Menis' Cat Tavern had a mysterious black cat. On the way to this tavern, Zheng Qing had heard passersby talking about it more than once.
Because it was a cat that had conquered the Death God, suspended between life and death.
Whenever you saw it in the tavern, it was surely a dead cat—either lying belly-up with its eyes rolled white and no breath left in it, or simply a pile of dead cat bones, with maggots writhing through its tattered black fur.
But whenever you could not see it, the cat was alive again.
It would sneak onto tables while guests were not paying attention to steal dried fish, then leave plum blossom paw prints on your napkin; it would hide somewhere no one could find but everyone could hear, purring away; and if the guest happened to be a pretty young girl, the black cat would even hide beneath the table and rub its soft belly against her ankles and calves—yet if she lifted the tablecloth and looked underneath at that moment, all she would see was a heap of dead cat bones piled beside her feet.
At first, the owners and patrons assumed some ghosts and monsters were causing trouble. They invited many wizards and priests to perform exorcisms, but found nothing. The cat still wandered every corner of the tavern without leaving.
It was not until Elder Attar of the Wusa City temple examined it in person that he confirmed it was merely an ordinary black cat in an exceptionally peculiar state.
With the Elder's verdict, the tavern quickly drew many visitors who had come specifically for it.
The shrewd tavern owner simply turned it into a gimmick, placing a wooden box at every dining table. There was a hole in its side, just large enough