are we expecting guests?” Aunt Chen looked around curiously.

“Aunt Chen, it’s for him.”

“What a big black cat!” Aunt Chen, sturdy and dark-complexioned, sized up the feline. “Madam must have a compassionate heart to rescue this cat. I’ve never seen such a large one—it almost seems supernatural.”

Her words caught in her throat, for Master Zhao had just declared disbelief in ghosts and spirits, and here she was suggesting the cat was enchanted.

Zhao Jia laughed. “Let him stay in the east wing.”

“Right away.”

Once the black cat was settled, Aunt Chen pulled the reluctant Xiaoyue back to their quarters.

...

“This is too much,” Wang Ruo muttered, turning in bed to face Zhao Jia, her expression serious. “I saw it stand upright on two legs, just like a person. Jia, it’s a monster!”

“I know.” Zhao Jia wrapped an arm around her, gazing up at the gauzy canopy above. “He saved me—and you. If he hadn’t brought me to you, who knows what might have happened. Now he has nowhere to go, not even a proper meal. We must help him.”

Wang Ruo wished to distance herself from all such strange happenings, but her husband, devoted solely to martial training, was as straightforward as could be.

“They say monsters appear when a country is in peril—how can there be such creatures in peaceful times?”

“Perhaps they’ve always been here.”

“Let’s sleep. A good night’s rest will help us forget all this.”

...

Lu Xun did not sleep on the soft bed but crouched on a solid wooden chair.

He extended his paw, slowly supporting his head. The connection gently opened. His feline body transformed into a naked, headless human form.

He swapped the cat’s head for the toad’s head from that strange space. Cradling the toad’s head, headless, his vision was shrouded as if by a dark mist, a weakness sweeping over him once more. It seemed that as long as he bore a head—any head—he remained alive; without one, his life began to ebb away.

The toad’s head merged with his neck.

The nictitating membrane blinked, and heaven and earth became clear.

Unlike the gray, expansive world seen through the cat’s eyes, Lu Xun now perceived a world in flux. All was black, with gentle, luminous white light sweeping over objects like orderly moonbeams, illuminating each somber thing.

Croak!

With each breath, the vision changed.

Suddenly, a vibrant, flickering orb of light appeared in his field of view.

Whoosh!

The toad’s tongue shot out instinctively and snapped back.

He chewed and swallowed.

The tongue had snagged a moth.

The nictitating membrane slid over his eyes; golden pupils rotated, granting the toad a wide field of vision.

He reacted strongly to moving objects; stationary items appeared dull, mostly gray-purple and dark. But any movement brought sharp, vivid highlights.

The millstone-sized toad crouched, legs bent.

With a sudden burst of strength, the entire toad became a black blur, launching itself forward.

Thud!

He collided straight into a ceiling beam, dazed and dizzy.

The toad’s jumping ability was astonishing, its trajectory entirely different from that of the three-legged cat.

The cat moved with leisurely steps, sprinting and shifting form as needed.

The toad was like a mortar—slow crawling most of the time, but when it jumped, it launched like a cannonball.

‘Water!’

Steam rose from the teapot, clouding into vapor, which the toad inhaled, his cheeks puffing out.

Gathering strength.

Spat!

A jet of dark water shot out.

Tap.

A shallow pit appeared in the beam.

“Croak, croak, croak.”

Lu Xun’s golden eyes brightened.

He had firsthand experience of the toad’s water jet—when struck, it could break skin at the least, cause internal injury at worst. Used properly, it could be a decisive weapon in combat.

While he explored the toad’s powers, black ink-like script appeared.

[Silver]

Lu Xun frowned in thought.

When he had obtained the three-legged cat’s head, such writing had appeared before.

It had said [Return].

He had followed the cat’s nose, tracing the pink mist back to the residence of Magistrate Song, encountering the demon-hunting priest and the suffering Miss Song.

He waited at Song’s house until the Flower Cat arrived, fought and defeated it, swallowed its head, and was enveloped in a gray mist vortex that carried him back to the modern world.

‘Silver.’

‘What does it mean?’

Unable to decipher it, Lu Xun pushed the thought aside.

He had no intention of returning just yet; he needed a more convenient head.

The two-foot toad was far less useful than the three-legged black cat.

‘Since I have this strange space for storing heads, could I manage the exchange without physically holding and swapping them?’

Lu Xun focused, centering his mind on the three-legged cat’s head in that peculiar space, envisioning the swap from toad head to cat head.

After several attempts, the heads shifted.

“Swap heads!”

The cat’s head and the toad’s head exchanged places.

The green toad body was instantly cloaked in fur.

The two-foot toad became a black cat, over three feet long with golden eyes.

“Ugh!”

The black cat arched and retched, dry heaving for a while.

The exchange had succeeded, but now came a wave of dizziness and nausea—as if a frail body had run a marathon.

Uncomfortable as it was, Lu Xun was delighted.

If he could adapt to this feeling, with persistent training, he could overcome the discomfort of swapping heads.

This transformation saved him much trouble.

In battle, circumstances changed in an instant.

Neither martial artists nor monsters would wait for him to slowly change his head.

...

Five o’clock in the morning.

The hour of the tiger.

Zhao Jia rose early, leaving his bed to practice swordplay in the courtyard.

His sixteen-form martial blade technique was solid and fierce.

Sweat gleamed in the morning sun.

Lu Xun, perched on a locust tree branch, yawned hugely, covering his mouth. He had practiced through the night, and now, every time he opened his mouth, he wanted to retch again.

If cats could show dark circles, he’d be worse than a panda—listless, as if worn out by too many late nights.

An hour passed.

Zhao Jia finished with a cold shower and began breakfast.

The black cat, Lu Xun, managed to get a meal as well.

After setting down his bowl, Zhao Jia looked to his wife. “I’m going to report to the county magistrate, and investigate Clear Spring Temple. If I don’t return tonight, someone will come to inform you.”

“Cat brother, let’s go.”