Chapter 73: Heart Demon Shapeshift

Xiao Man lay over the table, happily counting the little X marks she had drawn.

On the paper, the five big characters read “Chastity Defense Campaign,” and below them was a neat row of boxes. Each day that passed, she crossed out one.

Another day down in the countdown!

Humming a tune, she felt victory getting closer and closer.

Suddenly, a soft rustling came from under the bed. It was faint, but in the quiet night it sounded clear.

“Huh?” She bent to peek beneath the bed.

In the darkness, a pair of bright yellow eyes met hers, shining with a hint of judgment.

A cat.

A pure black Black Cat with not a single stray hair. Its coat was glossy and sleek, its pose elegant, calmly licking its front paw.

It sensed her gaze and didn’t even bother to blink. Its whole body said, “Don’t touch me.”

“Hey, little one, how did you get into my room?” She crouched down, thinking the cat had style, and reached out to tease it: “Mimi?”

The Black Cat ignored her, switched paws, and kept licking, the very picture of superior indifference.

She clicked her tongue, feeling silly, and started to stand. Then, from under the bed, a lazy, magnetic teenage voice drawled: “Didn’t you call me Tuan Tuan? When did my name become ‘Mimi’?”

“Whoa!” Xiao Man’s soul almost jumped out. Her knees gave, and she landed on the floor with a thump. Eyes wide, she pointed under the bed and squeaked: “The cat… the cat talked?”

The Black Cat slipped out with a light step, leaped onto the desk, and flicked its long tail. Its paw came down exactly on her little X marks.

A bright, teasing glint flashed in those golden eyes as it said: “I am Tuan Tuan.”

It went on, smooth as silk: “Those… well, tangled nights in the dreams you shared with the Buddha’s Chosen gave me some true energy. Add Zheng Xiu Yun’s evil thoughts, and this lord made a small early breakthrough.”

Tilting its head with a “this is thanks to you” tone, it continued: “So I’m borrowing this cat body, or you’ll keep mocking me for having no shape.”

Her mind buzzed like a hundred ducks quacking at once. It took several seconds for the thunderclap to sort itself out into one clear point:

Tuan Tuan had a body now.

It was a Heart Demon borrowing a cat’s shell.

She scrambled up and pointed at it: “But Lin Qing Xuan said he is you and you are him!”

“Tch.” The Heart Demon Tuan Tuan—no, the Cat Demon Tuan Tuan—gave a contemptuous little laugh. “Close enough. I am his Heart Demon. He used to press me down with the Buddha Bone Relic. Now…”

It drew out a pink tongue and fastidiously licked its paw, as arrogant as it was graceful, and said: “Lin Qing Xuan, that Buddha’s Chosen, wanted to use me as an excuse to take advantage of you.”

“Which silly girl got taken advantage of and still thinks it was the Heart Demon?”

“Go to your master!” Her temper blew. She grabbed the heavy inkstone and flung it at the smug Black Cat. “I’m not a pushover. You two don’t get to take advantage of me!”

Tuan Tuan moved like lightning, dodging as the inkstone smacked into the window lattice. It sprang onto the sill and grinned at her, showing sharp little teeth, proud as could be: “Too late. In dreams, what needed taking is already taken.”

With a kick, the sleek shadow shot into the thick night and vanished.

“Argh!” Xiao Man stomped in place, wishing she could chase it down and yank out every cat hair.

After several deep breaths, her anger eased a little. Then a thought struck her.

Wait. Is it good for Lin Qing Xuan if the Heart Demon can just run around? It is his Heart Demon. What if it causes trouble outside, or turns on him?

Worry drowned her anger. Not caring that it was late, she threw on a coat and rushed to knock on Lin Qing Xuan’s door: “Eldest Grandson Young Master! Eldest Grandson Young Master, are you asleep?”

The door opened quickly. Dressed in plain white, hair loose, he looked at her with cool calm and asked: “What is it?”

Clinging to the doorframe, she didn’t dare enter. She glanced left and right to be sure no one was around, then lowered her voice and hurried out: “The Heart Demon! It Shapeshifted! It’s a Black Cat and just ran out of my room. I’m afraid it will hurt you!”

His expression didn’t change at all. He stepped aside and pointed to his feet: “Do you mean that one?”

She looked down. The very same Black Cat that had just been swaggering at her was sitting neatly by his ankle, rubbing its head against his pant leg, calm and harmless as a porcelain ornament.

Her eyes almost popped: “How is it by your side?”

“It came to show off that it formed a shape and then refused to leave,” he said, then added, mild as ever: “It says it wants to watch you and me.”

Right then, the Black Cat lifted its head, licked a paw, and said in that lazy, annoying tone: “Exactly. I’ll watch this fake-solemn Buddha’s Chosen and this young girl with a fluttering heart, and see when you finally break that thin paper between you and make it official.”

Xiao Man pressed a hand to her forehead and felt her blood pressure climb. “I thought it would hide and work in secret against you. I didn’t expect…”

She didn’t expect it to be so bold. Or so smug.

Tuan Tuan let out a long “meow,” full of mockery: “You really underestimate me. I am open and aboveboard. Bright moves and dark moves, I use them all.”

Then its yellow eyes slid to Xiao Man: “And you. Throw away that Countdown Plaque. You aren’t going anywhere. What good is a countdown? You make me change your numbers every few days. It’s annoying.”

Hands on hips, she argued with a cat: “Who told you to change it? Keep your paws off my plaque or don’t blame me for being rough. Before, when you had no form, I couldn’t hit you. Now that you have a cat body, just see if I can’t smack you!”

Lin Qing Xuan watched girl and cat bicker, and a rare hint of amusement passed through his cool eyes. He suddenly felt that keeping this restless Heart Demon close, under his gaze, might be safer than letting it run wild outside.