Chapter 6: Return (With thanks to the leader "Shennong Tastes All Herbs, Only Mount Ling Is Supreme")

[Catwalk: Catwalk Spell (Beginner’s Insight) (Moonlight)]

Perched like a crouching tiger on the eaves, the black cat Lu Xun could feel the surge of power coursing through his body. The deepest wounds on his heavy paw had dwindled to two shallow scratches, the bleeding staunched. The lighter injuries had healed entirely. Now, he no longer needed the blessings of the Daoist master from Lushan; he could wield spells on his own—transforming his shape and posture midair, the art known as the Catwalk Spell.

He had once considered whether the head of the spotted tabby might serve him better, but he had no desire to shock the world by removing his own head and replacing it with that of the tabby. Thus, he allowed the three-legged cat to devour the tabby instead.

He hadn’t expected this would directly elevate his trick of the Catwalk to a true spell.

With a gentle leap, the black cat landed nimbly in the courtyard, like a victorious general returning from battle.

Those still perched cautiously on the roof tiles exchanged bewildered glances, relief and joy mingling on their faces, survivors of a recent ordeal.

The troublesome beast was finally dead.

Good riddance!

"Thank you, Master Daoist," said Mr. Song, his heart finally settling as he wiped away snot and tears and bowed in gratitude.

The Daoist in yellow robes clasped his hands behind his back and replied, "You flatter me, sir. If not for your mansion’s ‘General,’ we would never have captured that fiend."

Lu Xun ignored the praise swirling around him, hoisting the tabby and heading straight for the side room.

"Hurry, go check on the young lady!"

"Miss, the monster has been completely vanquished!"

The maids and old nursemaids rushed forward to help Miss Song.

Overwhelmed with joy, Miss Song exclaimed, "Master Daoist, did you truly banish the monster?"

"It was not the Daoist alone," someone replied.

"Who else?"

"It was..." The personal maid pointed across the room.

In the brightly lit chamber, a large black cat squatted at the center, the tabby still in its jaws, and locked eyes with her.

All the delight and panic in Miss Song’s eyes faded, replaced by a single gasp: "Three-Legs!"

She knew her childhood companion too well; part of her had hoped to see Three-Legs again upon returning. They’d said Three-Legs was old and near death, unable to walk, or else she would have brought him with her when she married.

Three-Legs should have died already. When faced with the beast, the old cat had still bravely shielded her, dying at the door.

"Three-Legs, you’ve come back."

Miss Song wept tears of joy, tossing aside her covers and tumbling from the bed.

"Meow!"

Lu Xun gazed at this strangely familiar person, still clutching the tabby’s corpse. As Miss Song moved, he pivoted from his squat, glanced at her once, and sprinted straight out the door.

"Three-Legs, don’t go!"

...

Lu Xun was not the old Three-Legs. He had his reasons to leave.

Strangely, as he carried the tabby in his jaws, Lu Xun discovered he was running incredibly fast, the world around him blurring into streaks of light, twisting away behind him.

Then, in the darkness, a single star appeared.

A passageway emerged before him.

The point of light at the end grew larger and larger.

As he ran, the corpse of the tabby slowly turned to ash, drifting away like the embers of burnt joss paper.

Suddenly, the world brightened—clarity everywhere.

The warm yellow lamplight felt so familiar.

The neatly arranged shelves, four in all, lined up on either side, filled with ‘junk’ he knew by heart.

"Meow."

The big cat’s face was alight with joy and relief.

Wasting no time on sentiment, Lu Xun nimbly hopped onto the grimy counter, searching everywhere for his head.

He remembered standing behind the counter, drawing his firearm. When the blade came down, he had seen his own body clearly—his head should have rolled to the front of the counter.

But nothing met his eyes.

Not only was his head missing, even the blood had vanished, as if the murder had never happened.

Lu Xun leapt off the counter, belly to the ground, nose pressed close as he searched for his own scent: under the counter, beneath the shelves, in the corners, in the small back room…

The more he searched, the more frantic he became, turning the whole general store upside down, but his head was nowhere to be found.

Firearm: present.

Reclining chair: present.

The Seven Weapons of Wuxia: present.

Television and remote: both present!

But where was his head…?

Where was it!

"Meow?!"

The black cat collapsed on the floor, limbs splayed in all directions, looking more like a human than a cat.

After a few breaths of dejection, the black cat dragged the firearm, tucked it into a long box, and shoved it into the hidden compartment under the counter.

His little general store, though small, always had customers. If anyone saw that thing, it would spell big trouble.

If he got caught, so be it, but he couldn’t risk implicating his uncle who smuggled him the gun.

"He must know!"

Lu Xun’s golden pupils suddenly focused.

The silver-masked man who had severed his head must know where it was, perhaps even taken it himself.

Paws to the ground, Lu Xun strode quickly to the heavy glass door.

Peering through the murky glass out into the street—

Nothing but darkness.

Profound, bottomless!

It seemed the world beyond the door was not the familiar three-way street, but an endless abyss.

Lu Xun shook his feline head and glanced at the white-faced clock ticking on the wall.

Leaping onto the counter and then down, he turned into the cramped backroom, fishing out his palm-sized old mobile phone from under the pillow.

The phone was slim, heavy, olive-green, its small screen a mosaic of pixels, the keypad taking up most of the space. Lu Xun’s favorite pastime was a little pixel airplane shooter game. Aside from Tetris, that was the only fun game he had.

A cat’s paw pressed the button, and the screen lit up instantly.

The early 21st-century date glowed in pale green, illuminating his feline face.

No missed calls.

...

Ding-ling!

The bell above the door chimed again.

Fumbling with the phone, Lu Xun quickly stuffed it under the pillow, then dropped silently to the floor, the pads of his paws making no sound.

His black fur blended into the shadows, slit pupils quietly watching as the heavy glass door slowly creaked open.

His eyelids drooped, ears pressed flat against his head.

Sharp claws poised, ready but restrained.

A figure slipped in with the evening breeze.

"Is the owner here?"

A delicate, slightly timid voice echoed in the narrow hallway.

At the door stood a girl, about eighteen or nineteen, wearing a gray vest-like sweater over a shirt with milky-white sleeves, her feet in round-toed canvas shoes.

Weariness flickered across her face as she mustered her energy to ask, "Boss Lu?"

She shuffled closer, calling out a few times under the yellow light with no response, then took a few more steps forward.

She was about to reach the little backroom where Lu Xun usually slept.

Lu Xun did not want anyone entering his bedroom.

"Mimi?!"

The girl exclaimed in surprise and delight, but disappointment quickly followed when she saw clearly.

She squatted down and beckoned to the black cat.

"Meow."

Lu Xun had no choice but to block the doorway, sauntering over slowly.

"Boss Lu isn’t here?" The girl tilted her head, peering inside.

The shop was so small, if the owner were present, he’d have answered by now. She figured someone must have called him away again; she often saw the limping youth from the shop helping neighbors in the building’s hallways.

Zhang Lin tried to pick up the black cat.

But as she reached out, she was startled.

From a distance, she hadn’t thought much of the cat, but up close, she saw how large it really was—much bigger than her own. Her cat was an orange tabby, tail included not quite two feet long, but this black cat was three feet without counting the tail; with the tail, it looked like a little black panther.

"How long has Boss Lu been out?"

Zhang Lin glanced at the black cat’s belly, noticing how gaunt and sagging it looked.

"Meow."

"Are you starving?"

Zhang Lin peeled two sausages from her pocket, holding them out to the black cat. "I was hoping to ask Boss Lu if he’d seen Mimi, my orange tabby. She ran out sometime around dusk. Didn’t expect the boss to be out. These sausages were meant for her."

"If she’s gone feral, she won’t even look for food—she’ll probably be digging through trash somewhere..."

Lu Xun truly was hungry. He hadn’t dared touch the food at Mr. Song’s for fear of being drugged, but this was safe enough.

He wolfed down both sausages, barely half-full.

Sniff!

He took a deep whiff.

Lu Xun could clearly smell a feline scent on the girl.

That must be the orange tabby she’d lost.

"Meow!"

The black cat circled Zhang Lin, then gently bit the hem of her clothes.

Zhang Lin had no clue what the black cat wanted.

Lu Xun tugged her aside, then let go, and with a single leap, bounded out through the open glass door.

A faint, rosy mist lingered at the tip of his nose.