Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 89: Family Relations

The sun rose as usual, and the city outside gradually woke up.

Each of the cultivators took turns checking on Xiao Luo’s condition, but none of them could do anything. No one knew exactly what had gone wrong, only that he had probably triggered a taboo.

With no way to treat him, they had no choice but to leave him in the room. Thankfully, Xiao Luo was an experienced Disaster Resolver. Though his speech was impaired, he remained relatively calm, quietly curling up in a corner.

Da Luo stayed behind to watch over him, and Zhuang Pengdao assigned one of his disciples to assist. Fang Xiu made sure they had enough food and water.

With that, the group heading out for investigation was reduced to eight.

In the morning sunlight, the Disaster Resolvers sat around with heavy heads, eating mechanically.

“You can’t lose consciousness? That’s a brutal rule.” Yan Yan’s hair was a mess, and he kept muttering, “This is killing me. I’m so tired I could die…”

Jiao Jiao: “A human can survive about a week without sleep. As long as we break through soon, we’ll be fine.”

“But by day two or three we’ll all be brain-dead! I can barely think already.” Yan Yan gnawed on a chicken leg mournfully.

“Think of your true form. If your body curls into a ball, you’ll look even more like a haunted wig.” Jiao Jiao reminded him solemnly.

Yan Yan shut up instantly and started pinching his thigh hard.

Fang Xiu slowly drank something sweet, trying to adjust to the heaviness in his head. After finishing, he buried his face in Bai Shuangying’s sleeve for a moment, then looked up and asked, “What’s the plan for today?”

Zhuang Pengdao’s expression was serious. “We’re running out of time. It’s best to split into two teams again. Four per group. One group investigates the woman, the other examines environmental changes.”

“Since Fang Xiu was recognized yesterday, we’ll handle the woman this time. To ensure objectivity, each team should send one member to accompany the other.”

Jiao Jiao thought for a moment. “We’re only tailing her to confirm her identity. There’s no need for Yan Yan’s nose. I’m not good at combat, so I’ll go with Zhuang Ge.”

Fang Xiu glanced at his three teammates instinctively.

Cheng Songyun’s ghost shield was too valuable. Sending her with Zhuang Pengdao would be a waste. Guan He was great at tracking, but too young and easy to read. That left…

“I’ll go with Miss Jiao.” Mei Lan unexpectedly took the initiative and stood up. “My abilities aren’t suited to field investigation. And if communication is needed, it’s more appropriate for a woman to approach.”

Zhuang Pengdao turned to look at her. He didn’t say anything and his polite smile remained unchanged.

Fang Xiu quickly agreed, eyes shifting between Mei Lan and Zhuang Pengdao.

……

For those who hadn’t slept all night, even gentle morning light felt blinding.

Once the teams split, Yan Yan wandered the streets with Fang Xiu’s group, looking groggy and unsteady. The streets looked the same. Aside from strange characters on some signs, people went about their business, and the atmosphere was oddly peaceful.

After confirming the split, Fang Xiu activated his special skill and summoned the little black dog. A gust of wind later, the dog plopped onto the ground and bounded excitedly between him and Bai Shuangying.

Fang Xiu patted its head. The little dog nosed eagerly at his palm.

Then it spotted Yan Yan. Its ears shot up, tongue tucked in, and its gaze locked onto him. Yan Yan instinctively shivered. “What is that…?”

“My anomaly skill,” Fang Xiu explained.

The dog was a ghost immortal and immune to taboos. Even if it couldn’t fight, it was an invaluable asset.

The little black dog crept to Yan Yan’s feet and sniffed around meaningfully. Yan Yan pulled his legs back and laughed awkwardly. “Cute… what’s its name?”

“It doesn’t have one yet. You can just call it Little Dog.”

Fang Xiu paused a moment before adding, “It’s not really my pet. Let’s just say this little guy specializes in reconnaissance. It’ll help take some pressure off your nose.”

The dog lifted its head proudly and barked twice.

Fang Xiu pulled a piece of rope from his pocket and looped it around the dog, just in case. Even Yan Yan needed a leash in this place. It was better not to stand out.

Yan Yan relaxed slightly and mumbled, “They’re doing the big stuff. What about us? This place is huge. How long’s it gonna take us to check everything…”

“We’re going to the police station.” 

Fang Xiu pulled out the wrapping paper the helpful shopkeeper had given him. A simple map was drawn on it.

Yan Yan: “……”

“Bro, in this situation, what good is reporting to the cops gonna do? They can’t fix Xiao Luo. If anything, we should be heading to a hospital.”

“But a visit to the police could tell us if this place is real, and how sealed off it really is.”

Guan He responded firmly, “Police stations are hard to fake. And they have to communicate with outside agencies. We can just ask.”

As expected of a sixteen-year-old full of energy, Guan He was the most alive among them after a sleepless night.

Yan Yan grumbled, “Fine.”

He figured this was busywork for mortals, like being a sub on a soccer team, doing something just to avoid wasting time.

He’d rather be investigating the woman. That sounded serious and exciting. But he was tougher than Jiao Jiao, so this group division wasn’t exactly wrong.

As he thought, he reached out to pet the dog. It immediately bared its teeth and growled. Its tail didn’t even wag.

Yan Yan: “Seriously? Animals hate me in the human world, and the Underworld’s pets hate me too!”

Fang Xiu was surprised to find someone with worse animal luck than himself. “I thought fox demons would be popular with animals. Guess you’re not meant to have pets.”

Yan Yan’s face twitched into an awkward smile. “We have a pet at home. My mom didn’t marry my dad with a marriage license. They filed for a pet license. My dad doesn’t have a human ID. Ha.”

Cheng Songyun was stunned. “Then how do your parents take planes or high-speed trains?”

“If the distance is short, my dad runs there using spells. If it’s far, they put him in pet transport. He transforms back into human form when they meet.” Yan Yan spoke blankly. “Magic-based fake IDs might fool normal folks, but airport security’s tough.”

Cheng Songyun, who had lived half her life, had never heard of such a bizarre family.

She cleared her throat and changed the subject like a pro. “Sounds complicated. You didn’t get a household registration until you took human form, right? Wasn’t it dangerous for your mom to give birth outside a hospital?”

Maybe it was the dull walk, or maybe insomnia had lowered his defenses, but Yan Yan actually replied, “It wasn’t too bad. She’s rich. Hired metaphysical doctors and private nurses for the birth.”

“When I was born, my dad’s whole family came to help—grandparents, uncles, aunts, the lot. They used spells to assist. My mom met the whole extended family that day. She was thrilled.”

Cheng Songyun: “…”

“Out of all the foxes in the world, I’m her least favorite.” Yan Yan grumbled, “She said I wasn’t cute as a baby. I ran around like a Roomba with a wig. My dad always said I didn’t work hard enough at transforming. And look who’s talking. He got caught by my mom because he left his ears and tail exposed, and that’s why my mom took a fancy to him!”

Fang Xiu had no idea how to respond. He’d never encountered a family dynamic so incomprehensible.

Even though Yan Yan seemed genuinely annoyed, the three humans couldn’t relate at all.

“Your family sounds well-off. So how did you end up with a blood debt?” Guan He thought for a moment and asked.

Yan Yan didn’t dodge the question. He lowered his head. “Got drunk after graduating college. Slipped up and showed my true form. My roommate freaked out, fell… hit the back of his head on a table corner. That’s it.”

“I took full responsibility. Haven’t touched alcohol since. Who knew there’d be an Underworld sacrifice ritual after that…”

His tone was full of guilt, regret, and frustration. There wasn’t a hint of a lie. It was hard to say whether he or a generic magical girl had the more absurd backstory.

Well, Mr. Yan, Fang Xiu thought, your parents were right. You really didn’t try hard enough to master your transformation.

Guan He was straightforward. Since Yan Yan had been honest, he also came clean about his own blood debt. Unlike his earlier breakdown, he could now talk about it himself.

Being similar in age, Yan Yan and Guan He quickly drifted into a conversation about parent-child relationships. Chatting away, the group eventually arrived at the police station.

……

Huangsu Precinct, Youzhao City.

Officer Xiao Zhou took a sip of strong tea from his thermos. Lately, he’d been sleeping poorly and often felt groggy during the day, getting chewed out more than once.

Luckily, his precinct was peaceful. The bloodiest cases were drunken brawls, and the scariest involved telecom fraud. He hadn’t seen a single homicide since he started working here.

Today was unusual. Four out-of-towners showed up, claiming their suitcase had been stolen.

“Our IDs and everything were in that suitcase,” said a young man wearing a red T-shirt. He hugged his arms tightly, lips slightly blue from the cold. “Please, Officer… It’s really important to us.”

Xiao Zhou scanned the group.

One middle-aged woman, one underage boy, and… a red-haired anime guy. It was a strange mix, but not suspicious.

The young man in the red T-shirt was unusually good-looking. His clear, bright eyes had nothing in common with “bad”.

According to him, they were from a southern city and had been tricked by someone who was supposed to pick them up. The four of them lost everything—suitcase, phones, the works. Total disaster.

He even gave a detailed description of the scammer: a woman in her thirties or forties wearing a burgundy sweater with permed hair and no nail polish.

Once the report was filed, Xiao Zhou led them to a warm reception room and brewed a large pot of tea.

“Please give me your ID info too.”

Officer Xiao Zhou said professionally, “I’ll contact your families. We’ll check the office building’s security footage. Don’t worry, get warmed up. We’ll feed you lunch at noon.”

He then ran back to his office and started checking the ID numbers provided.

What he didn’t know was that a white figure stood silently behind him, staring unblinking at the screen.

“Let’s see… Cheng Songyun, daughter listed… Guan He, mother available… Yan Yan—damn, the son of business tycoon Yan Jiaqian?”

Xiao Zhou quickly jotted down notes, murmuring aloud.

“Fang Xiu… Fang Xiu… Got it. Emergency contact: Yuan Ye.”

“Well, what do you know. A fellow professional.”

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