The spot where he had been kicked burned with pain.
He licked it hard, only to end up with several hairs in his mouth.
Sticking out his tongue, Shen Yangge spat out the fur and scrunched up his feline face.
His punishment was to spend fifteen days as a cat, and he could not return to the Shen Residence during that time.
His disappearance would arouse the suspicions of people with ulterior motives.
The little kitten curled into a pitiful ball. He was already tiny, and curling up made him look even smaller.
If he could not go home, where could he go?
For a moment, Shen Yangge was at a loss.
System 615: [Host, why not find yourself a benefactor?]
A benefactor?
System 615: [Yes! Find a benefactor who likes cats.]
"Meow!" Deal!
He huffed as he got to his feet, the gloom fading from his feline face. "Meow, meow, meow." Who likes cats?
System 615: [Host, cats of your breed should be quite popular, but most ordinary households wouldn't dare keep you.] [I suggest going to a wealthy household.]
Shen Yangge nodded his little feline head. After thinking it over, he realized there was only one place he could go.
Xue Qian's home.
Xue Qian had spent so many years on the frontier that there could hardly be a kind of pet he had not seen. The area he guarded was also part of the Silk Road, so he must have seen plenty of cats and dogs.
If Shen Yangge went to him, he probably would not have to worry about being turned away. Besides, with Xue Qian's family background, no one would dare report him for stealing a cat.
Having made up his mind, Shen Yangge turned a corner and crept toward the Xue Residence, keeping out of sight.
The marketplace bustled with activity. Buyers and sellers came and went, some calling out their wares, others approaching people to pitch them...
Traffic streamed through the streets, and happy smiles lit people's faces.
In a corner, a little kitten crept along the foot of a wall, ducking out of sight. His tail hung low, and his ears twitched from time to time.
System 615: [Host, the Xue Residence is just ahead. I scouted it out earlier and found a rat hole in the wall near the back entrance. You can easily squeeze through it.]
Shen Yangge indicated that he understood.
He went to the hole the system had pointed out, crouched down, and squeezed inside.
Once inside the Xue Residence, Shen Yangge shook his fur, shedding quite a bit of dust.
The Xue Residence was a little smaller than the Shen Residence, which made finding Xue Qian considerably easier.
He crept toward the front courtyard, planning to dash up to Xue Qian as soon as he had a chance.
Still, he felt a little nervous, since he did not know whether the young boy liked cats.
Just as he was thinking this, someone seized him by the scruff of his neck!
"Meow, meow, meow!"
What the fuck was going on?!
Shen Yangge kicked his four stubby legs and let out tiny kitten cries. The person holding his scruff gave a brief chuckle. "Where did this little kitten come from?"
"Meow, meow, meow!" Let go of me.
No matter how hard he kicked his four little legs, he could not escape the man's grasp. Shen Yangge gave up and drooped his ears, looking utterly forlorn.
The man holding him lifted him to eye level and teased, "You didn't sneak out of the palace, did you? That fur doesn't look like it's been trimmed regularly."
As he spoke, the man reached out and toyed with a few whiskers on the kitten's face. "So pretty, and yet you have no owner... Were you trafficked here and escaped on your own?"
"Well, seeing you today has certainly put me in a better mood. Since you showed up here and I found you, I'll be the one to keep you from now on."
Those words settled Shen Yangge's fate for the next fifteen days.
Instead of finding Xue Qian, he had been caught and taken in by someone else. Shen Yangge sighed over his life as a cat.
Fortunately, aside from loving to tease him, his "benefactor" never skimped on food.
There had been all sorts of unpleasantness at first, such as being offered raw meat and little fish corpses...
But after Shen Yangge repeatedly turned his head away in refusal, his benefactor finally understood that he did not eat raw food.
Over the next two days, Shen Yangge learned about the man keeping him.
His name was Xue Pingyuan, a general of Great Chu with an illustrious record of victories. He had joined the army at fourteen and guarded Great Chu's frontier ever since. His victories over the years were among the most glorious in its history.
He had almost never lost.
Shen Yangge had assumed that such a hardened general would favor blood-sweating steeds, fine blades, and powerful bows. He had never expected him to like cats.
"Little kitten, time to eat."
The familiar sound of a spoon tapping a porcelain bowl came from inside the room. Shen Yangge shook his front legs and ambled inside.
Sure enough, someone grabbed his scruff and lifted him onto the table.
"I've prepared goat's milk and steamed fish for you today."
Xue Pingyuan smoothed down the kitten's tufts of fur, a roguish grin on his handsome face. As the kitten lapped up the goat's milk, he pinched one of his hind legs.
Thoroughly annoyed, Shen Yangge kicked his hand. Though it was no more forceful than a tickle, Xue Pingyuan smiled and stopped pinching him.
After finishing the goat's milk, Shen Yangge nibbled at the fish. It had hardly any small bones, so he did not have to worry about pricking his mouth.
Once he had eaten and drunk his fill, he sprawled on the table and thought, Was this punishment really a punishment?
He found that being a cat was happier than being a human.
As a human, dealing with that rabid dog of a Crown Prince had left him exhausted in body and mind, wishing he could strangle the man. Now that he was a cat, he never had to worry about his three meals a day. Aside from occasionally having his fur stroked or his legs pinched, his feline life was very pleasant.
The only downside was that Xue Pingyuan took him everywhere, as though afraid he would run away.
That made Shen Yangge worry about whether he would be able to make a clean getaway once his punishment ended.
"Full? Then let's go."
Shen Yangge: ??
Xue Pingyuan tucked the little kitten into his arms, strolled out of the room, and headed toward the gates of the Xue Residence.
"Brother, are you going to the palace?"
Xue Qian happened to come in through the gates. Seeing a little kitten in his older brother's arms, he looked surprised for a moment.
"Yes."
Xue Qian asked, "Brother, you said you'd help me find him. Have you heard anything?"
I picked the right friend.
That was what Shen Yangge thought.
Xue Pingyuan stroked the kitten's fur.
"Nothing yet. The guards on duty that day all said he vanished into thin air, and the cell door was never opened. Qian, I know he's a good friend of yours, but listen to your brother..."
Just as Shen Yangge thought this bastard was about to offer some heartfelt advice, the bastard said, "He's very close to the Crown Prince. You shouldn't get mixed up in this mess."
Furious, Shen Yangge bit Xue Pingyuan's hand, only for him to pinch his tiny pointed teeth.
"What are you biting me for?"
"Meow, meow, meow!"
In the end, Xue Pingyuan boarded a carriage bound for the imperial palace. Along the way, he repeatedly tried all sorts of ways to tease the kitten into playing with him, but the kitten barely acknowledged him.
"Your Highness, we've searched the entire capital and found no clues related to Lord Shen."
The Crown Prince's vicious eyes were like frigid currents in an icy pool, their depths enough to inspire fear.
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