Chapter 8 The birds are home

Mu Bai looked at Cheng Xiaoxiao intriguingly. At first, he thought it was an ordinary cat. So even when Chu Yunshen dismissed all the beauties in the residence for it, he didn’t think much of it, but now… Mu Bai removed a small bottle from his chest and threw it to Chu Yunshen as he said, “This is a beauty pill. I promise this will make Your Highness look radiant and even better looking than you previously were after taking it. Your title as the most handsome man in the capital will be safe in your hands.” Chu Yunshen took the bottle and glared angrily at Mu Bai. Then Mu Bai shrugged and walked over to the cat. Mu Bai was about 3 meters away from Cheng Xiaoxiao when her tail suddenly blew up and stood erect, “Meow! Meow!” She kept wailing tragically like a crying baby, telling them to stay away! She couldn’t control herself at all and only wanted to bite someone! Mu Bai turned back and removed a silver needle dipped with white fluid from his medical kit. He pinched the top of the silver needle with his index finger and thumb. With a gentle flick of his wrist, the needle flew out and went straight into Cheng Xiaoxiao. Cheng Xiaoxiao felt as though an ant had bitten her on the neck. Then she felt giddy, and her body went limp. Was she going to die? Bai Wuchang’s words were still fresh on her mind. The Netherworld didn’t have her records, so her soul would end up extinguished if she were to die now! The jade pendant on her neck slid to her chest. Cheng Xiaoxiao used her last shred of divine consciousness to call for Bai Wuchang. But she fell into a deep slumber in the end. After Mu Bai fiddled with Cheng Xiaoxiao’s head and the cage for a while, he stood up. He pinched a piece of silk handkerchief with some white fluid on it and said, “The fluid on the little fellow is surprisingly from a dark green snake.” “I think there are such snakes in Wu.” Chu Yunshen’s eyes turned dusky. Wu certainly took great pains to kill him! “Yes, this poisonous fluid was extracted from a poisonous snake called the dark green snake which originates from Wu.” Mu Bai carefully placed the silk handkerchief into a waste box in the medical kit. Then he rummaged for a little red bottle and handed it to Xiaowu as he said, “This is the antidote for dark green snake poison. Give some to the cat.” When he saw Xiaowu about to carry the cat by the neck, Mu Bai said faintly, “Xiaowu, the dark green snake is very poisonous.” Xiaowu instantly stopped. He ripped some fabric off his clothing to wrap his hand before grabbing the cat’s neck. Then he poured the antidote into the cat’s mouth. “Fortunately, all His Highness got was a superficial cat scratch. If there were any dark green snake poison on it, the consequence would be unthinkable.” After Mu Bai dressed the wound on Chu Yunshen’s face, Xiaowu saw him out of the room. As he left, he turned to instruct Xiaowu, “Make sure that the prince’s wound doesn’t come into contact with water for a few days.” “Yes, Doctor Mu,” said Xiaowu as he hurriedly nodded. The moment when Cheng Xiaoxiao opened her eyes, she smelled the faint scent of flowers wafting through the air. She had been thoroughly washed, and her injured paw was all bandaged up. Chu Yunshen’s handsome face could be seen at close up. He had a fair face and stern angular features. When she saw the bandage on Chu Yunshen’s face, Cheng Xiaoxiao felt a little guilty in her heart. Cheng Xiaoxiao slowly inched her head towards Chu Yunshen’s neck. With his warm breath exhaling over the top of her head, Cheng Xiaoxiao gradually closed her eyes as she sensed a moment of peace. After Chu Yunshen fell into a deep sleep, Cheng Xiaoxiao opened her eyes quickly. Her differently colored eyes stared hard at Chu Yunshen as all the memory from before she fainted surged into her mind. The male voice that made her restless and easy and kept shouting for Hupo to kill him seemed to keep lingering in her mind. Did she have an auditory hallucination? Why did she keep hearing the man’s voice? Was the man this lion cat’s original owner? He kept telling her to kill him. But was it Chu Yunshen he was talking about? As a modern woman, Cheng Xiaoxiao connected the dots from when she first transmigrated and immediately realized something. Wu not only sent a dancing girl to assassinate Prince Jing, but they also didn’t even let this adorable kitten off. The question was, why didn’t the cat attack Prince Jing in the beginning? Oh yes, was it that unknown fluid? Was that the additional ingredient that made the lion cat maniacal? With waves of pain coming from her paw, Cheng Xiaoxiao couldn’t help lament over her lousy luck. A cat stole her reincarnation quota, and she had to help the cat fulfill its mission. If she failed to complete the mission, she had to die on the cat’s behalf. She finally realized that Hei Wuchang and Bai Wuchang were not only careless, but they were inefficient. A day had gone by, and they didn’t even show their faces. She almost paid with her life because of their clerical errors! At the thought of this, Cheng Xiaoxiao angrily swore that when she went to the Netherworld again, she had to lodge a complaint against them to the King of Hell. “Hmm?” Chu Yunshen was dreaming about something. Then he turned his head a little as though he couldn’t sense the warmth anymore. When he found Cheng Xiaoxiao’s furry little head again, he leaned against it and fell back into a deep sleep. Cheng Xiaoxiao got a shock from the disturbance. It made her heart palpitate so hard that it felt as though her heart was in her mouth until she discovered Chu Yunshen was only talking in his sleep. But her head was now stuck under Chu Yunshen’s neck, and she was completely immobile. For a foodie like her, it was always her motto to go with the flow. Anything could wait until tomorrow. At daybreak the next day, Chu Yunshen went against his usual habits and remained asleep. Just as Cheng Xiaoxiao attempted to move her tiny body away from Chu Yunshen’s neck, Xiaowu’s bright voice came from outside, “Master, the birds have returned home.” Chu Yunshen’s dark eyes suddenly opened. He looked right into Cheng Xiaoxiao’s red and brown eyes as he told Xiaowu, who was standing outside, “Wait for me at the study.” “Yes, Your Highness,” replied Xiaowu before he left. Chu Yunshen’s sharp eyes caught sight of something trembling at the corner of the wall after he got changed and prepared to leave. He instinctively halted to see it was the little fellow’s pet bird. Chu Yunshen turned back to pick up the baby bird and placed it back on the bed. Then he saw the white cat curled up near the headboard soundly sleeping. But the eyelashes that were hanging over her tightly closed eyes were twitching and gave away the fact that she was already awake. The corner of Chu Yunshen’s mouth couldn’t help curling up. It seemed that he made the right decision to spare the cat as the little fellow was rather intriguing. After Chu Yunshen placed the baby bird next to her, he stroked the white cat’s head gently before walking away briskly. When Cheng Xiaoxiao heard Chu Yunshen leaving, she slowly opened her eyes. Chu Yunshen was usually calm, but his footsteps sounded like he was in a hurry when he left. So it appeared he must have something urgent to deal with. “Chirp chirp.” Cheng Xiaoxiao turned to find the baby bird shrinking into the corner of the bed. Why was it so far away from her? “Meow,” said Cheng Xiaoxiao as she hobbled over towards it. Come over, little birdie. Why was the little bird trembling nonstop? Cheng Xiaoxiao rubbed the shivering baby bird with her head to check whether it was ill. “Chirp chirp!” The moment Cheng Xiaoxiao reached her head over, the baby bird immediately shrank even deeper into the corner of the bed. Cheng Xiaoxiao finally realized that the little birdie wasn’t sick and probably got a shock from seeing her turn mad yesterday. “Meow.” Shall they eat, baby bird? Cheng Xiaoxiao looked at the baby bird that kept shrinking into the corner of the bed. She acted adorable as she reached her uninjured chubby paw at it and said, “Meow.” Baby bird? As Cheng Xiaoxiao inched towards the corner of the bed, the baby bird kept chirping in terror. She cautiously prodded the baby bird with her paw, “Meow.” Baby bird, are you hungry yet? Cheng Xiaoxiao comically acted like she was eating with her head at the baby bird. “Chirp chirp!” The baby bird’s eyes lit up slightly. Cheng Xiaoxiao saw a little hope, so she pounced on the opportunity to reply it gently, “Meow…meow…” You must be hungry as well, right? Then Cheng Xiaoxiao lowered her head and gestured for the baby bird to climb onto her head. “Chirp chirp.” The baby bird seemed to sense a difference between this white cat and the one that it instinctively wanted to escape from yesterday. “Chirp chirp!” The baby bird scratched its tiny beak against the white cat’s neck first. Then seeing that the white cat was motionless, it slowly jumped onto the white cat’s head. “Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp!” The cat and the bird quickly became friends again. “Meow.” Hang on tight. They were going to find some food! Cheng Xiaoxiao felt that rather than waiting for Chu Yunshen to remember they were hungry and to get servants to send food over, she preferred to help herself! For Su City's competitive eating champion, it was as easy as pie for her to find food. Fortunately, she transmigrated into a cat. If she became some rich man’s daughter, she couldn’t eat as she pleased like she did now. If she transmigrated and became an unloved young mistress, she was probably better off being a cat that could act cute for living. When she saw the way Chu Yunshen stopped for the baby bird this morning and took care of it because it was hers, the little lion cat must have made a small note of it in her heart. Even if it were a tiny gesture, they could take things slowly. And there would finally come the day when Prince Jing couldn’t do without her! Since she was a cat now and he doted on her, she must use her rights to eat heartily! Cheng Xiaoxiao quickly threw her previous mistakes to the back of her mind. Shortly after Chu Yunshen left, she brought the baby bird to the kitchen to terrorize it. No, they went there to eat to their hearts’ content. There was a bunch of people at the kitchen steward’s door. “Sir! Something happened! Do you have rat poison? There are rats in the kitchen now!” said Auntie Cui from the kitchen as she yelled with her distinctly booming loud voice. Auntie Cui nodded as she replied Auntie Hua, “Yes! The chicken that I just prepared for His Highness disappeared out of the blue! Damn those rats!” In the corner of the kitchen, Cheng Xiaoxiao and the baby bird had hidden themselves well and were eating happily. She ignored the commotion going on outside as though it had nothing to do with her! When Chu Yunshen entered the study, Xiaowu and a black-clothed masked man were standing deferentially inside. “Your Highness!” said the black-clothed man as he knelt and paid his respects to Chu Yunshen. “Rise,” said Chu Yunshen as he sat on the main seat and waved his hand. Then he sat upright as he reached his hand to the black-clothed man and said sternly, “Give it to me.” “Yes, Your Highness!” The black-clothed man reached for his chest to pull out a securely packaged letter and handed it to Chu Yunshen. Chu Yunshen took the letter from him and waved his hand. With a swish, the black-clothed man disappeared from the study as though he was never there. Chu Yunshen deftly opened the letter. As its contents were revealed to him, his eyes turned dusky. Xiaowu spotted veins popping out on Chu Yunshen’s hand as he held the letter. So he asked uneasily, “Master?” “The man in the capital has lost his composure,” said Chu Yunshen word by word as he gritted his teeth. “What?” Xiaowu was so shocked when he heard that his lips turned pale. He knew the severity of the matter. And the man in the capital had felt threatened by the prince for some time now.