After an unknown time stroking the demonic cat, Zhou Sheng realised that Wen Zhihao had taken out some glowing light stones because the sky had grown dark.

Regret filled Zhou Sheng. “I need to leave now,” he said. He couldn’t bear to push away the beast in his lap, but the demonic cat stood up herself and went over and head-butted the demonic wolf. He felt a sense of loss. Reluctantly, Zhou Sheng stood up.

“Go safely,” Wen Zhihao said, also standing up.

“I’ll do my best to fulfil your request,” Zhou Sheng said seriously.

“Then let me thank you ahead of time.”

Wen Zhihao gave Zhou Sheng the ‘bribery’ talismans he had prepared a week ago, some glowing rocks since he had too many of them, and one of the boxes of food.

“Thank you,” Zhou Sheng said sincerely. He left, walking into the forest. His black robes soon blended into the darkness.

The demonic wolf wanted to follow Zhou Sheng, but she also wanted to stay with Wen Zhihao. Not knowing what to do, she spun around in circles.

The demonic cat sneered inwardly at the stupid dog.

Wen Zhihao turned to the cat as he drew his sword and set it to hover. “I’m going back to the Golden Sun Sect. Coming?”

“Meow!” The demonic cat lightly jumped onto the sword.

“Woof!” the demonic wolf barked. She stopped spinning in circles and ran to Wen Zhihao.

“You want to come too?” Wen Zhihao asked the dog.

“Woof!” the demonic wolf replied affirmatively.

So Wen Zhihao picked up the dog.

The sword wasn’t very big, but the cat was able to balance at the front of the sword while Wen Zhihao stood at the back carrying the dog.

He took them to the demonic beast enclosures.

The cat knew what to do. After rubbing against Wen Zhihao one more time, she opened the gate with one paw, went inside, and closed the gate again. The array that was meant to keep demonic beasts from opening the gate settled back into place.

- Meeeowwrr, you’re finally back! What prey did you catch?

- Hehehehe, guess who I found instead….our human! Oh, and a blood cultivator human…

- Tell us more!

The other demonic cats gathered around, enviously listening to the first cat’s evening spent in their human’s aura.

Meanwhile, Wen Zhihao went to find Huang Jialing, knocking on the door of her personal residence.

Huang Jialing opened the door, dressed in casual white robes. Her eyes flickered. Wasn’t this the tracking specialist demonic wolf that Lin Yijun contracted?

Wen Zhihao smiled politely, none the wiser. “Sorry to bother senior Huang. Senior, can you take care of this dog?”

Huang Jialing was very conflicted. She wasn’t the handling cultivator, and this wolf should still be working. But if the wolf remained in Wen Zhihao’s presence too long, she estimated that the wolf would become entirely docile, and then how would they explain to the handler?

“...Yes,” she finally said. “You can leave her here with me.”

Wen Zhihao went to put the dog down. The dog whined, nudging against Wen Zhihao’s legs. “Go to Senior Huang. I’ll be back tomorrow,” Wen Zhihao coaxed, petting the dog. “Be obedient and listen to Cultivator Huang.”

Finally, she moved away from Wen Zhihao’s side when Huang Jialing pulled out an enticing qi-heavy treat that she couldn’t quite resist.

“Rrrr….” the demonic wolf reluctantly agreed. Anyway, she had accepted food from Huang Jialing so she felt obliged.

With that responsibility delegated to someone else, Wen Zhihao thanked Huang Jialing again. He returned to his room and went to sleep.

 

---

 

The next day, Aunty Liu Jing had a moment of speechlessness when Wen Zhihao said he had gone through two and a half food boxes already.

“I shared it with someone who needed your delicious and fragrant cooking. But maybe I can help cook,” Wen Zhihao mused out loud. “Cooking should be able to increase cultivation.”

“If cooking was cultivating, all of us would be cultivators,” Liu Jing replied drily.

Wen Zhihao pursed his lips in thought. Why weren’t they all cultivators? What makes someone a cultivator and someone a mortal? Was it luck? Genetics? Environment? Interference from the heavens? Were there small minor levels before the first Early Stage Qi Refining? What did cultivation even mean? What was the nature of qi?

Old Tang interrupted his musings. “You’ll have to work extra hard today without Xiao Fuyu around!” he joked.

Wen Zhihao’s complicated philosophical thoughts dissipated, as his lips curled up in amusement. “En. Aunty Liu—”

“Aiya, go, and there’ll be food when you come back,” Liu Jing motioned him towards Old Tang.

Important food supplies secured, Wen Zhihao went with Old Tang to the farms as usual.

After breakfast, he went to the demonic beasts’ enclosure, in time to see Huang Jialing taking the dog out.

The dog immediately ran to Wen Zhihao’s side.

“See, I said I’ll come back,” Wen Zhihao said, bending down to pet the dog. He gave it some meat to eat.

Annoyed cat eyes stared through the enclosure lattice fence. If it weren’t for Huang Jialing standing there, they would have broken out!

“She doesn’t have time to play, she’s on a job,” Huang Jialing said.

Wen Zhihao straightened. “Working? On what?”

“She’s a tracking demonic wolf, tasked with finding something,” Huang Jialing said.

The wolf (?) barked at Huang Jialing.

Huang Jialing frowned. “Wen Zhihao was the person you were meant to find?”

“Wolf-ruff-ruff!” This human and other human yesterday, both of them have the scent! Already found!

“Other human? Disciple Wen, did you meet anyone yesterday?”

Wen Zhihao hesitated. But the wolf had already let the cat out of the bag. “Yes,” he finally said. “I met another friendly cultivator. We shared a meal.”

Huang Jialing stared at Wen Zhihao, resisting the urge to facepalm. “You shared a meal with the target? A demonic cultivator? How are you still alive?”

Wen Zhihao smiled politely. “Senior Huang, Fellow Cultivator Zhou is a good, polite young man.”

Huang Jialing’s eyes widened. “You….cultivator Zhou? Zhou Sheng?” Her mind raced. She had thought that Lin Yijun wanted to track down some notorious evil demonic cultivator, but it turned out to be Zhou Sheng?

“Yes. Oh yes, he said that he used to be part of the sect,” Wen Zhihao suddenly remembered. “Did you know him?”

“...I knew of him,” Huang Jialing reluctantly said. She turned to the wolf. “Your job was not only to track but also retrieve the target.”

The demonic wolf whined.

“So you’re not getting out of work just yet,” Huang Jialing added. “Disciple Wen, have a good day.”

“Have a good day, Senior Huang.”

Huang Jialing grabbed the wolf by the neck like a misbehaving cub and carried the wolf away from Wen Zhihao and to the forest. Wen Zhihao was left behind, thinking.

Why did Zhou Sheng leave the Golden Sun Sect? He must have a complicated history. Is he the protagonist rather than Lin Yijun? If I had to vote, I would vote for Zhou Sheng, ba!

Bam! Paws thudded against the enclosure fencing.

“Grr!” Stop standing there catching butterflies in your head!

Wen Zhihao grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, let me give the kittens breakfast, okay?”

---

Meanwhile...

Last night, the group of Golden Sun Sect disciples had encountered their first group of resentful ghosts. Although ghosts had no corporal bodies, they still existed and were affected by qi. But instead of the violent battle they had anticipated, all of the weaker ghosts became dazed upon approaching them, and they only needed to subdue the stronger ones. One of the senior disciples was then able to slowly clear the resentment of some of the ghosts and send them either to the reincarnation cycle or to punishment.

When Sun Fuyu, as one of the most junior disciples, was sent away on an errand, the remaining ghosts immediately became more agitated. Sharp-eyed Hu Jingyan immediately realised that her cute shidi must be carrying a magical treasure.

“Sun-shidi, where did you get such a powerful ghost-subduing magical treasure?” Hu Jingyan asked.

Upon her question, many other cultivators looked to Sun Fuyu.

“Hu-shijie, I have no ghost-subduing treasure,” Sun Fuyu replied seriously. Magical treasures were expensive, and he was currently in the process of saving up for something else more important! Why would he get a costly ghost-subduing treasure?

Hu Jingyan said thoughtfully, “If not a ghost-subduing treasure, then something else…A heart-soothing treasure?”

Sun Fuyu’s eyes flickered. He slowly took a smooth blueish stone from his sleeve pocket. “I only have my ge’s rock. It helps me sleep.”

“What is this aura?” one of the cultivators exclaimed after they probed the stone. “Who made this? Such a powerful magical treasure! This is amazing!”

The cultivators around them looked at the rock in disbelief.

A rock. Not even a jewel. It wasn’t even symmetrical! How could this be a powerful magical treasure??!!

 

 

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Thank you to one of the commenters who made me realise that Wen Zhihao and his stones that Sun Fuyu carries around should also affect other creatures and beings too 😂

Aiya, it’s adding scenes like these that keep extending the chapter count 🤣🤣 I have my outline with the plot! But fluff keeps wanting to happen instead! 🤣🤣