Chapter 94 Little Egg the Cat Demon
The five people reacted immediately upon hearing the noise and rushed into the house.
"What's wrong?"
The old woman picked up the child, who looked no bigger than a kitten, who was hiding behind the cabinet, and gently coaxed him in a tearful voice.
"No, no!!" The child struggled desperately, his eyes wide with terror, "Don't kill, don't kill..."
His voice was muffled and unclear. When he saw them come in, he was so frightened that he almost lost his breath, and his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
Cen Ying inserted the needle, and the child in her arms stopped struggling, slowly closed his eyes, and returned to stillness.
Cen Ying: "She seemed to be frightened and had a seizure. The injection just now was to calm her down and wouldn't hurt her."
Fearing the woman might overreact, Cen Ying offered a further explanation.
The old woman, regaining her composure, thanked her sheepishly.
The five men searched the entire house.
"Immortal Master, Immortal Master, do you have any way to capture that demon?" the old village chief asked anxiously.
Li Tiankuo glanced at the four people who were working together to restore the child's body, pondered for a while, and then spoke the truth: "We cannot give a definite answer for the time being, but we will do our best. The demon's power and cultivation level are unknown, as is what kind of demon it is, so we have no way to break it yet. We will set up a barrier in the villagers' homes later, which will be able to block the demon to some extent. If the demon tries to break through the barrier, we will be notified."
"Alright, alright, we'll follow the immortal masters' arrangements. I'll discuss with the villagers to provide them with convenience."
The old village chief had just left when the four of them finished their ritual.
Bai Yuheng looked at the bloodied and mangled child and sighed, "The physical body has been damaged too badly, and the Retrograde Realm cannot be used at all."
The Recalling Realm is a technique that summons the last moments of a person's life based on their belongings. This technique was used when searching for Fang Linchun's hanging in Furong Town, but the prerequisite for this technique is that the deceased's physical body must be intact.
Even with a broken physical body, it's difficult to summon back the soul.
At this moment, there were only the five of them in the vast snow, along with the corpses lying on the ground.
The group was heavy-hearted. Cui Mingcan slapped his forehead and said, "Oh dear! What a forgetful thing! I almost forgot! This is what I found in the backyard just now!"
The four people leaned closer to look and found it was a tuft of cat hair.
"? Cat hair?"
“It’s bloody cat hair.” Cen Ying looked closely, picked up the cat hair in his hand, squinted at it in the sunlight, and then took out a bottle of medicine from her pouch. The foul-smelling medicine was poured on the cat hair, and the originally gray cat was instantly covered in bright red.
"this!?"
“It seems to be a cat demon,” Bai Yuheng said. “But this cat demon actually knows the cleansing technique!?”
Generally, only cultivators know this kind of magic. Traditional demons and monsters have their own cultivation methods, and the spells used by humans and medicine are vastly different.
"Could it be a cat demon disguised as a human and committing evil?"
“This cat demon is probably quite powerful,” Pei Yuan suddenly said. “It can come and go freely in and out of the barrier set up by Yu’er without making a sound, it can use cultivator’s spells skillfully, and it can even conceal its demonic aura right under our noses. This means that its cultivation is above yours, at least around the Tribulation Transcending stage.”
The three people who were being subtly implied were stunned for a moment, and after realizing what he meant, they looked at him incredulously.
"Was Uncle Pei looking at us and saying that just now?"
Cen Ying nodded: "Yes."
Li Tiankuo nodded: "Mm."
"..." Cui Mingcan hesitated, looking at Pei Yuan's calm expression, and scratched his head. "Okay, although you're right, Uncle Pei, those words are too hurtful!"
Pei Yuan glanced at him indifferently: "If you could practice your skills on time every day, you wouldn't be stuck here now."
"..." Cui Mingcan choked. Ever since he "reconciled" with Liao Mingyuan, he had become increasingly lazy and was no longer as diligent as he had been at the beginning.
Pei Yuan had taught him when he first entered the sect, so he was practically his mentor. Seeing this, Pei Yuan was willing to give him some pointers. He had never meddled in other people's business, but...
He caught a glimpse of that figure out of the corner of his eye, and then he thought of the rare book he had read before leaving the sect.
She cherished her friends, and he was willing to help her protect them, but there was little he could do except urge them to cultivate and improve their skills so that they wouldn't implicate her during missions.
They each swallowed their thoughts and refocused their attention on the matter at hand.
Cen Ying said, "The deceased was a five-year-old boy. He slept with his grandmother last night. Everything was normal before he went to sleep. When his grandmother returned from using the toilet at 1:15 a.m., the deceased was still in bed..."
Bai Yuheng said, "The deceased was discovered at the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), and we returned at the third quarter of the hour of Mao. That means the cat demon brutally murdered Gou Cai between the third quarter of the hour of Mao and the hour of Mao, but did not alert anyone?"
Logically, the villagers should all be up by this time, but because the demon was lurking in the shadows, they all chose to get up when the morning sun was shining brightly. At other times, they stayed together as a family, so it's understandable that they didn't see the dog being killed...
Li Tiankuo had also participated in similar cases of premeditated revenge when he was in Beijing. He said, "These murders are very likely revenge. First, the modus operandi is consistent. Second, the targets are all children who are only a few years old. Third, the time between the victims' deaths and their discovery in these murders is short and rapid."
Bai Yuheng looked at the hair in Cen Ying's hand and nodded, saying, "Then we need to ask the village chief to find out what enemies these families have or where they offended this demon. Oh, and by the way, ask the villagers how many house cats and stray cats there are in this area."
"Besides cat hair, have you found anything else nearby?"
Pei Yuan and Cui Mingcan shook their heads: "No, apart from this wisp of cat hair, there's nothing else."
Li Tiankuo: "Where did you find the cat hair?"
Cui Mingcan pointed to a spot, which was the corner next to the child who had just had a seizure and was crying loudly.
After a moment of silence, the group exchanged glances, and Li Tiankuo said, "That child should know something."
"Or did you see something?"
The five of them understood the situation and began to divide the tasks: "Xiao Ying will stay here to comfort the child and find out what she saw. Uncle Pei and Yu'er will be responsible for setting up a barrier for the villagers, and Xiao Can and I will be responsible for finding witnesses."
"good!"
After saying that, the group split up and went their separate ways.
*
"Little Egg? Little Egg?"
"Grandma, I'm here!" A child, dressed in tattered and dirty clothes, rushed over upon hearing the voice and leaned on a cane to help the hunched, silver-haired old woman. "Grandma, why did you come out? You can't see clearly, be careful not to trip!"
The child's voice was shrill, and he was shouting loudly in her ear.
"Grandma's alright, I'll call you when lunch is ready." The old woman looked at the child in front of her with affection and reached out to rub his head. "Oh, little egg, why is your hair so long? Come on, eat first, and Grandma will comb your hair and tie it up after you finish eating."
"Okay!" The grandmother and grandson helped each other inside. The little boy said, "Grandma, let me cook next time. You should rest. It would be troublesome if you accidentally fell!"
"Good, good, good! Our little Dan'er is so sensible now. Grandma is just waiting to enjoy her retirement!"
On the table were two bowls of dark, watery liquid that were hard to identify, along with two bowls of white rice and some bland vegetables. The grandfather and grandson ate with relish.
After lunch, the old woman was pressed down by her grandson to sit on the threshold. Her gray eyes looked out into the yard, and a happy smile graced her thin, wrinkled face.
"Grandma is so lucky. Our little Dan'er is so sensible. He knows how to wash the dishes for Grandma..." The old lady murmured, laughing heartily.
Even the child in the simple kitchen grinned. This phrase has been repeated since the child was able to walk and help out, and it's always been a rare and sweet memory.
"Little Egg, Little Egg?"
"What's wrong, Grandma?"
The old man strained his ears, but his eyes were useless, so he could only ask his grandson, who was washing dishes in the inner room, for help: "Little Egg, go outside and see what's going on and on."
The child inside paused, the smile on his face vanished, but he still replied loudly, "Oh, I just went out to play with Ah Cai and the others. They said that some people from another village came to our village yesterday and gave us a huge ingot of silver! They must have sent them off."
"Oh, I see... How much silver is that? I've lived for over seventy years and I've never seen so much silver before!"
"Grandma, when I grow up, I'll give you lots and lots of money!"
"Hahaha, good, good, good! Grandma is waiting for Little Egg's big sum of money! Our Little Egg is the most promising!"
"Grandma, please don't go out! There are so many people outside, and they're all tall and strong. They might bump into you!" the child carefully instructed from inside the room. "I'll lock the door when you take your nap. If anyone knocks, please don't open the door yourself! Wait for me to come back!"
"I know, I know! Little Egg, you've been so talkative lately..." Although the old man found him nagging, he was secretly delighted, and his smile never stopped.
Knock knock knock!
Not long after he finished speaking, there were several loud knocks on the door.
"Grandma Yang! Is Grandma Yang there?" The old village chief shouted loudly outside the fence, thinking that the old woman might not be able to hear him, so he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Grandma Yang, things haven't been peaceful in the village lately. That's why some Taoist priests have come, saying they'll ward off evil spirits and bring good fortune to us..."
After calling several times without any response, the old village chief said somewhat awkwardly to Bai Yuheng, "Hehe, this Granny Yang has been crying her eyes out ever since her grandson died. She rarely comes out these days. I guess she's gone for her afternoon nap at this hour. The old lady is hard of hearing, so she probably didn't hear me..."
Bai Yuheng nodded, not thinking anything of it.
"Perhaps you should wait a moment, Immortal Master?"
"No need. This formation must be fully set up today, otherwise the demon will go berserk and easily harm innocent people. After she has rested, come over in the afternoon and tell her not to leave the courtyard."
Upon hearing this, the old village chief said nothing more: "Very well then, we shall do as the immortal master says."
The purpose was simply to give the villagers a heads-up, so they could feel at ease and not live in constant fear. Since Granny Yang was all alone anyway, he could set up the barrier and then give her a proper explanation later in the afternoon; he couldn't afford to delay the immortal master's time now.
Bai Yuheng nodded when she saw that he had agreed.
She was most skilled at setting up barrier formations, and she set them up in just a few breaths. This formation was much stronger than the one she set up last night. As long as the villagers did not leave the barrier without permission, the demon should not be able to break through it so easily.
"alright."
The old village chief, impressed by their skills, was about to thank them and invite them to a banquet when he suddenly saw a golden snake, about the size of a thumb, emerge from her sleeve, disappear into Granny Yang's courtyard, and vanish without a trace.
He stammered, "Immortal Master, this...this is..."
"Little cutie!" Bai Yuheng frowned and scolded, but the golden snake had already disappeared.
She suddenly smiled apologetically at the old village chief: "I'm sorry, this is my pet. It's intelligent and won't hurt anyone. It probably just found this place fun and went off to play. Don't worry, it will come back when it's done playing."
Hearing this, the old village chief breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid that the snake would bite someone. There was only Granny Yang in the yard. If the old woman was bitten and frightened, those of them who were far away would not know and would have difficulty taking care of her.
Bai Yuheng glanced at the courtyard gate and said to the village chief, "Let's go. Where's the next house?"
"Oh, this way, Immortal Master. Granny Yang's place is the most remote and farthest. There are two more houses left..."
The sound gradually faded away, and the room returned to silence. The old man, who was lying on the bed with a smile on his face, was fast asleep, while the child sitting on the edge of the bed, with his back to the light, let out a sinister chuckle.
"laugh."
-----------------------
Author's Note: 5:15 AM, 5:45 AM, 6:00 AM
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
