Siyang City’s actions clearly weren’t right. Blockading roads to scheme after land in the southwest—who knew what they were really up to?
While hiding in the backyard, Ye Yang hadn’t just been waiting around. He had reached out to Shu Tan for help.
Shu Tan was someone he had met during the Di people mission—a member of the intelligence division who knew a great deal.
Based on the information Shu Tan was able to share, Ye Yang still didn’t know many cities by name, but he now had a basic understanding of the overall situation in the demon realm.
The demon realm had been created after the upper realm closed off and spiritual energy dried up, as a way to separate humans and demons. Demons and humans simply thought differently. Once separated, demon society had hurtled down a path completely opposite to human civilization.
Among the countless demon clans large and small, some preferred peace and stayed in their own corners, while the aggressive ones constantly fought and clashed. A considerable number liked to stir up trouble, always picking on the weaker clans.
Eventually, some great demons stepped in and established many demon cities, using absolute power to suppress the warlike clans and protect the peaceful ones.
Things had finally stabilized for a few decades. But each demon city governed itself, and renewed conflict was only a matter of time. No one could stop it. For clans without combat power, the best option was to keep out of the way. If that wasn’t possible, they had to attach themselves to a powerful demon city.
But doing so came at a cost. Sometimes the price was their production. In worse cases, they were sent to the front lines as cannon fodder.
Ye Yang thought it over for a long time before saying, “Do some more digging. Find out what’s really going on with the raccoon clan and the marten clan. Something major must have happened to them too. Maybe their situation isn’t any better.”
Little Thirteen pouted. “How bad could their situation be?” But he obediently asked anyway.
This time, besides the elders, he also asked some friends.
He hadn’t wanted to bring them into it before, but now that Ye Yang was already deeply involved, there didn’t seem much point in keeping secrets anymore.
Soon, word came back from Lan Bao.
Lan Bao: “I’ve been meaning to ask—why did the raccoon clan and the marten clan suddenly move? They’re living near me now, and it’s so annoying. Especially the marten clan—they fight with my bamboo rats every single day!”
Little Thirteen: “!” He didn’t know whether they were doing well or not, but they had definitely moved! Ye Yang was right!
“Ye Ye, how did you know?”
Ye Yang: “They want the land. They’ll definitely try to drive all the demons out of the southwest.”
Little Thirteen was furious. “Then why did they move all the way to the northwest and still keep our roads blocked?! And what about our forest? The marten clan just took it over, and now they’re just abandoning it?!”
“Siyang City must have ordered it,” Ye Yang said indignantly. “Because you didn’t agree to their demands and leave.”
Little Thirteen was at a loss. “But we didn’t even know what their demands were! It’s all Third Uncle’s fault!”
Late at night, the villa district was very quiet. Only the little otter’s whimpering cries could be heard.
Ye Yang felt heavy-hearted. “I’m sorry. It looks like I can’t help much right now.”
“It’s okay, Ye Ye. I’m just happy you came to find me. You were thinking of me. This isn’t even your problem—why are you apologizing?”
Ye Yang quickly rallied. “But I’m not giving up. Hang in there, Little Thirteen. I will find a way to help you. Let me go back and look for other options!”
Little Thirteen: “Thank you…” He felt a bit guilty saying that, because he didn’t dare admit that he was actually kind of enjoying himself…
·
The next day, Ye Yang asked everyone he knew.
His classmates who lived in the human world weren’t clear on demon realm affairs. The few who lived in the demon realm had only heard of Siyang City—any more than that, they had no idea.
Director Tu, Director Bai, and Teacher Yu all told Ye Yang in no uncertain terms to stay out of it.
Director Tu said earnestly, “The conflicts in the demon realm are very complicated. YCG hasn’t been able to resolve them for years. Don’t get mixed up in this.”
Bai Yunuo tapped her pen on her desk. Ye Yang looked over as Director Bai said, “I know you’re worried about your friend. But YCG really can’t intervene right now. The only thing we can do is turn a blind eye and let the otter clan operate in the human world for the time being.”
Yu Bei, whose domain of Wumeng Sea was so fearsome that no one dared provoke him, wasn’t particularly worried. “The otter clan’s situation isn’t that bad yet. If it truly reaches the point of extinction, it won’t be up to you—we old-timers will step in then.”
Shu Tan and Lu Xun were quite enthusiastic and willing to help Ye Yang come up with a plan.
But after investigating Siyang City, Shu Tan said, “Siyang City acts fairly reasonably in the demon realm. But what they say goes—that’s also true. If you offend Siyang City, unless you seek refuge with an even more powerful great demon, there’s no other recourse. The problem is, no one even knows who the city lord of Siyang City is—not even the demons living there.”
Lu Xun, ever the loyal friend, went so far as to infiltrate Siyang City at his own expense. But aside from confirming that Siyang City was prosperous and powerful, he uncovered no useful intelligence at all.
This suddenly risen city was both powerful and mysterious. Ordinary demons had no way of accessing it.
So the otter clan currently had no channel to contact Siyang City. And with the raccoon and marten clans guarding the roads with Ye City’s army, motivated by their own interests, they refused to help make the connection.
After reimbursing Lu Xun for his expenses, Ye Yang also asked Shen Ming. As expected, Shen Ming was completely unsuited to this kind of thing.
Faced with this rare request for help from the little sea hare, Shen Ming and the Spirit Serpent pondered for a long time. One pulled out a payment QR code on his phone; the other spat out a stack of bankbooks.
Ye Yang: “…” They really were wealthy.
Of course, Ye Yang stuffed them all back.
Before the little otter’s situation could be resolved, another major event occurred in Dongzhou.
But this time, it was good news.
The Yangxie Group had decided to establish a branch in Dongzhou.
Yangxie Group’s headquarters were in Qishan City, far from Dongzhou. Its business covered electronics, technology, and daily consumer goods, making it one of China’s largest conglomerates.
Ye Yang normally didn’t pay attention to such things. He heard the news from Shen Xiuyun, who announced it in their dorm room.
Qin Zhi scratched his head. “Brother, you follow this kind of stuff?”
Zhuang Li laughed. “Didn’t you know? The CEO of Yangxie Group is our dorm leader’s idol.”
Qin Zhi still didn’t get it. “Huh? Is our dorm leader trying to go into business?”
Before Shen Xiuyun could throw a punch, Ye Yang remembered. “It’s Fu Ye! The president of Yangxie is Fu Ye!”
Even as slow as Qin Zhi was, he wasn’t so slow that he didn’t know who Fu Ye was. Now he understood.
Shen Xiuyun launched into his usual spiel singing his idol’s praises. Qin Zhi’s ears were practically calloused by now, and he couldn’t help interrupting to ask, “I’ve been wondering about this for a while—how is it that Fu Ye, a great demon, can operate in the human world without being restricted by YCG?”
He was met with a big eye roll from Shen Xiuyun. “How do you not know this?”
“Lord Fu Ye is one of YCG’s economic pillars! Besides, he eliminates demons and upholds justice. He’s never done anything to harm the human world. Why would he need restrictions?”
Ye Yang had an epiphany. So he was a financial backer.
·
Ye Yang had thought Little Thirteen’s problem would be hard to solve, but unexpectedly, he soon received good news from him.
“Ye Ye! We’re moving to a new home!”
In mid-May, Siyang City actually sent an envoy again.
This time, the elder was at the territory and negotiated with them properly, reaching a result that satisfied everyone.
It turned out Siyang City wasn’t completely unreasonable. They did want the land in the southwest, but they had already prepared a new habitat for the otter clan—one that was just as good, if not better, than their original territory. As for why they needed such a large, continuous piece of land, the envoy still didn’t disclose that.
Ye Yang was happy for them, but at the same time, he still had some doubts. “Is it really that simple? Is Siyang City really so easy to deal with?”
The otter clan packed up and moved with a mix of anticipation and anxiety, while members who had been in the human world found various ways to return—faking their deaths, pretending to be sick, running away on their own. Half a month later, only Little Thirteen was still outside.
Ye Yang thought he was still having some difficulty, so he went to the villa to check. To his surprise, the little guy’s living quarters had been upgraded again!
The pool had undergone a major renovation, transforming into an environment even better suited for an otter. All the hardened ground in the backyard had been torn up and replaced with many trees.
To deepen the pool, the villa owner had even gone so far as to fill in the basement.
This was no longer just raising a pet. You couldn’t spoil a child this much!
And Ye Yang, who had assumed Little Thirteen was unable to reply to his messages because he’d run into some problem, found the little otter floating comfortably on the water’s surface. His phone was right by the edge of the pool, and there was even a gaming console sitting there.
Ye Yang: “?????”
Little Thirteen had his eyes closed, one paw on his belly, enjoying the sunbath. Suddenly, a voice drifted faintly above his head: “Living the high life, aren’t you?”
Little Thirteen’s mouth curled up. “Yeah—”
Wait. Something wasn’t right.
He snapped his eyes open and saw Ye Yang crouching by the edge of the pool, looking down at him expressionlessly.
He was so startled he nearly choked on water, splashing around for a good while before scrambling onto land.
After drying his little paws on the soft towel by the pool, Little Thirteen gave an awkward laugh. “Haha… ha, Ye Ye, you’re here. Why didn’t you say something in advance?”
Ye Yang narrowed his eyes. “Why don’t you check your phone? Did I not say anything?”
Little Thirteen didn’t dare speak, let alone check his phone.
“I thought you weren’t going back because something was wrong. But it looks like I was overthinking it. You’re just too happy to leave.”
“That’s not true!” Little Thirteen rushed to refute. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very convincing. Under Ye Yang’s increasingly terrifying stare, he quickly caved and confessed.
At first, his life had been good, but he couldn’t play on his phone constantly, which was really frustrating. Then, recently, his owner had a sudden idea—she took Little Thirteen’s paw and swiped across her phone screen.
As she swiped, Little Thirteen gradually got absorbed in the short videos and started swiping on his own. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late.
His owner had already recorded a video and posted it online.
Little Thirteen was terrified at the time. But unexpectedly, netizens didn’t see anything wrong with it at all. They just thought the little otter was absolutely adorable and encouraged his owner to get him more things to play with.
“So that’s how it ended up like this. It’s not just that I don’t want to leave—now I really can’t leave easily…”
Ye Yang pulled out his phone and searched. Wow. Little Thirteen had become an internet celebrity!
On just one platform, Little Red Book, he already had three hundred thousand followers!
And that was just in a few days… Yu Siyuan, the Shan Gao who dreamed of becoming a big streamer, had been working hard at game streaming for nearly two years and still had less than ten thousand followers across all platforms.
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