High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2638: Chapter 859: The Law of the Upper Cat Paw

The night of the Forbidden Magic Festival.

Which is Monday night.

Zheng Qing turned into a black cat and went to the Cat Fruit Tree, which he hadn’t visited for a long time, to inspect his territory to prevent others from taking over. In his memory, there were quite a few big cats in the tree that were quite unruly, always coveting the black cat’s throne.

Of course, the biggest threat was still his Shadow Cat.

The last time he went to the Cat Fruit Tree, he caught the Shadow Cat in the act of ’home-stealing’. What was worse, that night, the Shadow Cat was accompanied by several little female cats from the tree, as if it didn’t see itself as a cat.

Today was the Monday of the sixth week of the semester, marking sixteen days since his last transformation into a cat (Saturday of the third week of the semester). Who knew what kind of chaos the Shadow Cat had caused during this time?

Although Zheng Qing transformed into a black cat every Friday to attend meetings with the Devils of the Seven Sins, time was limited, and he never had the chance to go to the Cat Fruit Tree. Each time the meeting ended, he had to rush back to the dormitory to catch up on rest or complete minor tasks.

Until today.

The Forbidden Magic Festival meant there was no spring outing organized in class, giving Zheng Qing some unexpected free time. By a little past seven in the evening, he had already completed his planned study goals ahead of schedule, exceeding his minor tasks for the next day as well. So he couldn’t wait to transform into a black cat and took advantage of the moonlight to head to the Cat Fruit Tree.

As expected.

His throne had been stolen again.

The Shadow Cat lay brazenly atop the tree platform, surrounded by four pretty little female cats. The black cat noticed that one of the pretty Persian cats seemed intent on sniffing the Shadow Cat’s rear, her paw already lifting the Shadow Cat’s tail, scaring him into sprinting up the Cat Fruit Tree in just a few bounds.

”Shoo, shoo, shoo! All of you, get out of here!”

The black cat, wearing a black expression, waved its paws, shoving the few trembling little female cats away, feeling particularly irritable. He should have expected the amount of trouble the Shadow Cat would bring him during this season.

”Yo, long time no see!” The Shadow Cat — or rather, Cat Thirteen — greeted Zheng Qing cheerfully, ”... How’s the thesis writing going?”

The black cat ignored it and directly used a shadowless kick, intending to kick the ’usurper’ off the Cat Fruit Tree with one swift move.

Cat Thirteen twisted its waist into an arc with agility, dodging the black cat’s paws.

”Let’s talk nicely, no need to get physical!” It protested, but half its body had already been forced off the ’throne’.

Zheng Qing glared at the Shadow Cat’s two front paws still resting on the throne, and rudely lifted his cat paw, pressing down on one of its paws, attempting to push it off: ”... You step down first, then we’ll talk properly!”

The Shadow Cat pulled its paw out from under the black cat’s paw, then covered the black paw with its own.

”Talk nicely, no need to get physical!!” The Shadow Cat repeated what it just said, with a slightly firmer attitude.

The black cat noticed its own paw being suppressed, froze for a second, narrowed its eyes, pulled its cat paw out from under the Shadow Cat’s paw, and pressed down on the Shadow Cat’s paw again: ”You step down!”

The Shadow Cat remained silent, pulled out its paw, and covered again.

The black cat stared at it, pulled its paw out again, and covered once more.

To feline creatures, whose paw is on top is a matter of great importance, known in magical zoology as the ’Law of the Superior Paw’ — the paw on top has the initiative and a higher status — so, the two cats were not playing a game.

Thus began a back-and-forth: you pull, I cover; you reverse pull, I reverse cover. The furball-like creatures hanging on the branches of the Cat Fruit Tree had already opened their eyes and cautiously observed the scene, not daring to breathe aloud.

After several rounds, both black cats gradually grew more intense, involuntarily extending their claws during the pull-and-cover process, filling the air with a tense atmosphere.

Until a little white paw pressed on the paws of the two black cats, interrupting the nonsensical struggle between Zheng Qing and his shadow.

The little white paw wasn’t big, and its pressure was minimal, yet it miraculously suppressed the two much larger black paws, attracting the gazes of all the furballs on the Cat Fruit Tree.

Both black cats turned simultaneously to find a Little White Cat had appeared on the throne of the Cat Fruit Tree at some point.

The Little White Cat’s expression was stern as it shook its head slightly, nudged the two big cat paws it was pressing on either side with its little paw, parted them, then got up and assertively walked between the two cats, nudging its left shoulder and then right shoulder, pushing both black cats to the edge of the ’throne’.

Yet both big cats dared not get angry with her.

The black cat lacked confidence because, during a mess-up that morning, it accidentally broke the Haha Beads she gave, leaving him feeling guilty. The Shadow Cat didn’t resist because it knew the severity — suppressing Zheng Qing’s paw would at most result in a bout of mutual hissing and scratching between the two cats. However, if it actually dared to bully the Little White Cat, its head would be due for a strike, then it would be back at someone’s feet as a literal stepping stone.

It had too much feline joy to be foolish enough to become someone else’s stepping stone.

But obediently getting bullied by this duo wasn’t in the Shadow Cat’s character either.

”Yo, do you have a kid now?” Spotting the fist-sized little cat by the Little White Cat’s foot, it instantly turned sarcastic: ”Does the one at Greenhill Mansion know? Shall I notify her for you... You’re welcome!”

Before the words were fully spoken, it darted away with its tail between its legs, slipping off the Cat Fruit Tree in a blink, vanishing without a trace.

The black cat had no time to pursue it further.

Because he also noticed the little white cat by the Little White Cat’s foot — the fist-sized little cat looked almost identical to the Little White Cat herself; no cat would believe it wasn’t her biological offspring — Seeing it at first glance nearly caused the black cat’s breath to hitch, thinking he had caused new trouble.

But he quickly realized that the relationship with the Little White Cat was at most mutually grooming each other, how could there be new trouble? He wasn’t a three-year-old child who believed grooming could produce offspring.

Perhaps sensing the black cat’s anxious and unsure expression.

The Little White Cat cast him a disdainful glance, using its tail to push the fist-sized little object to the black cat’s feet. The black cat hesitated, lifted a paw, and gently touched it.

Cold, smooth, completely unlike a living creature.

He almost immediately realized this was Jiang Yu’s white jade she usually played with, already rubbed into a lifelike little cat. In other words, the Witch had already completed Professor Yao’s Art of Body Transformation homework assignment ahead of time.

Feeling slightly melancholic.

The black cat was struck with a sudden sense of urgency — he couldn’t wait to transform his Obsidian into a cat, quickly cultivate a suitable avatar, to routinely sit at the Cat Fruit Tree and prevent the Shadow Cat from frequently causing chaos at home.

Moreover, importantly, having an avatar through transformation to take time to rest was very tempting for Zheng Qing, who was utterly exhausted only a month into the semester.