novelinnhs Chapter 62 The Breakup Letter Written by a Cat
Chapter 62 The Breakup Letter Written by a Cat
Hong Yingniang, chasing after a tabby cat, accidentally entered a bamboo forest. The adorable, golden figure in front of her disappeared without a trace after just a few turns around a few bamboo stalks.
All the chirping and chattering of birds in the Golden Pavilion could not be heard clearly here. A gust of wind swirled the withered bamboo leaves in front of her, causing her to squint slightly. When the withered leaves fell, a stranger's figure appeared among the bamboo bushes in front of her. The cat she had been chasing was now perched on this person's shoulder.
"Young master, you are truly fascinating. Your cat is even more intelligent. This is the first time I've ever encountered someone like you inviting a young lady out for a secret rendezvous." Hong Yingniang covered her lips with her sleeve, her eyes crinkling with a smile, showing not a trace of panic. Her generosity and intelligence were truly captivating.
However, she did not expect that the person in front of her was not one of those playboys who tried every means to have an affair with her.
Lin Zhu clasped his hands in a salute and then spoke in a thunderous voice: "I have been entrusted by Mr. and Mrs. Zhang from Liquan Town to bring their only daughter, Zhang Juan'er, home."
"...Who are you talking about? Are you looking for Zhang Juan'er? I can ask her whereabouts at the Golden Pavilion for you." Hong Yingniang hid half of her beautiful face behind her sleeve, and her eyes revealed no joy or sorrow.
Just as Lin Zhuo was about to continue his persuasion, Jin Xiaohu, perched on his shoulder, couldn't help but burst into laughter: "What are you pretending for!"
"The cat spoke?!" Hong Yingniang's gentle, half-open eyes suddenly widened like a bull's eyes.
Jin Xiaohu said nonchalantly, "I'm supposed to be a guardian spirit beast of the mountain, so it's normal for me to be able to talk. And could you two hurry up with your conversation? Skip the unnecessary tug-of-war! The cat doesn't want to hear it!"
Lin Zhuo said very seriously, "It's normal for a woman to be emotionally overwhelmed when she suddenly hears such shocking news. Besides, she's probably still worried about the cult's threats. If she just leaves like this, she might incur their wrath and bring trouble upon her family."
Jin Xiaohu snorted: "Anyway, no matter what her concerns are, in the end we still have to fight the Divine Might King of the Demonic Sect. This guy is comparable to a level 5 Qi Gong Master, which is much more dangerous than the small fry we dealt with before. If we don't call Chang Mingzi, the leader of the White Egret Sword Sect, we could easily be killed."
"We just need to explain the cause and effect of this conspiracy to the parties involved, especially Qinghong Daoist, who was the one who was framed. It will definitely not be a problem for him to ask his master Changmingzi to come down the mountain. Shenyong Tianwang has a fixed solution and is not a threat. However, we need to deal with the three demonic cult masters under his command."
"The Demonic Cult Master is equivalent to a Level 4 Qi Master. You'd better complete the prerequisite quests first, accumulate enough experience and disaster coins, and level up before fighting them."
"Of course, I know what I'm doing."
Lin Zhuo and Jin Xiaohu's conversation was incredibly explosive, leaving Hong Yingniang completely bewildered. Anyone with eyes could see that she had stopped thinking.
"In short, we all know about your background, Miss Zhang Juan'er. You were bought from human traffickers by Huanhua Fang, a Jianghu sect disguised as a demonic sect, and the training you received was all for the purpose of disguising your identity, getting close to disciples of prestigious sects, and using their identities as a springboard to exert influence on the sects."
"How...how did you know?" Hong Yingniang asked blankly. "Which demonic sect are you talking about?"
"Naturally, it's the Great Heroic Demonic Sect. Hidden sects like Huanhua Fang that stir up trouble in the martial world are basically backed by various evil and heretical sects. Your never-seen head of the sect is none other than the Mighty Heavenly King Mo Weiren, ranked seventh on the Black List. He arranged for you to get close to Daoist Qinghong so that you would enter Yanwei Mountain and poison the sect leader during the wedding."
Lin Zhuo's words were simple and straightforward, yet they contained a great deal of information for the person involved.
"So that's how it is... That makes sense, that's not surprising..." Hong Yingniang murmured to herself, as the many doubts swirling in her mind suddenly became clear after obtaining the key clue.
This feeling of being trapped in a predicament and unable to control her own destiny, yet suddenly gaining an omniscient perspective and seeing through the conspiracy, truly made her feel a refreshing sensation from head to toe.
"Young master, who exactly are you?"
"I am Lin Zhuo. This is the guardian spirit beast of our sect, Jin Xiaohu. If you wish to escape from his clutches, please do as I say."
"Could it be Lin Xueshou, who's on the Hidden Dragon List? I've long admired your chivalrous reputation, and I've been longing to meet you for a long time. I never expected that you would suddenly come to my rescue. It's truly fate. Before I came to the Golden Pavilion, the madam in the neighborhood said that as long as I married Qinghong Daoist, I would be free and could do whatever I wanted. Now that I think about it, it was just empty talk."
The White Egret Sword Sect forbids marriage. Hong Yingniang and Qinghong Daoist became pen pals for three months. One lived in the turbid world at the foot of the mountain, while the other lived in the Daoist temple on the peak. The two exchanged letters from afar and developed a deep affection for each other.
Although this interaction was essentially an online scam, Taoist Qinghong was sincere. He had already arrived at the Golden Pavilion early, ready to overpower all the heroes at the championship banquet.
Lin Zhuo instructed Hong Yingniang to take Jin Xiaohu back to his residence first, lest his disappearance for too long arouse suspicion.
Then, Jin Xiaohu guided Hong Yingniang according to the strategy guide to write a heart-wrenching farewell letter, intending to make Qinghong Daoshi so heartbroken after reading it that he would ascend to heaven and return to the White Egret Sword Sect in sorrow, sealing his heart with cement and never loving again.
When the kitten was up to no good, its eyes gleamed with a thieving light. It perched on Hong Yingniang's shoulder, meowing and cooing, explaining the contents of the letter word by word. It even made her light a candle, dripping two drops of wax onto it and then two drops of water onto it to blur the words, pretending to be sleepless all night, holding the candle and weeping as it wrote.
Hong Yingniang felt guilty after writing the letter, while Jin Xiaohu was so excited that he licked his lips.
The thought of the recipient's stomach aches and heartache upon seeing the message, even to the point of bursting into tears, while still having to maintain the sect's reputation and force themselves to remain calm... made it all seem like a pathetic sight. "Meow hahaha, this really tastes delicious to a cat."
It even stood beside the letter and blew on it, just to make the ink dry faster.
The maids around Hong Yingniang praised the cat for being so intelligent that it could even blow ink for its master, truly a peerless cat.
Knowing the truth, Hong Yingniang and her teammates who watched the entire live stream were both a little nervous.
The task of delivering the letter was naturally entrusted to Jin Xiaohu. Taking advantage of the maid who was watching Hong Yingniang not paying attention, it stuffed the letter into the storage ring, and then pretended to be clumsy, knocking over the inkstone and letting the ink stain the paper.
Hongyingniang sighed in agreement, "You naughty cat, how dare you ruin the letter I painstakingly wrote? Go away! I don't want you anymore."
Jin Xiaohu disappeared in a flash.
As the hour of Shen approached, the air inside the Golden Pavilion grew increasingly tense. The grand banquet was about to begin, all the music had ceased, all the sweet voices and laughter had faded away, and the flock of women had all returned to their nests.
Crowds gathered on the first floor of the Tianxiang Pavilion in the main building, filling the area with rows of seats and standing areas, all surrounding the square stage in the center.
The guests who had made reservations to attend had all been invited up to the second floor and stood by the railing, receiving the attention of everyone at the Golden Pavilion that day.
People in the martial arts world don't consider it shameful to try and get a courtesan on the list of most beautiful women; on the contrary, it's a refined pursuit. That's why so many young heroes, as well as scions of prestigious families, have gathered here today. In addition, there are also many wealthy and dissolute playboys who lack martial arts skills.
The bustling crowd on the first floor was already pointing and discussing the heroes who were on the list.
"Wow, Ding Shiyuan, the seventh-ranked 'Swordsman of the Morning Star' on the Hidden Dragon List, Wan Taoxian, the twelfth-ranked 'Surging Blade of the Sea' on the Hidden Dragon List, and Su Qiwei, the seventeenth-ranked 'Iron Fan of the Flowing Feather' on the Hidden Dragon List, are all rising stars in their early twenties."
"These men are old enough to be a good match for the ladies, some are almost thirty, seasoned veterans who have already fallen off the list, yet they have the nerve to come here. Do they think they can suppress the newcomers just because they've honed their skills for a few more years?"
The madam of the Golden Pavilion came out to greet the guests and explain the procedures of the championship banquet.
In short, to ensure that even patrons without martial arts skills have a chance to enjoy the company of the courtesan, the competition is divided into literary and martial arts contests. The rules are simple: whoever wins in either type of contest, such as winning a round in a duel, can write a message and send it to the third floor of Tianxiang Pavilion for the courtesan Hong Yingniang to read.
If she finds it interesting, she will leave a note; otherwise, the patron will need to participate in the contest.
Finally, three people are randomly selected from the remaining slips of paper for a final discussion, and Hong Yingniang will choose one of them as her husband.
This rule has a lot of room for manipulation and is very convenient for shady dealings, but all the young people who participated in the championship banquet felt that they were destined to be there, so no one raised any objections.
Just as the madam was about to announce the start of the show, flower petals began to fall in Tianxiang Pavilion, and the soft strains of wind and string instruments could be heard. Suddenly, a long, sorrowful sigh came from a private room on the second floor.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Qinghong, dressed in a Taoist robe, slowly walking out, his eyes slightly red, as if he had wiped away tears several times.
He leaped from the railing, landing on the first floor of the stage. He made a hand seal and bowed to the third floor in farewell. He opened his mouth to speak, but could not utter a word. Amidst the whispers and discussions of the crowd, Taoist Qinghong finally laughed and, ignoring the desperate attempts of the madams to persuade him to stay, strolled out the door.
As soon as he left, the Tianxiang Pavilion erupted in noise. Many people from the Golden Pavilion looked extremely grim, while the guests who had attended the championship banquet breathed a sigh of relief. After all, this Taoist Qinghong was ranked third on the Hidden Dragon List and was not someone to be trifled with.
On Lin Zhuo's shoulder, the golden tabby cat let out a mischievous meow.