A Fish in the Cat's Jaws

Li Yu was overjoyed. So there were still people who wouldn't suck up to His Feline Highness!

If a cat generally had the intelligence of a two-year-old, this big white cat was a spoiled toddler. All its life, it had gotten whatever it wanted; no one had ever dared stop it. Now, with a fish in its mouth, someone actually had the nerve to block its way. The white cat spun around twice in annoyance, decided to teach this person a lesson, and charged straight into the young man's legs, fish still clamped in its jaws.

...BAM!!!

The white cat hit so hard that even Li Yu, inside its mouth, could feel its entire body tense with the force of the impact.

But the young man didn't budge.

The white cat let out an agonized "Mreeow!" Instead of knocking him over, it bounced off his rock-solid legs. Its jaws loosened, and a delighted Li Yu seized the chance to tumble out of its mouth and onto the ground.

Since His Feline Highness wasn't very tall, the fall didn't deal him much additional damage.

The white cat froze, then meowed and lunged for Li Yu. Having finally escaped its mouth, Li Yu wasn't about to let it catch him again. In desperation, he thrashed his tail, arched his body, and sprang high into the air. Smack! His tail slapped the cat hard across the mouth!

The white cat: "..."

Li Yu: "......"

Oh, come on. He'd only been trying to escape! How had one wrong move turned into slapping a cat in the face??

Li Yu felt horribly guilty. A fish, daring to slap a cat? Wasn't he about to get eaten on the spot?

The unexpected slap made the white cat's fur bristle. It raised a paw and slammed it down on him.

To Li Yu, the cat's sharp claws were like steel nails. He kept flapping: Aaargh! Not the head! Ow, ow, ow, ow!

For a fish to act up like this in front of a cat and not get swallowed was quite an accomplishment already.

Was his illustrious life really going to end in a cat's jaws?

Pinned beneath the cat's paw, Li Yu hurt all over. The pain had sapped his strength, but the tip of his tail kept trembling in defiance.

Then he saw a pair of jet-black cloud-stepping boots approaching from a distance, slowly coming to a stop before his eyes.

When the white cat had caught him again, the richly dressed young man had also noticed the commotion.

Perhaps it was one last hallucination, but Li Yu thought the young man had cast a casual glance his way, whether deliberately or not.

But how could that be? Even Eunuch Gao and Xiao Linzi hadn't spared him a second look. Judging by those sumptuous clothes alone, this young man must be someone of high standing. Would a person like that notice one tiny fish?

A fish's strength was all too limited. Li Yu could barely lift his tail anymore. He lay still, mustering his last scrap of strength to struggle for breath.

A fish couldn't stay out of water for too long, much less survive a cat's biting and clawing. Poor him—he'd gotten the full package.

Just then, the young man gathered up his robe and crouched. Li Yu watched a handsome face grow closer, and closer...

It was a face of extraordinary beauty, yet cold as frost: hair at his temples as neatly edged as if cut with a blade, eyes like icy stars, red lips, white teeth, skin like pale jade. Even the legendary beauties Song Yu and Pan An, had they been alive, could have done no better.

Li Yu's stock of compliments was limited, and his fish brain soon ran out. Back when he'd been human, he'd been quite confident in his own looks. He'd thought he was handsome. Had Heaven realized he was about to die and sent him a heavenly beauty even better-looking than himself, just so he could die of jealousy?

The words of a dying fish are kind. All right, honestly, he was only a little jealous.

His thoughts had begun running wild, beyond his control—the proverbial last rally before death—when the weight on his body abruptly lifted. The big white cat yowled furiously beside him, but the sharp claws that had pinned him so firmly were gone!

Li Yu could hardly believe his luck. He tried wriggling his body. It still hurt terribly, but he...really could move.

What was going on? Why would the big white cat let him go for no reason?

Li Yu raised his eyes a little. The big white cat...was airborne, for meow's sake!

The richly dressed young man had seized a handful of fur and skin on the cat's back and lifted it without ceremony.

Although the cat was hefty, its coat was snowy white and its gleaming eyes were like sapphires. Anyone could tell it was a prized breed. Even without considering the Noble Consort's status, most people would have felt some tenderness for that fluffy white bundle.

But the young man's expression was indifferent. He seemed not to care about the white cat at all.

Li Yu was surprised, but mostly he felt that his fish life finally held a little hope.

Thank Heaven, thank goodness, and thank this handsome man!!

Forced off the ground and made to abandon its fish, the white cat let out furious, piercing howls, all four paws scrabbling and clawing wildly. Someone else might have been frightened, but to this tall young man with his long arms, it posed no threat whatsoever.

Xiao Linzi arrived a moment later, saw the scene, and dropped to his knees as his legs gave out.

Even through the pain, Li Yu was a little startled. What was Xiao Linzi doing? Surely he wasn't kneeling to save a mere ingredient like him?

As it turned out, Li Yu had been giving him far too much credit. Xiao Linzi was kneeling before the richly dressed young man, knocking his head against the ground with a series of thuds as he babbled, "Your Highness, Prince Jing, th-this is the cat Her Grace the Noble Consort keeps! Please, have mercy..."

Li Yu: "..."

So this young man was a prince—Prince Jing?

Li Yu hadn't had any particular reaction to noble consorts or eunuchs, but for some reason, the title Prince Jing sounded a little familiar.

The thought merely flickered through his mind. With his fish life hanging by a thread, Li Yu had no time to ponder anything else.

The richly dressed young man—Prince Jing—gave a cold snort. His fathomless eyes swept over Xiao Linzi, but the hand holding the white cat didn't move. He clearly had no intention of letting it off.

At first, the white cat had yowled with plenty of vigor. Eventually, its voice grew hoarse and its cries dwindled. Prince Jing radiated an intimidating presence and turned a deaf ear to it all. Kneeling below him, Xiao Linzi sweated more and more profusely.

Li Yu lay sprawled on the ground. By grabbing the big white cat that had bullied him, Prince Jing had more or less saved him, and Li Yu was deeply grateful. But unless someone paid him a little attention and put him back in water, he was about to become a heap of dead fish!

What was he supposed to do...?

Li Yu weakly curled the tip of his tail, but no one could hear his thoughts.

"Your Highness, Your Highness...wait for this old servant! I'm coming!"

Another figure came racing over from a distance, shouting at the top of his lungs.

He was an elderly eunuch. Stopping between Prince Jing and Xiao Linzi, he first drew a great, gasping breath.

"Eunuch Wang Xi, you're here!" Xiao Linzi's eyes lit up as though his savior had arrived. He hurriedly clasped his hands and bowed. "Please, put in a word for me with His Highness..."

The newcomer was none other than Wang Xi, Prince Jing's personal eunuch attendant.

"A word for what?" Having caught his breath, Wang Xi first studied Prince Jing's expression with great care, then shot Xiao Linzi a vicious glare. "This cat came charging over and ran into His Highness. What, is His Highness not allowed to deal with it?"

Xiao Linzi felt dizzy. He faltered, "But this is Her Grace the Noble Consort's honored pet..."

Wang Xi had recognized the white cat long ago. He might have let that pass, but the words sent him into a towering rage. "A mere cat dares play the master before His Highness? Pah!"

"E-Eunuch Wang..."

Only then did Xiao Linzi realize his mistake. He hastily covered his mouth. To servants like them, the Noble Consort's cat was practically a master in its own right. But before a true scion of the imperial family, what did it amount to?

Wang Xi spat at Xiao Linzi and delivered a blistering tirade with all the authority of his office. Xiao Linzi trembled from head to toe, keeping his head bowed and not daring to say another word.

Once he finished scolding, Wang Xi turned to Prince Jing with an inquiring look. Prince Jing's icy eyes shifted slightly. Taking his meaning, Wang Xi immediately turned back, his fingers held in a delicate orchid-like pose, and reprimanded Xiao Linzi at the top of his voice. "This cat ran into His Highness, and His Highness is merely giving it a little discipline. What is there to get so worked up about?"

The cat in Prince Jing's hand had failed to throw its weight around and had been thoroughly humbled. By now, it seemed to realize it had tried to claw an iron plate. At last it reined in its temper, stuck out its pink tongue, and mewed pitifully.

Most people would have softened at this point.

Prince Jing, however, was not most people.

He waited until the cat had stopped crying and sensibly lowered its head. Only then did he leisurely toss it in Xiao Linzi's direction. Cats had no fear of heights; the moment it left Prince Jing's hand, it hurled itself into Xiao Linzi's arms. Xiao Linzi was all skin and bones, and the impact against his chest nearly made him cough up blood.

Wang Xi gave a light cough. "His Highness is in a good mood today and has only administered a slight punishment. Keep an eye on it. Should there be a next time...heh. In all my years, I've never seen anyone dare provoke His Highness twice."

"This servant understands!" Xiao Linzi kowtowed again and again.

Prince Jing waved a dismissive hand. Wang Xi spat at Xiao Linzi once more, then made to leave with the prince.

They were leaving already?

Li Yu had waited an agonizingly long time, full of desperate hope. Yet this Prince Jing, who had saved him and even seemed to have given him an extra glance, apparently had no intention of finishing the rescue.

Surviving the cat's jaws had been hard enough. Since no one could understand anything he said, Li Yu could only gather his last scrap of strength and try to curl his tail. His battered tail tapped softly against the ground. Once. Twice.

The plea for help was so pitiful, so nearly inaudible, that it filled him with despair.

Again and again, Li Yu nearly gave up. Again and again, he urged himself to hold on. Perhaps, if he just kept going, a miracle would happen.

Until he could no longer move his tail, and no miracle had come.

The cloud-stepping boots that had saved him once did not stop for him again.

Li Yu gradually lost consciousness. His tail went still, and the air around him seemed to grow colder and colder.

Prince Jing had already walked several dozen feet away when he suddenly stopped and turned sharply. A trace of surprise flashed through his cold eyes.

"Your Highness, wh-what is it?" Wang Xi turned back with him, bewildered.

Xiao Linzi had already fled with the white cat in his arms. There shouldn't have been anyone else here.

Prince Jing's brows drew together. He gestured for silence, then started back, concentrating on the ground at his feet as he walked. Before long, he had reached the spot where he had stood earlier.

Wang Xi followed close behind and saw Prince Jing looking down, apparently searching for something.

Suddenly, Prince Jing stopped and bent over.

"Your Highness, you mustn't! Whatever you need, let this old servant fetch it!"

Wang Xi cried out and tried to stop him. Prince Jing would not be deterred. He firmly pulled Wang Xi aside and picked something up off the ground himself...

To be precise, a fish about the size of a palm.

A fish that had once been held in a cat's mouth, its body covered in injuries.

"Your Highness, this..."

Wasn't this just an utterly ordinary carp? Why had His Highness insisted on coming back to look at it?

Wang Xi was full of uncertainty and surprise. For the first time, he realized that even he could fail to understand His Highness.

Prince Jing hesitated, then reached out a finger and touched the limp fish tail with his fingertip.

The tail gave the ground a soft, feeble tap.

Prince Jing: "..."

Prince Jing's expression darkened, but his hands were extraordinarily gentle as he lifted the fish and cradled it.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, please let this old servant do it!"

Wang Xi hurriedly spread out his sleeve to receive the fish.

Prince Jing shook his head. Holding the fish himself, he headed straight for the nearest palace compound...

In his haze of pain, Li Yu felt a warmth he hadn't known in far too long, as though it came from his blankets and pillow.

Boo-hoo-hoo. Life as a fish was just too hard. Was he dying? Was he about to become human again?

If he could change back, all this suffering would be worth it.

Li Yu was secretly delighted when a sudden system chime sounded. "Congratulations, Host. Step One of the Cute Pet System's main quest, 'The Tyrant's Million-Gold Pet Fish'—'First Meeting with the Tyrant'—has been completed."

Author's Note:

Mini Theater:

Li Yu: Your Highness, save me! This cat's biting me!

Prince Jing: Activate skill—Snatch a Fish from a Cat's Jaws...Well, I've already saved it, and there's nowhere to put it. Into the fish tank it goes.

Wang Xi: ...Your Highness, just say you want to keep a fish.

Prince Jing has excellent hearing, but because Li Yu had been tapping his tail the whole time, he hadn't noticed anything amiss. When the sound suddenly stopped, he realized something was wrong.