Puppy
The kitten form was way too inconvenient. After struggling for a long time, Lu Congxing finally managed to bite onto the clothes that had fallen to the floor and drag them onto the sofa.
As soon as he made it, his entire body flopped down, turning into a fluffy puddle of fur on the couch.
He picked up his phone and checked his reflection. A well-behaved little kitten with white fur and blue eyes stared back at him.
It seemed that whenever he transformed into his cub form, his mind was slightly affected as well. He gave his fur a shake, licked his paw, and suddenly, his gaze was drawn to the swaying tail behind him.
Spinning in circles on the sofa, he chased after his own tail. After tiring himself out, he finally pressed it down with one paw and, with fierce determination, started licking the tip. But before he knew it, he had fallen asleep mid-lick.
. . . . .
A cheerful ringtone suddenly chimed, waking up the person sleeping on the sofa.
Annoyed by the rude awakening, Lu Congxing swiped his phone off the couch, but the ringtone kept playing persistently.
The default melody was bright and lively, carrying the freshness of an early morning.
Finally, unable to ignore it any longer, he picked up the call and answered groggily, “Hello?”
The moment he heard the soft, sleepy voice of a cub, Di Jiang was struck with guilt. He knew he had interrupted the cub’s rest.
If the bigshots at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs found out he was disturbing the cub’s quality sleep, they’d probably come at him with knives. Desperate to make up for it, he quickly said, “I have fantastic news! I landed a huge job! If we pull this off, you won’t have to worry about rent for an entire year!”
Lu Congxing’s beautiful eyes widened slightly as he forced himself to wake up a little. As he sat up, the blanket draped over his shoulders slipped down slightly, revealing his delicate collarbone.
His spiritual energy had only stabilized late last night, allowing him to shift back into human form. Since he hadn’t used his demonic power to conjure clothes, he was still completely bare. His skin was as smooth and pale as fine porcelain.
Di Jiang continued excitedly, “This job is from one of the richest people in the city. It’s guaranteed money—something we’d normally never have access to. If it weren’t for me…”
On the other end of the call, Di Jiang was still going on about his amazing feat of securing the job. Meanwhile, Lu Congxing simply set the phone aside and slowly got up to get dressed and freshen up.
He didn’t doubt Di Jiang’s words. After all, this guy was not only his good friend but also the only employee at their agency. While he was unreliable when it came to exorcisms, he was still a demon who had lived for over a hundred years. He had far more connections and was a much better talker than Lu Congxing. In fact, half of their agency’s jobs came from his smooth-talking skills alone.
Di Jiang had hyped up their tiny agency so much that, on paper, it sounded even more impressive than the prestigious human exorcist families that had been around for generations.
In reality, though, humans were still the true experts when it came to exorcisms. Demons and ghosts generally minded their own business—ghosts were once humans, and even after death, they posed no real threat to demons. Because of this, demons never paid much attention to vengeful ghosts. Humans, on the other hand, had passed down exorcism techniques for centuries.
But Lu Congxing was different. Misfortune had clung to him since birth. Even when he was just sleeping peacefully at night, female ghosts would crawl into his bed, trying to devour him.
It seems like he has a fatal attraction to all ghosts. Unlike demons, who always want to nuzzle and absorb his energy, ghosts just want to strip his skin, tear his tendons, and swallow him whole.
Before learning that he wasn’t actually human, Lu Congxing had already started studying exorcism. He had an exceptional talent for it—one in a million—and now, combined with his demonic powers, he was considered the pinnacle of exorcists.
That’s why every time Di Jiang promoted their agency, he never held back in boasting about Lu Congxing’s unparalleled abilities.
Lu Congxing timed everything perfectly. Just as he finished tidying himself up, he picked up his phone, and Di Jiang’s speech conveniently reached its conclusion.
Di Jiang, still unsatisfied, urged, “Xing Cub, hurry up and get over here! I’m waiting at the agency!”
Lu Congxing poured himself a glass of milk, downed it in one go, and replied with a milk mustache on his lips, “Don’t call me Xing Cub.”
He tried to sound more intimidating, but his just-woken-up voice carried no authority at all. Instead, it resembled a spoiled kitten’s whine.
“Alright, alright, just hurry up,” Di Jiang said dismissively.
The agency was just downstairs. Lu Congxing didn’t even need to take the elevator—just walking down one flight of stairs was enough.
“You’re finally here!” Di Jiang wailed dramatically, pouncing toward him.
Lu Congxing dodged effortlessly and tilted his head curiously. “Why are you dressed like that?”
Di Jiang was wearing a dark yellow Taoist robe with oversized azure sleeves, embroidered with strange symbols and swirling clouds. He even stuck a fake beard on his face.
If one ignored his slightly faded yellow hair, he actually did look somewhat convincing.
Di Jiang scratched his head indifferently. “I borrowed this from a film crew. Looks legit, right?”
Lu Congxing nodded seriously. “Yeah, looks just like a fraudster from a TV drama.”
Unfazed, Di Jiang carefully adjusted his treasured “Taoist robe” over and over again.
Humans recorded him in The Classic of Mountains and Seas1, claiming that all Di Jiangs were skilled in singing and dancing. In truth, not every Di Jiang had that talent. He himself wasn’t even the same one mentioned in the ancient texts. But, like his long-lost ancestor, he loved music and dance, so he was determined to become a superstar.
For now, though, he was just a small-time internet celebrity with only twelve thousand followers, stuck playing extras on film sets.
Not every Di Jiang called themselves by that name. To demons, “Di Jiang” was more of a species classification. They usually gave themselves unique names, which rarely matched the records of human folklore.
But Di Jiang, in his quest for stardom, decided to use Di Jiang as his stage name. Originally, within the Di Jiang family, he was simply known as “Xiao Si.”
“Have you made an appointment for this mission?” Lu Congxing walked toward the couch. His philosophy was simple: if he could sit, he would never stand.
Di Jiang replied cheerfully, “Of course! It’s set for 2 PM!”
Lu Congxing glanced at his phone. Only thirty minutes left.
Just as he sat down, he immediately sprang back up.
“Then we need to leave now.” He grabbed the car keys from under the coffee table.
Di Jiang gulped nervously. “Can’t we just take a taxi?”
Lu Congxing twirled the keys between his slender fingers and looked at him strangely. “Are you paying for the fare?”
The two broke, paycheck-to-paycheck freelancers exchanged a silent glance. The word poverty was written all over their faces.
Di Jiang sighed heavily in frustration. “Why won’t you just accept the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs’ subsidy? If you did, you could lie around and collect hundreds of thousands every month! Not to mention all those high-ranking demons who adore you—how many luxury cars and mansions have they already prepared for you?”
He had only just passed his hundredth year, and while he had been pampered as a child, that was only within his own clan. Among other high-ranking demons, he had never experienced the kind of treatment Lu Congxing got—being fought over and doted on.
If it weren’t for the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs’ director forbidding harassment of young demons during their independent growth, Lu Congxing wouldn’t be able to step outside without demons crowding his doorstep, eager to take in his scent.
Lu Congxing blinked. “Because I’m an adult now. Besides, doesn’t our agency have a car?”
Having been educated as a human since childhood, he couldn’t comprehend the idea that demons only reached adulthood after a hundred years. He blinked in confusion.
According to the Director of the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, he’s just a child who likes to immerse himself in his own world. Only when pushed by others will he cautiously extend his probes to touch this world.
Di Jiang shook his head repeatedly. “I really don’t know what kind of guardian it would take to keep an eye on you. Speaking of which, who is your guardian anyway? How irresponsible must they be to have not come looking for you yet?”
The man’s cold, indifferent gaze and the irritating sound of rain once again surfaced uncontrollably in Lu Congxing’s mind.
Trying to drive the thought out, he quickly changed the subject. “You’re driving later.”
Just as he finished speaking, they arrived at the car. Di Jiang looked at the beat-up vehicle in front of him—who knows how many hands it had passed through? It barely counted as a four-wheeled car—and let out a heavy sigh.
Lu Congxing handed him the keys, looking obedient and well-behaved. “I don’t have a driver’s license.”
Then he jumped straight into the backseat, pulled out his phone, and started playing a match-three game, flaunting his attractiveness with confidence.
Every time Di Jiang drove this car, he was on edge, afraid that some part of it would fall off in the middle of the road. Unable to hold back, he reminded him, “Once we get the big payout this time, we have to buy a new car!”
The only response he got was the victorious sound effect from the game.
Their client this time lived in a high-end villa district, a well-known wealthy neighborhood. Only the rich and powerful could afford to live here.
As soon as their dilapidated car entered the area, the security guards locked onto them and stopped them at the gate.
Even after Di Jiang explained their purpose, the guards still refused to let them drive inside.
While Di Jiang was busy arguing with them, Lu Congxing quietly slipped out of the car and walked inside.
He carefully observed everything in the area and quickly noticed that the feng shui here was excellent.
In places with good feng shui, yin energy and resentment dissipate quickly, making it difficult for vengeful ghosts to gather.
At the very least, if something supernatural was happening, it probably wasn’t caused by a lingering earthbound ghost.
Lu Congxing took out the note Di Jiang had given him, trying to locate their client’s house.
But just then, an all-too-familiar sense of unease surged up from his chest.
He had no time to resist and fell straight to the ground with a soft thud.
This time, his transformation back into a cub form was even more sudden and uncontrollable, leaving him no time to react. He never expected to suddenly change in the middle of a mission.
Quickly, he lifted his head and glanced around. Only after confirming that no one had noticed did he struggle out of the pile of clothes and stash them away in his personal storage.
The director of the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs hadn’t lied—his human form was becoming increasingly unstable. He needed to solve this problem as soon as possible; otherwise, it was only a matter of time before he transformed into an animal cub in public and ended up trending online.
Twitching his ears, he lifted a paw to rub his face. With his tail and ears drooping, Lu Congxing thought to himself—what kind of animal did I turn into this time?
A ball of fluffy white fur, like a sunlit marshmallow melting into a soft heap.
That marshmallow-like creature lay in the middle of the road, completely dejected and resigned to its fate.
Still adapting to his new cub form, Lu Congxing didn’t notice the black luxury car approaching behind him. It wasn’t until the sharp screech of brakes cut through the air that he realized just how close he had come to danger.
His little tail instinctively wagged as he turned to look back, only to see nothing but the car’s undercarriage from his tiny perspective.
Inside the car, a man with sharp, imposing features and a faintly menacing aura narrowed his dark eyes, a fleeting trace of emotion flashing through them. He raised his hand slightly, signaling the driver to check.
The driver had only caught a glimpse of something alive on the road, but knowing his boss’s temper, he didn’t dare hesitate. Without a word, he immediately got out of the car.
When he saw that Lu Congxing was still alive and kicking, he let out a huge sigh of relief before picking him up and handing him through the car window for He Zhouyan to see.
“Boss, it’s a puppy!”
Puppy Xing: Why does that sound like an insult…?
Unhappy, he lifted his eyes—only to freeze the moment he met the man’s gaze.
That face, both familiar and distant, belonged to the last person he wanted to see… his guardian.
- 帝江 (Dì jiāng) ↩︎
