“You had a chance to save yourself.”
“Yes, but I didn’t want to,” Xiaoman said. “It wasn’t Linchuan who harmed me. I simply didn’t want to leave. A demon’s life is too long, and too lonely. I’d rather live these few short years. At least I’ve had family, friends, and a lover. I’m satisfied.”
Xi Yu said, “But your family, lover, and friends were obtained by taking someone else’s destiny. None of those things originally belonged to you.”
Xi Yu’s words were becoming somewhat forceful.
But Xiaoman calmly met his gaze. “So now I’m receiving the punishment I deserve.”
“No!” Shen Linchuan couldn’t listen anymore. He shielded Xiaoman behind him and glared viciously at Xi Yu. “She may be a demon, but she has never harmed anyone. Every year, she helps countless children and stray animals. Why should she be punished? Is this really what Heaven’s law is like?! It can only see the bad things demons do and punish them, but turns a blind eye to the good things they do?”
Xi Yu frowned. “Then let me ask you this. Since you think it’s unfair, have you ever asked Liu Tanghuan’s parents whether they think it’s fair? Her father saved your father. Even if you think that was something that happened in the previous generation and you don’t want to bear that responsibility, you still went after Liu Tanghuan and repaid kindness with betrayal. Did you ever ask them whether they thought that was fair? After saving your father, were they supposed to sacrifice their only daughter just to fulfill your love story? No matter how wrong Liu Tanghuan may have been, you have no right to comfortably enjoy the love that belonged to someone else!”
Shen Linchuan gritted his teeth. “What do you mean, repaying kindness with betrayal? What do you know? If it weren’t for Xiaoman, Liu Tanghuan’s parents would have been killed by their own daughter long ago!”
Xiaoman hurriedly stopped Shen Linchuan. “Don’t say anymore. Let’s go. Let’s go home.”
Shen Linchuan had already been blinded by resentment and hatred. “Why can’t I say it?!”
He glared at Xi Yu. “Not long after Xiaoman and I got married, Liu Tanghuan suddenly came back. Xiaoman had already returned her identity to her, but Liu Tanghuan came back only to please that man. She listened to him and was vicious enough to poison her own biological parents!”
“Stop!” Xiaoman pressed a hand against Shen Linchuan. Her entire body had become deathly pale, and yellow fur began to grow on the back of her hand.
Shen Linchuan’s furious expression abruptly froze. He supported Xiaoman and asked in panic, “What’s wrong? What’s wrong with you?!”
Xiaoman stumbled toward the ground.
Shen Linchuan hurriedly caught her and called out in terror, “Xiaoman, Xiaoman!”
Large patches of fur began growing all over Xiaoman’s body before falling away again, creating a horrifying sight. Her eyes reddened, and her pupils became long and narrow.
“Linchuan, don’t cry. Listen to me. Actually, I’ve known for a long time that I was going to die. I have no regrets. I only have a few things I regret.”
“I started regretting it two years ago, when you were seriously injured because you went after that arrow. I regretted letting you learn how to save me, and watching helplessly as your obsession grew deeper day by day.”
“I wanted so badly to live, but I forgot that Heaven’s law would never let a demon who had taken someone else’s identity live.”
Xiaoman stroked Shen Linchuan’s face. Her hand had already transformed into a soft pink paw pad, and a tear slipped from the corner of her eye.
“I told you not to go after the Golden Jade Bracelet anymore, but you wouldn’t listen. We could have stayed together for seven more days.”
“Linchuan, this is my fate. Don’t make any more mistakes. After I die, bring the real Liu Tanghuan back. If you don’t like her, then divorce her. But from now on…”
“From now on… you must be happy.”
Xiaoman smiled. Her face was covered in fur and looked somewhat frightening, yet the eyes gazing at Shen Linchuan were beautiful and captivating.
Shen Linchuan was almost unable to make a sound. His lips trembled, but no words came out. The muscles in his face twitched, contorting his expression.
Large tears continuously streamed down his face.
There was nothing more painful than being forced to part with someone through life and death.
Xi Yu remained silent for a long while. Just as Xiaoman’s demon core was about to shatter, he took out a pill and infused it into her through the center of her forehead.
The next moment, the fur on Xiaoman’s body stopped falling.
But her body kept shrinking.
In the end, she transformed into a beautiful calico cat and collapsed into Shen Linchuan’s arms.
………………….
Shen Linchuan pressed a hand against the calico cat’s stomach and could feel it rising and falling. He held the cat in agony, his eyes bloodshot as he looked at Xi Yu.
“If I bring Liu Tanghuan back, can she still survive?”
Xi Yu shook his head. “It’s too late.”
They had delayed for too long. Xiaoman’s body was already incapable of healing itself.
“What do you mean, it’s too late? Didn’t you say that everything would be fine as long as everyone returned to their rightful place?!”
“Are you angry because I kidnapped you and hurt Luo Cheng’an? If that’s the case, I’ll apologize to you.”
Shen Linchuan knelt at Xi Yu’s feet. “It was my fault. I shouldn’t have spoken disrespectfully to you. I beg you, Xi Yu, please save her!”
Shen Linchuan slammed his head against the floor. “Please, save her. I really can’t lose her.”
Xi Yu moved his fingers slightly, stopping Shen Linchuan’s movement.
“Cats have nine lives. Every time they die, their demon core becomes weaker. Her life is already her last one. Her demon core was fragile to begin with, and with Heaven’s punishment on top of that, she’s become so weak that she can no longer maintain her human form. Once you bring Liu Tanghuan back, the punishment within her demon core will disappear. But you’ve delayed this for too long. Even if the punishment disappears now, her demon core will still shatter, and she could die at any moment. All I did just now was use my spiritual power to stabilize her demon core and extend her life by forty-eight hours.”
If she had been another kind of demon, she might have been able to hold on for a little longer, waiting until everyone returned to their rightful places before healing herself.
But Xiaoman happened to be a cat demon, and one whose last life was already being spent. Her demon core was inherently fragile, and Heaven’s punishment had accelerated her death.
Shen Linchuan refused to believe it. “You’re so powerful. You must have a way to save her! I’ll leave her. I’ll bring Liu Tanghuan back. I’ll work like an ox or a horse for her if I have to. As long as Xiaoman can recover, as long as she can stay alive, I’ll just watch her… I’ll watch her from far away…”
Luo Cheng’an looked completely bewildered.
Lu Zhixing suddenly spoke from the side. “What exactly happened during those six months when rumors said the Liu family’s daughter had disappeared?”
“You need to tell us everything,” Lu Zhixing said meaningfully. “Perhaps there’s still a glimmer of hope for your lover.”
Shen Linchuan hugged the calico cat. After a long while, he slowly began revealing the unknown past—and what had happened during the six months after Liu Tanghuan ran away from her wedding.
“Xiaoman was a stray cat. I actually met her when I was very young…”
After Liu Tanghuan ran away from her wedding that day, she never came back.
The one who returned was Xiaoman.
Xiaoman had been a stray cat that Liu Tanghuan’s parents had once rescued. She had been harmed by other demons, losing one of her lives before reverting to her true form.
At that time, she had only four lives left.
Those demons had tormented her for fun because she was weak.
Knowing that cats had nine lives, they would torture her to death, wait for her to revive, and then continue torturing her, repeating the cycle over and over. It continued for a long time and cost her five of her lives.
But that day, she was abandoned on the side of the road. She had just revived and thought she was going to spend the rest of her existence trapped in the same cycle of torment and abuse.
Then the Liu couple appeared.
They adopted her and named her Xiaoman.
The name carried the meaning of having one’s life be “small yet full,” symbolizing completeness and fulfillment.
At that time, Liu Tanghuan was only ten, while Shen Linchuan was thirteen. Yet he was already frequently brought to the Liu household as a guest, listening to the adults say that Liu Tanghuan would be his future wife.
Liu Tanghuan didn’t like small animals, so Mrs. Liu kept Xiaoman in the garden. She found a doctor to treat her and even had a spacious cat room built for her.
Compared with the spoiled and willful Liu Tanghuan, Shen Linchuan preferred playing with Xiaoman, who loved lying in the garden and basking in the sun.
Later, Liu Tanghuan went abroad, and only then did Mrs. Liu bring Xiaoman into the house and hold her in her arms every day.
Those were the happiest days Xiaoman had ever experienced.
She knew Liu Tanghuan didn’t like her, so after Liu Tanghuan returned, Xiaoman went back to the garden and avoided getting too close to her.
But after Liu Tanghuan came back, Mrs. Liu was always in tears. Xiaoman would secretly go and keep her company whenever Liu Tanghuan wasn’t around, and she also learned about everything Liu Tanghuan had done.
Later, Liu Tanghuan ran away from her wedding, and Mr. Liu was hospitalized. Xiaoman was frantic with worry. The doctor said the shock had been too great, while Mrs. Liu spent every day drowning in tears.
At that time, Xiaoman hardened her heart and transformed herself into Liu Tanghuan’s appearance. She admitted her mistakes and stayed with the couple to help them recover.
At the time, she only wanted to improve the Liu couple’s spirits, so she asked them not to let outsiders know that “Liu Tanghuan” had returned.
Xiaoman was waiting for Liu Tanghuan to realize her mistake and come back, at which point she would return her identity to her.
During that period, Shen Linchuan was also ordered by his parents to stay with Mr. Liu and was not allowed to call off the engagement.
For those six months, Shen Linchuan and Xiaoman were together day and night.
He initially thought Liu Tanghuan had finally come to her senses. At first, he merely watched from the sidelines with cold indifference, but as they spent each day together, his feelings gradually changed.
Six months later, when their parents brought up marriage again, he didn’t refuse.
He thought that if Liu Tanghuan could always be like this, then he was willing to marry her.
But after the grand wedding, the real Liu Tanghuan appeared.
Qian Xiaohu had originally treated Liu Tanghuan well, giving her good food and taking good care of her. He had been counting on the fact that the Liu family couldn’t possibly truly abandon their daughter.
But when he saw the wedding on television, he assumed that the Liu family had found someone to undergo plastic surgery and look exactly like the real Liu Tanghuan to replace her.
His attitude immediately changed, and he egged Liu Tanghuan on to take back everything that belonged to her.
He told Liu Tanghuan that her parents didn’t even acknowledge her anymore, so why should she care about anything else? Was she really going to let a fake person take over her place?
At first, Liu Tanghuan refused to believe him.
But after seeing with her own eyes how well her parents treated the fake Liu Tanghuan, resentment began to grow within her.
She resented her parents for refusing to accept the person she loved and for finding a fake replacement for her.
Liu Tanghuan originally planned to go directly to her parents, but Xiaoman discovered her first.
Xiaoman explained that she had only pretended to be her in order to repay the Liu family’s kindness, without revealing that she was actually a demon.
Liu Tanghuan was only half-convinced. After Xiaoman left, she returned home.
But she hated Xiaoman for using her identity and marrying Shen Linchuan. She directly told her parents that she wanted a divorce, only to receive a furious scolding and the words, “I truly regret giving birth to you!”
Liu Tanghuan was deeply affected. Then, under Qian Xiaohu’s influence, she poisoned her parents.