A pitch-black cat blocked the path on the roadside, its body slightly crouched, adopting a hunting posture.

This scene frightened the mice into retreating step by step, but the mouse horde remained tightly clustered, not scattering in panicked chaos.

In the face of such a menacing cat, the mice understood that dispersing would guarantee their slaughter; staying together was their slim chance of survival.

But how many of them could truly resist fear?

The muscular mice at the front row, carrying the rice and the sedan chair, were already trembling uncontrollably, unable to suppress their terror. When the cat leisurely stepped forward, the entire line was on the verge of collapse.

"Hiss."

The cat let out a dangerous hiss.

In contrast to the panicked mice, Yin Weiyin noticed that there wasn't much movement in the sedan chair far away.

The little mouse girl inside seemed entirely unafraid.

But now was not the time to consider such matters. Yin Weiyin repeatedly turned to Chen Yi and asked, "What should we do?"

"Do what we need to do, of course!"

"Huh? What do you even mean by that?" Yin Weiyin couldn't help but ask in shock and confusion.

"Short-sighted rodents—those are mice over there. Are we actually mice ourselves?" Chen Yi retorted, annoyed. "Next time, why don't you turn into a pig instead?"

Yin Weiyin froze for a moment, fumed with indignation, and snapped, "If you don't tell me sooner, how am I supposed to know?"

Usually, she wouldn't dare speak to him like this.

But now that she'd transformed into a mouse, she felt a little less intimidated around him.

The cat closed in further; Yin Weiyin wasted no time, chanting an incantation and uttering a single word: "Release."

The moment her voice fell, white smoke exploded from within the mouse horde. The sudden commotion made the mice scatter, and even the cat was startled, leaping back in retreat.

The mice lifted their heads and saw a Taoist's towering, thick robes standing like a mountain, alongside the white-robed female crown, who stood with hands clasped behind her back, ethereal and otherworldly.

Upon seeing the humans, the cat's fur bristled, and its body crouched.

Surprisingly, it didn't retreat; rather, it spat out a breath before hurtling toward the female crown in a flash.

The female crown formed a hand gesture without hesitation, chanting softly, and uttered one word:

"Immobilize!"

The pitch-black cat froze in mid-air, completely motionless.

Yin Weiyin then raised the Peach Wood Sword and pressed it downward, sending the cat plummeting to the ground amidst a cloud of dust.

The mouse horde was utterly stunned by the sight.

They alternated between glancing at the immobilized cat and the female crown nearby, overwhelmed with indescribable fear.

"Wow! It's Guanyin!"

"Guanyin? No, that's the female Taoist, an Immortal!"

"Why is she here? Is she here to kill mice?"

...…

Even though the female crown had subdued the cat, the mouse horde remained wary and terrified of the mysterious newcomers.

The mice chattered endlessly, retreating several circles away, their previous tight-knit formation dissolving into chaos as some mice seized the chance to flee amid the commotion.

Yin Weiyin stood elegantly, looking down at the group of mice from her high vantage point.

Chen Yi lifted his head to gaze at the female crown. She had reverted back to human form but hadn't restored him yet. Growing anxious, Chen Yi fluttered and smacked at the white silk hanging down from her robes.

Yin Weiyin glanced back at him, thought for a moment, then casually used her Qi to lift him and place him on her shoulder.

The mouse horde remained restless, their squeaks creating waves of chaos.

"What do we do now?"

"Should we all charge together, take a bite out of her?"

"She knows spells, though!"

"But if we don't fight our way out, there's no other way!"

The mice began to stir up hostility amongst themselves.

Just as tensions escalated, the mouse who had earlier spoken to Chen Yi caught sight of him perched on the female crown's shoulder.

Its eyes gleamed with realization and it said, "Oh dear, so you've secretly cultivated yourselves into humans—how impressive!"

Upon hearing this, some of the mice appeared confused, but soon the sharper ones caught on.

"It's true! I just saw them as mice earlier!"

"We're all brethren here, all from the neighboring village!"

"Enough arguing! They captured the big cat—they must be one of us!"

As the murmurs spread, the mice grew increasingly convinced, gradually quieting down.

The mouse stepped forward, looked at Chen Yi, and asked, "Brother, sister, where are you headed?"

"To Master Impermanence," Chen Yi replied.

The real reason for joining the marriage procession of mice was merely to locate the so-called Master Impermanence's position.

Once they'd discovered it, Chen Yi's token would allow them to disguise themselves as Black and White Impermanence and bypass the Naihe Bridge straight into the second Yama Hall.

"Very well, very well."

The mouse agreed, then after some consideration said, "Our wedding procession moves slowly. How about I send a sibling to guide you instead?"

"Then let the bride herself guide us," Chen Yi said.

The mouse froze, hoping to lead them astray, but hadn't expected them to be so cunning, thwarting its plan immediately.

But with things as they were, for the safety of the mouse horde, the mouse had no choice but to relent. "Alright, alright… the bride will guide you."

Then, the mice turned to encircle the immobilized cat. Rather than attacking outright, they first climbed onto the back of its neck, while others held down its limbs.

When the immobilization spell was lifted, the mouse shouted at the cat:

"We're hosting a wedding today—why are you blocking our path?!"

Still pinned down, the cat hissed at them and said, "Cats eat mice—it's only natural!"

"You dare refuse kindness!? Fine, blind it in one eye!"

At the command, the mouse horde sharpened their teeth and surged forward.

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