Investigation Report of the Gods

Chapter 85: Not That Spiritually Sensitive

一 on top, 一 below, 一 outside the Earth Cellar, 一 inside the Earth Cellar.

One gaze held impatience, one held delight.

（Please remember Taiwan Novel Network → 𝓽𝔀𝓴𝓪𝓷.𝓬𝓸𝓶 for the fastest chapter updates）

Then, the atmosphere suddenly got a bit awkward.

Han Su confirmed that the cat was calling to him, urging him to quickly come out of the Earth Cellar to find it—but this was inside the ancient castle.

Was he supposed to just run out because of a cat?

Screw it!

The Disaster Management Bureau’s code also stated that there was no 100% safe situation, execution was the top priority.

It was already certain that this cat was the variable brought back from the kidnapping this time, and it carried a mysterious sense of familiarity. So why not go?

At the very least, he had to understand what was different about it!

Most importantly, the Hunch‑Backed Man on the first floor didn’t dare hurt children anyway.

He gritted his teeth slightly and climbed up the stairs. The black cat—or rather, he should call it by its name, the Duke—nimbly stepped aside.

Poking his head out, Han Su was momentarily shocked. He saw the Hunch‑Backed Man lying face-down on the ground, his condition unknown. The kerosene lamp he had been carrying was smashed on the floor, and that crystal phalange had fallen into a pile of shattered glass.

The entire main hall was a mess, as if it had gone through a small war.

Though the Hunch‑Backed Man wasn’t as sticky and persistent as the old butler and other monsters, he was still incredibly strong, tireless, with hands like iron pincers. Once he grabbed someone, it was nearly impossible to break free. Yet now he had inexplicably collapsed unconscious.

How did this cat do it?

Looking on in amazement, he saw that the fat black cat’s body carried a strange grace. It lazily strolled around the main hall, went to sniff the crystal phalange in the glass shards, then showed a disgusted expression, turned around, and scratched backwards twice with its paws.

It then lazily approached the fallen Hunch‑Backed Man, sniffed him, and suddenly flopped down.

It yawned, its long tail swaying languidly.

「？」

「What are you doing?」

Han Su had been eagerly expecting something magical to happen—and then, it just flopped down?

This cat had knocked down the Hunch‑Backed Man, opened the Earth Cellar door, and called him out. Surely it had some purpose?

But it was just grooming itself as if no one else was there, letting the awkward tension spread in the dark night.

Should I go back?

Han Su waited a bit, starting to grow anxious.

「I should just go back—」

Regardless of why this cat was here, he still needed to observe it more.

But not like this—just staring blankly at each other.

That noise just now wasn’t small. What if a monster upstairs heard it and came down to check?

Just as Han Su was about to turn back, the black cat stood up again, lazily walked toward the left side of the main hall, stopped in front of a narrow door, and turned to call out to Han Su.

When he didn’t follow, it meowed again.

Meow meow meow ·—.—·

In the deathly silent castle, the sound was so clear Han Su wanted to rush over and cover its mouth:

What is it trying to do?

In this eerie castle, there was no way he could just wander around without knowing its purpose.

In the middle of his nervous hesitation, the main gate of the castle suddenly gave two light but audible knocks.

In an instant, Han Su turned his head alertly. The black cat also lazily turned to glance over.

On the Earth Cellar ladder behind him, a few children had poked their heads out too. But upon hearing the knock, they immediately ducked back down.

Han Su silently chanted a spell and retreated to the side of the Earth Cellar, then nervously looked toward the gate.

The Hunch‑Backed Man had already fainted. Who was going to open the door?

Also—was it the old butler returning?

He only knew that on this first night, the old butler would leave the castle, but he didn’t know when he would return. Now, it seemed he should hurry back into the Earth Cellar?

Just as he was thinking this, the knocking stopped. Suddenly, Han Su saw outside the iron-framed, bizarrely-shaped window near the gate, a pale face appeared—with porcelain-like cracks—wearing a strange smile, its gaze landing directly on his face.

It was indeed the old butler.

He stared fixedly at him, smiling as he said:「Seems like there are always some mischievous little fellows———」」

"Shit!"

Facing the old butler’s eerie face, Han Su felt a wave of chill. He had already recited the spell and maintained his Invisibility Spell, but in front of him, it seemed to have no effect at all.

He was quite certain the old butler could see his presence, but wasn’t sure if he could clearly make out his appearance.

Then, should he retreat back into the Earth Cellar, or—

「Ka-ka-ka—」

As the old butler lightly clapped his hands outside, the dusty boxes in the corner all suddenly began to tremble. In this room, the oil paintings on the wall, the tableware on the tables, the tools by the walls, all seemed to awaken.

「Bang!」

Even the Earth Cellar door behind Han Su suddenly slammed shut, as if it had been welded shut.

「Meow!」

At that moment, another cat cry rang out.

Han Su finally made a decision. He dashed forward, following the black cat, diving into the passage behind the dining hall—it led to the back kitchen.

This was a place he had never been before. He only knew that the monsters’ fine meals came out from behind this door.

Behind him came the sound of boxes being opened, followed immediately by the thudding of footsteps heading toward the main hall door, and then—

The main hall door creaked open, and the old butler’s measured footsteps echoed across the floor.

As for Han Su, his body felt electrified, panicked and anxious, just wanting to get farther away. But the black cat in front of him was not the least bit hurried, still lazily wagging its snake-like tail as it walked unhurriedly through the chaotic clutter.

This was indeed the place where food for the monsters was prepared. Han Su took a glance and saw rows of hanging dead rats, high-grade cured ham, neatly chopped square chunks of meat, and even rotting crows fermenting in a giant wooden barrel.

Behind him, the elegant footsteps of the butler were already sounding.

"You’re going to get me killed."

Listening to the butler’s footsteps getting closer, Han Su thought bitterly and reflexively grabbed a dinner knife.

Ready to fight.

But then he saw the cat suddenly twist its body and squeeze into a half-open pantry cupboard beside them, vanishing from sight.

Han Su was stirred and quickly followed in, discovering that this seemingly narrow cupboard was actually rather spacious. He crawled past stacked bowls and plates, moving about half a meter forward before noticing the space above his head had opened up.

There was a passage leading upward here—it seemed to be a dumbwaiter passage only found in old buildings, used by servants to deliver meals to the upstairs master. But it had been long abandoned, filled with cobwebs.

The black cat curled its tail and perched itself on Han Su’s shoulder.

Han Su turned his head, meeting its gaze, and instantly understood its intention. He looked up at the dumbwaiter, then braced his hands and began climbing up, inch by inch.

At this moment, he heard the kitchen door opening. The butler had clearly entered, seemingly observing all around. After a long while, a low cold laugh escaped his lips.

Han Su dared not relax. Relying on the short and agile body of his current ten-year-old self, he climbed through the dumbwaiter, quickly finding a gap and cautiously squeezed out—only to find a storage room, filled with strange herbs and dust-covered jars and bottles.

He held his breath, gently lifted the surprisingly heavy black cat off his shoulder, set it down on the ground, and quickly moved to the storage room door to peek outside. The sight nearly made his heart leap out of his chest.

Outside the door was a spacious and quiet alchemy room. At that very moment, he saw the tall, elegant figure—it was none other than the master of this floor, Lady Meat Horns. She was holding a candleholder in one hand and a dropper in the other, seemingly carefully mixing some kind of potion.

His grip on the dinner knife tightened again.

Glancing back at the storage room, Han Su knew returning meant certain death. Hiding here would only delay discovery.

Resolutely, he hardened his heart, rested for a moment, then silently recited the Invisibility Spell again. His figure merged into the darkness, and he quietly stepped out of the storage room, using his hands and feet to inch toward the half-open back door of the alchemy room.

Throughout the entire process, he didn’t even dare to let his heartbeat make a sound.

But somehow—by the grace of some god or spirit—Lady Meat Horns, absorbed in mixing her potion, never turned around once.

Reciting the spell from behind the target was countless times more effective than doing it while under their gaze, and so, astonishingly, Han Su made it out.

Just as Han Su let out a small sigh of relief, he suddenly heard the soft rustling sound of footsteps on the floor—very clear in the quiet room.

It was the black cat.

It followed behind him, walking with feline pride, swaggering out of the alchemy room.

Han Su’s heart leapt into his throat. Hiding behind the door, he saw Lady Meat Horns freeze in her actions, slowly turning around. Behind the mysterious veil, her expression was unreadable.

Suddenly, Lady Meat Horns flickered and appeared beside the black cat. With graceful ease, she pinched the scruff of its neck and lifted it up.

In a flash, she returned to the worktable. With her other hand, she pulled out a pair of gleaming silver scissors and slowly brought them closer to the cat.

Han Su almost couldn’t bear to watch what came next.

Then he heard a crisp snip, and saw Lady Meat Horns cut off a tuft of fur from the black cat, then gently placed it on the ground. In a flash, she was back beside the table, carefully placing the tuft of fur into a flask.

「Meow·——」

The black cat trotted out, tilted its head to look at Han Su, as if blaming him for not waiting.

You’ve got the nerve to look at me like that?』

Even Han Su felt this was all utterly insane.

This cat had upended all of his strategies for escape and survival in the ancient castle. How could he make a cat understand it was asking for death?