Chapter 135 135 Paw Print I am the Ancient Cat God
As the enemy retreated, the female soldiers on the city wall cheered.
Only then did Master Qiu walk to a corner of the city wall and bow to Zhiwei, who was holding the black cat: "Thank you for your help, sir. But I don't know why, if a master has such ability, he could defeat the enemy with a single move. Why did he insist on having us use the name of the Cat Immortal?"
In fact, this was also Yun Tianjiao's idea. Zhiwei then used her words to explain to Hall Master Qiu: "It is not difficult to repel the enemy, but it is difficult to eliminate future troubles. We cannot stay here forever. Once we leave, the people of Marquis Pingwei will be determined to attack, and you will probably have a hard time resisting them."
Master Qiu was still puzzled. "From what you're saying, sir, by borrowing the name of the Cat Immortal, we can eliminate all future troubles?"
Zhiwei gently rubbed the black cat's head, and the black cat seemed to feel comfortable from the rubbing, squinting its eyes.
"Just one more step. Now, we can leave it to our Cat Immortal." Zhiwei lowered her eyes, a faint smile playing on her lips.
Master Qiu paused for a moment, glanced at Zhiwei, then at the black cat in his arms, and felt that the way he looked at the black cat... was not quite innocent.
...
Li Shi led his remaining troops back and reported what he had seen and heard to Marquis Pingwei, embellishing the story.
"My lord, I am not exaggerating, there is definitely something strange about Ji'an Township!" To make his words more credible, Li Shi also brought up his two lieutenants.
"Those women wanted to burn us, but we, the righteous army, were blessed by heaven. Just as a heavy rain was about to start, those women actually started worshipping some kind of cat spirit, which actually stopped the life-saving rain!"
"Yes, my lord!" one of the lieutenants added. "Not only that, those wretched women in Ji'an Township set off a second fire, but unexpectedly, a strong wind arose and blew it towards their own city! But guess what?"
Marquis Pingwei was probably in his forties, with a fair complexion and thin eyebrows, and a prosperous appearance. Hearing this, he became engrossed and couldn't help but ask, "What is it?"
Li Shi slapped his thigh: "They've started worshipping the Cat God again! They've forcibly changed the winds of change!!"
Marquis Pingwei stroked his mustache, looking hesitant.
Another lieutenant then said, "My lord, once could be considered a coincidence, but twice in a row, it's hard to say there's nothing strange about it!"
Li Shi observed Pingwei Hou's expression and saw that he seemed to believe him to some extent, so he said, "My lord, in my humble opinion, there may be evil spirits causing trouble in Ji'an Township. Why don't we invite a few more Taoist masters to go with me? I guarantee that we will be able to successfully storm the city, demolish Ji'an Hall, and seize the auspicious land for the God of Ink Beg!"
Marquis Pingwei did not answer immediately. He stroked his beard and pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "This matter concerns demons and evil spirits, and should not be taken lightly. Let me kneel and worship the gods and ask for their decree before making a decision."
...
Yun Tianjiao was certain that Marquis Pingwei was deeply fascinated by matters of ghosts and spirits; otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to build a temple for Mo Bei at Ji'an Hall. Therefore, she instructed Zhiwei to set up this scheme with Hall Master Qiu, letting Marquis Pingwei know that there were indeed some ghostly things in Ji'an Township, and that it was not something to be easily disturbed.
However, this is not enough to make Marquis Pingwei give up completely. To be on the safe side, we need to give him another dose of shock.
It was already night. Yun Tianjiao, Zhiwei, and Shen Qiongzhi had already left Ji'an Township and quietly arrived at the main city of the prefecture, sneaking into the Pingwei Marquis's residence.
They had already heard about the deeds of Marquis Pingwei on their way here. It was said that he was just a staff member kept in the prefect's office, with no real talent or learning. He became a staff member entirely because of his marriage connections, and was just someone who made a living by doing nothing.
No one could have imagined that when the world descended into chaos, heroes vied for power, the prefect was murdered, and capable individuals from all sides fought amongst themselves, some dying and others fleeing, ultimately allowing a fisherman to reap the benefits. This Marquis of Pingwei suddenly became the most senior and prestigious person in the prefecture, and because of his moderate approach to affairs and his avoidance of offending anyone, he became the popular leader of the region.
In the end, it all came down to sheer luck.
It is likely that Marquis Pingwei himself thought the same way, which is why he was particularly fond of worshipping gods and praying. Almost half of the entire Marquis Pingwei mansion was used for worshipping gods.
The three of them sneaked into the central courtyard of the mansion. Normally, this should be the residence of the master of the house, but unexpectedly, it had been completely transformed into a shrine by Marquis Pingwei. In a daze, Yun Tianjiao thought that he had not sneaked into the Marquis's mansion, but into some kind of large pantheon.
"Good heavens, this Marquis Pingwei really does bestow his favors evenly! He doesn't miss any of the gods. The deities enshrined here are even more complete than the ancestral tablets on the incense-lighting altar!" Shen Qiongzhi peeked into the side rooms and connecting corridors, looking at each ancestral tablet, and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
"It's not exactly a matter of spreading the favor evenly; didn't we bet on God Mo Bei?" Zhiwei mocked, gesturing for everyone to look at the central hall, where Mo Bei's tablet and statue were enshrined alone.
Shen Qiongzhi nodded, "Look, the one enshrined in the Reverse Sitting Hall is the God of Yuli. It seems that the God of Yuli is his second favorite successor to the Heavenly Venerable."
“He doesn’t seem to value Gongxin God Venerable much.” Yun Tianjiao said as he rushed into the main hall and took a look around. Sure enough, only Mo Bei God Venerable himself was enshrined in the main hall, while Gongxin’s statue was placed in the side hall on the east side, where some statues and tablets of immortal venerables and immortal lords were also enshrined.
"Gongxin God Venerable has always been the most low-key and inconspicuous of all the gods in the Heavenly Realm, but in storybooks, such people are often the ultimate villains." Shen Qiongzhi said as she walked into the west side hall. When she saw the main god enshrined inside, black resentment immediately emanated from her body.
"This Marquis Pingwei actually worships Qingyuan! He's definitely no good!"
Shen Qiongzhi acted swiftly and decisively, drawing a soundproof spell with her right hand and a shattering spell with her left. Instantly, she blasted the Qingyuan God statue in the temple to pieces. However, due to the soundproof spell, not a sound was made in the quiet of the night.
Yun Tianjiao shook his head helplessly, not knowing whether to say that Shen Qiongzhi was too willful and childish, or that she was meticulous and knew how to handle things.
"Alright, finding the residence of Marquis Pingwei is the most important thing."
The master did not live in the main courtyard, so the three of them searched for quite a while before finally finding Pingwei Hou in a small courtyard on the east side.
"Let me go in too, cast a nightmare on him, and scare him!" Shen Qiongzhi was eager to try.
Yun Tianjiao used his cat paws to push her away and scolded, "Stop fooling around. I'm just playing the role of a cat immortal, not a cat demon. How can you scare him?"
Shen Qiongzhi pouted, "What's the difference between a cat fairy and a cat demon? They're pretty much the same."
“It’s different. If someone like Marquis Pingwei were to be threatened by the identity of a cat demon, he would probably have to spend a lot of money to find a highly skilled master to exterminate the demon and eliminate the threat.” While Zhiwei was explaining to Shen Qiongzhi, Yun Tianjiao had already pushed open a crack in the window and secretly slipped into the room.
The advantage of becoming a cat is that you can have the natural physiological advantages of a cat, such as strong night vision, agility, and the ability to move silently.
Yun Tianjiao squatted down at the head of Pingwei Marquis's bedside with almost no effort.
Marquis Pingwei snored loudly, sleeping soundly with a beautiful concubine in his arms. The concubine was clearly disturbed by Marquis Pingwei's noise, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed and her eyelids fluttering as if she might wake up at any moment.
Yun Tianjiao first blew a breath, completely knocking out the concubine, ensuring that even if ten Pingwei Marquises were to snore around her at the same time, they wouldn't wake her up. Only then did he begin to cast a spell on Pingwei Marquis.
As Pingwei Hou's snoring gradually subsided, he suddenly opened his eyes and met a pair of glowing green eyes in the darkness.
He was so frightened that he wanted to scream, but no sound came out of his throat and he couldn't move his body; he had the symptoms of a normal person being possessed by a nightmare.
Marquis Pingwei's eyes were filled with terror, and he was covered in cold sweat. However, he had already recognized the owner of those glowing eyes as a black cat. He just didn't know what kind of evil spirit it was. Recalling what Li Shi had told him about the deeds of the Cat Immortal in Ji'an Township during the day, he had some guesses in his mind.
"Hey, don't be afraid."
The black cat suddenly sighed and spoke in human language. It was a woman's voice, weathered and full of life, but it didn't have any fierce aura. Instead, it exuded a kind and gentle air like that of an elder.
Marquis Ping An felt slightly relieved and blinked obediently, as a response to the black cat.
"I am an ancient cat god, now only a wisp of my soul remains, residing in the Ji'an Hall. Today you sent people to attack Ji'an Township, disturbing my peaceful dreams, and I am very displeased."
A bead of cold sweat slid down Ping Anhou's forehead, startling him so much that he cried out in his heart that he dared not disturb the Cat God, but he still couldn't utter a sound.
The black cat continued, “Gods are compassionate, and the ancient gods regarded all living beings as their children. I do not wish to see you kill each other, nor do I wish to see you punished for disturbing my peaceful dreams. Therefore, I entered your dream in the dead of night to give you this warning. I hope you will remember it and never disturb the women of Ji’an Township again. The place where pure women reside has a pure aura, which pleases me. There is no other place like it in the whole world. Do you understand?”
Marquis Pingwei blinked frantically, indicating that he understood, fully understood, and would absolutely not bother him again.
The black cat nodded solemnly and gently placed a paw on Pingwei Hou's forehead. "In the name of the ancient gods, I bestow upon you peace and joy as a return gift. As long as Ji'an Hall exists, this divine gift will remain valid."
After saying this, the black cat vanished into thin air.
The Marquis of Ping'an closed his eyes again.
When Yun Tianjiao came out of Ping Anhou's room, she saw Shen Qiongzhi and Zhiwei squatting outside the window, listening intently. Clearly, they had heard every word she said while pretending to be the Cat God.
"Sister Tianjiao, I never imagined you could make up such lies!" Shen Qiongzhi exclaimed in admiration.
Yun Tianjiao was very embarrassed, so he turned his cat-like face away and deliberately avoided looking at Shen Qiongzhi.
Zhiwei peeked through the crack in the window and said, "Your Highness used a nightmare spell. When Marquis Pingwei wakes up tomorrow, will he think he really just had a dream?"
"No," Yun Tianjiao replied decisively.
Shen Qiongzhi asked curiously, "Why are you so sure, Sister Tianjiao?"
Yun Tianjiao really didn't want to explain, but she knew Shen Qiongzhi's temper. If she didn't get an answer, she would keep bothering her. So, after much hesitation, she finally raised the cat paw that had been pressed on Pingwei Marquis's forehead and showed it to Shen Qiongzhi and Zhiwei.
Shen Qiongzhi leaned closer and, by the light of the lamp in front of the corridor, saw that the cat's paw pads were covered with gold dust.
With a soft "pfft".
Zhiwei finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, and reached out to pinch the cat's paw, which had a golden color.
Yun Tianjiao's cheeks were burning hot, but unfortunately, he was in the form of a black cat and couldn't show it.
"Hmph, what's so funny!" She abruptly retracted her paw, flicked her tail arrogantly, and walked away.
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