"Crisp pears, fresh and round, take a bite and savor the sweetness!"
"Vintage Huadiao wine! Guests, have a taste. If you don't get drunk, it's free!"
"Tiger Skin Wrinkles, freshly arrived from Yuezhou, sniff it, and you'll be intoxicated by its fragrance!"
"Exotic spices from foreign lands!"
.........
Amidst the bustling street cries, two cats, one black and one white, walked side by side along the street.
The black one is Qiansui, the Moon Shadow Black Eyes Golden Tiger, and the white one is naturally Du Ke.
Du Ke followed behind Qiansui, his ears perked up high. The street cries filled his ears, but instead of finding it noisy, he found it intriguing.
When they first embarked on their journey, from the Su Family's residence to the outskirts of the city, although they traversed the entire city, the Su Family's influence was so strong in the capital that they couldn't hear or see any hustle and bustle along the way.
All they encountered was a deathly silence and oppression.
At that time, Du Ke crouched on the rooftop, only feeling reverence and fear. There was no trace of the vibrant atmosphere of the mortal world.
But now, in Mao City...
Du Ke deeply experienced the vibrant atmosphere of the mortal world and a different kind of flavor.
As Du Ke looked around, his footsteps involuntarily slowed down, falling far behind Qiansui.
Qiansui, who was walking ahead, noticed the distant sound and turned her head to see Du Ke slowing his pace and looking around.
"Meow~"
Qiansui frowned, opened her mouth, and let out a howl, urging Du Ke to catch up quickly.
Du Ke's ears twitched, and he clicked his tongue. Qiansui was being too bossy.
But as a cat under the eaves, he had to lower his head.
Obeying was the only option!
Du Ke quickened his pace and caught up with Qiansui. After walking a distance with her, Qiansui turned into a small alley.
At the entrance of the alley sat a ragged, disheveled beggar. He lazily leaned against the wall, an old bowl placed in front of him, and a yellow-spotted cat clutched in his arms.
The cat curled up in the beggar's arms, soundly asleep. The beggar stroked its fur, his eyes filled with indescribable contentment.
Following Qiansui into the alley, Du Ke took a closer look at the beggar. When the beggar noticed Du Ke's gaze, he smiled, revealing that he had very few teeth left.
Seeing Du Ke's gaze, the beggar nodded instinctively. But immediately, under Qiansui's urging, Du Ke hastened his steps and caught up.
"What a handsome cat you are!"
The beggar withdrew his gaze, sighed, and the yellow-spotted cat opened its eyes and let out a meow.
"But what makes me most fond of you!"
As he said this, the beggar coughed a couple of times, his voice hoarse, causing the yellow-spotted cat to worry and meow.
"Cough, cough...," the beggar coughed a few more times, but then he patted the cat in his arms and smiled, saying, "It's alright, don't worry, don't worry!"
With that, the beggar laboriously leaned against the wall and stood up, lifting the yellow-spotted cat onto his shoulder.
"It's almost mealtime. I need to find some food for you!"
The old beggar, picking up a broken bowl, struggled to take each step. He carried a cat on his shoulder, gradually disappearing into the crowd, leaving only his feeble yet tenacious cries.
"Kind folks of that household, have mercy and give this cat and me a meal!"
...
In the narrow alley, Du Ke twitched his ears and glanced toward the entrance, but he saw nothing.
Inside and outside the alley seemed like two different worlds.
"Meow!"
Qian Sui, who had already climbed onto the wall, looked displeased as he gazed at Du Ke. This young scoundrel had been absent-minded since a while ago.
"Hey, I got it, I got it. Why rush me?" Du Ke responded, while the white cat echoed Qian Sui's annoyance.
"What do you mean by 'shut up and follow me obediently'?"
Du Ke rolled his eyes. "Can't you speak nicely?"
"Meow!"
"I speak softly, who would notice?"
Upon hearing this, Qian Sui stopped and looked at him with a mocking expression, then glanced down at the wall.
Du Ke followed Qian Sui's gaze and saw a child with a tiger hat squatting in the yard, pants down, defecating while staring at him with an open mouth.
Clearly, the scene of Du Ke speaking earlier had been observed by the child.
Du Ke took a moment to ponder, then spoke up, "Have you eaten?"
The child burst into tears and ran into the house without pulling up his pants.
"Ma, the white cat followed me home!"
The white cat flicked its tongue with its ears flattened. "This child is not cute at all!"
"Meow!"
Qian Sui smirked and quickened his pace along the wall, with Du Ke following closely behind.
When the child led his mother out, there was nothing left in the yard except a heap of steaming rice fields.
"You little rascal, where did you find a talking white cat?"
The child's mother grabbed her son's ear, pulling him into the house.
"Now you're learning to lie, and you got your clothes soiled. You've become quite daring!"
"But, Mom, I didn't! Really, I didn't!"
"Daring to argue!"
"Waaa!"
...
Du Ke had no knowledge of the child and his mother's situation. For now, he just stayed close behind Qian Sui.
This black cat had a knack for traversing walls and roofs. Not only Qian Sui, but Du Ke also noticed that many cats walked in the same way.
It was as if this was the exclusive path for cats.
Ever since the incident where children discovered he could talk, Du Ke hadn't spoken again, silently trailing behind Qian Sui.
Qian Sui's steps were light, with each limb landing in a straight line. The black cat with its tail dragging behind truly resembled a fierce tiger.
After walking for a while and crossing four streets, Du Ke noticed four cats sunning themselves on the wall.
These four cats were snuggled up against each other, leaving no gaps. Their tails were wrapped around their bodies, and their paws were stepping on their tails, forming a cat ball.
Upon seeing these four cats, Qiannian kept walking without stopping, and naturally, Duke followed suit.
The four cats squatted side by side and leaped over.
The Duke and Qiannian were indifferent to the four cats as they jumped over their heads. However, after jumping over the four cats, Qiannian stopped and also squatted on the wall.
Seeing Qiannian stop, Duke also stopped and sat on the wall.
Duke glanced sideways at the four cats and wrapped his tail around his side, lifting his front paws to step on his tail.
Hmm, I have to admit, it's quite comfortable.
Duke, sitting on the wall with nothing to do, looked around straightforwardly.
The wall faced a restaurant, but it was the back door of the restaurant.
The street in front was sparsely populated, with only a few idlers leaning against the wall picking lice.
As time passed, more and more cats gathered around.
The four cats that Duke had crossed earlier were now frequently crossed by other cats.
Some larger ones jumped over, while smaller ones waited for the four cats to stand up and squeezed through their legs.
In no time, there were more than thirty cats occupying the wall.
Qiannian and Duke were sandwiched among them.
"What is this all about?"
Duke frowned and heard Qiannian suddenly exclaim.
"Meow!"
As the howl entered his ears, Duke also looked at Qiannian.
"What do you mean by eating a full stomach first?"
Qiannian tilted her head, wearing a mocking expression, and let out a low howl.
"Hmm?"
Duke blinked, "What kind of nonsense is 'eating a full stomach first' for cats?"
"And besides, how can we..."
Duke looked at the restaurant's back door in front of him and then at the surrounding cats. His expression gradually became unpleasant.
"You want me and these cats to fight over the leftovers from the restaurant?"
"Meow!"
Qiannian nodded, thinking you're not that stupid after all.
Duke, on the other hand, roared in frustration.
"Damn, you actually want me to do this? Don't you have a conscience?"