Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Cat Demon (Third Update of the Fifth Night)

"Let's have dinner together after the exam!" This was Song Nianqiang's golden opportunity—Jiang Ningzhi actually invited him out to dinner. Song Nianqiang was overjoyed, glancing repeatedly at the quartz clock on the wall, calculating when the exam would end.

Ding... ding... ding...

The bell signaling the end of the exam finally rang, and Song Nianqiang was so excited he could hardly contain himself. As he and Jiang Ningzhi walked out of the exam room side by side, the chubby fellow approached Song Nianqiang and handed him his phone.

Song Nianqiang glanced down at the message on the chubby fellow's phone, and his face changed abruptly. He pulled the chubby fellow aside. "What's going on—is it serious?" The chubby fellow nodded solemnly. "All the cats in the village are about to die. Every night, you can hear the cats wailing, each time more miserable than the last."

The chubby fellow's expression left no doubt that this was not a joke. Song Nianqiang's hope of dining with Jiang Ningzhi was dashed. Though a meal wouldn't take too much time, the village chief had already spent the entire afternoon waiting at Song Nianqiang's rented apartment, sending dozens of text messages. Their village was far from the county, and it would take five hours to return.

"Wait for me!" Song Nianqiang said to the chubby fellow, then hurried toward Jiang Ningzhi. "Um, sorry, something urgent just came up, so I won't be able to make it to dinner—my apologies!" Though Song Nianqiang was reluctant, the matter was urgent and he had no choice.

"No problem, go take care of your urgent business. I'll have dinner with Sina," Jiang Ningzhi replied, quite understanding. She took Sina's hand and left, waving at Song Nianqiang as she departed.

"Hurry!" Song Nianqiang whispered to the chubby fellow, then quickly headed downstairs. Since the exam had just ended, the stairwell was packed to overflowing. Song Nianqiang said to the chubby fellow behind him, "I'll go ahead, catch up with me soon!"

He glanced over the railing on the second floor, then vaulted over it, jumping straight down. The students below scrambled back in shock, but Song Nianqiang landed and sprinted toward his apartment. The students who saw him jump from the second floor weren't surprised—it was Song Nianqiang, after all. They laughed and chatted as they left, already accustomed to his eccentricities. Their minds had been thoroughly conditioned by Song Nianqiang's antics, so they quickly returned to normal, except for a few girls who whispered about his various feats.

He sprinted to his apartment at the speed of a hundred-meter dash. Upon arrival, he saw a simple, rural uncle sitting on the steps outside his door, smoking one cigarette after another. Judging by the butts scattered on the ground, he’d been waiting quite a while.

"Uncle, please come in." Song Nianqiang took out his keys and opened the door, then invited the uncle inside. Seeing that the person he needed had arrived, the uncle became visibly excited, as if grabbing a lifeline. He clasped Song Nianqiang’s hand and pleaded, "Young man, you have to save our village!"

"Take your time, uncle. If I can help, I will." Song Nianqiang poured him a paper cup of water, but the uncle was far too anxious to drink, his expression deeply troubled.

The chubby fellow arrived, nodded at the uncle, and took a seat beside Song Nianqiang. "Now, please tell us in detail what’s been happening in your village."

The uncle paused to recall, then began, "Our village is deep in the mountains. Life is tough but peaceful. About a week ago, the cats started dying one by one. At night, we hear their pitiful cries—it’s truly... well, words fail me." He could only shake his head and sigh.

"Are there any cats left in your village?" Song Nianqiang asked. If all the cats were already dead, there’d be no point in going. This was certainly the work of someone—no doubt about it. The target was the village cats. Once they were all dead, the perpetrator would leave, and Song Nianqiang’s trip would be wasted.

"There are still some cats! Our village is deep in the mountains, and every household keeps cats to catch mice. But now... sigh..." The uncle shook his head and sighed again. Upon hearing this, Song Nianqiang felt a bit more confident. He exchanged glances with the chubby fellow and said to the uncle, "You can stay here tonight. We'll set out tomorrow morning."

The uncle was delighted by their agreement, but soon his expression turned anxious. He stammered, "As for your fee, we really can't scrape together much. Here's a thousand yuan—please don’t think it’s too little!"

Though Song Nianqiang and the chubby fellow loved money, they only took it from wealthy families. In cases like the uncle’s, they absolutely refused payment. Song Nianqiang waved his hand and smiled, "Keep your money. We’ll help you free of charge!"

Rural folk are honest and upright, and the uncle was unwilling to accept this. "No way! We can’t let you go unpaid. You must take it!" He shoved the money at Song Nianqiang and prepared to leave, but Song Nianqiang caught him.

"Uncle, to be honest, we don’t need your money. How about this—if we successfully resolve the problem, you can give us some local products as a token. Take your money back."

Song Nianqiang stuffed the money back into the uncle’s pocket. After thinking it over, the uncle grinned, "Deal! I’ll come find you tomorrow morning!" With that, he left. Where he would spend the night was not Song Nianqiang’s concern.

"Based on the uncle’s description, those wailing at midnight must be cat spirits. What I don’t understand is, since they can control cat spirits, why don’t they use something more advanced?" Song Nianqiang frowned, sharing his doubts with the chubby fellow, who shook his head. "Maybe their skills aren’t advanced enough."

That was the only plausible explanation. Cat spirits are formed when cats die; in ancient times, sorcerers used cat spirits to kill designated targets. But given the effort to kill cats one by one, why not just deal with their enemies directly?

Yet Song Nianqiang had misjudged this time. The perpetrators killed cats and created cat spirits purely for amusement—releasing them each night, delighting in the villagers’ astonished reactions, deriving a twisted pleasure from it. Such behavior could only be described as psychopathic.

That evening, Song Nianqiang packed up simply. The main task was to have the chubby fellow draw several talismans, since their adversary was not the spirits themselves, but those controlling them. Without proper preparation, it was impossible to predict who might falter first.

As for the school exam, Song Nianqiang always got a headache just looking at the test papers, so this was just as well. Still, he regretted missing the dinner with Jiang Ningzhi.

A little after five the next morning, the uncle roused Song Nianqiang and the chubby fellow from their sleep. Rural folk are certainly diligent. They hastily prepared three packets of instant noodles in the apartment, ate quickly, and set out. The journey from the county to the uncle’s village took five hours—three by car, then two on foot.

On the road to the uncle’s village, Song Nianqiang dozed off in the car, having gotten up so early. He didn’t know how long he slept before the chubby fellow shook him awake. The car had been stopped midway by something in front, and the driver nearly vomited.

"What could make the driver react like that?" Curious, Song Nianqiang got out to take a look, and almost retched up his breakfast. Who did this? This was truly deranged.