Cat 252: Unexpected Good Fortune

Chapter 252 Unexpected Good Fortune

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“Honestly, if the sky fell, Cat Cub would be there, running his mouth. Thank goodness for Ninth Master, or I’d never have realized Cat Cub is a stubborn coward, hahaha!”

“Isn’t this a perfect excuse for Ninth Master to hold his hand? I’ll bet a cat hair Ninth Master won’t pass up this chance.”

“Too bad Ninth Master isn’t streaming right now. We could have gotten a first-person view of holding Cat Cub’s human paw.”

“I want to ask Ninth Master: is Cat Cub’s hand soft? I want Cat Cub to hold mine!”

“As someone committed to the third-person view, I really find this terrifying. I can understand why Cat Cub wanted to hold Ninth Master’s hand—I’d be scared too.”

“What could you possibly find in a grave? Treasure?”

Ninth Master immediately reversed his grip, taking Yan Jiyun’s hand in his own. Would he be the Ninth Master if he didn’t take advantage of the opportunity?

“Alright, here—hold it.”

Ninth Master was genuinely surprised. Yan Jiyun’s hand was actually quite soft, with no calluses, just the type you’d expect from a spoiled rich heir. The last thing this soft he’d ever squeezed was Caramel’s paw pad. He couldn’t help but feel his taste was on point—to raise both a kitten and a hidden young master. No wonder he was so pampered and liked to stick close, always needing comfort—a little coward, but so very cute.

Noticing the slight curl at the corner of Ninth Master’s mouth, Yan Jiyun asked, “Is smiling how you show fear?” He really needed to remind him what being scared should look like.

Ninth Master smoothed out the smile at his lips. “Yes, I’m scared. I’m absolutely terrified.”

Once Yan Jiyun’s hand was held, he relaxed and glanced about. “The atmosphere here is just too spooky. Why is there so much paper money floating around at this time of year? Do people come here to pay their respects often?”

The two walked on, staying close, not falling far behind the others.

Gu Wenzhu gave them a look, thinking it unexpected that Yan Jiyun was so close with this amnesiac Ninth Master—no wonder he could be their team leader.

They searched one grave after another, but mysteriously, they couldn’t find the Wei Liu’s Tomb He Yuanle had mentioned.

Liu Jingxi asked, “Are you sure you weren’t seeing things? Where’s this grave of Wei Liu? There isn’t even a shadow of one.”

The mention of “ghosts” made Yan Jiyun shuffle another step closer to Ninth Master, keeping his gaze fixed on the ground at his own feet. Then, he realized the soil here looked wrong. The dirt they’d just walked over was dry, but at the center, the soil showed signs of being freshly turned.

“Someone got here before us,” Yan Jiyun said, kicking at the ground, overturning a piece of turf that had clearly been removed and replaced.

None of the other graves showed signs of being disturbed, apart from the one where he stood.

Without the disturbed soil, Yan Jiyun might not have considered there to be a clue here. Now, however, it was clear someone did not want them to find Wei Liu’s grave.

Only this grave had been tampered with—specifically its headstone. Time might not have allowed for much more.

Gu Wenzhu also noticed: “Here’s a grave without a headstone, but the soil’s loose. Someone removed it. Yan Jiyun, the one you’re standing in front of must be the Wei Liu’s tomb He Yuanle saw—someone doesn’t want us to see it.”

Their visit was unplanned. Of the three players, Ninth Master and Liu Jingxi were NPCs. The only ones who could have quickly reacted to rearrange the gravestones were those two. But they’d all been together the whole time—none had notified anyone else ahead of time.

No, wait. They arrived in three separate cars.

Yan Jiyun and Ninth Master in one, Gu Wenzhu and He Yuanle in another, and Liu Jingxi alone.

Of the three, Yan Jiyun and Ninth Master’s car was last. The most likely to be suspicious was Liu Jingxi, who traveled alone and could have stopped en route to direct someone to tamper. With the others taking a roundabout route, he could have had someone take a shortcut to get here ahead. And who could he notify? The Chen family?

But weren’t the Chens and the Lius at odds?

Yan Jiyun suddenly asked Ninth Master, “Who do you think did this?”

Ninth Master replied with certainty, “The Chen family.”

Yan Jiyun asked, “Why?”

Ninth Master: “These are the Chen family ancestral graves; only they would know the layout so well.”

Yan Jiyun thought for a moment. “It makes sense. But the disturbed soil makes it obvious—it’s easy to spot. Why would they still bother?”

Ninth Master: “Maybe they had good reason to do so anyway.”

Thinking it through again, Yan Jiyun pulled Ninth Master around the first grave, but no other grave showed any sign of tampering. Only these two had been disturbed.

Gu Wenzhu asked, “Should we dig?”

He Yuanle: “Might something be hidden in there?”

Liu Jingxi: “Do we really need to dig? Is Wei Liu really here?”

Yan Jiyun interjected, “Who said anything about digging? We’re here only to confirm one thing: Wei Liu has revealed himself.” He looked at Liu Jingxi. “Cousin, isn’t that so? Actually, I should call you Mr. Wei Liu.”

Liu Jingxi took two steps back from the others. “What are you saying, cousin?”

No sooner had Yan Jiyun spoken than the system confirmed it:

[Congratulations, player, on completing Main Quest Three. Rewards will be delivered after the instance ends.]

Yan Jiyun grew even more certain. “You are Wei Liu.”

Liu Jingxi: “If Wei Liu isn’t dead, he’d be an old man by now. I’m young—how could I be him? Are you delusional?”

Yan Jiyun: “I thought so at first, but just confirmed it. You drove here alone—no passengers—while Ninth Master and I were in the last car, and both can vouch for each other. Only you had time to arrange for someone to switch your own grave. Evidence is right here.”

Liu Jingxi gave a wry laugh. “Why would I need to swap grave markers? It’s pointless. The Chen family buried Wei Liu here—what’s that got to do with me?”

Yan Jiyun replied, “Exactly, the Chens buried Wei Liu here because Wei Liu was in league with them. Chen Qin killed Liu Jinghao. Am I right?”

Liu Jingxi dropped his act. “How did you know Liu Jinghao was killed by Chen Qin?”

Yan Jiyun didn’t need more proof. Liu Jingxi already knew he’d been exposed.

Yan Jiyun said, “How I know isn’t important. What matters is why you’re pretending to be Liu Jingxi. The real Liu Jingxi isn’t here.”

Liu Jingxi: “That’s absurd! If I’m Wei Liu, how could I pretend to be Liu Jingxi? Are you saying I possessed him?”

Yan Jiyun shook his head. “Of course not. On Liu Jinghao’s wedding day, the real Liu Jingxi took me to the back hills. There was a flooded road, so we all had to climb the mountain instead. It wasn’t that the path was blocked; it was Liu Jingxi’s father who ordered us back. Afterwards, you sometimes appeared behind me without warning. The real Liu Jingxi doesn’t know he’s a paper man—his footsteps make noise; yours don’t. You can look like anyone as long as you draw yourself that way. You’re not a person, you’re a paper man. So I know: you’re not the real Liu Jingxi.”

Wei Liu had become a paper man, and being paper, he could enlarge or shrink himself, stick to Liu Jingxi to eavesdrop on conversations, and watch their every move. Communicating with Yan Jiyun was easy and smooth—no one would ever suspect him. What the paper man failed to consider was that Yan Jiyun, as a cat, possessed extremely sharp hearing.

Liu Jingxi’s face turned dark. “What paper man? You’re talking nonsense!”

Yan Jiyun retorted, “Only you know in all Jiangnan Town that the people here aren’t real, but paper men. So as long as you draw yourself to look exactly like Liu Jingxi, you fit right in. Am I right?”

Liu Jingxi laughed coldly, malice flickering in his eyes. “So what if they’re all paper men? They’re all dead anyway!”

Yan Jiyun: “But you’re not satisfied. You haven’t got what you want yet—otherwise, you’d burn every paper man in Jiangnan Town to ashes.”

Wei Liu burst out laughing. “You pay close attention, I’ll give you that. But what can you do? You outsiders can’t leave Jiangnan Town. Once I get what I want, all of you will die here. All it takes is a single spark.”

He stepped back, then slipped past several tombstones and into the shadowy woods.

Gu Wenzhu and He Yuanle wanted to chase him, but Yan Jiyun stopped them: “Don’t bother. He knows this place better than any of us.”

He Yuanle was utterly confused. “How did you figure out everyone here is a paper man, and that he’s Wei Liu?”

Yan Jiyun explained his deduction: “There are two ‘Liu Jingxi’s. The real Liu Jingxi’s footsteps make noise. He doesn’t even realize he’s a paper man. Wei Liu knows he’s paper—he can control his own footsteps. That’s the difference. At first I wasn’t sure, but after some contact, I realized all Liu Jingxi wants is treasure, nothing more. Wei Liu? He’s after something else.”

Gu Wenzhu said, “No idea what he’s actually looking for. But I noticed something he just said: is he the only one who knows how to leave Jiangnan Town? And he called us ‘outsiders’…”

Outsiders—that referred to them, the players.

Yan Jiyun realized something. “Shit, we still have to keep searching!”

He made to run after Wei Liu, but Ninth Master grabbed his wrist. “What do you mean, outsiders? Am I one of Wei Liu’s so-called outsiders and also a paper man?”

Yan Jiyun nodded. “We’re all paper men—including you.”

Ninth Master gazed at his own hand, momentarily dazed. “Get in the car. We’ll leave this place.”

Yan Jiyun didn’t hesitate. “Let’s go.” Right now, they needed to learn what Wei Liu was after; only by finding it before him could they leave Jiangnan Town. What Wei Liu wanted was the key to their escape.

For he knew the entire town was under Wei Liu’s control.

Turning to head for the parking area, Yan Jiyun accidentally stubbed his toe on the buried edge of a tombstone.

[Congratulations, player, you have unlocked the Mystery Quest: Mysterious Treasure.]

No time to consider the new quest, Yan Jiyun shouted, hopping on one foot, “Ow, ow, ow, that hurts!”

This kind of luck he could do without!