A group of people gathered around her.

Lady Calico was already used to this. Because of her good looks, she often attracted attention while walking down the street, with many people looking at her or even trying to play with her.

Recently, while catching mice in Changjing, she had lined up the mice she caught each day, and people from those households would gather around and watch her with amazement. This had made her feel a bit proud.

At this moment, a group of servants and attendants parted to reveal a young man who came forward. He lowered his head to examine Lady Calico, his eyes lighting up as he exclaimed, “Indeed, she is extraordinarily beautiful and has an extraordinary presence!”

“I was surprised when I first saw her, too.”

“Let me touch her...” The young man squatted down, his eyes shining with excitement as he reached out to touch Lady Calico.

Lady Calico leaned back slightly, avoiding his touch.

But it was only a hair’s breadth away, so the young man extended his hand again. Lady Calico took a couple of steps back, keeping the distance the same, still avoiding his touch. It remained just a bit too far.

The young man smiled. “How interesting.”

“Cats are naturally proud creatures. It’s normal that she doesn’t let you touch her since you’re not familiar with her,” Steward Liu said from the side. “I see that this cat is quite bold and not afraid of people. If you feed her some meat, you might be able to touch her.”

“Bring some meat!” A servant quickly went to the kitchen to fetch some meat.

Before long, the young man was holding several pieces of meat and extended them toward the cat with a friendly smile, “Here, eat!”

Lady Calico, who had been licking her paw and thinking about the coming night, looked up at him in confusion. She tilted her head to the side, not even glancing at the pieces of meat.

“This...”

The young man looked back at the steward.

“Cats prefer fish.”

“Bring some fish!”

The meat was quickly replaced with fish.

The cat still showed no interest.

“Ugh...” The young man seemed somewhat frustrated and impatient.

Seeing this, Steward Liu promptly signaled to the nearby servants. They immediately understood and started moving. Some went around to the back of the cat, while others blocked the sides.

Interestingly, the cat, initially appearing relaxed and unalert, seemed to have eyes on the back of its head as soon as the servants behind it made a move. It immediately leaped to the side, avoiding their grasp. When two more servants lunged from either side, the cat easily evaded them with two more nimble jumps.

The garden was soon in chaos.

Despite the flurry of activity, not only did they fail to catch the cat, but they couldn’t even grab a single strand of its fur.

After a while, the group stood under a tree, panting heavily. Up on the tree branch, the cat remained as leisurely as ever, licking its fur and watching them with a calm gaze.

The cat didn’t sense much hostility; it just felt like these people were playing with it. Throughout its life, the cat had grown accustomed to humans treating it roughly and without manners. Now, lying on the branch, it was confused. These people had asked it to catch mice, yet unlike the children from other households, no adults had ever chased it before.

“Forget it, Young Master, there’s no rush,” Steward Liu said to the young man, then led him aside. Once they were a distance away, he asked, “How do you find this cat, Young Master?”

“Her grace and appearance are absolutely exquisite, especially her eyes—they are full of spirit, agile, and lively. She’s harmless, truly worthy of the title ‘divine cat’ that you gave her,” the young man said. “But she’s difficult to catch.”

“Shh, Young Master, please speak more quietly!”

“What’s wrong?”

“That cat seems to have spirituality, and might understand human speech. Its ears are very keen, and I’m afraid it might overhear us,” Steward Liu explained.

“Understand human speech?”

“When the Daoist brought it over, I saw the Daoist talking to the cat. Whether the cat really understands human speech or if the Daoist was just putting on a show, I can’t say. We can try some methods tonight to test how much spirituality it has,” Steward Liu said. “However, according to rumors, it can catch over forty mice a day in a household, which suggests it might really have some spirituality.”

“Then it truly is a divine cat!”

“And...”

“What?”

“That Daoist seems to be a Dao cultivator. He used to cultivate in a small temple in Yizhou of Lingquan County. Besides raising this cat and catching mice, he also takes on some exorcism and demon-slaying tasks. I believe he probably does have some genuine cultivation skills, though how deep his abilities are, I’m not sure,” Steward Liu said while glancing subtly at the young man.

“Having you personally go there was indeed the right choice.”

“You flatter me, sir.”

“But even if he is a cultivator with some cultivation skills, does he have the guts to be presumptuous before my residence?” The young man chuckled. “With so many masters at the Juxian Mansion, who has ever stirred up much trouble?”

“Of course, of course...”

“But it’s also not good to go too far.”

“Your wisdom is evident, Young Master!” Steward Liu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the family’s old master was the current Grand Commander, very few Grand Commanders in the Great Yan Dynasty held real power. Now, with his age and poor health, he has managed to hang on to life only by relying on a

jianghu

oddity previously recruited by the household, who used a special method to prolong his life.

The young master here was a late-born child of the old master, somewhat spoiled, and his reputation among the common folk wasn’t great. Now that the old master’s end was near, and the young master was still young with only a moderately prestigious position in Changjing, the future of the family looked quite bleak.

Fortunately, the current Empress loved cats dearly and was related to their family, presenting a potential opportunity.

The concern was whether the young master would act rashly. From what was seen so far, despite the young master’s lack of education, he didn’t seem to be a fool or a simpleton.

“Regardless, this cat must be presented to my cousin,” the young man said, turning to the steward. “Try to flatter that Daoist and don’t be stingy. Offer a bit more money.”

“I had initially planned to offer two hundred taels, which is already a generous amount. However, after seeing the cat and the Daoist, I felt it was still insufficient. I’ll offer five hundred taels of silver—equivalent to a ten-year salary of a county magistrate. Considering the cat is meant for making money, I believe he won’t refuse.”

“Don’t be stingy with the money. Offer one thousand taels,” the young man instructed. “If he still refuses, offer more. If he’s greedy, I’ll let you handle it.”

“I understand.”

“If my cousin is pleased, there will be a substantial reward.”

“Thank you, Young Master!”

The steward bowed repeatedly, regardless of his inner thoughts. As a servant, his demeanor had to be perfect.

The young man then returned to stand under the tree, watching the cat on the branch with increasing admiration and satisfaction.

The sky gradually darkened. The cat, being both sensitive and dull, observed them for a while before coming down from the tree and starting its work.

***

The next morning, the young master and steward walked through the garden, one in front and one behind.

“Did you manage to catch the cat?”

“Not yet, Young Master, but there’s no rush. I have a plan that I believe will interest you.”

“Oh?”

“I tested it last night, and indeed, the cat seems to understand human speech,” Steward Liu said respectfully, following closely. “Last night, when the cat was catching mice in the garden, I mentioned that there were many mice inside. It glanced at me and immediately went inside. Later, when mice outside frightened someone, I told it again, and it immediately went outside. Isn’t that amazing?”

“Could it be that it has become a demon?”

“It’s hard to say, but are there not many things that have become demons in Changjing?”

“So, your meaning is...”

The two exchanged a glance, hesitant to say more.

As they reached the center of the garden, they found a crowd gathered, seemingly to witness something extraordinary. When the young master and steward arrived, the onlookers quickly made way.

Upon entering, both were taken aback. There were two rows of mice, at least twenty or more in total.

Each row was arranged in the same length, with the same number of mice. They were all neatly aligned, with every mouse’s head, tail, and face oriented the same way.

The mice were even arranged according to their size.

“Remarkable!” The young man couldn’t help but exclaim, speaking softly, “If we told this to the Empress, she would undoubtedly be amazed.”

“Young Master...”

“Hm?” The young man turned to look at him.

“I understand!” Steward Liu quickly grasped the situation, nodded, and approached the calico cat respectfully, saying, “Lady Calico, there is another room over there where a mouse is running around. Although you’ve already caught many, we kindly ask you to catch this one as well. We’ll give you more money for your trouble. How does that sound?”

“

Meow

!” This was a common occurrence for the Lady Calico.

In order to earn money, when catching mice for others, the household would make requests. As long as she heard them, she would comply.

“This way, please!” The steward made a gesture inviting her.

The calico cat followed him and entered a room.

However, upon entering the room, she looked around and sniffed but didn’t find any trace of mice. Just as she was about to turn around in confusion, she suddenly noticed the light at the door dim. When she looked up, she saw many people standing at the entrance.

At the forefront was the steward, looking apologetic, and he cupped his hands and said, “Forgive me, Lady Calico. Since you have spirituality, I wouldn’t want to trouble you. However, your master has sold you to us for one thousand taels of silver. One thousand taels is a sum that even many rich people might not earn in their lifetime.

“From now on, you will be our cat, but we will not treat you poorly. Instead, we invite you to live in the palace with the Empress, enjoying wealth and honor, fine clothes and food.”

At the same time, several attendants entered the room.

“

Swish

!”

The calico cat showed a wary expression, instantly turning into a shadow and darting sideways. It climbed up the wall, and leaping onto the beam.

The group of attendants looked up, stunned.

The cat looked down at them, her eyes filled with the highest level of vigilance, and spoke, “Nonsense!”

Her voice was clear and delicate, but unmistakable. The attendants below, the steward, and even the young man at the door were all stunned by her words. They stared wide-eyed, deeply shocked.

Who would have thought… This cat could actually talk!