Chirp
“You’re back!” The director excitedly reached out, trying to grab their hands.
But he stopped abruptly when he noticed the imposing man standing behind Lu Congxing.
In disbelief, he stammered, “Pr-President He ?!”
Lu Congxing glanced back in confusion. “You know him?”
The director swallowed nervously, straightening his posture. “Of course! President He is my idol!”
Although anyone who paid even the slightest attention to financial news would have heard of He Zhouyan, he rarely accepted media interviews. Even a proper frontal photo of him was hard to find online.
Yet, the director had recognized him instantly—and even seemed to admire him.
The cub’s curious gaze was blatantly direct. In a rare display of good mood, He Zhouyan gave a slight nod to the bystanders.
Sensing that the man had no intention of engaging in conversation, the director wisely led the crowd to retreat.
To avoid shocking these poor humans too much, Lu Congxing didn’t outright say that Wang Xing and the others had been devoured by a starving ghost. Instead, he tactfully stated that they had yet to be found.
There was a special department responsible for handling supernatural incidents, working in collaboration with exorcists. They would officially confirm the victims’ deaths.
The rescue team had already called, stating they would arrive in two hours—much faster than expected.
The village remained eerily silent. The voices of people had completely vanished.
The moment Di Jiang spotted He Zhouyan from afar, he immediately hid, pretending to disappear.
Bored, Lu Congxing suddenly asked curiously, “What will happen to the living dead in the village?”
He Zhouyan replied, “Do you want to see?”
“Mm!”
Like a doting parent indulging a child, he took the cub along without hesitation. Completely unaware of what it meant to protect a cub’s mental well-being, Bai Ze—who had never raised a cub before—had no concept of shielding one from bloodshed and violence.
Fortunately, Lu Congxing was no ordinary cub. He had dealt with many kinds of ghosts from a young age, with every ghost he encountered wanting to devour him. No matter how terrifying the scene was, it was merely routine for him.
They casually pushed open the door of a house that was supposedly still occupied. Inside, the traces of daily life were faint. The people who once lived there had long disappeared, replaced by a foul-smelling pool of black liquid on the ground.
This was the price of making a deal with malevolent ghosts—losing even their souls. Both their physical bodies and spirits had perished long ago, leaving behind nothing but empty shells. These shells moved through their daily routines based on muscle memory, trapped in an endless cycle.
Although the strange lake had been retrieved, the starving ghosts exorcised, and the empty shells freed from their cycle of time and desire, nothing could restore the souls that had already been devoured.
. . . . .
After the rescue team brought them out, He Zhouyan used a tiny bit of his financial power to bring Lu Congxing straight home.
Lu Congxing glanced back. “Don’t I need to give a statement?”
Ironically, after refusing He Zhouyan’s ride earlier that day, he still ended up in his car.
There were only two people inside. The peculiar yet not unpleasant scent of the car’s incense seemed to have a calming effect, making Lu Congxing lower his guard slightly.
He Zhouyan glanced at him and said concisely, “No need. A cub shouldn’t still be outside this late.”
Words of concern, when spoken from the man’s cold and firm lips, carried a somewhat forceful tone.
Originally meant as a caring remark, the words carried an undeniable tone of authority when spoken in the man’s cold, firm voice.
He paused for a moment, suddenly feeling a little frustrated.
It was said that a cub were highly sensitive to emotions, so one couldn’t be too forceful when speaking to them. Not to mention, this particular cub didn’t seem to like him very much from the start.
But Lu Congxing’s reaction was much more obedient and soft than expected. He curved his eyes into a polite smile and said, “Thank you, Mr. He.”
He Zhouyan: “…Mm.”
The corners of his mouth involuntarily lifted slightly, and a rare trace of gentleness appeared in his eyes.
“Goodbye, Mr. He.” Lu Congxing stood at his own doorstep and waved at He Zhouyan.
Their homes were only a short distance apart.
He Zhouyan responded in a deep voice, “Mm.”
He could feel the cub’s attitude toward him had shifted—at the very least, there was no longer outright resistance. Even though this trip to the mountains didn’t result in capturing the mountain god, he didn’t feel the slightest bit regretful.
The moment Lu Congxing shut the door, he was greeted by his panda-shaped alarm clock.
It bounced over energetically and handed him a pair of slippers. “Welcome home!”
“Thank you.”
The mirror ghost also emerged from the mirror, looking just as unkempt as ever. “What took you so long? And why do you smell weird? Your scent isn’t even appetizing anymore.”
“A weird scent?”
Lu Congxing sniffed himself. Having gotten used to being constantly surrounded by Bai Ze’s spiritual energy, he had nearly failed to recognize its presence.
The ancient divine beast Bai Ze’s energy had blended so closely with his own pure spiritual energy that their connection seemed even more entwined than their actual relationship.
After some thought, Lu Congxing decided to take a shower, using the special soap produced by the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. In an instant, all traces of He Zhouyan’s scent were washed away.
However, the consequence of doing so was an immediate spiritual energy imbalance—causing him to revert to his cub form.
He wanted to let out a sigh of frustration, but as soon as he opened his mouth, all that came out was a soft chirpy, “Chirp!”
Raising his tiny, stubby wings, he found himself covered in fine, fluffy, pale-yellow feathers.
It seemed he had transformed into some kind of bird.
Now resembling a round little ball, Lu Congxing flapped his wings with all his might, clumsily wobbling onto his bed. He used his claws to swipe open his phone and checked his messages.
He noticed two unfamiliar friend requests.
One was from someone with the single-character name “Gu,” while the other was rather straightforwardly named “Bai Ze.”
Lu Congxing wasn’t sure how they had gotten his contact information, and with a complicated feeling, he hesitated for a moment before accepting.
His tiny black eyes were filled with deep thought—until a message popped up the very next second, leaving him startled.
Bai Ze: [Still awake?]
He hadn’t expected such an instant response. For some reason, Lu Congxing felt a little nervous. A small tuft of his pale-yellow fluff even stood upright on his head.
He struggled to type with his tiny claws and replied: [About to sleep now.]
Bai Ze: [Mm.]
It seemed that He Zhouyan’s online personality was just as taciturn as in real life.
Since typing with his claws was too exhausting, Lu Congxing put his phone aside and didn’t reply further.
He slowly curled up on his soft pillow, now just a round, fluffy, pale-yellow ball. His tiny beak busied itself with grooming his feathers.
He had spent several days with He Zhouyan without experiencing any spiritual energy fluctuations, yet now that he had reverted to his cub form, everything felt strangely unfamiliar.
For a moment, he even considered going next door, rubbing against He Zhouyan’s fingertips, and secretly absorbing a little of his spiritual energy.
Though… the other might just find him ridiculous, or worse—mistake him for a silly, chubby little bird that got lost in the wind.
This terrifying urge to act spoiled was something he attributed to the dependency mindset that came with turning into a cub. Fortunately, reason still held the upper hand. The little fluffy pale-yellow ball groomed its feathers while slowly dozing off with a pitiful expression.
What he didn’t know was that on the other end of the phone, He Zhouyan had been staring at his screen for a full two hours after sending his reply. Only after confirming that the cub had probably gone to sleep and wouldn’t respond did he finally shift his gaze away.
He took the bell filled with the strange lake water and flew toward the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. His massive true form flickered through the night sky, not even disturbing the thin clouds as he passed.
. . . . .
The azure phoenix circled high above, golden light flowing along the shadow chains, displaying the boundless wonders of the world within a single hall.
It had only been a short time since his last visit, yet the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs had already adopted a new interior design.
Lu Congxing had just returned home from the mountains when, the very next day, he received a call from the Bureau’s director, asking him to come over as soon as possible.
So, as soon as he transformed back into human form this morning, he rushed over. Since he hadn’t arrived early to wait for He Zhouyan, he naturally missed out on absorbing Bai Ze’s spiritual energy.
At this point, he was at constant risk of turning back into a cub.
The moment the cub stepped through the door, the high-ranking demons who had been following closely behind immediately sensed his low spirits. They watched him warily and asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”
Looking at the circle of demons surrounding him, Lu Congxing shook his head to indicate that he was fine.
The high-ranking demons clutched their chests dramatically. “Ah, our little cub is so considerate!”
A thousand-year-old tree demon shyly extended a fruit. “Here, don’t be sad.”
As if breaking some kind of taboo, the demons all suddenly began pulling out gifts, eager to offer something to the cub.
The scene quickly descended into chaos.
The lucky cat demon at the front desk, already used to this, raised her voice and shouted, “Don’t block the cub! The director needs to see him!”
No one listened. Puffing out her cheeks, she yelled again, “Don’t leave a bad impression on the cub!”
That did the trick. In an instant, the once-crowded area parted like the Red Sea, creating a clear path for the cub to walk through.
And so, under the eager gazes of the high-ranking demons, Lu Congxing entered the director’s office.
The door shut behind him, cutting them off completely.
The director of the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs rubbed his forehead. “Every time you come here, the place turns into a circus.”
Normally, these demons wouldn’t set foot in the bureau without a good reason. But the moment the cub appeared, it was like a pack of dogs catching the scent of fresh meat—rushing in from miles away just to bask in the pure spiritual energy.
If not for the milk-flavored snacks that had been specially prepared for the cub in the office, the director’s exasperation might have seemed more genuine.
In truth, the moment the cub stepped in, this ancient beast, Taotie, had nearly let his tail slip out in excitement, ready to wag with joy.
Lu Congxing walked over and grabbed a small candy to eat. “What’s the urgent matter?”
The director finally became serious. “Yesterday, Bai Ze returned the strange lake that was stolen from the Southern Abyss a few years ago. That’s when I realized you had been to such a dangerous place. The purer one’s spiritual energy, the more easily it gets devoured by that lake. If He Zhouyan hadn’t been there at the time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.”
Lu Congxing blinked. “I had no idea about this.”
No wonder he had felt so uncomfortable when he stood a little farther away from He Zhouyan to observe the lake. But the moment He Zhouyan touched him, that feeling disappeared.
Back then, seeing how effortlessly He Zhouyan retrieved the strange lake, he had thought it was a simple task. He never imagined it had been such a difficult situation.
The director’s frown deepened. He had immediately investigated everyone who had taken the cub there, but he found nothing unusual.
It all seemed like a coincidence—the film crew just happened to choose that mountain for their shoot, a starving ghost with considerable cultivation happened to be disguising itself as a mountain god, and the strange lake just so happened to be using that ghost as a reserve food source.
One event led to another, ultimately guiding Lu Congxing straight to the strange lake.
The strangest part was that Bai Ze sensed the presence of the mountain god at that exact moment. But the mountain god had long since abandoned its position and left the mountain, as if it had intentionally lured him there.
At that same time, the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs finally detected the abyssal energy that it had never been able to detect before, and Bai Ze became the obvious choice for further investigation.
If someone had been orchestrating all of this from behind the scenes, did they also know that the Star Disk had calculated He Zhouyan’s spiritual energy to be a perfect match with the cub’s?
Author’s Note:
the small Bai Ze is going offline.