Strange Life of a Cat

It was only eight and there were still people outdoors.

The night was young, so Zheng Tan could afford to stay out a bit longer.

People went to bed later in the summer, especially during summer vacation.

Sheriff seemed to be locked up, so Zheng Tan was the only one available to accompany Nougat. He was free anyway, so he followed Nougat.

Students were coming and going through the side gate, but none of them noticed the two cats. There were plenty of cats around campus. The area around campus was home to many businesses that targeted students. Many vendors had food stands on the street. Light bulbs hung above the stands lighting up the surroundings.

The smell of deep-fried food wafted through the air. The street was full of shop owners bargaining with students.

Zheng Tan looked at Nougat. He lifted his head to sniff the smells in the air once in a while, but the scent of food didn’t seem to affect him at all.

They continued forward, passing the night market. The crowd thinned and eventually disappeared. They had entered a residential district where there were no street lamps. The only light came from the windows of people’s homes, so people seldom remained outdoors around here after ten.

It was only eight right now and the street was bright enough, at least for Zheng Tan and Nougat. They ran into several pet dogs. They would walk straight past the leashed dogs and would jump on a wall to avoid the ones that chased them. People normally came out to check on their dogs if they started barking.

They never ran around pointlessly no matter what happened. Zheng Tan had to admit, Nougat was smarter than most cats. He didn’t know if this was because of Li Yuanba’s teachings or if he was born like this.

Nougat brought Zheng Tan to the site of their visit two days ago. Before they could make a declaration of war, Zheng Tan heard a loud hiss.

He followed the sound and saw a cat sitting on a short stone pillar. It was the one that looked similar to Sheriff. It’s back was arched up and it was hissing a warning. Soon, Zheng Tan saw the long-haired cat come out from its hiding place, its fur standing on end.

There were more cats around. They had heard the commotion but were not showing hostility like these two.

Nougat had probably fought these two cats before, or else they wouldn’t appear this alarmed just from spotting him. They looked like they wanted to pounce but held some reservations. However, they weren’t backing down.

These two cats seemed to be the leaders of the area judging by the way the other cats avoided them. Though Nougat was similar in size to Zheng Tan, he was still a kitten. Compared to these strays, he was still far too inexperienced.

Zheng Tan could be sure that no matter how strong Nougat’s fighting abilities were, he didn’t win when he fought these two, although he probably didn’t sustain any serious injuries either.

Nougat pounced while Zheng Tan was still thinking. He headed straight toward the pillar and jumped up high, scratching at the cat sitting there.

Nougat didn’t expect to hit his target, he just wanted that cat on the ground.

After exchanging scratches, the two cats were in a Mexican standoff. Both of them hissed with their backs arched. Their tails swayed from side to side, then suddenly they were at it again. There was scratching and biting and kicking, then some chasing.

This was how cats fought. They needed a lot of space.

Zheng Tan didn’t really want to fight them. He felt like he was bullying children. However, he was here to support Nougat, so he had to do something. He planned to just scare these cats, not harm them. Their lives were difficult enough as it was.

So Zheng Tan stepped in front of the long-haired cat, stopping it from interfering with the on-going battle. He didn’t do anything else. The scene reminded him of the Persian cat he had robbed when he was first caught.

He held down the long-haired cat and ignored its meowing. Zheng Tan watched from the sidelines as Nougat fought the large black cat. From the way things were going, Nougat was sure to win. He had a rough time fighting two cats simultaneously last time and was taking out all his anger on his opponent.

A few cats were looking on while hidden in the shadows. None came forward. A few showed signs of wanting to come close, but all stopped after a few steps. They had decided to observe the situation for a little longer.

People passed by occasionally. They didn’t see Zheng Tan who blended well into the night, but they heard the meows of the cat under Zheng Tan’s paw. Most swore under their breath and hurried away. When cats weren’t meowing to show affection, their meows sounded more like screeching. It was unpleasant and a little bit scary, especially at night.

This area was not the safest place at night, so passersby all walked as fast as they could.

Zheng Tan looked at the cat he was holding down. Its situation wasn’t that bad, so why bother screeching? Though it was pinned to the floor, it didn’t have to suffer any scratches.

When Zheng Tan saw Nougat and the large black cat moving further and further away from him, he let the long-haired cat go. It hurriedly left the scene, probably going home to some comfort.

It was relatively quiet, so Zheng Tan could hear the two cats fighting. He could tell from the occasional shrieks that Nougat was doing well. The other cat was the only one making noises. Zheng Tan wasn’t worried. He proudly walked his way over.

He didn’t plan to join the fight. He had done his part tonight and the long-haired cat was already home. Nougat had the black cat all to himself. Every male cat had to have a few fights. Now that he thought about it, Nougat was fighting a street fight.

Zheng Tan took note of the architecture of the buildings around him. He had never been here before. It was said this was a bad area of town and he had avoided entering the heart of this maze of narrow streets He followed the two cats who were still fighting to a building enclosed by a tall fence. Inside the fence was probably the construction project that was never completed. He had heard about it in passing. The project was supposed to be huge, the land it occupied was certainly large enough.

Zheng Tan doubted this area was going to stay deserted for long. It was close to the university and was in the city.

A loud shriek drew him back from his thoughts. The sound appeared suddenly and stopped just as abruptly.

This was not a sound that cats made during a fight. It sounded like it was the other cat making the sound, but if this cat ran into fatal danger, Nougat was not safe from it.

He hoped things weren’t that bad.

Zheng Tan ran toward the sound as fast as he could. He kept his footsteps light though he was running and kept an eye on his surroundings. He hadn’t seen anything to worry about when they came here, but it seemed he had been too careless. The dogs and cats around here were nothing to worry about, but humans always posed a threat. Though most people were civilized, Zheng Tan knew from his past experience that there still existed people who could kill a dog or a cat without batting an eyelid.

Zheng Tan didn’t jump over the fence immediately. He had no idea what the other side was like. He didn’t know if there would be a place for him to hide. The gate was nearby. Huge metal doors were bolted on the outside. The paint was falling off and the rust on the lock showed how long this site had been deserted.

Zheng Tan perked up his ears but didn’t hear anything moving, so he bent his head low and peeked inside through a small gap under the door.

Without a torchlight, the moon was the only light source he could rely on.

He was a cat, so he could still see relatively clearly.

About a hundred meters away was an uncompleted building. The courtyard was in a bad state. Weeds flourished and metal scraps were piled all over the place, making for an eerie sight.

The building seemed like a monster, waiting in the night for any intruders.

A gust of wind blew by.

Zheng Tan smelled blood.

The blood of a cat.

He had smelled cat blood when he had been captured. It was different from human blood.

He was starting to worry and cautiously proceeded toward the smell.

He navigated his way around the piles of trash. Then he saw it.

By the building was the body of a cat. Ten minutes ago, it was fighting with Nougat. Now it lay on the floor motionless. Blood was gushing from a wound on its head and its face was no longer visible. It had died a violent death. The person who had done this had smashed the cat’s head repeatedly.

The instrument of destruction was lying nearby. It was a rake that still had the smell of a human on it. It was just as Zheng Tan had predicted.

Zheng Tan didn’t have time to mourn, he needed to find out where Nougat was.

He walked around the courtyard but didn’t see Nougat. This was possibly good news.

Was the kitten inside the building or had he left already?

The dead cat was lying close the building, so it was likely that Nougat had run inside to hide. If he had left the site, Nougat would have meowed to let Zheng Tan know.

The more Zheng Tan thought about it, the more he was sure Nougat was inside the building, hiding in a corner somewhere.

Zheng Tan decided to check. He had watched Nougat grow up and he was the one who had accompanied him on this adventure. He was determined to bring him home.