The instant the lightning flashed, raindrops began to fall in a pattering patter, kicking up dust. The lightning illuminated the night traveler brightly before disappearing into even deeper darkness. A muffled rumble of thunder rolled in, sounding like the earth collapsing in the distance.
The rain grew heavier, and the tall grass along the riverbank was bent low by the wind, revealing a pair of bright, yellowish-green eyes.
It cautiously looked around, making sure there were no more pedestrians on the road, before emerging from the weeds and shaking off the water. However, the heavy rain quickly soaked it even more. It simply ignored it, slowly stretching out its front and hind legs in a very long stretch, then slowly pulling them back, and taking a light, relaxed step onto the dark path. Only on a rainy night like this could its steps be so composed, and its tense nerves completely relax.
It was really enjoying the feeling; it had been so long since it had felt this comfortable!
There was a streetlamp ahead. Although the light was dim, it still stopped nervously and looked around, one paw raised in mid-air before finally landing. It meowed, probably mocking its own caution and cowardice. However, it knew in its heart that if it hadn't acted this way, it would have been dead long ago.
The rain continued to fall, washing over its body. The sticky mud dissolved in the water and gushed down its back. The grime that had accumulated for days was washed away by the rain, revealing its orange-yellow color. In the dim light of the streetlights, a thin layer of yellow mist rose up.
We were approaching a human settlement, with towering buildings and scattered lights shining through their neat, square windows.
It thought of its young master again, but sadly, it couldn't go back. It knew that going back would bring trouble to its master, and the master wouldn't be able to protect himself either. Fortunately, it was familiar with the life of a wanderer; for the first half of its life, it had always been a wanderer like this.
It could no longer stroll leisurely here. It hid in the shadowy ridgeline under the wall, ran quickly along the wall for dozens of meters, and then suddenly darted up a nearby tree.
It perched on a tree branch and peered into the wall. Good, no one was there. There were a few trash cans over there. Probably because of the heavy rain, the garbage collectors hadn't come at night, and the trash cans were still full, giving it a chance to have a good meal.
It crouched back, arched its back, and with a powerful push from its hind legs, leaped from the tree branch onto the top of the wall. Whether it was the increased weight from the rain or the exhaustion from days of hunger, this distance, which it could usually jump with ease, seemed a bit strenuous today, and it almost didn't make it to the top. Fortunately, its front paws gripped the bricks on the top of the wall, and after a few pushes with its hind legs, it made it up.
It took a few deep breaths, rainwater entered its nose, a chill swept over it, and it sneezed.
It jumped off the wall, climbed onto the trash can, and rummaged through it with its paws. The rain masked the stench of the trash, but it also made the rummaging more difficult.
Having finally found some meat that still looked intact, it immediately began to devour it. It was just too hungry!
Rain streamed down its forehead and cheeks into its mouth, where it swallowed its food. It sneezed again, a cool chill seeping from its stomach down to its skin. It felt a little dizzy, its limbs weak. The raindrops seemed to turn into ice particles, pelting heavily against its body.
It instinctively felt it should find a place to shelter from the rain, preferably with a stove to dry its soaked fur.
But hunger triumphed over everything.
It continued rummaging through the trash can, hoping to find some better food, such as a whole fish that had only been half-eaten, or if it was lucky, a whole meal that had been packed but not eaten, which it could take back to its temporary home—the wild reeds on the riverbank and behind the book—as its breakfast the next day.
But it underestimated the power of the cold wind, and its already weak body, weakened by hunger, began to tremble, its legs starting to feel unsteady and unable to grip anything.
It wanted to go home. But a half-fish tail sticking out of a black plastic bag caught its footing. As it stretched out its paw to hook it, the fish suddenly went black, tumbled off the trash can, and fell heavily onto the waterlogged ground.
It struggled to its feet, staggered two steps, and then fell down with a thud, splashing water everywhere.
The sound of footsteps could be heard amidst the wind and rain.
It knew someone was coming. However, it couldn't move its body at all, and its head was too heavy to lift.
Am I finally going to die?
It tried to struggle one last time, but even with all its strength, it could only let its limbs twitch weakly a couple of times.
Never mind, let's leave it at that.
That should put you at ease.
No more hiding, no more eating rotten garbage.
The raindrops turned into pearls, like stars falling from the sky. It saw a group of little girls picking up the colorful pearls along the way and scattering them into the sky, suddenly making the once dark sky sparkle. It saw a very large Crow flying across the sky, cawing Guagua. It saw its little owner waving at it with cat food in hand...
The Blind Old Woman, wearing a black raincoat and carrying a stick on her shoulder with a snakeskin bag hanging from one end, walked along the puddle-filled road.
When she reached the trash can, she put down the burlap sack and used the bent iron hook on the end of the stick to rummage through the contents. The Blind Old Woman could only see with one eye, but she could still accurately find useful things like plastic bottles in the dark and filthy mess, pick them out, and put them into the burlap sack.
"Oh dear, what a pity! The cardboard box is all ruined by the rain!" She held the wet cardboard box for a long time, looking at it with great reluctance, but finally threw it away.
"Huh, what's that on the ground?" She shone her flashlight on it and saw a cat lying there. "Why is there a dead cat?"
The Blind Old Woman certainly knew about the Cat-Killing Order; she hadn't seen or heard a cat meowing in the neighborhood for a long time.
Is it a stroke of luck, that I'm going to make a fortune tonight? She wondered. Several thousand dollars was a considerable sum for her!
She picked the cat up from the water tank, touched it; it was ice-cold. It seemed to still be breathing; she could feel a faint heartbeat on its chest.
It's good that he's not dead. I heard that whoever kills him gets the money.
The Blind Old Woman grabbed the cat by the neck, but forgot that she needed to film the killing process with her phone and upload it online, or at least find a place with surveillance cameras to do it.
She tightened her fingers slightly, and the throat beneath the soft fur moved imperceptibly. A faint, weak meow sounded in her ear; she couldn't tell if it was a hallucination or the cat's actual meow.
The Blind Old Woman's heart skipped a beat as she remembered the cat she used to have.
"Oh, poor thing!" She stopped, put the cat into the snakeskin bag, slung it over her shoulder, and headed back. "I'll give you a bath and warm you by the fire when we get back. Whether you survive or not depends on your luck!"