Chapter 48 Berry Cat

Chapter 48 Berry Cat

Seeing how sincerely he apologized, even Ling Qingjue, a cat who intentionally picks flaws, couldn't find a single flaw and had to give up.

Meng Shu continued, "Thank you for being willing to dance with me."

He'd thought Ling Qingjue would refuse him.

After all, he didn't know anything, stood out awkwardly among the elegant dancers, and Ling Qingjue, who cared so much about his pride, would definitely think he was embarrassing.

Who'd have thought Ling Qingjue couldn't dance well either, and purposely stepped on him?

He was too busy going back and forth with Ling Qingjue to notice how ridiculous he looked dancing.

Ling Qingjue lifted his chin, as if bestowing a favor: "I'm just acknowledging your proper attitude."

Meng Shu was sharp as a tack; he knew very well who was kind to him.

His eyes crinkled, and his voice was very soft: "No matter what, thank you anyway."

At the same time, Jia Zhao was forcibly dragged onto the dance floor by Xu Linzhou. The two were practically fighting, elbowing each other from time to time. Their exaggerated movements drew the attention of everyone around.

Meng Shu was caught between laughter and exasperation, "These two... are fighting even more fiercely than us."

"Serves them right," Ling Qingjue snorted coldly. "Neither of them has good intentions."

If the rules hadn't stopped him, he'd have already ground them to dust.

Ling Qingjue was extremely petty.

He held grudges over even the smallest things.

Meng Shu asked, "They have bad intentions? No way, they're just kids, a bit willful at most."

"I told you, you wouldn't understand." Ling Qingjue didn't want to explain to him.

Ling Qingjue lowered his eyes, condescending: "Now, I allow you to win me over."

He paused, awkwardly turning his gaze away, "In the Demon Beast Forest, there is a kind of ore called Silver Ore, guarded by an eighth-rank demon beast."

Meng Shu didn't react at first, "What?"

At that moment, the town mayor approached them, offered Meng Shu a glass of wine, and said with a smile, "Lord Hero, thank you for the funds you provided."

Meng Shu smiled, "It's nothing, just ten thousand."

"Each hero chipped in ten thousand, which got the ball rolling." The mayor laughed heartily, then turned to look at Ling Qingjue, sizing him up.

Their alone time was interrupted, and Ling Qingjue was furious, saying harshly, "Look again and I'll gouge your eyes out."

The mayor shrank his neck, "Still so petty..."

"What did you say?" Ling Qingjue squinted, sneering, "Do you think just because you're the mayor, I wouldn't dare touch you?"

"You really have no manners." The mayor complained while hiding behind Meng Shu. "Being so hot-tempered at such a young age, you'll suffer for it."

Ling Qingjue raised an eyebrow, his face dark and menacing. "I told you not to invite me to this dance. You humans are so annoying. I'm never coming again."

Meng Shu quickly intervened to smooth things over, "Alright, alright, Lord Cat, don't be angry. The mayor's old and his mind's not what it used to be..."

The mayor: "?"

He patted Meng Shu on the shoulder, giving a wry smile, "I can still hear you."

"Hmph." Ling Qingjue snorted again, as if in disdain, but out of consideration for Meng Shu, he barely held back the urge to curse.

At first, Meng Shu thought Ling Qingjue hated him.

Later, he discovered that Ling Qingjue hated everyone equally—he was rude, sharp-tongued, and awkward. Just a cat.

Ling Qingjue impatiently raised his chin, "I'm leaving. This dance goes on until ten; you two can take your time chatting."

"You're leaving?" Meng Shu said, "I'll go home with you."

"..."

Ling Qingjue shot the mayor a deep look. "Don't you want to chat?"

"You're definitely more important." Meng Shu said without thinking.

That successfully pleased Ling Qingjue.

Lord Cat nodded proudly, "Alright, I'll wait for you for ten minutes."

With that, he sat down in the resting area nearby. Several single attendees immediately gathered around him, but before they could speak, Ling Qingjue cast a Silence spell on them.

The group looked at each other in confusion.

Ling Qingjue looked lazy, his brows relaxed, his sharp features radiating coldness, "Stay away from me, alright?"

It sounded like a suggestion, but he really didn't give them a choice.

Really rude!

The group left angrily.

The mayor shook his head, "That cat has no manners at all."

"He just... doesn't know how to express himself." Meng Shu couldn't help defending his own cat.

Now that this cat belonged to him, saying Ling Qingjue had no manners was like saying he, the owner, hadn't trained him well.

The mayor pried into his life, "How are you getting along with Ling Qingjue? Has he ever said he'd throw you into the Demon Beast Forest?"

"I've already been thrown in once..."

"You didn't die?"

"No, he came back to get me." Meng Shu puffed out his chest proudly.

He said his cat just talked tough, but he had a soft heart!

"Before, many people were thrown into the Demon Beast Forest by him. A lot of them never made it out alive. When they resurrected later, he'd charge them an arm and a leg for resurrection. That's also why he has such bad relationships."

The mayor paused, nailed it: "That's what you call a profiteer."

Meng Shu was both amused and exasperated, "He really is... *sigh*."

"Ling Qingjue doesn't have many friends. His situation is special. When he came to our town, he had just taken form and could barely walk. At that time, I felt sorry for him and took him in."

The mayor grew angrier as he spoke, nearly crushing his wine glass. "But he ends up being a demon, causing trouble all day long, and whenever he's supposed to revive someone, he just blackmails them."

Although he was scolding Ling Qingjue, there was a hint of a smile in his eyes.

Clearly, he wasn't really angry.

Meng Shu counted back the years. "He came to Moon Bay fifteen years ago? He's not a local here?"

"He's not from Moon Bay; he came from somewhere else," the mayor said. "I heard it's a very distant place. Something happened to his family, and his parents are in prison..."

"His parents are in jail?" Meng Shu's throat tightened as he recalled some very bad memories, asking with difficulty, "What did they do?"

"I can't tell you that." The mayor drained the wine in his glass.

He lowered his voice: "You need to reach forty affection points to learn about his past, but so far, no one has reached forty, so no one knows his history."

"I'm already at thirty." Meng Shu's heart tightened.

He knew Ling Qingjue had secrets, but he didn't expect it to be this serious.

"I knew you'd do it!"

The mayor laughed heartily, starting to sweet-talk him again. "From the first time I saw you, I knew you were a great hero!"

Meng Shu sighed, feeling helpless. "Mayor, stop joking."

He didn't believe the mayor would talk to him about all this for no reason.

The mayor was the quest-giver, after all.

The mayor's smile dimmed slightly. "No matter what happens in the future, don't abandon him. He's already been abandoned once."

"Guess why he's so fierce?"

Because he was abandoned once, when he was still very young, cast aside ruthlessly, forced to leave his home and settle in this slow-paced little town called Moon Bay.

Abandoned once...

Who would abandon him?

Meng Shu knew what it felt like to be abandoned, and he also hated that feeling of helplessness.

The mayor had said everything he needed to say; the rest was in the hands of fate.

Then something occurred to him. "Oh, by the way, do you know what kind of cat Ling Qingjue is?"

Meng Shu snapped out of it, taken aback. "No, I don't."

A hint of excitement crept into his voice. "What kind of cat is he? So haughty—probably a Persian cat or something?"

"I guess he's a Rude-berry Cat."

Meng Shu was taken aback. "A what?"

How had he never heard of that breed before?

The mayor said deadpan, "A rude Berry Cat!"

Damn, it was just a bad joke.