Can't Move Our Cat

"Don't sell, don't sell, hurry up and leave!"

A domineering voice rang out, filled with a touch of arrogance.

Du Ke, standing at the entrance of the grain store with his dog, twitched his ears and glanced in that direction, but didn't pay any further attention.

It was just a conflict and dispute over a transaction, nothing much to say about it.

As he urged his dog to enter the grain store, Du Ke's ears twitched again, and he held the dog's head, prompting it to pause.

Just now, he sensed a surge of spiritual fluctuations.

It was intense, mixed with a sense of despair.

"Let's not rush to buy grain. Let's go and take a look at the livestock market."

Du Ke transmitted his spiritual message, and the shopkeeper behind the grain store counter watched as the ginger-yellow wolfhound with a tiger-head hat, a money bag hanging around its neck, and a cat sitting on its back walked out of the grain store.

"Hey, this is quite unusual!"

The shopkeeper noticed the cat's action of holding the dog's head before it exited.

"Aren't these cat and dog here to beg for food?"

"Boss, what's going on?"

The shop's assistant came out from behind, constantly wiping his hands on his apron.

"A white cat rode in on a dog just now and then left."

"Hey, maybe it didn't smell any meat!"

The assistant didn't care, but the boss stroked his beard and urged, "Go out and take a look, I have a feeling that something is not right."

"Lately, there have been children disappearing in the city. Over a dozen children have gone missing in the past while."

"As they say, even the smallest clue can reveal the truth. The cats in our Mao City are not foolish creatures, they possess a certain spirituality."

"It's already unusual for a cat to ride a dog, and now they're leaving. This cat-riding-dog situation is even more peculiar."

"There might be some kind of omen hidden within."

"Don't forget, our master's child just turned one month old a few days ago. If it is a bad omen, we must pay attention to it."

"Go and take a look quickly, see what's going on."

"Alright, I'll go and take a look."

The young assistant didn't delay either, quickly walking out of the shop.

Watching the assistant leave their shop, the boss twiddled the abacus beads, feeling somewhat unsettled deep down.

"Meow..."

A hoarse meow sounded, and the boss lowered his head, seeing an old cat with cloudy eyes come to his feet.

"Oh my, my venerable ancestor, why aren't you enjoying yourself inside? Why did you come out?"

The boss hurriedly picked up the old cat and, after some comforting words, sent it back inside.

...

Inside the livestock market, various kinds of livestock could be seen.

A wooden fence surrounded the perimeter, while the inside was divided into different areas for buying and selling different types of animals.

Sellers shouted loudly, guarding their rented animal pens, while buyers strolled through the market, leisurely observing the livestock with the signs they were given at the entrance.

This was not a place where you could simply buy and sell.

You had to pay!

"Thirteen, let's go in and take a look!"

Du Ke, riding on his dog, let the dog enter the animal enclosure, and the dog obediently followed suit.

Is there a railing in the way?

Then the dog would enter through the gate with a woof!

Woof woof, I'm a clever one!

As Thirteen trotted through the entrance of the livestock market with small quick steps, the people responsible for issuing cards and collecting fees from sellers and buyers at the entrance were all taken aback.

This is a place for buying and selling livestock, so what's this dog doing here?

Is he selling himself to a meat restaurant?

But Thirteen didn't care. He wandered around the livestock market with his cat.

Du Ke's golden eyes scanned the surroundings, his senses heightened, searching for the source of the spiritual fluctuations he had just sensed.

Before long, the cat tapped the dog's head, signaling him to stop in front of a sheep pen.

Inside the pen, three ewes leisurely grazed on fodder while their lambs roamed around, appearing restless.

At the entrance of the sheep pen, a shepherd sat on a wooden stake, wearing shabby clothes and a bamboo hat, holding a shepherd's whip in his hand, calmly smoking a pipe.

Although his face couldn't be seen, his open and carefree demeanor, along with his unkempt appearance, exuded a unique air of roguishness.

Du Ke crouched on the dog's back, while the dog sat on the ground, panting with its tongue out.

Thirteen's pink tongue hung down from his mouth, complementing his bright blue eyes, giving him an adorable and foolish look.

The white cat glanced at the shepherd for a moment, then shifted its gaze to the sheep inside the pen.

"Hey, Manager Yang, let's settle this!"

Amidst the commotion, several people rushed towards the sheep pen. Du Ke withdrew his gaze and glanced at the approaching group.

"Go stand aside."

Du Ke patted the dog's little head, and the dog immediately got up and moved closer to the fence of the sheep pen.

"Hey, why are you here again?"

The shepherd lifted his bamboo hat and grumbled at one of the approaching individuals, "Didn't I say I'm not selling? Why did you bring people here again? Are you trying to bully outsiders?"

Facing the shepherd's question, one of the bearded men among the group responded, "What do you mean by bullying outsiders?"

"Just because I refuse to sell my sheep, no matter how much you offer, I won't sell."

As the shepherd spoke, he reached into his pocket, formed a mudball, and flicked it at the bearded man.

Seeing the filth flying towards him, the bearded man quickly dodged, anger evident in his eyes.

"You filthy man! Look at you, an outsider. I originally didn't intend to be forceful."

The bearded man shouted angrily, "Now I see that you're taking our people from Mao City for granted, mistaking our kindness for weakness!"

As he spoke, the bearded man rolled up his sleeves, his anger boiling, but it only made the shepherd laugh.

The shepherd swung the soft whip used for herding on the ground, leaving sharp whip marks, then sneered, "I won't sell, that's final. If you keep bothering me, don't blame me for not showing mercy!"

Seeing the whip marks left on the ground by the shepherd, the bearded man's face froze.

The whip used by the shepherd leaves such sharp marks on the ground, indicating that the shepherd has some skill. However, I also have some connections, so if this man really wants to fight, it wouldn't be in his best interest. But with the Spirit Cat Festival approaching, there have been warnings from above that we must not cause any disturbances and disrupt the festive atmosphere before the festival. With this in mind, the bearded man gathered his thoughts and spat on the ground.

"You ignorant lazy man, I doubt your sheep will last long."

"Alright, old Zhan, don't get angry over this matter. Let me accompany you to his house."

The man called by the bearded man also spoke up, trying to persuade him. As the person in charge of managing this livestock market, he encounters such disputes eight times a day.

As for the shepherd?

Find an excuse to drive him out later.

It's fine if he doesn't buy or sell livestock in this market, but his attitude is unpleasant, and now he has even offended the locals. We, the people of Mao City, won't tolerate outsiders disrespecting us.

"Let's go, old Zhan, let's go somewhere else."

Manager Zhang comforted Zhan as he pulled him away, whispering, "Later, I'll have someone drive him out. Don't get angry. It's not worth it for an outsider."

"With the Spirit Cat Festival approaching, let's not spoil the festive atmosphere over a trivial matter."

"If we ruin the blessing of the cats because of such a small matter, it would be a loss."

"Phew!"

Zhan spat again and cursed, "Unlucky!"

"I was planning to roast some lamb for the entire city's cats during the Spirit Cat Festival, but now something like this happened!"

"Such bad luck!"

"Hey, hey, hey, that dead cat better stay away from my sheep pen!"

Suddenly, the shepherd's scolding voice attracted the attention of Manager Zhang and Zhan. Both squinted their eyes and looked at the shepherd, who was waving his whip and scolding loudly at a white cat perched on the sheep pen's fence.

And when the shepherd scolded, the previously bustling market suddenly quieted down.

Many locals of Mao City stared at the shepherd with hostile gazes, while the out-of-town merchants looked on with anticipation, holding their arms and returning to their own livestock pens, gleefully waiting to see what would happen.

There are a few rules in Mao City that must not be violated, and the first one is that Mao City's cats cannot be beaten or scolded at will.

The cats of Mao City are the pride of its people, and even if something happens, it's their business how to handle it.

As the saying goes, disciplining children behind closed doors is none of outsiders' business.

This shepherd has now committed a serious taboo!

As all the people of Mao City looked at the shepherd who came from out of town, Duke also glanced at the shepherd full of hostility before focusing his gaze on the lambs inside the sheep pen.

As the spiritual aura fluctuated, a faint gleam appeared in Duke's golden eyes, and everything in his line of sight changed.

The big sheep in the sheep pen remained the same, but the little lambs were crawling on the ground, their expressions filled with desperate silence.

All these children were wearing sheepskins, with empty eye sockets in the sheepskins. Dark energy surged continuously, and there were faint "baa baa" sounds coming from within the sheepskins.

Du Ke watched the children wearing sheepskins running around the sheep pen, while the shepherd approached him with a grim face.

"You, cat killer, stay away from my sheep!"

The shepherd swung his whip, but before he could strike, his wrist was grabbed by someone.

"Excuse me, sir!"

The person holding the shepherd turned out to be Zhang, the steward who had previously comforted the man named Zhan. With a smile that didn't reach his eyes, Zhang said, "What are you doing?"

"What am I doing? It's none of your business!"

The shepherd had a bad attitude and didn't have a good expression towards Zhang either.

"None of my business?"

Zhang sneered, "Do you think we, the people of Mao City, are dead? You dare to beat our Mao City cat in front of us?"

"An old saying goes, 'Don't teach your son in front of others.' If our Mao City cat has done something wrong, it's our own business."

"Moreover, this cat was just squatting in the sheep pen, looking at your sheep with innocent mischief."

"But you want to shout and kill. You are humiliating the people of Mao City!"

As Zhang finished speaking, the people around him instinctively took a step closer to the shepherd.

In Mao City, you can do anything; if you commit murder or arson, there are yamen (government offices) and the city lord's mansion to handle it, and we can only curse you a couple of times at most.

But if you beat or scold a cat, then we'll have to have a serious conversation about it.

As the people around closed in, the shepherd also broke free from Zhang's grip and shouted, "What are you doing? Are you bullying outsiders?"

"We never bully outsiders!"

Zhan, the man with the surname Zhan, smiled brightly. Rolling up his sleeves, his eyes flickered with a cold light.

"But there's a premise," Zhan said loudly, "gentlemen, tell him what that premise is!"

"Don't touch our cat!"

All the people from Mao City present shouted in unison, their voices booming as if the mountains were shaking.

At this moment, Du Ke also dispersed a spiritual aura towards the lambs in the sheep pen.

"Children, come towards me!"

As the spiritual aura spread, all the lambs raised their heads and looked towards the white cat. A glimmer of life emerged in their lifeless eyes.

At the same time, a powerful spiritual aura also emerged, waiting for the cat to harvest.