Cataclysm Chapter 44: Slasher Cat 4; The Cat’s Revenge

Chapter 44: Slasher Cat 4; The Cat’s Revenge

Translated by Shiya of Exiled Rebels Scanlations 

Editor: Karai

 

The matter of Mao Xiaoli’s school has been spreading on the Internet attracting many netizens to speculate. In particular, the scene with hundreds of cats surrounding the excavator made people feel excited and they found the cats inexplicably cute.

Originally, the cat attack incident and the legend of cats worshiping the moon made people reject the cats in Liyuan, especially when the little black cat attacked an innocent passer-by in full view of the public. It attracted people’s exclusion even more. However, when they saw hundreds of cats blocking the excavator peacefully, it seemed that they were negotiating with human beings. They were rational and gentle, frank and full of spirituality. That washed away the treacherous image of the cats they saw before.

The video of the vice principal’s nephew abusing cats has somehow spread to the Internet again. People finally understand why the little black cat attacked the ‘innocent’ passer-by in public. The ‘innocent’ passer-by was the nephew of the vice principal, in the video, he imprisoned a ginger fur cat in a cage, then stabbed the cat’s abdomen with a steel bar causing the cat to die miserably. At present, it has attracted numerous cat lovers’ condemnation.

The situation was clearer now, but it also led to bad speculation. For example, the attack on the two girls was also considered to be revenge from the cats. Even though both girls were cat lovers, public opinion was still rampant.

Chen Yang was unable to meet the comatose girl because the family refused him and was unfriendly. He expressed understanding and turned to visit the second girl who was attacked. The family members were also unfriendly. They all know the rumors on the Internet and are very dissatisfied with Chen Yang who was sent by the school. Chen Yang did not explain that he was not sent by the school to negotiate. When he saw the girl who was still in a state of shock, he chanted the Heart Purifying Mantra.

The girl’s muddy eyes gradually cleared up, she became calm not in a panic as before. Chen Yang looked at her quietly and found that her face, neck and shoulders were all wrapped in gauze, obviously covering wounds.

Her parents were very surprised to see their daughter recover. Chen Yang said, “It’s just that she was too frightened and her spirit was in disarray. It’s good that she protected her life, but she also needs to keep her soul.”

When the parents learned that Chen Yang was a Tianshi, they changed into a respectful attitude, they invited Chen Yang to sit down and asked him, “Can you drive away the cat ghost for my child? Will that cat ghost still want to harm my daughter?”

Chen Yang shook his head, “There is no cat ghost.”

The parents were stunned for a moment, then looked at Chen Yang and their daughter, “No cat ghost?”

Chen Yang asked the girl, “It’s hard to avoid the illusion since you were very scared at the time and the rumors were rampant. Now you are safe and have calmed down. I hope you can think about it and provide more clues. I don’t think the killer will stop.”

The girl hesitated for a moment. Although she still felt the pain she felt that night of the attack, she was able to keep sober and recall the events of that night, “It was eleven o’clock that night. I took the usual path back. Usually I don’t stay out that late, but that night…” The girl pursed her lips, she hesitated, and then said, “that night I went to the Wishing House on Longqiao street. The Wishing House is a place that tells people’s fortune. Normally, business is very hot there. It was already very late when it’s my turn.”

Hearing the words Wishing House, Mao Xiaoli secretly hissed and whispered to Chen Yang, “the competitor who is trying to steal my business.”

The girl continued, “I was afraid that the dormitory’s front door was closed, so even though I was afraid, I still chose the path through Liyuan. On the way, I found that it’s quiet all around, and there’s no sound at all. I didn’t think it’s right. There were so many cats in Liyuan. Why was there no sound at all? Then I heard the sound of something trampling on leaves behind me, so I started to run. But the things behind me were so fast that it threw me to the ground.”

Speaking of this, the girl looked frightened and sped up, “My mobile phone fell on the sides, then I barely saw a tall figure with cat’s ears and tail. Touching his limbs I felt soft cat fur. My face, neck and shoulders were aching. Because of the loss of blood, I was in pain and fear and I lost consciousness. But before I lost consciousness, I heard the meowing of a cat.”

Chen Yang nodded, “I see. Thank you.” After that, he left with Mao Xiaoli when she got up. The girl’s family quickly stood up to see him off. When he got to the door, Chen Yang asked Mao Xiaoli to give them a peace charm and left while being thanked.

Mao Xiaoli, “Brother Chen, is it really the Cat Ghost?” She also knew that it was absurd for a cat to become a Cat Ghost, so she directly asked if it was a Cat Ghost.

Chen Yang, “What do you think?”

“I don’t think so,” Recalling the girl’s words, Mao Xiaoli analyzed, “She said she heard the sound of something trampling on leaves. Cats move very lightly and are very agile. If it really wanted to make a sneak attack, it would never make a sound. She could only see the outline of a cat, but the ears, tail and fur could be disguised. It’s also not surprising to hear a cat meowing in Liyuan. So what the whole process summed up is that she didn’t really see the murderer, she just judged with bias according to the contour and voice.”

Chen Yang nodded his approval, “That’s right.”

“But,” Mao Xiaoli asked, “why didn’t she hear a single cat meowing before though?”

“Because it was a full moon that night. The cats were worshiping the moon, so not hearing the cats meowing is normal. We didn’t hear any meowing on the night we went to explore, right?” In the days before and after the full moon, cats will gather at the hillside behind the cat’s grave to worship the moon. The night when the girl was attacked, the cats in the Liyuan happened to be worshiping the moon, so they couldn’t hear the cats meowing at all.

At this time, the elevator door opened and Chen Yang walked out, “Let’s meet with the vice principal. By the way, Xiao Li, have you ever shown your skills as a Tianshi in school?”

Hearing this, Mao Xiaoli waved her hand and said, “I’m not the kind of person who likes to show off.”

“Mn?”

“I mean… No, I haven’t.” Maybe it is because Mao Xiaoli is petite in appearance. Although she is not weak and energetic, people who have met her love to take care of her. Mao Xiaoli complained in dismay, “They discriminate against shorties! Even those with longer legs can’t keep up with me in running!”

“Oh, that’s good then.” Mao Xiaoli did not understand, and Chen Yang did not explain as he took her to the vice principal’s office. Standing at the door, they heard the voice of the vice principal.

“How many times have I told you to stay away from cats if you hate them? Don’t provoke them! Don’t abuse cats and dogs. Now the public opinion can force you to death! Now, how can I fix this for you? Before you do something, you don’t think about it clearly? You don’t wipe it clean, and you’ve been videotaped? Now, not only are you being denounced on the Internet, but the reporters in the school publish your stories every day. They are pulling out evidence of the cat abuse incident that was already hard to suppress before and forcing the school to deal with your affairs. I tell you, I can’t help you this time. If the school really decides to catch the culprit, you can pack your own things and go back to your parents!”

“Uncle, I’m wrong this time. I promise there won’t be another time. Would you, please, help me again?”

“Help you? I tell you, the public opinion on the Internet can be diverted by paying for trolls. Sooner or later, new hot posts will appear and brush off your broken things. But the school newspaper is not in my charge. If the students make trouble, I can’t help it! If you really have the ability, make the school newspaper stop reporting about your cat abuse case!”

Chen Yang looked back at Mao Xiaoli. Mao Xiaoli showed a modest expression, “it’s my duty.” Chen Yang changed his mind and ordered Mao Xiaoli to interview the vice principal and his nephew as a school reporter. It doesn’t matter how sharp her words are.

Mao Xiaoli replied, “I’m on it.” Then she knocked on the door and their discussion stopped. After a while, the voice of the vice principal was calm, “come in.”

The vice principal and his nephew, Dong Hong, had a change of expression when they saw Mao Xiaoli entering. For a moment, they were impatient and disgusted. When Mao Xiaoli indicated the intention of the interview, the vice principal directly refused. Mao Xiaoli shrugged, “The school is very concerned about the cat abuse case. If the vice principal is not willing to be interviewed, I can only write what I need to.”

The vice principal stopped her, his expression was very ugly, “Ten minutes.”

“Okay.” Mao Xiaoli quickly entered the professional attitude and asked Dong Hong, who was about to leave to stay, “I just need to ask a few questions, most need student Dong to answer. Can you stay?”

Dong Hong looked at the vice principal who nodded, so he decided to stay. Chen Yang, standing behind Mao Xiaoli, observed the vice principal and Dong Hong, who was impatient but was forced to cooperate. When the vice principal was asked if he hated cats, he did say he didn’t like cats, but also said that he would not abuse them. He didn’t look like a liar. When asked about Dong Hong, he did not hesitate to reveal his sad life experiences.

It turned out that Dong Hong’s parents were abusive. The vice principal took Dong Hong in and supported him to start his new life. Then the vice principal sighed that Dong Hong’s cat abuse might have stemmed from the shadows imposed on him by his parents, and he emphasized on his own honest and kind side.

Chen Yang noticed that Dong Hong’s face was covered with a shadow and his gaze was on Mao Xiaoli. Dong Hong seemed to have noticed someone’s gaze and suddenly turned his head to Chen Yang’s. He grinded his toes, looked straight at Chen Yang, and slowly drew out a slightly psychotic smile.

When Mao Xiaoli asked Dong Hong a few questions, her tone and wordings were all very harsh. Dong Hong mentioned his parents’ abuse again, and put all the blame on his own parents. His answers were quite shameless, but neither of them could refute it.

“I don’t want to abuse cats, I just can’t control myself. My parents have a great influence on my behavior. Seeing the weak cat, I think of the weak me who was beaten and abused. I’m trying to control myself, I’m also taking medicine and seeing a doctor. Shouldn’t the injured be given a chance to reform?”

When Chen Yang and Mao Xiaoli left, Dong Hong followed. With a smile on his face, he asked Mao Xiaoli whether she would report truthfully as a qualified journalist without adding personal feelings.

Mao Xiaoli smiled, “No. We are just bystanders, and all the truth will be reported.” Although there is no telling when she will choose to report this.

Dong Hong smiled with satisfaction. After praising them, he left triumphantly. When he left, he shook his feet and grinded his toes again. Mao Xiaoli gave him a middle finger after he turned back, “Shameless enough!” Looking back to Chen Yang, “Brother Chen, could it be Dong Hong?”

Chen Yang said, “I suspected him, but I don’t know the motive. In the name of investigation, you have been staying in Liyuan in the evening. I’ll follow you. If Dong Hong is the culprit, he’ll try to kill you.”

So far, the murderer has no motive at all. The only suspect is Dong Hong. The only association between the two victims was that they were cat lovers, and both were of the same gender.

Now there are guards patrolling Liyuan at night, so the murderer logically should not commit crimes again – if he is stupidly arrogant, the situation will be the opposite.

Chen Yang decided to go to see Fatty again and bring the fried dried fish. Fatty has been missing for several days. It has been hiding in Liyuan, no one could find its whereabouts. Chen Yang took out the tracking talisman and put the hair from Fatty’s body he collected that night into the tracking talisman to find Fatty.

The forest near the cat’s grave was very creepy, no one dared enter, so Fatty hid in the depths of the cat’s grave. Fatty was sitting on a big stone, like a piece of meat pie. Chen Yang couldn’t resist kneading the fat to form a circle. It felt soft and wonderful.

Fatty stared at Chen Yang. There was no expression on the cat’s face. Chen Yang did not let go and said gently, “Do you want fish?”

Fatty ate the fish quietly. Chen Yang told him about the Cat Ghost incident caused by Xu Ani, the maid of Dugu Tuo during the period of Emperor Sui Yang of the Sui Dynasty, and asked him if he knows the Cat Ghost. Fatty buried his head to eat fish and ignored him.

Chen Yang said, “I can feel Yin auras, Ghostly auras, and even one’s debt. Sometimes I could see them. The mixture of ghost aura, Yin aura and resentment will form debt. The debts are from evil fruits and must be repaid. The full name is called evil debt. If you want to pay it back in full, you will have to pay a very high price. I see the evil debts on you.” After a short pause, he added, “but I don’t see the ghosts haunting you.”

The evil debt is also called the Yin debt. If you commit an evil of killing, you will owe the Yin debt because of the evil fruits you had sown. If you don’t pay back the Yin debts, it’s hard to be at peace. Therefore, people who are usually burdened with evil debts will be haunted by ghosts. Even as a Cat Ghost, it should be haunted by the ghosts it had wronged, they will cry day and night in front of debtors, disturbing their peace. Fatty was a special case. He had a lot of evil debts on him, but there were no ghosts pestering him.

Chen Yang was curious, “If you don’t tell me, I can ask brother Du.”

Fatty was stiff all over. Looking up, he only saw a smile on Chen Yang. He wagged his tail and slowly relaxed his body. He still didn’t speak but seemed to have compromised. He puts his head against Chen Yang’s palm.

Obviously, Fatty didn’t want to answer his questions, nor did he want Chen Yang to mention him in front of Du Shuo. Chen Yang then asked, “Is the killer Dong Hong? If so, nod.”

Fatty nodded. Chen Yang had this idea in his mind already. To be honest, he would not have suspected Dong Hong. It is just that the little black cat’s manner of attacking Dong Hong and the other party’s expression when abusing cats was too indifferent, which made him notice Dong Hong as a potential culprit. He found that Dong Hong’s gaze at Mao Xiaoli was cold and creepy, and that confirmed his speculations of him.

“Dong Hong might have attacked the girls in order to put blame on the cats in Liyuan, so as to drive away all the cats. Because he saw a few cats’ ghosts gnawing at his feet.”

The ghosts entangling Dong Hong were killed by torture. They were very angry. They followed Dong Hong everywhere and bit his feet, and they would gradually go up until they caught his throat. Dong Hong had a sense of being bitten. So he always shook his feet and grinded his toes.

He should also be haunted by the ghosts of the cats in his dreams every night, but could no longer abuse the cats due to the sensitive time. Rumours about the cat worshiping the moon and the cat ghost came out, so he simply disguised himself as a cat demon to attack people and drive away the cats in the Liyuan along the way. That’s why the girls who were attacked didn’t have common points.

Chen Yang said, “Mao Xiaoli and I want to lure Dong Hong out. I hope you can help.”

Fatty flicked his tail, picked up the dried fish and ran. Fatty has been provided by humans as an emperor for many years, and has been used to running after eating. It was absolutely impossible to be forced to answer questions, then even have to do forced labor! Never!

Chen Yang quietly put away his lunch box, got up and slowly chased after Fatty. He still had the talisman in his hand. There was a hillside behind the grove, and the slope was full of disordered undergrowth. Pushing aside the bushes, he climbed over the iron fence and jumped to the ground, just outside the school.

He walked straight for dozens of meters and saw a street with a sign at the entrance of the street, which says ‘Longqiao Street’. Longqiao street is a famous street near Mao Xiaoli’s school. In front of it were all kinds of delicious food. You can find some very special shops by going around the street. Non acquaintances don’t know, because there are many ordinary people living in the alley as well.

Chen Yang went around the alley to the innermost part of the street. He stopped and looked up at Fatty squatting on the sign of ‘Wishing House’. He was surprised that the store sign could bear the weight of Fatty. He looked at Chen Yang from a commanding position, swung his tail slowly, and then turned around and jumped away with light movements.

Chen Yang thought for a moment and walked into the Wishing House. It was a place that told people’s fortune. It had similar interior designs with most other fortune telling houses, they strive to be mysterious and at the same time the lighting is not good. “If a guest is here, then come in and sit down.”

The woman came out of the small room with the black cat in her arms and sat on her fortune telling table. She held out her hand and motioned for Chen Yang to sit down. Chen Yang sat down and said, “I’m looking for a friend.”

The woman took out a set of tarot cards and handed it to Chen Yang, “Shuffle it.”

Chen Yang, “No need. I can find it myself.”

The woman looked at Chen Yang quietly and said softly, “Pick one.”

Chen Yang took a random card and put it on the table. The woman looked at it, “Justice. Fairness and Justice. Abide by your morality, adhere to your justice. Any difficulty will be solved.” After explaining the tarot card, the woman said, “Do you want to ask about marriage?”

Chen Yang refused and turned to see the peach blossom talisman and the lucky stones beside him. Mao Xiaoli said that Wishing House was her competitor and she lost several times. The woman asked him if he wanted to buy some. Chen Yang refused and got up to leave.

The woman stopped him and gave him the ‘justice’ Tarot card he had drawn out, “We’ll meet again.”

Chen Yang took the tarot card and left the Wishing House. After walking five or six meters away, he looked back and found that the shop was closed. He looked up again at the shop sign of the Wishing House. There was no Fatty on it anymore. He didn’t know the purpose of Fatty leading him to the Wishing House. He shook his head and put away the tarot card.

Mao Xiaoli was active in Liyuan for several consecutive days. She even sneaked into the garden in the middle of the night and was found by patrolling guards. The next day, the news of her actions spread across the whole school. She still did not care and said, “I am there to find out the truth. If it is really a cat demon attacking people, then it will attack me. If it’s a human killer, I can interview him.”

In private, Chen Yang said, “So arrogant.”

Mao Xiaoli giggled, “How can the murderer be lured if I’m not arrogant enough? In just three days, they attacked two girls in a row. They didn’t worry about the guards and police. They had no fear and had full confidence in themselves. Either way, he won’t be able to stand contempt and taunts.”

However, for the next half month, the killer did not act again. Liyuan patrol guards were removed, and once again the place became quiet. However, students no longer dared to take the path of Liyuan. They found that even if there was no “cat demon attack” incident, Liyuan was also very dangerous. There are no lights and no one around, far away from the dormitory area and teaching building. It’s easy to hide people in the trees. It’s estimated that no one will know about someone being killed and thrown away.

Tonight, Mao Xiaoli sneaked into Liyuan and walked carelessly. Everyone in the school knew that she was using herself as bait to find out the truth, and she simply gave up her disguise. From time to time she called out, “Mr. Cat, I’m here. Come and kill me.”

Arrogant words reverberated around the forest, Liyuan was quiet and silent. Chen Yang was around ten meters away from Mao Xiaoli when he looked up at the sky. The sky was covered with dark clouds and there was no moonlight. He wondered, why were the cats in Liyuan missing?

Mao Xiaoli stopped, she heard the sound of someone’s feet stepping on fallen leaves behind her. Someone walked up and stood behind her. Mao Xiaoli turned around, and shone her mobile phone torch on the person, the light landed on the person’s face. She saw a ferocious and twisted cat face, it scared her. The man approached her, Mao Xiaoli screamed and kicked him away, the person hit a tree and bounced back to the ground.

Chen Yang heard Mao Xiaoli’s scream and ran to find her. The murderer got up and ran. Chen Yang and Mao Xiaoli chased after him. The murderer ran very fast and was very familiar with Liyuan. He turned left and right, and they almost lost him.

Chen Yang stopped and found the killer’s blood from the soles of Mao Xiaoli’s feet. Mao Xiaoli was wearing a pair of rivet shoes. When she kicked the murderer, the rivets on the shoes cut the killer’s skin and were stained with blood. Chen Yang got a drop of blood, then put it into the tracking talisman, quickly they took a shortcut to ambush the murderer. Mao Xiaoli kicked the killer over with a flying kick, and Chen Yang tied his hands with a red string. His copper coin slipped back into his palm.

Chen Yang removed the killer’s mask, and Mao Xiaoli’s eyes shined, “Dong Hong, look at you, this time we – It’s not him!?”

Not Dong Hong, but another young man they didn’t know. The young man gasped and said with a smile, “You’re so fast, Mao Xiaoli, I can’t beat you.”

“Do you know me?” asked Mao Xiaoli. She doesn’t know the young person.

The young man said with a smile, “You haven’t interviewed me before, because we usually participate in long-distance races at the same time and were interviewed at the same time. You didn’t interview me, you didn’t notice me, but I noticed you. I noticed that you run really fast and have always wanted to race with you.”

Mao Xiaoli gave him a kick, “Race me? You attacked me pretending to be a cat ghost. Are you the murderer?”

“No.” The young man said, “The real killer should be killing now. He has to. If he doesn’t, he will die. He’s been given two chances already.”

Chen Yang frowned, he felt that the young man was hinting at something. Just as he was about to catch and question him, he heard a girl’s scream in the distance. He was startled. They quickly got up and ran over. The young man behind him said, “It’s too late now. You can’t save anyone.” Mao Xiaoli was so angry that she wanted to kick him to death. Unfortunately, time did not allow it.

They tried their best to run to the source of the sound. They thought they would see irreparable consequences. But what they saw was that the murderer fell face down on the ground and was unconscious. On top of the murderer’s head was a big fat cat with the weight of 20 kg.

Next to the murderer, there was a frightened girl, her hand was injured, but she was all right.

After seeing Chen Yang, Fatty gave them a calm look and hid back into the night. Mao Xiaoli said in a daze, “I think I just saw contempt in Fatty’s eyes. It must be an illusion.”

After taking off the cat mask. They found Dong Hong. After a while, the police came along with the ambulance. Liyuan was bustling again. Fortunately, the killer was caught this time. The doctor thought that the person in need of treatment was the victim, but he didn’t expect it was the murderer. After a little examination, he had almost suffocated. Chen Yang, who heard the result, looked weird.

20 kg of fat was pressure on top of his head, it was not strange that he almost suffocated.

“I like cats. I used to go to Liyuan to feed cats every day,” she said. After the Liyuan accident, I was very sad. I didn’t go for half a month in a row. Then things quieted down, so I felt that it was ok, so I would secretly run over to feed them.” They did find fresh cat food at the scene. “Then I met the killer, I evaded the first attack, his cat’s paw only scratched my arm. My mobile phone was smashed on the stone slab and the light broke. I couldn’t evade his attack the second time, the steel blades went for my neck. Fatty appeared to attract the killer’s attention. He sat on the killer’s face, then neck, and made the killer incapacitated.”

Maybe that scene was too funny, the girl broke into tears and laughter when she described it. At the same time, the media reported the incident, they specially enlarged the photos of Fatty, and the title was eye-catching: Black Cat Repays Kindness and Subdued Serial Killer. It officially made Fatty into an Internet celebrity.

The murderer was caught and so was the vice principal, who was his uncle who aided Dong Hong. The cats washed away their injustice, and Liyuan was preserved. It should have come to an end there, but the long-distance runner who distracted them that night had disappeared, along with Chen Yang’s red string.

Mao Xiaoli checked the information of the young long-distance runner and said, “His name is Meng Xi. He is a sophomore. The school’s long-distance running champion, he participated in many large and small competitions. Six months ago he had an accident, he can’t run again. Moreover, he has taken leave from school for half a year and has not come back to school so far. I can’t find his address through the school.”

If they can’t find Meng Xi, they won’t know why Meng Xi pretended to be a murderer to distract them. He can’t really compete with Mao Xiaoli? She suspected that his goal was to take Chen Yang’s red string. People in the Branch Office all knew that red rope was Chen Yang’s Taoist instrument. It was very useful in whipping evil spirits.

And what did Meng Xi mean by ‘he had to’?

Two days later, Dong Hong came out of the hospital and was taken away by a police car. He will be jailed for intentional homicide. The police car escorting Dong Hong away encountered a traffic accident. A truck loaded with steel bars hit the bridge deck. The steel bars fell one after another, stabbing the police car, as if it was a hedgehog.

When rescuing the people in the police car, they were surprised to find that the steel bar cleverly avoided everyone except Dong Hong. Dong Hong was stabbed in his abdomen by a steel bar and nailed to his seat. He died on the spot. His death was like the cat he had abused before in the video, the cat was also pierced by a steel bar. People say it is the cat’s revenge.

The author has something to say:

Slasher Cat is a transitional arc. Both Dong Hong and Meng Xi will be explained in detail in the next arcs to come (there are many hints in this chapter, which will be explained clearly in the next two arcs).

Fatty is a Cat Ghost. He has debts on his head, but he has never hurt anyone. No more spoilers, it will be mentioned in the next arcs. PS: Even if Fatty did not do any harm to others before, if the debt is on his head, it means he will have to pay in full for them. 

 

 

 

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