Chapter 1: That Night

Even after three thousand years had passed, with many things faded from memory, Bai Heng still remembered that night with perfect clarity…

That night, a silver moon hung high overhead, and the sky was filled with stars.

Bai Heng had drunk quite a lot and suffered from a terrible headache. 

But tonight’s dinner meeting had gone quite smoothly. 

In the five years since he had joined the company, this was the first time he had taken the lead in signing a rather significant project…

Feeling the cool midnight breeze brush away the uncomfortable heat the alcohol had brought to his body, and thinking about the substantial bonus he would receive once the project was completed, along with the possibility of a promotion, Bai Heng hummed a tuneless little tune in a good mood.

Half-drunk and half-sober, Bai Heng walked into a street with a distinct Tang dynasty charm.

This street was a smaller one on the outskirts of “Chang’an City.” 

The entire “Chang’an City” had been built years ago when the film production team collaborated with the local government to recreate the ancient city almost one-to-one for a movie, at enormous cost. 

Online, it was known as “Little Chang’an.”

After the movie wrapped up, “Little Chang’an” had become a famous internet-famous tourist city. 

The outer city was completely open to the public, while the inner city required tickets. 

It was also rented out to other film crews for shoots and variety shows.

As “Little Chang’an” became more profitable and demand grew, plans for expansion arose. 

Bai Heng had come tonight for this very reason. 

Although he had only secured the development rights for a small area in the end, it was quite an impressive achievement for a “newcomer” like him.

As long as this project went smoothly, a promotion and raise were practically guaranteed… 

The alcohol combined with the intoxication from imagining his bright future left Bai Heng’s eyes hazy and his steps light.

What was strange, however, was that “Little Chang’an” was a city that never slept.

Yet tonight, this street was devoid of people and lights. 

He could only navigate by the fairly bright moonlight. 

Even in the outer city, it should have been lively at this hour. Why was there no one around…

Bai Heng subconsciously turned to look back. 

The inner city was brightly lit, and faint sounds of bustle could be heard. 

It was like two different worlds compared to the cold, quiet street he was on now.

Perhaps there was a power and water outage on this street, and it was temporarily closed for the night… Bai Heng’s head was starting to throb again, so he did not want to think about it too much.

The night wind grew even cooler. 

Bai Heng tightened his suit jacket and picked up his pace. 

But the more he walked, the less straight his path became. 

He staggered along, swaying left and right.

“Feels too awful. I can’t drink this much next time…”

Before he could finish speaking, Bai Heng felt a burning heat surging violently in his stomach, then rushing upward…

He still had some decency. 

He quickly pulled out a plastic bag he had prepared from his pocket, bent over, and vomited violently.

Afterward, Bai Heng looked around for a trash can but could not find one. 

He could only continue walking while carrying the small bag of vomit.

As he walked, he saw a tall city wall and suddenly felt confused.

How had he walked back toward the inner city again?

He really had vomited himself silly and did not even realize he had gone the wrong way… 

He turned around to continue, but it was hard to see the path clearly. 

The moon in the night sky had dimmed considerably.

“Wow, turn on the lights! How am I supposed to walk without lights!?”

Feeling awful from the drinking and with his thoughts quite muddled, Bai Heng simply sat down by the roadside in a “whatever” kind of posture. He slurred loudly:

“Where are the streetlights? Why aren’t the lights on?”

“The service is terrible. I want to complain. I’m going to call and complain!”

He fumbled around in his suit pocket for a while before finally pulling out his phone.

He turned on the screen and looked at the cat-eared girl wallpaper, grinning foolishly.

“Hehe, hehe, meow meow, meow meow meow!”

He suddenly forgot what he was supposed to do and just stared at the cat-eared girl, meowing stupidly.

“Meow~”

A soft cat’s meow came from not far away, contrasting sharply with Bai Heng’s lewd calls.

In the quiet night, that meow immediately caught Bai Heng’s attention. 

He looked toward the sound and saw two glowing green dots.

Under normal circumstances, he probably would have shivered in fright.

But with the alcohol hitting him hard, all Bai Heng wanted to do right now was pet a cat.

“Meow meow, kitty kitty—come here, kitty kitty!”

He waved toward the green glowing dots, calling out continuously. 

The dots cooperated, hopping closer and closer.

It was a completely black cat. 

If not for the faint moonlight, he might have only seen a pair of glowing green eyes in front of him.

And those glowing green cat eyes were curiously staring at Bai Heng.

“Hehehe!”

Bai Heng let out a lecherous laugh. 

He reached out and “vigorously” stroked from the top of the black cat’s head all the way to its tail, repeating the motion.

The warm, fluffy feel, combined with the black cat’s obedience and active response, made Bai Heng think that cats were indeed much more comfortable than his materialistic ex-girlfriend…

Who needs a girlfriend? How could any woman compare to an obedient and cute cat?

Such a thought crossed Bai Heng’s mind. Looking into the black cat’s curious eyes, he said with slight regret:

“Of course, it would be even better if you could really turn into a human…”

“Come home with me! I’ll take care of you for life!”

“That woman looked down on me, hmph! I’ll raise a cat—no! I’ll raise a whole house full of cats, cats that can turn into humans! What’s so great about you, an ordinary human woman…”

The rest of his words were complete drunken nonsense.

“Young Master, you’d better keep your word~”

A soft, charming voice interrupted Bai Heng’s crazy rambling.

“Huh? Eh?!”

Bai Heng looked down at the black cat. The black cat looked up at him. 

But within those glowing green cat eyes, there was now more than just curiosity—there was also teasing and seduction.

Gulp. Bai Heng’s Adam’s apple bobbed. His throat felt dry and a bit painful. 

He subconsciously asked:

“Was that you speaking?!”

“Hehehe~”

The black cat let out a coquettish laugh. Its entire body rapidly expanded and transformed along with the laughter…

Under Bai Heng’s shocked gaze, the originally petite black cat turned into a beautiful young girl.

The girl wore a black velvet brocade robe and squatted face-to-face with him.

“Young Master, you jest. Who else could it be in front of you but this servant?”

Covering her mouth with a light laugh, the girl stood up. 

She stretched lazily like a cat, her form-fitting black velvet robe doing nothing to hide her alluring figure.

“Uh, uh, uh…”

Indistinct sounds came from Bai Heng’s throat. 

His neck moved like rusted machinery as he slowly tilted his head up to look at the girl.

The large, round… moon finally cast down its bright light at this moment.

Bai Heng looked at the girl’s charming face, then his gaze was drawn to the pair of fluffy pointed ears on top of her head.

“Cat, cat, cat cat cat… girl! There really are catgirls?!”

He had sobered up quite a bit, but Bai Heng was still somewhat incoherent.

“Hehehe~”

The girl kept laughing behind her hand, her cat ears twitching atop her head and her cat tail swaying behind her.

“Young Master, you’re really funny. Who calls someone ‘girl’ right upon meeting them? Unless…”

The girl paused slightly, leaned forward a little, and gently ran her finger across Bai Heng’s cheek. Her voice was light and enchanting:

“Young Master likes this kind of thing?”

As she spoke, the girl lightly bit her lip, her eyes misty.

Bai Heng’s gaze was drawn to the small movement of the girl’s mouth. 

He saw her pink lips and the slightly revealed small, white, sharp fangs.

Hiss~

He could not help but gasp. 

The night wind wandering through the street made Bai Heng’s back feel a little cold. 

His drunkenness had almost completely vanished.

“Beau—beautiful lady, sorry, my ride is almost here. I need to get to the main road. Let’s meet again if fate allows!”

He waved the phone in his hand, gave the girl an apologetic smile, and then tried to stand up and leave as naturally as possible.

However, Bai Heng soon became lost. Under the moonlight, everything he saw was completely unfamiliar. He could not find his way at all.

Panic rose unconsciously in his heart. Bai Heng blurted out:

“Where the hell is this place?!”

“Qingshan County.”

At some point, the girl had appeared beside him and spoke softly:

“Tianlan Kingdom, Qingjiang Prefecture, Chengyun Circuit, Qingshan County. This servant sees that Young Master’s attire is quite unusual. You must be from out of town, right? Looking at your clothes… are you from the Sulfur Domain?”

“You don’t seem to be, though. This servant saw merchants from the Sulfur Domain in Delin Prefecture twenty years ago. They also had short hair like Young Master, but their clothing wasn’t like this… Could you be from across the Moon Sea?”

“But the Moon Sea is treacherous. Ordinary humans or demons could never…”

As she spoke, the girl suddenly grabbed Bai Heng’s arm, her eyes shining brightly:

“Young Master, just who are you? This servant is very curious!”

“You, you!”

Bai Heng tried to break free, but the girl’s small, fair hand was like an iron clamp. He could not move at all.

“What Tianlan Kingdom, what Moon Sea! I’m Chinese! Stop messing with me. I’m Chinese. This must still be ‘Little Chang’an’, right…”

His mentality somewhat collapsing, Bai Heng looked at the girl with eyes that were almost pleading. 

He hoped she would tell him this was all a prank, that the production crew would soon emerge from the shadows, tell him it was a show, and “compensate” him with mental damages…

Yet deep down, Bai Heng knew very clearly that this place was definitely not China, and not even Earth. 

He had personally seen a black cat turn into a human. 

No, this girl was a demon! She had said it herself…

“Young Master, what country is China? And what place is Little Chang’an?”

The girl ignored Bai Heng’s near-breakdown and continued to ask with bright eyes.

Powerlessly meeting the girl’s gaze, and with things having come to this point, Bai Heng simply gave up on his fantasies and focused on dealing with his current situation.

He really liked catgirls. 

There was a living, breathing “catgirl” right in front of him, yet Bai Heng felt no joy at all.

His instincts told him that the girl before him was not just a “catgirl.” 

She was a demon—one that ate people… He could not forget that frightening glimpse of her sharp fangs!

The curiosity and patience she was showing now felt more like a predator toying with its prey before eating it.

“Can you let go first?”

Bai Heng tried to calm himself and forced a smile:

“Let’s find a place to talk slowly.”

The girl smiled and released his hand, saying at the same time:

“This servant has remembered every word Young Master said, word for word!”

She’s warning me not to try any tricks… Bai Heng sighed inwardly.

He took a few steps, then stopped.

Where could he go? Where could he possibly go?!

To this place, his mind was a complete mess. He was utterly in the dark.

“Young Master, how about coming to this servant’s nest… ahem, residence?”

The girl seemed to notice Bai Heng’s dilemma and suggested.

“Uh…”

Bai Heng froze completely.

What did she say? Go to her nest? A demon was still a demon, even in human form!

Despite her youthful appearance, there was no telling her real age! 

She had already mentioned something about twenty years ago… 

From the sound of it, she probably had a whole litter of little cat demons, right?

It was over. Completely over!

Just as he was thinking about how to escape before reaching the cat demon’s nest, a brilliant flash of light suddenly exploded in the night sky, completely cutting off any chance of survival for Bai Heng…

“Those damn stinky daoists are never-ending!”

The cat demon girl, who had been delicate and charming just moments ago, suddenly turned fierce:

“Young Master said he would take care of this servant for a lifetime. Unfortunately, some people don’t understand romance. This servant won’t ask for Young Master’s whole life anymore. A single sincere heart from Young Master will be enough!”

“You! Let’s talk nicely! What do you want…”

Bai Heng knew the cat demon was afraid of that flash of light. He shouted as he ran frantically toward the direction of the light.

“Over here! The demon is over here! Help…”

A sharp pain shot through his back. Something had pierced through his chest.

Bai Heng looked down and saw a slender arm covered in blood. 

The hand was clutching a fresh, beating red heart—his heart.

“Save me…”

She said she only wanted one heart, so she only took one heart.

The cat demon girl did as she promised. 

Carrying Bai Heng’s “sincere heart,” she swiftly vanished into the pitch-black night.