Pet King

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

It was impossible for normal cats to have a nose ring. So when Zhang Zian heard Wang Yaning say that there was a golden nose ring on the statue’s face, he was confused. The nose ring on the Holy Cat statue had already been sliced off by Old Time Tea, and Zian himself had sent it to the Longfeng Jewelry Store to recycle. By now, it had probably been melted into liquid gold and recast into a piece of new gold jewelry that was on some lady’s finger. So where had the nose ring on this statue come from?

The Holy Cat statue that they were facing now was a replica, and only the nose ring was a product contemporary of the real thing. However, because it had been buried for more than 2000 years in the dark, it had lost its original shade of pure gold, and could no longer be linked with shiny gold. Anyone unaware would definitely mistake it for bronze.

Wang Yaning insisted that the nose ring was bright gold, which made Zhang Zian wonder if it was the statue that had gone missing from his store. Or had the real thing in the British Museum become an elfin too? But there hadn’t been any recent news from the British Museum…

There was also the possibility that the concentrated power of faith had caused the replica to replace the real thing, just like how Famous had replaced Rin Tin Tin as an elfin. So after it had gathered the power to become an elfin, the game had then restored its nose ring like it had hoped for, just like how the game had provided a bamboo hat and gown for Old Time Tea, who had become an elfin.

Ms. Sun frowned again. Was she still in shock? Or was she possessed? How could the statue turn around and laugh? But her words and descriptions were pretty clear, unlike those of someone in shock…

“Did you notice its other features? Did it also have a pair of gold earrings and a collar accessory with complicated line patterns on its chest?” Zhang Zian asked again.

Wang Yaning thought for a moment. “The earrings were there, but I’m not too sure about the collar on its chest, though it did seem to have some line patterns. What’s a collar accessory?”

“It’s a square-shaped nameplate, similar to a necklace. It hangs around its chest.” Zhang Zian gestured.

“No.” She shook her head without any hesitation. “Although I didn’t look too clearly, there was no square-shaped item.”

Her answer was surprising because the neck ornament was carved into the body of the Holy Cat statue, so it was reasonable to say that it would be impossible to lose it or wear it out. Even the damaged nose ring had been perfectly reproduced, so how could the important neck ornament wear out?

Zhang Zian made some further analysis and felt that there may only be one answer. The game must have determined that the Wadjet amulet, which represented the Eye of Horus in ancient Egyptian mythology, did not belong to the Holy Cat statue, so it had been taken away. The game was very fair. The current name “Holy Cat statue” was just a customary name, and in fact, it was actually an Evil God statue. So it shouldn’t have had the Wadjet amulet on it.

Of course, all that was only his speculation, because it was also possible that Wang Yaning had missed it. The truth could only wait until Zian saw the Holy Cat statue himself.

Wang Yaning gradually stopped sobbing under the comfort of Ms. Sun.

“Wang Yaning, can you try to recall what you saw again? Could you have seen wrongly? Like what Mr. Zhang said, were you affected with giddiness after looking at the line patterns? You know, it’s impossible for a statue to turn around by itself,” Ms. Sun said after she saw that Wang Yaning was able to converse with no issues.

Earlier, Wang Yaning had insisted that she had seen the Holy Cat statue turn its head, but this time, out of Zhang Zian’s expectations, she looked up at him, then lowered her head and replied in a low voice, “Well, I may have been wrong… Ms. Sun, you won’t blame me, right?”

“That’s good. It’s normal to mistake things when you’re nervous. I won’t blame you just for this.” Ms. Sun smiled in relief and helped Wang Yaning sort out her hair, which had been messed up.

Initially, Zhang Zian couldn’t understand why Wang Yaning had decided to take back her words, but right when they met eyes, he seemed to have found the answer—Wang Yaning had common sense, and according to common sense, statues didn’t turn around. So if she were to insist that the statue had indeed turned its head around, she would be regarded as different by Ms. Sun and everyone else. Now, if this were to spread out, it would affect people’s perception and evaluation of her, so she had told a lie against her will.

She was very clever and very flexible too. She was aware that a child’s so-called truth was worthless in front of social common sense. Children who tried to challenge common sense would always be crushed by common sense and eventually be regarded as one with mental issues.

What shocked Zhang Zian most was that she had already understood such logic at such a young age.

At this moment, rustling sounds came from the bamboo forest. The sounds made the three nervous, and they all looked up at the same time.

Vladimir leaped out of the bamboo forest, and there was more dust on its body now, as well as a green bamboo leaf on its head.

Zhang Zian inquired about the situation with his eyes.

“God d*mn, there’s nothing in the bamboo forest! But I’m sure that the statue was hiding there before. I can feel the remnants of the evil presence inside!” Vladimir spat out saliva with dust in it, then walked around in circles, irritated.

In the presence of outsiders, Zhang Zian didn’t dare to respond to Vladimir.

Vladimir clenched his fist. “This can’t go on. We can’t let it take us by the nose! Even with all its beauty, the lotus flower needs its green leaves to complement it! And a fence requires the support of three stakes, while an able fellow needs the help of three other men! We must look for helpers and then take the initiative. We must hold the initiative firmly in our hands!”

It made a lot of sense, but where were they going to look for helpers? Binhai City wasn’t big nor was it small, but it was also because of a lack of manpower that Zhang Zian hadn’t been able to locate the Holy Cat statue. He had even gotten help from the netizens in Snowy’s live broadcast room, but the results weren’t ideal. Even if all the elfins were mobilized, they wouldn’t be able to cover much ground.

Vladimir didn’t explain further, but it was still full of strong self-confidence and had no doubt about victory and success.

Ms. Sun lifted Wang Yaning from the ground and patted off the dirt on her clothes. She asked, “Wang Yaning, where’s your home? Do you want me to send you home?”

It was already close to noon. Ms. Sun’s duty had also ended, and with all that had happened earlier, she had no intention of staying.

Wang Yaning shook her head. “It’s okay, thank you, Ms. Sun. I can go back by myself.”

“How is this okay? You’ve just been through shock, I think it’s better for me to send you home.” Ms. Sun was afraid that Wang Yaning might be out of sorts and space out again, and it wouldn’t be good if anything were to happen on her way home.

But Wang Yaning refused to accept her offer.

Ms. Sun then turned to see Zhang Zian, and with the tone of a teacher, she forcefully assigned him a task. “Mr. Zhang, since you and Wang Yaning came here together, why don’t you send her home.”

Zhang Zian shrugged. “I also don’t know where her house is…”

“Then at least send her back to Zhonghua Road Primary School,” Ms. Sun insisted.

This time, Wang Yaning remained silent and didn’t object. She probably felt that Zhang Zian was a weakling and easy to push around…

“Well, let’s go,” Zhang Zian sighed. He still couldn’t get rid of this little liar.

Ms. Sun said, “Wang Yaning, be careful on your way home, and if you encounter any situations, do contact the adults in time.”

“I know. Thank you, Ms. Sun. Goodbye!” Even at this moment, Wang Yaning didn’t forget to give a Young Pioneers greeting. She turned to follow Zhang Zian out and stayed behind him.

Ms. Sun watched them disappear around the corner before she left the bamboo forest to go home.

After walking for a while, Wang Yaning suddenly asked, “That statue… What’s going on?”

She had been holding this question in her heart for a long time, and the reason why she was willing to leave with Zian was also to ask about this.

But Zhang Zian didn’t want to involve her in the matter, and he also didn’t want to scare her, so he casually said, “That’s not something children should know.”

“Hmph, what are you being smug for? I can just check it myself, and even if I can’t find anything, when I grow up, I will force you to say it sooner or later!” she threatened Zian.

Zhang Zian gave an expression that said, Heh, we’ll talk about it when you grow up.

“Right, Wang Yaning, I have a question for you,” Zian said, changing the subject.

But Wang Yaning remained silent and didn’t answer him.

So Zian had to ask directly. “Wang Yaning, what are you going to do when you grow up? You’ve got the gift of the gab, so I think that you’re suitable to be a lawyer…”

Wang Yaning asked Zian, “What about you? Did you want to open a pet shop when you were young?”

Zhang Zian smiled and said, “Not really when I was young. I felt that putting on a military uniform was very awe-inspiring, so I wanted to be a general…”

“Then why didn’t you join the army?” she asked again.

“This is why… ideals are ideals, and reality is reality. After growing up, I felt that it would be a safer option to go study at a university. It wouldn’t be easy to be a general,” he said.

She snorted, and maybe because she felt that Zian was harmless, she spoke without holding anything back. “If a relative who’s a doctor asks me this question, I would say that I want to be a doctor; if it’s a relative who started a company, I would say that I want to start my own business; and if it’s a teacher, I would say that I’d like to be a glorious people’s teacher…”

With all that said, Wang Yaning gave Zian a look. “But I would never open a pet shop.”

Zhang Zian felt that he was being deeply despised.

He really had not misread her, she was definitely a quick-witted one!

“So what do you really want to do?” he continued to ask, pretending not to understand what she’d said earlier.

She stretched out three fingers. “I want to do this.”

Thinking to himself that this little girl was actually starting a riddle now, he decided to go along with her since he had nothing to do either.

“I know, you want to enroll in the top three schools in China!” With a flash of wit, Zian smiled and said, “When I was young, I was also worried about whether I should go to Peking University or Tsinghua University, but then I realized that I’d been overthinking things…”

Wang Yaning had a “how silly you are” face on. She just gave up and said, “I want to get into the system and sit in the first three rows!”

Zhang Zian said nothing.

The first three rows probably didn’t mean the first three rows in class, right? They should be arranged based on size and height…

Vladimir praised: “Sure enough, she’s the sun at six or seven o’clock in the morning! Her ambitions are commendable! Young she may be, her ambitions seeping; filled with overflowing enthusiasm, breaking free from restraints! Giving words of advice, stirring the people’s flame, the great was treated no more than dust!”

Zhang Zian felt that not only would he have to flee Binhai City after 20 years, but he also might not even be able to stay in the country…

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