Chapter 148: Spare me, Immortal!

"..."

The cat demon's breathing hitched. Seeing the grim and murderous figure before it wearing an utterly earnest expression, it hesitated for a moment and said, "In this humble demon's view, this affair of illicit intercourse is purely a misunderstanding...

Viewed from their individual perspectives, none of them were in the right or the wrong; viewed from an outsider's perspective, however, they were all in the wrong."

Its voice paused briefly before it went on to explain: "This incident involves three people in total: the disguised burglar, Liu Heng'e, and Zhu Wenjing.

Let me first address each person's perspective.

The disguised burglar entered the Prince Jing's Manor in search of something. When he encountered Liu Heng'e's proactive advances, he used his actions to politely decline her, but was forced by Liu Heng'e into some physical contact out of misunderstanding. This was merely an expedient measure under urgent circumstances.

Liu Heng'e, keenly aware that she was being neglected by Zhu Wenjing, heard the tender and considerate words spoken by the person disguised as Zhu Wenjing and seized the opportunity to pour out her heart, hoping to foster a more harmonious relationship between husband and wife.

Although the methods she employed were somewhat aggressive, when all is said and done, she had no idea that the Zhu Wenjing before her was a disguised burglar, and she committed no wrongdoing.

As for Zhu Wenjing, upon returning to the manor, he discovered that his lawful wife was suspected of committing adultery with another man. As a prince of the realm, although his reaction was somewhat excessive, given a prince's dignity, it was not entirely unjustified.

From their individual perspectives, bringing this all together is merely a misunderstanding and cannot be counted as a fault...

Yet, I am an outsider who sees the truth of the matter clearly, which is why I say they are all in the wrong.

The burglar was wrong to disguise himself, wrong to enter the manor, and wrong for not leaving immediately when harassed by Liu Heng'e;

Liu Heng'e was wrong to be anxious, wrong to use aggressive methods, and wrong to refuse to admit to the deed afterward;

Not to mention Zhu Wenjing: he was wrong to neglect his lawful wife, wrong to provoke the disguised burglar outside, and upon returning to the manor, he was wrong to lose his composure and fail to communicate effectively with his lawful wife."

"No one is right or wrong, yet all of them are at fault."

Xu Boqing muttered with an inscrutable expression, then nodded and asked again, "In your opinion, among these three, whose fault is the deepest?"

"..."

Seeing him assume this posture, the cat demon grew increasingly certain of its guesswork, and without missing a beat, it blurted out, "Zhu Wenjing!"

"Why?"

"Because Liu Heng'e died at his hands."

The cat demon explained with a solemn expression, "This humble demon had dealings with that Zhu Wenjing for a few days. This man is cold-hearted and ruthless; even after this humble demon informed him of the truth behind the affair, he refused to acknowledge that he bore even the slightest fault."

"..."

Xu Boqing nodded slightly and asked, "And second?"

"The disguised person!"

"Why?"

"Because Liu Heng'e died on his account."

The cat demon glanced at the menacing figure before it, then said timidly, "The disguised burglar had no idea what consequences his actions would trigger, nor did he know anything about 'adultery.'

This humble demon is not that burglar, and I do not know whether he would feel a sense of guilt upon learning of this. But if he does, he is at least a thousand times better than someone like Zhu Wenjing..."

"A penetrating analysis..."

A faint smile touched Xu Boqing's cheeks. He then reined in his cultivation technique, withdrawing the inner qi he had been exerting on the black cat.

Seeing it drop to the ground from mid-air with a startled screech, he let out a wistful sigh and asked, "I flatter myself that my aura was well-concealed, and I revealed nothing when I intercepted your demonic arts. How did you figure out that it was my doing?"

Seeing that the murderous aura had vanished from the menacing figure, the cat demon's heart leapt with joy, thinking its life was saved.

Daring not to conceal anything, it hastened to explain, "This humble demon not only possesses the bloodline of a Nine-Lived Cat Demon, but was also born with a pair of miraculous Yin-Yang eyes that can distinguish the Yin and Yang of human auras and recognize ghosts and malevolent spirits."

Its voice paused for a fraction of a second before continuing, "This humble demon once heard Zhu Wenjing and Noble Consort Zhou discussing an immortal on the road.

When I first laid eyes on the immortal, this humble demon didn't think much of it.

Aside from sensing a rich and mellow Yang energy radiating from the immortal's body, nothing out of the ordinary was discovered.

Later, when the spell cast by this humble demon was inexplicably disrupted, I began to pay closer attention to those sharing the banquet. Then, recalling what Noble Consort Zhou and Zhu Wenjing had said on the way—that the immortal was a eunuch—

Yet, it is impossible for a eunuch to possess such a dense and robust Yang energy. That was how I guessed the immortal must be an expert hiding his prowess."

"Your background is hardly shallow..."

As if struck by a sudden thought, Xu Boqing muttered to himself, "If you were to simply die here, it would truly be a great pity."

"Thank the immortal for sparing my life!"

The cat demon's eyes widened in overwhelming joy, and it crossed its two paws together to make a bowing obeisance. In the span of this brief half-day, it had experienced the rapid overturning of despair and hope far too many times.

Now that it had heard with its own ears that the fierce cultivator did not intend to kill it, the tightly strung cord in its heart finally dared to slacken...

Xu Boqing gazed at it quietly, then suddenly broke into a smile and asked, "How many years have you been practicing cultivation?"

The cat demon was momentarily stunned. Though baffled by the question, it honestly replied, "Not daring to deceive the immortal, this humble demon has practiced cultivation for over eighty years."

"Eighty-odd years~"

Xu Boqing nodded slightly and remarked, "Legend has it that a Nine-Lived Cat Demon can cultivate one life every nine years, with nine lives being the absolute limit.

You have cultivated for over eighty years, placing you right on the threshold of the ninth life. And of those nine lives, eight of them nearly perished at my hands.

This means that before you met me, you had never died even once. Is that correct?"

"The immortal's divine eyes pierce through all illusions."

The cat demon nodded honestly, flattering him, "Before meeting the immortal, this humble demon always practiced with the utmost caution and rarely ever fought with others."

Xu Boqing smiled faintly and asked, "Do you have a name?"

"I do..."

Hearing him bring up its name, a look of bashfulness unexpectedly surfaced across the cat's face as it replied, "This humble demon is named Miaojing."

"Miaojing~"

Xu Boqing smiled faintly, his suspicions growing all the more confirmed as he softly murmured, "With a background like yours, a cultivation like yours, an insight like yours, and a name like yours, you hardly sound like some run-of-the-mill, impoverished mountain sprite or wild monster..."

His voice trailed off. He fixed his gaze on the somewhat bewildered cat demon, straightened his expression, and demanded, "Confess honestly: where did you run away from? And what is your purpose in coming here?"

"I..."

Seeing the menacing figure fix his narrowed gaze upon her, a fresh hint of murderous intent seeming to rise from his body, the cat demon retreated several steps in fright.

Her feline face twisted into a wronged grimace as she stammered, "Im... immortal, you... you said you wouldn't kill me."

"Now don't talk nonsense~"

Watching her terrified appearance, Xu Boqing chuckled and said, "I said it would be a pity for you to die here, but I never said you couldn't die here."

"I... You..."

"Hmm?"

"Immortal, spare my life! I'll talk... I'll talk!"

Seeing his questioning gaze hint at another intent to strike, Miaojing was so frightened that her fur bristled all over. She blurted out in a rush, "This humble demon comes from the Demon-Suppression Pagoda of Yunyin Temple!"

"Yunyin Temple? Demon-Suppression Pagoda?"

Xu Boqing furrowed his brow slightly as he repeated these unfamiliar terms, then said, "Confess truthfully!"

"Everything this humble demon has said is the absolute truth."

Miaojing's feline face remained scrunched up as she explained, "Shortly after my spiritual consciousness first awakened, I was locked away inside the Demon-Suppression Pagoda.

Every single day, there was an exceedingly annoying old monk chanting scriptures in there. Also, my name, 'Miaojing,' was given to me by that old monk at Yunyin Temple.

A few days ago, this humble demon happened to overhear that old monk muttering about shifting stars and heavenly baleful forces, and for many days after that, he didn't come to the pagoda to chant scriptures.

As it happened, the Demon-Suppression Pagoda experienced a slight loosening during those days. The disturbance was very minor, and while some of the major demons inside could not escape, my cultivation was shallow, so I seized the opportunity when the pagoda was left unguarded to slip out.

Later, hearing that the Emperor of Great Liang was preparing to hold a Water and Land Grand Assembly and confer the title of National Preceptor to enjoy the destiny of the entire nation, this humble demon thought to come and try my luck, hoping to borrow some human destiny to advance my cultivation...

Every word this humble demon has uttered is completely true!

I beg the immortal to spare my life!"