Sect Leader

"...So you weren't beaten up—you were the one who beat someone else up?"

At the dinner table, Maomao stood upright on her hind legs with her front paws folded across her chest, like a dignified young lady of a cat.

Her face was full of speechlessness.

She had been so worried that she had forgotten to keep pretending to be mute, only to find that things were completely opposite to what she had imagined.

Xue Jing's appearance was far too deceptive. He looked so refined that anyone seeing him for the first time would think he was an intellectual, scholarly sort of man. Even though Maomao had seen how well-built his muscles were, she had still instinctively assumed he would be the one getting bullied.

"Thank you for worrying about me so much, Little Wan."

Xue Jing chuckled.

Then, seeing how adorable Maomao looked standing on her hind legs with her paws folded across her chest, he could not help reaching out and pinching her cheeks.

That fight had been worth it. It had even brought an unexpected bonus.

By sheer chance, Maomao, who had refused to speak no matter what, had actually been worried enough by the bloody smell of Razor Gang thugs on him to speak.

Though touched, Xue Jing could not help finding it amusing.

"...Don't call me Little Wan. Address me respectfully as Sect Leader!"

Maomao, whose real name was Ning Fengwan, slapped Xue Jing's hand away with her little paw and said indignantly.

Her young girl's voice carried no intimidation whatsoever to Xue Jing. He nodded and smiled. "All right, Sect Leader Little Wan."

Then he reached out again, rubbed Maomao's head, and stroked it back and forth.

If this were a comic, veins would already have popped out on Ning Fengwan's forehead. She tried using both of her white-gloved paws to stop Xue Jing's petting, but it was completely useless. Exasperated, she said:

"Show some respect for your elders!"

When she had been pretending to be a cat, it had been fine. She could deceive and comfort herself by telling herself that she was a cat, so being petted was no big deal—she had even enjoyed it a little.

But now that her identity had been completely exposed, being so "frivolously touched" made Ning Fengwan's shame as a human instantly spread from the tips of her toes to the top of her head.

Xue Jing could tell she was genuinely getting upset, so he withdrew his hand and asked curiously:

"An elder? How old are you, Little Wan?"

Maomao said unhappily, "Call me Sect Leader."

After a pause, she added, "Anyway, I'm older than you."

Ning Fengwan's tone was somewhat uncertain when she said this, but Xue Jing did not pay it much mind. Stroking his chin, he said:

"The Dragon Cult's Sect Leader... Is that the Dragon Cult from the news reports?"

He had heard the name in the news before. It was said to be "a criminal gang posing as a religious organization," and it had now been dismantled by Kangde Security Company.

Wait, my cat is actually a crime boss?

Maomao folded her paws across her chest, haughtily lifted her chin, and gave a snort before speaking in her young girl's voice.

"That's right, that very Dragon Cult. Scared now?"

A little too cute. Xue Jing could not resist again. He cupped her cat head in both hands and kneaded her cheeks from both sides, smiling. "Terrified, Sect Leader."

Maomao gritted her teeth. "How are you scared? Let go already!"

Xue Jing withdrew his hands and asked, "The news said the Dragon Cult has already been dismantled by Kangde Security Company. Does that mean you're all alone now?"

Maomao extended a paw toward the pot of chicken soup, signaling for Xue Jing to serve her a bowl, then said:

"Mm... You could say that for now."

Xue Jing picked up a ladle, filled half a bowl with chicken soup, then placed a large chicken drumstick in the bowl and set it before Maomao.

"Then what are you planning to do from now on?"

Maomao tore into a bite of the tender, soft chicken drumstick, chewed it, and wore a remarkably human-like expression of enjoyment.

After swallowing the meat, she said, "You don't need to know about that. It won't do you any good to know. I'm only staying with you temporarily, and I'll be leaving soon."

Maomao looked serious.

Although a coincidence had led her to speak and interact with this young man after all, Maomao still wanted to avoid dragging him into this as much as possible.

A behemoth like Kangde Security Company was enough to give even the official government a headache. As an ordinary person, Xue Jing would be left without even a corpse if Kangde so much as sneezed.

"All right."

Seeing how seriously she spoke, Xue Jing nodded as well.

Then, as if casually, he asked, "By the way, Little Wan, since you're human, why did you turn into a cat?"

"You should call me Sect Leader." Maomao was displeased at first, then said, "Oh, that."

She brought her tail forward. The platinum tail ring gleamed faintly under the lights.

"This is an item called a 'God Relic.' They say it's an inheritance left behind after 'God' died."

"I don't know much about the specifics. I only know that every God Relic possesses some very miraculous ability, like this one."

She swayed the tail ring on her tail.

"I bought this from a shady merchant. Its serial number is GOD-1391 Tail Ring, and its ability is to let the wearer transform into a cat."

"...It's just that after transforming, you can't change back for a while." Maomao's mouth twitched.

Xue Jing's heart stirred.

"Serial number GOD-1391? Are there a lot of God Relics? The serial numbers have already gone past a thousand."

"Mm... There should be a lot, I guess. I don't know much about this. This is the only God Relic I've ever seen, and the serial number and name were both told to me by that shady merchant," Maomao said.

"...All right." Xue Jing felt a little helpless.

That was practically the same as saying nothing.

His plan to start with Maomao and find a way to obtain more Divinity Substance had fallen through.

Twin Life's upgrade and the unlocking of its active effect were still far in the distance.

Still, it was not as though he had gained nothing. At least now he knew these things were called God Relics. Judging by the serial numbers, there seemed to be quite a lot of them—at least over a thousand.

Xue Jing looked at Maomao, who was lowering her head as she ate chicken and drank chicken soup, and suddenly thought of something.

"Oh, there's one more thing."

"Mmph." Maomao answered indistinctly around a mouthful of chicken.

Xue Jing began with some flattery. "Sect Leader of the Dragon Cult—it sounds quite imposing. You must be very well-connected in the underworld and have access to plenty of information, right?"

"Hmph, of course." Maomao proudly raised her head.

"Here's the thing. I want to join a dojo to practice martial arts. Which dojo is the best? Does Sect Leader have any recommendations? And if Sect Leader's supreme prestige could get me a discount on the tuition, that would be even better."

Xue Jing made his request.

Maomao nodded. "Actually, I was just about to talk to you about that."

"You took me in and let me eat and drink at your home for free. I should repay that kindness somehow."

"In a few days, I'll introduce you to someone. When it comes purely to martial arts, there probably isn't anyone better in Sunny City."

Xue Jing asked curiously, "Who is it?"

"The Old Dojo Master of Hidden Dragon Dojo, the 'Dragon Lord,' Li Qi."

Maomao spoke a name.

Please keep reading!