Chapter 12: My Cat Tries to Feed Me
Cael figured out what was going on and resolutely said to himself, "Deducing a way to deal with... no, to eliminate the extraordinary power in the gold coin."
A familiar chill rose from his head.
The next moment, his eyes lit up.
Cael "saw" an extremely brilliant sun, emitting endless light and heat, surrounded by strange black clouds.
The sun suddenly expanded and burst out with endless rays of light. Every time a ray of light hit the black cloud, the latter disappeared a little.
After just a moment, the black cloud was gone.
Only the sun remained in the sky.
As if it had existed forever.
A prompt immediately flashed up: "Proficiency +2, current proficiency is 58/1000, spirit value is 4.3/13.4."
Cael was very surprised: "It's really surprising. I didn't expect that the True Flame Remnant Seal analyzed from the sun could actually restrain the extraordinary power of the gold coin."
He stared at the ditch and smiled, "Mr. Other God believer, it seems your luck isn't great."
More than just bad. It was terrible.
Originally, the plan of this group of Other God followers was going quite smoothly. If they had waited one more day, they could have held a grand sacrificial ritual in the textile factory.
Unfortunately, a middle school student suddenly interfered.
Not only did the ritual fail, but the followers were also severely injured or killed. Even the gold coin hidden so discreetly was found through deduction.
One word: miserable.
Cael grabbed his small shovel, worked at the bottom of the ditch, and soon found the gold coin.
He didn't dare to touch the strange item directly, so he picked it up with the shovel and tossed it onto the grass.
It was a brand-new gold coin.
Its surface was embossed with a lush, thriving Worldshade Tree, the emblem of the divine civilization.
The gold coin still radiated strange power.
From the moment it was uncovered, Cael began hearing faint, eerie whispers, and he felt his emotions growing restless.
Earlier, the whispers were just a skill-induced hallucination.
Now, they were real.
Without delay, Cael activated the True Flame Remnant Seal. A pale glow lit up his fingertip as he pressed it firmly onto the coin.
At that moment, the coin seemed to sense danger and jumped strangely.
Buzz~
The coin trembled.
The whispers grew louder.
But it was futile.
Ding!
Cael's finger touched the coin.
The light at his fingertip flared as bright as a 100-watt bulb. The surrounding air rippled with heat.
Aaaah~
A sharp, ghostly scream erupted from the gold coin.
Moments later, the scream abruptly ceased.
The coin stopped shaking.
Cael quickly ran a deduction and exhaled in relief: "The black mist was destroyed by the Remnant Seal."
He relaxed, then noticed dizziness washing over him. A glance at his stats showed his spirit value had dropped to a dangerously low 0.2/13.4.
In other words, that short encounter consumed 4.1 points of spirit.
Cael rubbed his forehead, a chill lingering: "Clashing with extraordinary power is draining. My small body can barely take it."
He smiled, storing away the coin: "Still, worth the effort."
The average monthly wage for a person was about 20 silver coins. A gold coin equaled five months' salary. This was no small sum.
Cael quickly cleaned up and rode off.
In a secret chamber...
A candle burned in the room's center, its flame an eerie dark green.
By its light, a large stone floor could be seen, engraved with a disturbing image—a four-armed giant.
Where the head should be was nothing.
Near the shoulders, two arms held human heads, each with a grotesque grin.
The lower arms held freshly torn bone staffs.
Thump. Thump.
Rhythmic tapping echoed, like a cane striking the stone.
A hunched, robed figure slowly approached the candle, coughing heavily.
He waved a sleeve.
Whoosh!
The green flame surged, forming a face in the fire.
The flaming face spoke, sparks trailing from its mouth: "Zagu, you failed."
The hunched figure rasped back: "We have a traitor!"
The fire-face was calm: "Proof?"
Zagu hissed, "Everything about this operation was strange. No warnings reached us, yet the authorities struck."
"A poor excuse."
Zagu shouted: "Hatch's soul lamp is out! That means the Soulbound Coin was discovered and the escaping soul fragment was destroyed!"
The flaming face twisted in alarm: "What?"
Zagu pressed on angrily: "The concealment of that coin is unrivaled. Only betrayal could've revealed it."
"That soul fragment's nature is unique. Only mystics skilled in soulcraft could detect it.
"But Tai'an's Little Realm hasn't had a master of the soul path in decades. If no one betrayed us, how was Hatch killed?"
The flame was silent.
After a long pause, it answered, "I'll personally investigate everyone connected to Hatch."
Then with menace: "Everyone."
Zagu sneered: "Once you find the rat, I'll use the Face-Eater Worm to gnaw his guts away."
The flaming face vanished into smoke.
Keates Lane
As Cael opened the door, a meow greeted him.
Meow~
The black cat sat at the door, golden eyes steady.
Cael nodded approvingly: "Good! You listened and didn't sneak off after dark."
The cat brushed his leg and trotted lightly across the room, leaping onto a tall wooden table.
Cael's eyes followed—then blinked.
Three plump birds were neatly laid on the table.
They were each larger than a human palm—easily half a pound each.
Clearly, the Sheriff had gone hunting.
The black cat pressed a paw to one and meowed.
Cael glanced at the cat's belly and asked, amused: "Sheriff, did you bring dinner for me?"
The cat flicked its tail in affirmation.
Cael's lip twitched.
Had... had this cat just tried to feed him?
Half an hour later.
Dinner was served.
Cael bit into a leg and nodded in satisfaction.
Firm, chewy meat. Delicious.
Raising this cat had clearly been a wise decision.
Free meat. Enough said.
The black cat sat nearby, watching Cael eat, tail flicking.
After finishing his meal, Cael tidied up and told it, "I'm going to rest. Stay in the living room and don't make too much noise, alright?"
Meow~
The black cat responded and slipped under the cabinet.