Chapter 11: The Job's a Pain, and the Shit Tastes Awful

The sky was growing dark. Inside Xuanqing Temple at the head of the village.

"What?! The villagers rescued two people and took them in — people who claim to be from the Tianshan Sect — and those two are already plotting to use Blood Refinement on the villagers to heal their injuries, and they've set their sights on my idol?!"

After listening to the black cat recount everything it had seen and heard, Song Xuanqing cried out in shock.

He had always been on guard, worried that the Tianshan Sect would come to smash his idol — and yet here they were, right under his nose?

Brought back by the villagers themselves, no less.

And they had already targeted his idol?

Song Xuanqing found the whole thing absurd. This development had caught him completely off guard.

Without actively leaving Xuanqing Temple, the range of what he could perceive was limited — he couldn't keep a full grasp on everything happening in Song Family Village.

But even so, Song Xuanqing truly hadn't anticipated things would unfold this way.

He had assumed those idol-smashing fanatics from the Tianshan Sect would come straight for his idol.

He had even been afraid to stray too far from it because of that.

And yet… this?

The black cat sat crouched on a cushion on the floor, nodding along.

"Meow, meow, meow!" — Yes, those two humans are absolutely awful! The moment I heard the news, I rushed straight here to tell you!

Although the black cat was a demon beast, it didn't usually linger deep in the Falling Glow Mountain Range.

It tended to wander around the outer edges instead.

Yesterday, after absorbing the trace of Incense Value that Song Xuanqing had given it, the black cat had been restless ever since. Today, without quite realizing it, it had drifted back to Song Family Village.

And by sheer coincidence, it had overheard the conversation between Mu Tong and Mu Nan.

Afterward, the black cat hadn't stopped to think — it had come straight to Song Xuanqing.

Having relayed the information it had eavesdropped on, the black cat's eyes now shone with undisguised longing.

As for what it was longing for… Song Xuanqing understood perfectly well.

It seemed that Incense Value was quite useful to the black cat.

But that could wait for now. Song Xuanqing turned to the question that actually concerned him.

"You were sitting right on the wall of Old Doctor Song's house, and those two from the Tianshan Sect didn't notice you?"

The black cat blinked, looking a little puzzled. "Meow, meow, meow." — They didn't notice at all. Those two humans were completely brazen about it.

Song Xuanqing frowned, somewhat skeptical.

Was it because those two weren't particularly strong, or because their injuries had dulled their senses? Or perhaps because this black cat was so weak that its Demonic Aura was barely detectable? Maybe all of the above?

Unable to figure it out, Song Xuanqing stopped dwelling on the question and moved on. "What about the strength of those two Tianshan Sect members? Can you sense it at all?"

The black cat tilted its head, hesitating for two seconds before replying. "Meow, meow, meow~"

— I can't sense their Cultivation at all. But given how badly injured they are right now, they probably aren't that strong, right? Otherwise they would have noticed me. Besides, great divine lord, you are so powerful — even if those two were uninjured, I'm sure you could crush them with a flick of your hand?

Song Xuanqing: "……"

He'd just been flattered, but he couldn't bring himself to smile even a little.

Powerful?

Powerful — and a Weakling Feral God, was that it?

If he had any confidence in his own strength, he wouldn't be standing here asking questions. He'd have gone straight over and taken those two Tianshan Sect members' lives already.

Song Xuanqing was still somewhat unclear about his own current level of power.

Mainly because he had nothing to compare himself against.

The black cat was too weak to serve as any kind of reference.

With no clear sense of his own strength and no knowledge of theirs, Song Xuanqing genuinely had no confidence going into a confrontation.

After a long moment of thought, Song Xuanqing spoke with a resolute expression.

"Little cat demon, tonight I need you to keep watch on those two Tianshan Sect members for me. Once they've fallen sound asleep, come find me — and be careful not to be discovered. I will reward you afterward."

Those two from the Tianshan Sect were right under his nose, and they had already set their sights on his idol.

On top of that, they intended to use Blood Refinement on over a hundred people in Song Family Village.

Given the situation, Song Xuanqing had no room to back down.

He had no choice but to confront those two Tianshan Sect members.

If that was the case, then he would take the initiative and strike first!

And quickly — while their injuries hadn't yet healed. He needed to act as soon as possible.

To be safe, ambushing them while they slept would be the best approach.

With any luck, a single strike could kill them both and prevent any further complications.

One thing was certain: he absolutely could not just charge over there right now.

Song Xuanqing was worried that if cornered, the two might take a villager hostage to use as leverage against him.

These villagers believed in him — they were the source of his Incense Value. If at all possible, Song Xuanqing didn't want any of them to lose their lives.

As for why he wouldn't keep watch himself?

Song Xuanqing was afraid that if he drew too close, those two would sense him.

After all, he was far stronger than the black cat, which meant his aura would be far more noticeable.

To avoid tipping them off, it was obviously better to have the black cat do the watching.

Though by all reasonable inference, those two Tianshan Sect members in their current state probably couldn't muster much of their strength.

Still — even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit.

So before making his move, it was best to plan as carefully as possible.

The moment the black cat heard that Song Xuanqing would offer a reward, its eyes lit up.

Remembering the two doses of Incense Value Song Xuanqing had let it absorb yesterday, the black cat nearly started drooling.

"Meow, meow, meow!" — Great divine lord, rest assured! I will absolutely complete the task you've given me! I'll keep my eyes glued to those two!

Song Xuanqing nodded. "Good. Go then. If you discover anything new, come find me at once."

The black cat quickly left Xuanqing Temple and trotted back to the wall of Old Doctor Song's house.

This time, it hid itself even more carefully.

Then it crouched on top of the wall, watching everything that happened in the courtyard below.

Especially the room where Mu Tong and Mu Nan were staying.

This time, however, it didn't pick up any useful information.

The two of them were only exchanging idle, inconsequential talk.

At nightfall, Old Doctor Song brought Mu Tong and Mu Nan their medicinal broth and food for the evening, and then the whole household extinguished their lamps and settled in for the night.

The black cat remained sprawled on top of the wall, motionless, eyes fixed on the room where those two were staying, ears pricked straight up.

A long while passed.

No slow, steady breathing of sleep drifted out from the room as it had expected.

After a brief silence, a different kind of sound began.

It wasn't loud — deliberately muffled.

But the black cat was a demon beast, with senses far beyond the ordinary. It heard every bit of it.

The black cat: ???

It truly didn't understand that sort of thing.

But it wasn't so ignorant that it couldn't tell what those sounds meant.

Was this really something a cat should have to listen to???

A very human-like expression of irritation crossed the black cat's fluffy face.

It desperately wanted to cover its ears, yet was afraid of missing something important.

So it had no choice but to lie there on the wall with a blank face, staring up at the moon in agitation.

In the end, until the sounds inside finally died down, nothing useful had come out of it — nothing but some rather explicit remarks.

And that would have been fine enough — but after barely a short while of quiet, the sounds from inside started up again.

The black cat buried its face in its paws in misery.

This job was no easy thing!

Truly — the reward is hard to earn, and the suffering is real!