Tom grabbed Yevenko in one paw, his right arm instantly retracting.
He stepped slightly away from the mouse hole, then carefully placed his paw on the ground.
Out slid Yevenko, still wearing his nightcap, yawning nonstop. Seeing him again, Tom's expression lit up with pure joy.
He hurried close, puckering his cat mouth and pecking at Yevenko's tiny feet like a chick pecking grain.
Jade, watching curiously, burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha, Tom, why are you kissing a mouse's foot? Aren't cats supposed to catch mice?"
"I heard Yanqing and the others say this little mouse is just as strong as you—but don't worry."
"Because…"
"I have power!"
In the next instant, the talismans on Jade's body lit up and shimmered. She strode over to Yunli and Yanqing, easily lifting them both.
"I have speed!"
She dashed like a gust of wind, scaling walls and vaulting rooftops.
"I can turn invisible!"
She vanished without a trace, only to reappear—this time looking exactly like Tom.
"I can transform!"
Another spin, and she was back in her own form. Grinning, she declared:
"I wield the supreme magic of the [Twelve Talismans]!"
Then Jade shot into the air, yanking down a length of green cloth from a nearby building and draping it over herself like a cape. Hovering in the sky, hands on her hips, she laughed brightly.
"I am—T-Girl!"
At once, the Super Moose soared up beside her, also striking a heroic pose, hands on hips, declaring:
"Doo-doo-doo! I am Super Moose!!"
Jade shot a look at Yanqing and Yunli, urging them silently. They glanced at each other.
Yanqing rose on his flying swords to Jade's left. "I am the Left Protector, Yanqing!"
Yunli tossed her greatsword into the ground, vaulted onto its hilt, and as it expanded, she rose up to Jade's right. Arms crossed, she declared proudly:
"I am the Right Protector, Yunli!"
Together, the three—and one moose—shouted in unison:
"We are Team Night!"
The full force of Team Night had assembled.
Yevenko: "..."
He stared blankly from the ground at Jade and the others striking poses midair.
Plop.
His nightcap slid off his head, hitting the ground with a soft sound.
The next moment, Jade thrust her fist forward in a superhero pose, diving straight at Yevenko.
"T-Girl, here I come!"
"Tom, I'll help you deal with this mouse!"
Blessed with the Rabbit Talisman's speed, she reached Yevenko in an instant. But when she looked closely at the little gray mouse—
Her eyes reflected his figure.
Jade slammed on an emergency brake, swerving midair in a frantic circle before bolting off into the distance.
"T-Girl, away!!"
The Super Moose scrambled after her. Yanqing and Yunli, confused by Jade's sudden retreat, chose to follow anyway, fading into the distance.
Yevenko could guess her thoughts.
Just like Raiden-jie, summoned before, who instantly saw through him—not Tom, but Yevenko.
He figured that anyone he summoned, if they stared at him long enough, would perceive his true form.
Jade had been drunk on her new role as T-Girl, too giddy to notice at first. Only when she charged in for the attack had she looked properly—then saw through him.
So she fled.
But this time Yevenko didn't chase her.
He'd assumed Jade came without anything, yet she'd somehow brought the [Twelve Talismans].
As expected of Section 13—the fortress of strictest security, yet always losing things.
But for Yevenko, this was good news. With the [Twelve Talismans], Jade's safety was far more secure.
And besides…
What's with that sky over the Luofu?
Why was there a massive black sword scar slashed across it?
Scratching his head, Yevenko decided not to dwell on it. No point overthinking. What mattered was finding new people to farm exploration points from.
He stepped onto Tom's tail. At once, Tom's fur stiffened into a straight ladder of bristles beneath him. Yevenko climbed step by step until he entered Tom's cat ear.
From there, into his eye. He pulled a joystick from his diaper, jammed it in, and tilted it left.
Tom's legs spun like whirlwind propellers, carrying him sprinting left.
...
Jingliu still gazed upward at the scar.
Her blood-red pupils swirled with thoughts, insights from that sword.
If it were that sword… it might truly shake the stars themselves.
"An Emanator…"
"I had thought there was only one foreign Emanator in the Luofu. But now—another has appeared."
"The situation grows ever more tangled."
"Still… she seemed without malice."
From Raiden-jie's sword, Jingliu's clarity had returned.
The proof was simple: if Raiden Ei bore malice toward the Luofu, her blade would have been turned downward, not skyward.
Likewise, had she meant harm to Jingliu, the strike would not have grazed past—it would have cut true.
Pausing only a moment, Jingliu resumed her journey. She had other purposes, and little time to waste.
Her steps carried her toward the Realm of the Strange.
After a while, she spotted something odd ahead.
A gray-blue cat, walking upright, locked in battle with a Mara-Struck Cloud Knight reforged soldier.
The reforged soldier lunged with a rapid three-strike thrust of his spear.
Yet the cat, though hit, bled not a drop. Instead, the force sent him flying, plastered against a wall as a flat "cat pancake." He oozed down like liquid, then popped back to normal.
Quickly, he scrambled up and swung a conjured baseball bat, smacking the reforged soldier stiff midair.
The cat swiftly dug a neat rectangular pit, and when the soldier's paralysis ended, he toppled neatly into it. Tom buried him smoothly and dusted his paws with elegance.
Watching this, Jingliu frowned slightly.
"What is this…?"
"A type of Abundance spawn I've never seen before?"
"No matter. I'll end this strange threat for Jing Yuan's sake."
She stepped closer, only then noticing a tiny gray mouse perched on the cat's shoulder.
And when the mouse spotted her—its pupils turned into spinning golden coins.
"Jingliu!"
"Jackpot!!"
Yevenko screamed inwardly, pointing frantically at her.
Tom, understanding, nodded hard, then charged forward with his bat raised, aiming straight at Jingliu's head.
She shook her head faintly.
"Too slow."
A crescent of moonlight flared in her palm, coalescing into her Danhua sword. She thrust directly at Tom's heart.
Shlick—!
The blade pierced through him.
Tom's fur blanched from blue to white in shock. He clutched the sword with both paws, staggering backward, wailing in agony:
"OHH↑——!!"
Reeling, he dug himself a grave. He placed the sword under his armpit like a spade, grimacing with each thrust.
When it was ready, he clamped the sword again, moaning loudly:
"OHH↓——!!"
He stiffened his body, eyes shut, falling backward dramatically.
But halfway down, he snapped his eyes open. Something was wrong.
Frowning, he lifted the sword, clamped it again, repeated several times—until realization dawned.
He hadn't been pierced at all.
Grinning wide, showing eight teeth, Tom slapped his thigh and burst into laughter.
To Jingliu, the sight was incomprehensible. Her brows furrowed deeply.
"This is wrong."
She would never make such a crude error. Even a novice swordsman wouldn't.
How had a thrust aimed at the heart ended up in the armpit? And why no blood, no wound at all?
It defied all reason.
"No matter."
"If one strike fails, then I'll cut tens of thousands more and shred you to pieces."
Scarlet light gleamed in her eyes as she raised her sword again, leaping toward Tom.
But Tom spun like a whirlwind. When he stopped, he had donned a musketeer's hat and scarlet cloak—become Swordmaster Tom.
Yevenko, meanwhile, rummaged in his diaper, pulling out a toy rapier hilt. After a bit more digging, he jammed a sewing needle into it, forming a tiny sword.
He popped a musketeer's hat on his head, then scurried up to perch on Tom's crown.
Swordmaster Tom's gaze sharpened with pride. He charged headlong at Jingliu.
Blades clashed.
Clang—!
Clear, ringing steel echoed.
They tested each other with exquisite skill, then their duel erupted into a storm of furious strikes.
One cat, one woman—each blow split the air, swordsmanship dazzling. Tom's blade was cunning and precise, utterly pure swordcraft. For the first time, Jingliu felt pressure.
She could not suppress him. In sheer swordplay, she was not superior.
And worse—whenever she aimed at Tom's head, his movements faltered, protecting the little mouse perched there.
Seeing this weakness, she pressed her attack.
But Yevenko suddenly swung his tiny rapier, intercepting her from above Tom's head.
Clash! Clash! Clash!
The two exchanged sparks furiously.
When Jingliu shifted back to Tom, he met her blade with relentless strikes.
"…"
Her breath caught.
A cat and a mouse—both her equals in swordsmanship?
Had her blade fallen so low in the universe?
Ever since seeing Raiden-jie's sword, and now this… doubt seeped into her.
Her sword path wavered.
BOOM—!!!
At that moment, a thunderous tremor shook the entire Luofu.
All eyes turned.
The withered Ambrosial Arbor—now bursting with overwhelming vitality. Its branches spread with dazzling yellow-green brilliance, burning like flames.
Runes swirled across its trunk, radiating immortality and curse alike.
The heavens themselves darkened, tides of Abundance surging as the Arbor revived, yearning to pierce the sky.
Its awakening rattled the Luofu ceaselessly.
From his bed, Jerry jolted awake.
His head trembled violently, neck bending into impossible shapes at each boom.
Then he thought of Yevenko. He turned to cover his ears—
But Yevenko's bed was empty.
Jerry's eyes sprang out of their sockets like springs. Hands clutching his face, his legs spun in a blur, and he shot upward through the mouse tunnels in a frenzy.