Chapter 86 Just a Pawn 05
It was indeed a cat, a very ordinary mortal cat without any demonic power.
The barrier left by Xuanwei was designed to protect against immortals, demons, ghosts, and divine consciousness. Even Ren Yi, the puppet inside, dared not make any rash moves. However, it could not protect against an ordinary mortal cat.
Nonsense! What "ordinary" mortal cat has the ability to run up to the Ninth Heaven?!
Even if some immortal had lost their mind and insisted on bringing a cat back from the mortal realm, they would never let it run up to the ninth level. If this cat had nothing to do with Haoming, Ren Yi would have swallowed that Heavenly Thunder Wooden Table in the room whole.
But what's the point of Haoming sending a cat over?
If this cat were to use even a fraction of its demonic power, the restrictions in the room would turn it into a burnt cat pancake. Even if Haoming were to possess it, or even if his true form were present, these restrictions would only hold him back for a short while—enough time for Xuanwei to sense the commotion and return.
Could it be that Haoming intends for this cat to scratch the puppet with its claws?
Absolutely impossible!
Xuanwei put a lot of effort into making this puppet. The materials used are extremely rare even in the Ninth Heaven. Even if the cat wears down its claws, there might not even be a white mark left on the puppet.
Ren Yi was still pondering Hao Ming's intentions when the cat suddenly spoke, "A Que."
It was Haoming's voice.
—It really was him!
Having guessed who was coming, Ren Yi didn't relax at all; instead, he had a bad feeling.
Why did Haoming speak to a puppet that knew nothing for no reason?
Sure enough, the voice followed immediately afterward, "I know your soul is already here."
The tone was very certain.
Ren Yi: ?!
He began to urgently think about where he had given himself away.
This is not hard to figure out. The only time Ren Yi was able to make the puppet move after arriving in this world was when he broke the blood curse.
However, according to normal thinking, rather than believing that the puppet contained a soul, Haoming should have thought that the blood curse was broken by Xuanwei.
Ren Yi did not respond, still pretending to be a puppet, but this time he did not dare to cut off his five senses as he did when dealing with Xuan Wei.
He dared to do that in front of Xuanwei because he was certain that Xuanwei wouldn't be willing to harm the puppet. But seeing how decisively Haoming dealt with the puppet the previous times, if he dared to sever his five senses now, he might not have the chance to open his eyes again.
Seemingly sensing the thoughts of the soul within the puppet, the cat revealed a human-like smile.
“Ah Que, you don’t need to worry. Knowing you were in there, how could I bear to do anything?” Her voice then turned heavy. “I did what I did before because I didn’t want you to be so cleanly gone, only to be insulted by him like this.”
What followed was a long and heartfelt expression of feelings and longing, so tender that it made one's heart ache as well.
Ren Yi thought to himself, "What a load of rubbish!" He was sure that Hao Ming had said the same thing to at least eight or ten people. Did he really think he was one of those gullible little girls in the mortal world?
Ren Yi even began to suspect that Hao Ming's previous words were all a lie.
Regardless of whether it was a trick or not, what the other party said next forced Ren Yi to react. After his rather practiced sweet talk, Haoming began to talk about his "rescue plan".
Ren Yi was unaware of the current situation in the Ninth Heaven, but according to Hao Ming's plan, it seemed quite plausible. If he succeeded, he would have at least a 40% chance of stealing the puppet from the Ninth Heaven, almost exceeding 50%.
Ren Yi: !!!
He can't leave!
The immortal soul resides within Xuanwei. If he leaves now, where will he retrieve the system fragments?!
Moreover, even if we take a step back and assume that Haoming's plan failed and the puppet was still left in the Ninth Realm, with Haoming's interference, Xuanwei's vigilance towards the puppet's sudden acquisition of a soul would be at its peak.
If Ren Yi is real, then of course it's nothing.
But he's an imposter! And an imposter whose character hasn't even been finalized yet—he's completely untraceable!
A flurry of thoughts raced through Ren Yi's mind before he finally opened his eyes. His gaze slowly fell on the kitten beside him, mimicking Yuan Que's arrogant demeanor from his memory, and he asked, "Who are you?"
Although he didn't show it on his face, this unexpected turn of events still made Ren Yi a little nervous. He had only intended to put on an act in front of Xuan Wei, but he hadn't expected Hao Ming to interfere. In some ways, this Demon Emperor was much harder to fool than Xuan Wei.
After all, love can cloud judgment. Compared to Xuanwei, who seemed somewhat unstable due to the death of his wife, this second male lead, while also deeply in love with Yuan Que, had a love that was divided into many parts; the death of one part wouldn't affect him as much. Fooling a sane person with a clear mind is far more difficult than fooling a madman desperately seeking comfort, especially since Haoming is exceptionally clear-headed. Using the filtered image gleaned from Xuanwei to deceive Haoming would definitely not work; Ren Yi could only rely on his own impressions.
Although he doesn't know what happened to Yuan Que yet, if it was a normal accident, Xuan Wei could definitely save him. Since he's been made into a puppet and his soul is summoned by the Azure Branch, it's normal that the summoned soul is incomplete and thus suffers from amnesia, right?
So Ren Yi, having made thorough preparations and finally managed to get into position, asked, "Who are you?", but to his surprise, the kitten didn't react at all, just staring blankly at him.
*
Southern Wilderness.
Haoming took a deep breath, and the sudden, intense pounding of his heart made him involuntarily clench his clothes.
Xuanwei was already extremely wary of him, and the moment Haoming made a move, he cast a scrutinizing gaze over him, along with locking onto him with his divine sense.
The tense atmosphere that suddenly became so intense that the top figures of the Lingyuan Realm held their breath, fearing that the two would start fighting before they could even deal with the Void Beast.
However, Haoming made no move. The intense emotions in his chest had not yet subsided, but his expression had returned to a calm one, and even his disordered heartbeat had become the same as before.
He chuckled softly, looked at Xuanwei, and explained, "It's just that some old injuries haven't healed yet, Your Majesty should be well aware of that."
Xuanwei's expression remained as indifferent as ever, making it impossible to tell whether he believed or not.
Haoming, however, was no longer concerned. He appeared to be facing off with a smile, but his mind was already elsewhere.
Although he had suspected it beforehand, Haoming was still taken aback when he actually saw the person open their eyes.
The boy's thick, dark eyelashes fluttered like butterflies in the light. As the butterfly wings trembled, he saw the eyes below, no longer lifeless and dull like a puppet, but truly lively and vibrant, belonging to a living being.
He's back.
Ah Que, he really came back.
...
For Haoming, attaching his soul to an ordinary cat without generating the slightest fluctuation of demonic power was extremely difficult. In the midst of the shock, the thin thread of soul connection was completely severed.
After staring at the kitten for a while, Ren Yi finally received a response, "Meow~"
Ren Yi: "..."
Looking at the kitten that suddenly started meowing, he reasonably suspected that he had been tricked.
Ren Yi, still not believing it, tried a few more times and found that it really had turned into a kitten that couldn't understand human speech.
Ren Yi: ...Is it too late for him to lie back down now?
Obviously, unless Haoming is a fool, he won't be fooled.
Judging from the cat's behavior before and after, he couldn't help but wonder if Haoming had seen through him all along and was deliberately playing a trick on him. Thinking this, Ren Yi's gaze towards the kitten became somewhat strange.
Without the control of the Demon Emperor's soul, the cat was truly an unintelligent mortal, lacking even demonic power. It couldn't understand Ren Yi's gaze at all, but due to the terrifying environmental pressure of the ninth level, its fur stood on end. The kitten stood guard against Ren Yi for a long time, but finally, it shakily left along the path it remembered.
Ren Yi looked at the trembling little furball, sighed silently, and did not stop it: no matter what Haoming was planning, this cat was indeed an ordinary cat, and there was no use in stopping it.
*
The ninth realm was constructed with the Emperor's immortal power and did not have the usual alternation of day and night. However, with the system, Ren Yi's grasp of time was not unclear. The next day, another bird flew here. Its colorful feathers were so gorgeous that they shimmered under the light. Although it did not have demonic power, in terms of appearance alone, it was no less beautiful than any demon.
Speaking of which, the cat from yesterday was also a pure white long-haired cat with a pair of golden eyes on its fluffy little face. It was definitely considered very good-looking among cats.
As Ren Yi was thinking this, he saw the flower in the bird's beak and couldn't help but fall silent: This really is Haoming's style.
Any external celestial or demonic power would trigger the restrictions here. This flower, which was carried here, was just an ordinary mortal flower. It's a mystery how Haoming managed to carry it all the way, yet the flower remained as intact as if it had just been picked, still glistening with fresh dew. Anyone who saw it couldn't help but exclaim: "How thoughtful!"
The thoughtful Demon Emperor controlled the magnificent bird to fly to Ren Yi's side and gently placed the flower in his palm.
Ren Yi pondered for a moment whether Yuan Que's personality would show any disdain, but then he thought that he was currently "Yuan Que with amnesia," and without anything else to compare it to, he naturally wouldn't know the value of the flower. Moreover, it was personally delivered by the Demon Emperor, so with that added value, even if Yuan Que had his memories, he probably wouldn't show his disdain on the surface.
Many thoughts raced through his mind in an instant, but in the end, Ren Yi simply looked curiously at the flower in his palm.
Then the bird, which finally had a free beak, spoke, and it was still Haoming's voice, "I'm sorry, Aque, the divine soul power that cat could attach to last time was limited and quickly ran out. Leaving you here alone, you must be scared, right?"
His apology was extremely sincere, without a trace of the arrogance of a high-ranking demon emperor. Even his last words of concern and worry sounded genuine.
But Ren Yi's lips twitched: Hao Ming's skill in subtly sowing discord was truly no less than it had been back then.
What does "I'm scared to leave you alone" mean? Does this have anything to do with Haoming? It was Xuanwei who actually left the puppet alone!
No matter how much Ren Yi complained in his heart, he didn't show it on his face. He still dutifully played the role of "Yuan Que with amnesia". He pondered his tone and repeated the question from last time: "Who are you?"
Haoming paused.
The little bird tilted its head. Ren Yi couldn't discern any suspicion or scrutiny from the bird's face, but he figured Hao Ming wouldn't have any other emotion at this moment.
Ren Yi composed himself, fully prepared to accept the test to come, but to his surprise, the bird blinked its black bean eyes and then spoke: "I am your Daoist partner."
That sounds incredibly sincere.
Ren Yi: ? ? ?
—Good heavens!
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