- Bis Ke -

Bis Ke had been over the moon when her Great Master had finally returned. She zoomed across the room, leaping onto his shoulder, showing how much she’d missed him. She would admit, though, It might have been a tad bit mortifying with her junior brothers giving her the eyeball treatment, but who cared? The Great Master had graced them with his presence, which was all that mattered in the small world of Bis Ke.

Purrfection reigned as Bis Ke, he asked them how they were, and how much they’d improved. He didn’t ask her, though, which was sad, but she knew he could probably see her growth through that weird… thing that had been appearing in her vision whenever she’d wanted.

Bis Ke looked at it while she sat atop his shoulders comfortably.

- System Panel -

Name Biscuit Sex Female Race Cat Template First Disciple of the Demonic Sect Elder Cultivation Awakened Realm (68% Purity) Talent Rank 5 Exceptional (There is no talent higher than this) Constitution Sun Goddess Physique (Suppressed) Bloodline Sun Goddess (Suppressed) Affinity Suppressed Path Path of the Obsidian Star

- Scriptures & Techniques -

[Solar Ascendance Sutra (Low-Grade Cultivation Scripture)] - [Power: Low]

Comprehension: Low

Progress: 10%

- System Perks -

[Quest System]

[???]

- Overall -

???

She had been keeping a good watch on her Cultivation Scripture. It had appeared into her kitty brain when she first got a taste of smarts, and since then, she’d been trying to boost those numbers. But, oh, it was a real head-scratcher, and it tickled her whiskers in all the wrong ways. It was hard, and she was frustrated because of that.

Bis Ke was startled out of her thoughts as her Great Master snatched her up and plunked her onto the shoulder of one of her junior furballs—uh, junior brothers.

“Guys, meet her, Noodles. She’s someone I picked up…”

His words got muddled to her ears as he brought out something from his sleeves—

“!!!”

Bis Ke’s eyes snapped wide, and she let out a hiss like a banshee, her claws unintentionally piercing her poor junior brother’s shoulder. He yelped, but she couldn’t care less. Her fur bristled, and she shot a dagger-eyed look at the creature slithering around her Great Master's hand.

A snake! Just like that sneaky interloper from days gone by! She’d sworn vengeance, never to forget, never to forgive!

Bis Ke knew fury, leaping toward the source of her wrath with claws gleaming like tiny daggers. The audacity of that foul critter’s kin, daring to harm her beloved Great Master! And now this?! She wouldn’t allow her Great Master to be hurt again!

Without a second thought, Bis Ke unleashed her claws of justice. But her Great Master was lightning quick, whisking the creature to safety and shielding it with his own hands. Alas, her fury knew no brakes; her claws scratched right into her Great Master's magnificent paws. She’d been too consumed in rage.

Her eyes shook in sheer terror as her claws left a streak of blood on her Great Master’s magnificent hands. Her chest tightened; momentary rage had blinded her to the consequences of her actions. She had just harmed the person she cherished the most, the one she had been ecstatic to see again.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Confusion swirled through her mind, dancing with fear, as she heard her Great Master wince. Why, oh why, had he shielded that loathsome, snake-like creature? It was akin to that loathsome interloper from her haunting past! The memory of that trespasser looming over her Great Master, the threat it had posed, still haunted her every thought. She simply couldn’t fathom why he would willingly invite such a vile creature into his house.

Her confusion, however, was soon overwhelmed by fear. He’d scold her, wouldn’t he? What if he kicked her out…?

Bis Ke’s eyes watered and her vision turned hazy.

He wouldn’t do that… right?

As the seconds passed and her Great Master didn’t retaliate or scold her, Bis Ke’s initial fear began to be replaced by a deep sense of regret and sadness. She scrambled back from the ground, ears pressed flat against her head, tail hanging low.

There hung heavy with silence, a silence that weighed heavily on Bis Ke’s heart, and she couldn’t gather the courage to look her Great Master in the eyes.

She let out a mewl, her eyes locked onto the damning stain of blood on the ground.

But her Great Master’s expression was not one of anger; it was of pain, mingled with… disappointment.

At that moment, Bis Ke’s heart sank.

He just cradled his hand. She knew she had done something terribly wrong, something that had hurt her Great Master.

Bis Ke didn’t wait any longer, she turned on her paws and darted away, her heart pounding in her chest, tears blurring her vision.

She needed time to think, to understand. Her Great Master had just taken in one of those foul creatures, and Bis Ke was utterly baffled. She found a quiet spot, hidden from view, and curled up,

Would she be kicked out? Would he cast her aside, like a torn and forgotten toy?

Her intelligence had allowed fragments of her past to resurface, memories of a time when she prowled the streets alone, a lonely wraith in the dark. The faint memory of loneliness still haunted her, her chest tightened just at the thought of losing her Great Master, the one who had given her purpose, the one whom she liked to cuddle. It was suffocating.

As she curled further into a ball, for the first time since her Great Master had scooped her up from the streets, Bis Ke felt a hollowness in her chest.

***

- Wu Ryujin -

Holy shit. I hissed as I grabbed my arm. Pain throbbed from my hand up my arm repeatedly and I couldn’t stop myself from wincing. I looked at Biscuit in concern, what had happened to her? What had taken hold of her? Biscuit was never like that. The realization didn’t take long to hit; that snake bastard. I cradled my arm, feeling Noodles retreating back into my sleeve and up my shoulder. She coiled around my neck and rested there. She was shaking.

Fortunately, she hadn’t been hurt. I looked at Biscuit and walked up to her. I tried to grab her but she ran away, inside the mansion. I sighed, I’d need to talk to her. Well, that was weird.

“Master, are you alright!” Renji and Kai asked, running up to me. “You shouldn’t have lowered your guard so that Bis Ke doesn’t get hurt.”

“Nay, it’s alright,” I said, shaking my head. I looked at the mansion; I needed to talk to Biscuit. Though talking kind of felt weird given she was a cat, I knew she didn’t lack intelligence and would most likely understand whatever I said.

“Um, Master, there’s been a guest coming to visit you,” Renji informed me.

“Ho?” I raised an eyebrow, forgetting the stinging pain on my hand for the time being.

“Yes, someone called Jin Ruo was looking for Master. He came here but we had to deny it and send him back. He’s resting in an inn at the moment. If you want I could go fetch him.”

Jin Ruo? I frowned. Why would he come here? Had something happened? A bad premonition crawled up my spine as [Herald of Flags] activated.

Alert, alert! A wild flag has appeared.

Red Flag, the flag of Death.

Danger ahead. Caution Advised.

The fuck. Why had this not appeared sooner? Did it require some sort of trigger? It was a possibility because so far it had only triggered when I came to know of something or realized something. Even that helped immensely, though, given I could be sure of something bad happening.

“Yeah, sure, go ahead,” I said to Renji. He bowed and ran out, Kai following behind him. I rubbed my temples and walked inside the mansion, looking for Biscuit.

Noodles stirred on my neck and I soothed her with a pat. I had no clue why she had gotten this scared of Biscuit. She was a snake. Regardless, I would need to see what was up with them both.

Finding Biscuit wasn’t hard, she had my blood on her paw, not to mention I knew her hiding spots. I entered the room and saw her huddled up in the corner. I smiled, sitting beside her. She twitched when she noticed me and I chuckled. Grabbing onto her gently I put her on my lap and started petting gently. I didn’t say anything and simply let her rest on my lap.

Time passed and not a word was exchanged. She did, however, recover somewhat. From what I could feel she had calmed down too. Her heartbeat throbbed under my hand as I continued to pat her, and then, she started purring in content.

“Hmm, are you alright?” I finally asked and saw her stiffen, her tail flicking back and her ears drooping down on her head again. “Why, I’m not here to scold you, you know? Cheer up.” I chuckled. Biscuit was like a kid. Smart, and intelligent for a cat, but a kid nonetheless. She must have gotten scared when she accidentally scratched me. She had a temper anyway, so I wasn’t pissed at all.

She meowed weakly. I did not understand the cat language, of course, but I still pretended to understand. However, I kept my reaction to a minimum given I had no clue what she even meant. She was intelligent, I did not wish to fuck anything up,

“It’s alright, I’m not mad,” I said. “I understand why you did it, really, I do. You were just protecting me from Noodles thinking she was like the snake that night. She’s not, so don’t worry.” She relaxed but still didn’t look up. I didn’t push it and waited for her to fall asleep, and when she fell asleep, I grabbed her up to her room, tucked her in the bed, and left.

Noodles had been quiet and I wondered if she was scared as well. Sighing at them acting like kids—even though they technically were—I made my way toward my room but I recalled that Renji and Kai were out for Jin Ruo and stopped. Me and my forgetfulness, I shook my head and still went into my room and waited for them to arrive.

Renji came running after a while and I raised an eyebrow, noticing there was no Jin Ruo with him. However, he seemed to be holding on to something.

“Master!” He called, and I allowed him in. He bowed and offered me a scroll. I quirked up an eyebrow, grabbing it off his hands as I asked, “Where’s Jin Ruo?”

“He was called back to the capital! This was left with the guard of the inn, who was ordered to deliver it to us today regardless.” Renji said.

“I see,” I mumbled and waved him off, watching as Renji bowed and left. With the scroll in my hands, I sat on my bed and opened it up, curious as to what contents it held inside it.

As I read the scroll, my eyes widened, and a knot formed in my throat, “No fucking way—”