Bab 192: Forbidden Cat Technique: Nine Lives Chorus

"There's gotta be a catch," I said, glaring at her suspiciously, "you said no one who's taken you on, or I assume another 'priestess,' has survived."

"Of course there is. But what kind of trial would it be if I told you what it was? You'll have to decide for yourselves whether to accept. I can make it worth your while, though."

She snapped her fingers, and four masks appeared, circling around her. These were no cat masks. Instead, they seemed to be styled around our own respective Zodiac types—Ox, Snake, Tiger, and Rat. "These masks were plundered by the Zhaocai tribe millions of years ago in a conflict with the forces of the Zodiacs.