Chapter 1951 - 1949: The All-Knowing Old Black Cat
Chapter 1951: Chapter 1949: The All-Knowing Old Black Cat
The surroundings were quite clean, with not a single spiritual body around. Gu Qiaoqiao looked around and noticed several trees over a hundred years old. However, their spiritual sense was not strong, unable to express its presence like the Old Locust Tree. This would make communication quite laborious, yet she decided to give it a try. Unexpectedly, at that moment, a black old cat suddenly darted across her feet.
At first, Gu Qiaoqiao didn’t pay much attention, but who would have thought that after the old cat dashed past, it suddenly stopped in its tracks, then abruptly turned around. In the darkness, its golden eyes shone with an eerie light, staring intently at Gu Qiaoqiao. Yet, it did not approach, for Gu Qiaoqiao saw the fear of Qin Yize standing by her in the cat’s eyes.
Perhaps it was the invisible aura of malice emanating from Qin Yize that frightened it.
"Can you understand what I’m saying?" Gu Qiaoqiao decided to communicate with the old cat through her consciousness.
The old cat was visibly stunned, its fur and tail bristling in horror, looking at Gu Qiaoqiao with disbelief. It wasn’t until she asked again that it finally responded.
"...I-I-I... Of course, I can understand! My gosh, who are you? That’s amazing, how can you talk to me, and I can actually understand you? That’s just too strange, I haven’t even gone back to my lair, I shouldn’t be dreaming..."
Gu Qiaoqiao looked at it with amusement, not expecting the old cat to be such a chatterbox. She watched as it stretched out its paw to scratch the ground several times, then looked up again, confused and puzzled.
Gu Qiaoqiao turned to Qin Yize and whispered, "I’ll go ask it, but it’s afraid of you, so you should stay here."
The distance wasn’t far, and Qin Yize stayed put.
Gu Qiaoqiao quickly walked up to the old cat, crouched down, and continued to stare into its eyes, asking, "Why did you suddenly stop? How many years have you lived?"
"...I don’t know how many years I’ve lived. When I passed by you earlier, I felt a particularly comforting aura from you, different from others. It’s the first time I’ve met someone with a presence like yours."
Gu Qiaoqiao turned her eyes, placing her finger on its brow. The old cat’s body initially froze before it started meowing happily. Unexpectedly, Gu Qiaoqiao gave it a quick touch and retracted her hand.
The old cat was extremely disappointed, but in the next moment, it actually leaned its forehead toward Gu Qiaoqiao’s finger. Gu Qiaoqiao pulled her hand behind her back, smirking, "I have a question for you, tell me what you know, and I’ll give you more spiritual energy that will benefit you for life."
The old cat realized this was a heavenly opportunity, and without even thinking, it quickly agreed, "Ask, ask away, I’m the old black cat here, I’ve been around for years, I know everything happening in heaven and earth, big or small, if others know, I definitely know, and even if others don’t, I know some things. Go ahead, ask quickly..."
The old cat was evidently more anxious than Gu Qiaoqiao.
"Do you know what’s happening with the recent disappearances of little boys in the Imperial Capital?"
The old cat’s body suddenly stiffened, as if cold air surged around it. It involuntarily retreated a couple of steps and looked around as if suspicious. Then it remembered its communication with the little fairy could not be heard by others, and relaxed, maintaining a distance though, and spoke very quietly even in consciousness, "Of course, I know about this."
"Then tell me what exactly is happening?" Gu Qiaoqiao remained calm on the surface but was extremely thrilled inside. She knew the old black cat seemed worried about something, so she wouldn’t want to put it in danger.
Thankfully, their communication was through consciousness, so no one else could hear.
"There’s a woman who likes to drive a red car, she brought a demon from somewhere, saying that using nine specially-auraed little boys to form a blood array would summon her Demon Lord and restore his Great Demon Lord’s body."
Gu Qiaoqiao’s mind grew tense, quickly asking, "Do you know where those nine boys are? Where’s their lair?"
"I know, it’s in the abandoned chemical plant in the Western Suburbs, there’s an underground hideout beneath it. All the children are there, and I heard they caught a new one today."
"There’s a spiritual body often appearing in this area, resembling a schoolgirl, do you know her?"
"Of course, I know her, they’re in league together. It’s said that at midnight today, the blood array will be completed.
The old black cat continued, "I always felt they were bluffing. How could such an ancient formation be accomplished by a foreign demon, it’s just a curse. But this curse might not be successfully formed with just the blood of nine little boys. However, that spiritual body is very tough to deal with, she has eaten all spiritual forms with any shape around here, so her visage is becoming clearer day by day. Given time, she might even walk under the sun."
Lin Qinghuan was indeed somewhat what she had speculated.
Gu Qiaoqiao lifted her wrist to check the time; there were still fifty minutes left until midnight.
She hesitated no more, placing her finger on the old cat’s brow once more, allowing strands of spiritual energy to flow into the cat’s body, then withdrew her finger a moment later, whispering, "Find a safe place to hide for now."
The old black cat nodded gratefully, meowing a few times, taking one last look at Gu Qiaoqiao before swiftly running away.
Gu Qiaoqiao stood up, striding quickly over to Qin Yize. She whispered in his ear a few words, Qin Yize’s expression turned solemn, grasping Gu Qiaoqiao’s hand as he strode toward where the car was parked. They soon started the car and left, but it was headed towards the Western Suburbs and that abandoned chemical plant.
Qin Yize was well aware of that abandoned chemical plant; years ago there had been an explosion accident. Due to various reasons, the plant relocated. Given the Imperial Capital’s growing prosperity and the increasing population in surrounding areas, it was too unsafe to have a chemical plant here. Though relocated, the abandoned plant could not be repurposed until completely dealt with.
Thus, the area had been fenced off with iron bars, surrounded by desolate wasteland, never expecting the captured nine children to be here. However, there was some solace in knowing; at least those children must be alive, for using deceased bodies in a blood sacrifice to their Demon Lord would be ineffective.
Yet, Gu Qiaoqiao was still extremely worried; Dongdong was so young, in such a terrifying environment, no telling how scared the child must be.
Moreover, not knowing whether the child was harmed...
Truly an agony of anxiety.