Chapter 8: The Cat Demon (Please Keep Reading!)

Lu Sha’s cell was situated at the farthest edge. On one side was the wall, and on the other, the neighboring cell occupied by Old Zhang.

After hearing the eerie cat’s cry, he quietly rose, holding his breath, and gazed toward Old Zhang’s cell. Yet the death row was dim at best, and now, in the deep of night, pitch-black and impenetrable; nothing could be seen.

Fortunately, Lu Sha was no ordinary man. To be precise, he possessed a most unusual “eyeball.”

His left eye gleamed faintly with a red light, and suddenly the world before him brightened. Moreover, he could see things invisible to ordinary folk!

Sure enough, in the third cell from Lu Sha’s own, a strange cat’s shadow appeared. This feline shadow was wholly black, half-transparent as a ghost, drifting lazily through the air—not a proper cat, clearly. Its lower body lacked limbs, formed only from twisted, writhing shadows. Eight tails grew from its hindquarters, coiling together like venomous serpents, an unsettling sight.

It was a cat spirit—a ghostly cat!

...

“Meow~~~ Meow~~~”

The cat ghost perched on the shadow of a condemned prisoner and cried out with piercing, shrill calls. Yet common people could neither see nor hear it, unable to detect its presence. This hair-raising sound, it seemed, was perceptible only to Lu Sha.

He saw clearly that as the cat ghost fed, the prisoner’s shadow grew increasingly dim, while the man’s body convulsed unconsciously. Unable to awaken, he could only let the cat ghost drain his vital essence!

In Wuling County’s death row, a single cell often held multiple prisoners—sometimes as many as seven or eight, crammed together. Here, there was no talk of rights.

Lu Sha’s cell was special. The previous madman had been bloodthirsty and could only be kept alone. Now, with Lu Sha’s status as “Master Lu,” he too enjoyed a private cell.

As for why Old Zhang also had a cell to himself, Lu Sha wasn’t sure.

But in the third cell—next to Old Zhang’s—there were five prisoners.

After feeding on one, the cat ghost moved to another, continuing its feast. Its eight tails swirled faster, seemingly delighted.

Having siphoned from all five prisoners, the cat ghost swayed its tails contentedly. A small bulge appeared at its tail end, as though a ninth tail was about to sprout!

Could it be transforming into a nine-tailed cat demon?

Lu Sha, watching from the shadows, was startled and observed all the more intently.

...

After feeding on five men, the cat ghost seemed sated.

---

A brief pause, then the twisted shadow twitched and floated away, heading in the opposite direction from Lu Sha.

Fourth cell, fifth, sixth, seventh.

It stopped at the seventh cell, then burrowed into one prisoner’s shadow and vanished.

The cat ghost was residing within a condemned man’s body!

Lu Sha dared not relax, keeping watch for another half hour, but the cat ghost stirred no more.

It seemed it would not act again that night.

He made sure to memorize the prisoner’s appearance, then lay down to resume his sleep.

The death row was a haunted place; strange spirits and demons were commonplace. If there were none, Lu Sha would have left long ago.

The resentful spirits he’d devoured before were too weak to help the Hundred-Eyed Ghost advance.

This cat ghost was clearly no ordinary spirit.

Whether as material to create the next demon, or for the Hundred-Eyed Ghost to devour directly, it was ideal.

But the problem was, this cat ghost didn’t seem to have formed naturally—there might be hidden secrets, perhaps even danger!

Lu Sha was in no hurry to act. He planned to observe things in the morning, and ask Zhao Erhu about the identity of the prisoner harboring the cat ghost.

...

After the cat ghost, the death row was quiet through the night.

At dawn, Lu Sha first checked on the prisoners in the third cell.

He saw the five men, pallid and weak, as though they’d suffered a severe illness—but none were dead.

Lu Sha recalled that a few days ago, one prisoner had been especially frail and died in his cell. He’d thought the man succumbed to illness from weakness.

Now, it seemed likely the man had been drained by the cat ghost and died from depletion.

Some prisoners, though sickly, still clung to life.

Who knew how many of the five drained last night would survive in days to come?

After inspecting the victims, Lu Sha’s gaze passed through cell after cell until it came to the seventh.

Four men were imprisoned there.

Lu Sha focused on a burly, honest-looking middle-aged man, with thick hands and feet. His face was ashen, his expression vacant and foolish—a man whose heart had died.

Seeing this, Lu Sha frowned slightly. The cat ghost resided within this man’s body, yet he lived, and did not seem the type to raise a ghost.

Something was amiss.

...

At noon, Zhao Erhu arrived as usual to deliver food.

---

Today, he’d bought two mountain pheasants from a hunter, and two large fish from the market.

One pheasant was roasted, one stir-fried. One fish braised, one made into soup.

All cooked by Zhao Erhu’s wife. Though she was a bit fierce, her culinary skills were truly excellent—just a shade below the chefs at the taverns, and quite delicious.

Lu Sha shared some with Old Zhang, then beckoned Zhao Erhu over as he ate.

“Master Lu, what do you need?” Zhao Erhu grinned, trotting into the cell.

No lock needed to be opened, for Lu Sha’s cell was never locked.

Lu Sha took a bite of chicken leg, pointed beside him, and asked in a low voice:

“Counting from my cell, the seventh cell—the middle-sized, dark-faced man inside, who is he?”

Zhao Erhu glanced over, then realized,

“You mean Ma Tiezhu, Master Lu? That fellow is quite peculiar!”

“How so?” Lu Sha’s eyes glinted, as he continued eating.

“Ma Tiezhu is a farmer from Ma Family Village near Wuling County. Poor background, but strong and hardworking. He cultivated his few acres so well that life was decent.”

“But three years ago, Ma Tiezhu suddenly went mad—he killed his wife, children, the entire family!”

“The scene, tsk! I still remember it—quite...”

Zhao Erhu had intended to describe the bloody horror, but quickly recalled that the man before him had slaughtered Dong Dali in even more terrifying fashion, so he shut his mouth promptly.

“Quite what?” asked Lu Sha.

“Nothing, nothing. Anyway, Ma Tiezhu suddenly went mad and murdered his family, then was brought here to the death row.”

“He seemed to want to say something, but every time he opened his mouth, his whole body convulsed and he screamed miserably, like he was ill. After that, we left him alone.”

Zhao Erhu spoke honestly, recounting what he knew.

Hearing this, Lu Sha noticed a problem.

“You say Ma Tiezhu’s been imprisoned here for three years? Isn’t the death row cleaned out every autumn?”

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The new book’s early days are critical for reader support. I hope all esteemed readers will continue to follow along!