Resolution

"This carriage is as stubborn as a ghost!"

Lin Chan frowned.

The carriage's owner hadn't revealed any flaws, so Lin Chan couldn't just lash out.

Seeing this, Lin Chan hesitated over whether to head home first.

But he'd already traveled several hundred li—going back would just waste time.

He'd have to make a brief stop. Lin Chan switched back to his original body, took out some food, and began eating slowly.

Up ahead, the carriage seemed to notice Lin Chan's movements and halted as well.

Lin Chan tore into his meat with big bites, keeping a sharp eye on the other side.

From the carriage, a tortoiseshell cat with a split-colored face stepped down. Lin Chan recognized it—one of his cat underlings that had gone missing days ago.

But this cat's face held no trace of life; its eyes were vacant.

Lin Chan sensed something wrong. With a sweep of his [Karma Eye], he saw thick black qi rising from it, heavy with bad karma.

"Damn it!"

Lin Chan understood now—the carriage's owner must be the sorcerer who'd been causing trouble in Yulin City.

This was that Evil Sorcerer's Cat Ghost.

"Little Li, get up!"

Lin Chan yanked the sleeping Little Li awake.

Exhausted and groggy, Little Li was still dazed when Lin Chan slapped him.

"Go deal with that cat!"

Lin Chan pointed at the tortoiseshell cat approaching them.

Little Li resisted, but under Lin Chan's tyranny, he had no choice but to face his former underling.

After months of cultivation, Little Li's intelligence had grown far beyond before. He could sense the strangeness of this tortoiseshell cat, arching his back, extending his claws, and entering battle mode.

The tortoiseshell cat and Little Li clashed once, neither gaining the upper hand, but Little Li panicked and fled backward.

All the past fights and recruitments had been Lin Chan controlling Little Li's body. Little Li had never fought on his own. Despite carrying Moonlight Essence, he broke and ran at the first encounter.

"Coward!"

Lin Chan drew his blade, furious at Little Li's behavior.

Still, Lin Chan could tell this tortoiseshell was much weaker than the previous Cat Ghost. He could handle it alone.

But Little Li and the Cat Ghost were darting around chaotically, messing up Lin Chan's rhythm. He feared hurting Little Li, making it hard to swing his blade.

Little Li instinctively hid inside the specially-made carriage, and the tortoiseshell Cat Ghost chased right after.

A scratch, a swipe—a large crack split the fine wood of the Small Carriage.

The tortoiseshell Cat Ghost and Little Li kept circling their small carriage in pursuit.

"Bastard!"

Lin Chan seized the moment, gathered his strength, and slashed out a blade aura, chopping off the tortoiseshell Cat Ghost's head.

Even with its head severed, the Cat Ghost's skull kept twitching.

Meanwhile, inside the carriage up ahead, a withered Old Man coughed up a mouthful of black blood.

"Master! What's wrong?"

The Coachman noticed the commotion inside and stepped in to ask.

"Go! Hurry!"

the white-haired Old Man roared.

The Old Man hadn't expected Lin Chan to improve so fast in just half a month.

He'd thought this time was a sure thing, but instead, he'd shot himself in the foot again.

Back at the City Lord's Mansion, the Cat Ghost he'd painstakingly nurtured for over a decade should have easily killed Luo Jingxing, but Luo Jingxing had held out until reinforcements arrived.

And that Confucian Cultivator in the city had been a major nuisance too.

Not only had he failed to kill Luo Jingxing, but he'd also lost the Cat Ghost he'd raised for over ten years.

Forcing him to start raising a new one from scratch.

He looked like he was on the verge of death now, but he was actually only in his thirties.

All because of this Cat Ghost cultivation technique.

To raise a Cat Ghost into a combat force, he had to drain his own blood and vital energy to make any progress.

Evil cultivation techniques didn't care about talent, spiritual roots, or aptitude—they all worked the same way: sacrifice yourself to gain transcendent power.

And the Old Man's Cat Ghost technique had a flaw: once the Cat Ghost was released, it became hard to control.

But to avenge his sister, he had no choice but to practice this evil art. His plan had been to make Luo Jingxing's family fall apart during the New Year reunion.

In the end, he had trained himself into a wretched state, yet still failed to exact his vengeance.

After that, City Lord Luo conducted a sweep of sorcerers within the city. Had he not been overlooked for looking like a man on death's door, he wouldn't have made it out safely.

As he left the city, he ran into Lin Chan, who was also heading out. Knowing that Lin Chan was one of those who had saved Luo Jingxing back then, he sought revenge.

And so, he ended up in this dire predicament.

Fortunately, he had kept his distance, and Lin Chan hadn't managed to give chase, allowing him to narrowly escape.

Looking back at Lin Chan sitting on the ground behind him, the Old Man let out another sigh.

Even if he was still alive now, what use was it?

He had less than five years of life left. Even if he raised another Cat Ghost, succeeding in his revenge would be nearly impossible.

A ten-year Cat Ghost couldn't kill Luo Jingxing—how could a five-year one?

Yet, letting go of this hatred filled him with unbearable reluctance.

If Luo Jingxing hadn't abandoned his sister back then, she wouldn't have died.

The Old Man's family had once run a tofu business, relying entirely on his elder sister's sales to make a living. She was the one he loved most.

But good times didn't last. Somehow, his sister got involved with Luo Jingxing.

However, Luo Jingxing's wife was extremely domineering. She wouldn't allow him to take a concubine and often sent people to humiliate the Old Man's family.

In the end, his sister couldn't take it anymore. Leaving them a sum of money, she hanged herself from a southeastern branch.

The Old Man swore then that he would make Luo Jingxing pay. He began practicing the Cat Ghost Evil Art, a common evil art in Rong Country.

Even now, the Old Man could still recall his sister's appearance before her death—so tragically beautiful.

"Even if I only have five years left, I swear I will kill you!"

A fierce glint flashed in the Old Man's eyes. His entire life had been born for revenge.

Just as the Old Man was thinking about which Evil Cultivator Market to head to next, the carriage stirred slightly, as if something had jumped onto it.

"Ah!"

A scream rang out, followed by something falling off. The carriage slowly came to a halt.

The Old Man held his breath. He had no idea what was happening outside. Since he started practicing the Cat Ghost Evil Art, he had never felt such terror.

The air outside was eerily silent. The Old Man's eyes widened as he sensed his surroundings.

At that moment, a Tricolor Cat silently stepped into the carriage. It looked up at the Old Man with cold indifference.

Then, the Tricolor Cat leaped, pouncing onto the Old Man and sinking its sharp fangs into his throat.

In that instant, a strange sense of release washed over the Old Man.

All his fear and resentment dissipated completely in that moment.

Lin Chan, controlling Little Li's body, confirmed the old man was dead, then returned to his own body.

"Never expected it to be just an old man," Lin Chan mused.

Who would have guessed that a white-haired, frail-looking old man on the verge of death was the one controlling those Cat Ghosts to harm people?

Still, Lin Chan had no intention of letting him go. That Cat Ghost attack on the City Lord's Mansion had killed dozens, including Lin Chan's sister.

Though he lacked the Speed of One Horse and couldn't easily catch up to the carriage, Little Li had trained for months. Borrowing that trace of Moonlight Essence, she could barely manage the chase.

Combined with Lin Chan's years of feline combat experience, he easily dealt with the Coachman and this decrepit old man.

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