this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!
On a dark and windy night, the perfect time to kill and rob mice.
Under the guidance of the mouse Fei Fei, Ling Yue finally arrived at the scene of the incident. Upon seeing the location, her expression turned extremely strange.
Wasn’t this the small grove right next to her own school?
At eight or nine in the evening, the aroma from the nearby night market wafted over, making Ling Yue feel a bit hungry.
Fei Fei was so anxious that its paws were almost numb, “The boss is right here!”
“Tonight, the boss is leading us little mice to expand our territory, but for some reason, they got into a fight with the big sister in law. Wuwu, poor boss, he’s about to be eaten!”
Ling Yue was puzzled, “Big sister in law? I remember Duo Duo is a single mouse; when did he get a wife?”
“If I remember correctly, you mice don’t eat your husbands after getting married like mantises, do you?”
As soon as she finished speaking, a sharp cat’s cry drowned out her voice, as if tearing at her throat, sending chills down her spine.
Ling Yue immediately pinpointed the location of the sound, coming right from the small grove!
She turned on her flashlight, and as soon as she stepped in, was startled by the scene before her. Ghostly green lights like little lanterns gradually lit up all around her, all staring at her intently. A chill instantly crept up her back, making her scalp tingle.
With the light, Ling Yue finally saw the situation clearly.
Divided by the large poplar tree in the middle of the grove, on one side was the mouse army led by the treasure hunting mouse Duo Duo, and on the other side were various cats, packed tightly together with no room to spare!
Upon seeing her, the treasure hunting mouse Duo Duo immediately shouted, “My master is here! My master has come to help me!”
He shouted for a long time before realising that no one was paying him any attention.
Ling Yue looked at the army of cats all over the ground and trees, her gaze landing on the leading black cat. It was completely black, with long limbs, resembling a miature cheetah when it stretched. Its smooth muscles were visible under its short, shiny fur, its long tail flicking suddenly.
A cold, high-pitched female voice echoed in the grove, as the black cat stepped forward like a queen, “Who dares to help this stinky mouse? That would mean—”
Before she could finish her sentence, she spotted Ling Yue, her yellow cat eyes filled with surprise, mirroring Ling Yue’s own expression.
Ling Yue exclaimed, “You are… Xiao Mo1!”
Xiao Mo was a black cat Ling Yue had once fed during her university days. Apart from her, no one else had noticed it.
When Ling Yue mentioned the black cat Xiao Mo to her roommate, the other party said she must be dreaming, because despite there being so many kittens in university: whether they were calico, tortoiseshell, or orange tabby, no one had ever seen a completely black cat.
After graduation, Ling Yue left school for an internship, and it had been a long time since she had seen Xiao Mo.
The black cat huffed at her, but its tail was drooping, clearly in a relaxed state around Ling Yue, mumbling some words, “Who is Xiao Mo? That sounds terrible! Call me Queen, understand?”
Ling Yue asked, “Xiao Mo, what are you doing here?”
The treasure hunting mouse Duo Duo was completely dumbfounded, “Master, you know my wife?”
The black cat, Queen, immediately leaped up, bending down with controlled tension, like a bow that had been drawn back, suddenly shooting out to pin the treasure hunting mouse down, “Stinky mouse, be careful before I tear your mouth out! Who the hell is your wife?!”
The face of the cat was suddenly magnified several times, appearing right in front of him. Instead of being scared, the treasure hunting mouse Duo Duo stretched out his little paw, blinking his mouse eyes, “It’s me, I’m your wife!”
Ling Yue felt a chill; she had never seen the treasure hunting mouse so submissive. As for the treasure hunting mouse’s safety, she wasn’t worried at all.
It was hilarious; had she ever seen a mouse so eager to court death?
The only time she had seen it was now.
In fact, Ling Yue already had somewhat of an understanding of the situation; the cat’s claws hadn’t even been unsheathed, just pressing down on the treasure hunting mouse’s belly to prevent it from struggling.
Glancing at its little mouse brothers, Fei Fei had long covered its eyes. The other mice also looked like they couldn’t bear to watch, despite already seemingly accustomed to seeing this the situation.
“The big boss is seriously such an embarrassment to mice— how could he be so un-mouse-like!”
“You don’t say! But if you encounter a cat, you might be even more of an embarrassment than the boss!”
“The boss has such strange taste; as a mouse, he actually likes a cat, and a cat that’s the queen of cats at that. It’s really a death wish for a mouse!”
Ling Yue hadn’t expected that the treasure hunting mouse was actually a masochist.
The treasure hunting mouse was unhappy, “What do you know? This is true love, a cross-species romance. My goddess, even if I die under your beautiful claws, I am willing.”
“I love you~” In the end, he even declared his love passionately, throwing in some English for good measure. Ling Yue finally understood why the treasure hunting mouse had been studying so hard with Da Hei and Ya Ya during this time.
The cats in the grove reacted even more strongly.
“Bleh!”
“Damn mouse, you’ve made me vomit up my dinner!”
“You stinky mouse, coming to harass our boss every day. If it weren’t for the fact that we can’t beat you, we would have eaten you long ago!”
The black cat Queen trembled and released her claws, warning him sharply, “Stinky mouse, what kind of daydream are you having!”
“You dare spout nonsense just because you can speak a few words in a foreign language? If you keep bothering me, I’ll eat you directly!”
“You little thing.” The black cat, Queen, flicked its belly, “The scent on you is truly intoxicating; I really want to take a bite… and eat you up!”
The eating it talked about meant the literal meaning. The treasure hunting mouse, who had been lying flat, was so scared that the fur on its back stood on end.
In the end, it was Ling Yue who spoke up, diffusing the tension of this impending conflict.
She cleared her throat lightly: “Queen, please spare my family’s mischievous kid for my sake. He just… has the heart of a thief but lacks the courage of one.”
As soon as her words fell, there was a dead silence.
The cats looked at her in shock: “Humans can actually understand what we cats are saying!”
“Help! This guy must be a transformed yao2, everyone run!”
In the blink of an eye, all the cats on the grass vanished without a trace, leaving only the black cat, Queen: “You can understand what I’m saying?!”
Ling Yue looked into its pale yellow eyes, which held something indescribable that made her heart skip a beat, and she felt an ominous premonition.
Sure enough.
The black cat, Queen strutted confidently over to Ling Yue’s feet: “This stinky mouse expanded its territory and even started to ecroach on mine. We had a fight, but it ended in a draw. It must be acting under your orders, right?”
Ling Yue felt a darkness cloud her vision, as if a black pot had fallen from the sky and was firmly attached to her head3!
Before she could explain, the cat queen spoke again, elegantly licking her paw: “I can let my subordinates take a step back, but you must help me with one thing!”
“In all these years, you are the only one I’ve encountered who can understand animal language.”
The cat proudly lifted its head: “I want you—”
Suddenly, a loud noise cut off its words.
At night, a couple deep in thought walked hand in hand into the woods, only to suddenly realise that the ground beneath their feet was soft, as if they were stepping on cotton.
“Hubby, why is the cotton moving?” the girl asked in confusion, turning on her phone’s flashlight to take a look.
“Oh, what is this?”
Among the panicking mice, Fei Fei happened to be stepped on by the girl. As the right-hand mouse of the big mouse boss, it was particularly concerned about its own image.
Now, it was furious as its face was practically being stepped on by a human: “What are you looking at, human woman? Haven’t you ever seen a mouse before?!”
In an instant, the sound of squeaking filled the woods, echoing like a surging wave.
The girl finally realised what was happening.
She covered her head and screamed: “Mice, the whole place is filled with mice everywhere! Mice ahhh!!!”
The piercing high-pitched scream cut through the night, comparable to the wailing of a slaughtered pig, sending chills down people’s spines.
Suddenly, the world fell silent.
Ling Yue then realised she had temporary tinnitus. Naturally, she didn’t hear what the cat’s request was.
pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:
In Jingyue Community.
The door on the fifth floor opened, and the light from the room spilled out, illuminating the stunningly beautiful brows and eyes of the returning girl who was none other than Ling Yue.
She had left alone but returned with a cat and a mouse, along with a bag of small gold fish in her backpack. If it weren’t for her good stamina, she would have already been crushed by the weight.
Calling over Da Hei and Ya Ya, Ling Yue briefly introduced her new friend—the cat, Queen, who would be staying temporarily at their home.
Queen surveyed the room disdainfully: “So small. Your whole place combined isn’t even as big as my room.”
Ling Yue waved her hand: “Having a place to stay is already good enough.”
Queen looked at a door that had been closed and suddenly asked: “Whose room is that? Is it a surprise prepared specially for me?”
Ling Yue stood up: “Don’t touch it.”
Even the most straightforward Da Hei looked over, noticing his owner’s tense expression. Ling Yue bit her lip, neither dismissive nor detailed: “This was my mother’s room before she passed away.”
Since her death, Ling Yue had never opened it, just like her mother hadn’t, and sealed in her heart.
While taking a shower, Ling Yue noticed Queen wearing a black collar, with a cat portrayed in dark silver at the front. From the worn outline, it was clear it was the in Queen’s likeness. Ling Yue had only just noticed it since the collar blended in perfectly with her fur.
Before she could ask, the treasure hunting mouse Duo Duo had already spilled everything, like beans spilling out of a bamboo tube; after all, this was his goddess, how could he not pay attention!
“Drumroll please! Let me give a grand introduction: this is Queen, my crush that I’m currently pursuing! She is a super rich yet powerful pet cat.”
Saying this, the treasure hunting mouse leaned in, licking its face: “Wifey Queen, did I say it?”
The black cat Queen shot it a cold glare: “Stinky mouse, you investigated me? I didn’t expect you to be such a scheming mouse!”
Little mouse is wronged, little mouse is sad.
But for Queen, the future wife he had set his sights on, the treasure hunting mouse had endless motivation, showering her with cheesy compliments without a care.
The cat, Queen, maintaining her aloof demeanour, pressed down on the treasure hunting mouse with her paw, and as if recalling something, sighed: “…But what it said isn’t wrong.”
Even Ling Yue learned for the first time that Queen was actually just a pet cat who also had a home. However, her free spirit led her owner to let her roam, and at the nearby university, it was practically a stray cat gathering. Over time, the strong and fierce cat Queen became the leader of the strays.
As for the task Queen wanted her to do earlier, Ling Yue still remained in the dark due to unforeseen circumstances.
But that wasn’t the most urgent task right now. Rather than that, the most urgent now was—gold!
The small gold fish piled high on the table, each one on the blue tablecloth radiating a blinding golden glow under the lighting!
Da Hei was shocked, his mouth agape: “Master, we’ve struck it rich!”
Ling Yue rubbed his ears: “Not just that.”
The antique mahogany box filled with gold was as tall as an adult’s knee, both wide and deep. Her backpack was already full despite having only taken out one layer; if one didn’t look closely, it even seemed as if nothing had been taken out.
Ya Ya fiddled with the crystal in her talons, glanced at it, then shifted her gaze back. This was what Ling Yue had promised earlier. The other little brothers had happily carried their gems back to their nests, but only Ya Ya was reluctant, playing with it for several days.
“Owner, I’ll put this crystal in my nest tomorrow; the sun will definitely make it look beautiful!” she said
Ling Yue nodded, still pondering how to handle this batch of gold, when she caught sight of Ya Ya and suddenly had a flash of inspiration!
That evening.
Zhao Lin’s phone which was resting on the bedside table suddenly beeped twice. A message lay quietly in his WeChat, waiting for its owner to check it the next morning.
Since that day, the cat Queen seemed to have forgotten what she wanted to say. Ling Yue waited for a while but didn’t see her come looking for her.
A few days later, she happily took the gold to Auspicious Dragon Jewellery, where Zhao Lin warmly welcomed her. Although he had already estimated the value in his mind, he still hadn’t expected it to give him such a big surprise!
Putting on gloves, he faced the mountain of gold.
Zhao Lin marvelled as he stroked the gold, “This batch of gold has a high purity, and you can tell some of it is aged.” He looked up at Ling Yue, his meaning quite clear.
Ling Yue was certain: “The source is reliable.”
She paused for a moment, “It was given to me by someone.”
When she had preserved the blood letter and evidence, Ling Yue had at the first opportunity found the property deed from back then and had it directly verified.
Zhao Lin nodded, “Then I’ll melt it down. I’ve already weighed it; I’ll give you the market price, three hundred seventy-five per gram. You should also know how drastically the price fluctuates due to the war these days.”
Ling Yue nodded. In fact, this price was already quite reasonable since she was liquidating the gold.
Before long, her phone chimed with a notification. She opened it and her heart raced: 28,125,000.
And this wasn’t even all of it; just a part of it.
Was this the legendary getting wealthy overnight?
Ling Yue felt as if she were stepping on a soft, fluffy cloud, ready to soar into the sky at any moment. Of course, this was an exaggerated description; aside from feeling a bit happy and joyful, she didn’t make any other expressions.
But this was already enough!!!
Even Da Hei could sense his owner’s joy, wagging his tail excitedly. Suddenly, he froze and dashed off, “Master, something’s up!”
Ling Yue was pulled along to the entrance of a university. On a weekend afternoon, the street outside was lined with various stalls, and the air was filled with enticing aromas, attracting a large number of students.
The bustling scene was dazzling to behold.
Ling Yue was puzzled and quietly asked, “Da Hei, what’s wrong?”
Da Hei sniffed carefully and suddenly barked, “Master, I smell something strange; it’s drugs!”
Ling Yue: “Are you sure?”
Da Hei looked at her, “Don’t you remember, master? When you trained Da Hei, I smelled it in that big room before. I remember!”
“Even if it’s just a whiff, I can still sniff it out!”
Ling Yue instantly thought of Da Hei’s extraordinary sense of smell. The rewards for completing tasks were usually based on the animal’s special abilities, and the system could only extract rewards from extraordinary animals.
idk why tling this series is so much harder than rfccre — this chapter was only 3.7k characters but it felt on par to rfccre’s 9k chapter qaq
- 小墨 — ‘little ink (black)’ ↩︎
- 妖 various spirits in chinese folklore; they have a form, whether plant or animal, and after cultivating to a certain level, can take on a human appearance. they’re not to be confused with demons — yao are neither good nor evil as a whole. ofc there are yao that cultivate as evil cultivators but that applies to humans as well ↩︎
- to carry the blame ↩︎
