Little Thirteen had been worried lately, but things hadn’t reached the point where his entire clan needed to relocate. The injured were receiving treatment. Hearing Ye Yang’s concern warmed his heart, and he comforted Ye Yang in return: “Don’t worry. I’m fine here. You know me—I’m super capable!”
His voice sounded full of energy, so maybe everything was alright? Ye Yang felt somewhat relieved. Finally, he added, “If you run into trouble, don’t be stubborn. You can reach out to me anytime.”
“I know, I know. Worst case, I’ll go join Huan Huan too. We otters are very popular with humans~”
…
After sending off the xingxing, the company got busy again.
Sister Wu, Xing Tian, and even Ye Yang himself had been picking up quite a few demons and spiritual creatures who had strayed into the human realm.
Returning from the YCG branch, Sister Wu collapsed into a chair, exhausted. “We’re almost out of space to house them.” She had made several trips today, even calling in colleagues from the Crisis Management Department a few times. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to leave work at all.
Xing Tian had also just returned not long ago. “This can’t go on. I don’t know what Old Man Li and the others are thinking.” He had a feeling something big was about to happen.
Ye Yang and Chi Lian were reading the latest internal intelligence updates. Seeing that Luoyang City, led by Ying Zhao, was madly conquering new territory, Ye Yang felt uneasy. “What exactly is Luoyang City trying to do?”
Chi Lian clicked his tongue. “The question is, what exactly is Ying Zhao trying to do? He seems like he’s lost his mind—or maybe he’s been possessed? I heard most of the city’s residents don’t support the war.”
Xing Tian: “On that point, demons and humans are alike.”
Sister Wu snapped, “No kidding. Luoyang City is the most prosperous place. Why would anyone want war when their businesses are doing just fine?”
Ye Yang frowned at the data from the Intelligence Department. “From the first time Luoyang City sent out troops until now, nearly half of the demons and spiritual creatures in the city have left.”
Sister Wu sat bolt upright. “That serious?”
“And that’s not all,” Ye Yang said, scrolling down a few more lines with his mouse. “Because Luoyang City started the war so aggressively, aside from Siyang City, which they declared war on—”
Xing Tian interrupted: “Isn’t Fu Ye the lord of Siyang City? Why hasn’t he gone back at a time like this instead of building some complex in the Eastern Continent?”
Chi Lian might not have fully grasped all the intricacies, but he was affected by the others’ moods and wore a serious expression.
Before leaving work, Boss Long called everyone together for a meeting—about the chaos in the demon realm. Large numbers of demons and spiritual creatures were flooding into the human realm, including some malicious types who thrived on chaos. During this special period, they had to be extra vigilant, take on as many missions as possible, and complete them.
In the end, he said, “All we can do now is do what we’re supposed to do: protect the human realm and avoid being dragged into the demon realm’s wars.”
Everyone dispersed. Sister Wu sat for a while, then shook her head and murmured to herself, “Given the current situation, that’s easier said than done.”
·
Missions suddenly multiplied, and everyone at the company was busy. Fortunately, Chi Lian had improved rapidly and could now handle tasks on his own. Even Grey was dragged into missions. Boss Long himself had taken the field. The only one suffering was Ye Yang, whose mountain of mission reports had grown into a veritable peak.
Before he knew it, late December had arrived. On Christmas Day, Ye Yang received a call from Qin Zhi.
“So you remember to call me? Where have you been all this time?” Ye Yang was quite excited.
Qin Zhi gave a low laugh. His voice, coming through the phone, sounded a bit distorted. “Let’s talk in person. The three of us—you, me, and the others—haven’t seen each other in ages. When are you free? Let’s get together.”
Ye Yang readily agreed. “Great! How about tomorrow night? Where?”
The place Qin Zhi chose was actually the small cottage halfway up the mountain—the very same one they had visited back when they were in university together.
Ye Yang had spent the whole day hunched over writing reports. He finally managed to leave work a little early and rushed to the cottage. Everyone else had already arrived.
This winter was warm. Even though it was already the end of December, the weather was still relatively mild, and the air was clear.
As soon as he entered, Qin Zhi came up to greet him, led Ye Yang to a seat, and poured him a cup of tea. “We were just waiting for you. Now we can finally eat. I’ll go get the pot.” With that, he turned and walked into the kitchen, acting as natural as if he had never been gone for so long.
Ye Yang cradled his warm teacup and looked at Shen Xiuyun and Zhuang Li, who were already seated across from him, his eyes filled with curiosity.
Shen Xiuyun set down his teacup. “Don’t look at me. I don’t know anything either.”
Zhuang Li took a delicate sip of tea, smiling. “Don’t you think something’s missing?”
“Something missing…” Ye Yang glanced around the cottage. It was no longer the dilapidated place they had seen last time. He had no idea when Qin Zhi had returned, but he had restored the cottage to look exactly as it did when he used to live there. Even Xuan Lu’s dog bed in the corner was… wait?
“Where’s Xuan Lu? Have any of you seen him?”
Even Shen Xiuyun, that old straight man, finally caught on. “Right! Where is that mangy mutt?” Given how inseparable Qin Zhi and Xuan Lu were, he refused to believe Qin Zhi had come back alone.
“Could it be that he’s too embarrassed to show his face and is hiding somewhere?” As he spoke, Shen Xiuyun even went over to peek inside the dog bed.
It was empty, of course.
Just then, Qin Zhi returned carrying a hot pot and the electric base. Shen Xiuyun immediately asked him, “Where’s Xuan Lu?”
Qin Zhi set down the pot, plugged it in, and stirred the large bones and side dishes inside before casually replying, “He’s gone missing.”
“Missing?!” Ye Yang was astonished. “How did that happen?”
Shen Xiuyun was also very surprised. “How could that happen? Didn’t you say back then that you had everything under control? How did it end up like this? Did you go back to your sect?”
Qin Zhi remained remarkably calm. “We went to the demon realm, and he suddenly disappeared. So I came back. I’ve already returned to the sect. I knelt for a month, and now everything’s fine.”
Ye Yang remembered the unspoken emotions between Xuan Lu and Qin Zhi before they left back then. His feelings were complicated. After a long pause, he finally spoke. “What about… the future?”
“The future is naturally about cultivating diligently and carrying on your master’s legacy, right, Second Brother?” Zhuang Li suddenly interrupted, smiling at Qin Zhi.
“Exactly. That’s how it is.” The hot pot was boiling. Behind the rising steam, Qin Zhi’s expression was hard to read.
…
After that, they tacitly avoided mentioning Xuan Lu again. They only talked about amusing things from their school days until they had all drunk quite a bit and the night grew deeper.
Shen Xiuyun, thoroughly drunk, slung his arm around Qin Zhi’s shoulder and blurted out, “You have no idea how much trouble you’ve caused me!”
Qin Zhi smiled apologetically. “I know. I’ve let you all down.”
“Hey, that’s not what I meant. What I’m trying to say is, if anything happens to you, your big brother will come running anytime!” Shen Xiuyun waved his hand grandly, lost his balance, and nearly took Qin Zhi down with him. Ye Yang had to steady them both.
Finally, a crack appeared in Qin Zhi’s perpetually calm facade. He stared blankly at Shen Xiuyun, but Shen Xiuyun didn’t notice. He just kept going. “You call me ‘big brother,’ so of course I’ve got your back. Whether you’re with a demon or a man, whether you want to go back to that wolf demon or find yourself a new handsome guy, I’ll always—”
“Alright, alright, you’ve had too much. Let me help you rest over there.” Seeing the conversation getting too explicit, Zhuang Li quickly yanked Shen Xiuyun hard and firmly planted him onto the long couch in the living room.
But when he turned around, he heard Ye Yang, in the name of comfort, actually saying things that only picked at the wound: “Second Brother, don’t worry. I’ll help you find Xuan Lu. I have some very capable colleagues. There’s a dog demon with a keen nose. If that doesn’t work, I’ll beg Teacher Shen for help. We’ll definitely find him!”
Zhuang Li felt his head spinning. Not a single one of them was easy to deal with?!
Find Xuan Lu? Couldn’t they see that Second Brother didn’t even want to find him?? He said “disappeared,” but for all they knew, they’d had a fight, broken up, and gone their separate ways!
Qin Zhi wasn’t angry at all. Instead, he patted Zhuang Li’s shoulder to reassure him. “It’s fine. I know they’re just looking out for me.”
Zhuang Li: “…” He really hadn’t expected that Qin Zhi, who used to be the least emotionally aware of them all, would turn out like this after just a few years. He didn’t know whether to be happy or sad about it.
The next day, Qin Zhi returned to his sect.
He acted as if he had never left. Back at the sect, he was once again the prodigal son.
The sect members were overjoyed. They had never given up, but they had long lost all trace of Qin Zhi. Yet now, Qin Zhi had seen the error of his ways and returned on his own—without bringing that ingrate wolf demon along!
What made them even more ecstatic was that during his time away, Qin Zhi’s cultivation hadn’t stagnated at all. In fact, he had made great progress. He had advanced faster than if he had stayed put and cultivated diligently, and his foundation was rock solid.
It was probably because he had been constantly pursued and hunted by several different factions—an unexpected blessing.
After that gathering, their four-person group chat became active again. But Ye Yang felt that Qin Zhi was very different from before. He had become much more silent, almost devoid of emotional highs and lows.
The most obvious change was that he never mentioned Xuan Lu again.
Ye Yang was worried, but Zhuang Li said, “Stop fussing. This is his own business. Worrying won’t help. Focus on your own problems first.”
“What problems do I have?”
Zhuang Li: “…You and Shen Ming. How are things?”
Ye Yang looked even more puzzled. “We’re great?”
Zhuang Li: “…Fine.”
Everyone had drunk a lot that night—except for Zhuang Li. They had planned to just stay overnight at the cottage, but unexpectedly, Shen Ming showed up.
Zhuang Li could tell at a glance that Shen Ming felt something special for Ye Yang. But from the looks of it now… Little Ye Ye still hadn’t woken up to it.
Whatever. He shook his head. At least Little Ye Ye didn’t seem like he’d be the one getting hurt. He’d better stop meddling in other people’s domestic affairs. Not that he’d dare meddle anyway—that was the Black Tortoise, after all. Where would he find the nerve?
·
Ye Yang arrived at the company early in the morning and heard loud noises coming from inside before he even walked through the door.
He hurried inside and saw everyone gathered in the lobby, their brows deeply furrowed.
Xing Tian, in particular, looked utterly disheveled. Ye Yang had never seen him like this—clothes in disarray, fake head missing, standing there with blood dripping from his arm.
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