The Demon Civet

Lu Yan opened his eyes and watched Chen Yulou's figure hurry outside. He felt a headache coming on. That wasn't how you delivered yourself on a platter.

"Mr. Lu, what should we do?"

Hua Maguai was anxious. He was Old Master Chen's trusted aide, and he had come to Bottle Mountain with Chen Yulou to keep an eye on him and protect his safety.

But Old Bear Ridge was already mountainous and thickly forested, full of poisonous insects and ferocious beasts. It was even harder to travel after nightfall. Without Chen Yulou's night vision, they might not only fail to find their Chief Leader, they might not make it back themselves.

"Don't worry. I'll bring him back."

Lu Yan was at a loss for words, but since he had decided to use Chen Yulou to accomplish his goal, he couldn't just leave him to die.

If the story veered off course and Zhegushao and the others never showed up, Chen Yulou might end up cleaning himself off and delivering himself straight into the mouths of those two civets.

Outside, the heavy rain was letting up. Moonlight barely illuminated the night, and it was pitch-black beyond arm's reach. But that posed no obstacle to Lu Yan. He followed the traces Chen Yulou had left and soon caught up with him.

Standing on the branch of a large tree, Lu Yan watched Chen Yulou desperately chase the three-legged cat ahead and shook his head. He knew Chen Yulou thought highly of himself. Even if Lu Yan caught up with him, he probably wouldn't go back without learning his lesson the hard way. So he followed behind.

The three-legged cat was agile, but it was still missing a leg and couldn't move very fast. Thanks to his night vision, Chen Yulou managed to keep up for the time being.

It had just rained, leaving the ground muddy and slippery. On top of that, the mountain forest was dense and uneven, and Chen Yulou had a miserable time pursuing the cat. When it darted into a patch of woods, it vanished from sight.

Seeing how tall the trees were and how thick the grass grew, Chen Yulou worried he would lose his way if he continued chasing, so he stopped. He cursed inwardly, You thieving cat, don't let me catch you again. If I do, I'll cut off one of your legs and see how you run then.

Lu Yan followed behind. When he saw Chen Yulou turn back, he jumped down from the tree.

"Who's there?"

Holding Little Divine Blade, Chen Yulou warily took a step back.

"It's me, Lu Yan."

Lu Yan shrugged helplessly as he looked at Chen Yulou, who was covered in mud and looked a sorry sight.

"So it's you, Brother Lu."

Chen Yulou quickly figured out that Lu Yan had come to back him up because he was worried. He couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.

Just then, a shrill, mournful cat's cry rang out from the woods. It carried a terror so intense it sent a shiver through them.

Lu Yan and Chen Yulou stopped and exchanged a glance, then made their way into the woods together.

Through the moonlight filtering between the trees, they saw an old tree standing behind a stretch of graves. Broken steles and scattered rocks littered the burial ground, and weeds spread everywhere.

The old cat was crouched before a broken stele, trembling all over as it begged and shook.

Lu Yan had seen the scene in the drama before and knew two demon civets were haunting the graveyard. Even so, seeing it with his own eyes was still a little astonishing.

As the head of Xieling, Chen Yulou had explored plenty of great tombs and encountered more than his share of strange things. Even he thought what he was seeing was exceptionally bizarre.

The two held their breath and watched for a while. Then a pair of darting little eyes suddenly peered out from behind the stele. A furry face gradually emerged, with a broad head and small features. Its fur was yellowish, and it was a tiny civet.

The civet had a strange expression. As soon as it approached the three-legged cat, the old cat's cries changed. They were no longer terrified and despairing, gradually turning into an extremely discordant, low moan.

The sound made them restless. Chen Yulou felt his heart race, and his eyes began to redden. Lu Yan noticed something was wrong and frowned. He touched a finger to Chen Yulou's brow and sent him a surge of magic power.

It was as if warm water had poured down over his head. Chen Yulou's mind cleared, and his heartbeat settled. He turned to Lu Yan and nodded in thanks.

The three-legged cat cried for a while, then stiffly and slowly followed the civet to the water. It gulped it down like a starving ghost.

It drank until water spilled constantly from its nose and mouth. Only then did the cat stop. As if under a spell, it toppled backward and pressed against its own already bloated belly, forcing all the water it had just drunk back out.

Once it had vomited, it went back to drink again. It repeated the process over and over, making Lu Yan and Chen Yulou's scalps tingle.

By the time the old cat had thrown up all its bile and coughed up dark red blood, it lay on the ground, numb and lifeless. It stared at the full moon with hopeless, empty eyes. Only then did the civet approach it, wearing an eerie smile.

With a sinister grin on its face, the civet circled the cat several times. Then it went up to it, pressed a paw against the cat's soft belly, and let out a laugh like a night owl's cry.

The three-legged cat lay on the ground, every muscle in its body completely rigid. It could only let the civet do as it pleased. A trace of misery, despair, and pleading showed in its lifeless eyes, and two streams of tears ran down its face.

Lu Yan narrowed his eyes at the sight. He leaped into the air, drew Ebony, and fired straight at the civet.

In the blink of an eye, the civet let out a pained shriek, and its fur burst into flames.

As the civet's body, charred black, fell to the ground, a furious, shrill howl suddenly came from one of the grave markers.

A gray-white, patchy old civet came shooting out from the stele, riding a huge white rabbit.

The old civet was so thin its skin clung to its bones. Most of its fur had fallen out, leaving only dry, gray-white skin stretched over its gaunt body. Its little eyes glared at Lu Yan, glittering with deep-seated hatred.

With Lu Yan here, the old civet's illusion was like a Uchiha trying to show off with a blade. It was useless. Chen Yulou wasn't fooled this time; instead, he charged the old civet first.

The old civet grunted. Its illusion had clearly been broken, and it was badly hurt. Seeing Chen Yulou bearing down on it, it urged the rabbit beneath it to run.

The rabbit was incredibly fast, darting forward and back like lightning as it shot toward the grass. Chen Yulou's vision blurred, and he realized something was wrong. "Don't let that old demon get away!"

Lu Yan shook his head and looked toward the grass nearby. A figure sprang straight out of it and performed a backward kick in midair, booting the old civet skyward. The kick was as swift as a shooting star, and it landed solidly on the old civet.

The old civet and the rabbit went flying, crashing backward into a broken stele with a dull crack as their bones shattered.

The old civet had been kicked and then slammed into the stele. Its bones snapped, and it dropped limply into the grass, motionless.

The rabbit it had been riding had broken a leg and was coughing up blood, but it still tried to flee despite its injuries. Lu Yan drew Ivory and shot it. The rabbit leaped into the air, only to be frozen solid in ice before tumbling to the ground.

"With a rabbit this big, dinner's taken care of."

Lu Yan walked a few steps forward and picked up the ice. Looking at the man in front of him, dressed as a Miao tribesman, he smiled. "I'm Lu Yan. And you are?"