Chapter Forty-Six: Your Sister Has Been Taken

“I… how could I… impossible…”
Its own tentacles had pierced two bloody holes into its body, and the ghoul’s unwilling mouth opened and closed, its gaze gradually losing focus. It staggered two steps before collapsing on its back, completely dead.
Cheng Feng turned his head and realized he had nearly fallen victim to the creature’s dying trap. Luckily, Xueju had knocked him aside, allowing him to narrowly escape disaster.

[Ding! Host has slain an undead monster.]
[Scanning complete… Target: Intermediate Ghoul slain.]
[Reward: One superpower. Would you like to claim it?]
[Kind reminder… If you do not wish to claim the superpower, it can be exchanged for skill points.]

The system’s prompts echoed in Cheng Feng’s mind, confirming the ghoul’s death—no need for a finishing blow. He let out a breath of relief, then chose to claim the new superpower in his mind.

[Ability awakening in progress… 30%… 50%… 80%… 100%]
[Passive skill acquired: Crisis Premonition +1]

Crisis Premonition?
Judging by the name, it must be a skill that warns him of danger ahead.
With this, he would no longer fear sudden ambushes like today’s; he’d be able to sense threats in advance and evade them.

“It seems that monster was here to kill you.”
Cheng Feng brushed the dust from his body, sat on the floor to rest, and withdrew from spirit release mode.
He cast a resentful glance at the little white cat. “This is all your fault. Look what you’ve done to my place.”
“I’m sorry.”
Xueju bowed her head and apologized sincerely. “I didn’t expect it to find me here. I’ll leave right away and won’t drag you into this any further.”

Suddenly, the screech of tires braking came from outside, soon followed by approaching footsteps. Liu Shiyu entered the living room.

From outside, she’d seen a pool of fresh blood at the apartment entrance and was alarmed, fearing something had happened to Cheng Feng. She hurried inside.
The living room was in shambles—a monster’s mangled corpse lay on the floor, while Cheng Feng, bloodstained, sat resting with a blade in hand.

Liu Shiyu was stunned by the wreckage. “Cheng Feng, what on earth happened here?”
“It’s nothing. All taken care of.”

Cheng Feng was too lazy to explain. He waved a hand dismissively, looked around at the mess, and asked, “A lot of my furniture is ruined. Liu Shiyu, can you lend me some money to replace it all? Otherwise, I won’t be able to explain this when my family returns.”
“But… don’t you still owe me twenty thousand?”
“Just round it up. Make it thirty.”
“…”

Left speechless by Cheng Feng’s shamelessness, Liu Shiyu walked over and nudged the ghoul’s corpse, confirming it was truly dead.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the little white cat beside Cheng Feng. Her expression instantly chilled. “Why is there a cat demon here?”
A flash of killing intent passed through her eyes as she raised her snowy hand, cold ice forming in her palm.

“Wait…”
The chill of death enveloped the room. Xueju shrank back in fear, her voice trembling. “Please… please don’t kill me.”
“Liu Shiyu, let her go.”
This time, Cheng Feng didn’t remain indifferent. “She just saved my life.”
If Xueju hadn’t lent him a hand just now, he wouldn’t have cared about her fate.

Liu Shiyu frowned, considering his words, then slowly lowered her hand. “But she’s a monster… We can’t just let her go.”
Cheng Feng scattered the blade of thunder in his hand into motes of light and looked at the little white cat. “I think I heard that ghoul say you came from another city?”
“You heard right.”
Xueju relaxed a little, seeing that Liu Shiyu wasn’t attacking, and answered Cheng Feng, “I’m from Red Moon City, across the strait.”

At this, Liu Shiyu reacted sharply. “That’s… the city of monsters and demons, isn’t it?”

Red Moon City lay to the north of Winter’s Edge, separated by thousands of kilometers of ocean. The official government had declared it forbidden—no one was allowed to set sail for its shores.

A hundred years ago, Red Moon City had been a city of humans. But then came a great calamity, and it fell into the hands of monsters and demons.
The cause: the arrival of the third Cataclysm-level Abyssal Demon, the Nine-Tailed Fox, Tamamo Yuki. She descended upon Red Moon City like a supreme empress.
Her breathtaking beauty bewitched all living things. Before this cold and enchanting demon queen, the entire citizenry was ensnared by desires of passion.
No army mobilized to resist, no hunters rose in defiance. Under the queen’s spell, millions of humans lost their minds and willingly knelt at her feet.

Tamamo Yuki corrupted the entire population, transforming them into demons and seizing the city with ease. She established her own kingdom of monsters in Red Moon City.

Cheng Feng had once researched Red Moon City online. The information wasn’t censored, so he knew the general story.
There were five supreme Abyssal Demons in the world. If the third-ranked Tamamo Yuki was so terrifying, the remaining four were unimaginable.

Liu Shiyu questioned the little white cat, “If you traveled all the way from Red Moon City to Winter’s Edge, what are you after?”

“To… to find someone…”
Xueju stammered, “Red Moon City is in crisis. I came here to find a certain person.”
Liu Shiyu noticed the cat seemed reluctant to say more and said coldly, “You’ll have to come with me to the Association’s branch for thorough questioning.”

Hearing this, Xueju was frightened. If she really were taken to the Disaster Association, her fate would be grim.
“I’ll tell you everything, just please don’t take me to the Association. Please let me stay with him.”
With that, she walked to Cheng Feng’s feet, nuzzling his pant leg, her wide eyes pleading.

Arms folded, Liu Shiyu left the decision to Cheng Feng. “What do you think?”
Cheng Feng stroked his chin, gazing at the little white cat with a meaningful look. “Can you change?”
“You mean, into a human form?”
Xueju blinked. “My demon power is one-third recovered. I can take on human shape.”
Cheng Feng nodded righteously. “Good. You may stay with me.”
Liu Shiyu: “…”
And you call yourself righteous?

“By the way,” Cheng Feng remembered something, turning to Liu Shiyu, “why did you come looking for me so early? If it’s for sword training, you didn’t need to be here at dawn.”
“No, actually.” Liu Shiyu’s tone grew grave. “Do you recall that underground auction trafficking in humans? The intelligence team has a lead—the target location is confirmed. The Association is preparing a raid and needs all hands on deck. I came to bring you back to the branch for the operation.”
“I see.”
Cheng Feng certainly remembered that monstrous underground auction—its trafficking of humans had left a deep impression on him.

Liu Shiyu added with a meaningful glance, “There’s one more thing I came to tell you. I hope you’re prepared…”
“What is it?” Cheng Feng sensed the shift in her tone.
“Your sister… she’s been captured. She’s in the auction house.”