Pet King

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After expressing the feelings in its heart, Vladimir suddenly asked Zhang Zian, “Do you think there is a God?”

“This… I sometimes feel that there is. Other times, I feel that there isn’t. Sometimes I feel that there should be, while other times I feel that even if there isn’t one, it’s no big deal,” Zhang Zian answered truthfully. The truth was that was the same attitude most people had.

He recalled the producer of the game Pet Hunter and added, “I think there may be something higher in the dark, but that’s not necessarily God.”

Vladimir smiled and did not say anything.

Zhang Zian did not know whether he was right or wrong to encourage it, but he felt that its efforts had really worked. It had encouraged a group of scattered, stray cats to unite and concentrate on major things.

“Speaking of nature, you just asked the kitten why it couldn’t get down after it climbed up the tree, right?” He drew the topic back to the original question.

“I don’t think it’s afraid of heights… How could it climb so high if it was afraid of heights?” Vladimir nodded with a strong thirst for knowledge. “Is this the same nature that cats have when they meow at people?”

Not everyone had kept a cat before, and even those that had kept a cat before only had one. Even if they had more than two cats, they seldom paid attention to the interactions between cats, especially when the cat owner was not present. Simply put, when there were no human beings present, cats would not meow at each other, because there was no need. Even if they did meow, there would not receive any food…

Meowing was a cat’s evolved skill to please humans. One had to admit that the evolution was undoubtedly successful. It made humans willing to become sh*t shovelers, which was probably Darwin’s theory.

“Wait for a little while.”

When Zhang Zian returned to the store, he saw that the clerks had finished their meals and were packing up. He went up to the storage room on the second floor, found a folding ladder, and carried it down.

The clerks were puzzled to see him carrying the ladder out, but he explained truthfully that a kitten was trapped in a tree.

He returned to the tree with the ladder on his shoulder, set up the ladder, then shook it firmly to check its stability. He then climbed to the top of the ladder, pulled the branches and leaves away, and reached out to the yellow and white kitten.

The kitten was a little scared. After all, it was a stray cat. It had not interacted very closely with people, nor had the mother cat taught it how to deal with human beings. It shrunk away to escape from him, but there was nowhere to hide between the narrow branches. Finally, Zhang Zian put his hands under its armpit and took it down.

“Why could it go up the tree, but it couldn’t come down? Look at its claws carefully.” Zhang Zian raised its front claw to let Vladimir take a look.

“The claws of cats, including those of other animals, are mostly crooked and bent towards the palm, which is for hunting purposes. It prevents their prey from escaping, and it also helps their body when they climb and jump,” he said, bending his fingers like a hook.

Vladimir raised its front paw and lowered its head to take a look. He nodded in agreement.

“It’s very easy to climb the tree with such claws, so the kitten could easily climb to the top, even though it may not have climbed a tree at all before… But when it wants to come down from the tree, it has a problem.” Zhang Zian twitched his lips towards the tree. “Vladimir, you can try for yourself. Practice is the only criterion for testing the truth.”

Without hesitation, Vladimir leaped to the edge of the tree, reached out his sharp claws, and climbed up the tree quickly.

“Now you can come down,” Zhang Zian said. “Take note, you can’t jump down. You need to slowly climb down the tree.”

Vladimir instantly noticed what the problem was.

It often leaped over walls and climbed trees, but it depended on its own flexibility. It always jumped down after it climbed to the highest point. If it was too high, it would use its strength to jump down onto a shorter branch, like a step. With its fierce temper, there had never been a precedent for walking down slowly.

At that moment, it was trying to slowly climb down from the tree, and after changing to many positions, it felt that it was very awkward.

Zhang Zian reminded it from under the tree, “You climbed up with your head on top and feet below. If you want to climb down, you still have to have your head on top and your legs below, and back down. Only in this way can your claws grab the trunk and bark of the tree.”

Vladimir listened to his advice and turned its body around. It was like it had recorded its actions when climbing the tree and rewound it, slowly backing down the tree.

“It’s very awkward,” it said, totally uncomfortable. “It’s still more comfortable directly jumping down.”

“Of course, but kittens like this do not dare to jump directly.” Zhang Zian put the yellow and white kitten on the ground. When he was carrying the ladder, he dropped a can of cat food in his pocket, opened it, and pushed it in front of him.

The yellow and white kitten wanted to run, but when it smelled the smell of fish in the can, it couldn’t help but come over and sniff it. It plunged its face into the canned food and hurriedly ate it.

“But how did you know that?” Vladimir asked.

He smiled and said, “I run a pet shop. That’s common knowledge. I’ve seen many cats do this. They climb up and are trapped. They won’t come down by themselves if there’s no mother cat to teach them.”

This yellow and white kitten had probably been separated from its mother very early on. Its mother did not teach it the necessary skills to climb the tree, so it could only slowly learn things. When it grew up, it would directly jump down like Vladimir had wanted to.

If a human were to climb up high, they would know that they should climb down the same way––with their heads facing up and their legs down. Cats, however, were not used to retreating. Even when they came down from high places, they always wanted to go down with their heads facing down and their legs on top. Their paws determined that they could only have their heads facing up and their legs facing down, and from there they could move their buttocks down slowly. Otherwise, their claws could not hook the tree bark.

When the yellow and white kitten wanted to climb down the tree, it found that its claws could not hook onto the tree, and so it continuously slid downwards. It did not dare to jump, so it was just stuck in the tree.

Zhang Zian gazed into the distance and recalled, “When I was a child, my parents told me a story. It was said that long ago, cats were the most powerful animals in the forest. Even tigers, which are much larger than cats, worshiped cats as teachers and learned from them the skills of foraging, fighting, and surviving. The cat was rigorous in learning and teaching, and the tiger was very serious in learning. He learned almost all the skills of the cat, but tigers had bad intentions. After learning their skills, they dominated the forest and even wanted to eat the cat. But the cat was already on guard. It didn’t teach the tiger how to climb the tree on purpose. When the tiger came to eat it, it climbed to a very high tree and made the tiger stare at the trunk under the tree. Later, people made up an allegorical saying based on the story that cats taught tigers: ‘Always hold back a trick when teaching others.’”

The story had spread very far, and many different versions had appeared, but the main story was similar.

Vladimir listened very seriously and was very interested.

Zhang Zian smiled and said, “When I heard this story, I thought it was unbelievable. What’s so difficult about climbing a tree? Why did they need cats to teach them? If a cat can go up, why can’t a big tiger go up? But in fact, it really needs to be taught. Otherwise, it may be trapped after going up. Even the tiger, that is the king of beasts, is the same. After all, the tiger is also a cat. The person who compiles this story is not just making it up. He had observed life carefully.”

Vladimir suddenly realized something. “It’s an interesting story. Later, when I encounter cats trapped at high altitudes, I can show them how to climb down. I don’t have to specially go and find you to carry the ladder over.”

“Master! Store Manager, we’ve finished clearing up. We’re going to go home! The shop is not locked.” The store employees had finished their work and found that Zhang Zian had yet to return. They walked out of the shop and saw him standing under a tree a distance away.

“All right. Be careful on the way back.” Zhang Zian also waved his hand in response.

The shop employees left in groups, and like usual, they first sent Lu Yiyun back to her rented house, and the other three returned to the school dormitories.

Vladimir turned to look in the distance and said to Zhang Zian, “It’s still early. You go back first. I have something to do. Just leave the window cracked as usual.”

“Well, you should also be careful. Don’t put yourself in a bad situation. If you are confronted with something you cannot deal with, you can come back and ask us for help.” Zhang Zian was still worried about whether it would encounter the Holy Cat statue alone at night. Even though it was confident, the Holy Cat statue was not easy to deal with, after all.

It smiled. “Don’t worry. Death does not belong to the Meow-Meow Doctrine Believer.” After saying that, it turned around and walked off with fast and light steps.

“Right, there’s one more thing.” Zhang Zian raised his voice slightly, and said towards its silhouette, “Vladimir, if you want to do anything, just go for it! Even if you make any mistakes, we will try our best to help you make up for it!”

Vladimir stopped for a while and did not turn back. It just raised a front paw to show that it understood.

“Also, if possible, try to come back earlier,” Zhang Zian added.

That time, it did not have any reaction and did not stop. It ran towards the darkness in a straight line.

He did not know when, but Old Time Tea had appeared next to Zhang Zian and looked at Vladimir’s back, holding its beard. Its eyes narrowed. It said slowly, “It is true that a generation of new cats will replace old ones. I can only save a few cats, even if I put my all into it. With Famous’ help, we can save thousands of cats at most, while Vladimir can save tens of millions of cats… In this era, there is no need for warriors anymore.”

Zhang Zian smiled and said, “Grandpa Tea, you’re too humble. This earth no longer needs warriors, but the warrior spirit will continue on forever, as long as you have a warrior in your heart. Everyone is a warrior.”

Old Time Tea nodded happily, leisurely charmed.

Vladimir suddenly stopped before running out of his vision. It turned around in the shadows of the evening and its voice floated from far away. “I think you’re wrong. There’s no God on this earth at all! Even if a God appears in front of me, I’ll let him taste my Meow Meow Doctrine Iron Fist!”

COMMENT FIRST

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Vladimir was in a good mood, and although it didn’t know why, it felt that the burden on its shoulders had gotten lighter.

The pet shop had already disappeared behind it when it suddenly noticed that something was following it. It looked back and saw that it was the yellow and white kitten. The kitten still had some bits of fish from the canned food stuck around its mouth, and it was licking its nose and mouth with its small tongue as if it hadn’t had enough.

“Little one, you’re still too young. You can join us after you reach adulthood.” Vladimir waved his forepaw and said, “Go back. Don’t follow me.”

The yellow and white kitten stopped where it was. It seemed to have understood what Vladimir was saying, but when Vladimir continued to move forward, it turned back to see that the yellow and white kitten was following him again.

Vladimir paused. “What I’m going to do is pretty dangerous, and I don’t have the time and energy to take care of you if you follow me.” Vladimir repeated again, “Go back.”

The yellow and white kitten remained where it was.

Vladimir was still not very good at interpreting the physical movements of cats. It was much more familiar with adult cats, but it was really unsure when it came to the body language of the kitten. After all, it wasn’t a real cat, so it had not experienced the growth process of a cat.

“Do you not know where to go?” Vladimir asked after giving it some thought. It lifted its forepaw and pointed behind him. “Why don’t you go back where you came from, find the person who just fed you, and maybe he’ll keep you. Anyway, there’s a lot of cats in his shop, so it wouldn’t make much difference with you there.”

The yellow and white kitten turned and looked, but it still didn’t move.

Vladimir tried to take a few steps forward, and the yellow and white kitten followed it again.

“Little one, I said not to follow me anymore. I’m going to run now, and you’re definitely not going to be able to keep up!” Having said that, Vladimir picked up its pace. With a spurt and a leap, Vladimir was soon a distance away.

The yellow and white kitten was still trying its best to keep up, but the distance between them was getting further and further away. It didn’t take long for Vladimir to disappear from its sight.

The kitten suddenly stopped and looked at the surrounding environment. It was in a completely foreign place––completely different from Zhonghua Road, which it was slightly familiar with. It was soon enveloped with all kinds of scents, and it got nervous. There were pedestrians bustling about all around it.

“Didn’t I tell you that you wouldn’t be able to keep up?” a voice came out from behind the wall.

Vladimir suddenly appeared again. It jumped down from the wall and stared at the startled yellow and white kitten. It said, “You’re still too young and naive to adapt to the complex conflict situation.”

Vladimir looked around. “It’s better if you head to the roadside and act cute in front of the pedestrians. Maybe someone will like you and take you home. At that time, you’ll no longer be a stray cat, and you can live a life where you no longer have to worry about food and shelter. ”

The yellow and white kitten lowered its head.

“What? You don’t know how to act cute?” Vladimir stared at it, dumfounded. “Aren’t cats naturally good at that? Oh, I get it, you don’t know what acting cute is, right?”

Vladimir wanted to solve the yellow and white kitten’s problem sooner so it could be free to help the other stray cats. It waved its paw and said, “Come here. I’ll teach you how to act cute. Although I’ve never done it before, I see it every day.”

The yellow and white kitten obediently followed behind it.

They both came out from the patch of grass on the roadside and walked onto the sidewalk.

“Stay here––it’s safer here… At least theoretically.” Vladimir brought the kitten to the tactile paving, then it pointed to the road and said, “Have you seen such a special kind of road surface before? This is tactile paving, and it’s meant for humans that are blind, so it should be a little safer than the other roads.”

Although that was what Vladimir said, almost no pedestrians cared about whether they were stepping on tactile paving or not.

The yellow and white kitten curled its body up uneasily, and its head swayed restlessly as it watched each pedestrian’s movements.

“Okay, we can start acting cute now!” Vladimir nudged the yellow and white kitten. “You need to pick the right target if you want to act cute, and it’s best to target young men and women––especially women. Don’t go after those savvy-looking middle-aged women or a middle-aged man in a suit. It’d be good enough news if they didn’t kick you.”

Because Vladimir made it sound so serious, the yellow and white kitten grew even more timid.

“You still don’t know how to? Fine then, I’ll give you a demonstration.” Vladimir was speechless. “Watch carefully. I’m only going to demonstrate it once––just once.”

Vladimir looked around and noticed a young girl who was looking down on her phone. It chose her as the target.

The girl looked like an office worker who had just joined the working force and was on her way home from work. She was also quite attractive. She lowered her head to put her mouth close to her phone, then she softly grumbled, “This unscrupulous company made me work overtime again today. I really want to resign tomorrow! But if I resign, I will starve… and I’ve already graduated from school. I can’t be asking for money from my parents…”

Another woman’s voice came from the other end, “Poor child. Let’s go sing at a KTV tomorrow night. The other students in the dormitory are coming, so everyone can gather together.”

“Sigh. I’ll have to see how things are tomorrow. If I have to work overtime again…” She was still speaking when she suddenly saw a cat by the roadside. It seemed to be blue or gray––she couldn’t see too clearly at night, but it was definitely darker in color.

“Who’s cat ran out from home…” She temporarily canceled her voice message and looked around.

There were a lot of people rushing by in the area, and at least half of them were looking down at their mobile phone, like she was, while the others were rushing home, fatigued from work. No one seemed to be looking for any cat.

Her friend sent her another voice message, but she didn’t listen to it. She guessed that it was probably a message urging her to decide if she was going to the party the next day.

She hesitated about whether to turn a blind eye to the cat, and also about if she should go to the party the next day. She had a feeling that it was too cruel to leave the cat all alone.

Right that moment, Vladimir suddenly did a roll and revealed its soft belly, then it continued to wave its forepaw at her as if asking her to give it a belly rub.

“Wow! So cute!” Her heart felt like it had been hit by a bullet.

Vladimir gave a look to the yellow and white kitten, who was hiding at the side. It meant, “Do you see this? This is how you act cute! Keep learning!”

She ran up to Vladimir and squatted down, then she slowly extended her hand and carefully touched its fur.

“So it’s a blue cat. Its hair is quite clean, too! Did you run out from someone’s house? Confess now––are you being naughty?”

Vladimir didn’t want to be casually touched by her, but it had to in order to give a demonstration to the yellow and white kitten. To stop the kitten from following suit, it had to bear the humiliation, and hold back the impulse to slap her hand away.

Her best friend continued to send her messages, but she had already forgotten about her friend. All that was on her mind was giving the blue cat in front of her a belly rub.

Vladimir felt that the timing was ripe, so it waved its paw at the yellow and white kitten to motion for it come over.

The yellow and white kitten walked over, but it still hadn’t learned how to act cute. It just sat down next to Vladimir then laid down.

“Hm? There’s another kitten? Is it your child?” She asked naively.

Vladimir almost laughed out of it its abdominal muscles!

The difference between their hair color and body shape could easily be seen. She was not blind, right?

She finally noticed that something wasn’t right after looking closely. The two cats were obviously not the same type of cat.

“It seems like I’ve made a mistake. Are the two of you together then?” she asked apologetically. “What a cute kitten!”

She looked at her phone and felt that it wasn’t good to not reply to her best friend for too long. It was getting late, so she wanted to get home.

“Do you guys not have an owner? Then… would you like to go home with me?” she finally made up her mind and asked.

Vladimir quickly rolled over and stood up, then ran a little further away.

The woman was a little confused. “You don’t want to go home with me?”

Vladimir ran back towards her again and pushed the yellow and white kitten to her.

“You’re saying that… you don’t want to go home with me, but you want me to take this kitten home instead?” She finally guessed what Vladimir meant.

Vladimir nodded and breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to itself that communicating without being able to speak was way too tiring!

She was amazed at the intelligence of the blue cat, but she said with much regret, “Unfortunately, I’ve just graduated from school and am currently doing an internship at a black-hearted enterprise. I’m both poor and busy. I’m also being made to work overtime without pay, even on a holiday like today. I’m still unsure about my future at this company… So it’s okay for me to raise an adult cat, but I heard that kittens are not easy to raise and require more care. I’m afraid that I can’t take good care of it…”

What she was trying to convey was already very obvious. If Vladimir was willing to go back with her, then she would welcome it. As for the yellow and white kitten, however, there was nothing she could do to help.

Vladimir was very disappointed. It had just boasted in front of the yellow and white kitten, but the end result was unfavorable!

Vladimir pushed the yellow and white kitten to her again. It really wanted to tell her that the kitten was very easy to raise. After all, it was used to wandering around, so as long as she was able to feed it even just a few mouthfuls, the cat would be fine. It didn’t require any extra care.

She stood up and pounded her numb legs. She said apologetically, “Cheer up and try to find a loving owner. It’s better if that person has plenty of time, and is not as poor as I am… Bye-bye!”

She waved at them and took a few steps away, then reluctantly turned back again and waved at them. “Bye Bye!”

Vladimir was a little depressed. He let her touch him for nothing, and it didn’t achieve its goal. But he couldn’t blame her… She was subjected to conditions out of her control.

All the suffering cats in the world were a family, and all the suffering humans of the world were also worthy of sympathy. At least she wasn’t like the woman named Zhao Qi, who was full of the low-class interest of the petite bourgeoisie lifestyle.

Vladimir also waved its paw at her.

She smiled happily, and continued to walk in the direction of her house. She then raised the phone up to her mouth and said, “Hey! Let me tell you something special––I just met two cats on the road, and they were really cute, obedient, and very smart too…”

Vladimir sighed. It stretched its paw out and picked up the yellow and white kitten by the back of its neck. “Don’t lie there anymore. It’s just one little failure. The Meow-Meow Doctrine believer is never afraid of failure! Failure is the mother meow of success!”

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