Dragon scales and phoenix feathers have always been treasures that are hard to come by in the world. For dragons and phoenixes, they hold even more special meaning.
At the very least, Pei Shiyi would never casually give away his own feathers. Phoenixes have always had the habit of collecting their fallen feathers. If they get married, those feathers are used to decorate their living quarters.
Pei Shiyi had naturally saved up quite a large handful as well. He might not shed a single feather for over a hundred years, so he treasured them dearly and had never given any away. As for someone like Bo Jin…
He suddenly remembered how young people nowadays kept shouting online about “losing hair and going bald”. He immediately shuddered. Could it be that Bo Jin was shedding scales at such a young age?
A trace of sympathy appeared in Pei Shiyi’s eyes. Not only did he refrain from picking a quarrel or arguing, but he even raised his hand and patted Bo Jin on the shoulder. “Alright, thank you.”
This was practically the sun rising in the west. A miracle.
Bo Jin lowered his gaze and swept a glance over Pei Shiyi’s hand, then looked away. “I’m leaving.”
Pei Shiyi withdrew his hand and waved. “I’m going back in.”
After saying that, he turned around and locked the cat café’s front door without looking back.
The moment he stepped inside, Fondant rolled over to him.
Pei Shiyi picked her up, pinched each of her four little paws, and checked them one by one, making sure her fur hadn’t grown long enough to make her slip before finally setting her down.
Fondant, as a ragdoll cat, loved interacting with customers very much. In the cat café, the ones with the most daily activity were her and Tong Qian. Fondant was also a long-haired cat. If the fur on her paws wasn’t trimmed in time, it was easy for her to slip while walking.
This was something Pei Shiyi only learned after studying how to care for long-haired cats.
Fondant circled Pei Shiyi’s legs in a figure eight, letting out soft, fluffy little cries.
The little clingy one hadn’t had enough of sticking to people all day. Even after closing time, she still wanted to rub against the boss.
Fondant blocked his way so he couldn’t walk, so Pei Shiyi bent down with a smile and said, “Fondant, do you want a bath?”
As a little cat who had only just gained sentience, Fondant naturally didn’t like baths. Dejected, she released Pei Shiyi, meowed once, and flopped down in front of Yun Chao: ying.
Pei Shiyi walked up to the second floor, followed by a string of fluffy balls. Dan Huang had the two little tortoiseshells riding on his back, trudging upstairs step by step while saying worriedly, “Boss, should one of us keep watch tonight?”
Pei Shiyi raised a brow. “Keep watch? Why keep watch?”
Walking beside him, Yun Chao said, “Dan Huang is probably worried about the man who came during the day, the one carrying the camera. He had a very mixed and chaotic demonic aura on him, but his scent was still human. The demonic aura on his body clearly came from improper sources. After he came in, the way he looked at every cat in the café was very… greedy.”
Fondant didn’t quite understand, but from Yun Chao’s tone she sensed a kind of oppressive feeling, like a storm about to arrive. She couldn’t help leaning closer. Yun Chao soothed her by licking her ear.
Pei Shiyi smiled. “I’m here. Get some good rest. Nothing will happen.”
Tong Qian bounded up and down. After climbing onto the armrest, he aimed for Pei Shiyi’s shoulder and kicked off, launching himself: “Boss!”
Pei Shiyi caught him steadily. “Hmm?”
Tong Qian wagged his tail excitedly. “Let’s keep watch downstairs tonight! What if that man has bad intentions?”
Pei Shiyi pinched Tong Qian’s ear and said with amusement, “You just want to play, don’t you?”
Tong Qian twitched his ears and let out a silly laugh. Yet the moment Tong Qian brought up this unreliable idea, all the fluffy eyes in the room lit up, including the usually composed Yun Chao.
Of course, expecting cats to be consistently responsible? That’s pure fantasy.
Pei Shiyi shook his head. There was no way he would let this group of mischievous troublemakers sleep downstairs. The cameraman might not even come. Even if he did, he might not come alone.
Tong Qian licked his lips and said regretfully, “Alright then.”
Pei Shiyi took a shower and tidied up the cat beds.
Today was Song Gao’s first night staying at the cat café. The bed had just been brought out, so it wasn’t as comfortable as the one he was used to. There was even a subtle new-object scent, which was a kind of torment for a keen-nosed divine beast. Pei Shiyi worried that Song Gao wouldn’t adapt.
Dan Huang said, “Song Gao can sleep with me.”
His was a super-sized hamburger-shaped cat bed, soft and breathable.
Yun Chao’s “queen’s throne” was right next to little Fondant’s “princess bed”. Hearing Dan Huang’s suggestion, she scoffed, “Do you even have space for Song Gao to sleep?”
“Don’t squash the kids so they can’t grow properly.”
Dan Huang sucked in his belly and gave Yun Chao a mournful glance. But Yun Chao was right. Those two little tortoiseshells were so clingy, they would climb back into their own beds at night, no matter what.
Tong Qian had pushed his bed up onto a shelf. If other cats came in, they would go straight into the bed, but he still had to climb upstairs.
Pei Shiyi watched as each of them settled into their own little beds, then finally turned off the lights. “Good night.”
Seven pairs of bright, sparkling eyes from six beds chorused in unison: “Good night, Boss.”
Poor little Fondant and the tortoiseshells couldn’t speak, and only meowed softly: “Meow—”
Pei Shiyi chuckled and gently closed the door.
…
In an obscure corner of Yuchuan City:
“Are you sure you didn’t see wrong? That cat café… It’s full of cat demons?”
Zhen Zhizhang gripped his cup tightly.
Zhu Heng downed his beer in one gulp. “You can’t tell from the video, but do you think I’d lie to you?”
Zhen Zhizhang hesitated. “Normal people can’t possibly keep that many cat demons. Are you sure everyone in that café was human? I’ve heard there are quite a few talented and unusual people in our country. It’s not like abroad.”
Zhu Heng said, “Do you think I wouldn’t notice that? Don’t worry. They’re all ordinary people. The boss is just a pretty face—tall but thin, no real skill, probably couldn’t even fight. The key is the cats. I’ve prepared meat laced with medicine. Once the cats eat it, they’ll collapse, and we can carry them off directly.”
The boss was even harder to deal with than the cats. These weren’t ordinary cats, and Zhu Heng knew he couldn’t overpower them in a fair fight. That’s why he planned a stealthy attack tonight, fully prepared. He had even injected expensive imported stuff into the meat, ensuring that the moment the cats smelled it, they’d get hungry. One bite and they’d go down.
The human boss couldn’t be disturbed at all. After all, ordinary humans were useless and would only cause trouble. If Zhu Heng weren’t worried about mistakes happening, he wouldn’t even consider splitting the reward with anyone.
Zhen Zhizhang’s heart raced with excitement, but his faint moral sense hesitated. This was theft, after all. He wavered.
Zhu Heng said, “All you need to do is keep watch. Once it’s done, you get one. That’s a cat demon. Even if it’s not used as a tonic, it’s highly sought after abroad. Those wizards are watching. Selling just one could net hundreds of thousands.”
Zhen Zhizhang’s inner scale tipped further.
Zhu Heng continued persuasively, “Think about it. The cat café boss is just an ordinary human. If we let him keep these demons, aren’t we putting him in danger? We’re not stealing. We’re doing it for the safety of ordinary people.”
Zhen Zhizhang gritted his teeth. “Alright! You’re right!”
He was doing it for human safety!
The two of them conspired several times, made full preparations, and quietly set off for the cat café. Zhu Heng had timed everything perfectly: they would arrive at two in the morning, when most people were in a deep sleep.
The cat café’s lights were all off, the windows locked, and the curtains drawn. There was no way to see inside.
Nervous, Zhen Zhizhang kept swallowing hard, his hands trembling as he tried to pick the lock.
Zhu Heng pressed against the wall, listening for a while. Not a sound came from inside. He pushed Zhen Zhizhang aside, placed his hand on the door lock, and a faint red glow flickered. The cat café door quietly swung open.
Zhu Heng waited in place for a few minutes. Still, there was no movement. A triumphant smile crept onto his face. Just as he thought, as a supernatural being far beyond ordinary humans, everything was effortless for him.
He pulled the prepared meat from his pocket, crouched low, and slipped into the café. A scent imperceptible to humans spread throughout the space. Zhu Heng glanced back and urged, “Don’t hesitate. Grab the cats and put them straight into the bag. Don’t suffocate them.”
Second floor.
Yun Chao stretched elegantly in her bed and licked her front paw.
Dan Huang silently picked up the two little tortoiseshells and snuggled into his own bed. As he lay down, he glanced up at the cat climbing frame. Tong Qian’s bed was already empty.
The two little tortoiseshells had caught a whiff of something and were about to cry out, but Dan Huang decisively smacked them into the bed. “Meow.” Sleep.
Yun Chao glanced around. Fondant and Song Gao were sleeping soundly. The usually dignified little Bi’an stuck out a tiny pink tongue in his deep slumber.
A hint of a smile appeared in Yun Chao’s eyes as she flicked her fluffy tail and slipped quietly out through the door crack.
Tong Qian crouched on the second-floor railing, craning his neck to watch downstairs, his eyes glowing eerily. Hearing movement behind him, he glanced at Yun Chao, exchanged a look, grinned, and silently slid down.
Yun Chao stayed seated in place, waiting for the fool to walk straight into trouble.
Zhu Heng had no idea his “prey” were already awake. Holding the meat, he pressed his voice low and called out, “Mimi—”
Tong Qian thought: Mimi, my ass. Does he really think I’m a cat?
He leapt down from the railing and appeared right in front of Zhu Heng, watching with interest as the man waved a piece of bloody meat in front of him.
Zhu Heng whispered, “Mimi, come, eat the meat.”
He cut open the meat with a knife. Blood spurted out with a hiss, dripping onto the cat café’s carpet.
Tong Qian, used to the café’s fresh fruity scent, the rich aroma of milk, and even Pei Shiyi’s warm, sun-like scent that could make one drowsy, felt an instinctive revulsion at the metallic, sweet-tinged stench of blood.
And the bloodstains… the boss would go crazy.
Tong Qian narrowed his eyes and flexed his claws, ready to stride over and deal with this eyesore of a man. But then he noticed another figure at the door—a gaunt man holding a bag. He immediately changed tactics, pretending to take a bite, then flopped dramatically onto the floor, twitching a couple of times as if fainting.
His performance completely outshone that of any young actor.
Zhu Heng was ecstatic, thinking, “It really works!” Beasts are just beasts. No brains. Hahaha.
He picked up Tong Qian and signaled Zhen Zhizhang to hurry over with a bag, while he pulled out another piece of meat and slowly started up the stairs.
Zhen Zhizhang trembled as he walked over. His fingers had just brushed the smooth fur of the leopard cat when the cat, eyes tightly shut, suddenly opened them. The pupils reflected the cold moonlight. It split its mouth into a smile, fangs bared.
Good evening, Bamboo Pole.
Zhen Zhizhang’s soul nearly flew out of his body. He screamed in a shrill voice.
Zhu Heng slipped in fright, falling flat on the floor with a loud crash that echoed throughout the cat café.
With a noise like that, anyone not deaf would have woken up.
He slowly raised his head. On the stairs, for some unknown reason, several fluffy shapes had appeared, backs to the moonlight, casting black silhouettes on the wooden floor. One by one, bright, piercing eyes stared straight at him.
Zhu Heng heard a sigh. Following the sound, he saw a man sitting on the second-floor railing under the cold moonlight, dressed in a black silk shirt and trousers, the collar slightly open, skin as pale and cold as the moonlight itself.
The man propped his chin on one hand and regarded him with interest. “I heard you wanted to steal my cats?”
Author’s note:
Zhu Heng: The cat café boss is just a pretty face. He definitely can’t fight.
Pei Shiyi: emmmmm… if it makes you happy.
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Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152