The Cat Shadow's Trail

At the Eighteen Turns of Songpu Wharf, in the bitter cold, Erzi, a poor country boy, is beaten to the brink of death by the thug Bai Juntian. He is saved when the spirit of Wuyun Xiao, a thousand-year-old cat immortal, possesses him and forms a symbiotic pact, granting him supernatural powers.

The local guardian spirits admire Wuyun Xiao's conviction that "the greatest chivalry is serving one's country and people," and help Erzi practice justice and aid the poor amid the bustle of the streets. With amber-gold eyes and the Eighteen Palm Strikes for Subduing Rats at his command, the timid boy is transformed into a cat-shadow hero who roams the old alleyways and protects the neighborhood. He plays tricks on thugs and humiliates bullies. Angry that Erzi and the great lawyer Mendelsohn foiled his plan to seize a dumpling shop, a bully bribes the ronin Okadachi Nao to murder Mendelsohn. Enraged, Erzi leads the guardian spirits and the Cat World's beggar gang in pursuit of Okadachi Nao. The shrine maiden Sasaki Saitsu slips into Songpu Wharf, concealing dark magic and plotting to sever the dragon vein. She suspects Okadachi Nao encountered an "immortal," her greatest threat. She battles Erzi and the others, but the cat immortal's spirit runs out of power and returns to its rightful place. Sasaki Saitsu, too, dies when her dark magic turns against her.

Erzi loses his supernatural powers and retires to the countryside with his beloved Yadan to open a tofu shop. They live a peaceful, humble life, and at last the dawn shines upon them!

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.