Chapter Ninety-Nine: They Are Innocent

Cat Maid Café.

Xiaoju the catgirl was working as usual, her mind still occupied by the events of the previous night. She couldn’t fathom where Xueju had gone. Xueju was an old friend she hadn’t seen in years. After Xueju left for Chiyue City to serve as a maid to the city’s second princess, she had vanished without a trace, and it was only last night that they’d finally reunited.

Just then, the door to the café opened.

As the glass doors slid apart, the little cat-shaped wind chime hanging by the entrance tinkled brightly.

“Welcome home, Master…” she recited out of habit, but upon seeing who had entered, her face lit up with delight. “Xueju?!”

Xiaoju darted from behind the counter and threw her arms around Xueju in a tight embrace. “What brings you here?”

Then her gaze shifted to the person trailing behind Xueju—Cheng Feng—and her eyes widened in alarm. “You… you’re that demon hunter from before?!”

She remembered well the previous visit when Cheng Feng had come to the café, spoken with the manager, and ultimately agreed not to expose that the café was run entirely by monsters. Xiaoju had breathed a sigh of relief then. After all, the Disaster Association’s demon hunters never spared a single monster, icy and ruthless, treating both man-eating and harmless monsters the same—all exterminated without mercy.

It was no wonder that harmless monsters like herself lived under a constant shadow of fear. Now that Cheng Feng had returned, she couldn’t help but worry that he’d changed his mind and was here to kill them all.

“There’s no need to be so afraid,” Cheng Feng said calmly, unfazed by her wariness. “We’re here to see the manager.”

Xiaoju’s anxious eyes turned to Xueju. “Xueju, how do you know this demon hunter?”

“Don’t worry, Xiaoju,” Xueju replied with innocent sincerity. “Cheng Feng is my friend. He won’t hurt us.”

“Seriously?” Xiaoju blinked in disbelief. A monster and a demon hunter, friends? Such a thing was unheard of—truly bizarre.

“Really,” Xueju nodded, tilting her head. “I’ve even been staying at his place for several days now. He’s been so kind to me.”

“You’ve been living at his house for days? So you’ve been together all this time?”

Xiaoju’s heart leapt into her throat, her mind suddenly flooded with unsavory images.

Xueju was so adorable—somewhere between a little girl and a maiden. Staying with a man for so long… had she become shaped by his presence?

“He hasn’t done anything to you, has he?” Xiaoju asked worriedly.

“Done anything?” Xueju blinked. “Does letting him pet me every night count?”

Cheng Feng: “…”

Xiaoju hugged Xueju even tighter, glaring at Cheng Feng. “She’s a cat! How could you do that?”

Cheng Feng’s mouth twitched. “I think you might be misunderstanding something. She always reverts to her original form at night.”

“What?” Xiaoju’s eyes widened. “She’s in her original form and you still—?”

Cheng Feng: “…”

How was it that the more he said, the worse it sounded?

Just then, another catgirl maid appeared, dressed in a black uniform. She bowed respectfully to Cheng Feng. “Good day, sir. You must be Cheng Feng. The manager is occupied at the moment, but you may take a seat and wait.”

Cheng Feng turned to her. “That’s the manager’s instruction?”

“Yes,” the black cat maid nodded.

“Alright.”

…

Cheng Feng followed Xueju to a table, glancing around at the cheerful guests chatting and laughing throughout the café, his thoughts deepening.

The infamous, terrifying demon Black Yasha running a café and serving humans… No one would ever believe such a tale; they’d think you were insane.

Even faced with the reality of it, Cheng Feng struggled to accept it as true.

Soon, the manager appeared.

He carried two steaming cups of coffee, set them on the table, and took a seat directly across from Cheng Feng.

Seated beside Cheng Feng, Xueju seemed anxious as the manager finally arrived. “Manager, I’ve been searching for you. I escaped from Chiyue City to ask for your help.”

“I already know what’s happened in Chiyue City,” the manager replied calmly. “You should leave for now—I’d like to speak with this young man alone.”

Xueju hesitated, wanting to protest, but after a moment’s thought, she obediently departed.

Now, only the two of them remained at the table.

Cheng Feng took a careful sip of the coffee, savoring its rich, authentic flavor. “You have quite a talent, manager.”

The manager gave a faint, unhurried smile. Even in the face of praise, his tone did not waver. “As long as the guest is satisfied.”

Setting down his cup, Cheng Feng’s expression grew serious as he cut to the heart of the matter. “Manager, why did you ask me here?”

He had no intention of getting involved in the affairs of Chiyue City—what could there possibly be to discuss?

Besides, the enmity between Black Yasha and humanity ran deep as blood. Cheng Feng’s willingness to sit and talk with the manager was only because the latter now truly posed no threat to humans.

But that didn’t mean there were no barriers between them.

“You possess the bloodline of the vampires, but when that power erupts, you’ll lose your reason and become a monster,” the manager said gravely. “I had hoped to help you, but even I cannot eradicate the madness that comes with your bloodline.”

Cheng Feng was taken aback, not expecting the other to be concerned for him. “Then what should I do?”

The manager replied softly, “Only one person can help you—Gui Lingyuan.”

“Gui Lingyuan?” Cheng Feng was startled. “You mean the monster princess of Chiyue City?”

“Yes. She possesses a unique demonic power… she can help you.”

Cheng Feng was by no means fully convinced. He frowned. “You’re the infamous fourth Abyssal One. Why would you help me?”

He’d done his research.

A decade ago, Black Yasha was a calamity-class demon, ruthless and cruel, dubbed the “Tyrant” by humans. The number of lives destroyed at his hands was an outrage beyond measure.

Such an unpardonable monster could hardly be expected to help him.

“I’m not that person anymore,” the manager shook his head. “To be precise, I’m the former fourth Abyssal One—the position no longer belongs to me.”

This astonishing revelation made Cheng Feng pause, lost in thought.

After a moment’s silence, the manager added, “I have no practical reason to help you. Perhaps consider it a gesture of gratitude for not exposing this café.”

Outside the transparent window to the left, rain began to fall, drumming steadily against the glass.

Cheng Feng’s tone was cold. “Whatever made you abandon your bloodlust, your past crimes won’t simply disappear. Humanity will never forgive you…”

His stance was clear: he would not shelter Black Yasha. After all, the manager’s true form was too dangerous to conceal from the Association.

Thus, the manager’s only option was to leave Donglin City and follow Xueju to Chiyue City. Staying behind would be a death sentence.

Against a single Abyssal One, the Disaster Association, if determined, could handle the threat.

“Yes… those were my sins. But that was the past. I will never again harm a human.” The manager sighed, his weathered face lined with sorrow. “If you wish to expose me, do so at any time—but please, spare the cat monsters. They are innocent.”