Nine-Tailed Cats Are All Capital M
This is a “fated person.”
The elder once said that anyone who can see the true form of a nine-tailed cat is a fated person. They can make one wish, and the nine-tailed cat will help them fulfill it. The price is that it will lose one tail.
It has always been very dissatisfied with the term “fated person.” The so-called fate between these people and it is simply that, on the road where it is steadily moving step by step toward completing nine tails and ascending, it gets forced to step backward a few more steps.
And because there is too much “fate,” it has been going forward and backward like this for more than a hundred years already.
But something deeply rooted in the genes of a nine-tailed cat makes it unable to resist the reasonable wishes of fated people. Again and again, it gloomily fulfills the wishes of these fated people. Again and again, it slowly cultivates a new tail. Then it repeats like this over and over again…
Where are there so many fated people coming from? It has always been very puzzled by this matter.
Su Gui once said, “All of you nine-tailed cats are M. And capital M at that.”
Yes. Now it has to be M again.
It sits properly in front of this person, quietly waiting for him to make a wish. As long as this wish does not exceed the scope of its ability, it will agree.
“Your tail is really beautiful.” The man looked at it for a long time, then softly said this sentence. He stretched out his hand as if he wanted to touch it, but after holding it in the air for a while, he still withdrew it. Perhaps he felt it was not polite.
It blinked its eyes and waited for him to continue speaking.
“I heard… heard about… that legend… about nine-tailed cats… the legend about helping people realize wishes,” he looked at the cat in front of him, a cat with black fur that was as glossy and soft as silk. He was so excited that he stammered. “I didn’t expect… it would be real…”
It knows what it looks like in this person’s eyes. What he sees is not a small cat curled up, almost like a black ball of yarn, but a large cat. A large black cat whose whole body emits a dim blue glow, like a giant ultraviolet mosquito-killing lamp. Behind this blue-glowing black cat, there are also eight majestic and imposing large tails.
Very imposing. Yes. It has always thought so. Although sometimes it frightens fated people.
“I don’t know if I’m being too abrupt,” the man finally calmed down a little. His speech also became much smoother. “The legend says nine-tailed cats are very kind and will help people realize wishes…”
Yes. The price is my tail that I just grew.
It swayed its tail. Why must this price be paid by the nine-tailed cat instead of by the fated person? It has never figured this out. If one day it completes everything and ascends, it must go find the ancestors and ask them how this kind of unequal, capital-M rule was approved.
But now it can only patiently wait for this person to slowly finish speaking.
“Can you help me? My wish is really not excessive, really!” When the man said this sentence, tears had already begun to faintly flicker in his eyes. His voice also choked a little. “I really didn’t expect I would truly encounter a nine-tailed cat. Please help me.”
It has seen this kind of scene many times. But it is still the same as when it first saw it. Its heart follows the person in front of it and softens slightly, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
It raises its front paw and lightly touches the man’s hand. He should be able to feel what it wants to say.
What wish do you have? Tell me.
“My daughter… my daughter is sick. She has already been unconscious for several days,” the man lowered his head, controlling his voice. “The doctor says there is no saving her…”
I cannot save a life.
“I don’t need you to make her illness better. I know a nine-tailed cat cannot do that… this is fate,” the man became a little agitated. He grabbed one of its front paws and held it very tightly. “I only want… the day after tomorrow is her birthday. Her sixth birthday… her mother and I want to celebrate a birthday for her…”
You want her to wake up.
“Can you? Can you help me? Just let her celebrate a birthday… before she leaves…” The man could not continue speaking. Tears slid down his face.
Alright.
It closed its eyes. The blue halo surrounding its body suddenly grew much larger, and the light instantly became brighter.
This wish is not excessive. It can do it.
Its tail hurts a little. A fine pain, like being gnawed by many tiny insects. It gently swayed its tail. It knows that among the eight tails, one of them is slowly becoming smaller, becoming thinner, and will disappear within a few minutes.
“Thank you. You will receive good karma. You definitely will!” The man watched the black cat, wrapped in a gentle blue halo, turn and quietly leave. He slowly knelt down on the ground. “Thank you…”
For it, this “thank you” can offset quite a bit of its gloom. It has encountered many people who do not say thank you. This person said thank you. It is already satisfied.
But the tail is still gone. After turning the corner, it looked back once, then spread all its tails and carefully counted them.
Seven tails. That’s right. It has become seven tails.
The mood to go for a walk in the central garden is gone. The tail it cultivated this time is gone again.
Go home and sleep.
It still hops as it walks, but not as cheerfully as before. It is a little tired.
Ding Wei stands in the bathroom, looking at his face in the mirror. It is very pale. It feels like even his so-called amber-colored pupils have become lighter.
He sighs, picks up the box of black contact lenses by the sink, and looks at it. Forget it. For this kind of endless cycle, he is already used to it. Other than quickly going to bed to sleep, he has no other thoughts left.
He has to sleep on his stomach. His butt is definitely not injured, but the feeling when the tail disappeared still faintly remains. Actually, if the number of times he has experienced this were all converted into fur, maybe it would already be enough for one whole tail. But it is still like this every single time.
“When will this ever end…” Ding Wei pulls the blanket over, covering himself from head to toe, and closes his eyes.
Ji Xiao fell asleep after harassing Tang Paopao, but it felt like he had not slept for long. Just as he dreamed that he was sitting in a maid café, watching three lolis surrounding him, happily preparing to enjoy the life of a lord for once, the alarm in the corridor rang again.
He did not have time to say goodbye to the lolis. He and Lin Zi both jumped up from the bed at the same time, almost making identical movements as they grabbed clothes and rushed out of the dorm, putting them on while running.
All the way until they slid down the pole and put on their protective gear, neither of them spoke.
This time it was definitely not a surprise inspection. Old Wu could not possibly do something like that twice in one night. And a fire alarm in the middle of the night is the most frightening. Everyone is in deep sleep, with no preparation at all.
The loudspeaker kept broadcasting the situation at the fire scene.
“A major fire has occurred at Yaju Garden in Nanhe District. All personnel assemble immediately and depart. A major fire has occurred at Yaju Garden in Nanhe District. All personnel assemble immediately and depart!”
Four fire trucks left the station in sequence. Ji Xiao and Lin Zi were in the second truck. Lin Zi turned on the siren and followed the vehicle in front.
“Yaju Garden is a new residential complex, right?” Zhang Xinwen sat in the back, his leg shaking nonstop. Whenever he went out to a fire scene, his leg would shake. He was no longer a rookie, but the habit from his rookie days still had not changed. “All personnel dispatched. This fire situation doesn’t look small. You’d think it’s not any holiday or festival, but we still have to go out to fire scenes every few days. There are always so many people who don’t take their own lives seriously.”
“Brother Wen, stop shaking,” Ji Xiao sat beside him. The shaking made his own leg feel like it was about to bounce up and down along with the rhythm. “The whole truck is shaking along with the ground…”
“The shaking of the car isn’t my fault. Lin Zi’s driving skills are too bad.” Zhang Xinwen stopped shaking his leg, chuckled twice, then within two seconds started shaking again.
“Can you two be a bit more civilized…” Lin Zi muttered from the front. He glanced sideways at Hu Qiming in the passenger seat, and the smile on his face immediately disappeared.
This guy always looks like he is facing a great enemy. From receiving the alarm, to dispatch, to returning from the fire scene, his expression always stays exactly the same. When everyone is already somewhat nervous, this kind of expression is especially contagious.
After Lin Zi looked at him, his own expression also turned into one full of bitterness and resentment. He thought to himself that next time they go out to a fire scene, Hu Qiming must be made to sit in the back.
As soon as the truck turned onto the street of Yaju Garden, several of them saw flames shooting up into the sky.
“Damn, didn’t the fire report just say the fire started on the 10th floor?” Ji Xiao looked toward the flames. “Judging by the height of the fire, it’s obviously not just that. It spread way too fast…”
“Be careful. Today this is going to be a hard fight.” Zhang Xinwen stared at the increasingly close black smoke and flames.
Four fire trucks stopped below the burning residential building. When Ji Xiao jumped out of the truck, he raised his head to look at the fire. His heart sank.
The fire had already spread to the 13th floor, and it was still continuing upward.
The building had a total of 15 floors. The rooftop was full of people. All of them were clinging to the railings, waving downward and calling for help. The situation was extremely critical. If things became chaotic now, something would definitely happen.
Wu Zhijun jumped out of the truck and immediately started shouting loudly, assigning tasks.
“Team One, extinguish the fire! Team Two, enter the building and search residents! Team Three, rescue! Team Four, isolate the fire! Move fast! Pay attention to personnel safety! Move move move move move!”
Ji Xiao and the others were Team Two. After receiving the order, several of them checked their gear and rushed into the building. As they ran up along the fire stairs, they could already smell the choking smoke.
Ji Xiao ran in the front. Zhang Xinwen followed behind him, arranging things while running.
“Two people per floor, search upward. Maintain communication. If anything happens, call for support. No showing off…”
Ji Xiao and Lin Zi rushed into the 10th floor where the fire first started. The other team members continued upward.
“Damn!” Lin Zi cursed the moment he rushed in.
There were no visible flames in the corridor of the 10th floor, but black smoke filled everywhere. The surrounding temperature was very high, roasting people until it felt like oil was about to seep out from their whole bodies.
“Hurry and search. If we take too long, the floor slabs might collapse!” Ji Xiao began kicking doors. What he feared most about late-night fire calls was that every time he would run into people who, even when the fire was about to reach them, could still dream that they were taking a sauna.
“Anyone there? If you hear us, speak!” Lin Zi kicked open doors while shouting.
After finishing the search on the 10th floor and finding no one inside, Ji Xiao and the others continued running upward. After contacting Zhang Xinwen, they went directly to the 13th floor.
The smoke was still rolling thickly. At the same time, they could see flames curling upward outside the corridor windows.
“This doesn’t look like normal fire smoke. Even the color of the flames is wrong!” Lin Zi shouted. There were quite a lot of miscellaneous items piled in the hallway of the 13th floor, and they had all already toppled over. The two of them had to step over them with difficulty. If they were not careful, they would trip.
“Yeah. Feels like chemical substances. Move faster. It might be toxic!” Ji Xiao knocked on doors, then began ramming them.
The 13th floor also had no people. They let out a breath of relief. They received a notice from Hu Qiming that a little girl had been found on the 14th floor and was now being sent down, and told them to go directly to the 15th floor to search for people.
“Go. 15.” Ji Xiao shouted while making a gesture to Lin Zi to go up to the 15th floor. The two of them ran upward against the choking, strange-smelling smoke.
Compared to below, the temperature on the 15th floor was lower, but the smoke was heavy. Several households had their doors open. The two rushed in and searched around but did not see anyone. Above the 15th floor was the rooftop. The residents probably heard the noise and had already run up there.
Lin Zi’s walkie-talkie transmitted Zhang Xinwen’s voice.
“Information from 15th floor residents. The student in 1504 hasn’t been seen. You two go check immediately!”
“Received. We are on the 15th floor. Going now!” Lin Zi shouted.
Ji Xiao saw the number 1504 through the thick smoke. The door was tightly closed. He knocked on it a few times with his hand, but there was no response. So he stepped back two steps and rammed into it. It took two hits to knock the door open.
“Anyone there? We’re firefighters!” Ji Xiao looked around. There was also smoke inside the room, but not much. It did not affect visibility. He did not see anyone, so he immediately rushed into the bedroom.
There was a person sleeping on the bed.
At the moment he rushed into the bedroom, that person suddenly jumped up and, with a kind of lightness and speed that left him stunned, darted right in front of him.
Through the smoke, he saw a pair of wide-open amber eyes and a face that was clearly startled. He looked quite young. He should be the student Zhang Xinwen mentioned. Ji Xiao had no time to think about anything else. He grabbed this person’s hand and ran out.
“Your building is on fire. Come with me. Is there anyone else at home?”
“No.” The person froze for a moment, was pulled into a stagger, then obediently followed him and ran out.
“Where are your shoes? Watch your feet!” Lin Zi looked at the person behind Ji Xiao. He was wearing nothing but a pair of underwear. The ground was covered with broken glass shards. Barefoot, it would only take a few steps before he would be cut up badly.
“I’ll go put them on.” The kid froze for a moment, then surprisingly calmly turned around and tried to go back to put on shoes.
“No need.” Ji Xiao saw thick black smoke continuously rolling in from the corridor windows. He grabbed his arm, stripped off his own protective clothing, wrapped it around him, bent down, and hoisted him onto his shoulder.
“Move!”
Only when he was thrown onto Ji Xiao’s shoulder did Ding Wei clearly see his face. He was a bit surprised. He still remembered this face.
This was the firefighter who had pulled him out of the sewer by grabbing his tail before. When his face hit against this man’s waist, he could even distinguish that faint smell of tobacco on his body.
Before, he had been dragged out of the sewer by this person with a rope loop around his tail like dragging a mop. Now he was being thrown onto his shoulder like a sack.
Fate, Ding Wei. This is embarrassing, Ding Wei.
Being rescued twice in the same day by the same person. This kind of thing is really too embarrassing. Ding Wei endured the strong urge to vomit caused by his stomach pressing right against the man’s shoulder, feeling somewhat depressed.