"Let me tell you a story first, Ethan Zhang."
I looked at Xu Fu with a hint of helplessness, then suddenly, I stared at him in surprise.
"I can speak?"
Xu Fu smiled warmly at me and patted my shoulder.
"After all, this is a dream. Since you've interacted with Mona Ouyang, you should understand things in dreams even better than I do."
Suddenly, I understood. With a thought, I returned to my original form. My hand was healed, and as I flexed my fingers, a rush of joy surged up from somewhere deep inside.
"The reason everyone calls him Old Tom is because he has no name, no surname, and he belongs to the cat zodiac."
I heard this from Old Tom long ago. He belongs to the cat zodiac. At first, I thought it was a joke, but later I learned it wasn't. Old Tom was born on a day that doesn't exist, so he is of the cat zodiac.
Long ago, the gods wanted to establish the twelve zodiac animals. The cat was the first choice. The gods told the cat to inform the other twelve selected animals. The cat went to notify the ox, but their conversation was overheard by the rat, who was the cat's nemesis.
The rat took advantage of the gods being drunk and ran over first. In their confusion, the gods made the rat the first zodiac animal, followed by the ox, tiger, and others, who received the gods' blessing after being notified by the cat. When the cat finally arrived, it found that its seat was gone. Heartbroken, the cat meowed and left.
I burst out laughing as I looked at Xu Fu.
"Seriously? Did you just make that up?"
Xu Fu smiled faintly.
"There are many versions of this story, but Ethan Zhang, do you really think Little Cat is truly on your side?"
A jolt ran through me as I looked at Xu Fu, but then I reconsidered. This guy was a master at twisting people's thoughts.
"Enough, I won't say any more. Even if I did, you wouldn't believe me anyway."
I nodded, and Xu Fu began to speak.
"Nine hundred years ago, in the world of the living, a baby boy was born. However, his birth didn't fall within any hour of the day, so from the moment he was born, it was decided that he shouldn't exist in this world."
I had heard of such a time period before, back in the Corpse Realm, but it was brief. Tan Tian wanted to use that brief moment to let Ji Yun'er and Yue Que complete the ritual and become husband and wife, but because of my interference, it failed.
That baby was strange from birth—his mouth was pointed, he had sharp teeth, and stiff whiskers on each side of his mouth. He looked just like a little cat, a freak.
Fortunately, the baby boy had kind and caring parents. Both were doctors, running a successful clinic in a place called Pangcheng. Life was prosperous, with no wars to disturb them.
His parents did not abandon him because of his strange appearance; instead, they treated him even better. However, the child was different—he was easily injured.
When he first learned to crawl, the door suddenly crashed down for no reason. Luckily, the child only broke his hand and was not in mortal danger. With careful care from his parents, he recovered.
But during the time he was learning to walk, the child suffered several more disasters, nearly dying each time.
One time, the family’s nanny was carrying him past a well when she suddenly fell asleep. The child fell into the well, and if not for the gardener passing by at that moment, he would have died.
His parents found it strange and spent a fortune to hire a famous Daoist priest. The priest checked the child’s Eight Characters and used some rituals, but after divining, he sighed and shook his head.
No life to live, no fate to follow, no coming, no going, no words to speak.
The Daoist only spoke those four lines, then left a red string, telling the child’s parents to tie it to their son and never let him stray more than ten meters away. Otherwise, he could easily die.
Because he looked so much like a cat, his parents called him Old Tom. Fortunately, after tying the string to him, nothing major happened to him, and by the time he turned seven, his appearance gradually became more human.
However, his parents began to age rapidly, and many of the household staff did as well. The only thing they had in common was that they had cared for the child.
One day, a passing monk noticed the red string. Every person who cared for Old Tom would hold onto it. The monk, who had some spiritual cultivation, saw at a glance that the child should have died long ago, but had managed to survive by relying on the red string.
After explaining everything, the child's parents were terrified, but even more so, they felt helpless and sad. They told the monk all about the child's condition, but no matter what methods the monk tried, he couldn't help the child.
Unable to help, the monk decided to leave and look for a solution. The parents, though reluctant, came up with an idea: they hired different people each day to look after their child, offering a high wage to anyone willing to care for him.
This became a strange topic of gossip in the city, but the parents explained to outsiders that their child was born with weak Eight Characters and heavy yin energy, making him prone to early death. They said he needed a lot of yang energy from the living, so only strong and healthy people could keep him alive.
For those who cared for Old Tom, nothing seemed to change in just one day. But when Old Tom turned nine, something strange happened.
One morning, the parents' doorstep was crowded with people applying to care for Old Tom. Not wanting to let anyone repeat the job, they chose a new face.
He was a man nearing forty, but strangely, by nightfall, his hair had turned white and he died soon after.
This bizarre event drained the kind, honest parents of all their money, but they finally managed to hold onto their child. They decided to leave and move elsewhere.
Most of the household staff who knew the situation refused to care for Old Tom, leaving the job to outsiders. After they left, word spread, and many people realized that the couple had been trying to extend their son's life.
Many people in the city who had visited their home chased after them in outrage, and before they had gone far, the couple and Old Tom were caught.
In the courthouse, even the magistrate of Pangcheng couldn't make a decision. There were witnesses but no physical evidence, and the crowd, already agitated, began throwing stones into the courthouse.
The magistrate had once been saved by the couple after a serious illness and had received many benefits from them. He ordered officials to escort the family to another place.
By now, Old Tom was old enough to understand. He could see the fear in people's eyes. In recent days, no one had held the red string tied to him, and his body grew weak.
The officials, sensing something was wrong, only escorted them partway before leaving.
The young Old Tom often cried at night. He remembered how well his parents once treated him, but for more than two years, they never touched him, always speaking from a distance.
By now, his parents were exhausted. They reached a barren ridge and could go no further. The next relay station was still hours away. To keep Little Cat alive, they sold more belongings and asked passing travelers to care for him along the way.
"This is what is meant by a day that doesn't exist, Ethan Zhang. If the whole world wants you dead, what will you do?"
I looked at Xu Fu, hesitated for a moment, then shook my head.
"Maybe I would choose death."
The parents took Little Cat to seek help from relatives who had helped them before. When they arrived, all they received was a bit of silver to send them away. They were out of options, and by then, the parents were exhausted and fell ill.
Although Old Tom was young, he knew he was the cause of it all. Not wanting to see his parents suffer, at age ten, he ran away alone in the night.
With nowhere to go, Old Tom knew he was close to death.
"At that time, Old Tom met someone who taught him a technique. After that, he no longer needed the red string to prolong his life. As for the method, I don't know."
"How did Old Tom meet Yin Chou back then?"
I asked, and Xu Fu seemed to know this part of the story well.
"That was two or three hundred years later, Ethan Zhang. At that time, the Ghost Lords had escaped from Avici Hell and were hiding in the Underworld. The world of the living was relatively peaceful then."
At that moment, Xu Fu stood before me, and my consciousness began to blur, lost somewhere between sleep and waking.
"It looks like dawn is coming. Your consciousness doesn't need sleep, but this body does. Ethan Zhang, even now, Old Tom can only rely on his advanced techniques to prolong his life. He still can't escape being born on a day that doesn't exist. So, do you think there's any way to free him from nine hundred years of suffering? After all, Old Tom has no instincts."
"What are you trying to say?"
I shouted, and in an instant, I woke up, drenched in cold sweat.
"Probably not."
I muttered to myself, but inside, I was terrified, especially about Mona Ouyang—was she really saved?