Chapter Forty-Eight: An Unexpected Turn

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Faced with this sudden turn of events, I did not feel the same fear as before.

After all, I had been through situations like this many times before.

So I dodged the old cat woman's attack and unleashed a bolt of lightning from the Universe Mirror.

There was a dull thud, and the old cat woman was knocked to the ground.

I thought it was over just like that, so easily.

But to my surprise, the old cat woman suddenly launched a counterattack.

A cold flash of light swept past, and then a chill spread across my chest.

Looking down, I saw blood seeping through my clothes.

Damn it...

I raised my leg and kicked the old cat woman away, firing off bolt after bolt of lightning.

She dodged frantically, moving like an eel, and in no time she had circled back in front of me.

This won’t do...

I couldn’t fight her at close quarters; that would put me at a disadvantage.

But the old cat woman was so fast that I couldn’t get enough distance, and she managed to scratch me again.

The Universe Mirror was only good for long-range attacks—in this tight space, it was useless.

I quickly began to circulate the Nine Palaces Nether Incantation, purple lightning crackling in my palm.

This time, instead of firing the lightning, I kept it gathered in my hand.

With the lightning in my palm, I could barely hold her off for a while.

By now, I was covered in wounds from her claws.

“Wait—” I said.

The old cat woman gave a cold snort and ignored me.

Instead, she intensified her attacks, every move aimed to kill.

It looked like I had no choice but to call out the Black Jiao. Otherwise, if I made the slightest mistake, I’d be finished here.

In haste, I summoned the Black Jiao—a green dragon shot out from my little finger.

When the old cat woman saw the Black Jiao, her expression changed.

Immediately, she shed her human skin and, in the blink of an eye, transformed into a massive black cat.

Her fur bristled, and her eyes, as large as fists, glowed with a ghostly green light, like headlights in the dark.

Since acquiring its new dragon skin, this was the Black Jiao’s first time entering battle.

The Black Jiao raised its head, fixing the cat demon with a deadly stare.

The scene reminded me of a battle between a dragon and a tiger.

Neither moved first; they stood off, locked in a tense standoff.

But I knew this couldn’t go on forever.

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I quietly took out the Universe Mirror and fired a bolt of lightning at the cat demon.

The Black Jiao seized the moment to attack, and the cat demon fought back fiercely.

The two became entangled in a chaotic melee, while I stood aside, occasionally launching sneak attacks at the cat demon with the Universe Mirror.

In truth, I hardly needed to intervene—the Black Jiao was more than a match for the cat demon.

The cat demon was fierce at first, but after a few rounds, it was clear the Black Jiao had the upper hand.

The Black Jiao caught the cat demon by the throat with one claw and pinned it to the ground.

“Meow... meow...”

The cat demon let out a pitiful wail...

Leaning against a large tree, I watched the Black Jiao’s victory, taking the opportunity to bandage my wounds and prevent further blood loss.

Just then, I suddenly noticed a pair of glowing green eyes approaching from not far away.

A moment later, several more pairs appeared. In no time at all, dozens of cat demons had surrounded us.

I was stunned—how could there be so many cat demons here?

Had I stumbled into their lair?

And what about Feng Zimo?

Had he been eaten by these cat demons?

A sense of worry crept into my heart.

The cat demons encircled us but did not attack immediately.

Instead, they all stared at the cat demon pinned under the Black Jiao’s claw.

It seemed clear: if the Black Jiao killed that cat demon, the rest would attack all at once.

If that happened, things would not look good for us.

Just as I was at a loss for what to do, Feng Zimo leapt out.

“Brother Feng, what took you so long? I thought you were dead,” I said.

Feng Zimo replied, “Don’t mention it. These creatures are clever—they deliberately lured me away so they could go after you.”

Then he asked, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, just some scratches,” I replied.

A flash of light in Feng Zimo’s hand, and the legendary halberd Fangtian Huaji appeared, as he angrily pointed it at the surrounding cat demons.

“Today, I’ll show you what real power looks like!”

With that, Feng Zimo was about to charge in.

I hurriedly grabbed him, signaling for him not to act rashly.

At that moment, a young woman stepped out from among the cat demons.

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The moment I saw her, I recognized her as the cat demon from the night before.

She looked at me and said, “I know you came for me. Please, let my grandmother go. If you want to kill or punish someone, take me instead.”

Hearing this, I called the Black Jiao back and spoke to the woman.

“I’ve let her go. I never intended to kill you. But you must come with us.”

The old cat woman, now in human form again, blocked the young woman: “Xiaoxiao, you cannot go. You cannot trust their words. Even if it costs me my life, I will not let you go with them.”

I hadn’t expected the old cat woman to be so protective, so I said,

“I think there’s a misunderstanding. I’m only looking for her because I need her to save someone.”

The young woman stepped out from behind the old cat woman, confusion on her face. “I think I know who you mean—you’re talking about that fat man, right?”

I nodded to show she was correct.

She said, “I did my best, but unfortunately, the poison had gotten too deep.”

What did she mean by that?

Wasn’t she the one who poisoned him?

So I asked, “What do you mean? Weren’t you the one who poisoned him?”

She shook her head. “We cat demons don’t have poison. He was struck by scorpion venom.”

From her tone, she didn’t seem to be lying.

“How can you prove you weren’t the one who poisoned him? Didn’t you bite him?” I pressed.

She replied, “Believe it or not, I did bite him, that’s true. But if I hadn’t, he would have died much sooner.”

“If it wasn’t your poison, then why did you run away?” I asked.

She saw I still didn’t believe her, so she stepped up to me and said, “If I hadn’t run, would you have let me go then?”

I thought over her words. There was some logic to them.

“Fine. I’ll trust you for now. But you still need to come with us to prove what you say is true. Is that acceptable?” I asked.

She replied, “No problem. But you have to let my grandmother go.”

After speaking, she looked back at the old cat woman. “Grandmother, go home. Please.”

The old cat woman glared at me and said fiercely, “I warn you, if you dare harm my Xiaoxiao, I will rally every cat demon and tear you limb from limb.”

At her threat, I smiled faintly. “Don’t worry, as long as she wasn’t the one who poisoned him, I promise to return her to you unharmed.”

I took the young woman back to the hotel and arranged for her to share a room with Lin Weiyan and Xiaoling, signaling Lin Weiyan to keep a close eye on her so she wouldn’t escape again.

The next morning...

At dawn, we all got up early. I asked the young woman, “Your grandmother called you Xiaoxiao, right?”