In just a short while, Ling An had been sent flying twice by Jianxin.
For the sake of that brief moment of tenderness earlier, Ling An chose to forgive her.
At the same time, he silently made a mental note.
Next time he heard music, he would make sure to stay far away.
He said goodbye to Jianxin and left the Six Envy Teahouse.
Tide Sis and Yangyang were probably running a sting operation somewhere in Jinzhou City.
It would be inappropriate for him to bother them now.
After all, he was still the talk of the town!
Ling An did want to take a look at this so-called Jinzhou Meow-Meow Cult. In theory, every organization should have somewhere to gather.
Unless his Meow-Meow Cult hadn't gotten around to claiming a spot yet.
Honestly, Ling An had been quite happy when he first heard the news.
He couldn't help imagining himself standing on a raised platform, giving a speech to a fanatical crowd below.
What followed was entirely Ling An's imagination:
"Next, let's welcome Patroller Ling An to say a few words!"
Ling An strode up to the podium, brimming with pride, and gave a low cry: "Meow-"
Thunderous applause erupted below.
Come to think of it, now that it was an official organization, shouldn't it at least have a slogan or something?
Just like back when he was still in school before transmigrating, when every class had to come up with a slogan for sports day.
Some were utterly absurd, like, "Class Eight, Class Eight, I'm in Class Eight! Once again, I'm in Class Eight!"
What sort of slogan would fit his image?
Did he really have to pull out the old, "The Sacred Fire shines bright, the Sacred Fire blazes high! All my disciples, meow, meow, meow, meow"?
He mulled it over for ages, then gave up.
He would leave this brain-draining task to Chixia!
She was bursting with energy and looked like someone who would enjoy this sort of thing.
Speak of the devil, a call suddenly came through on Ling An's Terminal.
It was Chixia.
"Ling An, sorry for the trouble, but I need your help with something!" Chixia said urgently.
"What is it?" Ling An asked, puzzled.
"Word from above is that a deranged Taoist recently arrived from Huanglong. According to our intelligence, quite a few well-known Resonators have already fallen at his hands. Now he's come to Jinzhou, so we need to be on our guard!"
Chixia rattled off the information, and a blurry photograph came through on his Terminal. Keeping watch for threats like this was part of every Patroller's job.
The photograph vaguely showed someone in loose Taoist robes, so filthy that his face was impossible to make out.
"Why is he targeting Resonators?" Ling An asked in confusion.
"The authorities in Huanglong don't have any confirmed information on that yet. Apparently, his Resonance Ability is very unusual."
"Got it."
"Make sure you're careful," Chixia said worriedly.
"Jinzhou Patroller. Uphold justice, punish evil, and champion good."
Ling An pressed the switch, ending his call with Chixia.
The only Taoist Ling An knew so far was Jianxin.
Now another one, a deranged Taoist, had appeared. He seemed dangerous enough to put all the Patrollers on alert.
It seemed there were quite a few such cultivators within Huanglong.
There was still no news from Tide Sis. The Black Shores weren't small fry, so he might still have to handle this himself.
Ling An's figure slowly vanished down the street.
Not long after he left, in a dark alley nearby, a filthy old Taoist chewed his nails as he stared at the copy of Jinzhou Headlines in his hand.
A prominent photograph of a cat was printed on the front page.
"A Patroller? A Resonator? A sentient being? Heh heh, could my fated opportunity lie here in Jinzhou..."
He muttered like a madman, then turned and disappeared into the shadows.
Ling An wandered around the city as though patrolling his territory when a pink figure suddenly entered his line of sight.
After searching high and low in vain, he'd found what he wanted without even trying.
Wasn't that little Encore?
Ling An quietly approached her.
As one of the two little girls, Encore was usually lively and adorable. But what was she doing crouching alone beside a pool now?
Ling An came to the edge of the pool and stood beside Encore.
Her big, round eyes were fixed on her reflection in the water, as though she were looking in a mirror.
The water reflected her dainty face. She wore a pair of cute, delicate little leather shoes, with an inconspicuous Black Flower tied around her ankle.
The mark of a Black Shores member.
"Kitty? Did you come to play with me?" Encore asked delightedly when she saw Ling An.
She tilted her head toward him, her face full of curiosity.
"I'm Ling An, a Jinzhou Patroller." Ling An pressed the switch.
Encore covered her mouth in surprise. "You're the kitty Patroller Aalto's been talking about lately!"
Her curious gaze swept over Ling An, stopping at the Terminal around his neck. "You really can talk!"
"That's right." Ling An pressed the switch.
Encore moved closer and asked curiously, "What's the difference between a Patroller kitty and a regular kitty?"
Ling An froze. Was this just how children were? Her train of thought was certainly unusual.
"Can you play with me?" Encore clasped her hands together, her face practically saying, "Pretty please?"
The sight was enough to melt anyone's heart.
Acting cute and pleading sweetly-the little girl's foolproof tactic.
"All right." Ling An agreed and was just about to send Tide Sis a message to let her know.
The next second, as though performing a magic trick, Encore produced a bowl of purple-and-black mushroom soup from somewhere, an unsettling aura wafting from it.
She blinked happily. "Then, kitty, could you try Encore's latest mushroom soup?"
Ling An lowered his head and stared at the hellscape in the bowl.
For a moment, he fell deep into thought.
An ordinary person would die after eating this, wouldn't they?
"What's this?"
"These are fresh mushrooms Encore just picked on the Back Mountain, but nobody seems willing to try them. Encore's sad."
No wonder she'd been crouching here alone. Someone had turned her down.
Ling An swallowed. If possible, he really wanted to send Encore to the Pan Hua Restaurant for some cooking lessons.
These are definitely poisonous mushrooms!
"Pretty please, just one bite." Little stars sparkled in Encore's eyes as she unleashed her lethal cuteness.
Ling An slowly extended a paw.
He would probably be fine after eating it anyway, so he might as well grant Encore her little wish.
Under Encore's expectant gaze, the tip of his claw reached the rim of the bowl.
Just then, a familiar voice suddenly rang out: "Wait!"
Ling An looked up to see Verina standing a short distance away, panting and reaching out a hand to stop him.
"Those are poisonous mushrooms! Don't eat them!" She hurried over.
"I saw you picking poisonous mushrooms on the Back Mountain earlier. I was worried about you, so I followed you all the way to Jinzhou," Verina told Encore.
"It's fine! Encore's eaten these mushrooms lots of times!" Encore planted her hands on her hips and lifted her chin.
Two little girls, one pink and one green, stood before Ling An.
I'm doomed. I'm surrounded by cuteness.
"Kitty's playing with me!" Encore scooped Ling An up and ran toward the city.
"Wait for me! And Ling An!" Verina hurried after her.
Meanwhile, on Commercial Street.
Chixia had discovered a suspicious individual who claimed to be an information broker.
She was now questioning him together with Tide Sis.
"I'm Aalto, an information broker. Wandering the four seas, easing worries and solving troubles..."
Aalto wore sunglasses and looked every bit the flashy show-off.
"I'm Chixia, a Jinzhou Patroller. Please show me your business license, and explain why you were skulking around here just now."
"Oh, come on, Officer! What do you mean, skulking? I'm looking for someone-a cute little girl. She's short, but she stands out more than anyone else in a crowd."
"A tiny little girl?"
"Pink hair?"
"Always skipping along?"
"Exactly!" Aalto confirmed.
Chixia pointed into the distance. "Is that her?"
Encore and Verina were walking toward them.
With her sharp eyes, Tide Sis noticed that Encore seemed to be carrying an old acquaintance in her arms.
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