The hotel.
Ba Ji was dozing off to the sound of running water from the shower.
Suddenly, a strong, malevolent aura filled the air, growing closer by the second.
【So there’s a demon coming this way?】
It jumped onto the table and looked out the window. Sure enough, it saw the bushes below shaking as if a wild beast were charging through them. When the shaking reached the drainpipe, it abruptly stopped. The next moment, an enormous black rat the size of a calf leapt out like an arrow released from a bow, quickly reaching the second floor of the hotel.
【Hmm, it really is heading this way.】
Ba Ji sneered.
This rat demon’s overwhelming malevolence must have something to do with that human child from before.
That child left bloodstains near the boss’s room, and this rat demon must have followed the trail to pinpoint the location.
【Unfortunately for it, it shouldn’t have come here; coming here means certain death!】
【Not only is the boss in the Cave Void stage, but the talismans on the door and windows alone could crush it into nothingness! Heh heh~】
Ba Ji didn’t feel any pity for demons dying in front of it.
It belonged to demons but wasn’t one itself.
In ancient times, humans equated it with demons.
But it was actually completely different from demons.
It was beyond them—a truly fearsome spirit born of heaven and earth!
Even in a sense, it was a natural enemy of demons.
After all, compared to humans who couldn’t even fill its teeth gaps, those demon kings with bodies dozens or hundreds of meters large made for much better ingredients.
【Unfortunately, the boss is here, so I can’t reveal my identity. Otherwise, this rat demon could have satisfied my recent lack of taste satisfaction…】
Ba Ji licked its lips, a red gleam flashing in its eyes.
It heard the sound of the bathroom door opening and quickly suppressed its appetite.
“Meow~”
“Oh, Ba Ji, I almost forgot about you,” Chen Huaian said after dressing and stepping out of the restroom, his lips curling slightly upon seeing Ba Ji.
Although Ba Ji lacked presence, having it around for a few days had created some affection.
Moreover, Ba Ji was very obedient, unlike other cats that constantly caused noise.
And its eyes carried a naturally melancholic quality, as if it were perpetually unlucky, making anyone who looked at it feel inexplicably better.
Ba Ji: “?”
Uh-oh, lost in thought about the rat demon, it forgot to find a place to hide.
Chen Huaian brought over a shoebox, comparing its size to Ba Ji’s frame, thinking that shutting Ba Ji inside would be uncomfortable, so he switched to a storage box. Then, picking up the motionless Ba Ji, he placed it inside the storage box and apologized: “Sorry Ba Ji, you’ll have to endure being in the storage box for now. Once we’re done, I’ll buy you a proper cat carrier.”
Looking at the closing lid of the storage box, Ba Ji felt a chill run down its spine but soon calmed down.
No problem, even being locked up could be an opportunity.
This storage box was inconvenient to carry, so the boss would definitely hold it directly.
As long as the boss left the room, it would jump out and flee. At that point, the sky would be boundless for birds to fly, and the sea vast for fish to leap. Heh heh!
Just as this thought arose, the storage box opened, and a large green fish was thrown in.
Ba Ji: “???”
Large Green Fish: “….”
The lid closed again.
Outside, Chen Huaian’s voice rang out: “Sigh, this fish isn’t easy to take along either. Might as well leave it in the box for Ba Ji to eat.”
Ba Ji and the large green fish exchanged glances.
The large green fish flapped frantically, its big fish eyes full of pleading toward Ba Ji.
【Alright, since I’m planning to escape anyway, I won’t eat it.】
Ba Ji restrained its hunger once more, thinking:
【A cat of my size shouldn’t be able to eat such a large fish; I must endure!】
Freedom is just a little longer away.
The next moment, they heard Chen Huaian say:
“The talismans on the windows and doors should be taken too. They cost 200,000 yuan. Heh heh, what a sucker.”
Snap — !
Someone pressed on the storage box.
Ba Ji’s heart jolted, and it hesitantly looked up.
Through the not-so-thick lid, it could vaguely see two vertical strips of paper stuck on top.
They were talismans, freshly removed from the windows and doors!
The boss ‘casually’ stuck them on the box!
【Hmph, how naive I was.】
Ba Ji gazed at the lid at a 45-degree angle, tears brimming in its eyes.
【That’s the boss, how could the boss not know my little schemes?】
【Even if unaware, that dazzling fortune would suppress me!】
【There’s no escape, absolutely no escape…】
Chen Huaian had no idea that his casual actions had already sent Ba Ji spiraling inward.
He had finished packing, his suitcase containing clothes and that potted plant, the storage box strapped to the suitcase with tape.
He wore a faded tracksuit.
Though it might look rustic, he had long been accustomed to it.
It didn’t stop him from attracting various female admirers whenever he went out.
However, just as he opened the door,
a sudden scream erupted nearby.
“Ahh! Monster, monster!”
The cleaning auntie’s voice.
He glanced to the side and saw the auntie sprawled on the ground, trembling against the wall in sheer terror.
On the corridor carpeted in red,
an enormous black-furred rat was walking step by step toward them.
Its black fur scraped against the walls with a ‘creak, creak’, showing how hard it was.
It paid no attention to the fainting auntie lying to the side, its blood-red eyes firmly locked onto the end of the corridor.
Locked onto Chen Huaian standing there!
Step by step.
Each step seemed like claws.
Like the steps of a devil.
“Mutant rat?” Chen Huaian stared at the giant black rat, strangely feeling no fear. Instinctively, he compared it to Qingxuan Daoist, realizing this rat was nothing, not even comparable to the mutant wolf he encountered on Heavenly Gate Mountain.
But reason told him,
he should probably find something to defend himself.
Before he could think further, the black-furred rat suddenly accelerated!
“Aaaooo—!”
It charged forward wildly, howling,
like a black whirlwind speeding toward him with terrifying speed.
Too fast!
Chen Huaian didn’t have time to dodge.
He could only instinctively protect his face with both hands, his mind still offline.
But the black-furred rat didn’t pounce.
Hearing no movement, Chen Huaian slowly lowered his hands.
He saw the black-furred rat stunned, stopping two meters away.
Even without understanding each other’s species, he could clearly sense the deep fear in the rat’s trembling eyes and quivering body.
“Is it afraid of me?” Chen Huaian steadied himself, confirming his judgment.
There was a puddle of yellow liquid under the rat’s rear.
Hadn’t it peed itself from fear?
He slowly took two steps forward.
Even when he moved right in front of the black-furred rat, it dared not move.
“Really afraid of me? Is that it? Heh heh~”
Chen Huaian became inflated with pride, hands on his hips, posing in front of the black-furred rat, failing to notice that the rat’s fearful gaze was focused on the fallen storage box to the side.
“Is this the awe-inspiring power brought by life energy levels?”
“My goodness, first time seeing such a big rat.”
He walked around the black-furred rat.
Seeing the rat’s dumbfounded immobility, reminiscent of zombies in TV dramas glued with talismans, he couldn’t help but want to play a trick.
So he pulled out a Thunderfire talisman from his pocket and pressed it onto the rat’s forehead.
“Heh heh heh~”
“Today, your lord will let you cosplay as a zombie rat!”
···
···
