The Magical Cat

The sky was barely brightening when Liu and his wife rose, preparing for their journey.

Although the matter was not urgent and they had ample time, they preferred to wake early as a sign of their dedication to the task at hand.

They settled into the tricycle, opened the garage door, and the electric motor hummed loudly to life.

With a soft whir, it carried the couple away.

Bai sat perched on the rooftop of her small house, silently watching the tricycle disappear down the alley.

Her constricted pupils dilated, and she let out a wide yawn.

The Cat had not slept a wink all night.

After repeatedly confirming the couple’s safety, she had roamed the small town until nearly dawn before returning.

Meanwhile, Bai had spent the entire night patrolling the town’s safety.

Fortunately, the disaster, dubbed an ‘earthquake,’ had not been too severe.

Aside from a single landslide, only a few dilapidated old houses within the town had collapsed.

These houses, thankfully, had long been uninhabited.

There was, however, one exception: a dirty human no one liked, residing in an old house at the south end of town.

Even The Cat disliked him, for reasons soon to be revealed.

‘Hmm~ Meow.’

It would take no effort at all, Bai decided, to go and check on him.

Before long, The Cat arrived at the entrance of the old tiled house.

Its mud-brick walls were mottled with the marks of wind and rain, and several tiles were missing from the roof.

Feeling the time was right, Bai pawed at the ground with her front claws and settled into a crouch.

She wagged her tail vigorously, building up energy before letting out a loud, almost mournful, wail.

“Meow-ow-ow-ow-ow!”

“Clang-a-lang-dong… Thud! Ouch, what the… What kind of demon is this!”

A cacophony erupted from inside the house, and the front door was flung open with a bang.

A filthy old man appeared, grumbling incoherently.

His eyes were vacant, his speech slurred, and his movements frantic.

After a moment of hesitation, he spotted The Cat sitting calmly.

He shrieked, “Demon! Demon!” and lunged forward, intending to chase her.

See, this was why The Cat disliked him.

The Cat, with an exasperated sigh, climbed the nearest tree.

From her perch, she watched the old man below, still yelling “Demon! Demon!” as he hopped about, occasionally waving his fingers in the air and muttering, “Go! Go!”

Just then, a faint tremor ran through the ground.

The Cat, crouched on the branch, felt it even more distinctly.

The ground’s shaking transferred some of its force to the house walls.

The structure’s inherent weight and pressure quickly caused cracks to spiderweb across the already fragile walls.

The dilapidated construction and materials simply could not withstand it.

The next moment, the entire old house collapsed with a thunderous roar.

The old man beneath the tree froze, his movements ceasing.

He stiffly twisted his head to look at the dust-shrouded ruins, extending a finger to point.

Before he could utter a single word, he stiffened and passed out.

( •︠ω•︡ )?

Bai jumped down from the tree and sniffed him.

‘Hmm, still alive,’ she thought.

‘Then everything’s fine.’

Bai walked away without a second thought.

Meanwhile, Liu and his wife, driving along the road, encountered a small problem.

Whether it was a sharp stone or an aged tire, not long after they set out, their rear tire suddenly blew out with a loud ‘Bang!’

The couple exchanged worried glances.

Entering the city was clearly impossible now; they were still too far away.

With no other option, they could only slowly push the tricycle back towards town.

Suddenly, a tremor struck.

For a couple who might never experience such a thing in their lives, they were too stunned to react to what was happening.

“Thump!”

A dull, heavy sound echoed from behind them.

The couple could vaguely see several large boulders, carrying withered trees and smaller fragments of rock, crashing heavily onto the road behind them.

If their tire hadn’t blown out, they would have been in that exact area right now.

“Oh my… ah…”

Liu’s wife was terribly frightened, clutching her chest and gasping for breath.

Liu frantically embraced her, trying to calm her.

In his mind, he saw flashes of finding The Cat at the temple and, just three days prior, The Cat gnawing at their tire.

‘Was it Xuan Bai?’

Liu’s heart was filled with lingering fear as he unconsciously murmured.

After the natural disaster, everything gradually returned to normal.

Eventually, the villagers pooled their resources to clear the blocked road.

Among the elders, Bai’s legend only grew.

While Liu might not have intended to spread the tale widely, Bai’s already mystical origins, combined with her legendary foresight, were a perfect match.

Even if it was just Liu’s wife recounting the story, it quickly spread among the gossip-loving neighbors at light speed, with epic frequency, and embellished to the degree of a resume.

In addition to various informal names like Mimi, Da Bai, and San Mao, Bai also acquired more mythical titles such as ‘Bringer of Good Fortune and Averter of Calamity,’ ‘Harbinger of Wealth,’ ‘City God’s Emissary,’ and ‘Divine Beast.’

However, few people truly believed these tales.

The Cat continued to be treated as a beloved mascot.

The biggest change was that the crazy old man at the south end of town no longer shouted ‘Demon!’ when he saw her.

“Meow-wru~”

The Cat stretched luxuriously on the ground, tail wagging, and let out a big yawn.

‘I’ve had enough sun,’ she thought.

‘Time to find something to do.’

A month had passed since the earthquake, and the discussions had become less intense.

The Cat, who had barely grown in her first two months in town, had undergone rapid growth this past month.

She had grown a full circle larger, her volume doubling.

“…just… go…”

Bai, preparing for a leisurely stroll, seemed to hear some whispers.

She turned her head and saw several figures hastily departing at the end of the alley.

“Ungh?”

The Cat purred inquisitively.

Such hiding was meaningless to her.

She recognized one of them as a boy who had tried to pet her a few days ago.

His technique was terrible, and he constantly tried to lift her by pulling her hind leg.

That was very uncomfortable, and The Cat had let out a rare, loud meow in protest.

Unfortunately, the boy hadn’t understood.

Happily, his grandmother had, and she had given him a good whack on the backside with her cane.

Shaking her head, Bai had no thoughts of revenge at the moment.

Or rather, Bai could understand revenge, but she couldn’t comprehend why, after his grandmother had hit him, he would seek revenge on her.

So, completely unconcerned, she continued her stroll.

‘Hmm, today I’ll go check near the clock shop,’ she thought.

‘The clockmaker grandpa there has such delicate hands when he pets.’

She hadn’t gone far when The Cat spotted something peculiar.

A large, bright red plastic basin was propped up with a stick, holding half a packet of spicy strips inside.

The Cat slowly approached, circling the ‘trap’ twice with an air of confusion.

She extended a paw and batted the spicy strips out, then leaned in to sniff them.

“Achoo!”

The Cat sneezed.

‘This thing is food?’ she wondered.

For the first time, The Cat doubted her own eyes.

With a look of disdain, she walked away.

Hiding behind the wall, the boys pounded their thighs in frustration.

“What do we do? She’s not falling for it.”

“I told you it wouldn’t work. Cats won’t just go and eat it directly.”

“Then what do you suggest?”

“Use my plan!”

After walking a bit further, The Cat, who had been strolling along peacefully, stepped onto an oddly placed fallen leaf.

From a distance, the boys only saw The Cat let out a startled “Meow!” before disappearing into the ground.

Then, less than a second later, she sprang back out.

“What were you thinking?”

“I… I forgot cats can jump high.”

The Cat licked her lips.

That little pit, she mused, was surprisingly comfortable to stay in.

Too bad she had to go for a massage first.

She walked on for a while.

Perhaps due to the urgency of the moment, or perhaps because their final plan was more complex, The Cat happened upon the boys as they were setting up their trap.

“Oh no, she saw us.”

“Hurry, hurry! She doesn’t understand. Finish it before she leaves!”

“Oh, oh, oh!”

The Cat cocked her head, stopping to watch them.

‘Cats don’t understand?’ she mused.

‘What don’t cats understand? Are they performing something?’

She watched them spread a rough, large net woven from various wires, plastic ropes, and hemp ropes on the ground.

They then strung a thin wool thread to a tree, hiding behind it.

“Meow?”

‘Well,’ she thought, ‘The Cat really doesn’t quite understand this.’

So, The Cat, without hesitation, narrowed her pupils and looked closely.

‘Ah, now I understand,’ she realized.

‘It’s a swing!’

The Cat, without a moment’s hesitation, ran and jumped onto it, moving so fast that the boys were stunned.

“Meow, meow-meow~”

Bai urged them when they remained motionless.

The thin wool thread strained to hold taut as the large net slowly tightened and lifted.

The Cat was suspended in the air, her four limbs stretched out.

Bai swayed happily.

‘Interesting.’

Alas, in the next second, the wool thread ultimately failed to live up to the expectations of three boys and one cat.

It snapped.

The Cat landed steadily, a hint of regret in her demeanor.

She circled behind the tree and gently patted them with her paw.

‘Better luck next time,’ she seemed to convey.

It had to be said, The Cat was growing increasingly clever.

Leaving the dejected and bewildered boys behind, The Cat finally arrived at the old clock shop.

Few people repaired watches anymore; the shop mostly sold electronic watches.

The clockmaker grandpa was resting in his armchair.

“Meow, meow-meow~”

Bai announced her arrival and jumped onto his lap.

“Good, good, our little divine official is here,” the old man said, skillfully petting Bai.

He scratched her chin, stroked her back, and rubbed her ears.

“Purr-purr-purr,” The Cat purred contentedly.

‘Divine official’ was one of the new, peculiar titles she had acquired after the last incident.