Headless Immortal

Chapter 15 Reading
run!

Until you can't run anymore.

Lu Xun, who had fallen to the ground, vaguely heard shouts.

……

"Dr. Chu, how is he?" Zhao Jia asked with concern.

The physician, dressed in loose robes and a wide belt, cupped his hands and said, "It's nothing serious, he's just exhausted from running for too long."

"And this wound..."

"It looks like it was injured by a large insect, but fortunately it was just a scratch and there was no serious injury."

Doctor Chu looked surprised. He thought the black cat was surprisingly big, but there were also cats that were three or four feet long.

This wound is highly unusual. Tigers are a serious problem in Jiujiang, and many pedestrians are injured. He is a doctor who specializes in treating tiger bites, so there is no possibility that he made a mistake.

Strangely enough, he treated two cats that day.

One belonged to the patrol inspector, and the other to Constable Zhao.

He wanted to say he wasn't a veterinarian, but it was a helpless situation; the cats of wealthy families were more precious than people.

Doctor Chu took out paper and pen: "I will write out a prescription for recuperation."

"Thank you."

Zhao Jia handed over a piece of silver, weighing exactly one ounce.

After seeing Doctor Chu off, Zhao Jia instructed Chen Sao to fetch the medicine.

Xiaoyue squatted by the bed, propping her chin up and staring at the old cat, which prompted Wang Ruo to tease her, "Brother Jia loves him so much, and you, little girl, love him too. What's the magic behind it?"

"Thank you, madam."

Zhao Jia snapped out of his daze and stepped forward to embrace Wang Ruo.

He rushed back after receiving the news. Wang Ruo took care of everything at home, ordering people to cook hot soup and inviting doctors. He saw all of this.

It was difficult for Wang Ruo to suppress her fear and take care of the black cat that had returned.

“Brother Jia cherishes him, how could I not know? I would never let him go unattended.”

Wang Ruo was very afraid of monsters and didn't want to disappoint Zhao Jia.

He then worriedly said, "The journey is long, and there are many bandits and tigers along the way. If you do well, you'll be rewarded with some money; if you don't, you'll lose your position or be dismissed with a single word. Especially since you're a jailer, not a constable, if something happens, the magistrate will push you out and accuse you of meddling in other people's business, while he continues to enjoy his reputation for being upright and honest."

"Why not just quit and open a martial arts school in the county town?"

Zhao Jia gently patted Wang Ruo's hand and shook his head, saying, "Life is tough, and even if you're capable, it's not easy to stand out. Don't worry."

"I have to go back to the yamen in a bit."

"..."

Working for the county magistrate certainly involves both danger and opportunity. If he does well, it's because the magistrate is a capable leader; if he does poorly, it's because he neglected his duties. However, he doesn't care about these things.

Let the big boss take the credit if he wants; his evaluation criteria are different, so he's destined not to stay in the position of jailer for long.

……

"Where am I?"

Lu Xun opened his eyes with difficulty, and what came into view was a familiar ceiling and an antique bed. He immediately recognized the place as Zhao Jia's home.

He also recalled the life-or-death race he took just a hundred meters out of town.

It was nearly eaten by a large, white-browed, bulging insect.

He ran like a madman and finally collapsed in the yard.

He vaguely heard shouts before he fainted, so it seems he was rescued by the Zhao family.

"Ah, the cat is finally awake!"

Just as Xiaoyue rushed over to bring over the medicine, she saw the old cat vomit a puddle of paste with a loud yelp.

Lu Xun felt extremely relieved after vomiting.

Normally, he would feel dizzy and nauseous after changing his head once, but this time he tried twice with all his might. Coupled with the exhaustion from running, he suddenly stood up and that nausea came up again, causing him to spill all the food he had been fed onto the ground.

When I smacked my lips, they were full of astringent and sour taste.

"Kitty, are you alright?"

Xiaoyue put down the medicine and was about to step forward.

"careful!"

Wang Ruo, who came upon hearing the commotion, quickly intervened.

Startled wild beasts are most likely to attack and hurt people. If you approach rashly, you will definitely be scratched. Moreover, she has witnessed the power of the Black Cat. This is a monster that jumped into a well on a monk's head to fight a toad monster. Once it attacks a person, if you are not careful, it can kill you in an instant.

Xiaoyue, who was getting closer, listened to her mother-in-law and stopped in her tracks.

Wang Ruo breathed a sigh of relief, and without worrying whether the black cat could understand, she sternly reprimanded it: "Stray cats and dogs are very dangerous. Packs of stray dogs will surround and eat lone pedestrians."

The black cat was exceptionally well-behaved.

Not only did it show no aggressive tendencies, it also jumped onto the table and licked the soup from the bowl.

Xiaoyue said in surprise, "Madam, the cat seems different." Wang Ruo looked as if she knew it.

What a monster!
Lu Xun, still somewhat weak, flickered his golden beast eyes slightly, as if searching for someone.

"Brother Jia was on official business and returned in a hurry yesterday. I heard that a habitual thief was missing from the prison. He didn't stay at home for long before going back to the yamen and hasn't returned yet."

Wang Ruo realized what the black cat was looking for, so he simply told Zhao Jia what he had been told.

'Jin Sheng!'

Lu Xun's gaze darkened. It must have been when the constables were on duty that they discovered the habitual thief Jin Sheng had escaped from prison.

Behind Jin Sheng is a sizable organization, including not only strong martial artists but also Taoist priests skilled in using magical artifacts, elusive female ghosts, and... the tiger that almost ate him.

Lu Xun jumped off the table and was about to leave.

"You should wait for him at home. If he goes out again, I won't be able to explain it to him."

Lu Xun looked at Wang Ruo who was speaking, thought for a moment, and nodded slightly.

Xiaoyue was stunned and exclaimed, "Madam, it understands human speech!"

As he spoke, he squatted down in front of the black cat.

Wang Ruo's shock was palpable. She had only relayed Zhao Jia's instructions, but the black cat seemed to have truly understood. Just now, the black cat had also appeared to be deep in thought about something; such an expression was impossible to fake.

Lu Xun had no intention of pretending to be stupid.

To obtain a powerful head, one needs help, and Zhao Jia is undoubtedly the best candidate.

It's one thing to play dumb and act like a cat in front of others, but now that Zhao Jia is in critical condition, he certainly can't just sit and wait to die.

How should we send the message?

Lu Xun pondered carefully. He remembered that Hua Lilang had spoken before, and the bald monk had also spoken, but they were all illusions. Once the illusion was broken, they could no longer speak. But he couldn't break the illusion.

"This is troublesome."

Lu Xun, meowing anxiously, paced around on the ground.

There are only so many channels for transmitting messages.

Since we can't always talk about it, we can always write it.

Lu Xun jumped onto the table, dipped his finger in the water from the teapot, and began to write on the solid wood octagonal table.

Wang Ruo leaned closer to take a look.

She didn't recognize the blocks piled up like scribbles.

"Madam, it's writing."

Wang Ruo was shocked and looked at Xiao Yue, asking, "You know her?"

Xiaoyue was a little confused: "I can't read. I saw the master writing like this in the study. Madam, you can read, so look at what Maomao wrote."

Wang Ruo was even more shocked. Although she came from a scholarly family, she was literate. That's why she didn't realize that the square blocks the cat had drawn were characters. Unexpectedly, it was Xiao Yue, who was illiterate, who saw through it.

"I don't recognize what he wrote."

Lu Xun slapped his forehead.

He wrote in simplified Chinese characters.

This world is very similar to his ancient world, but the writing and language are completely different. Just look at the ancient writing system of his world—there are countless kinds, both domestic and foreign, including classical Chinese, vernacular Chinese, simplified Chinese, and traditional Chinese. The same character can express different meanings.

He only understood what they were saying after he got the head of the three-legged old cat; otherwise, language would still be a barrier.

It's too late to learn to read now, isn't it?

Then we can only choose the clumsy method.

Lu Xun ran out.

"Hey……"

He burst into the study and saw an open book on the desk.

It carried it back.

Put it on the table.

It stretched out its paw and patted the book.

"What do you mean?"

Seeing that the other party did not understand, Lu Xun stretched out his paw, flipped open the book, and pointed to the square ink blob with unrecognizable handwriting: "Meow."

Then it moved down again and pointed to another word: "Meow".

Point it out.

Meow.

Wang Ruo leaned closer to look at the book: "Stone, Flow, Movement, Literature, Pool..."

The black cat shook its head and flipped the book back to the beginning.

He pointed to one word after another.

(End of this chapter)