X
Join our Discord server and get release updates for every novel you follow.
Join the ServerTo be honest, Xiluo’er wasn’t particularly keen on helping Nightmare.
It was primarily Nightmare’s pitiable, worried expression—fearing her boss’s wrath—that Xiluo’er simply couldn’t bear to witness.
It was like seeing a poor corporate drone who couldn’t meet a deadline.
Moreover, Xiluo’er mused that if she could truly allow Nightmare, this manager of the Chaos Cult in Lund City, to slack off more comfortably, then the Chaos Cult’s operations in Lund City wouldn’t run into any issues.
That was certainly something she wouldn’t mind seeing.
How truly wicked she was!
Meanwhile, Nightmare paused for a few seconds after hearing Xiluo’er’s comforting words, then nodded thoughtfully.
“Mmm… thank you, Cat Tail.”
Xiluo’er smiled, though she wondered if Nightmare was thanking her for the comfort or for the suggestion.
However, judging by Nightmare’s expression, Xiluo’er believed she had understood the underlying meaning of her words. The specific excuses, Xiluo’er decided, were best left for Nightmare to devise herself.
The dark dreamscape gradually dissipated. After ending the call, Nightmare secretly glanced at Xiluo’er a few more times.
She had, after all, spent some time with this Grand Priestess’s attendant. This assassin, supposedly a direct subordinate of the Grand Priestess, didn’t seem as cold-blooded and ruthless as Nightmare had initially expected, nor solely devoted to the cult and its priestess.
On the contrary, much like how Stand users are drawn to each other, Nightmare always felt a similar aura emanating from this assassin named Cat Tail.
It was the aura of slacking off!
****
Waking from her dream, Xiluo’er instinctively checked the clock on the wall. It was already very late.
The hour hand had passed twelve and moved quite a distance beyond.
Indeed, she had been through quite a lot tonight.
Despite a night of activity, Xiluo’er chose not to pull up her blanket and sleep. Instead, she flipped out of bed.
Although Nightmare’s unexpected situation meant she didn’t have to work overtime tonight, Ellen and Eve would likely return soon. Xiluo’er still wanted to confirm the outcome of tonight’s events.
Thinking back, Xiluo’er had felt a sense of various factions converging on the East District, with undercurrents stirring and a storm brewing, before tonight.
Yet, in reality, she had merely strolled around the East District, sensing no tension whatsoever.
Smoothly, Xiluo’er adjusted her pajamas and slowly descended the luxurious staircase of the mansion towards the main hall.
‘Well, although the Chaos Cult’s chances of victory tonight weren’t high, Eve and the others should still take some time to resolve the issue,’ she thought. ‘I might have to wait a while longer.’
As Xiluo’er reached the landing between the hall and the second floor, she was surprised to find that Eve was already in the mansion’s main hall.
‘Eh? So fast? Eve wasn’t here when I rushed back earlier to call Nightmare. Did she return while I was on the phone?’
Xiluo’er blinked several times, then noticed that Eve wasn’t alone in the hall. A cloaked figure lay on the spacious floor.
The cloaked person, completely covered from head to toe, lay motionless on the ground. Xiluo’er could barely make out that their hands and feet were bound.
‘Who is this? Someone from the Chaos Cult that Eve happened to capture?’
Xiluo’er didn’t dwell on it, for Eve had already noticed her.
“Xiluo’er? You’re still awake?”
“Mmm… I fell asleep, but I was a little worried about Sister Eve, so I got up to check.”
Xiluo’er casually offered an excuse, punctuating it with a wide yawn.
Padding across the hall in her slippers, Xiluo’er, feigning sleepiness, entered the main hall and discreetly surveyed her surroundings.
Sure enough, she spotted it: a tightly sealed box resting on the hall table.
“No need to worry, Xiluo’er. Everything’s done.”
Eve smiled, habitually reaching out to ruffle Xiluo’er’s hair.
Indeed, being greeted by a little loli after finishing a busy day outside felt quite pleasant.
“Is that so? Sister Eve, you must have worked hard.”
While allowing Eve to continue ruffling her hair, Xiluo’er mused inwardly.
‘It seems the Chaos Cult was indeed crushed. I wonder how many of the cult members Nightmare mentioned managed to retreat unscathed… but seeing that Eve even captured one, it looks like the Chaos Cult suffered heavy losses.’
At this moment, Xiluo’er also noticed that the cloaked figure nearby seemed to be staring intently at her. As an assassin, Xiluo’er was naturally sensitive to gazes.
“So, this is what Ms. Turing wanted?”
Feigning curiosity, Xiluo’er probed Eve for more information.
“Yes, thankfully, it was brought back intact. I’ve already notified Ms. Ellen via the communication stone. They should be back before long.”
Eve merely assumed Xiluo’er had overheard part of their discussion and didn’t pay it much mind.
“And that person is…”
Since she could still feel the cloaked figure’s intense gaze fixed on her, Xiluo’er added the question.
“It’s not entirely clear yet. Probably someone from the Chaos Cult. I snatched the item from them. We’ll decide what to do with this person once Ms. Ellen returns.”
“Oh…”
Xiluo’er nodded obediently. Just then, the cloaked figure, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly uttered a series of unintelligible sounds.
“Mmm mmm mmm mmm!”
It wasn’t a coherent sentence, indicating that Eve had thoughtfully gagged the person.
However, though she didn’t understand what the person was trying to express, Xiluo’er was certain they were deliberately making noise to attract her attention.
Even as they strained to produce that long string of inarticulate sounds, Xiluo’er could still feel the persistent gaze fixed upon her.
“Who are you?”
Xiluo’er had no interest in random Chaos Cult members, but at this point, she couldn’t help but glance at the person twice.
Her gaze swept from head to toe. The classic combination of cloak and mask prevented Xiluo’er from gleaning any useful information. However, she did notice that the cloak worn by the individual had a [Cognitive Impairment] buff applied to it.
Simply put, it was a buff that made it difficult for others to recognize who they were. Xiluo’er recalled that in the game, this skill wasn’t considered good when used by players.
Players mostly used this skill when they were in someone else’s home.
When players wanted to rummage through a house but didn’t want to be caught by someone they’d done a few side quests for, which would lower their favorability, this skill would be brought out.
“Xiluo’er, aren’t you going to bed?”
Seeing that the little loli in her arms didn’t seem to intend to go to sleep without saying goodbye, Eve casually asked.
“Mmm… I’ll go to sleep with Sister Eve in a bit.”
Xiluo’er casually made an excuse and leaned into Eve’s embrace.
She still wanted to wait for Ellen to return, hoping for a chance to find out what was inside that small box.
An item that caused multiple factions to fight over it in the East District, making Turing so anxious—Xiluo’er was very curious about what it could be.
‘No choice. For the sake of truth, I’ll have to slightly ‘sell out’ my body… and go along with Eve.’
“I can’t do anything with you.”
Seeing Xiluo’er say she wanted to “wait to sleep together,” Eve didn’t say anything more. She simply smiled and continued to gently caress the little loli in her arms.
“Mmm mmm mmm mmm!”
At that moment, the cloaked figure nearby emitted another long string of unintelligible sounds. Though meaningless, Xiluo’er somehow felt a sense of teasing in the tone of those noises.
“What are you doing! Haven’t you seen a personal maid before? Doing things like this is very common for us personal maids!”
“Quiet. If you can’t be quiet, I don’t mind making you quiet before Ms. Ellen returns.”
Eve’s voice was chillingly stern, her tone with the cloaked figure drastically different from moments before.
The cloaked figure dared not continue making long, beast-like whimpers. They also realized that the foolish loli seemed to completely misunderstand their intentions.
So, when Eve’s attention wasn’t on them, the cloaked figure could only manage to force out two distinct syllables in a slightly softer voice.
“Wu-eh, wu-eh…”
“What’s wrong, Xiluo’er?”
Noticing the little loli in her arms stiffen, Eve looked down at Xiluo’er.
“Ahaha, nothing, Sister Eve…”
Xiluo’er tilted her head up, forcing a smile.
Now she understood!
Eve had probably cast some magical debuff on the cloaked figure that prevented them from speaking. Although they couldn’t speak, with effort, they could still force out some muffled syllables.
The cloaked figure had deliberately made the intonation of the syllables very distinct, coupled with that vague yet familiar tone.
Xiluo’er finally realized: the cloaked figure was calling her “Cat Tail”!
“!”
“Wu-eh…”
Glancing at the cloaked figure, who was still subtly prompting her, Xiluo’er felt a cold sweat break out.
‘Damn it, what did Eve bring back?’
Only three people knew her true appearance and this moniker. Coupled with the fact that this person was brought back by Eve from the East District, Xiluo’er had no hesitation in identifying them.
However, just to be safe, Xiluo’er secretly observed the person from head to toe once more.
Upon carefully noticing the two prominent mounds beneath the cloak, which even the cloak couldn’t entirely conceal, Xiluo’er finally reached a conclusion in her mind.
‘Oh my god, isn’t this Red Spider Irene!’
‘How could she let Eve capture her and bring her back to the Destiny Observation Society?’
Xiluo’er suddenly remembered that she had heard similar unintelligible “Mmm mmm mmm” sounds at the cult stronghold before. At the time, she had thought it was some beast calling out, but it turned out…
That was the difference in Ellen’s attention. Ellen had immediately understood what she meant, while Xiluo’er had simply thought Eve had captured some senior beast…
Her intelligence was clearly inferior!
Xiluo’er quickly seized the moment while Eve wasn’t paying attention, looking at the cloaked figure with a shocked and questioning gaze.
The cloaked figure had stopped whimpering. Upon seeing Xiluo’er’s gaze, they gave a small, unnoticeable nod.
‘Damn it! It really is her!’
Xiluo’er hadn’t seen Irene since Karna City. Although she had expected to meet her in Lund City, Xiluo’er never imagined their reunion would be under such circumstances.
‘Why is she equipped like this, and why was she so nonchalantly captured by my own sister?’
****
Let’s rewind to a short while ago.
It was around the time Xiluo’er arrived at the cult’s stronghold and was cornered by Aila and Natasha.
The East District, shrouded in night, quietly exuded an air of poverty.
Dilapidated streets and buildings, vagrants wandering the streets, sleeping rough.
As usual for the city’s darker side, the night in the East District passed with occasional discordant sounds.
For instance, the sound of a drunkard chugging cheap alcohol, then vomiting against a crumbling pillar on the street; the sound of vagrants fighting over a sleeping spot; even the soft whimpers of a frail child, unable to sleep in their mother’s arms, whispering about hunger…
Although seemingly normal on the surface, beneath the night sky, this district was somewhat different tonight.
Turing’s most famous organization in this city was indeed The Erudite Club. However, her influence in the city wasn’t limited to the club alone. Many of the club’s covert affiliates had silently infiltrated the East District.
Of course, it wasn’t just these people. Members of the Chaos Cult, and witches from the Destiny Observation Society, all tacitly chose to operate stealthily in this district before any fighting broke out.
No one wanted to swagger about in this chaotic district. So, Xiluo’er’s earlier conjecture was correct: tonight, the East District was rife with undercurrents, but she had exited the stage before she could witness the moment they erupted.
“So, you already know where the item is?”
The communication stone in Eve’s hand had been given to her by Ellen. At this moment, Albertson’s voice emanated from the slightly bulging, small stone.
“Yes, although the item was accidentally lost by club personnel during transportation this afternoon, we have identified which group of people picked it up.”
“Now, the club’s subordinate members are already on their way. Our original intention is to resolve this peacefully, without resorting to force. We can simply pay more to buy the item back from the vagrants.”
“So, we just need to trouble Miss Eve to follow along, just in case.”
Albertson provided Eve with the location, and Eve merely nodded expressionlessly.
“It’s best if no conflicts erupt.”
Though, she felt it was highly unlikely.
She had used detection magic to scan this district. Suffice it to say, some people’s stealth couldn’t fool a sixth-tier mage like her.
Naturally, Eve wouldn’t idly start fighting these people. After all, that wasn’t her purpose for being here today.
Applying a [Breakthrough] buff to herself, Eve hurried in the direction Albertson had indicated.
Inside a not-so-dilapidated house in the East District, a group of vagrants excitedly gathered around a box on the table, completely oblivious to the impending disaster.
“Boss, are you sure this is from The Erudite Club?”
Someone next to the table tilted their head, staring at the box for a long time without understanding.
“What could you possibly understand? Can’t you see the big logo on the box?”
The crew-cut man, referred to as “Boss,” swore, pointing at a logo on the box with his cheap cigarette.
“Though I don’t know why those club people were so careless as to lose something in the East District, since we found it, we’ve hit the jackpot!”
“None of you bastards are allowed to say a word about this, lest others come to snatch it. Understand?”
The East District, as Lund City’s slum, always had vagrants forming gangs for various reasons. Naturally, there wasn’t just one such gang.
These people were quite different from Red’s subordinates. Red merely used thugs to disguise himself, but in reality, he was a gang leader controlling Karna City’s underground industries. This group, including their “Boss,” were merely simple thugs who had banded together.
“For the next two days, assign two more people to guard this item. Just wait for The Erudite Club people to come knocking and buy it back from us.”
“Boss, how are you sure they’ll come to us to buy it back?”
The crew-cut man propped his foot on the table, giving his subordinate a disdainful look.
A sneer.
“Brainless idiot! Can’t you see how tightly sealed this thing is? This afternoon, I even heard people saying they saw club members on the street.”
“This item must be very important to The Erudite Club, and now it’s in our hands. To avoid more trouble, they’ll definitely prefer to pay more to buy it back.”
The crew-cut man revealed his yellowed teeth and cursed again.
“Those sons of bitches aren’t short on money. What’s wrong with me charging them a storage fee for the item?”
It had to be said, the crew-cut man had some intelligence, which was probably why he became the leader of these small-time thugs. He had indeed guessed that the item was important and how The Erudite Club would handle it.
However, he hadn’t guessed boldly enough. He hadn’t anticipated that because of this item, people from three different organizations were currently searching for them in the East District.
“Boss, since this thing is so valuable, why don’t we open the box and sell the item to someone else? We might even get a higher price that way.”
Hearing about a big profit, the thugs got excited, and someone immediately suggested an alternative.
“No! You damn well don’t know what’s inside. What if we break it and can’t sell it? What if we sell it to others and the club holds a grudge? It’s safer to keep it as is and let the club take it away. That’s it.”
The crew-cut man clearly considered many things. Leaning back in his chair, he took another deep drag from his cheap cigarette.
“Hmm, a smart choice. Thank you for keeping the item in its original state for me.”
A sudden voice, utterly out of place in this setting, rang out. Irene naturally walked to the table, picked up the box, and began examining it from all sides.
She showed no awareness of having trespassed on someone else’s territory; instead, she acted as if she were in her own home, completely ignoring the thugs around her.
The crew-cut man stared at the strange cloaked figure who had appeared in the room without warning, as if by teleportation. For a moment, he couldn’t process what had happened.
The not-so-large room was packed with over a dozen people, yet not a single one had noticed the inexplicable presence of this person in the room beforehand.
“Who the hell are you?”
The crew-cut man finally reacted, kicking his chair back and standing up to create distance from Irene.
“Me? I’m just here to pick something up. That’s all. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving now.”
Having successfully retrieved the item, Irene seemed to have no intention of tangling with these people, and began to swagger out the door.
“You stop right there! You’re from the club, how did you find us so quickly?”
“Well, while I’m not with the club, it’s true, isn’t it? I found you faster than any of them.”
The voice, distorted by the magic carved into her mask, could not conceal the amusement in Irene’s tone.
“It’s quite simple, actually. I didn’t wander around aimlessly like headless flies once I entered the East District, as they did. The club people clearly knew where the item was. I merely observed their general direction of movement beforehand.”
“Although the East District is large, doing so couldn’t pinpoint your exact location, but it could narrow down a general area. And as for who took the item, I could roughly guess. I’m quite familiar with the ways of you vagrants, so I simply checked through houses that might fit the criteria, one by one. There weren’t actually that many.”
When it came to simply finding things, Irene indeed seemed to have more experience than others. The crew-cut man, however, didn’t care about Irene’s explanations. In short, he understood at least one thing: this person wanted the item.
“I don’t care if you’re from the club or not, but if you want this thing, you’ll at least have to pay, won’t you?”
Irene’s appearance was too sudden. The crew-cut man hadn’t made any plans in advance, but now that she was here, money was definitely due.
“Oh dear, my apologies. If the club people had arrived first, they might have gladly paid.”
“But I’m afraid I have no money, so I can’t give you any. While I can’t offer money, I can guarantee to leave you with your lives, though. Isn’t that a fair trade?”
Thus, the negotiation for money ended before it even began. Seeing that Irene had no intention of paying, the thugs wasted no words, and someone immediately grabbed a chair and charged forward.
The charging vagrant gritted their teeth, gripping the chair leg, and swung it downwards. However, Irene merely stood there leisurely, showing no intention of dodging.
Then, mid-swing, the vagrant’s arm seemed to hit something transparent, something that glinted under the light. The vagrant’s arm immediately lost all its downward force and simply dropped in front of Irene.
Literally, half of the vagrant’s arm fell to the ground with a thud. After a brief silence, the vagrant collapsed, clutching their partially severed arm, and began to wail in agony.
“Well, I’ll say it again: I can at least leave you with your lives. Isn’t that still a good deal?”
The adventure continues! If you loved this chapter, I’m Just a Cat, So How Did I End Up as Someone’s Wife? is a must-read. Click here to start!
Read : I’m Just a Cat, So How Did I End Up as Someone’s Wife?
