After Xia Ying had called for a while, a sharp male voice came from the courtyard, saying, "He is here."
Xia Ying explained to Huang Xiaolong "It's my aunt's servant. She's very old now, she needs someone to take care of her daily necessities."
"Oh." Huang Xiaolong nodded.
Soon after, footsteps were heard coming from the yard.
The sound was rather strange!
It was as if, it wasn't a person walking, but a—
—cat walking!
Of course, there is a significant difference between a person and a cat walking.
A cat walks on all fours, moving in a crosswise manner. In other words, when it steps forward with its front left leg, it simultaneously steps with its right hind leg. Then when it steps forward with its front right leg, it simultaneously steps with its left hind leg.
