Xuan Yuan Fourteen

Evening.

Cao Jinxing counted the hours. He had been "reading" for six hours, and the office was closing for the day. Leaving now would draw no attention, so he saw no reason to remain imprisoned in the Secret Vault. He sealed the manuals away again and returned the key.

The old Taoist took it all for granted, as though mastering two sixth-grade spiritual martial arts in six hours were perfectly natural.

Only the officers on duty remained in the office. Cao Jinxing hurried out, bought a roast chicken and three flatbreads on the way, and headed home.

His home was an ordinary little courtyard house in Ming Shi Ward. After more than half a month without him, it already felt deserted.

Cao Jinxing took out his key.

He unlocked the door and pushed it open.

"Meow~ Meow~"

Suddenly, he heard an extremely faint mewing from somewhere in the courtyard.

Cao Jinxing wondered, Did the original owner keep a cat? He could barely afford to feed himself...

Following the sound, he took a few steps toward the northwest corner and pulled aside a pile of firewood. Beneath it, amid scattered bloodstains, lay a white kitten as thin as a rake, curled up and mewing pitifully at him.

This was a strange cat.

The cat was only the size of a newborn kitten but had the proportions of an adult. Despite lying amid dust and ash, the cat's snowy fur was spotless.

A ruff encircled the cat's neck, and one eye was yellow while the other was blue-a rare odd-eyed lion cat.

A long gash ran along one hind leg, nearly reaching across the abdomen. It looked like a blade wound, and apparently a venomous one: pus and black blood were already oozing out, and the flesh was close to dying.

Without treatment, the cat would be permanently lame.

"What kind of cat are you? A teacup cat? You don't look ordinary. Will you drag me into some sort of mess...?"

"Meow~~"

Tears filled the kitten's wide eyes as the cat looked at Cao Jinxing, trembling all over with every movement.

"Oh, fine..."

Cao Jinxing sighed, carefully lifted the kitten, and settled the cat in his palm. The tiny creature was smaller than his hand, as though the slightest squeeze would be fatal.

The kitten seemed to know he meant to help and obediently curled into a ball.

Cao Jinxing carried the cat into the main room, treated the wound with medicinal liniment, and wrapped the injured leg in cotton cloth. Then he noticed the kitten staring fixedly at his roast chicken, licking its lips over and over.

"You're awfully carefree. Hurt this badly, and you're still thinking about food... I suppose you're hungry, too."

Cao Jinxing tore the chicken into strips and fed them to the kitten, who refused nothing.

The cat seemed incapable of getting full. Even after eating an entire drumstick, the kitten wanted more. That little belly remained flat; he had no idea where all the food had gone.

Most people might not have noticed any change, but Cao Jinxing's eyesight was extraordinary. He noticed the cat growing slightly larger, the wound beginning to scab, and that wasted body becoming a little less skeletal.

"Interesting..."

The cat was converting food directly into energy!

This world had treasures of nature as well as rare birds and extraordinary beasts. Given the cat's remarkable abilities, the kitten was very likely one of those extraordinary beasts.

"Wait here," Cao Jinxing said. "I'll buy you something nourishing. Don't move around."

"Meow~"

Cao Jinxing went out to a nearby pharmacy and bought potent tonics such as ginseng and fleeceflower root-the banknotes seized from Crouching Tiger Mountain cost him nothing, so spending them hardly hurt.

He spent several hundred taels in all, returned laden with packages, and fed their contents to the kitten one by one.

The cat ate everything!

Whether it was ginseng, fleeceflower root, softshell turtle, or cordyceps, the kitten chewed and swallowed anything Cao Jinxing put into that little mouth!

All those nourishing ingredients worked. The wound rapidly scabbed over, and the cat began growing larger. In no time, the kitten had reached the size of a month-old cat and could hobble around.

"All that food, and you've only grown this much. Impressive..."

Intrigued, Cao Jinxing watched the little white cat cling stubbornly to his hand, absolutely refusing to let go of one of his fingers. "Do you have a name?"

The kitten tilted its head, looking utterly bewildered.

"Probably not. Then I'll give you one."

Cao Jinxing stroked the cat's head and considered. "You're a lion cat. A lion... how about Xuan Yuan Fourteen? It's the brightest star in Leo, known as the emperor's star, the king's star. I hope you'll shine just as brightly someday and stand out among all the beasts. What do you think? Fourteen, do you like it?"

The little white cat licked his hand.

"Haha."

Cao Jinxing was deeply guarded around people, but he could relax around animals.

People could kill without leaving a trace, hiding daggers behind honeyed words. Animals were not that clever; their moods were easy to read.

Simplicity meant safety.

"Having a cat isn't so bad. From now on, we'll have each other."

"Meow~"

Meanwhile.

From a side room in Windcloud Manor on the outskirts of the capital came a roar of barely restrained fury. "You haven't found the cat? Still haven't found it?! Useless! Every last one of you!"

Several resounding slaps followed.

"An injured leg and poisoned with Bone-Rot Powder, and you still can't catch the cat! What do I keep you for? What use are you?!"

Two heavy thuds rang out. This time, he was kicking them!

Five burly men knelt before him on one knee, not even daring to dodge.

The young manor lord, Zhang Chengfeng, remained furious after those two kicks. He stormed forward and gave each man another two before he was satisfied.

His martial skills were poor, and the strenuous outburst left him pale, bracing himself against a table as he gasped for breath.

"Young lord, Spirit Cat Snow Glaze moves as fast as lightning and can heal naturally. Even lame and poisoned, the cat is still..." One man looked troubled.

Zhang Chengfeng's expression darkened further.

Another man hurriedly said, "But we've already driven the cat into Ming Shi Ward! Thirty mastiffs are searching every inch. There's no way out!"

Zhang Chengfeng's expression eased slightly.

"Catch that cat! Whatever it takes!"

Zhang Chengfeng gritted his teeth. "We spent five years finding the cat and another three trying to capture it. Now, just when we were about to succeed, you let it escape! My father is gravely ill. How many years does he have left? I'm warning you: if you delay his treatment and he dies, I'll have every member of your families buried with him!"

The men shuddered inwardly.

Zhang Chengfeng's martial skills were poor, but he was an expert in the Sichuan Tang Sect's mechanisms and concealed weapons. Every weapon he made was lethally dangerous; even first-rate martial artists dared not move against him lightly.

If he truly lost his temper, a few [Storm Pear Blossom Needles] and a handful of [Heavenly Thunder Bombs] would leave all five of them without intact corpses, even if their bodies were forged from iron!

"Why aren't you searching?!"

Seeing them still kneeling there in a daze, Zhang Chengfeng glared and roared like a dragon, "GET OUT!!!"

The five experts fled in utter terror.

Zhang Chengfeng exhaled deeply, hurried out of the side room, and went to his father Zhang Dajing's bedroom. His father lay in bed, withered as a corpse, yet his face bore an unnaturally rosy flush.

"Chengfeng..."

Zhang Chengfeng's eyes reddened. He hurried to the bedside, leaned over, and grasped his father's hand. "Father, please hold on a little longer. We'll catch the spirit cat soon! Once we cut out its heart and make the medicine, your injury will heal!"

"Foolish boy..."

Zhang Dajing gave a smile, his gaunt face like a skull draped in human skin. "It's no use... even a natural-born spirit beast can only replenish my blood and vitality. As long as that demonic true qi remains inside me, I'll eventually be drained dry, even if I eat hundreds or thousands of spirit beasts to nourish myself... don't waste your efforts... she means to leave me unable to live or die..."

"Father..."

"While I still have some time, summon all the managers to the capital tomorrow to discuss matters. The manor, and everything I've accumulated throughout my life... it's time I handed them over to you..."

With that, Zhang Dajing sank into a deep sleep.

"The Demon Cult..."

Zhang Chengfeng clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot. "...I'll never coexist with you!"