Chapter 22: You and I Are Fated!

Chapter 22: You and I Are Fated!

Chen Huai’an opened the door. Outside, there was no one.

He looked puzzled and muttered to himself,

Could it be another delivery from the game company?

Instinctively, he glanced down.

At the door was a small, fluffy black ball that resembled a lump of coal. Squinting, he could just make out its eyes, nose, and ears—it was a kitten.

“Last I checked, I’m staying in a chain hotel,” Chen Huai’an murmured, glancing at the long hallway. He sank into thought.

How did a cat get into a chain hotel?

He crouched down and poked at the little fluff ball. The kitten didn’t react, only trembling all over. Picking it up by the scruff of its neck, Chen Huai’an examined it more closely.

The kitten had a white marking on its face resembling the character "凸"—a distinctive feature often referred to as a "buff-cat." Its back legs were a mangled mess of blood and flesh, and its back bore visible wounds.

Looking around, Chen Huai’an noticed that the room at the end of the hallway, near the window, had its window completely open. There was also a small smear of blood on the door, located much too high for the kitten to have reached. Near the window, a few feathers lay scattered—ones that clearly belonged to a bird of prey.

Something isn’t right here. Could this cat be some kind of demon?

Narrowing his eyes, Chen Huai’an pondered the strange situation.

Suddenly, inspiration struck. He snapped his fingers. “Got it! Mystery solved! A bird must’ve crashed into the window, dropped its prey here, and then fled in fright, leaving the kitten behind.”

What keen insight!

Chen Huai’an concluded that his cancer must have activated some latent potential in his brain.

“Little one, you and I are fated.”

He carried the kitten into the room.

If left untreated, the kitten would surely die.

As a long-term hotel guest, he wasn’t allowed to keep pets, but Chen Huai’an dismissed the rule with a wry smile.

What do rules matter to someone with a terminal illness?

He temporarily placed the kitten in a shoebox.

It was too late to go to a pet hospital. Most of them were closed by midnight, and the nearest 24-hour clinic was over an hour and a half away in the city. The kitten wouldn’t survive that long.

Blood was already seeping into the shoebox in the time it took him to search for a nearby vet.

“Little one, conventional means won’t save you. If your fate is to survive, then grow strong and stay away from birds in the future. If it’s not, don’t blame me for your fate.”

Chen Huai’an clasped his hands together and gave the kitten a solemn bow.

Then, he retrieved a set of silver needles he’d purchased earlier.

Originally, he’d planned to use the needles on himself to see if acupuncture might speed up his leg’s recovery. Today, however, the kitten had become the perfect test subject.

As soon as he held a needle and focused on the kitten, an acupuncture point diagram for cats appeared vividly in his mind.

Cat acupoints were different from human ones.

He didn’t know how he knew this—it was as if the knowledge had been etched into his brain. Perhaps it was latent potential at work again.

The Spring Awakening Technique was designed to stop bleeding, promote blood circulation, and speed up wound healing. To upgrade this skill, it required either 1,000 successful applications or a payment of 998 credits to unlock the Pulse Opening Technique (Lv. 2).

Following the glowing sequence in the acupoint diagram, Chen Huai’an administered the needles swiftly and efficiently.

The results were immediate.

The bleeding stopped entirely, and a thin layer of blood membrane covered the open wounds on the kitten’s back—something that hadn’t been present before the treatment.

“Wow… this acupuncture technique is amazing,” he muttered, stroking his chin in thought.

Although he didn’t understand traditional Chinese medicine deeply, he had always respected its mysterious power.

But now a question nagged at him—was the effectiveness due to his skill, or the techniques he’d learned from the game?

For now, all he could do for the kitten was done. The rest depended on its will to survive.

He turned toward the bathroom for a shower.

Unbeknownst to him, a black dragon, wreathed in smoky mist, emerged behind him. Its form flickered between reality and illusion, and its golden eyes exuded an overwhelming aura of dread, like an abyssal chasm.

In the shoebox, the black kitten struggled to turn over.

Its mouth twitched slightly, emitting faint crunching sounds. A pale bone joint peeked out from its jaws, disappearing as it chewed.

The kitten’s body convulsed, shifting between a lamb-like form and its feline shape. Its features twisted into a terrifying visage—a fanged, eyeless ghostly creature, its mouth enormous, with eyes growing from under its armpits.

After several transformations, it finally settled back into its cat form, lying motionless.

Song Jiaojiao was dead.

Mu Baishuang learned this from Song Jiaojiao’s Dao companion, Yang Botao.

“How did she die?”

Under Mu Baishuang’s interrogation, Yang Botao’s face turned pale. “I don’t know. I only told her to kill that b**** Li Qingran. After that, she never came back. She left a soul lamp with me. When I returned to my cave to retrieve some spirit stones, I found her soul lamp extinguished.”

Mu Baishuang was shocked but maintained a facade of grief and anger. “What did you just say? Why did you tell Song Jiaojiao to kill Li Qingran? Song Jiaojiao was my best friend, and Li Qingran is my senior sister. Are you out of your mind?”

“I… I did it for you!” Yang Botao stammered. His voice trembled as he continued, “Baishuang, that b**** Li Qingran dared to hurt you and humiliate me. I couldn’t stand it anymore. Didn’t you tell Song Jiaojiao about all the suffering you endured because of Li Qingran? I just wanted to help you get revenge!”

“Call me Mu Baishuang. We’re not that close! What I said to Song Jiaojiao is between us as friends—what does it have to do with you? Who asked you to get involved?”

“I…”

Mu Baishuang kept a cold expression, but her mind was racing.

Her original plan had been to play the victim in front of Song Jiaojiao, knowing she would confide in Yang Botao. That way, Yang Botao would incite Song Jiaojiao to act on his own.

With Song Jiaojiao under the guidance of their fourth senior brother, Zhang Hanxiao, the responsibility for her actions would fall on him, not her.

Song Jiaojiao was at the ninth level of Qi Refinement, while Li Qingran was nothing but a cripple with a destroyed dantian and severed spiritual roots. Killing Li Qingran should’ve been an effortless task, and Song Jiaojiao could have done it without leaving a trace.

But who would’ve thought that Li Qingran would survive while Song Jiaojiao ended up dead?

Something had definitely gone wrong.

Even earlier, when Li Qingran’s injuries seemed to heal unnaturally quickly, it had felt suspicious. But Mu Baishuang had dismissed it as unimportant.

“Baishuang… I did it all for you!” Yang Botao pleaded desperately.

Li Qingran’s expulsion from Qingyun Sect made her an ordinary person, but if it became known that a cultivator had attacked a defenseless mortal, Yang Botao would face severe punishment for tarnishing the sect’s reputation.

“I don’t care. Yang Botao, prepare to face the sect’s judgment!”

Mu Baishuang skillfully shifted all blame onto Yang Botao.

At that moment, Senior Brother Lu Changtian of Chixiao Peak entered the room.

Mu Baishuang immediately hid behind him.

“Yang Botao, this is Chixiao Peak, not your Xuanling Peak. What are you doing here?”

“Brother Changtian!” Mu Baishuang cried, tears streaming down her face as she clung to his arm. “Yang Botao ordered Song Jiaojiao to assassinate Li Qingran and got her killed. How could he do such a thing? Song Jiaojiao was my best friend, and Li Qingran was my senior sister…”

“Wait, no, Senior Lu, I can explain—”

Before Yang Botao could finish, the furious Lu Changtian kicked him to the ground.

“Yang Botao, you’re bold indeed! Even if Li Qingran is no longer part of Qingyun Sect, she was once under Chixiao Peak’s protection. When did Chixiao Peak’s matters become yours to meddle in? Do you think killing Li Qingran would earn you any favor here? Ordering Song Jiaojiao to assassinate Li Qingran has violated sect rules. You’ll be coming with me to face the Discipline Hall’s judgment!”

Just as Lu Changtian was about to seize him, Mu Baishuang tugged on his sleeve and whispered, “Brother Changtian… Senior Sister Li didn’t die. It was Song Jiaojiao who did…”

Lu Changtian froze mid-action, confusion evident on his face. After a long pause, he finally processed what she said.

“What did you just say?!”