Cat 258: Lord Jiu Has a Nosebleed

Chapter 258 Ninth Lord Has a Nosebleed

Yan Jiyun glanced down at the toe he’d kicked earlier that day, only now realizing how much it hurt. He hadn’t felt anything during the day, but it ached acutely now that he was back in cat form.

His forepaw was badly swollen; even the Ninth Lord’s gentle touch was painful, prompting Yan Jiyun to retract his paw with a wince.

The Ninth Lord asked, “Did you get into a fight with another cat?”

Of course, Yan Jiyun didn’t respond. Even if he had fought another cat, he’d have lost a bit of fur at most—how could that have swollen his paw like this?

The Ninth Lord observed a bit longer. “Or did you get hit by something heavy while running about?”

Whatever the cause, the Ninth Lord’s earlier gloom had dissipated. He set about finding someone to bring anti-swelling ointment.

Could human medication be used? What if the cat licked its paw and ingested the ointment—could it be fatal?

No, he needed to call a professional vet.

Yang Er had just fetched the ointment when the Ninth Lord gave new instructions: “Is there a veterinary clinic in town? Ask if they have a special anti-inflammatory ointment for cats and dogs.”

“Yes, has Caramel fallen ill?” Yang Er, always attuned to the Ninth Lord’s interests, showed concern for the little black cat.

“Maybe it got hit by something. Its paw is swollen,” the Ninth Lord replied, frowning.

Yang Er understood and duly made arrangements. Half an hour later, someone brought in ointment custom-made for cats and dogs.

The Ninth Lord swiftly applied the ointment to Yan Jiyun’s swollen paw.

Yan Jiyun flexed his toes—the cool sensation was very soothing.

Yang Er, noticing the Ninth Lord putting away the ointment, handed him a little ring-shaped object.

One glance told the Ninth Lord its purpose, and Yan Jiyun stared in horror at the Elizabethan collar intended for his neck.

Damn it—there was no way he’d wear that obnoxious thing that would even make eating a struggle!

Before the Ninth Lord could react, Yan Jiyun leapt from his lap; however comfortable his seat, he refused to wear that humiliating collar.

Escape was the only option.

Yang Er remarked, “Does Caramel know what this is for?”

“Of course. He’s very clever.” The Ninth Lord glanced at Caramel, who was hiding at the door, his tail twitching. He made no effort to chase him but mused, “Strange… Jiyun stubbed his toe today, and now Caramel’s paw is swollen too—such a coincidence. Jiyun also wears a necklace, as does Caramel. It’s just that Caramel isn’t as clingy as Jiyun.”

Yang Er had a sudden idea. “Then they complement each other perfectly. When Jiyun’s out, Caramel can keep you company, and vice versa. Ninth Lord, Jiyun and Caramel have never appeared together, and it seems cats don’t like Jiyun—Snowy even avoids him. Would Caramel like him? Is Caramel deliberately avoiding him?”

A thought struck the Ninth Lord as he stared at the Elizabethan collar in his hand. “Since we’re all paper people, could Caramel also be made of paper? Does he have a soul?”

Yang Er replied, “Of course.”

The Ninth Lord’s thoughts followed the thread of the paper people case. “Then, do you think the five of them had someone even more skilled behind them? Forty years ago, they only had the idea—someone had to bring it to fruition. Who could it be? If souls can be transferred between paper humans, could one be moved into an animal?”

Yan Jiyun had been flicking his tail to amuse the Ninth Lord, but at this suggestion, his tail dropped involuntarily.

Yang Er, every bit the loyal lackey, piped up, “Ninth Lord, when we discover the truth about the paper people, we can run an experiment—see if a human soul can be transferred into a paper animal.”

The Ninth Lord agreed, “Great idea. It’s all paper. It should be possible.”

Now he was motivated to uncover the truth of the paper town.

[“Want to Be Human” Livestream Room:]

“Oooh, interesting! Will the kitten be found out by the Ninth Lord?”

“I want to see the Ninth Lord pin the kitten to the bed for kisses, only for him to turn into a sexy, naked young man!”

“I was thinking the same as you, sis!”

“By the way, if the Ninth Lord is Qi Feng—that is, the kitten’s owner—will he retain Qi Feng’s memories once they leave the instance?”

“That’s an intriguing question. But knowing the system’s quirks, there’s no way it’ll let Qi Feng keep any memories. It’ll probably make for a melodramatic twist at some key moment. The system always loves to mess with people.”

“I’ll bet a cucumber Qi Feng won’t get his memories back.”

“But what if Qi Feng keeps the Ninth Lord’s memories?”

“My take: maybe the Ninth Lord acquired a clone ability on a previous run, or maybe the game contrived him to trip up the kitten—but the latter isn’t likely, because from the start the Ninth Lord has always been on the good side, helping the kitten uncover the truth and using his identity to help. My conclusion: the Ninth Lord’s memories are unrelated to his original self, since he’s just a projection, not a split personality.”

“That makes a lot of sense.”

Yan Jiyun quietly slipped away. The Ninth Lord wasn’t a fool; if he was starting to ponder whether a human soul could move into a paper animal, he might just be onto something.

Hopefully, it was just a fleeting thought!

Yan Jiyun decided he’d better avoid hanging around the Ninth Lord in cat form—otherwise, the man might want to experiment on him.

Now that they had exposed Ajun as the Lin head, if Wei Liu and the others didn’t want their deeds exposed, he might strike at the Lin head tonight.

To avoid the collar, Yan Jiyun decided to keep watch, in hopes of catching the perpetrator in the act.

Determined, he darted down the stairs, but before he could reach “Ajun’s” holding cell, he saw the Ninth Lord’s subordinates hurrying upstairs.

What had happened?

Yan Jiyun rushed to the already open door. Inside, there was no sign of Ajun—just a pile of burnt paper ashes.

Who did it?

He’d only just checked on her; “Ajun” had lain docilely on the bed a moment ago, surrounded by the Ninth Lord’s people. Who was skilled enough to get in from outside?

The Ninth Lord’s security was top-notch—plenty of guards, all highly skilled, and even some fierce guard dogs. If anyone had tried to climb in, the dogs would have caught the unfamiliar scent.

So, the culprit wasn’t an outsider, but a traitor within. But who?

Yan Jiyun dashed upstairs, hearing the Ninth Lord’s people reporting their findings.

Now, the Ninth Lord was reinvigorated—far more engaged than when he’d only been drifting on the periphery of Yan Jiyun’s investigations.

He asked, “Who entered this room during that time?”

The subordinate replied, “Mr. Yan, Mr. Liu, and Mr. Cheng—all entered. Other than them, no one.”

The Ninth Lord asked, “After they left, did anything seem off inside?”

The subordinate replied, “Mr. Yan was first, then Mr. Liu and Mr. Cheng came in to ask a few questions, but the woman didn’t answer.”

The Ninth Lord frowned. Yan Jiyun had gone through so much trouble to catch this suspect—how could she be dead already? How was he to explain this?

He rose and made his way to Yan Jiyun’s room, deciding to break the news himself.

Yan Jiyun beat him by a second, slipping into his room and using the experience card just before the Ninth Lord arrived.

No sooner had he regained human form than the Ninth Lord knocked on his door.

Putting aside his earlier misgivings, the Ninth Lord called out, “Jiyun, are you there?”

Yan Jiyun opened the door. “I’m here.”

At the sight of Yan Jiyun, all the Ninth Lord’s scattered thoughts evaporated.

He felt his face grow steadily hotter. He stood stock still at the threshold, unable to move.

Yan Jiyun grew uneasy under the scrutiny. “What’s up?”

Rarely at a loss for words, the Ninth Lord stammered, “It’s—someone has been murdered.”

Yan Jiyun, already aware, feigned surprise. “You mean the Lin head is gone?”

The Ninth Lord nodded.

“All that work to find a clue, and now it’s gone so suddenly! Who did it?”

Pretending alarm, Yan Jiyun started to bolt, but the Ninth Lord grabbed his arm first. When his hand touched Yan Jiyun’s skin, a heat seemed to shoot through his fingertips.

“At least put some clothes on before you go running out—what if someone sees you like this?”

Yan Jiyun glanced down.

Good heavens, now that he’d switched back to human, he hadn’t a stitch on except a pair of white briefs!

Damn this stingy system!

But the Ninth Lord’s reaction made him a bit uncomfortable. “Why are you blushing? It’s just clothes—I was taking a shower, that’s all. We’re both men—what’s there to be shy about? I have what you have.” And as if blushing were contagious, heat rose to Yan Jiyun’s face too. This was ridiculous.

The Ninth Lord was about to explain, but the only answer was a door slammed in his face.

With a bang, Yan Jiyun shut him out.

The Ninth Lord pressed a cool palm to his face and called into the room, “Paper people don’t need to shower—don’t scrub yourself apart!”

And had Yan Jiyun forgotten? This “grown man” liked men, too.

His mind drifted back to the image just now—Yan Jiyun in nothing but a pair of white briefs. Pale skin, lean and toned, with perfect lines across his abdomen—very stimulating.

Hearing news of the Lin head’s death, Liu Jingxi came looking for Yan Jiyun, only to find the Ninth Lord standing outside his door, a red trickle below his nose.

“Ninth Lord, your nose is bleeding!”

The Ninth Lord wiped at his nose; his fingertips came away red. He turned aside, forcing a stern expression. “It’s nothing. Dry weather—too much heat.”

Liu Jingxi protested, “But our town is rain-soaked almost all year—it’s never dry.”

The Ninth Lord had no wish to engage with this dullard. With forced aloofness, he took a handkerchief from his pocket to dab at his nose and finger.

[“Want to Be Human” Livestream Room:]

“Hahahahahaha, I’m dying! Liu Jingxi just blurted out that the Ninth Lord has a nosebleed!”

“No doubt about it, the Ninth Lord likes the kitten.”

“Sigh, why is the naked kitten censored while the Ninth Lord kissing him wasn’t?! Rubbish system—what’s the point of mosaic now, seriously?!”

“Exactly! And the original footage showed the cat-boy as an adult—he’s not a minor, dammit!”

“I bet the system did it on purpose! Other streamers take showers in their underwear without censorship—why is the kitten an exception? I’m reporting the system for discriminatory treatment!”

After hastily pulling on whatever clothes he could find, Yan Jiyun came out to find the Ninth Lord composed again, Cheng Xueying appearing as well, brows furrowed at the news.

Together, they went to Ajun’s room.

Outside, Yan Jiyun snapped a branch and poked through the charred paper remains. The Ninth Lord’s men had quickly extinguished the smoldering bits at the first scent of burning; much of Ajun’s form remained unburned.

A question occurred to him: “Why was Ajun’s corpse left as paper after being burned, while your father’s looked human?”

Cheng Xueying replied, “That’s because Ajun was possessed by one of those five—it wasn’t the original soul. Maybe if the soul doesn’t fit, that’s what happens.”

Yan Jiyun pounced, “How do you know that?”

Cheng Xueying answered, “I read about it in some old books in my father’s study. They covered topics like this.”

“Who wrote those books?” Yan Jiyun pressed.

Cheng Xueying shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Yan Jiyun saw no hint of evasion in his eyes. He picked up a mostly intact scrap and sniffed it.

The odor of gasoline.

He knew who did it now.

Yan Jiyun turned to the Ninth Lord. “Let’s go to the Cheng house!”

The Ninth Lord, handkerchief pressed to his nose, seemed a bit distracted; his mind was still elsewhere. “Hmm? What did you say?”

Yan Jiyun yanked his handkerchief away, shooting him a glare. “Erase those images from your mind.”

The Ninth Lord nodded with vigor, thinking to himself: Jiyun’s quite a mind reader. Maybe it’s time for them to take the next step?