Cat's Death

On the other side, Nan Feng was fast asleep, sunbathing in a garden rocking chair, when a furtive set of footsteps woke him.

Soul Projection.

From a third-person perspective, Nan Feng saw two girls tiptoeing toward him.

Nan Feng looked puzzled.

How had those two ended up together?

And what were they sneaking around for?

While Nan Feng was still wondering, Qian Renxue and Hu Liena lunged at the same time and grabbed his body.

"I told you this cat was kind of dumb. There was no need to make such a fuss," Qian Renxue said.

Hu Liena looked confused. "That's not right..."

Nan Feng was so hard to hold!

Only her teacher could pick him up whenever she wanted. Hu Liena had to coax him just to hold him, and even then, it didn't always work!

She didn't have any treats on her, so if she wanted to hold him, a sneak attack was her only option!

"Something's wrong..." Qian Renxue's expression stiffened.

"What is it?" Hu Liena asked, puzzled.

"He... doesn't seem to be breathing." Qian Renxue sounded nervous.

She'd only picked him up once before, and her mother had already blown up at her.

If something had really happened to him...

"He isn't breathing?" Hu Liena froze and reached over to feel Nan Feng's nose.

He really wasn't breathing!

"..."

"It wasn't me!" Qian Renxue quickly backed away.

She'd only picked him up once before, and her mother had reacted like that. If something really happened to this cat, she couldn't even imagine what would come next!

"I..." Hu Liena panicked too.

This was more than just a cat!

The scene of the incident suddenly became extremely tense.

Qian Renxue wanted to flee, but she was worried Hu Liena would blame her for what had happened, so she couldn't run.

But with the way her mother treated her, once she showed up, there was a good chance she wouldn't listen to Qian Renxue's explanation!

"You did this!" Qian Renxue narrowed her eyes.

"It had to be you!"

This fox wanted to steal her mother away, so she'd used the cat to frame Qian Renxue!

"Me?" Hu Liena stared at her, dumbfounded.

"We came here together. How could it have been me?"

"..."

Seeing the confusion and panic on Hu Liena's face, Qian Renxue began to doubt her own judgment.

Had the cat suddenly fallen ill?

And the two of them had just happened to stumble upon it?

Damn it! How could she be so unlucky?

She could tell her mother cared a lot about this cat. She wouldn't even let Qian Renxue touch him. If something happened to the cat while Qian Renxue happened to be there...

Qian Renxue's mind began racing at full speed.

No! She couldn't have anything to do with this!

"You don't want the Saintess to suspect you had something to do with this, do you?" Qian Renxue said sternly.

Her father had told her never to let anyone outside know who she was, and never to use her Martial Soul in public.

"I..." Hu Liena, still shaken, hadn't come back to her senses.

"If you don't, then do what I say." Qian Renxue grabbed Hu Liena by the shoulders and stared into her eyes.

Startled by Qian Renxue's sharp gaze, Hu Liena jolted back to her senses and nervously swallowed. "I... I'll do as you say."

"We were never here!" Qian Renxue said.

"Remember! We never saw this cat!"

"Huh?" Hu Liena blinked.

"But..."

"No buts!" Qian Renxue said sternly.

"You have to do what I say!"

Faced with Qian Renxue's forceful attitude, Hu Liena's legs nearly gave out. "I... I understand."

"Remember! The Saintess must never find out about this!" Qian Renxue warned.

"Or you're dead!"

"..."

"Impressive!" Nan Feng, floating nearby, couldn't help exclaiming.

No wonder she'd infiltrated the Heaven Dou Imperial Family at just nine years old and nearly turned Xue Ye into a lonely old man!

While Soul Projection was active, his body entered a state similar to hibernation. His breathing nearly stopped, and his energy consumption was extremely low. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was dead at a glance.

When faced with his "accidental death," Qian Renxue had gone through three stages in less than a minute: panic, composure, and a firm decision.

What an incredible mindset!

No wonder she was someone who could accomplish great things.

"Let's go!" Qian Renxue pulled Hu Liena along and quickly left the scene.

If she stayed beside this cat any longer, she'd really have no way to clear her name once they discovered him!

After Qian Renxue and Hu Liena had gone some distance, Nan Feng's soul returned to his body.

"Hopefully, this teaches you not to pet cats you find on the street..."

After stretching, Nan Feng jumped down from the chair and headed toward the kitchen.

After a nap, it was time for some afternoon tea.

Meanwhile, Qian Xunji and Bibi Dong had finished their discussion. Qian Renxue had also returned after taking Hu Liena around Saintess Hall to make herself look less suspicious.

Seeing that something seemed off with Hu Liena, Bibi Dong furrowed her brow. "Nana, did she bully you?"

"N-no!" Hu Liena snapped back to her senses.

"Really?" Bibi Dong asked doubtfully.

"Really, she didn't!" Hu Liena said earnestly.

"..."

"Come here," Bibi Dong said.

"Okay." Hu Liena nervously ran over to Bibi Dong.

Bibi Dong crouched down and cupped Hu Liena's little face. "What happened?"

Hu Liena was only six, and she was timid to begin with. Having grown up in an orphanage, she was also rather insecure. Faced with Qian Renxue's forceful attitude, even if she'd been bullied, she probably wouldn't dare say so.

"Teach-teacher..." Hu Liena's eyes reddened, and her lips began to tremble.

"Don't be nervous. Take your time," Bibi Dong said, gently patting Hu Liena on the head.

Seeing this, Qian Renxue nervously hid behind Qian Xunji.

"Teacher, your cat..." Hu Liena was so nervous that she couldn't keep her hands still.

"My cat?" Bibi Dong froze slightly, her tone changing noticeably.

"What happened to him?"

Hu Liena didn't dare look up. Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz. "The cat... the cat died."

"..."

"Ah..." Bibi Dong sighed, looking helpless. She wiped away Hu Liena's tears, unable to help finding the whole thing a little amusing.

"How do you know the cat died?"

"I... when I saw him, he... he wasn't breathing." Hu Liena choked back a sob.

"Teacher, I... I really don't know how he suddenly..."

"Meow?"

At some point, Nan Feng had come over to Hu Liena's feet. He sat on the ground, looking at her in confusion.

I heard I was dead?

"..."

"Ghost!!" Hu Liena jumped in fright, her vision went dark, and she fainted in Bibi Dong's arms.

Nan Feng's eye twitched.

Seriously, had Hu Liena been this timid when she was little?

Oh, right. The little fox was only six.

What Hu Liena had just gone through was like a parent leaving the house while their child stayed home, only for a mysterious fire to break out. The child watched helplessly as the house burned down, but when the parent came back, the burned-down house had somehow returned to normal.

It was like a haunting!

When something so sudden and unbelievable happened—something that might as well have brought the sky crashing down—it was only natural to be that scared.

Not everyone was like that Tang Clan Child, who'd already mastered the art of courting death at six.

The current era on Douluo Continent was roughly at the level of the Middle Ages. Information traveled slowly, and six-year-old kids... really were quite innocent.

They were nothing like those kids born in the internet age, who at five or six were even more like Tang Clan Children than the Tang Clan Child.