Chapter 116: Catching the Adulterer...
“My dear, beautiful lady, there’s no need to be afraid! I—the great Zorro, the Puss in Boots—so powerful, handsome, and dashing, only wield my strength to vanquish demons, uphold justice, and protect delicate blossoms like you! So don’t be afraid. Come out, let’s be friends, and share a drink together. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”
As he spoke, the cat who called himself Zorro slipped his slender sword back into his pocket, then pulled out an old guitar. He struck a pose and plucked the strings with his paws, releasing a gentle melody that poured forth effortlessly. Although Ling Mo did not fully appreciate the music, the surprised expressions on Catherine and Viss’s faces suggested the performance was quite skilled.
Straightening his hat, the Puss in Boots cleared his throat and sang in an odd accent:
“You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine,
You make me happy
When skies are gray,
You'll never know,
Dear, how much I love you...”
Though his English was far from perfect and his tone peculiar, there was an inexplicable charm to it—like a young man shyly crooning a love song beneath the window of his beloved. Before long, Viss and Catherine’s expressions softened, enchanted by the music, gently swaying to the rhythm.
When the song ended, Zorro looked toward Catherine’s hiding spot with hopeful eyes. Seeing she had not emerged, he sighed in disappointment and said:
“Beautiful lady, it seems my performance was not elegant enough to win your heart. But I believe that if you could feel the burning passion in my heart, you would surely change your mind! So, graceful and lovely lady, please allow me to play once more. Just one more song…”
Without waiting for her reply, he strummed the strings again, this time with a notably livelier tune. His body and head began to sway rhythmically. Seeing this, Viss nudged Catherine, gesturing for her to respond. Having never encountered such a scene before, Catherine was at a loss—no one had ever confessed to her like this, let alone a cat!
She sought help from her master, but Ling Mo remained silent. Swallowing her nerves, Catherine stepped out from the bushes and walked toward the Puss in Boots, awkwardly saying:
“Mr… Cat, no, Mr. Zorro, your song is beautiful and your performance touching, but I am not ready for an interspecies romance…”
The music stopped abruptly. Pas stared at Catherine emerging from the bushes with wide eyes—his left eye even wider than the right, giving him a comical look. His three-lobed mouth dropped open as he dropped the guitar with a clang and muttered in disbelief:
“What the hell?! Wasn’t there supposed to be a beautiful, fiery female cat hiding in those bushes? Why is it you, an ugly human, who comes out?”
Catherine furrowed her brows and retorted despite the formidable seven-grade magical beast before her: “What do you mean by ‘ugly human’? I’m at least above average in looks, thank you very much.”
The Puss in Boots waved his paw dismissively, his words merciless: “Stay away, ugly freak. Just seeing your smooth, hairless skin makes me sick—it’s like looking at an undeveloped insect larva. That slick, wriggling feeling always revolts me…”
He sighed and continued, “Have I grown old? In my mind, there should be a passionate, uninhibited, vibrant flame of a she-cat—sporting sexy whiskers, vivid orange stripes, plump front paws, and a long, fluffy tail that can twirl twice… Ah, she would be enchanted by my voice, melted by my passion, and fall into my embrace. We would nuzzle, groom each other’s itchy backs, and in the height of our affection, we’d mate in the grass after a big meal, mate in the treetops under the stars, and mate in our nest after a day’s play…”
Catherine watched, speechless, as the Puss in Boots sank deeper into his bizarre fantasies. She glanced back to see Ling Mo silently staring at Viss, who blushed and explained, “I’ve already cast ‘Aura Concealment’ on the three of us. To avoid exposure, I also added a layer of ‘Perception Distortion.’ So when magical beasts keep some distance, they mistake us for their own kind.”
Realizing she had been played, Catherine wanted to yell but dared not. Facing two such powerful figures, she had no choice but to endure and vowed fiercely to train harder. Forcing a smile, she said to the Puss in Boots, “Mr. Cat, about your mate… let’s discuss that later. Right now, I have a question…”
She stopped, noticing he wasn’t listening at all, still lost in his blissful daydreams. Summarizing, Catherine realized the seemingly gentlemanly cat’s greatest desires were twofold: to mate here, and to mate there.
When he began muttering, “Running in the sunset reminiscing our lost youth, then mating in the water… no, wait, I hate water… maybe just mate anyway,” Catherine could no longer bear it. Raising her voice, she shouted, “Mr. Cat! Please listen! There’s something I want to—”
Suddenly, she gasped. Right before her appeared another upright, pure white big cat, seemingly teleporting into existence. The white cat stood behind the drooling, daydreaming Zorro, looking at him with clear disdain and anger. After a moment, she furiously delivered a flying kick to Zorro’s writhing rear, sending him soaring into a nearby tree trunk before he slid down limply.
Zorro sprang up immediately, his whiskers bristling with fury, barely containing his rage. Wielding his slender sword, he shouted, “Who! Who dared ambush the great Puss in Boots? Who hurt the handsome Zorro? I will chop them into mince!”
Then he saw the white cat who had kicked him.
For the first time, Catherine observed such expressive emotions on an animal’s face. Zorro’s expression swiftly shifted from anger to shock, then flickered through surprise, fear, joy, and disgust, before settling into a face full of sycophantic adoration as he crooned to the newcomer:
“My dear Miss Arctic, what are you doing here? Ah, meeting you here must be fate’s design, telling me you are my one and only beloved cat…”
The white cat was unmoved. She plopped down and began crying bitterly, tears streaming like rain:
“Wah! You heartless scoundrel! I came all this way worried for you, and you—you! You’ve been flirting with other she-cats! I can’t live anymore! Wahhh!!”