Continuous minor conflicts had escalated between the two settlements, leaving them on the brink of war.
At Bishi Mountain Villa, an elegant white cat-person reclined lazily on a chair, a slight frown creasing their brow.
This cat-person was a Linqing Lion Cat, possessing one blue eye and one yellow. Their slender figure was adorned with soft white fur.
She was the queen of Bishi Mountain Villa, her title bestowed as "Chengde," signifying the throne gained through sincerity and virtue.
Of course, the young kittens in Bishi Mountain Villa would never believe such a story.
Her leadership stemmed solely from her superior strength.
Furthermore, Bishi Mountain Villa hadn't always had a queen; at most, there was a villa master. However, with the opposing side calling themselves the "Xishu Overlord," having only a villa master felt rather undignified, hence the creation of the queen position.
Now, Atai Ya found herself in a predicament. The repeated provocations from Xishu Gorge had plunged the relationship between the two factions to an all-time low, with war imminent.
Yet, Atai Ya did not desire war. The two groups had been neighbors for so many years, and Atai Ya was well aware of the opposing leader's personality and strength. She knew that both settlements were evenly matched, and any conflict would inevitably result in mutual destruction.
Moreover, both the cat and rat tribes were under the protection of the Mia Animal Kingdom, and it was unlikely the animal kingdom would permit them to initiate a war.
Most importantly, the Xishu Overlord on the other side also did not wish to provoke a war.
She could sense an unseen force amplifying the discord between the two tribes, likely to achieve certain objectives.
Recently, she had been diligently observing the surrounding area of the villa, occasionally sensing a presence lurking in the shadows, but she could never discern its true form.
Additionally, a box left by an ancestor in the ancestral shrine of Bishi Mountain Villa had been emitting unusual noises lately…
While she remained rational, the other cat-people could not share her sentiment.
At this moment, they were incensed by the friction between the two species, their emotions clouded by anger, ever ready to fight to the death against those rats.
The cat-people refused to listen to reason. Any casual action by the rats was perceived by the cat-people as an infringement upon their rights and a lack of respect. Some prone to conspiracy theories even began spreading rumors about the rats.
For instance, they claimed the rat tribes were created by mad scientists and carried a contamination that would lead to unhealthy conditions for the cat-people.
Another rumor suggested the rat tribes were an evil race that, upon relocating here, had plotted the genocide of the cat-people.
These rumors were preposterous, but they found fertile ground in the current climate. When the villa's leadership uttered even a few words of reason, they were suspected of colluding with the enemy.
Under such circumstances, Atai Ya found it impossible to de-escalate the conflict. Once the tension reached a certain point, war would inevitably break out, a fact even Atai Ya couldn't prevent.
Just then, a calico female kitten burst into Atai Ya's office, gasping, "Queen Chengde, something major has happened!"
"Did those rats attack?" Atai Ya flinched.
"No, no," the kitten panted, catching its breath. "A human has arrived, and this human carries an order from Lord Ausnor."
Hearing Ausnor's name, Atai Ya became serious. She immediately stood up, preparing to go and greet the visitor. Bishi Mountain Villa owed its continued existence here to the protection of Emperor Weitu, and Ausnor was Weitu's representative in this region.
"Your Majesty, please wait. That human is quite unpleasant," the calico kitten stopped Atai Ya.
Atai Ya's expression darkened. "What, did he bully you?"
"No, no… I don't know how to explain it, but he's just very unpleasant." The calico kitten thought for a moment, unable to articulate what made this visitor so off-putting.
Atai Ya put aside her doubts for the moment and quickly headed towards the reception house, her expression clouded.
She regarded every cat in Bishi Mountain Villa as her own child. If this envoy had indeed mistreated her subjects…
It seemed there was nothing she could do, as they were merely living under someone else's roof.
As she walked, her mood grew increasingly somber. At this time of day, cat-people would usually be basking in the sun on the roadside, rooftops, or walls. Yet, she didn't see a single one.
Where had all these cat-people gone? Could this envoy truly be ill-intentioned?
As she neared the reception house, her face grew even grimmer. The whiskers on her face twitched, and her sharp teeth jutted out. She heard sounds resembling a scuffle from behind the wall, accompanied by the incessant humming of many cat-people!
She had imagined many brutal scenarios, but as she stepped through the main entrance, the scene was completely different from what she had envisioned.
A man with slightly small eyes sat on a chair with a pleasant smile, several cat-people of various colors sprawled lazily at his feet.
Of course, these cat-people were not subdued by force. They lay around the man with a look of languid contentment, their eyes glazed over. In their paws, they held spherical objects of deep green, which they occasionally licked.
Those intermittent humming sounds emanated from these rather less-than-disciplined cat-people.
Around them, many other cat-people watched, their eyes gleaming as they stared at the man, some even with saliva dripping from their mouths.
Wen Wen held two catnip balls, continuously rolling them in his hands. The gazes of the cat-people followed the catnip balls' movements.
Those cat-people actually desired the catnip balls in Wen Wen's hands, but the conditions Wen Wen set made them feel a sense of shame, so they all hesitated, resisting the temptation of the catnip balls with sheer willpower.
In truth, the cat-people of Bishi Mountain Villa were intelligent beings, so they were familiar with catnip. In fact, catnip was a popular commodity in Bishi Mountain Villa, equivalent to cigarettes in the human world.
However, the catnip balls Wen Wen offered were no ordinary items. They were enhanced versions created by the Hunter Association when dealing with tiger-like tribes, possessing a strong allure for these cat-people.
Meanwhile, the situation where Tao Qingqing was located presented a different scenario. Hundreds of bats were flying in the air, though they weren't used for combat but rather as cat teasers.
More than twenty kittens of various patterns were chasing the small bats, and the sounds of playful skirmishes were emanating from them.
Witnessing this heartwarming scene, Atai Ya smiled, "You must be Lord Ausnor's envoy. This is the first time I've seen little ones so close to a human."
Then, she looked curiously at the calico kitten, "Why did you say he was unpleasant?"
"Because… because he said that if I wanted the spherical object, I had to rub my head against his leg and let him pet my head to scratch my itch," the calico kitten said, her voice filled with grievance.
Wen Wen shrugged innocently, "I just like cats. This is how I interact with ordinary cats. It's not illegal, is it?"