Chapter 136 Farewell. I understand, I understand. After all, I'm not human…
When Marquis Pingwei awoke, it was still dark. As soon as he woke up, he shouted and ordered all the lights in the room to be turned on.
"My lord, what's wrong with you? Ah!!" The beautiful concubine beside him, who had intended to wipe the sweat from Pingwei Marquis's brow, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise when she saw his face clearly.
"What's wrong?" Marquis Pingwei was startled. "What happened to my face? Quickly, get me a mirror!"
The maidservant quickly found a mirror and handed it to Marquis Pingwei.
Marquis Pingwei looked in the mirror and remained silent for a long time. After a moment, he suddenly burst into laughter.
"Lord, Lord, what's wrong with you?" The concubine was terrified.
Marquis Pingwei, however, had a relaxed expression and a cheerful demeanor. He pointed to his forehead and asked his concubine, "Look, what do you see on my forehead?"
The beautiful concubine said timidly, "It looks like...it looks like a golden paw print?"
“That’s right!” Marquis Pingwei said smugly. “I may tell you, but these paw prints are no ordinary paw prints. They are the paw prints of the ancient cat god, a blessing from the gods!”
He then told his concubine everything about his conversation with the cat god in his dream the previous night.
This beautiful concubine, always adept at pleasing Marquis Wei, immediately beamed with joy upon hearing this, repeatedly bowing and kneeling on the bed, "Oh dear, then this servant must congratulate the Marquis! The Marquis is indeed destined for great wealth and honor, even the ancient cat god has bestowed blessings upon you!"
Marquis Pingwei was even happier to hear this, when suddenly a messenger rushed in with news—
"Something terrible has happened, my lord! The statue of the Azure Origin God in the west hall of the main courtyard has suddenly shattered!"
Marquis Pingwei jumped off the bed with a start, and asked in a panic, "What happened? How could the statue suddenly break?"
"I don't know. It must have broken in the middle of the night yesterday, but the servant on night watch didn't hear a sound! It's really strange!"
Marquis Pingwei couldn't stand the word "evil" the most, so he hurriedly led his men to check the main courtyard. They found that the doors and windows of the west hall were all intact, and the fruits and ornaments on the altar were also untouched. Only the tablet and statue of the Qingyuan God had turned to dust, making the scene very strange.
“My lord, look, there seems to be a golden claw mark on this door…” A servant was the first to notice the clue on the palace door, but he stopped halfway through his sentence and stared intently at the Marquis of Pingwei’s forehead.
Marquis Pingwei saw the claw marks and suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
"Alright, no need to investigate anymore, I know what happened!"
He didn't explain the reason to his servants, but simply ordered them to quickly clean up the West Hall. He then found several painters and asked them to draw cats according to his descriptions. He selected the most accurate drawing and gave it to the craftsmen to sculpt the statue.
Marquis Pingwei's thinking was very clear: since the Cat God really exists, and the statue and tablet in the temple where the Cat God left his paw print are broken, what does this mean?
This means the Cat God must want him to erect a statue of it in his mansion and offer incense! The Cat God even specially chose the location, how could he refuse? He absolutely had to cooperate!
An ancient cat god... perhaps even more powerful than a celestial being. He had originally planned to worship one, but if the cat god didn't choose to, he'd have a headache figuring out how to arrange things. If he vacated Mo Bei's place for the cat god, what if Mo Bei really became a celestial being and held a grudge against him?
However, if the main seat of the God of Ink Sorrow is not moved, and a side hall is set up for the Cat God, it seems disrespectful.
Now that Cat God has made the choice himself, all the problems are gone! It couldn't be more thoughtful!
As for Qingyuan God Venerable... he was just a newly promoted God Venerable. As long as he served the other great gods well, it wouldn't matter if he offended Qingyuan!
...
Yun Tianjiao, Zhiwei, and Shen Qiongzhi did not leave the Pingwei Marquis's residence. Instead, they waited until the Pingwei Marquis took out the cat portrait to find someone to sculpt it before finally leaving.
"Sister Tianjiao, you are really amazing. You left a paw print at the entrance of the West Hall, which completely resolved the matter! Otherwise, if Marquis Pingwei saw that Qingyuan's statue was destroyed, he might have some ideas and cause trouble out of nowhere."
"Alright, don't mention the words 'claw mark' again." Yun Tianjiao was now traumatized by those words, and then scolded, "In the future, don't be too impulsive, or you won't be able to get away with it so easily next time."
Shen Qiongzhi stuck out her tongue, still somewhat unconvinced: "This time I only saw Qingyuan's statue. When I finally see him in person, I'll tear him to shreds!"
The three returned to Ji'an Township, where Master Qiu had been waiting for them. Upon seeing them return, he hurriedly came out to greet them: "How was your trip? Did it go smoothly?"
"With the Cat Immortal on the case, everything will surely go smoothly!" Shen Qiongzhi laughed. "Hall Master Qiu, don't worry, that Marquis Pingwei will definitely not threaten you to demolish Ji'an Hall again!"
Master Qiu's face lit up with joy, and she thanked him repeatedly. However, it was clear that she still harbored doubts. After all, seeing is believing, and hearing is deceiving; she wasn't entirely sure of Marquis Pingwei's attitude. So the three of them didn't rush to leave and stayed overnight in Ji'an Township.
However, at noon the next day, the enemy attack alarm sounded again at the city gate.
"What's going on, Qiongzhi? Didn't you say that Marquis Pingwei wouldn't send anyone to invade again? How come they're here again after only one day?" Qiu Feiyan was having dinner with Shen Qiongzhi and Zhiwei when he heard the warning. He put down his chopsticks and rushed outside.
Shen Qiongzhi and Yun Tianjiao exchanged a glance, feeling a little uncertain. "Sister Tianjiao, will Marquis Pingwei change his mind again?"
Zhiwei remained calm, saying, "Let's go out and see what's going on first."
Sure enough, a large group of armored soldiers appeared below the city gate. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the leader of this group was none other than Marquis Pingwei himself.
The armored troops stopped three miles from the city gate and ceased their advance. Marquis Pingwei first sent a messenger, instructing him to go alone and explain his purpose.
The unfortunate messenger's face was still red and swollen on one side, as if he had been slapped not long ago. He was none other than Li Shi.
It was a misunderstanding, really. Li Shi was still worried about his failed siege, so he got up early today to see Marquis Pingwei. He made a solemn vow to express his determination, saying that he had found three demon-catching experts and that he would definitely conquer Ji'an Township this time.
The result was a resounding slap across the face.
"What nonsense are you spouting? What kind of demon is this? A demon hunter, my foot! Didn't everyone already tell you? It's the Cat Immortal! The Cat Immortal! He's a deity, not a demon! You're a useless piece of trash!"
Then Li Shi was dragged along by Marquis Pingwei and personally brought to Ji'an Township.
"Oh my, isn't this General Li? What happened to your face?" Master Qiu still held a grudge against Li Shi for allowing his subordinates to kidnap Qiu Feiyan, so he naturally seized this opportunity to ridicule him.
Li Shi was utterly humiliated, but with his mission at hand, he could only force a smile: "Hall Master Qiu, our Marquis Pingwei has come here specifically to show goodwill and apologize for his previous rudeness. He knows that this place is protected by the gods, and he will never dare to offend you again."
Master Qiu was slightly surprised, not expecting that Marquis Pingwei had actually changed his attitude completely, just as Shen Qiongzhi had said.
"You should tell Marquis Pingwei that we have received his apology and hope that he will keep his promise and never invade again."
Seeing that Li Shi continued to linger below the city walls and refused to leave, Master Qiu asked again, "What is it, General Li? Is there something else?"
Li Shi said awkwardly, "Our Marquis Pingwei has another request. He wants to enter the city and personally kowtow to the local deities to apologize."
Seeing that Master Qiu was wary, Li Shi quickly added, "Don't worry! Marquis Pingwei only brought two guards into the city; the rest of his troops are stationed outside the city!"
Master Qiu went to see Zhiwei.
Zhiwei nodded and said, "Master Qiu might as well agree to their request. After all, Marquis Pingwei is the head of the prefecture. It's better to make a good relationship with him than to make an enemy."
Master Qiu knew that the peace and tranquility of Ji'an Township was all thanks to these reclusive masters, so he said to Li Shi, "Marquis Pingwei may enter the city, but your army must retreat another three miles."
Unable to make a decision himself, Li Shi returned to Marquis Pingwei's side and relayed Master Qiu's request. Marquis Pingwei didn't hesitate at all, but his advisors were worried.
"My lord, you should think twice! Entering the city alone is extremely dangerous. If the soldiers retreat any further, they may not be able to provide timely support should anything change!"
"Oh, no need to worry! I'll be fine." Marquis Pingwei waved his hand and left with his two guards, thinking to himself, what do you know? I am a person blessed by the ancient cat god, and I will surely turn bad luck into good and become rich and powerful.
Marquis Pingwei was welcomed into the city and went straight to Ji'an Hall. When he arrived at the entrance of Ji'an Hall, he knelt down and kowtowed loudly, leaving Qiu Feiyan dumbfounded.
"Is he...is he alright?"
Shen Qiongzhi's expression was complicated; she didn't know how to answer.
Marquis Pingwei muttered to himself as he kowtowed, then searched around the Ji'an Hall again.
"My lord... what are you looking for?" Master Qiu couldn't bear to watch any longer and finally couldn't help but ask.
"Why is there no statue of the Cat God here?" Marquis Pingwei asked.
"Cat...what kind of idol?" Master Qiu asked, puzzled.
"A statue of the Cat God!" Marquis Pingwei suddenly realized something and cast a sympathetic glance at him. "It's the statue of the Great Cat Immortal!"
"Cat Immortal... do you still need a statue?" Master Qiu subconsciously glanced at Zhiwei, only to find that the black cat that was always by his side had disappeared.
"Hey, Master Qiu, you probably haven't met this Cat Immortal before, have you?" Marquis Pingwei asked, and without waiting for Master Qiu's reply, he added smugly, "Oh, or perhaps I should rephrase my question: Has the Cat Immortal appeared in your dream?"
"No, no..."
Marquis Pingwei nodded knowingly, "I understand, I understand. After all, not everyone has this opportunity."
"..."
Then Marquis Pingwei pulled out a small scroll from his sleeve and said generously, "Well then, it can be said that we are destined to meet today. You can make a statue of the Cat Immortal based on this portrait. No need to thank me. This is what I should do as a believer."
Marquis Pingwei talked to himself for half a day, earnestly instructing Master Qiu to make sure the statue of the Cat Immortal was made exactly like the one in the portrait, before finally leaving happily.
Even after seeing the person off, Master Qiu was still bewildered. He turned back to Zhiwei and asked, "What... what's going on here?"
Yun Tianjiao, who had been missing for a long time, reappeared at this time.
Zhiwei happily patted the black cat's head and said to Hall Master Qiu, "Hall Master, you can rest assured now. We should take our leave."
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