9 Orange

"Brother, is this alright? We have promised that boy that we were going to release her once she completed the test," Qin Zhi Chen spoke as he continued to watch her brother who was writing something on the paper.

"What are you going to say?" Qin Zhi Hao said without looking up.

Qin Zhi Chen touched his nose and let out a soft cough. "To go back on your promise like this… It isn't good, right?"

Previously, his brother had promised Yu Feng that he was going to release her once she has gone through the test. However, instead of letting her free, Qin Zhi Hao had instructed Officer Zhou to imprison her until further notice.

The brush in Qin Zhi Hao's hand paused for a while before he continued to write again. "If I was given a choice, I will not go back on my promise. But at this time, we are running out of time. The festival will be next week and Xiao Feng is the only person who could help us."

Qin Zhi Hao's face turned serious.

Recently, Qin Zhi Hao had noticed that something was wrong. There was a spy among his people.

The foot soldiers who were responsible to carry out his message was killed before they were able to arrive at the location. The birds he sent out were shot to death. His messages were intercepted and the army under his command had suffered greatly for this and was still recovering.

Someone had revealed the identity of his runners and they were killed.

Not too long ago, they have received information that an enemy was going to cause a disturbance during the lantern festival. On this day, the Emperor and his procession were scheduled to parade through the city before they will head over to the tower where the event will be officiated. For this event, the Emperor had assigned him to oversee the security.

Qin Zhi Hao could not afford to make a mistake.

Communication was one of the important things if he wanted to ensure the safety of the Emperor. However, without a runner, to communicate would be hard.

Qin Zhi Hao knew that he could always use the army under his command to do this job. With their martial skills, it would be easier for them to fight the enemy and deliver the messages safely.

However, there were some problems.

Because of this spy, the identity of the men who worked under him was in danger. With their identity exposed, Qin Zhi Hao was worried that the enemy would be able to intercept his messages before it could be delivered. If something happened to the Emperor during this event, he might not able to keep his life.

Moreover…

There was an array around the tower where the Emperor will officiate the event. Those who were with martial arts will not be able to enter this tower or they will die. Only the members of the imperial family knew how to disengage this array to enter and exit the tower safely.

Therefore, in this situation, he could not use his people and rely on them to send over the messages.

Due to the time constrain, he was unable to train new talent.

This was why having Yu Feng to work for him would be important.

Yu Feng was a new face. She was someone who can run fast and knew her way in the city. Because of her identity as a thief, the only person who could slip through the crowd and moved around the city on that day was Yu Feng.

Qin Zhi Hao had no choice but to have Yu Feng to work for him.

"Then, what are you going to do now?" Qin Zhi Chen asked as he looked at his brother. This time, the playful expression on his face was no longer there.

"There is nothing we can do but to convince Xiao Feng to work for us."

"How are you going to do that?" Qin Zhi Chen raised a brow and hoped that his brother was going to tell him more about his plan, but was unable to find out anything.

After a long silence in the room, a guard outside announced that someone had come over to see Prince Yi.

Qin Zhi Hao put down the brush in his hand and stood up before he asked the person to come in.

Seconds later, his subordinate walked into the tent with a small cage in his hand. He placed the cage down and greeted, "Prince Yi, Prince Jing."

Qin Zhi Hao nodded at the man, but his gaze stayed at the small cage. "Pei Yan, is this the cat?"

"Yes, My Lord."

Qin Zhi Hao's eyes widened in surprise. He turned to look at the cage and then he looked back at his brother with a questioning gaze when he could guess at his brother's intention.

"Bring it to me," Qin Zhi Chen waved his hand lazily.

Pei Yan picked up the cage and brought over to the Prince. Once Pei Yan placed the cage on the table, Qin Zhi Hao bent down to look into the cage and found a pair of eyes staring back at him. The cat let out a hiss and a low growl.

"Interesting." The corner of his lips curled into an amused smile. Qin Zhi Hao stretched his hand and unlocked the cage, causing both Qin Zhi Chen and Pei Yan to gasp in fear.

"My lord!" Pei Yan spoke hurriedly. "Be careful or the cat would harm you."

A few hours ago, Pei Yan was ordered to go and catch the cat that belonged to Yu Feng. He had thought that this would be an easy task but did not expect that this cat would be so fierce. In the end, he had suffered a few bites and scratches before he was able to stuff the orange fluff into the cage and brought him over.

"It was just a small cat, what can it do to me?" Qin Zhi Hao disregarded their warning and left the cage open.

However, the cat did not come out and the low growl did not stop. It was as if Orange was warning him not to get close.

"Not coming out?" Qin Zhi Hao raised a brow.

The cat replied to him with a hiss.

Qin Zhi Hao turned around to the small table behind him and took a piece of boiled chicken that he had asked someone to prepare. He placed the chicken at the entrance of the cage and waited.

Slowly, the cat emerged from the cage and looked at his surrounding with a cautious gaze.

Qin Zhi Chen let out a gasp upon seeing the cat. This cat was supposed to be a street cat, but looking at his beautiful coat, one was able to see that Yu Feng had treated this cat well.

Orange continued to growl as he stared at the chicken and the man in front of him. His mistress has been missing for hours and he was hungry. A strange man had suddenly appeared and offered him something for his stomach and Orange did not know what he should do.

Slowly, he stepped forward and sniffed at the chicken. Unable to resist the temptation, Orange then took a bite and was pleased with the meal.

Just as he let his guard down to enjoy his meal, someone lifted him and Orange stretched his paw and let out his sharp nails.

"You dare to scratch me?"

Thin streaks of blood appeared on his hand. Although both Qin Zhi Chen and Pei Yan started to panic, Qin Zhi Hao ignored the small wound and continued to look at the cat in his hand.

Orange lifted his gaze and started to panic upon meeting the man's sharp eyes. After a while, he began to calm down and was no longer as fierce. "Meow."

"Good boy," Qin Zhi Hao scratched at his head and Orange started to purr. "I can see that you like the food I gave you." A chuckle escaped him. "Your name is Orange, is it?"

The cat blinked upon hearing his name.

"Orange, if you listen to me, I can promise you that you can eat more food like this."