Volume Twelve: Invitation from Hell Chapter Fifteen: Mountain of Blades Hell

Upon returning to the police station, Yaoguang headed straight for the autopsy room, where she saw Momo jumping around like a cat. Her expression was twisted and filled with agony; she no longer looked like the cute, adorable internet celebrity, but rather a vengeful spirit.

Yaoguang stood before the glass door and struck the leaping figure with a palm, causing Momo to collapse to the ground. A pair of clouded eyes looked up at Yaoguang, filled with terror.

Yaoguang pushed the door open, stood before Momo, and looked down at her coldly. "You are not Momo; you are the black cat that was tortured to death by her. Rest assured, I, Yaoguang, have taken up your grievance. Be obedient, and I will set you free. This filthy corpse is not worthy of imprisoning you." As she spoke, her eyes shone with the golden light of the Phoenix Essence.

The Momo on the ground grew quiet, emitting small, aggrieved cat-like sounds. Yaoguang reached out and stroked Momo's head, as if petting a cute kitten. "Don't move. I am breaking the seal to set you free, but you must listen to me. Otherwise, you will be reduced to dust. Do you understand?"

Momo nodded. Yaoguang formed a hand seal and chanted, "By my spirit, shatter your confinement, open!" A beam of golden light shot into Momo’s crown, and a mass of black energy flew out from her mouth, coalescing in mid-air. It was a completely black fold-eared cat—a rare sight. Its fur was sleek and shiny, and its eyes were like two blue sapphires. It was incredibly cute.

"You are so cute! Come here," Yaoguang exclaimed, her heart melting.

"Meow," the cat spirit let out a soft cry and flew onto Yaoguang’s hand. Yaoguang stared at it, "You are just too cute, far too cute." If not for the fact that the spirit lacked a physical form, she would have kissed it.

"Meow." The cat spirit looked startled by her reaction. Am I really that likable? If so, why did that woman kill me?

"Once the case is solved, don't leave. Stay with me and cultivate; I don't want to let you go." Yaoguang had completely forgotten the terrifying corpse on the floor, her focus entirely on the adorable cat spirit.

"Meow, meow." The cat spirit licked Yaoguang’s face, but felt nothing. It felt frustrated; it was a spirit and couldn't reach her.

"Little one, you still have the evil aura of a cat spirit on you. I'll cleanse it for you. Don't be naughty, or you'll end up like her," Yaoguang said, pointing to the floor.

"Meow?!" Seeing the body, the cat spirit let out a mournful cry.

"It's alright, she's dead. Let me purify you first, or I can't communicate with you. It might be a little painful, so bear with it," Yaoguang comforted.

"Meow, meow..." The cat spirit made a helpless expression, causing Yaoguang to laugh. She brought a basin of water, set the spirit down, and placed a talisman on it. As she chanted, the spirit began to struggle, and black gas flowed from its head onto the talisman. Yaoguang guided the paper onto the water, where it burned, turning the water black. She repeated this until the ninth basin, when the water finally ran clear.

"My goodness, how much resentment do you hold?" Yaoguang looked at the basins of black water.

"Meow, it's not my fault. I died a miserable death and was used. I can follow you, but please don't bully me; it hurts," a tiny, aggrieved voice echoed in Yaoguang's mind.

"Purification allows for telepathic communication. You are extraordinary. I will grant you some cultivation as a contract; from now on, you are mine." Yaoguang cast a golden light that enveloped the spirit, making it feel as if it were in the arms of its mother. After a while, the light faded, and the cat spirit jumped onto Yaoguang’s head. "Thank you. I don't have a name; please give me one."

"How about 'Little Black'? Hahaha," Yaoguang joked.

"Ugh..." The cat spirit looked depressed.

"Let's call you 'Jelly,' you're so cute," Yaoguang laughed.

"Meow..." Jelly seemed happy.

"Akun, what is your master doing in there? The corpse is jumping, and your master is acting like one too?" Xuanchen asked with a strange expression.

"Captain Xie, use your own spiritual power to look," Huomingkun replied, speechless. Xuanchen’s power was no lower than theirs, yet he was as unreliable as a malfunctioning weapon.

Xuanchen focused his gaze and saw a small, adorable black cat beside Yaoguang. "Oh my, what a cute cat!" He rushed inside.

Jelly panicked and scrambled onto Yaoguang’s head, asking, "Who is this idiot?"

"This idiot is your brother Xuanchen," Yaoguang laughed.

"Phoenix, are you calling me an idiot?!" Xuanchen roared.

"It wasn't me, it was Jelly," Yaoguang pointed to her head.

"This is the terrifying cat spirit from the victim? How did it become a pet in your hands?" Xuanchen was stunned.

"Obviously. It depends on how you treat them. Jelly is so cute. Now, I feel sick thinking about that internet celebrity. How could she lay a hand on such a cute cat? Lele, come in and dismember this scum," Yaoguang commanded.

Lele entered and began the autopsy with Chenchen. "The scratches on the victim are from cat claws, accompanied by physiological reactions. These abscesses were caused by the accumulation of the cat spirit's resentment, but what are these U-shaped marks?"

"Those are high-heeled shoe marks. That woman kicked her hard with her heels," Jelly told Yaoguang.

"High-heeled marks. The killer kicked her with them," Yaoguang translated.

"Indeed. There's also a circular mark on the neck, a friction injury. How was that done?" Chenchen wondered.

"That woman put me in a large bag, leaving only my head exposed, and used magic to force me into her crown. When she chanted, I was in agony and struggled inside her body, which is how she ended up like that," Jelly said, aggrieved. "Then she pulled out her soul, sealed me in her body, and forced me to crawl onto a bed of nails."

"The killer put Momo in a bag, put Jelly into the victim's crown, and when she chanted, Jelly struggled, causing the injuries. After extracting the soul, she used Jelly to control the body and crawl onto the nail bed. That's what happened," Yaoguang relayed.

"Wow, no need for an autopsy, Jelly explained everything," Xuanchen said, reaching out to pet Jelly, but failing to touch it.

"Go away, idiot brother..." Jelly was startled.

"Go away, idiot brother," Yaoguang translated.

Xuanchen’s face darkened.

Lele and Chenchen continued their work, but Yaoguang walked out. "Jelly, tell me how you died."

"It was miserable. I don't know how to describe it, so I'll transfer the memory to you," Jelly said sadly.

Yaoguang took out a white bead and read the memory. Soon, the bead turned black. She infused it with spiritual power, and images flashed in the air. In a small apartment, Momo was wearing silver high heels. She picked up the black kitten, stroked it, and then suddenly threw it to the floor. The kitten let out a shrill scream. Momo stomped on it, her heels piercing its body. As the kitten curled in pain, Momo shouted cruelly, "Die, I want you to die!" She continued stomping and crushing the kitten, laughing as she stabbed it with a knife. Blood splattered her face and clothes, but she smiled evilly, saying, "Cats are the most annoying animals in the world. I want to kill you all."

Yaoguang finished watching, covered in a cold sweat. She looked at Jelly on her shoulder and wept. "Why? Why treat you like this? You don't have to like them, but you can't abuse them. Oh, Jelly, I wish I had met you sooner."

"I think so too, Mommy. There are many more. Come to her house, I'll show you," Jelly said, jumping off.

"Mommy? You mean 'Mommy.' Jelly, come up, I'll take you; there's sunshine outside," Yaoguang said, running out. "What are you standing there for? Let's go to the victim's house!"

"Why are we going there?" Xuanchen called out.

"To collect the cats' remains," Yaoguang’s voice echoed.

At Momo's house, Jelly pointed to a shrine. "Move that. There's a freezer underneath. Open it and see for yourselves, but don't be scared. I can't bear to look. Mommy, I'll hide in your clothes."

They moved the shrine to reveal a floorboard painted with an Eight Trigrams symbol. Underneath was a freezer. When they opened it, everyone gasped. Inside were many vacuum-sealed bags, each containing the corpse of a cat. By the time they finished, over fifty cat corpses lay in the living room, along with kittens, ducklings, and puppies. Yaoguang was trembling with rage, her eyes red. Some corpses were decapitated, others dismembered.

"This is terrifying. Is this the 'beautiful lady' from the videos? She's disgusting," Jiang Yun cried.

"Master, look at this. Over sixty videos of animal abuse. She’s a psychopath, not a lady," Huomingkun cursed.

"Why did she hate cats so much?" Xuanchen asked, unable to watch.

"Should we release these videos?" Chen Hai-xu asked. "People are still mourning her outside her company."

"Release them. Why praise such a person? Akun, hack into her company’s servers and upload these. I want this woman to be shamed even in death. She's a monster," Yaoguang said, leaving.

Within an hour, the videos of Momo abusing animals were playing on every computer at her company. Soon, the footage spread across the internet. Momo's fans were shocked; they couldn't believe their "cute lady" was a monster.

"Mommy, don't be angry, it's all in the past," Jelly said, poking its head out.

"How can I not be? You must have been in so much pain," Yaoguang said, her eyes welling up.

"Meow, it's over," Jelly comforted her. "It's better now. If I hadn't met you, I would have evolved into a Cat Demon in her body and lost myself, ending up destroyed."

"Jelly, you are a Spirit Cat. How did she capture you?" Yaoguang asked.

"I was repaying a favor; she had fed me once. I tried to repay her, and this is what happened," Jelly said.

"How much cultivation do you have?"

"Over three hundred years," Jelly replied. "But I gained a blessing in disguise; when she turned me into a cat spirit, she transferred some cultivation to me, and since you purified me, my power has grown."

"Jelly, I will grant you another century of cultivation. Can you manifest a physical form?"

"Yes, but you have to burn a paper cat for me."

"That's easy," Yaoguang said, returning to the station.

Momo’s parents were there to claim the body, crying.

"Ma'am, do you know why Momo hated cats so much?" Lele asked.

"She used to love them, but after one scratched her face, we spent a fortune on surgery. She changed after that. She acted nice to animals in public but was cruel in private. We tried to stop her, but she ran away," the mother sobbed.

When the animal corpses were brought in, the parents were stunned.

"Why? 'A child's fault is the father's; failing to raise them is the mother's.' Many people have been scratched by animals; do they all act like this?" Yaoguang’s voice echoed, causing the parents to hang their heads.

Yaoguang left with Jelly to Momo's apartment to liberate the trapped spirits. After chanting, the spirits vanished in golden light. Yaoguang sat on the floor and cried like a child. In the underworld, there is no hierarchy; all are living beings. She prayed they would be reborn into better lives.

Back at the station, Xuanchen greeted her. "The internet is in an uproar. Momo is being condemned everywhere."

"I don't care. Once her soul is found, she will face the true judgment of the hells," Yaoguang said coldly.

"Did you notice? The killer didn't take any organs this time," Chen Hai-xu noted.

"Probably found her too dirty," Huomingkun remarked.

Yaoguang walked to her desk and picked up a paper cat craft. "Jelly, does this look okay? It looks just like you."

"That's the one," Jelly nodded.

Yaoguang took the paper cat into the conference room. An hour later, laughter and cat cries were heard.

"Jelly, I can kiss you now!"

"Remember, I can't bathe, and I'm afraid of fire," Jelly warned.

"Will you be dirty if you don't bathe?"

"Mommy, I can purify myself..." Jelly felt helpless.

The conference room door opened. Jelly perched on Yaoguang’s head and said to Xuanchen, "Idiot brother, you can hold me now."

"I'm not an idiot! You bad cat, I'll boil you..." Xuanchen reached for Jelly, who darted away and sat on a light fixture, looking down at him.

"Jelly, let's go home. I'll take you to meet Brother Yutian," Yaoguang said, holding out her hand.

"Mommy." Jelly jumped onto her head, and they walked downstairs, drawing applause.

"Jelly is lucky to have met Master; the others weren't as fortunate," Jiang Yun sighed.

"The rest were liberated by your master," Chu Tianyou appeared from nowhere.

Every living being has meaning and value. You don't have to like them, but you must not abuse them. If you cannot love them, do not harm them. To abuse life is to consume your own fortune and life. There is no hierarchy in the underworld; do not wait until you arrive there to regret your actions.

The Seventh Level of Hell: The Mountain of Knives.