CHAPTER 31

Her politeness carried a subtle sense of distance, just like the Meng Yunxi in Sheng Qing's memory, but Sheng Qing still felt a slight sense of awkwardness.

"This is Miss Sheng Qing, the one with Mr. Blake. We've met before, you remember, right?" Miss Mouse introduced.

"Hello." Meng Yunxi, who was already in a half-mouse, half-cat state, only looked at Sheng Qing for less than a second before looking away.

Sheng Qing raised her eyebrows at Meng Yunxi several times and gave her a meaningful look, but the other woman pretended not to notice.

"What's wrong with Miss Sheng's eyes?" Sheng Qing felt her eyes were about to cramp from raising her eyebrows so high, but all she got in return was a faint sarcasm from the other party.

"It seems like something got in." Sheng Qing chuckled dryly and blinked hard.

Has he lost his memory?

Just as Sheng Qing gave up on finding another opportunity to be alone with Meng Yunxi, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Meng Yunxi tapped her fingers on the table three times, and then gave him a meaningful look.

What does this mean?

After a hasty farewell, Sheng Qing was persuaded by Miss Mouse to stay in a guest room. He made a point of remembering the location: it was two floors down from Meng Yunxi's room and then two numbers to the left.

At three o'clock in the morning, Sheng Qing was lifted up to Meng Yunxi's window by a rattan cane.

"Captain?" he called softly, but there was no response.

Did I misunderstand? Was I not told to come over now?

As Sheng Qing was wondering what was going on, the window was suddenly pushed open, and she stumbled and almost fell.

A tight grip around her waist, and then she was carried into the house.

"Captain?" The hand on his waist did not loosen.

"You really came." Unlike the aloofness he gave during the day, this time it carried a hint of teasing.

"You're not Meng Yunxi!" Sheng Qing sensed something was wrong and reached out to push away the hand still on her waist. "Who are you?"

The force applied to the waist actually increased.

In desperation, Sheng Qing summoned a cluster of flames.

"Let go!" The fire suddenly intensified as Sheng Qing spoke.

"What can we do if we don't let go?" Meng Yunxi's eyes were sinister.

"Then I'll burn this place down!" Sheng Qing retorted defiantly, flames leaping and about to lift the curtains.

"Dream on." Meng Yunxi narrowed her eyes, staring intently into the eyes of the person in her arms.

Sheng Qing was prepared to fight to the death with the person in front of him.

"How could this be?" An incredulous look appeared on Meng Yunxi's face.

Nothing happened?

"Impossible!" Meng Yunxi's tone was tinged with madness.

What's wrong with him?

Taking advantage of their unpreparedness, Sheng Qing broke free of her restraints and leaped out of the window.

The guy disguised as Meng Yunxi seemed to still be reeling from the inexplicable blow and didn't chase after them.

Sheng Qing fled back to her room, still shaken.

Feeling isolated and helpless, I had an urge to escape immediately.

But Meng Yunxi really got into trouble. Where is the real him?

One wave subsides only for another to rise.

In the morning, the first thing Sheng Qing saw when she opened her eyes was the stunningly beautiful face of the foreign boy next to her pillow, which startled her so much that she jumped out of bed.

Besides Blake, who else?

"My sister looks so funny when she sleeps," Blake yawned. "How come I never noticed before?"

"What are you doing here?" Sheng Qing frowned and opened the door. "Get out, don't disturb my sleep."

"No!" Blake lazily rolled over in bed. "I'm sleepy too, I want to sleep too." He then closed his eyes.

"Fine." Sheng Qing gritted her teeth in anger, quickly put on her coat, and slammed the door shut.

If you won't leave, I'll leave, okay?

"I rushed over overnight after hearing about Sisi, and instead of praising me, my sister slammed the door." Blake's aggrieved voice came from behind.

It seemed as if overnight everyone knew that Sheng Qing was a guest of Princess Sissi, and as soon as he went downstairs, people greeted him warmly.

Sheng Qing was initially a little uneasy, but unable to resist the protests of his rumbling stomach, he was led to the breakfast restaurant by a cat-like person.

They had barely taken a bite of their meal when the cat-like man led over another guest, none other than Meng Yunxi.

Sheng Qing glanced at him; the other person looked perfectly normal, enjoying his breakfast with a clear conscience, as if someone else had gone mad in the middle of the night.

On the contrary, Sheng Qing couldn't hold back and was about to question them when the cat-like person led in new guests.

"Sister, why didn't you invite me to dinner?" Blake glanced at Meng Yunxi and exclaimed in surprise. Then he laughed and said, "You really know how to pick a place."

Meng Yunxi looked up, a hint of panic flashing across her face, but she quickly regained her composure and said calmly, "I have my own plans."

"Is that so?" Blake chuckled, walked straight to Sheng Qing, pulled out a stool next to him, and sat down.

Why does it feel like these two have some connection? Sheng Qing looked at the two of them suspiciously.

"You two know each other?" Sheng Qing asked.

"Don't you know each other?" Blake retorted.

"You!" Sheng Qing was slightly annoyed. "Say it or don't, it's up to you."

"My sister only takes advantage of me, never giving anything in return, just trying to get information out of me." Blake took the breakfast that the cat-man brought him and began to eat slowly.

Sheng Qing couldn't sit still any longer. He stood up and strode over to Meng Yunxi, pushing the food aside. A sharp blade formed from elemental power was pressed against her neck as he demanded sharply:

Who exactly are you?

"I am Meng Yunxi. Is Miss Sheng misunderstanding something?" Meng Yunxi glanced at him, then moved the food closer, completely ignoring the threat at her neck.

Seemingly sensing the foreign object on her neck, Meng Yunxi didn't flinch but instead moved closer, turning her head to look directly at Sheng Qing.

A slight trickle of blood seeped from the point of contact. Sheng Qing hesitated for a moment before withdrawing her hand.

“Miss Sheng could have acted decisively, it’s just a pity to damage this body.” Meng Yunxi said with a regretful expression.

This body?

Is the person in front of me no longer going to pretend?

The person was indeed Meng Yunxi, but her soul had changed hands. So where did Meng Yunxi's soul go?

Sheng Qing then carefully examined Meng Yunxi, who was in a half-rat, half-cat state. Could it be that she had developed some kind of abnormality due to her rat transformation?

No! Why is Qiu Zhishui perfectly fine again?

"Do you know something?" Sheng Qing turned her head, but Blake still looked like he was just watching the show and had nothing to do with it.

"Sister, there's nothing I can do to help you." With that, Blake spread his hands, making a helpless expression.

As expected, one shouldn't have high hopes for Blake. Sheng Qing cursed inwardly and left the restaurant.

Sheng Qing originally intended to go to Miss Mouse to ask about Meng Yunxi's situation, but he ran into an acquaintance while passing through the reception room.

The Qin siblings, disguised as maids, followed Qiu Zhishui, who was half rat and half cat, as they stepped through the main door into the reception room.

The two humans stood out starkly in the sky city filled with cats and rats, attracting a lot of attention along the way.

I have no idea what Qiu Zhishui is planning.

At least I don't have to worry about it all by myself anymore.

Finding a corner, Sheng Qing briefly explained Meng Yunxi's unusual behavior to the Qin siblings.

"How about we give it a try?" Qin Feiyan frowned and hesitated.

Contrary to expectations, the Qin siblings failed to find out anything, but unexpectedly reunited with the other members of Team Zero.

That night, the twelve people gathered in a secluded grove outside the castle.

Although Meng Yunxi was missing as their leader, the group did not forget their purpose: to find the secret behind this secret realm, break through it, and obtain what the Queen needed.

The group split into three groups: Sheng Qing tried to find out more about Meng Yunxi from Miss Mouse, the Qin siblings continued to lie in wait around Qiu Zhishui, and the rest of the group explored Sky City from the shadows.

Before they knew it, it was their wedding day at the Sky City Cathedral.

Sheng Qing stared intently at the rat lady on the stage, dressed in an elaborately decorated wedding gown, and the old, decrepit rat man she was arm in arm with.

Is that Miss Mouse's father, the Rat King?

The Rat King's gaze met Sheng Qing's at one moment, and there was an inexplicable strangeness in it, as if it was conveying some kind of message.

The choir played magnificent music, making the whole scene solemn and dignified.

At the same time, the church doors opened, and Meng Yunxi, dressed in a sharp suit, appeared, walking slowly towards Miss Mouse. Miss Mouse smiled and seemed to glance in Meng Yunxi's direction.

In the brief second that their eyes met, Sheng Qing noticed that Meng Yunxi's eyes did not hold the deep affection for the bride, but rather a hint of pity, which quickly transformed into joy.

Huh? Sheng Qing saw the Rat King make a familiar hand gesture with his fingers.

Their eyes met those of the Qin siblings, and all three looked shocked. They must have noticed too!

Their gaze returned to the Rat King, but they found nothing amiss. Like a puppet, the handover ceremony was completed mechanically.

"Crack!" A loud noise came from somewhere.

"Damn it!" Blake suddenly cursed, "They really know how to pick their timing!"

Sheng Qing turned around and saw that Blake's brows were furrowed and his whole body was involuntarily turning red.

No way! The image of the red-haired boy who had slammed her against the wall flashed through Sheng Qing's mind, and she was so frightened that she stood up abruptly.

"Sister, I'll go first..." Blake's voice was squeezed out from between his teeth, and then he stumbled toward the exit.

I wish you could be even further away!

"Father!" A shrill scream came from the stage. Miss Mouse pounced on the Rat King, and the blood beneath him instantly soaked her wedding dress.

"Seal off the scene! No one is allowed to leave!" Meng Yunxi was also stunned. She quickly protected Miss Mouse and the Rat King lying on the ground, and looked around warily.

The guards, a beat too slow, rushed onto the stage and closed the church doors as they did so.

"Hahaha, sealing off the scene, just what I wanted!" A rat-man stood up from the crowd below the stage, a smug smile on his face. "You think you can get away with hiding? Today, you'll all die here. Don't let a single one of you escape!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of unidentified, fully armed cat people and rat people rushed into the church.

The Rat King's guards clashed with the intruders in black, and screams erupted from the crowd.

"It's time for me to take the throne of the Rat King!"

"What are you doing?" an incredulous voice rang out from the audience not far away.

"Can't you tell?" The voice was filled with desolation.

Sheng Qing turned his head and saw Qiu Zhishui taking a bloodstained dagger from the chest of a male ratman next to her. The next second, her wrist was tightly gripped by the ratman.

"What are you all standing there for?" Qiu Zhishui turned to Qin's brother and sister and ordered.

So that's what you were planning!

A bold idea popped into Sheng Qing's mind, and he rushed onto the stage.

"Tie Meng Yunxi up!"

The Qin siblings understood and pulled Qiu Zhishui along as they rushed onto the oath-taking platform.

Miss Mouse looked at Sheng Qing with a look of surprise and doubt. How could someone who was just subdued by her own guards just two days ago suddenly want to kidnap the groom?

The so-called relative who was assassinated in the audience appears to be the culprit who caused the father's injury.

Is this a dream?

"There's no time to explain, let me check on the Rat King's injuries." Sheng Qing pulled the dazed Miss Rat and hurriedly said, "Princess Sissi, you should take care of your household affairs first."

Miss Mouse nodded, wiped away her tears, snatched the sword from the guard, and said with forced bravado, "Soldiers, follow me to wipe out the rebels!"

One call and a hundred responses.

There's definitely something fishy about this Rat King!

"Tie up the Rat King too!"

The rest of Team Zero also gathered around.

Actually, there was no need to tie it up. When Sheng Qing checked the Rat King's injuries, he noticed something was wrong again.

The Rat King stared intently at him, gripping his hand tightly and refusing to let go.

"Captain?" Sheng Qing called out tentatively, and the other party actually nodded almost imperceptibly.