Chapter 216 Parents' Past: A Tragic Regret...
Gan Yu looked at the black cat's melancholy appearance and felt a pang of heartache. "So, this cat named Qinzi, was it abandoned by its owner?"
Upon hearing this possibility, Liu Yun couldn't help but clench his fists. "This is outrageous! I hope I never run into that guy named Ah Xiang—"
"I'm afraid we won't be able to meet the True Lord."
Yae no Miko gave a bitter smile.
Liu Yun frowned. "What?...Could it be?"
"Yes, Hibiki Asase disappeared during the chaos of the war five hundred years ago. As a human, she has probably already returned to the ley lines by now."
It was that war again, that same loss again, and Yae no Miko tasted a familiar feeling in the images.
"Yes, so even if she waits another five hundred years, she still won't be able to wait for Ah Xiang."
"Don't be so cruel to cats! This world is so cruel!"
Paimon waved his hands repeatedly, looking worriedly at the little sun in the image.
"Can't we just let them stay peacefully with their human friends forever?"
Meow~
The chubby orange cat huddled into a ball, hanging from a tree, squinting as it watched humans chop wood and build the first houses on the edge of the island.
It was far less luxurious than her previous residence, but Miyoko loved it dearly.
"Now this is what a home should be like."
Time passed quickly after that, and Little Sun mostly stayed at the camp, so the audience could only speculate on the progress of Ah Zhu's 'career' from the changes on the island.
"More and more people are joining."
A man dressed as a farmer was talking animatedly in the newly reclaimed fields:
"Did you hear what Commander Zhu said? Samurai are not noble, and commoners are not lowly. Even the most powerful figures in the Heavenly Territory have no right to lord it over us! Heavens, I must say, what a scholar I am! How come I can't say such good things? I guess I've gone mad from farming..."
"Hey, you can praise me if you want, but you can't just make things up."
An old man passing by laughed at him.
"Commander Take, when he was young he was just a servant who was bought and sold at will, how could he have had the opportunity to study? Lady Miyoko taught him to recognize characters..."
"So that's how it is! I never imagined that Commander Zhu, who looks so upright now, had a worse childhood than me?"
Upon hearing this, the farmer was startled, but quickly felt even more admiration for him. "...Why does he seem even more formidable now? Never mind, I will follow Commander Zhu for life!"
"Add Miyoko! Add Miyoko!" Immediately, a child heard this and rushed over to protest, "Although it was the bamboo demon who shouted and mobilized us, we can't forget Lady Miyoko who was smiling so gently beside us!"
"Of course! Without Miyoko, the Bamboo Commander wouldn't be the Bamboo Commander." The farmer nodded emphatically and raised his fist to the sky again.
"I will follow Miyoko and Commander Takeshi for the rest of my life!"
The shouts echoed throughout the heavens and earth, reaching the ears of the young couple from afar.
"Really."
Ah Zhu instantly showed an unhappy expression, and stood up with a cold snort.
“How many times have I told them? They shouldn’t be following me, but that beautiful wish. Miyoko, wait for me, I’m going out to scold him… Hmm! Miyoko?”
"What does it matter? Ah-Zhu is too serious."
Without hesitation, Miyoko deftly pinned the young leader to the bed, smiling as she gently stroked his trembling golden eyes.
"They're expressing their affection for us, and I won't allow you to disturb them."
Her angry expression vanished almost instantly, and A-Zhu stumbled and turned her face away to avoid her hand.
"...Okay, I...I'll do whatever you say! Let go..."
"uh-huh."
Leosley couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the video, and then uncontrollably began to daydream.
"What would Mainkun have become if he had been raised normally by these parents?"
"I can't pass the civil service exam in Inazuma."
Claudia answered instinctively.
Leosley shrugged: "Do you think he can take the test right now?"
The traveler pointed at the cat's head: "Does taking the test guarantee a pass?"
Claude rubbed her forehead in anguish: "Quiet down, friends, pretend I didn't say anything."
Naxi Da quickly moved the images along, her memories swirling between the warrior's blood-stained robes and the increasingly prosperous village.
Happy 14th birthday, Little Sun!
It wasn't until the blessing came from the woman's mouth that the audience realized how much time had passed.
"Meow."
The orange cat is very old, even its whiskers are drooping, but it still affectionately snuggles up to Miyoko's hand.
"Oh, you still think of yourself as a little kitten."
"Huff...huff."
After rubbing against it for a few moments, the little sun began to pant wearily.
Ah Zhu really wanted to cover her ears, "...If a cat that lives for more than seven years can become a monster, then Little Sun should be able to become an unprecedented giant cat demon by now."
"Does A-Zhu miss Little Sun?"
Miyoko rubbed the fish paste around the cat's mouth and watched it slowly lick it all up.
"I'm also reluctant to let you go... Little Sun, can't you stay with us for another seven years?"
"Meow…"
This was quite a challenge for an ordinary cat, so A-Zhu could only soothe Miyoko slightly before moving the cat to a sunny spot by himself.
"You're still trying to conceive, so don't do any strenuous work. I'll practice my swordplay while keeping it company, just like when we were kids."
The man gently and silently picked up the cat. The orange cat leaned weakly against his right arm, no longer able to fill his chest.
“I am growing stronger day by day, but you are not keeping up.”
As soon as Commander Zhu arrived at the sword arena, people kept greeting him.
"Boss! I heard you almost stormed into the Heavenly Territory? Good heavens!"
"Not really, it was blocked by a tengu."
"Boss! I heard that people from the Coral Palace are trying to win us over. How should we respond?"
“My resistance is for freedom of mind and body, not for war, and I am not on the same path as them.”
These were all ordinary questions, which the bamboo demon answered one by one while holding the cat, until the alarmed sentry broke the peace.
"Boss—there are so many sea monsters, and government soldiers too!!"
"They've joined forces and are attacking!"
The screams echoed throughout the opera house, and even decades later, the terror remained vivid.
"Sea Demon?!" The audience immediately realized, "Could it be the head of the Wei Shen family? But how could the official side be allied with him?"
"I... I should be alright, right?"
Funina nervously clenched her fingers. "That Onmyoji named Miyoko, didn't she set up a lot of mazes on the island? Even soldiers can't get in if they don't follow the correct order..."
"head."
Another sentry rushed in, his face grim.
"They're almost at the door."
How could it be so fast?! The audience immediately analyzed it:
"There's a mole! There's definitely a mole who leaked the information!"
"……Why?"
What an ordinary person could understand, A-Zhu could naturally discern as well, "...Why betray..."
Betray our ideals?
"Boss! What do we do! We—"
Everyone panicked. Ah Zhu scanned their fearful faces one by one, unable to discern who was acting against their will.
"..."
"The first, third, and seventh squads will stay behind with me to cover the rear. The rest of you will retreat under Miyoko's command."
"head!"
"Why would there be a mole!?"
Xiao couldn't understand what he was seeing.
"With no evil gods threatening them, and no blade of fear hanging over their heads, these humans could even live peacefully for hundreds of years under the protection of Onmyoji!"
It's not just reclusive immortals who can't understand; even the usually composed god of wisdom has to lower his eyes, unwilling to let the time of this destroyed home linger.
Finally, amidst the overwhelming influx of invaders, the human resistance suffered heavy casualties, and the golden-eyed man was captured by Lei Teng's sea monsters.
"Bamboo Demon, ha, kid, you've certainly given yourself a resounding name."
That was the head of the 'Weishin' family, but Azhu disdained to look at him. The man simply stared intently at his companion standing behind Hailuangui with his fierce eyes.
"Why."
"Bamboo Demon Ghost!"
No one could remain calm under those eyes, and the person burst into tears instantly.
"I am very grateful to you, very grateful that you rescued my wife and daughter from the brothel, but... but... the shogun promised me—"
"My son and his descendants can all serve as officials in the imperial court for generations, bringing glory to our ancestors!"
...
Just for this reason?
"I'm sorry, Commander, I betrayed you! But a peasant's son will always be a peasant. I just wanted it so badly, so badly..."
The golden-eyed man instantly erupted, "Get out!!! Die! You never betrayed me—"
They are just like you, countless ordinary people!
But before he could finish speaking, Hai Luan Gui kicked him in the stomach and stomped on him hard.
"explain."
He still longed for fame and fortune.
"Where has my daughter, who was imprisoned by a demon, gone?"
"I'm going to offer incense for you, you damn dog."
"Stubborn to the end."
The sea monster sneered and kicked him several times in the abdomen, making his teeth chatter and his body convulse like a cooked shrimp.
Tell me the direction she ran in, and I'll give you a quick death.
"...Go eat shit, you dog."
This memory does not cover the ability to express inner thoughts, so the audience cannot know what A-Zhu is thinking at this moment.
All they could see was the man being repeatedly pinned to the ground and brutally beaten, while his golden eyes remained forever fixed upwards, glaring desperately at the faces of the sea monster and the traitor.
"Meow!!"
A piercing howl, belonging to the master of memory.
A dull-furred orange cat slowly and fiercely bit the hind leg of the sea monster.
"Is this your cat? My runaway slave."
The head of the family used a knife to cut off Little Sun's four limbs in front of A-Zhu, leaving it to writhe on the bloody ground.
Why can't you protect your master like it does?
...
Navelette sometimes truly hated her own composure.
"The cat is already dying, so how can Mainkun be born?"
Everyone speculated, "Could a miracle be happening?"
"A god or a monster appears, rescues the cat and the man, and returns them to their worried families..."
But in past footage, the man and the cat were always on the verge of death. Ah-Zhu was stripped naked and hung upside down from the roof beam, his skin and flesh were cut open with a knife, and blood dripped from his fingertips into the cat's mouth on the ground.
"Drink up, drink up, my little sun..."
"...I so wish you could live."
The cat refused to drink its friend's blood and coughed while vomiting.
"Meow."
"Bad cat, you won't even grant such a simple wish."
A-Zhu rarely cursed it, her voice hoarse and sorrowful.
The sea monster cut open his belly and let his intestines fall onto his own face.
"Those who betray their master should be punished by seppuku. What do you think?"
The sticky, fishy smell accompanied Ah Zhu's sensation of being slowly hollowed out by excruciating pain.
What was lost was definitely not just simple internal organs.
What makes up A-Zhu?
Unwilling, defiant, and some of the pent-up anger subsided.
Rebellion, hatred, and much integrity and expectation.
"I still have so many things to do..."
I long for Inazuma, for peace and tranquility, for an end to piracy and bandits, and for the displacement of people...
Those who longed to be separated will be reunited, those who wept will smile, those whose backs were oppressed will stand tall, and there will be no more distinction between high and low, noble and humble...
I want... Miyoko, I want to be with her forever.
We want our children to never have to kneel or be slapped...
All desires vanished with the emptying of the stomach.
Just then, Ah-Zhu heard the faint groans below her head suddenly stop.
...
The old cat died.
"Little Sun!"
Ah Zhu screamed wildly, and a drop of black tear mixed with blood shot into the cat's mouth.
"I'd rather you were a monster!!!"
...
The head of the Hailuan Gui family was startled by the scream and took a step back. When he came to his senses, he felt embarrassed and annoyed.
"It turns out that even those bandits who preach equality and independence will seek the mercy of demon gods when they are desperate."
He slapped A-Zhu across the face and then used a short knife to cleave his ribs.
"Don't worry, you won't die so easily. I haven't even taken out your heart and major organs yet...?"
An ominous premonition suddenly seized the heart of the Sea Demon.
A hunch of danger made him instinctively stop and look around.
What's going on? There's clearly only a dead cat and a helpless prisoner here.
...
Where did the dead cat go?
The cat-like creature is born from strong human emotions and acts according to its desires.
"roar--"
The resentful corpse leaped out of the darkness and bit off the arm of the sea demon holding the knife.
"roar!!!"
The evil demon, resembling a tiger, was covered in dull orange fur.
"A monster! A monster!"
The legend is true!
"Although the scene was a bit bloody, the result was truly gratifying," Tinari said rapidly. "It's just that Mainkun's origins are becoming increasingly mysterious, look at how Sun is acting..."
He glanced at the cat, which had clearly lost its mind after transforming into a demon and whose size had increased several times over.
"Could it be that Miyoko knows bio-alchemy? Otherwise, where did this child come from?"
"roar!!"
After attacking the sea monster, the pitch-black tiger beast wandered around the room erratically, its actions completely illogical.
A little sun...?
Until A-Zhu blinked her unfocused pupils and called out in her heart.
Come here... help me.
"..."
The cat rushed over and used its barbed tongue to lick the intestines back into the abdominal cavity, then used its teeth to mend the broken opening.
Elhesen murmured, "...it is trying to fulfill its desire for healing."
"Stop, it hurts too much..."
When A-Zhu started groaning, the monster stopped, but then quickly began to spin wildly as if having a seizure, its body seemingly about to collapse at any moment.
"A-Zhu! A-Zhu!!"
A shrill female voice suddenly rang out from outside the window. Miyoko had come alone and was calling out to her again and again.
"I've settled them all in, what about you? Where are you?"
The sound was getting closer and closer, rapidly approaching.
ah……
Ah Zhu looked down at her exposed abdomen, the wound that would never heal.
Not wanting to share the pain of separation with his lover, the dying man made one last wish to the cat.
"Don't make her... sad."
This wish transcended all other wishes, and the cat's chaotic steps began to stabilize, its elusive form becoming solid.
"A-Zhu!!"
In a long, thoughtful pause, the monster suddenly opened its mouth wide and swallowed the dying man whole without hesitation.
Kavi murmured in terror, recalling some past events, "Fake disappearance? It certainly offers some hope than death, but it's definitely not enough to make Miyoko less heartbroken...!!!?"
The devouring was not the end; the tiger beast swayed, and its bones cracked and twisted.
It grew smaller and smaller until it took the shape of a man.
"A-Zhu!!"
Miyoko discovered her quiet and independent lover outside a courtyard.
"Ah Zhu! Are you alright!"
She pounced on him, kissing him with delight, touching his face, his hands, and his arms, trying to make sure he was alright.
"You're alright! You're really alright!...Are you hurt? Why is your body so cold?"
"..."
The man remained silent, his usually sharp golden eyes now empty.
"What's wrong with you? Do you have a fever, or did you hurt your head?"
Miyoko sensed something was wrong and was on the verge of tears, so she quickly touched his head.
"Give me a response! Pay attention to me! Otherwise I'll get scared!"
She looked extremely sad, so the monster closed its jaws slightly.
"...Miyoko."
-----------------------
Author's note: Being abused, dying and coming back to life, eating people, and then becoming the one being eaten again—yes, it's a classic cat-themed story.
However, as expected, this monster is still too outdated in China. Without alchemy and classical fusion, no one could have guessed it...
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