I Accidentally Triggered the Restricted Punishment Protocol - Chapter 16

The kitten goes offline, and the “Sweetheart” signs on.

Yi Hanxing slept until the sun was high in the sky. When she awoke, she found her arms empty. The tuxedo cat, Qin Wuzhou, had disappeared once again.

She pulled together her loose collar, which had become disheveled during sleep, and rolled out of bed. Finding no sign of the cat, she attempted to contact him via her jade slip, but there was no response. She could not help but feel a growing sense of anxiety.

It was not that she had suddenly become a saint concerned for Qin Wuzhou’s safety. Rather, she was terrified of being implicated in his schemes.

Now that she knew of his background, she had deduced that he harbored an irreconcilable blood feud with Yuxu Mountain. On the surface, he had ordered her to seduce Lin Wujiu, but in reality, he was likely using her as a decoy. She was the unfortunate bait meant to distract Lin Wujiu’s party while he vanished to handle his own lethal business.

In the past, Yi Hanxing would have wanted nothing to do with the struggle between these two factions, but she feared Qin Wuzhou might accidentally expose her identity. Although she had not seen what he did last night, Jiang Yinghui would not have approached her with such strange words for no reason. The two must have crossed paths or even fought, which was enough to rouse Jiang Yinghui’s suspicion.

If the tuxedo cat were discovered to be Qin Wuzhou, how could she possibly explain herself?

Yi Hanxing decided she had to find him. She quickly slipped out of the inn.

A short while later, she emerged from a clothing shop dressed in sleek male attire. A chest binder solved her immediate physical concerns, making her movements much lighter and more efficient. Qin Wuzhou had forbidden her from wearing undergarments, but he had never explicitly said she could not use a substitute.

She also purchased a new mask. Like her clothes, it was simple and unadorned.

When she returned to the inn, Lin Wujiu was leading the members of the Sword Sect toward the exit. He paused when he saw her. “Miss Yi? Why are you dressed like this today?”

Yi Hanxing claimed it was for ease of movement and then asked if he had seen her spirit pet.

“I have not. Has your pet run off again?” Lin Wujiu asked with a hint of amusement.

Assuming Qin Wuzhou might be watching from some dark corner, she decided this was the perfect time to build some “loyalty points.” She put on a sorrowful expression, looking utterly dejected. “Little White is so small. I have no idea where he could have gone. I am truly worried.”

After Lin Wujiu offered a few words of comfort, she pretended to pull herself together. “Immortal Lin, are you all heading to the Grand Treasure Convention again today?”

Lin Wujiu shook his head. “We received an invitation from the Lord of No-Phase. It is said that every guest who spent over a thousand spirit stones at the convention received one.”

As expected, the butterfly effect of Lin Wujiu’s early arrival had begun.

In the original book, the Lord of No-Phase hosting a banquet was a key event, though it originally happened at the end of the convention as a finale. Moving it forward was likely a move by the Lord of No-Phase to test the strength of the Yuxu Mountain disciples. The original story described the Lord of No-Phase as an elusive, manipulative villain who preferred to strike from the shadows. This invitation was almost certainly a “Hongmen Banquet”—a trap disguised as a celebration.

Qin Wuzhou would likely not miss such an event. Since she had no other leads, Yi Hanxing decided to head to the Linlang Estate to look for him.

“Oh,” Yi Hanxing murmured. She shifted her gaze and looked at Lin Wujiu with pleading eyes.

Lin Wujiu felt helpless under her gaze and sighed. “Very well. You have been seen with us for days, and outsiders likely already view you as one of our own. It would be dangerous to leave you at the inn alone. If you have nothing else to do, Miss Yi, you may join us.”

The chance to spend more time with her target was an unexpected bonus. Yi Hanxing smiled brightly. “That is wonderful! I have always wanted to see what the famous Lord of No-Phase looks like.”

She played the role of a sheltered, naive heiress perfectly. Lin Wujiu showed no suspicion and simply nodded with a smile.

The Linlang Estate, residence of the Lord of No-Phase, sat at the heart of the Ghost Market. With its red walls and golden tiles, it was a place of immense grandeur, surrounded by shops like stars orbiting a moon. As she followed the servant, Yi Hanxing thought the place looked like a miniature version of the Forbidden City.

“Guests, my master is waiting in the main hall,” the white-clad servant said before bowing to withdraw.

As he passed Yi Hanxing, his pace faltered slightly. Whether intentional or not, his cloudy gaze swept over her with a complex, dark light. Before she could react, he vanished silently into the shadows.

The group entered the main hall. They were greeted by the scent of fresh flowers and the sound of elegant music. Banquets were already set on both sides, and maids entered in a line, carrying various delicacies and fine wines.

At the head of the hall sat a man on a long bench draped in tiger skin. He looked lazy and relaxed, dressed in snow-white robes with wooden clogs on his feet and a mask covering his face.

The Lord of No-Phase rested his chin on one hand. His voice was clearly distorted by magic, making his true tone unrecognizable. “You have all come from afar. Please forgive my late welcome. I have prepared this banquet specifically for you. Let us drink until we are merry.”

The guests began to take their seats. Following Lin Wujiu’s lead, the Yuxu Mountain disciples kept a low profile and sat quietly.

Yi Hanxing scanned the room and quickly spotted a slender figure in a blue dress wearing a Guanyin mask. It had to be the original female lead, Wei Ruyi.

As a fan of the original pairing, Yi Hanxing was ecstatic. This trip was worth it! This was the very moment the male and female leads were supposed to meet. In the original story, Wei Ruyi was a newcomer to the martial world who had stumbled into the Ghost Market. Witnessing the oppression of slaves, she had disguised herself to infiltrate the banquet and assassinate the Lord of No-Phase.

Yi Hanxing withdrew her gaze and stayed close to Lin Wujiu. Thinking she was nervous, he whispered, “The Lord of No-Phase is elusive. This sudden banquet is likely just to test our identities. He may not necessarily strike yet.”

Yi Hanxing was not so sure. she looked toward the host and noticed a small silver earring on his left ear.

The Lord of No-Phase laughed loudly and raised his glass. “You have all spent generously at my convention. I thank you for your support. I shall drink first as a gesture of respect.”

Oh no. Yi Hanxing wanted to stop him, but Lin Wujiu was too fast. He had already raised his glass to his lips.

If she guessed correctly, that wine contained the aphrodisiac from the original book—the very thing that caused the leads to have their first intimate encounter.

Lin Wujiu noticed her staring. “Miss Yi, what is the matter?”

Yi Hanxing shook her head, wondering how long it would take for the poison to take effect. If Lin Wujiu fell for someone else before she finished her mission, would Qin Wuzhou consider it a failure? She decided to stop worrying about the mission for a moment. Finding Qin Wuzhou was more important.

Midway through the feast, a servant whispered into the ear of the Lord of No-Phase. The Lord looked annoyed, excused himself, and walked out. Yi Hanxing immediately followed. However, after only a few steps, her ankle was suddenly grabbed.

She looked down to see a hand belonging to a stranger—a Yuxu Mountain disciple. He had a pale face, cat-like eyes, a high bridge on his nose, and thin lips. He looked handsome and dashing, with a playful smile.

The youth sat cross-legged on the floor, holding her ankle with one hand while propping himself up with the other. “Miss Yi, where are you going?”

He had a silver stud in his left ear. By now, the sight of a handsome man with cat-like eyes and an earring made Yi Hanxing’s heart skip a beat. She stared at him for a moment. Confirming she did not know him, she asked hesitantly, “And you are?”

The disciple grinned. “My surname is Qin, and my given name is Lang. You may call me by my name. This place is crowded, and Master Lin asked me to keep an eye on you.”

The name “Qin” made her heart jump, but the full name “Qin Lang” left her baffled. Qin Lang? Who would pick such a cheesy name? She doubted Qin Wuzhou would be bored enough to use such an obvious fake name just to tease her.

She felt a warmth in her heart, thinking the original male lead was quite considerate to assign someone to watch over her even in such a tense situation. “Please thank Immortal Lin for me. I drank too much fruit wine and simply need some fresh air.”

To her surprise, Qin Lang stood up. “Then I shall accompany you.”

Yi Hanxing wanted nothing more than to shake off this clingy cultivator. She needed to verify her suspicions about the Lord of No-Phase and could not have a Yuxu Mountain disciple following her. “That is not necessary. I need to use the powder room.”

Qin Lang beamed. “No matter. I can wait for you outside.”

Yi Hanxing was speechless. She had no choice but to let the youth follow her. Outside, several other Yuxu Mountain disciples were keeping watch. One saw them and waved. “Junior Brother Qin! You said you felt unwell as soon as we entered the Ghost Market. I thought you were resting at the inn again.”

So he had been resting in his room. That explained why she had never seen this “Qin Lang” before.

After a brief exchange, the disciple turned to Yi Hanxing. “Miss Yi, did you lose a pet recently? A servant from the estate just reported that a mousetrap in the courtyard accidentally injured a stray cat.”

Yi Hanxing immediately put on a worried face and ran toward the courtyard. Internally, however, she was calm. Given Qin Wuzhou’s skills, there was no way he could be killed by a mere mousetrap.

However, when she saw the black-and-white corpse of the cat, she froze. It truly was the body of Qin Wuzhou’s cat form.

With Qin Lang behind her, she could not react too obviously. She walked forward with a blank expression, and as she picked up the cat, she whispered softly, “Master?”

There was no response. When Qin Wuzhou had first given her the avatar, he explained it was a dead cat brought back to life by a sliver of his divine sense. Now that it was a corpse again, it meant he had either withdrawn his consciousness or…

“Miss Yi?” Qin Lang called out from behind her.

As Yi Hanxing prepared to respond, she spotted a flash of white robes in the distant corridor. Her face suddenly crumpled, and she began to sob. “Little White! You died such a miserable death! Boohoo!”

From the moment she saw the Lord of No-Phase, she suspected he was another of Qin Wuzhou’s personas. Seeing the discarded cat corpse confirmed it. He must have found a more convenient identity to monitor Lin Wujiu, so the cat was abandoned without hesitation.

For Yi Hanxing, what better way to show loyalty than to mourn his “grave” right in front of him? She pinched herself hard to squeeze out two tears. Like a grieving mother, she stroked the cat’s limp head. “Little White, why did you leave me? I cannot bear to lose you!”

Qin Lang was silent for a moment. His voice sounded somewhat unnatural. “You were actually looking for it?”

Yi Hanxing sobbed loudly enough for the figure in the distance to hear. “Yes! A very important person gave him to me. That person treats me so well, so I must treat his gift with the same care.”

This was a blatant lie. Honestly, Qin Wuzhou was anything but kind to her, and she certainly did not have Stockholm Syndrome. But she hoped this display of “touching devotion” would move even a cold-blooded killer like him. At the very least, she hoped he would stop suspecting her of conspiring with Lin Wujiu. She never wanted to experience his “punishment” ever again.

Qin Lang suddenly let out a short laugh. “It is just a cat.”

Yi Hanxing could not let him ruin her performance. She argued sadly, “What do you mean ‘just a cat’? Little White stayed with me. I remember him. I gave him a name, so he is no longer just an ordinary cat!”

To her surprise, Qin Lang stepped forward and snatched the corpse from her. “Something that is already dead should be returned to the earth.”

Yi Hanxing was about to protest when she saw that the white figure in the corridor was approaching. When she finally saw the face, she was disappointed. It was not the Lord of No-Phase, but the white-clad servant from before. He bowed respectfully. “The estate is large and easy to get lost in. My master ordered me to guide you. If the lady wishes to go to the powder room, please follow me.”

Yi Hanxing wiped her tears. She had wasted her acting on the wrong person.

While Yi Hanxing was in the powder room, Qin Lang waited in the garden. He had dug a small hole and buried the cat under a blooming purple rhododendron.

Qin Lang—or rather, another of Qin Wuzhou’s avatars—stared at the small grave for a moment before looking away. He had found that cat in the Valley of Withered Bones years ago. He never understood how something so small and weak had survived in a place teeming with demonic qi and void of life. When he found it, the cat was too weak to even open its eyes.

At the time, he had just killed a demon and tossed the leftover scraps to the cat. Surprisingly, the creature was hardy enough to survive on that raw flesh. Eventually, it grew strong enough to circle his legs and rub against his hem. When his eyes were gouged out and he was blind, it was this stray cat that led him out of the Valley of Withered Bones.

The cat had no spiritual wisdom and could not cultivate. It died a few years later. Instead of burying it, Qin Wuzhou had refined its body into a vessel for his divine sense. Unfortunately, his aura was tainted by the aftereffects of the Glass Sun. The more he used the cat corpse, the more it decayed. Bringing Yi Hanxing to the Ghost Market was the last task that body could handle.

Qin Wuzhou stood there for a moment. The purple flowers bloomed in silence, and a small pile of stones stood before the grave, a marker Yi Hanxing had placed so she could return to visit.

“A decent resting place,” he chuckled humorlessly.

Thinking of his foolish disciple, he remembered the undergarment he had taken from her. It was tucked into the sleeve of this current avatar. He had planned to return it to her bedside tonight.

He raised his hand and caught the faint, lingering scent of her on his sleeve.