Cat

At dusk, the sky gradually darkened.

After finishing training, Mei Ye took the narrow alleys through the old district on his way home from work.

Peeling plaster, weeds growing through the cracks between bricks, and the wind sent scraps of waste paper spinning.

A three-foot blade hung at his waist as Mei Ye moved through the crowd.

Every so often, a few children passed by. Seeing his imposing, upright uniform, their eyes filled with envy and yearning.

Everyone in North River knew that passing the civil service exam was extremely difficult.

Especially in an economically powerful province like East Sea Province, where the civil service exam was a narrow bridge crossed by an army of thousands and tens of thousands every year.

And Mei Ye had sharp eyes and jet-black hair. Clearly, he was not one of those people who had spent years taking the exam.

He was a young rising star.

Though the Demon Suppression Bureau carried a somewhat higher risk factor, it was still respectable work.

Following the route in his memories, Mei Ye passed through a street alley. The evening glow was exceptionally beautiful.

He thought of a red fish, and his stomach began to growl of its own accord.

That reminded him that there was a restaurant to the east whose fish dishes were particularly delicious.

Just as he was about to change his route and head over,

Suddenly,

He spotted someone beneath the wall in a lonely alley ahead.

An unfamiliar person ordinarily would not have been enough to pique Mei Ye's curiosity.

But that stranger held a roll of tape and a stack of colored paper, standing on tiptoe to paste a sheet onto the wall.

Looking farther ahead, he saw that papers had been pasted onto wall corners and utility poles along the street.

"Missing person notices?"

Mei Ye's heart stirred, and he quickened his pace.

The Cloud Creek Town mission could not be carried out until the day after tomorrow.

For some reason, Lieutenant Wei had suddenly begun cracking down on discipline in the Demon Suppression Bureau these past few days.

He often dragged all the Bureau members into "martial artist integrity education conferences."

Time and again, he told everyone that they had to love their country and the imperial court, be willing to dedicate themselves, and dare to fight...

The thousand Bureau members, Mei Ye among them, sat below listening until they were drowsy, yet none dared actually fall asleep.

Mei Ye guessed that the lieutenant wanted to institute reforms. Perhaps the events of the past few months had truly stirred this thirty-eight-year-old political star with a boundless future.

Mei Ye himself was also rather looking forward to seeing what tricks Wei Wushuang would come up with.

After all, the Demon Suppression Bureau was rotten to the bone. Any change would be a good thing.

As he approached the man pasting notices, his keen eyes fixed on the writing on the paper.

As the clearly printed description and photograph came into view, he frowned.

"A missing cat notice?"

The photo showed an orange-and-white tabby cat with a round face, a tuft of black fur below its left eye, a small notch missing from the tip of its left ear, and a polished copper bell hanging from its collar.

Not a missing-person case... No, at least not a missing human case.

Mei Ye collected himself and stopped paying attention.

If it was only a lost cat, there was no need for him to help.

The man looked at Mei Ye in surprise, then suddenly caught sight of the Demon Suppression Bureau uniform he wore.

His eyes abruptly lit up. Like a drowning man clutching at his last straw, he staggered toward him.

"Officer! Officer, wait!"

His voice was hoarse and thick with tears. "Have you seen this cat? His name is Tangerine, and he's nine years old... He ran out the night before last and never came back."

"I've searched for two days and two nights. I've turned over every inch nearby..."

The man's fingers clutched the corner of the notice so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "He's very important to me. He's been with me ever since I was little..."

Mei Ye had already taken a step, intending to leave.

But when he caught sight of the man's haggard, bedraggled appearance, his footsteps unconsciously paused.

"Haven't seen him."

Looking at the man's messy nest of hair and sunken eye sockets, Mei Ye spoke with a trace of understanding and pity. "But I think you could offer a reward online. Or post a mission on the Demon Suppression Bureau's official website."

Most Demon Suppression Bureau missions were posted on its official website by local agencies and businesses.

But a small portion were private commissions.

The price would simply be rather high, beyond what most ordinary people could afford.

And if this man's cat had been taken by a demon, Mei Ye would not mind looking for it.

"You must be joking," the man said with a bitter smile. "My cat is lost. How could I possibly go looking for the police? Wouldn't that be wasting police resources?"

"And besides, I don't have that much money..."

At that, the man lowered his head, ashamed and bitter.

Mei Ye gave him a once-over: faded jeans, a patched gray jacket, a shaggy bowl cut, and a large red nose.

He certainly dressed like a poor man.

"Then I'll try to keep an eye out for him."

With a sigh, Mei Ye patted the man's shoulder.

His former self had been poor too. He knew how hard it was to have no money.

"This whole area is part of my patrol route. I'll be patrolling here Wednesday night."

Mei Ye raised a thumb and pointed around the area. "Cats move around at night. If you want to look for your cat at night, you can come find me here. Don't go searching and end up getting snatched and eaten by a demon."

The demons of East Sea Province were unlike those in Liaodong, able to occupy mountains as kings and stand as equals against the imperial court.

In East Sea Province, demons were generally transformed from small animals.

Dogs, foxes, weasels, snakes...

These demons lacked strength and did not dare confront the Demon Suppression Bureau head-on. They could only lurk and act in the darkness.

Therefore, to maintain the peace of Jiangbei City, Demon Suppression Bureau personnel patrolled at night year-round to deter demons that wanted to eat people.

"I understand. Thank you, Officer."

The man nodded hurriedly and bowed deeply, humbling himself completely.

Mei Ye took another look at the missing cat notice and asked the man for a copy.

That gesture moved the man so deeply that tears welled in his eyes.

He had thought the officer was merely being polite. He had not expected him to truly take it to heart.

"Don't look like you're about to cry," Mei Ye said. He could not stand seeing a grown man snivel, especially one who was not much to look at. When this man cried, he looked even uglier—like a dog.

"You'll find your cat," Mei Ye comforted him. "You treat him so well. He must be attached to home. He'll come back on his own."

"Mm."

The man nodded hard with red-rimmed eyes. This was the first time he had felt society's concern.

Mei Ye chuckled softly. This man seemed a few years older than him, so why was he acting like a child?

"I'm off."

Mei Ye smiled and waved.

Clutching the remaining notices, the man watched his upright figure disappear at the mouth of the alley. Only after a long while did he turn around, pick up his brush, and continue pasting papers onto the wall.

The sunset stretched his shadow long, leaving it lonely against the mottled wall.

After turning two street corners, Mei Ye arrived at a restaurant.

The braised fish was richly fragrant, the owner was warm and welcoming, and the portions were generous. He ate until he was thoroughly satisfied.

What martial artists usually ate were supplements rich in spiritual essence, which provided the immense energy they required.

But it was common knowledge that supplements tasted awful. They were no better than the protein powder consumed by fitness enthusiasts.

Even though some people in the Demon Suppression Bureau had developed all kinds of flavors—jasmine, milk tea, barbecue...

The essence of supplements remained unchanged, so their taste was still hard to put into words.

After eating the protein-rich fish, Mei Ye let out a satisfied burp. He asked for a toothpick, picked at his teeth, and strolled leisurely out the door.

The sky was dim, and the streetlights had come on.

Faint sounds drifted at his ears.

A furball was curled beside a trash can.

Orange and white, it was lowering its head to rummage through a takeout container, its tail swaying slowly.

The bell around its neck rang crisply as the furball moved.

Mei Ye stopped, his attention drawn to it.

He narrowed his eyes and stared fixedly at the furball.

He took out his phone, pulled up the number he had casually noted down earlier, and called it.

The call was picked up after a single ring. The breathing on the other end was full of tension and anticipation. "Hello? Yes, who is this..."

"I found an orange cat!"

Mei Ye cut him off directly. "At the north entrance of Peaceful People Alley, beside a trash can. Come take a look and see if it's yours. Confirm it yourself."

"Really?" Recognizing Mei Ye's voice, the man on the other end became beside himself with excitement. "Thank you, Officer!"

Mei Ye hung up and took a photo of the cat's back.

The flash went off. The cat abruptly raised its head as though startled, then shot behind the trash can with a whoosh, scrambled over the back wall in a few quick movements, and vanished.

Mei Ye hurried after it. By the time he climbed over the wall, the alley was left pitch-black, with only a few incandescent lights glowing dimly yellow.

He swept his gaze around, but did not even see a single cat hair.

He jumped down and dusted off his hands.

If it ran away, it ran away. He had only been helping on a whim.

More than ten minutes later,

A bowl-cut man came running breathlessly to the area near the restaurant.

His forehead was covered in sweat, and he had even buttoned one of his jacket buttons wrong.

"Where is he? Officer, where's my Little White?"

The man spoke as he held his exhausted stomach.

"He ran off." Mei Ye spoke with some regret. "I just saw him eating fish here, but he disappeared in the blink of an eye."

He handed the man the photo he had just taken.

"It's him, it's Little White!"

Though the photo had been taken hastily and was low-resolution, the man still felt that the slender cat in the photograph was his Little White.

"If he appeared here, he was probably craving the fish from this place." Mei Ye analyzed, "Search carefully. You might be able to find him."

"Mm, thank you, Officer!"

The man clasped Mei Ye's hand and said excitedly, "If I find Little White, I'll be grateful to you for the rest of my life!"

"Then I wish you smooth sailing."

Mei Ye smiled. This man really did get worked up over every little thing.