Chapter 26 – The pitiful Tuanzi

Translator: ChuRen/ YuQiChen

After battling for a while, both the silkworm baby and the black cat finally collapsed from exhaustion.

Su Ling brushed off the sunflower seed husks, effortlessly picked up the collapsed black cat, and tied it up.

Meanwhile, Tuanzi climbed to Su Ling’s leg at a snail-like pace, gave him a small nudge, and shook its round head as if seeking praise.

Su Ling patted its head like an old father, fed it a pill, then pinched Tuanzi’s belly, contently saying, “Well done, you’ve slimmed down.”

Silkworm Baby: Chirp???

Su Ling lowered his head, playfully shook the cat in his hand.

The black cat glared at him resentfully, panting as it accused and gasped, “Huff… Meow! Huff…”

Su Ling couldn’t bear to look directly at it and sincerely advised, “Catch your breath before you start scolding, okay?”

The black cat widened its shiny green eyes, filled with sorrow and indignation.

Su Ling playfully flicked the cat’s head and then handed it towards the Judge, politely asking, “Since the Judge is here, I don’t need to make a special trip. How do you suggest handling this little cat?”

Wu Pan nodded solemnly, dignifiedly scratching a gray mist from the top of the cat’s head.

—It was Mr. Qian’s lifespan.

The black cat struggled fiercely in Su Ling’s hand.

Su Ling comfortingly smoothed its fur and said, “Things done willingly are beyond the underworld’s jurisdiction. But humans and ghosts have different paths. What you obtained by trickery doesn’t belong to you, and you can’t keep it.”

The black cat extended its sharp claws and tried to scratch Su Ling’s hand back.

Sheng Ze’s expression changed suddenly, about to intervene.

Then he saw Su Ling swiftly throw the black cat out of his hand. However, the direction of the throw was a bit awkward.

Wu Pan was hit full force by the fat cat, staggering, and his black cloak almost fell off.

Su Ling looked at him with a hint of fragility, “Judge, I didn’t mean to, do you believe me?”

Wu Pan: …I dare not disbelieve, Boss.

Mr. Qian almost leaped to the side as soon as the Judge produced that gray mist. However, under the pressure of the Judge, he could only watch with longing, not daring to intervene.

The Judge withdrew his aura coldly, completely ignoring Mr. Qian.

Su Ling couldn’t bear to watch and remarked, “This thing doesn’t belong to the black cat, but it doesn’t belong to you either.”

Mr. Qian trembled, biting his lower lip, “I understand, I understand…”

Su Ling smirked, “If you understand, try to control your expression a bit.”

Mr. Qian nodded randomly, then watched Wu Pan, desperately swallowing his saliva.

Wu Pan, unable to bear it any longer, raised his pen and directly locked Mr. Qian’s soul away.

Mr. Qian’s eldest son and second son stared blankly as their father’s soul turned into specks of light, scattered in the wind, completely dissipating into the air.

The two of them belatedly burst into tears.

Su Ling felt somewhat helpless, but life and death, well, although it was an accidental death, it was also part of the cycle of nature, inevitable.

In any case, the black cat was taken away by the Judge, and Mr. Qian was sent into reincarnation, finally bringing this commission to a complete end.

Su Ling looked wistfully at the back of the Taoist priests from the Sanqing Temple as they departed, envious in his tone, “Someone like Master Wu Chen is the ultimate goal I strive for.”

Sheng Ze raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Master Wu Chen, who was busy returning to restore the order, heard these words and involuntarily perked up his ears, slowed his steps, waiting for what would come next.

Su Ling sighed, “The Sanqing Temple doesn’t do anything significant, yet they can receive payment twice, truly the epitome of making money…”

Master Wu Chen stumbled, almost spitting out blood.

He covered his chest in despair, hurriedly pulling his two disciples away. From then on, the Sanqing Temple sparked a trend of diligent cultivation, eventually becoming one of the highest-ranking Taoist temples in the country in terms of Daoist practice.

Of course, that’s a story for another time…

After leaving the Qian family, Wu Pan couldn’t wait to take out his phone.

I’m Not a Bookworm inviting everyone to join: 《Absolutely no  Ghost King and Boss gossip group》.”

【Amitabha】: The name of this group is so straightforward and superficial…

【Meng Xiaoman, the Most Beautiful in the Universe】: Wu Pan, weren’t you taken by the Ghost King for manual labour?

【Chang Family’s Younger Brother】: Wu Pan, not only do you have to work hard under the supervision of the Ghost King, but you also have to be on your best behavior in front of the Boss. It’s terrifying just thinking about it…

【Chang Family’s Elder Brother】: [If you say that again, I’ll jump].jpg

【Chang Family’s Elder Brother】: This one’s for you, don’t mention it, @I’m Not a Bookworm.

【I’m Not a Bookworm】:…

‘I’m Not a Bookworm changed their name in the group to: Wu Pan is about to start gossiping!’

【Amitabha】: Amitabha~ I’m all ears!

【Wu Pan is about to start gossiping!】: Everyone, today I discovered two big gossip pieces, who wants to hear them, type 1.

【Meng Xiaoman, the Most Beautiful in the Universe】: 1!

【Chang Family’s Younger Brother】: 1

【Chang Family’s Elder Brother】: Childish. 11111111

【Amitabha】: Increasing the suspense, becoming more long-winded… 111111

【Wu Pan is starting gossip!】: Thanks for your support~ First, the first gossip is about the Ghost King, I noticed, the way he looks at the Boss, very, not, quite, right!

【Chang Family’s Younger Brother】: Oh.

【Amitabha】: Oh.

【Chang Family’s Elder Brother】: Oh.

【Meng Xiaoman, the Most Beautiful in the Universe】: …You only noticed now? Are you just thick-skinned or too straightforward?

【Wu Pan really has some major gossip to share!】: But it’s not just a normal look! Isn’t there a story between the Ghost King and our Boss?

【Amitabha】: …We noticed that a long time ago.

【Chang Family’s Elder Brother】: After all, the Ghost King isn’t like us, coming to the human realm to work when he’s bored.

【Amitabha】: That’s the way it is, but, Chang Wu, there’s no need to shoot yourself in the foot, right?

【Wu Pan is starting to feel sad】: Can you guys listen seriously? I have another big gossip— I feel like the Boss’s identity is very strange.

【Wu Pan is not only sad but also suspicious】: The Judge’s pen connects heaven and earth, communicates between yin and yang, isn’t constrained by time and space, you all get that, right? And today, when I lent the pen to the Boss, his aura started to become very off.

【Amitabha】: [Deep in thought].jpg

【Chang Family’s Younger Brother】: [Pretending to think].jpg

【Chang Family’s Elder Brother】: [Yawning].jpg

【Meng Xiaoman, the Most Beautiful in the Universe】: Hmm, your analysis makes sense… But to be honest, I’m more interested in the ambiguity between him and the Ghost King than his identity. Could you elaborate more on the first piece of gossip?

【Wu Pan finally gave up】: Okay.

…

As the days grew cooler, it was evident that summer was coming to an end this year.

With the decreasing temperatures, the silkworm baby became less active. Its favorite daily activity was curling up into a big white ball and lying at the entrance of the company to feel the breeze.

On the day before the beginning of autumn, the Su Ling Life Ltd Company welcomed another unique guest.

This time, it was a young girl named Ai Xi.

Ai Xi carried a large backpack on her back and wore thick bottle-bottom glasses, exuding an air of studiousness from head to toe.

Ai Xi tightly gripped the straps of her backpack, looking nervous. She hesitated in front of the company’s automatic door for a long time, circling around, before finally gathering the courage to enter.

However…

As she entered, she seemed to step on something white, soft, and quite elastic. It seemed like the carpet even made a faint “chirp” sound?

But due to her nervousness, Ai Xi didn’t dwell on it.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” Ai Xi’s timid voice echoed in the empty company.

—At this moment, everyone had rushed to the refrigerated room to have ice cream before the end of summer.

“Coming, coming!” Chang Bai heard the voice and, with a mungbean popsicle in his mouth, walked through the wall from the refrigerated room and directly in front of Ai Xi.

Ai Xi blinked, staring at him in bewilderment.

Shi Kongzang followed Chang Bai, licking a cream popsicle and mumbled, “Haha, another one stunned.”

Ai Xi blinked again, then furrowed her brows slowly and quietly asked Shi Kongzang, “Can you see the person standing in front of me?”

Shi Kongzang, puzzled, glanced at Chang Bai and nodded, “Yes, I can see him.”

Ai Xi seemed even more puzzled, “Did you see that he just crawled out of the wall?”

Shi Kongzang: …

Oh no, during this time of no human contact, everyone has gone wild!

Chang Bai lightly licked the mungbean popsicle, raised an eyebrow slightly, his peach blossom eyes charmingly inviting, and in an instant, a thin layer of mist covered them, shimmering and radiant.

He blinked, smiling in a very charming way, “Did I?”

—The dignified White Impermanence had actually resorted to using his looks to get by!

However…

Ai Xi nodded very seriously, “Hmm, I don’t think I saw wrong.”

One could say she was extremely uninterested in appearance.

Chang Bai choked suddenly, feeling defeated.

Shi Kongzang burst into laughter.

“Xiao Bai isn’t an ordinary person, he’s different from everyone else. Would you mind him?” Su Ling held a strawberry-shaped ice cream, smiling at Ai Xi.

Ai Xi earnestly replied, “I wouldn’t.”

Su Ling magically produced a box of ice cream, handing it to Ai Xi, coaxing, “Good girl.”

Then, he turned to Chang Bai, raised an eyebrow, and silently mouthed: Done!

Chang Bai pressed his temples in speechless resignation.

“Miss, do you have any business here?” Shi Kongzang asked.

Ai Xi looked down at the ice cream in her palm, feeling a bit less nervous. She opened her mouth to speak but suddenly heard an extremely aggrieved sound beside her—

“Gu—ji—!”

The silkworm baby, with tears in its eyes, crawled over slowly, with a pair of black footprints on its snowy white body.

The contrast in colors was very striking.

“Gu ji, Gu ji Gu ji, Gu ji…”

The silkworm baby rubbed against Su Ling’s trouser leg, frantically showing off the footprints on its back, while also lamenting the inhumane treatment it had just received!

Ai Xi stared in astonishment at this ‘ball’.

Although she didn’t understand its words, the pattern of those footprints did look familiar…

Su Ling earnestly held the head of Tuanzi, patiently listening to its complaints, then lifted its head, weighed it a few times, and solemnly said, “Hmm, have you gotten fat again?”

The angry ball: Gu!!!!

“Okay, okay, I understand, you just got stepped on, a bath will fix it… Alright, alright, I’ll avenge you, but let me greet my guests first… Oh, right, young lady, what were you about to say?” Su Ling suddenly looked up at Ai Xi.

Ai Xi calmly adjusted her glasses, then turned and walked away, “After giving it some thought, the almanac says it’s not a good day to travel, so I’ll come back another day.”

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