Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The Holy Cat Statue had yet to be found, and there was not even a single reliable clue. While Fina retained it normal dignity and reserved self on the surface, the truth was, inside, it was already impatient and worried. It wanted to go out at night to search for the Holy Cat Statue itself, but both Zhang Zian and Old Time Tea stopped it. Zhang Zian and Old Time Tea had seen the bizarre aspects of the Holy Cat Statue in the unfinished building, and even for Fina, taking on the Holy Cat Statue alone was likely to be very dangerous.
The Holy Cat Statue was not a non-living thing; it had yet to fully become an elfin, but it was stuck in some transitional state between life and death… No one was sure how to deal with such things.
“How should I say it… It’s some kind of gut feeling,” Zhang Zian answered, not saying too much. “To find a statue in Binhai City is much too tough. Based on the number of people we have helping out, we might not even find it after 100,100 years… But today, I heard about some things. Perhaps after going to the capital, things could change.”
“Please do tell––what on earth is it?” Fina asked curiously.
Under the current circumstances, Zhang Zian found that it was already very difficult to hide it. Rather than letting Fina find out itself and getting angry, it was better to automatically confess and tell it the less serious cat abuse cases recently. Old Time Tea and Famous both knew about it, but everyone was hiding it from Fina. They were scared that it would explode upon hearing about it.
“What! Someone dares to commit high treason towards the cat race?” In the end, Fina still exploded.
Zhang Zian really wanted to retort. Using the phrase, “commit high treason,” was not appropriate, right? However, he wisely decided to put up with it and not add oil to the fire. He had never seen Fina so angry before. Each whisker was stretched like a steel needle and it bared its two pairs of little canine teeth at the top and bottom of its mouth.
Even Richard, who would normally say something at that kind of moment, kept as quiet as a cicada in cold weather.
Fina was so angry it almost exploded. It walked around the house in circles, and its whole body trembled. Her tail continuously swished, wanting to find something to vent her anger out on.
“When did you find out about this?” it suddenly turned its head to glare at him.
“Just now,” he insisted, and at the same time gave looks at Old Time Tea and Famous, asking them not to betray him.
Snowy Lionet feared that the world would not be chaotic, and seized the opportunity to interrupt. “Meow, meow, meow! Your Majesty! There’s an 80 percent chance that this stinky man is randomly speaking again. In my opinion, if he’s still not being honest, then we can fry a plate of spicy diced chicken with peanuts.”
“Cough! Your Majesty, since the incident has already occurred, then there is no need to investigate the origin of how it occurred…” Old Time Tea said in a roundabout way. “Zian said that after going to the capital, things might turn around. Why don’t we go there for a trip? Even if we stay here we aren’t able to help solve this problem.
Fina was really very angry. Before, it had only known that the Holy Cat Statue had gone missing, but it did not think that cat abuse cases had also started to occur. It was as if the scene that had happened in ancient Egypt two thousand years ago was repeating itself and its peaceful life was gone forever. Once the cat abuse cases spread further, the survival of the entire cat race was facing a huge threat.
What Old Time Tea said was logical. Since the incident had already occurred, they could only look forward and look for a way to solve the problem. It did no good to continue to regret the past.
“How sure are you?” it squinted at Zhang Zian.
Zhang Zian thought, I am not even 50 percent sure. He could not truthfully say those words out loud. Otherwise, even if he did not become a plate of spicy diced chicken with peanuts, he would become Yuxiang Shredded Pork…
“Zhi zhi!” Pi, who normally did not participate in their conversations, suddenly made hand gestures, showing that it had something to say.
“What is it, Pi?” Zhang Zian asked.
Pi beckoned him, calling him to the computer and pointing at the words on the computer for him to see. “As cats meow about the changing sky…” he murmured. Pi had told him the meaning of the Buddhist chant before, which was for him to not worry too much about the Holy Cat Statue problem. He did not understand what exactly the words meant.
“Zhi zhi,” Pi made some hand actions again, pointing towards the north.
“You’re saying… that after we go to the capital, these words will come true?” he confirmed.
Pi nodded, then patted its Untitled Book. It meant that it was what was written in the book.
“All right…”
He had always thought that the hymn referred to the Holy Cat Statue, but after he thought about what Pi was implying, his understanding could have been wrong.
He gritted his teeth, patted his chest, and promised Fina, “I am 100 percent sure!”
Fina’s anger decreased by a little bit. “Then I will temporarily trust you… But if you have the guts to lie to me…”
Snowy Lionet had somehow managed to find and hold a can in its mouth. With a loud sound, it threw the can at Zhang Zian’s feet. “If you are going to the capital, you definitely must go to the Forbidden City. If you go to the Forbidden City, you can’t forget to bring this.”
“What is this?” he asked.
“Cut it off! Put it in the can and dry it! Then you can go inside and serve the emperor in peace. After a few decades you can hug it and be buried with it, and in the next life you can become a whole man again!” Snowy Lionet called out, taking pleasure in Zhang Zian’s misfortune.
“Get lost! I won’t become a freaking eunuch!” Zhang Zian kicked the can, causing it to hit the wall with a loud Dong!
Famous and Old Time Tea did not need to be asked anymore; they were definitely coming alone.
Snowy Lionet also did not need to be asked. Since Fina was going, then it definitely would shamelessly follow her.
“Ga ga! Are you not going to ask for my opinion?” Richard expressed, not letting himself be forgotten.
“If you want to go you can go. If you don’t want to go then get lost!” Zhang Zian said seventeen truthful words. He then turned to ask, “Pi, have you considered coming along?”
“Zhi zhi.” Pi nodded its head and expressed that it wanted to go, too, but it then pointed at the notebook computer, expressing that it wanted to bring the computer along. That might let him have time to write his stories.
A notebook computer was not that heavy, so Zhang Zian agreed to keep the computer in his luggage.
“Galaxy, you are going as well, right?” he asked for Galaxy’s opinion.
“Meow? Go to the capital?” Galaxy was making use of its last moments before its sleep time to play hide-and-seek with the American Shorthair. Upon hearing Zhang Zian, it blinked its silver-grey eyes.
“En, the great capital––the heart of China!” He smiled. “It is said that the land a toilet takes up is enough to buy this pet shop with extra money left over.”
“What? A toilet made of gold?” Fina’s ears perked up.
“Not to that extent. It is just that the land is such that an inch of land is like an inch of gold,” he answered. “After all, it’s the capital.”
“Meow! There are a lot of people in the capital, right…?” Galaxy was still uncertain.
“It is possible that there are a lot of people everywhere, but there are quiet places in the noisy ones. For example… the Forbidden City that Snowy Lionet mentioned just now has a very large land area, but only a small part is open for visitors; the rest of it is empty space. At that time, you can play hide-and-seek in the Forbidden City,” Zhang Zian said. “Probably very few people have tried playing hide-and-seek in the Forbidden City before.”
“Meow! Galaxy wants to try try!” On hearing that, Galaxy’s eyes became even brighter.
“All right, no problem.” Zhang Zian agreed easily. As to how they would play hide-and-seek in the Forbidden City, he would have to wait until they reached the city to figure that out.
He walked near to bathroom and extended his neck to peek inside. Sihwa was happily playing on her phone.
“Sihwa, come with us to the capital.” He did not ask her. Instead, he directly told her that she was coming because if he left Sihwa behind, the situation would be very troublesome. He would need to send Wang Qian or Li Kun to go and play recordings at the seaside every day if she did not come, so it would be better to bring her to the capital as well.
“Why?” Sihwa twitched her mouth, obviously not very willing.
“When we go to the capital this time, the film crew will provide us with a five-star hotel. Don’t you want to try the bathtub of a five-star hotel?” he asked.
“Wow! A five-star hotel! It is definitely better than this shabby bathroom! Can I experience the feeling of being a rich person? Me! I want to go!” Sihwa almost jumped out of the bathtub in excitement.
“Then we’ve all agreed. Everyone sleep well tonight. Tomorrow we’re setting off very early,” Zhang Zian continuously urged everyone to go to bed early. Otherwise, if they were too lazy to get out of bed the next morning, they could miss the plane.
Several elfins were the type that were broad minded, fat, and carefree, but the other elfins had things weighing on their minds. After the lights had been switched off and they had laid down, they continued to toss and turn before slowly falling asleep after a long while.
Zhang Zian was also like that. He laid on the bed for very long, unable to fall asleep. On one hand, he was looking forward to the trip to the capital, but on the other hand, he was restless. What kind of incidents would happen in the capital this time?
