Li Chanyi sat straight up in bed, nearly jumping off it. “No, no, no—how could he be a fugitive?!”
It sounded like there was more to this. Ye Yang’s expression turned serious. “Why do you ask? Fu Ye said this is a fugitive they’ve been tracking for a long time—someone who’s hurt many people, even eaten people… What’s going on? What do you know?”
“He’s definitely not a fugitive. I don’t have proof, but I believe he’s absolutely not.” Li Chanyi furrowed his brow tightly. “Ye Ye, hear me out.”
Li Chanyi had no concrete evidence that the lynx yaoguai wasn’t a fugitive, just a very strong subjective feeling. He truly felt it wasn’t true.
“You know my instincts are usually right. I feel like that yaoguai hasn’t just never killed a person—he might not have even killed an animal with his own paws. His hunting skills are very rusty.”
The lynx yaoguai carried no trace of bloodlust or killing aura. Li Chanyi was certain of that.
Li Chanyi carefully recalled the situation. At the time of the sudden attack, he’d been too scared and focused on struggling and escaping to notice much. But later, when he woke up in the hospital, many details came back to him.
At first, the lynx yaoguai hadn’t even wanted to deal with him. His voice was strange, so he didn’t want to speak. He’d just been glaring fiercely, trying to make Li Chanyi leave.
But Li Chanyi couldn’t abandon an injured person, so he insisted on helping with the bandaging. And then Li Chanyi had said the wrong thing, which triggered the lynx yaoguai’s sudden outburst. Looking back now, there wasn’t just killing intent in that yaoguai’s eyes—there was also fear.
“He even said, ‘I wonder what human meat really tastes like.’ If he said that, it means he’s never eaten a human before!”
“At that point, I was as good as dead. There’s no way he would have lied to a piece of food!”
The more Li Chanyi spoke, the more sense he made to himself. He said urgently, “Ye Ye, can you go check for me? They might have caught the wrong yaoguai.”
“Don’t get worked up. I’ll go ask.”
Ye Yang didn’t have the clearance to access intelligence from the Qishan branch, and Li Chanyi certainly didn’t either. But the Qishan branch knew that Li Chanyi had been rescued by Fu Ye, and they hinted that Ye Yang could ask Fu Ye directly.
Ye Yang made a call, and Fu Ye quickly granted him access.
Ye Yang hesitated. “Isn’t this pulling strings?”
Fu Ye laughed. He really did find Ye Yang easy to laugh with. “I caught this fugitive. I have the right to share intelligence with assisting personnel. Don’t worry—no rules have been broken.”
—
Ye Yang returned. Li Chanyi immediately asked, “So? Was it a mistake?”
Ye Yang understood perfectly why Li Chanyi thought that way. But the evidence was solid. That lynx was indeed a murderous evil yaoguai.
He didn’t need to say it out loud. Li Chanyi could tell just from Ye Yang’s expression.
Taking the documents Ye Yang brought back, Li Chanyi flipped through them in silence. Finally, he closed the folder and sighed.
“Ah, well. I figured it would be like this. It’s just… it doesn’t sit right with me. He almost ate me. I hate him for that. But at the same time, no one deserves to be wrongly accused. He should face the punishment he deserves—but he shouldn’t have to bear crimes he didn’t commit.”
“Ye Ye, I know this sounds crazy and irrational. But I genuinely feel like they caught the wrong yaoguai. Of course, I don’t have any proof. I’m just saying this. I won’t dwell on it.”
Ye Yang felt like he finally understood something. Understood why Director Tu hadn’t chosen the most conventional—and safest—method of erasing Li Chanyi’s memories back then. Instead, she chose to bring him into the YCG.
Director Tu had always had a sharp eye for people. She’d chosen Li Chanyi at a glance, and it wasn’t just because of his medical skills and background.
Character, integrity, conduct—those were the most important things. Li Chanyi was kind and passionate. He wasn’t a wild rebel, but he knew how to adapt. He actively fought for what he wanted. Even though his body was frail, he was still decisive and courageous. He was perfect for an organization like the YCG, which operated between the human and yaoguai realms.
“Xiaochan, you’re really a good person.”
Li Chanyi was picking up a half-eaten wax apple he’d accidentally dropped under the bed. He looked up from the floor with a goofy expression. “Huh? What did you say?”
“…Nothing. Just eat your fruit.”
The two chatted idly for a while longer. Then Li Chanyi casually asked, “Oh, by the way, how did you get here? You didn’t take the YCG teleportation array, did you? That’s kind of expensive.”
Ye Yang nodded. “I didn’t use the branch’s teleportation array. I transferred through the yaoguai realm.”
Li Chanyi crunched away on his second wax apple. “There’s something I’ve wanted to ask you for a long time. The YCG has its own point-to-point teleportation arrays. Just one teleport and you’re at a branch. Plus, there are teleportation talismans—high-grade ones can send you anywhere in China. So why do you always go through the yaoguai realm?”
At this, Ye Yang’s expression twisted slightly. “The YCG’s teleportation arrays are already expensive enough. Do you know how much a high-grade teleportation talisman costs?”
Li Chanyi shook his head. He was just an ordinary person without any spiritual power. He couldn’t use teleportation talismans anyway.
Ye Yang wincingly quoted a number.
The “crunch crunch” sound stopped abruptly. Li Chanyi was deeply shaken.
“So you see, unless it’s an absolute emergency, I’m not using teleportation talismans. I’m still drowning in debt!”
After finally setting aside that shocking figure, Li Chanyi had a new question. “But is the teleportation array in the yaoguai realm really that cheap?”
“The internal YCG arrays aren’t super expensive, but the yaoguai realm is truly cheap!” Ye Yang nodded emphatically. Unless it was an urgent situation requiring immediate arrival, he always preferred using the yaoguai realm’s teleportation arrays.
Li Chanyi was a bit dismissive. “Going from one teleport to at least three—how much can you really save? Saving money isn’t how you get ahead.”
Ye Yang couldn’t agree with that. “You don’t understand. Even though relations can be a bit delicate, most YCG branches and their nearest yaoguai city generally have a friendly mutual exemption policy.”
The specifics of the policy were that YCG personnel could teleport from a branch to the yaoguai city for free.
“And the most important thing is—the yaoguai realm is currently running a promotion! Teleportation between most yaoguai cities is half price!”
“What?!” Li Chanyi was floored. “Such a great deal exists?! How long is the promotion running? Will it still be on by the time I can enter the yaoguai realm?”
Director Tu had once dangled a carrot for Li Chanyi, saying he had excellent wood-type talent, which was why he always succeeded in digging up wild herbs. If he accumulated enough contributions, he might even be able to start cultivating. Once he got past the beginner stage of cultivation, he could travel to and from the yaoguai realm.
“You should make it. I think the promotion lasts a hundred and twenty years.”
“A hundred and twenty years~” That was longer than his entire lifespan. Li Chanyi’s eyes lit up, suddenly filled with hope for the future.
—
The Yangxie Group’s hospital was impressive. Li Chanyi had almost fully recovered and just needed continued rest. He could be discharged the next day.
Ye Yang helped him with the discharge procedures and then took him to treat Fu Ye to a meal.
The dinner with Fu Ye had been arranged in advance. Li Chanyi felt that he had no way to repay Fu Ye for saving his life. A great yaoguai and wealthy magnate like Fu Ye probably had no interest in money or material things, so buying him a meal seemed like the least he could do to show his gratitude.
Before going, Ye Yang briefed Li Chanyi about Fu Ye and mentioned how he and Fu Ye had met.
During this time, Li Chanyi was also busy fabricating lies to tell his parents, so Ye Yang wasn’t sure how much he actually absorbed.
At the dinner, Li Chanyi finally met Fu Ye in person.
The meal went pleasantly enough. Li Chanyi thanked him graciously and said, “President Fu Ye, if there’s ever anything I can do for you—as long as it’s not illegal, unethical, doesn’t harm my family, doesn’t harm my friends—”
Ye Yang stomped hard on his foot under the table.
Li Chanyi grimaced but persisted. “…Anyway, if there’s ever anything I can do, President Fu, just name it!”
Fu Ye seemed not to notice their little maneuver. He raised his glass and smiled. “Alright, then I won’t stand on ceremony.”
Li Chanyi clinked his glass against Fu Ye’s, took a small sip, then sat down and emphasized again, “President Fu, I’m just a small human. I can hardly repay your kindness. So please, if there’s anything you need, just ask. I’ll do my best… as long as it’s not illegal, unethical, or immoral.”
…
The two booked flights back to Dongzhou for the next day and got a hotel near the restaurant. On the way back to the hotel, Ye Yang kept alternating between walking ahead and walking behind, looking left and right, staring at Li Chanyi until he felt uneasy.
Li Chanyi waited a long time but Ye Yang didn’t say anything. Finally, he had to speak up. “What are you staring at? Is something wrong with me?”
Ye Yang squinted and rubbed his chin. “You’re not yourself today.”
During dinner, Ye Yang had felt that Li Chanyi’s expression was a bit strange, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. It just seemed unlike his usual self—a little awkward.
At the time, Ye Yang hadn’t thought much of it. He assumed Li Chanyi was just a bit reserved since it was his first time being so close to such a powerful yaoguai.
But now, thinking back, Li Chanyi’s words of gratitude toward Fu Ye sounded like he was guarding against a treacherous villain. That wasn’t reserve—that was wariness.
Li Chanyi didn’t deny it. He just suddenly stopped walking.
Ye Yang stopped too. Turning around, he saw an unusually grave expression on Li Chanyi’s face.
He’d never seen Li Chanyi so serious before, so Ye Yang straightened his own expression.
Li Chanyi looked at Ye Yang, then down at his own toes. He exhaled deeply before finally speaking. “I know this is strange. But as your friend—I really have to say this. Don’t get too close to Fu Ye.”
The statement came out of nowhere. For a moment, Ye Yang didn’t even know how to respond.
Li Chanyi couldn’t quite explain it himself. Just like how he felt that the lynx yaoguai who nearly killed him wasn’t a fugitive and had never harmed humans before—he simply felt that Fu Ye wasn’t a good yaoguai.
Seeing that Ye Yang didn’t react, Li Chanyi scratched his head and continued, “And don’t you think the way you and Fu Ye met is really strange?”
“Oh, so you were actually listening back then. I thought you hadn’t heard a word.” Ye Yang blinked.
“Is that really the point?! Think about it carefully—is that normal? Who makes friends like that? And all that talk about how yaoguai are different from humans, about yaoguai nature—that’s complete nonsense!” Li Chanyi’s voice shook with intensity. “He’s a yaoguai. So are you!”
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