Chapter Summaries

Zheng Qing turned himself into a Black Cat and headed to the grove with Xiao Xiao and Lin Guo to stop a fight between his cats and the Pet Garden foxes. Lin Guo described the rival groups and their leaders as they approached.

• Lin Guo told Zheng Qing that his cats had confronted a gang of foxes near the lakeside grove, so Zheng Qing decided to intervene as a cat.
• Zheng Qing drank a Transformation Potion and became a Black Cat, while Fatty Xin and Jiang Yu stayed behind.
• Zheng Qing explained to Lin Guo why he had kept his transformations secret from Jiang Yu, and Xiao Xiao warned him that his red eyes could attract trouble.
• Zheng Qing slipped in the mud, cleaned his paw, and recited a poem about the snowy, icy paths.
• Lin Guo said the cats were led by a Ragdoll Kitten, with a Forest Cat and a blue cat behind it, while the foxes followed a Fiery Red Fox and included a white fox resembling Poseidon.

Zheng Qing and the others found the cats and foxes glaring at each other, while Poseidon had joined the fox group and barely recognized Zheng Qing in his black-cat form. Zheng Qing took Poseidon under his protection, leaving the cats staring in silence.

• Zheng Qing, Lin Guo, and Xiao Xiao arrived to find the cats and foxes facing off while the little foxes played and the rats trembled between them.
• The Ragdoll Cat approached Zheng Qing, while a fox eagerly greeted Xiao Xiao and was recognized as Poseidon.
• Poseidon reacted to the black cat's familiar voice and sniffed him, though he could not connect him to Zheng Qing.
• Zheng Qing scooped Poseidon up and warned the cats that the fox was under his protection.

Zheng Qing and his companions tried to settle a dispute between cats and foxes over five mice, while the black cat’s transformations frightened the animals and provoked a quarrel with Dr. Xiao. A Clothed Rat named Ding Dang Ear appeared in a tree, drawing everyone’s attention.

• The black cat proposed splitting the five mice between the cats and foxes, while Dr. Xiao and Lin Guo discussed what to do with the extra mouse.
• Lin Guo offered to dissect a mouse, so the black cat struck him into a snowbank and frightened the foxes by growing larger.
• Dr. Xiao confronted the black cat with his spellbook after the black cat threatened him during their argument.
• Ding Dang Ear appeared hanging from a tree branch and laughed at the wizards, then corrected the black cat when he called him Ding Dong Ear.
• Lin Guo climbed out of the snowbank, and Poseidon and the foxes gathered with the cats to watch Ding Dang Ear.

The Black Cat negotiated with Ding Dang Ear, a clothed rat who offered black gold in exchange for live rats. The Black Cat pitched a large-scale rat-trading business, and the stone fell to the ground as Ding Dang Ear shrank back.

• The Black Cat grew to meet Ding Dang Ear in the tree and asked why he had come to the school.
• Ding Dang Ear offered to trade pretty stones for the rats that were troubling the group.
• Dr. Xiao and Lin Guo told the Black Cat to ask about the stones and warned him not to accept anything without magic power.
• Ding Dang Ear showed the Black Cat a piece of black gold and offered it for live rats.
• The Black Cat asked Ding Dang Ear to drop the stone for inspection, then proposed long-term bulk rat sales through First University businesses.
• Ding Dang Ear looked ready to retreat, and the black gold fell to the ground.

Zheng Qing’s attempted trade with Ding Dang Ear fell apart when the supposed Black Gold turned out to be low-grade lignite. After the stone was returned, Dr. Xiao learned that the rat clan used it for many purposes and traded refined sparkling stones, then tested Ding Dang Ear with a tiny diamond.

• Zheng Qing asked Dr. Xiao to identify the black stone, and Dr. Xiao determined that it was lignite.
• The Black Cat canceled the trade and told Ding Dang Ear to retrieve his coal himself.
• Ding Dang Ear climbed down and explained that his clan used the stone for writing, ink, medicine, warmth, building, and trade.
• Dr. Xiao tossed Ding Dang Ear a tiny diamond, and the rat grabbed it while hiding the lignite between his legs.

Dr. Xiao used tiny diamonds to entice Ding Dang Ear into answering questions about his rat clan. The rat confirmed that many speaking rats belonged to the clan, and Xiao Xiao began asking who the ancestor he had mentioned was.

• Ding Dang Ear praised Xiao Xiao and eagerly accepted a tiny diamond, then hid it when the black cat approached.
• The black cat asked Xiao Xiao for a diamond for a Christmas gift, and Xiao Xiao showed him a pouch of fragments from Professor Li's laboratory.
• Lin Guo warned Xiao Xiao that Ding Dang Ear was staring greedily at the diamonds, but Xiao Xiao offered the rat more in exchange for answers.
• Ding Dang Ear agreed to answer questions, and Xiao Xiao asked whether his clan included many speaking rats.
• Ding Dang Ear confirmed that his clan had many rats, but his vague answer did not earn him a diamond.
• Xiao Xiao asked Ding Dang Ear who the ancestor he had mentioned was.

Xiao Xiao questioned Ding Dang Ear to cross-check what the talking rat knew about its clan and its interest in the Little Rats. Ding Dang Ear refused to reveal where its clan lived, leaving Xiao Xiao to ask whether the rats were meant for experiments.

• Ding Dang Ear boasted that its clan's ancestor was ancient and powerful, though Zheng Qing doubted its shifting claims about the ancestor's age.
• Lin Guo and the black cat quietly discussed why Xiao Xiao was verifying the rat's answers and whether the talking rats might all be the same individual.
• Xiao Xiao asked Ding Dang Ear where its clan lived, and the rat refused to answer, citing its clan's security and a lengthy application process.
• Xiao Xiao asked why Ding Dang Ear and the other clothed rat wanted the Little Rats, suggesting they might be intended for experiments.

Xiao Xiao questioned Ding Dang Ear about why he wanted the forest mice, and his explanation matched the account from Ding Dong Ear. Xiao Xiao refused to hand over the mice, then the black cat prepared to leave with his group to collect the final batch.

• Ding Dang Ear angrily denied that he planned illegal experiments and said the mice would be taken to their ancestor for a chance at enlightenment.
• Lin Guo explained that the mice's ancestor likely had enough magical influence to know about Danhaag, while the black cat silently enlarged his head to intimidate him.
• Ding Dang Ear said Silent Tideback had driven forest mice onto campus and that the ancestor had asked them to find young mice to enlighten.
• Xiao Xiao said the school would not hand over the mice and warned Ding Dang Ear that taking them without permission counted as theft.
• The black cat said his subordinates had prepared the final batch and led the cats away, with the Ragdoll Cat and Poseidon following.

The Youzui Knight Order considered turning Zheng Qing’s surplus rat-catching ability into a business for their planned D&K shop. The chapter left the group weighing Lin Guo’s proposal to make pest removal their flagship service.

• Dr. Xiao inspected the pile of rats while the black cat warned that its group could not supply many more.
• The narration explained that First University had assigned students to clear pests after the Silent Tideback disrupted Puji Island’s ecology.
• Zheng Qing used his cat underlings to catch rats for himself and the other Youzui Knight Order members.
• The Knight Order planned to open Ding-Ding-Finance-and-Kill-Kill-Bug-Co., Ltd., abbreviated as D&K, on Pedestrian Street.
• Lin Guo argued that the group should use its rat-catching advantage as the shop’s flagship business.

Zheng Qing and Xiao Xiao inspected the live rats their cat subordinates had caught for the hunting team's new shop, and Zheng Qing explained how the cats kept the rats intact. Ding Dang Ear then offered to trade Corpse Beetles for rats, giving them a chance to expand their business into Alpha Academy.

• Zheng Qing and Xiao Xiao oversaw the cats' neatly arranged live-rat catch while Lin Guo questioned how they had trained the cats to catch and tie the rats without injuring them.
• Zheng Qing explained that the cats had learned to knock rats unconscious and tie their tails, and that an Egyptian cat's paw could put rats into a deep sleep.
• Ding Dang Ear asked whether Zheng Qing would trade rats for live Corpse Beetles, and Xiao Xiao pressed him on whether he could supply them in large quantities.
• Ding Dang Ear promised a plentiful supply because his tribe ate deep-fried Corpse Beetles, and Zheng Qing and Xiao Xiao realized the intelligent rats could help catch bugs for a new Alpha Academy market.

Zheng Qing and the You Zui Hunting Team prepared to profit from First University's pest-clearing assignments by stockpiling rats for their new shop, D&K. The black cat rallied cats and foxes to catch rats, while Xiao Xiao explained that the Fitness Pills were the real incentive and the animals could not understand the speech.

• Zheng Qing's planned business for D&K remained limited to talismans, potions, live rats, and low-priced purchases from Wander Bar, as the team lacked the expertise to compete with established Beta Town shops.
• With merchants focused on the coming storm and wary of school assignments, D&K faced no competitors in buying up rats.
• The black cat gave an impassioned speech to persuade a crowd of cats to catch rats and expand their imagined sales ambitions across First University.
• Lin Guo praised the black cat's leadership, and Clothed Rat corrected him that it was cat persona charisma.
• Xiao Xiao explained that cats caught rats mainly to earn Fatty Xin's Fitness Pills and that they could not understand the speech without drawings.

Ding Dang Ear tried to arrange a meeting to negotiate trading Corpse Beetles for Little Rats, while Zheng Qing and Xiao Xiao stalled until their team could research the beetle market. The black cat and Xiao Xiao used their packed schedules and the approaching Winter Solstice to put off the negotiations again.

• Ding Dang Ear approached Xiao Xiao to propose discussing the Corpse Beetle trade on Saturday.
• Xiao Xiao sent Ding Dang Ear to speak with the black cat, whom he identified as the boss.
• Ding Dang Ear repeated his proposal to the black cat, who said the week would not work.
• Xiao Xiao listed the wizards' upcoming school commitments, and Lin Guo pointed out that they had not accounted for the sixteenth week.
• When Ding Dang Ear suggested meeting next week, Xiao Xiao claimed they had to stay home for the Winter Solstice.

Black Cat and Dr. Xiao put off trading with Ding Dang Ear while preparing to open their shop, D&K, and studying for finals. When Black Cat invited the rat to the opening, Ding Dang Ear revealed that the Clothed Rats could create temporary magical hollows in trees, leaving the You Zui Hunter Team without a paper-crane address.

• Ding Dang Ear asked whether the young wizards could make time to trade, and Black Cat and Dr. Xiao explained that shop preparations and finals kept them busy.
• Black Cat told Ding Dang Ear that D&K was tentatively scheduled to open the following Saturday, the day before the winter solstice.
• Ding Dang Ear congratulated Black Cat and offered to bring friends to the opening ceremony.
• Black Cat invited Ding Dang Ear and tried to get its paper-crane address, hoping to learn where the Clothed Rats gathered.
• Ding Dang Ear refused to provide an address and opened a temporary, pitch-black hollow in a catalpa tree for the invitation.
• Black Cat recognized the hollow as an effect of the Clothed Rats' innate ability.

The Black Cat and Xiao Xiao discussed the Rat Script Ding Dang Ear carved around a Catalpa Tree hollow, and the Black Cat identified it as exorcism runes. After Lin Guo said an elder had obtained the seeds the Black Cat wanted, the Black Cat hurried away, leaving the cat-fox dispute to be settled.

• The Black Cat and Xiao Xiao lamented that Fatty Xin had missed the meeting with Ding Dang Ear because a Paper Crane had summoned him to the campus newspaper office.
• Ding Dang Ear carved Rat Script around a hollow in the Catalpa Tree and concealed the opening with branches.
• The Black Cat and Xiao Xiao discussed how Rat Script related to wizard runes, and Xiao Xiao explained Saussure’s theories of linguistic signs to Ding Dang Ear.
• The Black Cat recognized the symbols around the hollow as runes with an Exorcism Attribute, though he could not read their finer meaning.
• Lin Guo told the Black Cat that an elder had obtained the seeds he wanted and would bring them to class the next day.
• The Black Cat rushed out of the grove, told everyone to disperse peacefully, and left Lin Guo to gather the spoils.

Zheng Qing, in black-cat form, followed a paper crane across Jiuyou Academy to find Zhang Jixin and ask about the Trumpet Flower and Shadow Recording Grass seeds. After recovering from the exhausting run with Zhang Jixin’s tea, he asked whether the seeds had been found.

• Zheng Qing sent a paper crane to locate Zhang Jixin, then ran after it in black-cat form.
• Zhang Jixin received the blank letter and found Zheng Qing collapsed from exhaustion in front of him.
• Zhang Jixin used vines to lift Zheng Qing onto a bench and served him hot tea.
• After drinking several cups, Zheng Qing explained that he was using Andrew’s Transformation Potion and asked if Zhang Jixin had found the seeds.
• Zhang Jixin realized Zheng Qing had not come to watch hunting teams practice, and Zheng Qing awkwardly praised him for handling the You Zui Hunting Team’s affairs.

The black cat obtained three shriveled, unused recording seeds from Zhang Jixin and revealed that he planned to use them to sing Ilena a New Year's gift. After beating Zhang Jixin for grabbing his tail, he fled when nearby wizards noticed his giant form.

• Zhang Jixin gave the black cat three shriveled seeds and explained they were blank originals rather than seeds that had already recorded sound and images.
• The black cat said he planned to sing Ilena a song as a New Year's gift and started to leave with the seeds.
• Zhang Jixin grabbed the black cat's tail, and the black cat grew into a giant beast and beat him.
• The black cat threatened Zhang Jixin with his claws, but nearby upperclassmen approached after noticing the giant cat.
• The black cat fled over the bushes and disappeared into the lawn to avoid speaking with the approaching wizards.

Zheng Qing, transformed into Black Cat, followed Ding Dang Ear through the dark in hopes of finding the vest-wearing rats’ nest. Ding Dang Ear confronted him and drew a mysterious alchemical warning device, leaving Black Cat facing an uncertain encounter.

• Black Cat imagined several ways to get revenge on Zhang Jixin, then took a secluded route back to avoid being called a cat.
• Black Cat spotted Ding Dang Ear hurrying past and decided to follow him, hoping to discover the rats’ nest.
• Black Cat used a defective concealment talisman and trailed Ding Dang Ear beyond the campus paths toward ruined walls.
• Ding Dang Ear vanished from the path and appeared from a hole in a scholar tree behind Black Cat.
• Ding Dang Ear questioned Black Cat’s pursuit and pulled out a specialized alchemical warning product.

Black Cat confronted Ding Dang Ear after the rat spotted him despite his concealment, but Ding Dang Ear set off a warning firecracker that summoned a flock of birds. Black Cat fled back to the dormitory, still covered in bird droppings.

• Ding Dang Ear told Black Cat that his bloodshot eyes had given him away, and Black Cat insisted he had not been tracking the rat.
• Ding Dang Ear struck a flint to light a black cylinder he called a Risk Warning Product, then hid in the tree hole.
• The firecracker’s blast summoned a noisy flock of birds from the banyan tree, and Ding Dang Ear covered the tree hole before disappearing.
• Black Cat ran back to the dormitory while the birds pursued him, leaving his fur stained with bird droppings.

Fatty Xin searched for his missing Pipi Rat and watch, which Tuantuan had stolen after Fatty crushed the cat’s tail in his sleep. Zheng Qing knew the Pipi Rat had been destroyed when he was a black cat, but he hesitated to tell Fatty.

• Fatty Xin woke to find his watch missing and spotted it hanging from Tuantuan’s tail outside the windowsill.
• Fatty Xin tried to appease Tuantuan with toys and food, but most of his bribes were stored in the stolen watch.
• Zheng Qing and Xiao Xiao returned from morning lessons, and Zheng Qing offered Fatty breakfast as he searched for his Pipi Rat.
• Fatty Xin explained how he had accidentally crushed Tuantuan’s tail while asleep, prompting the cat to swipe him and later steal his watch.
• Zheng Qing remembered that, as a black cat two days earlier, he had accidentally struck the Pipi Rat and hidden its dismembered pieces beneath the furniture.

Zheng Qing found the head of Fatty Xin’s missing Alchemical Rat and denied responsibility, but Fatty Xin sent him to negotiate with Tuantuan for the watch containing the team’s new shop furniture. As Zheng Qing tried to bargain with the cat, the others discussed the Elder avoiding Tuantuan after grabbing his tail.

• Fatty Xin asked Zheng Qing whether he had seen Pipi Rat, and Zheng Qing distracted him by searching the dormitory.
• Zheng Qing found Pipi Rat’s head in a desk drawer, and Fatty Xin demanded to know who had killed it.
• Dylan and Fatty Xin called Zheng Qing shameless, but Fatty Xin dragged him to the balcony and ordered him to retrieve his watch from Tuantuan.
• Xiao Xiao explained that the Elder had been avoiding Tuantuan since the cat grabbed his tail after Zheng Qing transformed.
• Zheng Qing threatened to send a pack of cats after the Elder while he tried to negotiate with Tuantuan.