Chapter 161: Serves You Right

Chapter 161: It Serves You Right

A kitten can hiss at lots of people.

But not at its owner.

This is a basic rule for kittens.

Ling Qingjue follows this rule too—he can show his claws to anyone—everyone except Meng Shu.

If Meng Shu also finds him annoying, Meng Shu can correct him, can teach him, but cannot abandon him.

Meng Shu was speechless for a second. "Teach you?"

Who the hell was he to teach Ling Qingjue?

"I'll change the things you hate about me, and you gotta change what I hate about you." Ling Qingjue pressed a finger to Meng Shu's lips, his voice ice-cold. "I hate that you lie, that you take everything on yourself, that you push me away, and that you think of everyone but yourself."

Meng Shu's eyes got red. He wanted to defend himself but had no idea where to begin.

Then his tone softened, and he said gently, "But I get your insecurities. I know you've never been anyone's first choice, and you're even more scared of being abandoned than I am. So, Meng Shu, I'm not gonna force you to change overnight. But from now on, don't lie to me. Don't try to cover the truth with lies."

His hand slowly slid down, landed on Meng Shu's back, and he pulled him into a hug. "If you ever lie to me, I'll lose my mind. I don't know what I'll do."

"This time you lied, and I turned into the Demon King. Next time, I'll do something way worse."

Ling Qingjue asked, grinning, "What do you think I'll do?"

Meng Shu couldn't come up with anything.

He awkwardly hugged Ling Qingjue as hard as he could, his voice muffled. "I understand."

He wouldn't lie again.

Ling Qingjue petted his head, looking down. "Idiot."

Then he grabbed Meng Shu's hand. "Ahem, I'm taking you out of here."

Meng Shu was still stunned—everything happened too fast for him to react.

"But I'm dead..."

"I'll bring you back." Ling Qingjue turned to look outside the door. "You two out there, get your asses in here."

With his permission, Lake rushed in. "Mengshu!"

Meng Shu had mostly calmed down, but when he saw Lake, his eyes started to water. "Hey, never thought I'd see you again."

Lake circled him, tears pouring down. "I thought I'd never see you again..."

"Don't cry." Meng Shu wanted to grab him a tissue, but then realized he was just a spirit.

Only Ling Qingjue could touch him in this room.

Ling Qingjue lifted his chin proudly. "Cat Clan special ability—I can touch souls."

Lake was envious. "You animals have way too many skills!"

The Law hadn't entered the room; it still stood outside, speaking softly. "Since the soul is intact, we need to find someone to trade their life with him."

Lake asked in confusion, "Can't we just bring him back directly?"

"No," the Law said. "He's still part of this world. Even if you want to take him back to yours, you have to switch his lifespan first."

The Law explained, "The rules of each world are different. In your world, life and death are nothing. In this world, they're huge. His lifespan has ended. If you force him through time and space, his soul will still fall apart."

According to the Law, only the living can cross time and space.

Ling Qingjue's face went cold. "So how do we switch lifespans?"

Meng Shu's eyes twitched, and he blurted out, "Kitty, don't do this for me—"

"Who told you to talk?" Ling Qingjue glared at him. "I'm still mad, I don't want to talk to you."

Meng Shu shut his mouth.

The Law said, "Find someone who still has years left, and transfer all of their remaining life to Meng Shu. Then Meng Shu won't be dead, and you can take him to your world."

Isn't that just taking someone's life?

Ling Qingjue figured as much. This world is cruel—some live, some die; some are rich, some are poor.

He nodded. "In that case, you protect his soul for me. I'll go grab someone."

Meng Shu couldn't help but stop him. "Kitty! But killing someone to save me... I..."

He knew Ling Qingjue was doing this for his own good.

But if he had to kill someone else to live, he would be tormented by guilt forever.

Ling Qingjue glanced at him and sighed softly. "I've got it under control."

"I'll go with you," Meng Shu still worried about him. "If you have to switch my life, at least tell me who you pick."

Ling Qingjue looked at him.

Then he turned his head away. "Fine. As you wish."

Meng Shu quickly followed and carefully took his hand. "Then take me with you."

A magic circle formed under Ling Qingjue's feet.

Meng Shu followed him and was teleported to the other side of the earth.

They landed by a pool—the water shimmered, clear and cool.

Meng Shu looked around, bewildered. "Where is this?"

"How should I know?" Ling Qingjue replied coldly. "Some jerk's house."

"Home?" Meng Shu marveled. "They're really rich, building a swimming pool in their house."

"I hate water the most. Anyone who builds a pool is nuts."

"Cats do hate water, but you can't call someone nuts just for building a pool."

"Going out of their way to jump into water—what else is that if not insane?" As a water-hating cat, Ling Qingjue couldn't understand such bizarre human behavior.

Meng Shu couldn't help but laugh. "This pool is huge. The owner must be very wealthy, right?"

Ling Qingjue snickered coldly: "Well, he's loaded—spending your money, after all."

"My money?" All the color drained from Meng Shu's face as a long-forgotten name surfaced in his mind. "Is this... Xu Qingfeng's home?"

"It is." Ling Qingjue took Meng Shu's hand and strode toward the shaded area. "He lives far away from you, across a whole ocean. Finding him took me some effort."

"So he took the money and ran abroad..." Meng Shu's voice dropped low, and he let out a sudden, hollow laugh. "What a joke I am."

"You've always been a joke."

Ling Qingjue didn't look back. "Since you know you're a joke, stop trusting everyone so easily. You're damn stupid."

"You're gonna kill him?" Meng Shu pulled himself together and forced a bitter smile.

"What else?"

Ling Qingjue almost rolled his eyes, asked crossly, "Let him live the good life on your money, stepping all over your corpse? Since he thinks money matters more than your life, then I'll give him the money and take his life instead."

"You humans always spout all kinds of logic, considering the other party's difficulties, spouting self-righteous bullshit. To us animals, if someone bullies you, you get back at them—no matter the reason."

"He cheated you for money. I'll kill him for money."

Ling Qingjue pursed his lips and spat out two icy words: "Serves him right."