Cat 230: Probing

Chapter 230: Probing

Yan Jiyun didn’t have to wait long before Yang Er brought out the boiled chicken breast. It was still piping hot, and the chef had cut it into chunky cubes, which made it hard for him to eat. Lord Jiu, seeing this, tore the meat into strips by hand, cooled it with his breath, and placed it on the small plate he’d prepared for Yan Jiyun.

Being fed real meat was already such a treat that Yan couldn’t be bothered to rush. He waited until Lord Jiu cooled each bite before eating it slowly, savoring the experience. It took time, but everyone seemed content. After finishing off the chicken breast, he went for a drink of water, thoroughly satisfied.

Only after tending to the black cat’s meal did Lord Jiu begin his own breakfast. He ate quickly and heartily, clearing most of the small dishes and dim sum from the table in no time, leaving Liu Rongzhi stunned. With him eating at such speed, her efforts to serve him dishes were entirely unnecessary; on reflection, she realized how superfluous she’d been.

A whole night had passed, and nothing had happened.

After breakfast, Lord Jiu left the ballroom with the black cat.

Liu Rongzhi saw Lord Jiu and his cat off with all due respect, but her once-pretty face now collapsed in defeat. Last night had been the lowest point of her career—her professional Waterloo. Who’d have thought someone would love a cat more than a woman? She felt utterly inferior. Was her charm lacking, or was she simply not dark enough, or perhaps not decked out in furs? She had miscalculated, and it turned out all those rumors about Lord Jiu’s romantic tastes meant nothing at all.

But to Yan Jiyun, Liu Rongzhi didn’t matter much anymore. Regarding the fight involving Liu Jinghao, she was probably just the spark—the justification for the quarrel. There are countless reasons to start a fight, and she just happened to be caught between two rival families and so provided an excuse for conflict.

After breakfast, Yan Jiyun strolled around Liu Rongzhi’s room, pretending to digest his meal. The room was tastefully furnished, but nothing in it exceeded what her income might cover. For a woman to maintain her looks took significant investment. Of course, it was possible some of her expenses were footed by wealthy men.

All in all, Liu Rongzhi seemed unconnected to Liu Jinghao’s death. That left only the opponent in the fight—Young Master Chen, the local landlord’s foolish son, who’d spent a month bedridden after their brawl. Clearly, this was a serious incident.

Yan Jiyun frowned, realizing he’d forgotten to ask He Yuanle about Young Master Chen’s current condition. Now that he was riding with Lord Jiu, it wasn’t convenient to revert to human form and track He Yuanle down himself.

In “Vigil for the Dead” instances, typically the deceased will return for revenge as a vengeful spirit if they died by foul play. If the true culprit who pushed Liu Jinghao into the lake could be found before the funeral, the task could likely be completed.

A month ago, the Chen family’s eldest had fought with him. Now he was the prime suspect. But how to get into the Chen home to meet this Young Master Chen? Just how serious were his wounds?

The car cruised down the main avenue of Jiangnan Town. Calling it a “town” didn’t quite do it justice—it was as big as a city.

Jiangnan-style buildings scrolled past outside the window as Yan Jiyun pondered his mission, sprawled across the window. Lord Jiu sat in the backseat, reading the morning paper, while Yang Er, the driver, drove serenely.

Lord Jiu’s subordinates all had impeccable discipline. Unless he spoke to them, they wouldn’t initiate conversation or make idle jokes.

But today, Lord Jiu was clearly different from usual.

After flipping through the papers for a while, he looked up at the black cat standing on tiptoe at the window and reminded Yang Er, “Slow down. Let him enjoy the view.”

Yang Er: “Yes, sir.” He was Lord Jiu’s trusted man, once saved by him, and now utterly loyal. In most circumstances, Lord Jiu was willing to make small talk with him.

“Planning to keep the cat, sir?”

Lord Jiu folded up the newspaper, having found nothing interesting in it. “He won’t eat much. I may as well.”

Yang Er recalled the chicken breast and egg from breakfast, and Lord Jiu’s personal instructions for meat at lunch. It might not eat much, but it ate well—one meal cost more than a typical family’s daily expenses.

Truly, if Lord Jiu was to keep a cat, it would be done in style. In future, perhaps only his wife and son would enjoy such treatment.

Yan Jiyun, preoccupied with thoughts of the instance, paid little attention to the scenery, lounging listlessly on the sofa. Lord Jiu absently stroked the back of his neck, his fur much cleaner after his bath the day before.

Suddenly, Yang Er braked as a young woman in a dress darted into the road and fell. It wasn’t clear if she’d been struck or just slipped.

Yan Jiyun noticed her expensive clothes. Was it an accident or a scam?

Lord Jiu’s car was painfully conspicuous.

Yang Er got out to resolve the incident. Soon, he returned: “Sir, the young lady who fell insists we hit her—she—”

Without waiting for Yang Er to finish, Lord Jiu said, “If she’s hurt, compensate her.”

But Yang Er lowered his voice: “She’s the Chen family’s second daughter—Chen Minmin.”

Lord Jiu: “Which Chen family?”

Yang Er: “The East City Chens.” Fearing Lord Jiu wouldn’t recall, he added, “Last month, the Liu family’s third son beat up the Chen family’s oldest son over Miss Liu, and the Chen heir has been bedridden for a month. Chen Minmin is his younger sister.”

The mention of the Chen family immediately caught Yan Jiyun’s attention. He pressed up to the window for a better look—people from the Chen family!

Lord Jiu noticed that Caramel seemed intrigued by the scene and grew curious himself as to what the cat was watching.

He picked up Caramel and opened the car door.

The young woman standing at the left front of the car stilled in surprise at the sight of the tall, handsome man in a Western suit, her cheeks coloring.

Yan Jiyun’s paws suddenly itched, and his sharp claws accidentally scratched the back of Lord Jiu’s hand.

Lord Jiu pinched his paw. “Caramel, keep your claws in. I won’t raise this one.”

Yan Jiyun retracted his claws. He really had just itched—no strange intentions there.

He continued to watch Chen Minmin intently, while she believed her persistence had brought her a fateful encounter with Lord Jiu, daydreaming about love at first sight.

Yet just as she offered what she thought was her warmest, prettiest smile, Lord Jiu looked down to focus on Caramel.

He found Caramel remarkably clever, as if the cat could understand him: “What do you want to do?”

Chen Minmin thought he was speaking to her and was just about to answer, when the cat in his arms glanced at her, then meowed up at Lord Jiu.

Naturally, Yan Jiyun wanted to follow her home to see if her brother was alive or dead—work called. Romance with Chen Minmin was out of the question; man-beast stories didn’t end well, even in the wildest web novels.

Lord Jiu now believed he understood Caramel’s intentions. Did he favor this girl? Then it was good to give Caramel a taste of the world’s dangers, so he’d learn there was no safer and happier place than by his side. Fickle cat.

Yan Jiyun had no idea that his inquisitiveness had been interpreted by Lord Jiu as something utterly preposterous.

It all depended on your perspective.

Lord Jiu told Yang Er, “Give Miss Chen a lift on our way.”

Chen Minmin was granted a seat in one of Lord Jiu’s trailing security cars, not in the one with him and Yan Jiyun.

Yan had no objection; perhaps Lord Jiu feared assassination, or perhaps, after encountering the radiant Liu Rongzhi, he was unmoved by the demure, petite Chen Minmin.

In her own car, Chen Minmin couldn’t have anticipated such an arrangement—she wasn’t even allowed to sit with Lord Jiu. But what could she do? She had, after all, thrown herself in front of his car, seeking a chance encounter. Despite this, she couldn’t even muster irritation.

Lord Jiu surely wouldn’t discern her designs.

But Lord Jiu, towering, handsome, and imposing, was the dream catch of every wealthy heiress in Jiangnan City.

It took about twenty minutes to drive from the south side to the east side—a relatively quick ride.

As soon as Chen Minmin got out of the car, she squatted by the stone lion at her doorstep and retched.

Yan Jiyun, having dozed a bit on Lord Jiu’s lap thanks to a full belly, looked over at Chen Minmin and found her pitiable—a girl made useless by carsickness, forever unable to go anywhere. How tragic.

But his sympathy lasted only a second. As a player, he had it worse than any NPC; comparing fates just brought pain. Chen Minmin merely got carsick—he got horror-game sick.

Normally the Chen family’s driver would have taken Chen Minmin for errands. This time, at her signal, he returned early and sped inside to announce to the household the “good news.” The Chen family’s house steward rushed to greet the famous Lord Jiu.

They probably thought he had come to propose.

“Forgive us for not being better hosts. The master and young master will be here in a moment. Let me get you some tea.”

“You’re too kind. I’ve heard the East City Chens obtained a grand house some years back—never had the chance to see it. Today, I thought I’d stop by.” Lord Jiu glanced at the tea set but merely stroked the cat in his arms, showing no intention of drinking.

Before the housekeeper could reply, a hearty laugh sounded from the corridor: “Lord Jiu graces us with his presence, thinking enough of our family’s humble home! It’s just a place to live, nothing special.”

The voice arrived before the man himself. Lord Jiu showed no particular emotion; often, the friendliest ones were the hardest to deal with.

Yan Jiyun heard two sets of footsteps—one even, one slightly limping.

Mr. Chen and his eldest son entered in succession.

Yan Jiyun noticed the elder son’s gait was unnatural; he probably hadn’t recovered fully.

Young Master Chen: “Thank you for bringing my sister home, Lord Jiu. I hope she wasn’t any trouble.”

Lord Jiu responded mildly, “She threw herself in front of my car. Sending her home seemed only right.”

Mr. Chen and his son both hesitated.

Yan Jiyun would have burst out laughing if in human form—he’d exposed Chen Minmin’s little scheme outright.

The hosts could only force a smile. Mr. Chen, ever the old fox, said, “Young people can be thoughtless. Don’t take it to heart, Lord Jiu. I recently came into some good tea. I’ll send some over to your house as a gift, how about that?”

Lord Jiu: “No need.”

Yan Jiyun had no patience for their politeness. He leapt off Lord Jiu’s lap and walked straight toward Young Master Chen, bumping into his injured leg.

Young Master Chen, who hadn’t even sat yet, was so startled by the rushing black cat that he jumped back several steps, his movements shockingly quick—clearly, his leg was fine. So why was he faking it?

Lord Jiu didn’t move, just spoke calmly to Yan Jiyun: “Caramel, quit running around.”

Yan Jiyun feigned a tour of the room, then jumped back onto Lord Jiu’s lap and settled down.

Young Master Chen, sweating, muttered, “That cat… it’s kind of frightening.”

Lord Jiu cut him off, “You startled it. It’s actually very timid.”

Everyone stared at him, openly lying.

Yan Jiyun played along, burying his face in Lord Jiu’s chest, leaving only most of his body visible.

Lord Jiu said, “See? He’s even hiding his head.”

Yan Jiyun: Exactly. Humans are terrifying~