The Real Heiress Just Wants to Be a Lazy Fish - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: The Buddha’s Head

After being discharged from the hospital, Zhao Zhengzhi had visibly withered. He had lost a significant amount of weight, his eyes were sunken and dark, and his face was so devoid of color that a body at a funeral parlor might have looked better.

Since Xiao Yu’s interrogation had been conducted without his knowledge, Zhao Zhengzhi hadn’t noticed anything unusual after being released as bait. He hadn’t even stayed quiet at home for two days before leading a group of people to find Jiang Zitan. Most of them were his relatives or some “fair-weather friends.” Zhao Zhengzhi’s intent was simply to squeeze these relatives into the Jiang Group; Jiang Zitan was already used to this.

However, it was Tao Yitong’s first time seeing someone so shameless. She could overlook Zhao Zhengzhi, but what was with the rest of the group? It was one thing for people with almost no connection to the family to come looking for handouts, but they were acting like lords in someone else’s home, shouting orders left and right.

The group included men, women, young, and old, looking like an entire extended family. Once inside Jiang Zitan’s villa, they curiously touched everything. The furniture and decorations here were incredibly expensive; Tao Yitong had once curiously looked up the prices and now used the cups on the coffee table with extreme care, fearing she might chip one.

Suddenly, the chattering parrots fell silent without warning.

“Huh?” The neighbor girl froze. When had her parrots ever been this obedient?

“Meow” A soft, delicate cry came from the corner of the wall.

Everyone’s gaze was drawn over. In the bushes, there was a fluffy white figure. The little fellow wasn’t shy at all; noticing the commotion, it even hopped out of the bushes.

“Wow, what a cute kitten!” the neighbor exclaimed. It was a pure white, long-haired ball of fluff, with a big bushy tail rubbing against her legs. That sweet voice made her heart nearly melt.

The kitten tilted its head up to stare at the neighbor, or more accurately, at the parrot cage in her hand.

Tao Yitong couldn’t help but laugh. So that’s why the two parrots had suddenly gone quiet they were afraid of the cat.

“Um… you can’t eat these. Sister will buy you cat treats, okay?” The neighbor hid the birdcage behind her back and bent down to stroke the kitten’s head.

“Wow, this little guy is so good!” The neighbor seemed to get addicted to the petting, so she simply set the birdcage aside and picked up the kitten to cuddle it.

The kitten seemed to be someone’s pet; it was very social. It didn’t struggle when picked up, just huddled obediently in her arms.

“So good, I could steal this kitten without even needing a burlap sack!” the neighbor joked, laughing like a “scary sister” who wanted to eat the cat.

Jiang Zitan coughed lightly. She looked at the kitten’s fluffy tail with a smile, also wanting to touch it, but…

Tao Yitong noticed her sister’s gaze lingering on the kitten specifically on its tail. She narrowed her eyes slightly, and as if she had poured a whole bottle of vinegar into her bowl during dinner, she said tartly, “Does Sister like that kind of fluffy tail?”

The sourness was apparent the moment she spoke.

“Mhm… its tail is so fluffy, the texture must be nice.” As soon as Jiang Zitan finished speaking, she felt something cool and smooth pressed into her hand. Without looking, she knew it was the tip of Tongtong’s tail.

“My tail is also very nice to touch.” While the neighbor’s attention was entirely on the cat, Tao Yitong quietly handed her tail to her sister. Her tone vaguely sounded like she was accusing a “heartbreaker”—she already had her own tail, yet she still wanted to pet another cat.

“The texture is different… but yours is indeed better to touch.”

Seeing Tao Yitong put on an expression that said, “If you think its tail feels better than mine, I’ll cry,” Jiang Zitan helplessly humored her. The tip of the tail in her hand wagged happily, nearly slipping from her grasp.

“Put it away quickly, don’t let others see,” Jiang Zitan whispered, giving the tail a squeeze as a reminder.

“Okay” Tao Yitong tucked her tail away, satisfied.

They were a bit of a distance from the neighbor, so their whispered conversation wasn’t overheard.

Thud!

Somewhere in the distance, there was a dull sound of an impact.

What was that?

Before the people present could react, the cat’s fur puffed out, turning it into a round ball of bristles. The neighbor girl gripped the tag on the cat’s collar, preparing to call the owner in case the little guy was lost, but after that impact sound, the once-obedient cat suddenly struggled and leaped out of her arms.

“Hey!” The neighbor couldn’t catch the cat, which was as slippery as liquid.

“That sound must have scared it. I hope it doesn’t lose its way home…” the neighbor said worriedly.

Tao Yitong felt the cat was acting strange. It ran straight down the main road in a bee-line, not looking like a startled animal running aimlessly. It was heading exactly toward the source of the noise.

Tao Yitong focused her hearing. Soon, the wind carried a faint cry and a plea for help to her ears. The voice sounded young—likely a child.

“Something happened!”

“What?”

“Sister, wait for me here a moment, I’m going ahead to check.” After instructing Jiang Zitan, Tao Yitong immediately ran in the direction the white fluff-ball had gone.

“Huh? What? What’s going on?” The neighbor was completely baffled.

“Cough, cough…” Jiang Zitan started coughing from the slight agitation. “Cough… it seems there’s trouble ahead.”

However, since Tongtong had spoken plainly in front of an ordinary person, it meant it wasn’t a supernatural event.

Tao Yitong indeed didn’t sense any abnormal energy fluctuations nearby, but she seemed to have judged what was happening… a violent kidnapping.

Although this was a high-end residential area, there were still secluded corners, such as next to an unoccupied villa at the very edge of the community. Because it was overgrown with weeds and other plants, people rarely set foot there.

At this moment, an overturned wheelchair lay there, with signs of a struggle on the ground nearby. A white van was quietly leaving; once they left the community, it would be difficult to rescue the victim safely.

“Finally got the goods! All those days of squatting weren’t in vain!” the driver cursed. “It wasn’t easy catching this brat. That woman kept such a close watch. Heh, what’s the use of being powerful? We still got her in the end.”

Back at the villa, the child from the group of relatives suddenly lunged forward, grabbed a red string protruding from Zhao Zhengzhi’s pocket, and yanked it out. The object inside tumbled out.

It looked like a Buddha head made of black jade. The moment it hit the ground, it snapped in two. Tao Yitong noticed the Buddha head had no facial features, and the moment it shattered, a faint wisp of black mist drifted out. The mist didn’t dissipate immediately; instead, it drifted out the window.

Zhao Zhengzhi’s face turned instantly pale. He first slapped the child across the face, then hurriedly knelt down to piece the broken jade back together, but Tao Yitong who could see the mist knew it was already too late.

Claiming she wasn’t feeling well, Tao Yitong returned to her room and locked the door. She then turned on her jammer, jumped out of the window, and began tracking the fleeing mist.

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