Chapter 21

When they returned home, the cub was still asleep. Lang Xiao placed the child on the bed, then cleaned the two bags of meat he had brought back and sliced them into large chunks on plates.

One plate held a freshly slaughtered whole chicken, and the other held nearly two pounds of beef—both raw. Although they loved the various delicacies made by humans, the two monsters were kitchen idiots; they could manage to boil water at best, but anything more was beyond them.

Hu Yuanfei looked at the two large plates of meat, stood up, went into the kitchen to retrieve two more plates, and divided the chicken and beef equally between them.

"Let's eat."

Lang Xiao glanced at him and began to tear into the food with large bites. They hadn't eaten so heartily in a long time, and when the fox finally lay down, his belly was round and full. That night, the family of three slept soundly.

The next day, the sky grew overcast again, threatening rain. Winter rain was the most bothersome—chilly and damp. In the past, the fox would never go out in winter rain; it was too difficult to find prey. Sure enough, it began to drizzle by mid-morning, with sleet mixed in that melted into water before it even hit the ground.

Hu Yuanfei lay on the balcony, gazing up at the gray, misty sky outside. "I don't want to go out and work today." He swiped aimlessly at his phone screen. There wasn't much chatter in the group chat; clearly, everyone felt lethargic in this weather and just wanted to stay curled up.

Lang Xiao lay on the other side, motionless. In past winters, she would focus on cultivation, but this year, her practice time had been drastically reduced. Every now and then, she had to check on the cub to ensure she didn't bump her head or pull on electrical wires.

After eating and drinking her fill, Qingyao was full of energy. She had crawled all over the house, burrowing under tables and beds, and even attempting to squeeze under the sofa, like a little kitten that could never sit still.

Lang Xiao glanced at Qingyao, who was busy mopping the floor with her body as she crawled around. She flicked her tail, and suddenly, the tip of it detached. The severed section fell to the ground and transformed into a small wolf, not much bigger than Qingyao. The little wolf had a bold, tiger-like head, tiny ears, and a short tail.

When Qingyao looked up and saw the small wolf, her eyes widened in surprise for a moment before she quickly crawled toward it, hands raised to pin it down. To her surprise, the little wolf was incredibly fast and darted away. As if she had found a playmate, Qingyao giggled and lunged at the wolf again, and the two began to romp around the living room.

Finally, Lang Xiao closed her eyes in peace.

After playing for half the morning, Qingyao finally exhausted her energy and lay quietly on the little wolf's belly, staring blankly.

Just as the family enjoyed this moment of tranquility, a knock echoed at the door. Qingyao jerked her head up. Lang Xiao sensed who it was and used her demonic power to open the door.

Since moving in, no one ever visited except for property management or the gas company, but they did have one regular visitor who came once a month.

The moment the visitor entered, he ignored the two large monsters on the balcony and happily shook the toy in his hand, calling out to Qingyao. "Little Qingyao, do you remember your uncle? Come and see what gift I’ve brought you!"

Qingyao looked at his beaming face, quickly became drawn to the object in his hands, and crawled forward. The man happily crouched down and opened his arms to catch her.

Hu Yuanfei put down his phone and walked over with an elegant gait. "Daoist Wen Yuan, why are you here again?"

Indeed, it was Daoist Wen Yuan who visited regularly.

From the very beginning, he had coveted Qingyao’s natural talent and wanted to take her back to his sect, but he had been sternly rejected by the two monsters. He stopped trying to persuade them, but once he learned their new address, he started showing up with gifts. Initially, they thought it was just a polite social call, but they hadn't expected him to show up every month.

"Isn't the Daoist very busy? How do you always have time to come here?"

Daoist Wen Yuan chuckled. "I just happened to have business in Feilai Xinghuan City, so I thought I’d drop by to see you all."

Even with business, one couldn't justify a monthly visit. Both monsters knew what he was thinking, but they didn't call him out.

Daoist Wen Yuan pulled another bag inside and placed the items before them. "These are gifts for you."

The bag contained several talismans. Lang Xiao hesitated and didn't touch them. "What are these?"

"These are Heart-Cleansing and Qi-Gathering Talismans. Your cultivation progress must be very slow in a human city; these talismans can help clear your mind and boost your cultivation."

Although the two monsters had accepted human kindness before, they didn't believe a Daoist could be so generous toward two monsters. Lang Xiao stared at Daoist Wen Yuan without moving.

"If you have a motive, you can just state it. Don't play these games."

Daoist Wen Yuan sighed. "I am sincere. I have no intention of harming you. At most, if there is any trouble in the future, I hope you might be able to help out."

"With so many powerful Daoists and monks, and humans having such formidable weapons, why would you need us demons to help?"

"It’s because your cultivation is high; we can’t compare. Human weapons work against humans, but they aren't very effective against demons and ghosts," he grumbled. "I don't know why, but over the past few years, the frequency of demons and ghosts appearing has increased, making them very difficult to handle."

In the past, when they encountered powerful entities, Daoist Ling Yun was there. Now, few could surpass Ling Yun. Every time they dealt with a ghost, they had to call for backup—summoning several people at once—otherwise, there was a high risk of being killed.

Lang Xiao said coldly, "We can help with small matters as long as it's within the city. We have to take care of our cub; we don't have that much time."

"I can help take care of her," Daoist Wen Yuan immediately interjected.

Lang Xiao narrowed her eyes. He quickly raised his hands. "Only temporarily! I mean nothing else by it. If Qingyao doesn't want to go with me, I won't force her. If you like these talismans, I’ll bring more next time."

Hu Yuanfei had already touched the talismans. He pressed his claw onto a Qi-Gathering Talisman and channeled a bit of demonic power. The runes on the talisman lit up, and a gentle breeze swirled in the room—a breeze that felt like a cold, clear spring in the middle of spring. His own demonic power began to rotate and condense instinctively.

In just this short moment, he had gained the equivalent of a full day’s cultivation.

Hu Yuanfei’s eyes lit up. This was good stuff. It was rare to have such a feeling in the city. If he could have this every day, he wouldn't have to worry about his cultivation. However, when he moved his claw away, he noticed the talisman had dimmed slightly compared to before.

Daoist Wen Yuan explained, "The use of these talismans is limited. With my current ability, one talisman can only be used three times. I brought ten this time."

The two monsters could only split five each, which wouldn't last long. Hu Yuanfei muttered, "Stingy. Why so few?"

Daoist Wen Yuan looked like he was about to pull his own beard out. "Stingy? These ten took me a long time to draw! I can only draw one at a time!"

Among most people, his talent was already quite impressive—a single talisman of his could be used three times, whereas everyone else's were one-time disposables. Yet these two monsters still called him stingy!

He simply sat cross-legged on the floor and lifted Qingyao, who was clutching her new toy. "If you want better talismans, there is a good way: let this child learn to draw them. She has natural spiritual energy and excellent innate talent; perhaps the talismans she draws could be used many times over."

Like Simba being raised up, Qingyao, suddenly lifted into the air, blinked her large eyes and looked around in confusion, not understanding what was happening. But when she was set down, she tugged at the Daoist's arm to signal him to do it again.

And so, she was repeatedly lifted high and set back down. Daoist Wen Yuan was relaxed at first, but after several times, his expression became somewhat strained, his arms aching and swollen. This child was truly a little dumpling.

The two monsters heard his suggestion again, and this time, they didn't immediately refuse. Learning a Daoist's skills would be a good thing for Qingyao. Since it was the Daoist who would be teaching, they wouldn't go out of their way to seek it out themselves.

The atmosphere between them gradually became friendlier. The two monsters lay down around Qingyao and began to chat idly. They were curious about what kind of demons and ghosts were appearing nowadays. Daoist Wen Yuan told them about the things he had encountered, and the two monsters would occasionally respond with sounds of disdain or admiration.

During the conversation, they touched upon Qingyao’s background. The two monsters still hadn't fully grasped what had happened at her home; the police hadn't told them much, and they had never entered that villa to investigate.

Daoist Wen Yuan said, "When it comes down to it, it was all for money. When Qingyao’s grandfather, Liu Zhongyong, was young, he obtained a statue from somewhere. As long as he offered chickens and ducks to the statue, his business would improve. He was just a small-time trader back then, but because of that statue, his business grew larger and larger, and he eventually started a company. But the statue’s appetite grew, too. It was no longer satisfied with chickens and ducks; the offerings changed to large animals like cows, sheep, and deer. When the Liu family’s company grew, the statue demanded a change in offerings again—this time, it wanted humans."

Liu Zhongyong hadn't been a particularly evil person at the start. Like most people, he just wanted to run a good business, make money, and live a comfortable life; he never intended to commit murder. But the evil god could make his business prosper just as easily as it could ruin it. Seeing his hard-earned company about to vanish in an instant, Liu Zhongyong hardened his heart and presented the sacrifice.

Back in those days, public security wasn't as tight as it was now. It was simple to make someone disappear without a trace, and so the practice of human sacrifice began. Later, as security improved and it became harder to target people, the Liu family began investing in and opening orphanages all over the country; children without parents would be adopted, only to disappear without a trace.

The Liu family became one of the wealthiest households in the country. This continued until the day of Liu Zhongyong's birthday, when the whole family was present. The evil god took a fancy to the spiritually gifted Qingyao.

Trading a granddaughter for a further boost in his career seemed like a profitable deal to Liu Zhongyong; she was just a girl, and he could always have more.

But Qingyao’s parents could never agree to that. Her father, Liu Zhengwen, had grown up abroad and wasn't involved in the company's affairs; he didn't know the family worshipped an evil god. When he learned his daughter was to be sacrificed, the couple immediately grabbed the child and tried to flee.

But they failed.

The desperate and furious mother tried to smash the statue, and in its rage, the evil god consumed her directly. Liu Zhengwen went insane in that instant. He hated his father for worshipping the evil god, and he hated the relatives who had urged him to sacrifice his daughter. In his madness, he turned on his relatives. The villa instantly descended into chaos, and the smell of blood spilled from the upper floors to the bottom.

Perhaps the evil god was satisfied from having just eaten one person, or perhaps it was stimulated by the scent of blood, but it did not stop as it usually did. Instead, it went on a killing spree inside the villa.