“Squeak squeak squeak—” Lin Shijin’s body now felt exceptionally light; he felt he could spring far in a single leap. He found himself in a vast, empty rice paddy. The ground was cracked from drought, and the air was filled with heat and the stench of rotting corpses.
He stared at his paws, then examined himself more closely. His body wasn’t entirely grey; there were a few tufts of white fur mixed in, making his breed seem not particularly pure.
All around him were squeaking sounds. Lin Shijin was suddenly bumped, nearly sent flying, his emotions not yet settled. He turned his head and met a long, thin rat face.
“Squeak squeak squeak squeak—” Though it was just chirping, it was automatically understandable to him.
“What are you standing there for? Stunned from happiness?”
“Don’t get smug too early. Marrying the King doesn’t mean you’ll have a good life. The King already has sixteen rat wives. You’re the seventeenth.”
Lin Shijin’s ears buzzed. He was a bit dazed. Surrounded by an army of rats, he tried to find Sheng Rufei. He had turned into a rat, but what about Sheng Rufei?
Could Sheng Rufei have turned into a rat with him? Or was it only him? Where was Sheng Rufei now?
And what was this King and sixteen rat wives supposed to be?
Before he could figure anything out, he was pushed forward by the rat army, nearly falling into a crack in the ground. The slender rat grabbed him and pulled him back.
“We’re stealing grain today. The city has sent people to catch us. Stay close and don’t run around.”
Lin Shijin pulled back his paws. He seemed a bit fatter than the average rat, his paws rounder too. Fortunately, his body was light and agile, and he could dart quickly.
“Squeak squeak squeak—”
He followed behind the slender rat. After a while, he learned the rat’s name was Old Six. As for himself, he was called Seventeen, because he ranked seventeenth in the family, the seventeenth rat, and also the seventeenth wife to be married to the Rat King.
“You mean the Rat King?”
Old Six led him through the corpses in the rice field. The rats split up to act separately. Old Six moved quickly, digging at the ground with his claws as he replied, “Why are you asking me? Didn’t you say yourself he’s handsome and mighty, that every rat wants to marry him?”
Lin Shijin: “…” He definitely hadn’t said that. If anything, that was what Rat Seventeen had said, not him.
The corner of his mouth twitched. He was completely speechless about this illusion, as if it were deliberately messing with him.
“Squeak squeak squeak—”
He nearly ran into a corpse by the roadside. For some reason, he felt influenced, as if these corpses held a strange attraction to him. He wanted to tear open their flesh and drink their blood.
“What are you doing?” Old Six grabbed him. “Didn’t you hear what the King said? These humans carry evil curses. We can’t eat their flesh, or we’ll get infected.”
“If we get infected, we’re finished. The King will definitely drive us out.”
Lin Shijin forced himself to stop. He looked over, but with his limited perspective, he couldn’t see everything clearly. From his angle, the corpse wasn’t badly decomposed, likely freshly dead. Black curses covered the skin, dense black runes running through the blood vessels, blending into the bluish-purple flesh.
If he remembered correctly, this was the Rat Aspect Hell. The plague should have been caused by rat-borne disease, so why were there curses?
Lin Shijin was still thinking when Old Six dragged him along again. Old Six chattered nonstop. This was wilderness, with few humans. Each rat had a different task.
His and Old Six’s task was to transport grain. Recently, people had been specifically catching rats. Today they finally had a bit of a break and were sent out to gather food.
“The King said those people catching us aren’t around today. We have to hurry. Hopefully we won’t run into them.”
“The evil curse in the city is getting worse. They all say we spread it. Bah, clearly it’s the humans who angered the divine lord.”
“We’re afraid they’ll infect us instead.”
“It’s all because of their sins. Now we can’t even eat human flesh.”
Lin Shijin was slightly stunned. He kept this in mind but said nothing, following Old Six to a separate courtyard.
Their small bodies let them slip through cracks in the wall. Old Six skilfully made his way to the kitchen, where the rice jar was nearly empty.
Old Six muttered, “Another poor household,” while rummaging through the remaining grains.
Lin Shijin watched from the side. He looked at his chubby little paws and tried to use his spells, but nothing worked. Not only that, the red thread on his wrist was gone.
This formation was so powerful that it could even block a soul-bond.
“Seventeen, come help me.”
Old Six struggled to turn the rice jar while trying to stay quiet.
Lin Shijin had never seen such clever rats before. For now, he decided to take things step by step. His priority was to learn about this city and find Sheng Rufei.
He jumped onto a stool to help. Half of Old Six’s face was covered in powder after rummaging through the jar, his whiskers dusted white. In his hands was a bag that looked like it had been made from some animal’s intestines.
“Don’t just stand there. Help me pack. Don’t think you can slack off just because you’re marrying the King.”
“The King’s sixteen wives are all hardworking and capable. The King likes capable rat wives.”
Lin Shijin touched his rat ears. “Is there a rat called Sixteen?”
“Sixteen? No. Never heard of a family with a sixteenth son. Your sixteenth brother died long ago.”
Lin Shijin took the intestine bag from Old Six and filled it. He noticed Old Six stuffing food while nibbling on it at the same time. He picked up a nut, seeing how much Old Six enjoyed it, eyes squinting in exaggerated delight. He took a bite of the nut.
“Squeak—”
Lin Shijin’s eyes lit up. Old Six leaned over. “How is it? I picked this house on purpose. This concubine likes hiding grain. Everything in this jar is what she stashed away.”
He nodded and finished the nut. Seeing Old Six about to pack everything, he dropped the bag and pressed Old Six’s paw, pouring some back.
“If you carry too much, it might spill on the way, or attract attention. Don’t be greedy.”
He made that up casually, glancing at the kitchen. It didn’t look like a wealthy household.
Old Six actually listened, packing less. He muttered, “You’re just lazy. When you marry the King, let’s see who indulges you like this.”
“If you keep making demands, the King might throw you into an oil pot.”
Lin Shijin had heard this several times already and felt speechless. “I’m a ma—”
He caught himself mid-sentence.
“I’m male. How can I marry the King?”
“What’s wrong with that? Does the King lack one more to bear offspring?”
Lin Shijin: “I like one rat having only one wife.”
“Ordinary rats only have one wife. How many do you think you can have? You think you’re the King?”
Lin Shijin: “…”
Old Six finished packing the grain and tied the bag at the end. They climbed out of the rice jar and retraced their route. At a corner, Lin Shijin caught sight of a floral skirt, followed by a woman’s scream.
“It’s you again—”
His fur stood on end. Old Six squeaked twice and darted off with him. They turned the corner and slipped out through a hole in the wall.
Only after getting out did he breathe a sigh of relief. His heart was still racing. There were rustling sounds and footsteps in the courtyard behind them; they were probably searching for them.
Old Six carried the grain. “We need to go back quickly. Something feels wrong.”
Lin Shijin didn’t understand. He followed behind and asked why. Old Six led him into dry grass and pointed with his chubby paw toward a distant courtyard.
“See those humans in black robes with patterns? They’re here specifically to catch rats.”
“That’s where Old Seven went. They’re probably in trouble.”
Lin Shijin looked over and saw the Scourge-Slayer Envoys in long robes with swords.
Scourge-Slayer Envoys? Catching rats?
“We need to report to the King quickly. We can’t stay here. Those black-robed humans are very powerful. We’ll be discovered easily.”
Lin Shijin originally wanted to stay and observe, but seeing several figures in the distance, he knew it wasn’t feasible and gave up.
The two of them were still in the rice field, about to move, when one of the envoys suddenly turned, and a streak of light came straight toward them.
“Squeak squeak squeak—”
Old Six nearly fainted from fright. Lin Shijin was also startled. They both dodged at the same time, but misunderstood.
What fell wasn’t sword light, but a solid net. The net covered both of them. Lin Shijin’s heart sank. It was over.
The envoy approached with his sword. Lin Shijin felt his rat life had reached its end. It had only just begun, and he hadn’t even found Sheng Rufei.
“Squeak squeak squeak squeak—”
Old Six struggled desperately before being grabbed. Lin Shijin was grabbed as well. The envoy even let out a surprised sound.
“Why is this one so fat?”
Lin Shijin: “…”
Clearly it was just a different breed.
They were both caught. Old Six was in the envoy’s other hand. They squeaked, discussing countermeasures, while the envoys spoke quietly.
“I wonder why the lord suddenly ordered us to catch so many rats.”
“Did he suddenly feel like raising one?”
Another envoy said, “The order was given when we arrived, and we were told not to harm them.”
“We just follow orders.”
Lin Shijin, who had been kicking his little legs, paused when he heard this. Catching rats all of a sudden… could it be Sheng Rufei?
It seemed very likely. Sheng Rufei had been a Scourge-Slayer Envoy before. Maybe he was one again this time.
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. He would soon see his shixiong. He immediately stopped struggling. Since he had turned into a chubby little hamster, the envoy even used his thumb to flick the fur on his head.
Lin Shijin slapped the hand away with his paw.
He squeaked twice, his ears twitching. He had been extremely excited, but after being carried inside, he realised something was off. Because… there were rats everywhere.
Dozens of rats were crammed together in a cage, squeaking nonstop, making one dizzy just looking at them.
Lin Shijin was stunned. He and Old Six were thrown in too, and he was squeezed into a corner.
His head bumped against the edge of the cage, and he felt a bit annoyed. Curling up in the corner, he thought silently: It’s fine. Even with this many rats, Sheng Rufei will definitely recognise him at a glance.
Just as he was thinking this, he heard an envoy softly say, “My lord,” and looked up to see the familiar silver-haired youth not far away.
Lin Shijin nearly squealed in excitement. He did squeak, flapping and scrambling at the cage bars, calling out desperately.
“Shixiong, look at me—”
Sheng Rufei stopped in front of the cage.
