"Hmm... that's a very Batman-esque exit..." Feng Bujue muttered.

"He merely teleported," Asahi added.

"Speaking of which..." Feng Bujue shifted his gaze to Asahi. "What exactly... are you?"

"Physiologically speaking, I'm currently a male cat," Asahi replied.

"Is there any chance... that under certain specific circumstances, you could transform into a busty, shameless onee-san?" Feng Bujue probed.

"Heh," Asahi responded with a cold laugh.

Feng Bujue shrugged. "Alright... then what's your true form?"

"I'm a transdimensional pure energy being," Asahi answered. "Similar to your human souls... but with a different structure."

"Uh... may I ask for your esteemed name?" Feng Bujue inquired.

"You don't need to know," Asahi stated. "Didn't you already give this cat a name? Just use that."

"Then... should I call you Mr. or Ms. Asahi?" Feng Bujue asked.

"No specific title is necessary," Asahi replied.

Feng Bujue nodded. "Oh... okay, Asahi, can you explain why you've been leaving... those clearly trap-like excretions?"

"It's just a prank, of course," Asahi replied while licking its paw.

"Hmm..." Feng Bujue's eyes twitched a couple of times. "Now that we're being frank, I have a suggestion... how about you use the toilet from now on?"

"Yeah... cat litter isn't very comfortable..." Asahi replied.

"Right, right," Feng Bujue nodded in agreement.

"Also, I'll handle the bathing myself from now on," Asahi added.

"Oh, that's more good news for me," Feng Bujue chuckled.

"I don't want to eat cat food anymore either. If you like it... treat it as a snack," Asahi continued. "I think your cooking skills are pretty good. Starting tomorrow, prepare my meals according to the standard of cooking for guests. I need seven meals a day, small and frequent. You can arrange it as you see fit."

As expected, it's starting to push its luck...

"Hey! I'm the master, aren't I! What's with this attitude towards a servant?" Feng Bujue said unhappily.

"We can't go back to the relationship of master and pet," Asahi stretched out its front paw, leaped onto the sofa, and lazily rolled over. "You're responsible for this, you know."

"You weren't fulfilling any pet duties to begin with... you're just getting worse!" Feng Bujue retorted. "Speaking of which, what's your purpose in infiltrating my home?"

"Mainly surveillance," Asahi's ears twitched, and an odd glint flashed in its eyes. "And to protect you if necessary." It yawned again. "Heh... but you're quite cute, really. You seem cold and aloof, but you're actually very compassionate. I just acted a little cute, and you took me in... Hmph... if no one wants you in hell, come be my pet, and this big sister will take good care of you..."

"Believe it or not, I'll poison your food and kill you..." Feng Bujue narrowed his eyes and replied coldly.

Asahi raised a front paw. "Believe it or not, I can shatter your kneecaps with this adorable paw pad?"

"Don't believe it," Feng Bujue replied.

Whoosh—

A silent gust of wind swept past...

Brother Jue turned his head and glanced at the wall of the living room, where a huge paw print had appeared. The paint on the wall hadn't chipped at all, and there wasn't much noise, but the indentation was quite obvious, feeling like a palm print heavily pressed into modeling clay.

With a *poof*, Brother Jue knelt down. "I was wrong, Your Majesty, please calm your anger..."

Asahi amiably stroked Feng Bujue's head with its front paw. "That's right..." It paused. "Oh, there's one more thing, regarding the existence of me and Woody..."

"I will definitely keep my mouth shut," Feng Bujue interjected.

"Yeah, you're so smart." Asahi yawned. "I need to rest, don't bother me... Haa... cats sleep so much... so annoying... Meow..." It closed its eyes as it said the last few words.

...

Noon, May 22nd.

Feng Bujue had just brought lunch to Queen Asahi when the intercom at the door rang. He walked over and pressed the answer button, and Wang Tanzhi's face appeared on the screen.

"It's me," Little Tan said.

"Come on up," Feng Bujue responded, pressing the switch on the intercom.

In less than two minutes, Little Tan arrived at Brother Jue's door.

Feng Bujue opened the door directly, letting the other person in.

"Uh... Brother Jue... Asahi is lying on the table eating your food..." Little Tan noticed this strange scene as soon as he entered the house.

"Hehe... I love animals," Feng Bujue said with a dry laugh.

"Eh? Why is there such a big cat paw print on the wall?" Little Tan asked again.

"Oh... the other day I had a sudden inspiration to decorate the room, but I accidentally messed up the wall, so I simply enlarged the damaged area and made it look like this," Feng Bujue had already concocted this excuse in the two minutes it took the other person to come upstairs. He spoke in a serious and convincing manner, which was also in line with his personality, without arousing any suspicion.

"Oh..." Little Tan responded.

"Speak..." Feng Bujue quickly changed the subject. "You came to see me right at mealtime, you can't be here to freeload a meal, right?" As he spoke, he gestured towards the sofa.

The two of them had a tacit understanding and didn't say much, walking over and sitting down together.

"Well... you should have already guessed what I'm going to say..." Little Tan said.

"Ah, of course," Feng Bujue replied. "In the wee hours of this morning... some old memories suddenly popped into your head, right?"

"Yeah..." Little Tan nodded.

Feng Bujue continued. "This matter happened so long ago, you're not thinking of turning yourself in, are you?" He said in an indifferent tone. "I personally think... even if you really went to turn yourself in, the police would only treat you as a mental patient. It's obvious that many years ago, the truth of this case was covered up by some kind of extreme force majeure."

"Brother Jue..." Little Tan said very seriously, "Do you think... this is really okay for me?" He looked up at Feng Bujue. "Even if I can escape legal sanctions, but... those were four lives after all." His eyes changed slightly. "Over the years, have you never been afraid of me? I killed them with my bare hands..."

"You're asking the wrong person that question," Feng Bujue interrupted him. "My conscience has been fed to the cat." He glanced at Asahi intentionally or unintentionally, but the latter completely ignored him and continued eating.

Feng Bujue smiled and continued: "If I thought there was anything wrong with this, you would have been arrested long ago... I could have called the police immediately after the incident." He put his hands behind his head. "I can't be considered a good person, and I don't think the standard of judging a person as 'good' or 'bad' is absolute. Whether those four thugs deserved to die or not... I have no interest in delving into it, because I don't care."

I just made a decision that I wouldn't regret when faced with a choice. I decided to help my friend as much as I could, that's all.

As for the consequences of this decision, I was already mentally prepared... the worst outcome would be your whole family fleeing overseas, and I would be summoned by the police... Heh... but whether it's testimony or evidence, I didn't leave any handle, plus I was a minor at the time, so nothing would happen at all.

But you're different... based on the way those four people died, I'm afraid no one would believe you acted in 'self-defense'. If anyone did believe it, then you would likely be caught and sent to a research institution to be used as research material.

In short, I made the decision after weighing all the factors..."

"Thank you," Little Tan interrupted Feng Bujue's narration. He knew that Brother Jue was about to start bragging incessantly.

"Thank you for what?" Feng Bujue asked.

"I don't know..." Little Tan replied. "Over the years, I don't know how many things I have to thank you for."

His gratitude was very sincere, but the response he received was...

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Feng Bujue said. "I have a good memory, let me give you a list..."