Chapter 229: Chapter 223 The Black Cat on the Wall Chapter 229: Chapter 223 The Black Cat on the Wall Zheng Tan had heard such remarks too often, especially those laced with a strong loathing.

Zheng Tan paused in his steps and looked in the direction from which the sound had just come.

Next to a tall cedar, two people stood. One was a woman in her forties who looked like a lady of high society, and the other, already with a head of white hair, draped in a light-colored shawl, exuded an air of calm and serenity.

It was the middle-aged woman who had just spoken. She supported the elderly woman beside her, looking at Zheng Tan with undisguised disgust.

Zheng Tan was puzzled; he hadn’t provoked her, so why did she speak as if they were enemies? However, there was no sense of loathing in the old lady’s eyes—instead, there was a scrutinizing and somewhat kind smile.

“What’s wrong with black cats?” said the old lady, clearly disagreeing with the person beside her.

However, it seemed as though the old lady was not in good health; her voice was soft and low, somewhat lacking in strength compared to the old ladies in the courtyard who could sing opera effortlessly.

The middle-aged woman twisted her mouth as if she wanted to say something but held back. After a pause, she said, “Mom, let’s walk over there.”

“It’s nice here; there’s no need to change places,” the old lady shook her head and gently patted the hand that supported her. “I know you think black cats are unlucky.”

The middle-aged woman wanted to argue, but before she could speak, the old lady raised her hand to stop her, already knowing what she would say.

Most of those in the hospital were patients, some in the recovery phase, out for a walk, while others, like this old lady, were there for observation and sometimes didn’t want to be confined to their rooms all day. With a doctor’s permission, they came out for a stroll, and behind the lady, there might be surgery awaiting, just not yet decided.

Feeling the stuffiness of the hospital room, the old lady had talked to the doctor before letting her daughter-in-law help her come down for a breath of fresh air. There was even a wheelchair prepared, but the old lady did not sit in it. A nurse trailed behind them, probably to prevent any emergencies.

Zheng Tan thought that the old lady had a charming smile, as if it held a magical power to soothe restlessness and bring peace of mind. The discomfort Zheng Tan felt upon hearing that targeted remark vanished completely.

This old lady must have been a beauty when she was young, Zheng Tan thought.

In this era, there were many with fair appearances, but alas, even once renowned for beauty, none could withstand the relentless march of time. Yet, while time took away outward beauty, it could not strip one of their essence; everyone grew old, but remaining graceful wasn’t easy.

Perhaps tired from walking, the old lady looked around and moved toward a wooden bench by the road, intending to sit and rest for a while.

Seeing the old lady’s movements, the trailing nurse quickly stepped forward to place a soft cushion on the bench to insulate against the cold.

The old lady thanked the nurse with a smile, and the young nurse’s impression of the elderly woman improved immediately.

The middle-aged woman glanced at Zheng Tan, still unable to suppress her disdain, silently cursing the black cat on the wall a thousand times. In the hospital, many people were superstitious, and certain matters were taboo, like how apples were usually given as fruits rather than pears. Just the other day, the old lady wanted pears, and it took some effort to persuade her to choose another fruit. But now, with a black cat in sight, what should she do?

Many felt black cats were ominous, especially at such times and in such places; the middle-aged woman always found them to be a bad omen, particularly the way the cat looked at people, which gave her an eerie feeling. She had thought about chasing the cat away, but seeing the old lady like this, she knew she couldn’t take action. She wanted to lead the old lady elsewhere, but now the old lady had just sat down!

What to do now?!

Although she said little, Zheng Tan could see from the middle-aged woman’s eyes a strong revulsion and rejection. This made Zheng Tan, who was about to leave, change his mind.

Sometimes Zheng Tan was like this: stubborn, with a rebellious streak. The more you hated him, the more you wanted him to leave; the more he would refuse to do so!

So, he perched on the tall wall, staring defiantly at the middle-aged woman, even swaying the tip of his tail with satisfaction, which infuriated her. Yet, she had to suppress her irritation because of the old lady beside her; if it had been any other time, she would have called for help to take action long ago.

Looking in Zheng Tan’s direction, the old lady said with a laugh, “When I was young, I saw many black cats too. The elders in our place used to say that black cats are spiritual creatures capable of warding off evil.”

In her heart, the middle-aged woman sneered at this notion. Drive away evil? She thought the cat itself was the embodiment of evil!

“Don’t disbelieve it. I remember, back in our village…” The old lady gazed in Zheng Tan’s direction, although her sight seemed to pierce through him as she reminisced about events many years ago.

The old lady told some stories, and the middle-aged woman listened as though it were just a tale, her animosity towards the cat on the wall diminishing not one bit. If it had been her own hospital stay, she certainly wouldn’t have wanted to see such a pure black cat around; she would have had it driven far away, beaten until it dared not come close again.

Perhaps the old lady was carried away by the memories related to Zheng Tan, and she ended up sharing amusing anecdotes from her memory.

“I never expected you to have been so mischievous in your youth,” the young nurse said teasingly.

“Yes, I was quite the wild one back in my day,” the elderly lady didn’t mind revealing her past at all. After speaking, she sighed, “When you think back to your younger years, you really feel that a lot has changed. Flaws, strengths, old habits, new habits are just like urban development. Some places need to be demolished, while others are newly built. After a few years, you realize unconsciously that everything has transformed significantly.”

The young nurse didn’t know what to say at this point; she didn’t know the elderly lady well and was afraid of saying the wrong thing that might upset her. For people of this age, even a minor illness could be life-threatening, and emotions are critical.

Seeing that the topic was saddening the elderly lady, the middle-aged woman hurriedly changed the subject. However, the elderly lady didn’t want to switch topics at all, and looking at the Black Cat on the courtyard wall, she said to the middle-aged woman, “I tell you, this Cat does seem quite perceptive.”

Perceptive my ass! the middle-aged woman muttered internally.

The elderly lady was in high spirits and called out to Zheng Tan on the wall, “Hey, Black Cat on the courtyard wall, do you have time to come over and chat with an old lady like me?”

What could it possibly understand? The middle-aged woman was about to comfort the elderly lady when she caught a glimpse of a shadow moving on the wall out of the corner of her eye. Looking over, she found that the Cat that had been squatting on the wall had already jumped down and was slowly walking towards them.

This time, not only were the middle-aged woman and the young nurse surprised, but the elderly lady was amazed as well. She was just speaking casually and didn’t actually expect the Cat to come over.

Zheng Tan had a favorable impression of the elderly lady, so he decided to give her some face. Additionally, he wanted to annoy the middle-aged woman.

Seeing Zheng Tan actually coming over, the elderly lady was delighted and gestured for him to sit next to her after patting the adjacent wooden chair.

The middle-aged woman wanted to say that cats carry many germs, but seeing the elderly lady’s seldom good mood, she dared not speak out of turn.

Zheng Tan, undeterred, leapt onto the bench.

Although the middle-aged woman was holding back, she inevitably moved aside to avoid getting too close to the Cat as he approached, as if avoiding a plague.

“See, what did I tell you? This Cat is perceptive, isn’t it?”

The elderly lady reached out to pat Zheng Tan’s head, but he dodged to the side. She didn’t mind, as she felt cats were generally wary. Having him come over at all was quite good, so her joyful mood didn’t decrease a bit.

Taking the opportunity, the young nurse quickly added, “It really is, in that case, this Cat might even ward off evil spirits.” She had intended to say that the Cat could remove sickness, but she changed her mind, realizing that she could not speak carelessly in case something went wrong later on, which she couldn’t handle.

What could she say? Even though the middle-aged woman was repulsed by the Cat on the wooden bench, she had to force a smile and agree with a few words to put the elderly lady’s mind at ease.

Zheng Tan, on the other hand, seemed self-satisfied, staying by the elderly lady’s side, looking challengingly at the middle-aged woman.

The middle-aged woman took a deep breath to suppress the surge of anger within her. She had initially thought she might be overreacting — how could a Cat have such a look in its eyes? But the more she looked, the more she felt it was not an illusion caused by her own emotions, and she clenched her fists tightly.

Because she had come to take care of the elderly lady, her long nails had been cut. If not for that, her clenched fists would have surely pierced her palms with her nails.

Zheng Tan saw the middle-aged woman’s subtle gesture and scoffed. Although she appeared affluent, not all dolled up — after all, one didn’t dare to dress too extravagantly when caring for a sick person — her attire and facial care gave away that she was once a much sought-after beauty. But compared to the elderly lady beside her, Zheng Tan felt that once this middle-aged woman aged, she would be nothing but an old witch. Perhaps, that’s the difference in temperament?

Shaking his head, Zheng Tan crouched beside the elderly lady. He could see that she was a patient, somewhat weak. Such a kind person, Zheng Tan hoped she would get better and get to see more of this rapidly changing city. From the way she looked at him with reminiscence in her eyes, Zheng Tan felt the older woman still had many things she couldn’t let go of, yet time waits for no one.

As the day waned, the elderly lady had to return to her hospital room, and Zheng Tan prepared to leave as well.

Before getting up, the elderly lady reached out to pat Zheng Tan’s head again, and he reflexively dodged it — a man’s head shouldn’t be touched lightly. However, thinking of the elderly lady in front of him, he felt a bit of compassion, and before she could retract her hand, Zheng Tan raised his paw and gently touched her palm.

I wish you health, dear unnamed elderly lady.

After the touch, and before the three of them could react, Zheng Tan flipped over the courtyard wall and left.

The elderly lady looked at her palm and smiled.

Not far from the elderly lady, the young nurse looked at the standing figure, thinking to herself that this was no easy life. From black hair to silver threads, beauty faded, her gait unsteady, plagued by illness, yet she still smiled with ease.

The elderly lady adjusted her shawl and said softly, “Let’s prepare for the surgery.”

“Mom, are you sure about this decision?! Maybe think it over again, it shouldn’t be because of that Cat…” The middle-aged woman was very worried. If surgery were not chosen, there might be three to five more years; the risk of surgery was significant. If successful, the elderly lady could see more years of the city’s changes, but if not, she would never see the city again.

The elderly lady shook her head but didn’t say anything more. It seemed she had truly made up her mind. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it and give it monthly tickets at Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep