Chapter Sixty-Six: Pei Mu’s Poké Ball

As I was heading downstairs, I ran into Xin’er, who was just coming out to grab some pastries. When she saw Han Mingxuan, she bounded over to him right away.

“Brother Han!”

“Heh.” Han Mingxuan chuckled, bending down to kiss Xin’er lightly on the forehead.

“Why are you always carrying these two cats?” She gazed at me and Xiaoyun with curiosity.

“Because—well—I really like these two cats.” Han Mingxuan seemed to be searching for an excuse, but then, as if remembering something, he added, “You’d better hurry and eat your pastry, or it’ll get cold.”

“Oh...” Xin’er hung her head, reluctantly carrying her steaming little cake to sit by the table.

Soon after, Han Mingxuan walked out, started the car, and placed us—me and Xiaoyun—on the back seat.

Xin’er chased us out into the yard. “Brother Han, where are you going?”

“Just going for a little drive.” Han Mingxuan rolled down the window and waved.

“Why can’t I come with you...” Xin’er’s disappointment was written all over her face.

I pressed my paws against the window, watching her, suddenly feeling quite unhappy.

“Why does my sister depend on you so much?” I was a bit flustered.

She’s only eight; of course, I would never think of anything romantic. But a child that age being so attached to someone else makes me feel...

Jealous.

The bitterness in my heart was hard to put into words. It was as if the child I’d raised with all my effort was suddenly being handed over to someone else.

This ache was even more intense than the emptiness and worry I’d felt before.

Han Mingxuan patted me on the head. “Don’t overthink it. I’m not a pervert.”

His words, oddly enough, set my mind at ease—a little, at least. I didn’t need to worry about Xin’er’s safety.

But what about her heart?

Kids these days mature far faster than we did. Xin’er had suddenly gone from a poor girl from the slums to a pampered little lady. The pros and cons of that weren’t something she could grasp overnight.

She was still a child, too young to judge many things for herself.

I didn’t know what Han Mingxuan had done to make Xin’er like him so much. All I could think was that Han Mingxuan was simply a very likable man.

Even though he seemed a bit of a scoundrel, and our first meeting had been in the midst of an awkward and heated struggle, he really was a good person.

I clung to the window, watching the little girl standing behind us in her frilly dress, and could only pray that this was a blessing for her, not a misfortune.

Soon, we arrived at the bar. I lay on the seat, bored, watching my tail flick back and forth.

Now I finally understood what it meant to have a thousand knots in one’s heart, each one tangled with the next.

Han Mingxuan parked the car far from the bar, watching silently, his face full of concern. Then he made a phone call.

Many people were pouring out of the bar, and some security guards were dispersing the crowd.

The black miasma was growing more intense, to the point where it was almost unstoppable.

“Kitten, do you see that? That’s a ghost demon.” Han Mingxuan pointed to the black-red haze and spoke to both of us.

Xiaoyun couldn’t see it, so she just shook her head blankly. I could see it, but I nodded dully as well.

Only now did I realize Han Mingxuan was deliberately clearing the crowd. After all, as the boss here, if something happened, it would be a huge problem for him.

By now, only a few security guards and staff were left inside.

Soon, those security guards came out, loitering by the door as if waiting for something. Some had already wandered over to nearby restaurants for a bite to eat.

Han Mingxuan smirked. “Some people are just fated. I told them there’d be a meeting in half an hour, the place would be closed, but Wang Quan just wouldn’t leave.”

“Huh?” Xiaoyun didn’t quite understand.

I didn’t really get it either, only that Han Mingxuan was scheming something.

“That guy—just now, I saw a dark cloud over his head. Even if I wanted to save him, I couldn’t.”

“So...” Although I thought that Brother Wang was a dreadful person, hearing he was about to die still made me a bit uneasy.

Han Mingxuan made another call, urging everyone to the bar next door for the meeting.

One after another, people streamed out of the bar.

But there was still no sign of Wang. He was still inside.

“Tsk tsk.” Han Mingxuan hung up and sighed. “When fate comes to claim a life, there’s no saving them.”

He watched the people leaving one by one, tapping his fingers rhythmically on his knee.

“Five, four, three, two, one—”

As he counted down, Wang finally staggered out of the bar, trailed by his usual hangers-on.

The moment the last number left Han Mingxuan’s lips, the bar suddenly erupted as if engulfed in flames—a deafening blast!

Countless fireballs rolled inside. As for Wang, standing dazed at the door, oblivious to everything, he was blown to pieces in an instant!

Xiaoyun and I stared, mouths agape, utterly shocked by what we’d just witnessed.

“Go on,” Han Mingxuan said, dialing the fire department, then opening the car door. “Those damned souls should be enough for you. Be quick.”

We both froze for a long moment before leaping out of the car and dashing over!

Countless souls had gathered at once. If we didn’t hurry, evil spirits would snatch them away.

Like that ghost demon lurking above Han Mingxuan’s bar!

Even though Xiaoyun and I worked quickly, we were still noticed. In the darkness, two enormous black eyes stared right at me, making my fur stand on end.

Xiaoyun, though she couldn’t see the eyes, sensed something was wrong and started trembling.

As soon as the twentieth soul was devoured, Xiaoyun and I whipped around and raced back to Han Mingxuan’s car!

“Meow—” Xiaoyun pawed frantically at the door.

“Is this really the time to pretend to be a cat?” I glared at her. “Open the door!”

Han Mingxuan opened the door, but instead of driving off immediately, he pulled something out from who-knows-where and flung it out the window!

I looked back and realized—it was Pei Mu’s spirit orb!

The moment the orb hit the ground, all the black mist formed by the evil spirits, apart from the dark smoke from the fire, began swirling toward it like a tornado!

“What a treasure,” Han Mingxuan sighed, then, without even closing the door, hit the gas!

With a neat drift, he leaned down, scooped up the spirit orb, and only then did he close the door and speed away!

Behind us, black smoke still billowed, and the roars of monstrous creatures echoed.

Shouldn’t the spirit orb have captured the ghost demon? Why was it still there after Han Mingxuan had collected everything?

But Han Mingxuan’s expression was so serious that I dared not ask. Only when he’d driven to safety did he let out a wry laugh, glancing at the thick black smoke behind.

“Ah, I wonder how much this is going to cost me.”

“Uh—” Xiaoyun squeezed her paws together, trying to comfort him. “Don’t be nervous...”

“Kitten, do I look nervous? I’m just upset about the money! So many lives lost—how much am I going to have to pay out? But... heh, I suppose it’s worth it.”

He weighed the spirit orb in his hand, then tilted his head back and laughed.

Just like Wang Chuan, fangs like a dog’s flashed in his mouth—chillingly sharp.

I wanted to ask Han Mingxuan what exactly the spirit orb was for, but my stomach was so full of souls that it churned, leaving me unable to speak.

The same was true for Xiaoyun; both of us clamped our mouths shut, afraid the souls would spill out on their own.

If we lost even one or two now, it’d be impossible to track them down later.

The next moment, Han Mingxuan grabbed us by the tails and drew a small portal in the car—a gateway to the Rift.

“Go on, go on.” He patted our tails, grinning recklessly.

After a moment’s hesitation, I obeyed Han Mingxuan, charging into the Rift with all the souls inside me.

As I’d said before, there were both good and bad souls. The ones we’d devoured this time were not the best.

One in particular was especially foul, making my stomach churn and nearly vomit.

I couldn’t help but wonder if that one was the notorious, wicked Wang.

But whoever it was, at least the mission was accomplished! Xiaoyun could finally become a Guardian Cat!