The girl concerned herself with little beyond medicine and her fees. After instructing someone to settle everything, the two parted ways.
For now, the matter had come to a close. What tricks Qiu Tianyu was playing behind the Taiping Transport Gang still required careful investigation. Pei Ye strolled into the afternoon's setting sun, slowly making his way back to the Sword Cultivation Academy.
Along the way, Black Cat leaped from a nearby rooftop onto his shoulder again.
Pei Ye smiled and gathered the cat into his arms. "Why do I get the feeling you've grown so happy in Shu you've forgotten home?"
The little beast gave a weary yawn. Watching the Taiping Transport Gang's movements, coordinating messages, guarding evidence... Pei Ye had relied on the cat for much these past few days, allowing him to draw his sword over West Pool without any reservations. Even after everything was over, the cat had stayed with Xu Chuo for several more days.
Now those jade-green eyes lifted to him. "Can't you tell which of us is Liu Shan and which is Kongming?"
Pei Ye laughed. "You're Red Hare. I'll ride you into the next fight."
Black Cat could not be bothered with him and took another pill from the brocade pouch beneath its neck to eat.
"...Could you let me try a bite?" Watching the cat nibble away, Pei Ye could not help asking quietly.
"..."
"I'm just curious what it does."
"Much the same as the wine you drank last night."
Pei Ye looked surprised. "What did that wine do?"
He tested himself. "My true qi hasn't increased."
"Not your true qi. Your Chi Flame Source."
Only then did Pei Ye pause. Sure enough, within his Dantian, the fiery nest that represented his symbiosis with the Immortal Hunter had grown much