Spiderwalk

"Meow, open the door."

He had barely slept for a moment when someone knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

Lu PingAn was annoyed. He had only just lain down—couldn't a man catch up on some sleep?

"Me. Your chives—your Leek Box is here."

Lu PingAn jolted fully awake, cold sweat breaking out across his back.

Chives? Did she know how I thought of her? Or did she have some more advanced mind-reading ability? This was 1998—there wasn't even such a term as "chives" yet!

Lu PingAn silently opened the door, only to be greeted by the ingratiating smile of a certain woman here to receive a BUFF.

She carried a bag of breakfast and said with a smile, "You haven't eaten breakfast yet, right? I picked up a little something for you on the way."

She looked quite pleased with herself, even a little smug.

She had swiped some allowance from her brother yesterday, so she could afford breakfast again! Human breakfast!

Lu PingAn sighed in relief. Since he hadn't encountered a second transmigrator with Deadly Poison, he opened the door wider.

"Eat with me. I've got some milk and bread too."

"No. It's not as tasty as biscuits. I need to save room in my stomach for... cough, no need. I've already eaten. Besides, you know milk doesn't suit me, meow."

This time, the girl voluntarily clasped her little paws together and pumped her tiny fists up and down like a beckoning cat.

Some things were hard to hide. Since they might be working together for a long time, it was better to be more honest.

Anyway, he probably saw through it yesterday. He seems pretty honest so far. He shouldn't be a bad person, right? Meow.

The girl's white cat ears emerged as well, twitching together with her little tail and making her look even more lively and adorable.

"Oh, cats get lactose intolerance too? Interesting. What about catnip?"

The casual question seemed thoughtless as the young man asked it offhandedly.

The girl immediately froze. Her tail shot straight up, and her ears bristled.

Her eyes were filled with vigilance—the look a girl gave a suspected criminal.

"The last person who tried putting catnip in my food is still in the hospital!"

That was rather merciful. She hadn't beaten him to death?

At that moment, Lu PingAn became even more certain that he needed to conceal his "true self."

No wonder people said innate abilities were the greatest secret. A beastification user like Shui Yun naturally exposed additional weaknesses just by having her abilities known.

It's nothing much, really. Just a few extra things she can't eat. Her sense of smell should be pretty good, so she probably won't fall for it easily... But what if it were made into a spray? Or put in the water in her bath? Interesting. I want to see it.

His mind churned with all sorts of nonsense, but Lu PingAn's smile remained friendly.

He ignored her warning and began considering when he could visit a pet store to stock up on some supplies.

...Come to think of it, there's a Big Cat in my house too. Should I try it on her? Forget it. She only looks like a cat. That stuff wouldn't even count as humiliation. Besides, I should treat her a little better lately.

He sat at the dining table in the living room and enjoyed the breakfast delivered right to his door.

The room across the way remained tightly shut. Xia Qin still had not come home.

"Looks like she's working herself crazy with overtime."

As he ate his Leek Box, the Girl circled the table nonstop. She could not sit still, clearly wanted to say something, and yet forced herself to appear calm while her tail kept swishing.

"All right, all right. Let's get to business first. Did you bring it?"

Lu PingAn put down his chopsticks, his mouth greasy.

"I did. It was so expensive. Can you cover part of it?"

The girl pulled a long face, trying to muddle through and alter their previous agreement.

"Then forget it. We don't have to make the deal at all..."

Smack!

A stack of contracts was slammed onto the table. The girl angrily flipped them open.

"I had an acquaintance who's a Contract Master draw these up. He gave me a discounted price of 300. The confidential information covers the details of both our abilities. If the contract is breached, there'll be a red-letter warning for one year. If there's no problem, sign it."

Contract Masters were a branch of the Scholar Path, a highly practical Tier 2 Profession.

Their professional ability could turn a "verbal agreement" into a contract with a certain degree of binding force.

Lu PingAn flipped through it, confirmed there were no hidden clauses, and quickly signed it.

A red-letter warning? The use of any supernatural ability came with a price.

The price of this "contract" was borne jointly by its creator and its signatories.

He might be able to produce a powerful contract like Death to Oathbreakers, but he would also have to bear a price sufficient to curse a person to death.

A contract of that level was definitely beyond what a poor girl like Shui Yun could afford.

The so-called "red-letter warning" was an oathbreaking warning that had stood the test of time, with the lowest cost and the most severe consequences.

"The contract lasts one year, and the punishment period for breaking the oath is also one year. If you violate it, the red words 'Traitor' will appear on your face. You can't cover them up. If you don't want to die socially, keep the other party's information confidential."

Since the power of a contract also came from its signatories, curses placed on oneself were difficult to remove, even if they were merely painless red letters.

And in the world of Keepers of Secrets, where credibility and promises were highly valued, the cost of becoming a liar was practically social death... Everyone around you would reconsider how they treated you.

The seemingly harmless red-letter warning contract was actually more effective than a low-level killing curse, at least before social order collapsed.

Signing a Confidentiality Contract had been Lu PingAn's idea. He had too many things hidden away, and the more he used his abilities, the more he revealed. He needed to avoid the risks in advance.

Of course, he had no experience in such matters. It was Chris who had suggested it.

Chris certainly had selfish motives. Lu PingAn had only adopted the suggestion after considering it repeatedly and determining that it should be harmless. Since returning from that crime scene, she had become much friendlier.

The contract stipulated "information related to the abilities of both parties," which meant that even if Lu PingAn displayed new abilities later, the other party would have to keep them secret for a year. That also implied the possibility of deeper cooperation beyond mere confidentiality.

Lu PingAn had a plan—a grand plan that could theoretically benefit everyone. He needed a few tool cats—cough, trustworthy teammates.

The Little Girl had not thought that far ahead. She was only distressed over the additional expense of the contract.

She thought this man was far too fussy and didn't trust her at all. Her favorability toward him had gone down! Down!

Worst of all, he wanted her side to pay extra and refused to share the contract fee! He wouldn't even let her skim a little off the top.

Yes, skim a little. There were two contracts, not one.

The Lei Family Siblings' contract had been brought over as well, and naturally her brother Lei Huo Ren had paid for it. But if Lu PingAn were willing to share some of the cost, there was no need to elaborate on whose hands that money would end up in.

Seeing the Little Girl puffing out her cheeks and sulking, Lu PingAn had another idea.

"Looks like you're pretty short on money?"

"...Isn't that your fault?"

"You don't have to work for me. I'm not short on people."

Lei Shui Yun looked at him, silently ground her teeth, then forced out a smile.

"You're overthinking it, Senior Brother. Your junior sister is always grateful to you, meow. I'm just a little short of cash right now."

"That's good, then. I have a shopping list. Can you do me a favor? Three hundred for the errand."

"Three hundred?! That good, meow? Just for running an errand?"

Lei Shui Yun took the list and opened it. It was filled with things she had never heard of.

"Snow Mountain Bitter Flower Hermaphrodite Plant, White Datura Grass Seeds, Ant Paradise Wood Rhizome... Huh? These all seem to be Demonic Plants. Are you planning to develop potions? Or take the Gardener Path? Isn't that a logistics path?"

Faced with the girl's question, Lu PingAn merely smiled without answering.

Now it was Lei Shui Yun's turn to stick out her tongue awkwardly and lower her head in apology.

Not prying into another person's information was the most fundamental rule for Keepers of Secrets, much less probing into their abilities and Paths.

Even when entrusted with something like a shopping list, unless it contained obvious contraband, an experienced person would never ask questions. Clearly, Lei Shui Yun was still not mature enough.

"It shouldn't be hard to get them this morning. None of them are rare, and your brother should have channels. I'm restricted from going out, otherwise I'd go myself."

There was no reason to refuse an errand that earned money.

But as Lei Shui Yun took the list and prepared to leave, Lu PingAn, having remembered something, stopped her again.

"Wait, I forgot something important. All right, hurry back."

"Catnip!!"

Seeing those three words added at the end, Lei Shui Yun's adorable little face instantly twisted.

She angrily meowed something, gritted her teeth, and glared at Lu PingAn's delighted expression. But instinctively, she realized that no matter what she said, he would only enjoy it more.

For a bastard like this, ignoring him was perhaps the best option. In the end, she forced out a sentence.

"...I'll be quick."

She stormed toward the door. Lu PingAn casually gave her a BUFF and told her to hurry, but then suddenly remembered something else.

"Remember to bring me the receipt. I'm afraid you'll embezzle the money."

"How could a Black Market that sells this stuff have receipts?!"

"Oh, then forget it. But pet stores sell catnip, so there should be a receipt for that, right?"

Bang!

She did not answer. Judging from how hard she slammed the door and the sound of her footsteps downstairs, she was furious.

"Hehe. If I put a spray bottle and a bottle of water on the table in the future, she'll probably get paranoid. Next time I go to the gym, I'll bring her a drink—buy some expensive sports drink and see whether she can bear to throw it away."

After completing his daily task of bullying a little kitty, Lu PingAn finally turned his attention to business.

"According to plan, I've used the little kitty to spread the news that I intend to take the logistics-oriented Gardener Path. Next comes the enjoyable harvesting season."

It was already past nine. Another twenty-four hours had passed, and it was time for the pleasant business of harvesting chives.

But just as the system began calculating the results, he froze.

Obtained a small amount of insight into the Black Iron Grade curse art "Spiderwalk." Current progress: 11/100.

"Damn, no wonder the little kitty endured so much humiliation. She became a true Professional overnight? And the curse art she awakened wasn't Ground Shrinking?"