OFTLHFRO C143

Chapter 143: The Cat

Early in the morning, Luo Mingchen entered carrying a cat, only to come face to face with Xiao Chen.

“Master Luo, where were you last night?”

Luo Mingchen replied calmly, “Catching a cat.”

Xiao Chen looked at the grayish-white fluffy cat in his arms, and for some reason, the despair in his beautiful mandarin duck-like eyes was palpable.

“This cat must have quite a few fleas. Shall I take it to wash it clean?”

“No need, I’ll wash it myself.”

Luo Mingchen declined Xiao Chen’s kind offer.

This white cat was quite cunning. If it scratched someone, it would feel somewhat guilty, so it was better to handle it personally. Besides, at this weather, washing it himself was a bit more convenient.

He went to Hua Yaoyue and borrowed a bottle of flea-killing powder, mixed it with hot water, and bathed the white cat.

Outside, passersby could only hear the cat’s pitiful wails.

Bai Xue and Hong Xing whispered, “Could it be that Master Luo is torturing the cat?”

Hong Xing was taken aback for a moment, “Probably not.”

Huo Xiang, practicing kung fu in the courtyard, hurried over to the door after finishing. “Little Daddy! What are you doing?”

Luo Mingchen opened the door with a water tendril and casually replied, “Giving the cat a bath.”

Huo Xiang, delighted to hear there was a cat, rushed in and remembered to close the door.

Luo Mingchen sat beside the bed, drying the white cat’s fur.

The drying was nearly complete; just some warming by the fire remained.

Fortunately, his water manipulation ability had improved some more. While not completely drying the cat, the effect was already impressive.

The struggling white cat, exhausted and resigned, lay on Luo Mingchen’s lap, letting him rub with the dry cloth.

“Little White is so cute.”

Huo Xiang sat on a small stool, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the cat.

Hearing the name, Luo Mingchen looked at the white cat that weighed at least seven or eight jin and fell into thought.

This cat was truly not small among cats.

Its fluffy long fur had been cleaned. After being thoroughly dried, Luo Mingchen selected an air cushion brush from his space to comb it.

Huo Xiang, sitting beside him, looked on enviously but did not dare to touch it. “Little Daddy, is this the same cat that raises mice in the kitchen?”

“Yes, that’s the one. Your brother told me about it last night, so I caught it and brought it back.”

Luo Mingchen spoke as he combed the fur. The grayish-white cat quickly transformed into a clean little princess cat. When its heterochromatic eyes glanced sideways, it appeared cute but with a distinctive feline haughtiness.

“Wow! Little Daddy, you’re amazing!”

Huo Xiang admired, “We’ve only seen it twice; it runs so fast.”

Being looked at with such admiring eyes by his own child, Luo Mingchen coughed dryly, finished combing the fur, and handed the brush to Huo Xiang. “Here, try it.”

“Really? Little Daddy, will it scratch me?”

Huo Xiang held the brush hesitantly.

Luo Mingchen smiled, “If it dares to scratch, we’ll roast it.”

The white cat was silent…

Originally, Luo Mingchen’s words were meant to embolden Huo Xiang. After all, being so close, if the cat wanted to claw, he could quickly stop it.

However, to his surprise, the white cat grew noticeably more docile.

Luo Mingchen didn’t think the cat understood him but believed the saying circulating online was true—cats respect elders and love the young, and they beat the in-between mercilessly.

Huo Xiang contentedly brushed the cat’s fur and secretly petted its tail.

When Huo Yuhui finished his martial arts training and came over, another person joined in to pet the cat.

Later, Luo Mingchen brought the awakened Huo Xinyue to play with the cat. After much petting, he went to cook fish soup noodles, leaving a bowl of fish meat specially for the cat.

Luo Mingchen had never kept a cat before and had heard salty food could upset their stomach, so he didn’t add salt to that bowl.

The cat couldn’t be watched constantly, so while cooking noodles, he asked his three children to release it, giving it the chance to run.

Unexpectedly, Luo Mingchen placed a bowl of fish meat on the bench, and the white cat quickly jumped up and lazily ate.

Seeing this, Luo Mingchen narrowed his eyes, pondering.

A cat recently caught and bathed, upon release, did not run away?

Sensing Luo Mingchen’s stare, the white cat looked up and said “Meow?”

Luo Mingchen smiled, “If you behave and catch those mice, you’ll have food every day.”

Whether the cat understood or not was unknown as it lowered its head to eat, with very few fish bones in the meat.

In the afternoon, Huo Yan and Hu Zhongyi returned with people, bringing cart after cart of boxes.

“What is this?”

Luo Mingchen approached Huo Yan, watching the soldiers carry things away, and asked, recalling their mission was to investigate smuggling, “Are these items smuggled goods?”

“Yes.”

Huo Yan paused and leaned in, lowering his voice, “They are spies from Xiaguo.”

Noticing Huo Yan’s caution, Luo Mingchen asked, “What’s special about these spies?”

“They’re colluding with high-ranking officials of our dynasty.”

After hearing this, Luo Mingchen understood why Hu Zhongyi’s expression was so grim earlier.

If they had simply caught enemy spies and confiscated so many goods, Hu Zhongyi might have grinned ear to ear.

But discovering traitors within the court—perhaps important figures—was a serious matter. As loyalists devoted to the king and country, Hu Zhongyi could hardly smile.

“By the way.”

Luo Mingchen noticed Ruan Feng watching and stopped himself, “Let’s discuss this inside.”

“Alright.”

The two left immediately, leaving the others puzzled but busy with their work since asking wouldn’t yield answers.

Back in the room, Luo Mingchen showed the Third Prince’s letter to Huo Yan.

Fortunately, Mor Feng had not left; they could include the matter of collusion with foreigners in the letter.

Luo Mingchen also gave Huo Yan the letter Huo Yuhui had written the night before.

After reading, Huo Yan added a page.

Comparing the two handwritings, Huo Yan’s strokes were sharper but stylistically similar, likely because Huo Yuhui had intentionally imitated Huo Yan’s script.

A white figure appeared at the windowsill. Huo Yan looked up to see the little creature’s eyes filled with sorrow, saying, “Meow—”

Huo Yan looked at Luo Mingchen in confusion, “Where did it come from?”

“Caught last night. Xiaohui said it raises mice in our kitchen for food.”

Luo Mingchen glanced at the big white cat as it leapt into the room, shamelessly approaching them.

Seeing this, Luo Mingchen was puzzled, “It ran for so long last night, and I only brought it back at dawn. Why didn’t it run after being released?”

Huo Yan focused on a different point, “You didn’t sleep all night?”

Luo Mingchen was momentarily stunned but then blinked and said, “I took the chance to familiarize myself with the city’s secret tunnels. This cat runs fast and knows the routes well.”

Huo Yan pulled him into a hug, curling a slight smile, “Can’t sleep?”

Luo Mingchen didn’t want to be ridiculed, “No way!”

Hearing this, Huo Yan only smiled softly and held him tighter. “Without you, I can’t sleep either. Why don’t we sleep together for a while?”

“…Alright.”

Seeing the couple forget him, the white cat meowed again, even more plaintively than before.

“What are you doing?”

Luo Mingchen still couldn’t understand cat language.

Huo Yan asked, “Has it been fed at noon?”

Upon hearing this, Luo Mingchen was confused, “Don’t cats only eat twice a day?”

The white cat protested, “Meow!”

Outside, Huo Yuhui’s faint voice sounded, “Meow meow, come eat some meat.”

At once, the white cat flicked its head, jumped out the window, and leapt away.

The couple: “…”

Could this cat be something supernatural?