Volume One: The Graveyard of Eight Coffins Chapter 64: The Reincarnated Cat

I nodded. “That shouldn’t be a problem. Old Ma once said that modern creatures all evolved from ancient ones, so there must be some connections between them.”

As I spoke, I dialed the number of the eccentric Professor Ma Su.

The call connected quickly, and Ma Su’s excited voice came through, “Xiao Li, what made you think of calling me? Did you discover something rare again? Is it a plant or an animal?”

Ever since the last incident, I hadn’t been in touch with Ma Su. Now that I had something I needed, I felt a bit embarrassed to reach out, so I didn’t get straight to the point. Instead, I asked, “Old Ma, I heard you brought the Motuoluo back. How’s it doing now?”

Ma Su laughed heartily, “Don’t even mention it! These things are really hard to look after. Turns out they grow best on coffins. But I can’t very well prepare a coffin for them, can I? As soon as I brought them back, two died, and it took me a lot of effort to save just one. That one’s doing well now. Next, I’ll start my research…”

The eccentric professor had fallen into his old ways—once he started talking about his interests, he wouldn’t stop. I didn’t want to interrupt, so I just listened quietly.

After more than ten minutes, Ma Su finally realized something and asked, “Wait a minute, Xiao Li, did you call because you need something from me?”

I gave an awkward laugh. “Yes… yes, I have something I’d like to ask you. Do you know much about cats?”

“Cats? Did you find something again? Just tell me.”

I described in detail the black cat with a tuft of white fur on its tail, everything I’d seen and heard about it.

Ma Su listened and fell silent for a moment before saying, “That’s quite an unusual cat. But based on what you said, I can’t make a final judgment yet.”

I went on to explain the situation in the attic, the cat skin we’d seen, and how we’d been tormented by the cat’s resentment and attacked by crazed cats.

After listening, Ma Su said, “Now it makes sense. Let me tell you, Xiao Li, that isn’t an ordinary black cat—it’s a reincarnated cat.”

“What? A reincarnated cat?” I blurted out in astonishment when I heard the term.

When my third uncle heard the words “reincarnated cat,” he immediately came over, pressed his ear to my phone, and then motioned for me to put it on speaker.

I switched to speakerphone, and the professor’s voice rang out, “Cats are magical creatures. In Buddhist teachings, there are theories about attaining immortality. The Buddha said that any being with seven orifices in this world can cultivate and become immortal. The seven orifices refer to all living creatures, so cats are certainly included.”

I questioned, “Old Ma, isn’t that a bit far-fetched? Are you saying cats can cultivate into immortals? A cat immortal, really?”

Ma Su snapped, “Nonsense! Who said anything about cat immortals? Let me finish. According to records, a cat that cultivates will grow an extra tail every twenty years. The more tails it has, the deeper its cultivation. When it has nine tails, it finally becomes a cat immortal.”

I thought to myself, “Isn’t that just a cat immortal anyway?”

I was about to say something when my third uncle waved at me to indicate I should let Ma Su continue.

Ma Su went on, “Of course, these stories are mostly old legends and shouldn’t be taken too seriously. But the theory about reincarnated cats is more credible. The idea that a cat grows a new tail every twenty years is just a myth. But research has shown that black cats are said to possess the ability of reincarnation. With each life, a tuft of white fur appears on their tail. From your description, the black cat you saw with the white fur on its tail is very likely a reincarnated cat.”

I looked at my third uncle in shock. He nodded at me, clearly agreeing with Ma Su’s assessment.

Now that Ma Su was on a roll, he continued with enthusiasm, “The most remarkable trait of a reincarnated cat is its loyalty to its master. It’s said they trust only their first owner. Even after the owner dies, the cat will die too and be reborn as another black cat, continuing to follow the reincarnated descendants of its original master. There’s a bond between the cat and its owner; no matter how far apart, they can always find each other. So the cat skin you saw is probably the previous incarnation of the living black cat. Xiao Li, where are you now? How about I come over and help? I’d love to see a reincarnated black cat for myself…”

Ma Su wanted to keep talking, but my third uncle nodded at me, then shouted into the phone, “That’s enough, old man, no need to trouble yourself. It wouldn’t help even if you came…”

When Ma Su heard my third uncle’s voice, he immediately yelled, “You’re there too? You old priest! If I’d known you were there, I wouldn’t have said a word. Where are you? Do you dare tell me? I still haven’t settled things with you from last time…”

It’s funny, really. Ma Su usually immerses himself in his research and doesn’t care for worldly affairs. Aside from academic topics, he rarely talks to others. I’m an exception, and my third uncle is an even bigger one. Normally so mild-mannered, he becomes irascible the moment he sees my third uncle. I can’t even remember when the two of them started butting heads.

But I also knew their spats were mostly verbal and occasionally physical, but nothing serious—more like two old kids bickering. So I didn’t worry about it much.

This time, my third uncle had really gotten under Ma Su’s skin, so I hurriedly hung up the phone before the professor could take it out on me.

After the call, my third uncle clutched his belly and laughed for a good while.

I quickly said, “Alright, Uncle, that’s enough. You never act your age. Do you think what Old Ma said will help us?”

My third uncle nodded with a smile. “That eccentric old man, as much as I hate to admit it, he really knows his stuff. You did the right thing asking him. I think he’s absolutely correct. We can now be quite certain that the cat’s resentment haunting the house comes from that cat skin. We just don’t know how the cat died to leave such a powerful grudge. If the black cat Fei Yao later adopted is a reincarnated cat, then it must have accepted her as its master. It had been wandering until Fei Yao took it in and finally settled in the attic.”

I continued, “So that means Fei Yao’s past life was the master of the black cat’s previous incarnation—in other words, in her past life, Fei Yao was the owner of the cat whose skin is now on that bed…”

The words twisted around my tongue like a riddle; I nearly confused myself.

But my third uncle understood. He nodded, “Exactly. Even though we didn’t go out today, we made great progress. Tonight, let’s get a good rest, and tomorrow morning we’ll head back to that attic for another look.”

“You mean you want to search for something?”

He pointed at me approvingly. “What did I say? You really do have a knack for this.”

(End of chapter)