The incident at Mao Xiaoli's school went viral online, sparking speculation among many netizens. Especially the scene where hundreds of cats surrounded the excavator, which made people feel both thrilling and adorable.
The previous incidents of cats attacking people and the legend of cats worshipping the moon had made people repel cats in the Liyuan, especially when a small black cat attacked innocent passers-by in public. However, when people saw hundreds of cats surrounding the excavator, as if they were negotiating with humans, their rational, gentle, open and spiritual appearance washed away their previous weird image.
The video of the vice-principal's nephew abusing a cat somehow spread to the Internet, and people finally understood why the little black cat attacked an innocent passerby in public. Because the innocent passerby was the vice-principal's nephew. In the video, he imprisoned a ginger cat in a cage and pierced the cat's abdomen with a steel bar, causing the cat to die tragically. This immediately attracted condemnation from countless cat lovers.
The situation has become clearer, but it has also attracted negative speculation. For example, the attack on the two girls was considered to be revenge by the cats. Even though the two girls are cat lovers, public opinion is still rampant.
Chen Yang could not visit the unconscious girl because her family refused to let them go and their attitude was very unfriendly. He expressed his understanding and went to visit the second girl who was attacked. Her family was also unfriendly. They all knew the rumors on the Internet and were very dissatisfied with Chen Yang who was sent by the school. Chen Yang did not explain that he was not sent by the school to mediate. He only recited the Heart Purification Mantra to the girl who was still in a state of shock.
The girl's cloudy eyes gradually became clear and calm, no longer panicking. Chen Yang looked at her quietly and found that her face, neck, and shoulders were all wrapped in gauze, which were obviously injuries.
The parents were quite surprised to see their daughter regain consciousness. Chen Yang said, "She was just too frightened and her mind was not in control. Just protect your life and body and don't lose your spirit."
The parents then realized that Chen Yang was a heavenly master, so they changed to a respectful attitude, invited Chen Yang to sit down and asked him: "Can you drive away the cat demon for my child? Will the cat demon want to harm my daughter again?"
Chen Yang shook his head: "There is no cat demon."
The parent was stunned for a moment, looked at Chen Yang and then at his daughter: "No cat demon?"
Chen Yang asked the girl: "Being overly frightened and the rumors spreading everywhere will inevitably make you have illusions. Now you are safe and calm. I hope you can think carefully and provide clues. I feel that the murderer will not stop committing crimes."
The girl hesitated for a moment. Although she still felt pain about the attack, she was able to stay awake and recall what happened that night: "It was eleven o'clock that night, and I took a shortcut. I don't usually go home that late, but that night..." The girl pursed her lips and hesitated for a moment before saying: "That night I went to the Wish House on Longqiao Street. The Wish House is a fortune-telling house. It is usually very busy. It was already very late when it was my turn."
Hearing the word "Yuanwu", Mao Xiaoli secretly hummed and whispered to Chen Yang: "A competitor who steals my business."
The girl continued, "I was worried that the dormitory door was closed, so even though I was scared, I still chose the path through Liyuan. Halfway through, I found that everything was quiet, without any sound. I felt something was wrong. There were so many cats in Liyuan, how could there be no sound at all? Then I heard the sound of fallen leaves being crushed behind me, and I panicked and started to run. But the thing behind me was too fast, and it knocked me to the ground—"
At this point, the girl looked terrified and spoke faster: "My phone fell beside me, and I could barely see a figure as tall as a person. The outline had cat ears and a tail, and his limbs were covered with soft cat fur. My face, neck, and shoulders were in pain. I started to lose consciousness from the blood loss, pain, and fear. Before I lost consciousness, I heard a cat meowing."
Chen Yang nodded: "I understand, thank you." Then he stood up and was about to leave with Mao Xiaoli. The girl's family quickly stood up to see him off. When they reached the door, Chen Yang asked Mao Xiaoli to give them a peace amulet and left with thanks.
Mao Xiaoli: "Brother Chen, is it really a cat ghost?" She also knew that it was nonsense for a cat to become a demon, so she asked directly if it was a cat ghost.
Chen Yang: "What do you think?"
"Not like it." Mao Xiaoli recalled what the girl said and analyzed, "She said she heard the sound of fallen leaves being crushed. The cat moved lightly, and if it really wanted to attack by surprise, it would never make any sound. She only saw the outline of the cat, but cat ears, tails, and fur can all be disguised. As for hearing the cat meowing before she lost consciousness, it's not surprising that there are cats meowing in Liyuan. So the conclusion of the whole process is that she didn't really see the murderer's appearance, she just judged based on the outline and the sound."
Chen Yang nodded in approval: "That's right."
"But," Mao Xiaoli wondered, "Why didn't she hear any cat calls along the way?"
"Because it was a full moon that night. Cats worship the moon, so it's normal not to hear any meowing. Didn't we hardly hear any meowing the night we went to investigate?" A few days before and after the full moon, cats gather at the small hillside behind the cat tomb to worship the moon. The night the girl was attacked, the cats in the lychee garden happened to be worshiping the moon, so no meowing could be heard.
At this time, the elevator door opened and Chen Yang walked out: "Let's go see the vice principal. By the way, Xiaoli, have you ever shown off your skills in school?"
Hearing this, Mao Xiaoli waved her hand and said, "I'm not the kind of person who likes to show off."
"Um?"
"No." Perhaps because Mao Xiaoli is petite, although she doesn't look weak and is full of energy, people who have seen her love to take care of her. Mao Xiaoli complained in frustration: "They discriminate against short people! Obviously, people with long legs can't run as fast as me!"
"Oh, that's easy." Mao Xiaoli was puzzled, and Chen Yang didn't explain, but took her to the vice-principal's office. Standing at the door, she heard the vice-principal's angry voice.
"How many times have I told you to stay away from cats if you hate them? Don't mess with them! And don't abuse cats or dogs. The public opinion now will force you to death! Now tell me, how can I cover for you? You didn't think carefully before doing anything, and you didn't clean it up. And someone filmed you? Not only are you being criticized on the Internet, but the reporters in the school newspaper are publishing your stories every day, and they are bringing up the cat abuse incidents that were suppressed with great difficulty in the past, and they are forcing the school to deal with your matter. I'm telling you, I can't help you this time. If the school is really mad, you can pack up your things and go back to your parents!"
"Uncle, I was wrong this time. I promise there won't be a next time. Can you help me again?"
"I help you? Let me tell you, if you hire some trolls to control the direction of online opinion, sooner or later a new hot topic will appear and your little thing will be brushed aside. But the school newspaper is not my responsibility. If the students start making a fuss, I can't do anything! If you are really capable, tell the school newspaper to stop reporting your cat abuse!"
Chen Yang looked back at Mao Xiaoli, who showed a humble expression: "It's my job." He changed his mind and told Mao Xiaoli to interview the vice-president and his nephew as a school reporter, and it didn't matter how harsh and sharp the words were.
Mao Xiaoli: "Leave it to me." Then she knocked on the door, and the noise inside stopped abruptly. After a while, the vice-president's calm voice came: "Come in."
When the two entered, the vice principal and his nephew Dong Hong changed their expressions when they saw Mao Xiaoli, and they flashed with impatience and disgust. When Mao Xiaoli stated the purpose of the interview, the vice principal directly refused. Mao Xiaoli shrugged: "The school is very concerned about the cat abuse incident. If the vice principal is unwilling to be interviewed, then I can only do it freely."
The vice-principal called her over, his face looking unhappy. "Ten minutes."
"Sure." Mao Xiaoli quickly put on a professional attitude and asked Dong Hong, who was about to leave, to stay: "I just have a few questions that I need to answer, can you stay?"
Dong Hong glanced at the vice-principal and nodded to stay. Chen Yang stood behind Mao Xiaoli and observed the vice-principal and Dong Hong. The former looked impatient but had to deal with it. When asked if he hated cats, he did say that he didn't like cats but would not abuse them. He didn't look like he was lying. When asked about Dong Hong, he revealed Dong Hong's life story without hesitation.
It turns out that Dong Hong's parents both have abusive tendencies, so the deputy principal took Dong Hong home to raise him and financed his new life. Then the deputy principal sighed that Dong Hong's abuse of cats might come from the shadow cast by his parents, and he also portrayed his upright and kind side in great detail.
Chen Yang noticed that Dong Hong had a gloomy look on his face as he lowered his head. He stared at Mao Xiaoli with a gloomy look. As if he was aware of someone watching him, he suddenly turned his head to meet Chen Yang's gaze. He made a toe-rolling motion, stared at Chen Yang expressionlessly, and slowly smiled a slightly crazy smile.
Mao Xiaoli asked Dong Hong several very sharp questions. Dong Hong's answer brought up his parents' abuse in his childhood and blamed his parents for abusing cats. The answer was quite shameless, and the two knew it but had no way to refute it.
"I don't want to abuse cats, but I just can't control myself. The harm my parents did to me had a huge impact on me. When I see a weak cat, I think of myself who was beaten and abused. I have tried my best to control myself, take medicine and see a doctor. Shouldn't people who have been hurt be given a chance to make amends?"
When Chen Yang and the other man left, Dong Hong followed them. With a smile on his face, he asked Mao Xiaoli whether she would report truthfully as a qualified reporter without adding personal feelings.
Mao Xiaoli smiled: "No. We are just bystanders, and all the truth will be reported truthfully." Although the time of reporting is uncertain.
Dong Hong smiled with satisfaction, and after praising the two, he left triumphantly. When he left, he shook his feet and did the toe-rolling action again. Mao Xiaoli gave him a middle finger from behind: "How shameless!" Turning back, she asked Chen Yang: "Brother Chen, could the murderer be Dong Hong?"
Chen Yang: "I suspect him, but I don't know his motive. Go to Liyuan at night in the name of investigation these days. I will follow you. If the murderer is Dong Hong, he will find a chance to kill you."
So far, the murderer has no motive for committing the crime, and the only person who deserves suspicion is Dong Hong. The only connection between the two victims is that they both love cats and are of the same gender.
Now there are guards patrolling Liyuan at night, and the murderer is unlikely to commit crimes again - if he is arrogant, the situation will be the opposite.
Chen Yang decided to go see Da Pang again, bringing with him some fried dried fish. Da Pang had been missing for several days, hiding in the lychee garden and no one could find him. Chen Yang took out the tracking talisman, put the hair he had touched from Da Pang that night into the tracking talisman and found Da Pang.
The area around the cat grave was very gloomy and no one came near. Da Pang hid deep inside the cat grave. Da Pang was lying on a big rock, like a meat pie that had been flattened and expanded infinitely. Chen Yang couldn't help but pinch the fat that had formed a circle. It felt soft and especially good.
Big Fat stared at Chen Yang, with no expression on his cat face. Chen Yang didn't let go, and said gently: "Would you like to eat fish?"
Dapang ate fish quietly. Chen Yang told him about the cat ghost incident caused by Xu Ani, a maidservant of Dugu Tuo during the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty, and asked him if he knew the cat ghost. Dapang focused on eating fish and ignored him.
Chen Yang: "I can feel ghost energy, yin energy, and resentment, and sometimes I can even see it. The mixture of ghost energy, yin energy, and resentment will form sin. Sin is the result of evil, and it is a debt that must be repaid. The full name is sin debt. If you want to repay it all, you must pay a huge price. I see sin debt in you." After a pause, he changed the subject: "But I don't see the wronged ghosts haunting you."
The debt of karma is the debt of the underworld. If you commit a crime and sow evil seeds, you will incur a debt of the underworld. If you do not pay back the debt of the underworld, you will have no peace. Therefore, people who are burdened with karma are usually haunted by the ghosts of the underworld. Even cat ghosts are haunted by the ghosts of the underworld, howling and crying in front of the debtor day and night, disturbing their peace. Big Fatty is a special case. He is burdened with karma, but he does not have any ghosts of the underworld.
Chen Yang was curious: "If you don't tell me, I can ask Brother Du."
Dapang's whole body was stiff. He looked up and saw Chen Yang smiling. He wagged his tail and slowly relaxed his body. He still didn't say anything but seemed to have compromised. He rubbed his head against Chen Yang's palm.
Apparently, Big Fatty was unwilling to explain the mystery to him, and didn't want Chen Yang to mention it in front of Du Shuo. Chen Yang asked instead, "Is the murderer Dong Hong? If so, nod your head."
Big Fatty nodded. Chen Yang had a thought in his mind that it was as expected. To be honest, he would not have suspected Dong Hong. It was just that the little black cat attacked Dong Hong and the other party was too indifferent when abusing the cat, which made him notice Dong Hong and test him a little. He found that Dong Hong looked at Mao Xiaoli with a very cold and strange look, which confirmed his guess.
"Dong Hong attacked the girl in order to put the blame on the cats in the orchard and drive away all the cats in the orchard. I saw the ghosts of several cats gnawing at his feet."
The cat spirits that were entangled with Dong Hong were tortured to death, and they were filled with resentment. They followed Dong Hong and bit his feet, then gradually moved up until they strangled his throat. Dong Hong could feel the bites on his feet, so he kept shaking his feet and grinding his toes.
At night, she must have been haunted by cat spirits in her dreams, but she couldn't abuse the cats anymore. It just so happened that there were rumors of cats worshipping the moon and cat demons, so she simply pretended to be a cat demon and attacked people to drive away the cats in the lychee garden. This can only explain why the attacked girls couldn't find common ground.
Chen Yang: "Mao Xiaoli and I want to lure Dong Hong out, and I hope you can help us."
Da Pang swung his tail, picked up the dried fish and ran away. Da Pang had been treated like an emperor by humans for many years, and had long been accustomed to running away after eating. He was forced to answer questions and not only did he not answer, but he was also expected to sell his labor. It was absolutely impossible! It was impossible in this life!
Chen Yang calmly put away his lunch box, stood up and slowly chased after Dapang, he still had the tracking talisman in his hand. There was a small hill behind the grove, and the hill was full of messy and unmaintained bushes. Pushing aside the bushes, climbing onto the iron fence and jumping onto the ground, it was outside the school.
Walk straight for dozens of meters and you will see a street with a sign at the entrance. It says "Longqiao Street". Longqiao Street is a famous student street near Mao Xiaoli's school. There are all kinds of food in front. If you go inside and around the entrance of the alley, you can find special shops. If you are not familiar with it, you will not know it because there are many ordinary people living at the entrance of the alley.
Chen Yang walked around the alley to the innermost part, paused, and looked up at the fat man squatting on the sign of "Wish House". He was amazed that the sign could actually bear the weight of the fat man. The fat man looked down at Chen Yang, swishing his tail slowly, then turned around and jumped away lightly.
Chen Yang thought about it and walked into the Wish House. The Wish House was a fortune-telling house, and it was decorated like all fortune-telling houses, trying to be mysterious and not well-lit. "The guests have arrived, come in and sit down."
The woman came out of the small room holding the black cat, sat on her divination table, and stretched out her hand to signal Chen Yang to sit down. After Chen Yang sat down, he said, "I'm here to find a friend."
The woman took out a deck of tarot cards and handed them to Chen Yang: "Shuffle."
Chen Yang: "No need. I can find it."
The woman looked at Chen Yang quietly and said softly, "Take one."
Chen Yang randomly drew a card and placed it on the table. The woman took a look and said, "Justice. Fairness and justice, abide by your morals, and stick to your justice. Any difficulties will be overcome." After answering the drawn tarot card, the woman said, "Do you want to ask about marriage?"
Chen Yang refused and turned to see the peach blossom charms and lucky stones next to him. Mao Xiaoli said that Wish House was her competitor and she had lost to it several times. The woman asked him if he wanted to buy a few tickets, but Chen Yang refused and got up to leave.
The woman called him and gave him the 'Justice' tarot card he had drawn: "We will meet again."
Chen Yang took the tarot cards and left the Wish House. He walked five or six meters and looked back to find that the Wish House was closed. He looked up at the sign of the Wish House again, but there was no sign of Da Pang on it. He didn't know why Da Pang had brought him to the Wish House, so he shook his head, put away the tarot cards and left.
Mao Xiaoli was active in Liyuan for several days, and even sneaked into Liyuan in the middle of the night and was discovered by the patrolling guards. The next day, the news spread throughout the school, but she still said nonchalantly: "I am here to find out the truth. If it is really a cat demon attacking people, then it can attack me. If it is the murderer, I can interview him."
Privately, Chen Yang said: "How arrogant."
Mao Xiaoli laughed: "How can you anger the murderer if you're not arrogant? He attacked two girls three days apart. He didn't worry about the guards and the police at all. He must be fearless or have great confidence in himself. Either way, he can't stand contempt and provocation."
However, the murderer did not act again for the next half month. The guards patrolling Liyuan withdrew partly, and it became quiet again. However, the students no longer dared to take the small paths in Liyuan. They found that even without the "cat demon attack" incident, Liyuan was still very dangerous. There were no lights or people around, and it was far away from the dormitory area and teaching buildings. It was easy to hide people, and no one would know if they were killed and the bodies were dumped.
Tonight, Mao Xiaoli sneaked into Liyuan and walked around carelessly. Everyone in the school knew that she was using herself as bait to find out the truth, so she simply gave up her disguise. From time to time, she shouted, "Mr. Cat Demon, I'm here. Come and kill me quickly."
The arrogant words echoed back in the forest. The Litchi Garden was quiet and silent. Chen Yang was about ten meters away from Mao Xiaoli. He suddenly looked up at the sky. The sky was covered with dark clouds and there was no moonlight. He wondered, the cat in the Litchi Garden disappeared
Mao Xiaoli suddenly stopped and heard the sound of fallen leaves being stepped on behind her. Someone was approaching her and then standing behind her. Mao Xiaoli turned around suddenly, and the light from her mobile phone fell on the face of the person behind her. A hideous and twisted cat face scared her. The person rushed over, and Mao Xiaoli screamed and kicked him out, hitting the tree and bouncing back to the ground.
Chen Yang heard Mao Xiaoli's cry and ran over to see this scene. The murderer got up and ran away. Chen Yang and Mao Xiaoli chased after him. The murderer ran very fast and was very familiar with Liyuan. He turned left and right several times and almost lost him.
Chen Yang stopped and found the murderer's blood from Mao Xiaoli's feet. Mao Xiaoli was wearing a pair of rivet shoes. When she kicked the murderer away, the rivets on the shoes scratched the murderer's skin and stained it with blood. He wiped a drop of blood and put it into the tracking talisman, and quickly took a shortcut to surround the murderer. Mao Xiaoli kicked the murderer over with a flying kick, and Chen Yang tied the murderer's hands with a red rope. The bronze coin slipped and fell into the palm of his hand.
Chen Yang took off the murderer's mask, and Mao Xiaoli's light shone over him: "Dong Hong, it seems that this time - it's not him?!"
It was not Dong Hong, but another young man who he did not know. The young man panted and laughed, "You run really fast. Mao Xiaoli, I can't outrun you."
Mao Xiaoli was puzzled: "Do you know me?" She didn't know the young man.
The young man smiled and said, "You haven't interviewed me, because we usually participate in long-distance running competitions together and are interviewed at the same time. You haven't interviewed me and you haven't noticed me, but I noticed you. I found that you run very fast and I really want to compete with you."
Mao Xiaoli kicked him and said, "What a joke! You dressed up as a cat demon and attacked me. Are you the murderer?"
"No." The young man said, "The real murderer should be killing people now. He must kill people. If others don't die, he will die. He has been given two chances."
Chen Yang frowned, feeling that the young man had something else in mind. Just as he was about to catch him and ask him more questions, he heard a girl screaming in the distance. He was startled, and the two of them quickly got up and ran over. The young man was still behind him and said, "It's too late, you can't save people." Mao Xiaoli was so angry that she wanted to kick him to death, but time waited for no one.
The two ran to the source of the sound with all their might, expecting to see irreversible consequences, but what they saw was the murderer falling face down unconscious. Sitting on top of the murderer was a fat man, weighing 40 kilograms.
Next to the murderer sat a terrified girl who only had a hand injury and was otherwise fine.
When Big Fatty saw Chen Yang and the other man, he gave them a calm look and disappeared into the night. Mao Xiaoli said blankly, "I seemed to see contempt in Big Fatty's eyes. It must be an illusion."
After removing the mask, the murderer was indeed Dong Hong. Not long after, the police and the ambulance arrived. Liyuan was bustling again. Fortunately, the murderer was caught this time. The doctor originally thought that the person who needed treatment was the victim, but never expected that it was the murderer. A brief examination showed that he was almost suffocated. Chen Yang looked strange when he heard the result.
It would be strange if he didn't suffocate with a 40-pound fat man pressing on his head.
When the girl was taking notes, she said, "I like cats. I used to go to Liyuan every day to feed the cats. After the Liyuan incident, I was very sad. I didn't go there for half a month. I thought it was okay so I ran over to feed the cats." Fresh cat food was indeed found at the scene. "Then I met the murderer. I tried to hide from him at first, but his cat claws scratched my arm. My phone hit the stone slab and broke the light. I couldn't hide from him the second time. The steel cat claws were about to scratch my neck. Da Pang appeared to distract the murderer. He sat on the murderer's face, making him unable to move."
Maybe the scene was too funny, the girl burst into laughter when she described it. At the same time, the media reported it and deliberately magnified the photo of Da Pang, with the eye-catching headline "Black Cat Subdues Serial Killer to Return a Favor". It really made Da Pang a famous online celebrity.
The murderer was arrested, and the vice-president, who was Dong Hong's uncle and nephew, was also arrested. Mao was cleared of his grievances, and Liyuan was preserved. The matter should have come to an end, but the long-distance runner who disturbed their sight disappeared, along with Chen Yang's red rope.
Mao Xiaoli checked the information of the young long-distance runner and said solemnly, "His name is Meng Xi, and he is a sophomore. He is the school's long-distance running champion and has participated in many large and small competitions. He had a car accident half a year ago and can no longer run. He has also been on leave for half a year and has not come to school yet. The school can't find his address."
If they couldn't find Meng Xi, they didn't know why Meng Xi pretended to be the murderer to lead them away. It couldn't be to compete with Mao Xiaoli in a long-distance race, but more like to take away Chen Yang's red rope. Everyone in the branch knew that the red rope was Chen Yang's magic weapon, which was best used to whip evil spirits.
And what did Meng Xi mean by that
Two days later, Dong Hong was taken away from the hospital by a police car. He would be imprisoned for intentional homicide. The police car encountered a traffic accident on the way. A truck loaded with steel bars hit the bridge deck. The steel bars fell and stabbed the police car like a hedgehog.
When they were trying to save the people in the police car, they were surprised to find that the steel bar had cleverly avoided everyone except Dong Hong. Dong Hong was pierced through the abdomen by a steel bar and nailed to the seat and died on the spot. His death was very similar to the kitten in the cat abuse video circulating on the Internet whose abdomen was pierced by a steel bar. People said it was the cat's revenge.
The author has something to say: Cat Killing is a transitional chapter, both Dong Hong and Meng Xi will explain it in detail in the next chapter (there are many foreshadowings in this chapter, which will basically be explained clearly in the next two chapters).
Dapang is a cat ghost, carrying a sinful debt, but he has never harmed anyone. No spoilers, it will be mentioned in the next chapter. P.S.: Even if Dapang has never harmed anyone, it is destined to pay off the sins it carries.
Also, I felt that this chapter was not going smoothly, so I will try to revise it today.
Next Chapter - "Playing to Death"