A Helping Hand (II)

"Oh, I see!" Grandpa Nick blinked a few times, then said, "In that case, leave it alone. Go play. I should get back to sleep."

"What? I go play, and you go to sleep?" Little Black Cat froze and stared at Grandpa Nick, unable to understand what he was thinking.

"Yes. When it comes to matters of the soul, neither of us can interfere. We can only rely on Fanxin himself. Even if we went, it would be for nothing. We couldn't do anything useful, and we'd only be able to stand there worrying. We might as well not go," Grandpa Nick said.

"Ah, you don't have a way either? Then what do we do? You raised Fanxin. You have to find a way to save him!" Little Black Cat said urgently.

Little Black Cat didn't know what Grandpa Nick's relationship to Fanxin was. But it did know that Grandpa Nick had raised Fanxin until he was six. After that, Fanxin had been able to live independently, and Grandpa Nick had stopped appearing before him.

Even so, Little Black Cat knew that Grandpa Nick had always looked after Fanxin in secret. Otherwise, Fanxin couldn't possibly have lived so well in this forest full of dangers. Fanxin hadn't been very strong at six or seven, and he had encountered many dangers during that time, all of them deadly to him. Without someone protecting him, Fanxin would surely have died.

Grandpa Nick had arranged for Little Black Cat to go to Fanxin's side when he was six, to protect him and keep him company.

Little Black Cat had spent more than ten years with Fanxin and formed a deep friendship with him. It had no way to save him, so it could only come to Grandpa Nick for help, because he might be Fanxin's family.

As Little Black Cat shouted, it grabbed Grandpa Nick's white hair with both front paws and tugged at it nonstop, hoping he would step in.

"Ow, ow! All right, all right, let go! I'll think of something!" Little Black Cat's pulling hurt Grandpa Nick terribly, and he reluctantly agreed.

"Hurry, think of something!" Little Black Cat urged.

"Alas, there really isn't a good way. We can't interfere!" After thinking for a moment, Grandpa Nick sighed helplessly again and said, "Go play! Leave this matter alone."

Little Black Cat was immediately displeased. "Grandpa, you raised Fanxin yourself! How can you not care whether he lives or dies? If Fanxin found out, he'd be heartbroken."

"Hehe, he won't find out. I've never appeared before him. He doesn't know an old man like me exists," Grandpa Nick said with a smile.

"You..." Little Black Cat was furious. This old man was far too irresponsible. At the same time, it was puzzled. If Grandpa Nick didn't care whether Fanxin lived or died, why had he taken such good care of him when he was little? And why had he sent Little Black Cat to protect him?

"All right, enough of that. Don't worry, Fanxin will be fine," Grandpa Nick said.

"How do you know?" Little Black Cat asked, puzzled. When it left, Fanxin's face had been twisted in pain, and he had been on the verge of death. If no one saved him, he would die without a burial place. It didn't understand how Grandpa Nick could tell that he would be fine.

"Hehe, in terms of strength, Fanxin might not be a match for others right now. But if anyone challenges him with their soul, death is their only fate," Grandpa Nick said confidently.

Seeing Little Black Cat's puzzled expression, Grandpa Nick continued, "Because the strongest thing about Fanxin is his soul! You can rest completely assured. Fanxin definitely won't die. In the end, he'll kill that little fox, and it will become his nourishment."

"Oh, is that why you're so relaxed?" Xia Black Cat asked.

"That's right. Otherwise, do you think I'd tell you to go play?" Grandpa Nick said with a smile.

"Oh, but Fanxin's soul was almost pushed out of his body by that little fox. What chance does he have?" Little Black Cat wasn't nearly as relaxed as Grandpa Nick. It had been right beside Fanxin and had seen what was happening. The situation had been very bad.

"Ah, I can't explain that very clearly either. But one thing I can be sure of is that Fanxin will definitely be fine," Grandpa Nick said.

"All right, since you say so, I won't ask any more." Little Black Cat nodded and said, "But I'm still worried about him. Come with me. If something unexpected happens, you can help."

"Haven't I already promised you? Fanxin will be fine."

Grandpa Nick looked at Little Black Cat, at a loss for words. He didn't like running back and forth because it was too tiring. He liked staying in one place and sleeping in peace.

"Just in case, Grandpa Nick. Won't you come with me?"

Little Black Cat began acting cute. It had no choice. If it went back and found something wrong, it would have to run all the way back to fetch Grandpa Nick. That would take too much time and effort, and if an emergency arose, it would be trouble. So it planned to take Grandpa Nick along, so it could ask him to step in at once if anything unexpected happened.

"All right, all right. You really are too much for me." Grandpa Nick smiled helplessly and agreed. He didn't want Little Black Cat pestering him endlessly.

"Show me the way, and I'll take you there!" Grandpa Nick said.

Little Black Cat nodded without objecting.

Grandpa Nick hesitated no longer. He activated his ability and directed it at the earth. A moment later, the ground began to tremble, and large amounts of soil rose from deep beneath the sea, forming mound after mound. Then more soil emerged and connected the mounds, forming a road.

Grandpa Nick's head moved along the road, heading straight in the direction Little Black Cat pointed. Little Black Cat ran ahead alongside him.

As Grandpa Nick moved forward, the road continued to form ahead of him.

An hour later, the man and cat arrived on the island where Fanxin was.

Little Black Cat flew high into the air and looked around. Once it had located Fanxin, it led Grandpa Nick straight to him.

When they reached Fanxin, Little Black Cat told Grandpa Nick to watch him while it went to let Ren Fang out of the iron box. Then it brought Ren Fang to a spot not far from Fanxin.

When Ren Fang saw Grandpa Nick beside her, with nothing but a head, she was scared out of her wits and nearly fainted on the spot.