Legend of the Demon Cat Page #2

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for three generations.

Three generations?

The cat said, "Debts will be repaid."

But who incurred this debt?

What kind of debt

sees two emperors fall

and their top guard attacked?

The palace?

Why are we here?

You asked whose debt it is.

Whose is it?

A previous emperor for sure.

One from the past?

What's the connection to Chen Yunqiao?

Is the cat really coming back?

He told me so last night.

You brought on this disaster.

You spent the money.

Shh...

Chunqin!

She's your wife.

Will you save her?

Help! Help!

Open the door!

Yunqiao, save me!

Save me!

Chunqin!

Save me, Yunqiao!

How'd you get here?

You weren't going to save me.

Who are you?

Yulian is sick?

She fell into a coma.

No, she was poisoned.

Huh?

Get some raw meat, hurry!

Ok.

Such beauty,

rotting like a dead flower!

No time for poems. Find a brush and ink.

Let me stay for the night.

Hmph.

What's with all the Buddhist symbols?

It's not just a symbol. It's light.

Look.

Here.

Is it fresh?

Yes.

Give it to Bai.

Needle.

Hold on to her!

Catch them.

What are these?

Venom worms!

They poison living flesh.

Only raw meat can draw them out.

Who did this to her?

Someone with a grudge.

For sure it's Lixiang.

Yunqiao was her lover.

She hated her for stealing him!

Not necessarily.

The wine was meant for Yunqiao.

He unwittingly gave it to Yulian.

Master-

Please... save my wife too!

Huh?

Her robes, clouds; her face, flowers.

Careful!

Where are you going?

Chunqin?!

Shh...

So who was that?

An illusion.

How do you know?

She cast no shadow.

Only cats walk on rooftops.

What poem was she reciting?

It's by Li Bo.

It likens beauty to clouds and flowers.

When was it written and where?

Let me take you somewhere.

What is this place?

The imperial library.

I think of it as my own.

Over there.

You lost your job but still come here?

Whatever.

Push, Kukai!

Stop.

What...

A little bit more.

Ok.

Stop.

It was the spring of 755.

Emperor Li

was celebrating his beloved's birthday.

Who was his beloved?

The exotic beauty Lady Yang.

The Tang emperor

had 3000 women, but eyes only for one.

Emperor Li adored her.

He filled a giant pool with wine

and the hall with 100,000 flowers.

Guests came from all over.

He called it the Feast of Supreme Joy!

Emperor Li ordered Li Bo

to write a poem for Lady Yang.

Her robes, clouds; her face, flowers.

Li Bo guarded his talent,

writing happily about common folk,

but shunning the rich and privileged.

This poem was the only exception.

He wrote it at the Feast of Supreme Joy.

His first sight of Lady Yang

drove him to madness.

Madness?

Only madness

could inspire such a great poem.

Li Bo wrote at the emperor's behest.

The first line...

Her robes, clouds; her face, flowers.

Having seen her face,

why write only of clouds and flowers?

Good monk-

hers was a beauty beyond words.

It's poetry

as romantic as her beauty and his love.

Come!

All great emperors

want to grow the realm and inspire awe.

Emperor Li was no different.

But that wasn't the real him.

Daring to give up imperial glory for love-

that was Emperor Li.

He loved Lady Yang-

he saw her as the soul of the dynasty.

Often in my dreams at night,

I live in those glorious times-

I too am at the feast

and lay my eyes on her.

May I ask

how many poems did Li Bo write?

He was a legend-

too many to count.

So why'd the demon cat pick this one?

Who was he reciting for?

What do you mean?

It was for you.

If you, like Li Bo,

are writing about Lady Yang...

Your "Song of Everlasting Sorrow"

is about the emperor's love for Lady Yang.

Am I right?

Quality guaranteed!

How much for one?

Didn't I give you one before?

Yes. It was delicious.

Say what you came to say.

Your magic. There's one thing I don't get.

It's magic, what's there to get?

It's just tricks, right?

But a killer cat is no mere trick.

So I'd like your advice.

What do cats have to do with melons?

If a melon isn't a melon,

then a cat...?

Isn't a cat!

What is it, then?

You think melons come from thin air?

Inside the illusion is reality.

So I must look to the cat itself.

Tha n k yo u!

Yunqiao's house?

Will I end up dead and eyeless too?

Not yet.

What's that supposed to mean?

It probably knows about your poem.

That tree wasn't here yesterday!

Who's that woman?

Isn't it Chunqin?

No.

Beware the magic!

It wasn't like this last night.

Hey-

gentlemen, come on up.

Have a seat. There's tea.

Kukai, I hear tea is popular in Japan too.

Yes.

You know his name?

I know you, too, Bai Juyi-

the famous poet of Chang'an!

Indeed.

The one who makes his own rules.

Juyi, have you finished your poem?

I told you she knew you were writing it.

In fact, you finished it long ago,

but you're not happy with it,

and it's no wonder

because it's not the real story.

And Lady Yang didn't inspire Li Bo's poem.

He met her only after he wrote it.

You're saying he faked it?

If it wasn't sincere...

why recite it from the roof?

Her robes, clouds; her face, flowers.

Lady Yang loved that poem.

She told Li Bo that herself.

But didn't you say they hadn't met?

Oh they met.

But only after he wrote the poem

and threw his brush into the pool of wine.

How do you know all that?

I was there.

Where?

At the banquet.

Which banquet?

The "Feast of Supreme Joy".

Who are you?

But first tell us about the injury.

It's your back paw, right?

Yes.

I was Emperor Li's pet cat.

We should've grown old together.

But when the rebellion came,

he abandoned me

and fled for his life.

And then?

After that,

a cruel man buried me alive.

But it wasn't my fate to die. I escaped.

That's why you put a curse on him.

He ordered them to bury me.

I'm not done with them yet!

What do you have against Yunqiao?

It was his father who buried me alive.

That all happened thirty years ago.

A cat doesn't live that long.

While here to take revenge

I ate a poisonous fish

and died under the bed.

My soul was trapped in my body

and I turned into a demon.

Why use Chunqin to recite the poem?

Why show us Lady Yang by the tree?

Is there a secret you want to tell us?

Did I not share her fate?

Who?

Cat skin?

Master Kukai, thank you.

Scribe Bai.

How dare they play banned music.

Lady Yang loved to dance.

Emperor Li wrote the song for her himself.

It was banned after the rebellion.

Yunqiao!

You brought on this disaster!

It's your fault!

Stop it!

I want you dead!

Kukai! Save Chunqin!

Ku ka i!

Chunqin!

Chunqin!

Don't bury me.

It's cold down there...

What?

It wasn't me who killed her!

Yunqiao?

Reward! Reward!

Reward!

Don't tell me that was all an illusion.

Yunqiao went mad.

Chunqin is dead.

Did you hear her last words?

Don't bury me, it's cold down there.

The cat said he shared her fate-

was he talking about Lady Yang?

They tried to bury the cat alive.

He was trying to tell us

that Lady Yang was buried alive too.

Do you realise what you're saying?

You say don't let the magic fool you

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