The Perfect Path To Insanity-Chapter 48: Meeting A Blood Relative

"W-what are u doing??? Release me! Do not feed me that stinky crap!"

Fei Ming kept his grip on Justice. One hand clamped the cat’s small body against his lap. His legs crossed to trap the orange fur in place.

"This was ur plan all along?!" Justice twisted hard, paws kicking the still air. "This is animal abuse!"

Fuming, his fluffed tail whipping side to side.

Fei Ming’s other hand pried Justice’s jaws apart. The bluish-black orb hovered inches from the furry’s teeth.

His amber eyes dilated. "No—no—no! Don’t you dare!"

This cruel servant pushed the core forward. The orb touched the cat’s tongue. "Eat. It won’t kill you."

Justice gagged.

In an act of defense, he slashed Fei Ming’s forearm with his tiny claws.

Four red lines bloomed fast.

"Stop!" Justice yowled. "Sell it! Sell the damn thing! We’re poor! No house, no food, nothing!"

Fei Ming stared at the scratch. With his defense down, Justice thrashed once more, claws sinking deeper into Fei Ming’s wrist as the blood dripped onto the dirt between them.

Finally, he broke free, scrambled off his cruel servant’s lap, and bolted to the alley wall.

Back arched, fur standing in spikes, he hissed low. "Don’t force-feed me garbage!"

Lowering his arm with the orb still in his palm, Fateless wiped blood from his wrist on the cloak hem.

The scratches stung, but he ignored them. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"It’s not garbage, Justice. It’s a high tier game core," he responded to his angry spicy cat.

"Well, go high tier-game-core-sell-it if it’s not!" Justice scowled at him.

Yes, he had considered selling it. A B-tier game core would fetch thousands of coins enough for weeks, maybe months.

Maybe he could finally afford a place to stay and not live off the streets. His previous home at the Red Zone was sniffed out by the person he stole from and killed.

And with the current consequences, he needed to maintain an upper hand with the negotiation.

He couldn’t sell it now.

What if the core held the plague cure?

What if it was resold to some high rank who knew its value and found a way to supply a cure for the plague?

High tier game cores were always used to create weapons, or potions, or to resolve political standing issues.

No. This was too much risk. Yet, too little time to wait things out.

’Since Justice refused to eat it, then it’s useless. I can’t absorb it either. This is frustrating,’ he thought.

Fei Ming stared at the orb. Then at Justice who shot him a glare.

"It would have been nice to have an immune mutating cat with special different abilities. But this fucker don’t want to," he muttered.

Looking down at his hand again, the scratches had faded, and his skin had closed and healed by itself.

Fei Ming stored the core inside his inventory.

Then slowly, he signalled to his cat. "Fine. I won’t force you."

Justice’s tail rapidly swished side to side. Sat a foot away with his ears still flattened. "Now what? We sleep on the sleepy dirt? I’m still hungry."

Fei Ming looked past the alley. Another idea came to him. ’What if the plague erupted? I have the cause of the effect, after all. If the plague moved faster and spread quicker, then the fucking Krat leaders will be forced to drop the bounty.’

His fingers flexed against his knee. Picking himself up, he leaned against the wall. "I have another plan. If I calculate this right, you’ll get all the treats you want."

Justice crept closer. Sniffing the air near Fei Ming’s hand, the scent of blood lingered no more. "Oh. Y-you healed," he said casually, acting like he hadn’t tried biting Fateless’ face off minutes ago.

"Yes I healed," he replied. He was still 10% Immortal. "And don’t bite me again."

"Ugh. Fine."

He walked out of the alley. Justice followed close.

And then—

BAM!

Colliding face first into another man, Fei Ming winced and staggered back. This was the second time he’d bumped into another figure today.

"Ack!"

A pleasant fragrance flooded his nose.

Pinching them, he took a step back and stared up at the man who he had bumped into.

The other man was taller, dark haired, inches away from him. His fair face was slightly flushed and when their eyes met, this strange man had the biggest lopsided grin on his face.

"Hah!" The man barked. "I can’t believe I found you! You look just like your mother in person!"

Fateless furrowed his brow. ’Mother?’

The man moved in closer. "I told Anubis you shouldn’t have gone far and I was right. Baby brother! How long I’ve longed to see you."

’Brother?’ Startled by the sudden intimacy, Fei Ming took out the Sword of Justice out of his inventory.

The polearm blade materialized in his right arm and he pointed it straight at the man.

"Who are you?"

___

The door banged open against the wall. Wven stormed inside a room in her brothel.

Her long brown hair whipped across her shoulders. Her cheeks burned red. When she locked her gaze on a pink haired man sitting on a bed, her anger grew.

"Keres!" She lashed out. Crossing the room fast, she grabbed Keres by the collar of his loose shirt. Fabric twisted in her fist and hauled him upright.

"Keres! What the hell did you do?!"

Keres blinked slowly. Pink hair fell forward in messy strands. He lifted one hand in a half-wave, then grinned wide with all his teeth. His pink eyes caught the lamp glow. "Do what?" He feigned innocence.

Wven’s knuckles whitened. She pulled him closer, nose almost touching his. "You! You ran around with a murderer? Violet told me everything. That young man you drank with in my brothel murdered one of my girls."

"Heh. I didn’t know you cared that much."

"No! You helped him!"

Then her voice dropped into a harsh whisper. "You know the Hawks. If a word gets out that you helped a murderer kill 22 worshippers, not only you will get dragged into your mess. You’ll be jailed."

"Pfft! By what law? The Hawks who run a cult?"

Keres brushed her off. Her fingers slipped.

Then dropping back onto the mattress, he flopped flat, arms flung wide, legs splayed like a starfish. He snatched the nearest pillow, hugged it hard against his chest, and squeezed.

Wven threw up her hands.

"Hǎo. I cannot believe this!!"

"Only if you snitch, sis." His voice carried a bit of amusement. "You won’t."

He buried half his face in the pillow, peeked up at her with one eye crinkled. "I’m basically your little brother, right?"

Wven blew out a harsh breath. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest,nails digging into her sleeves. "You absolute shit—ugh."

Pacing all around, she added, "When will you learn to be careful? Whatever stupid games you’re playing, keep my work out of it. You’re always pulling this crap."

Keres went quiet. The grin on his face disappeared.

His eyes darkened and his pupils shrank. Pushing himself from the bed in one quick motion, the pillow tumbled to the floor with a soft thud.

"Why drag that out now? You aren’t glad those pigs are dead?"

Stepping forward barefoot, Keres stood face-to-face with Wven.

Madam Wven held her ground, but her chin lifted a fraction.

"After all, sis," Keres continued. "You hate them just as much as I do."