Outside the room, the moonlight was like liquid.
After settling the kicking and struggling Mo, Wei Geng walked to the bookshelf, turned on the green-shaded lamp, and flipped through the materials Aurelia had packed before leaving the Priory.
Compared to what the Old Dean had shared, these materials were far more detailed. Beyond the organizational structure of the [Ghosts], there were even records regarding the abilities of the nine leaders.
‘Collective Memory, Deceiving Causal Compensation, and Forging False Laws… These are all very tricky non-combat abilities. Without sufficient intelligence and precautions, one might easily fail during a first encounter.’
Wei Geng massaged her temples. In the past, the stronger and more troublesome an enemy was, the more excited she would feel.
After all, every time she defeated a powerful foe, her reputation would grow. Correspondingly, her prestige in this world would rise.
Once her prestige reached a certain level, then as long as there were people around, she could gather a crowd of followers with a single wave of her hand. Even during daily life, when eating or shopping, she could experience the superiority of being treated as a VIP.
But she was no longer that person.
‘The leader of the Ghosts consists of nine people, also known as the Heavenly Nine… The name originates from a card game called Pai Gow that circulates among the common people.’
‘The time of its founding is unknown. Some speculate it was born 500 years ago, but traces of their activities have been discovered in even more ancient eras. Note:’
Wei Geng frowned as she pondered. She suddenly remembered the stele she had seen beneath the ice. The founder recorded there was from 500 or 600 years ago…
However.
Traces of their activities were found in even more ancient eras?
That didn’t make sense. The founder hadn’t even been born yet!
Wei Geng couldn’t help but recall the novels she had read in the past—an immortal emperor living a second life! Turning his back on all living things! Standing alone throughout the ages!
‘Could it be that reincarnation exists in this world too?’
She chuckled and shook her head.
Perhaps there were even more secrets hidden within this Organization than she had imagined.
‘Right, I almost forgot those words Aurelia said—’
“To overthrow the current Empress’s rule.”
Was it true or false?
Or perhaps Aurelia only understood a part of the truth, standing on the boundary between shadow and reality, and thus what she said was also only a fragment.
It seemed she needed to find a time to see Green and have her check Aurelia’s current home address. She also wanted to see if she could trace Aurelia’s movements over the past few years.
Wei Geng closed the dossier and let out a yawn. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Hercat, who had appeared at some unknown time and was currently crouching by the desk, grooming herself.
“Oh, little cat, when did you get here? The moonlight tonight is quite beautiful,” Wei Geng said with a smile. She leaned over to scratch the black cat’s fuzzy ears to relax her mind.
“Hmph… Are you done with your work?”
Hercat flicked her ears and propped up her round body. She squinted her eyes and began to speak sarcastically, “The thought of achieving dried fish freedom tomorrow makes me so happy I can’t even sleep.
Sigh—the Boss is truly generous!”
“It’s not that I don’t have money… I just can’t spend it yet.”
Wei Geng stretched out her hand, scooped Hercat up, and placed her on the desk. She looked back at Mo, who was sleeping peacefully under the covers, and a bright smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
“In a few days, once the matters here and the unrest outside settle down, I’ll go out and take a few high-paying commissions to refurnish the house.”
“I want a cat bed! The floor is cold and hard!” Hercat wagged her tail, looking very happy.
“That can be arranged,” Wei Geng nodded in agreement. She had never been a stingy Captain or a mean Master.
“Oh, I was so busy chatting with you that I almost forgot. Someone seemed to be loitering at our doorstep for a while just now.” Hercat pricked up her ears as she recalled, “That aura felt like something I’ve smelled somewhere before, but it vanished too quickly, and I can’t remember. Sorry about that.”
‘A familiar aura?’
Wei Geng stroked the cat’s head as she thought back to the dossier she had just read. Had the Ghosts really found their way to her door so quickly?
Just like thieves who scout a location and leave marks beforehand, had the Ghosts come to mark her door?
Sensing that Wei Geng wanted to get up and check outside, Hercat quickly wrapped her tail around the woman’s arm and said, “I’ve already checked the outside thoroughly. It’s safe and there are no marks. That mysterious fellow only hesitated in the vicinity and did nothing. It’s late now; you should spend more time accompanying the Little Demon King. She has never relied on anyone like this before. Even if I don’t like it, I can tell she likes you.”
“Ho, I didn’t expect you to have such insight,” Wei Geng teased.
“It’s our first time meeting, meow.” Hercat lay on the desk and extended her right paw like a lucky cat. “I am Hercat, one of the followers of the former Demon King.”
Wei Geng took the fuzzy pink paw and shook it like a human handshake. “What do you mean ‘first meeting’? We’re old friends. I am the Demon King’s Father.”
“Huh?”
Hercat’s feline brain couldn’t quite process the meaning behind those words. She stared at Wei Geng with a look of pure confusion.
But Wei Geng had already stood up and walked to the bedside. She sat down, tucked in the corners of her daughter’s blanket, and asked softly, “Mo seems very unskilled at communicating with people… Other than me, she stutters and avoids eye contact with everyone else. It’s as if she has zero experience in communication, even though I’ve been by her side… Hercat, did Mo rarely interact with other Demons in the Demon King City?”
“Sigh.”
Hercat tugged at her whiskers and explained helplessly, “You know the Little Demon King’s physical condition. Although she has the body of a half-demon, she is much weaker than even an ordinary Demon. To guard against assassins from other Demon King Cities, the elders strictly forbade any Demons from approaching the Palace.”
“On usual days, those elders almost never visited her either. After all, seeing her was useless. It took me quite a bit of time back then to be able to communicate normally with her… That’s why I said she likes you; she was able to talk to you normally the moment you met.”
Hearing this, Wei Geng understood the issue with Mo. Her heart felt heavy.
A child like Mo, possessing both Demon Race blood and Human lineage, inherited both the resilience of the Demon Race and the sensitivity of a Human heart.
Faced with great storms, she would display the unbreakable endurance of a monster, but on a lonely night, she would yearn for the care and warmth of her parents just like a Human child.
‘Is this an otherworldly version of mild autism?’ Wei Geng thought silently.
Situations like this usually couldn’t be improved in a short time. It would require long-term companionship and time to heal the psychological trauma.
‘Now that I’ve become a parent, I shouldn’t let my daughter feel insecure…’
In her ear, she seemed to hear the words of the ramen chef from years ago in Fate City. Even though the man had been scared to death, he had hidden his wounded son in a wall and ran out alone to lure the monsters away, trying to buy time for a rescue.
How could an ordinary human outrun a monster with four legs?
In the end, both father and son died.
The father died at the hands of the monster, and the son died from excessive blood loss.
At the time, Wei Geng hadn’t understood why that father didn’t just hide with his son in the wall. Wouldn’t that have offered a glimmer of hope?
She also hadn’t understood the meaning behind the last words that father spoke before he died.
But now, Wei Geng understood.
This was the thing called responsibility—a responsibility that could be as light as a feather or as heavy as a mountain.
“Goodnight, my daughter.”
Wei Geng leaned down gently and left a kiss on Mo’s forehead.