As summer approached, the sun had not completely set by six o’clock. The fiery clouds spread across the sky, making the entire world look like an old, color-tinted photograph. Xu Dongyou felt a strange sense of disconnection from the world.
Everything that had happened in the past few days was too sudden and bizarre.
The seemingly ordinary world actually concealed so many unknown secrets—evil spirits, the demon clan, the bureau, and even the existence of mysterious beings from legends and myths.
And also… he was no longer human.
Xu Dongyou found that he accepted this quite well, except for feeling a bit disappointed that his true form looked very much like a glutinous rice ball.
It wasn’t until the taxi slowly stopped that Xu Dongyou snapped out of his thoughts and looked towards the entrance of his neighborhood, feeling a bit of anxiety about returning home.
After getting out of the car, Xu Dongyou stood at the entrance of the neighborhood against the light, his silhouette appearing particularly lonely in the setting sun.
The neighborhood supermarket owner noticed Xu Dongyou as he came out to tidy up and immediately greeted him warmly, “Dongyou, you’re back?”
Xu Dongyou came to his senses, nodded, and then felt it wouldn’t be polite to just leave, so he went into the supermarket and bought a carton of milk.
The owner, even more enthusiastic now, had been running the store for five or six years and had watched Xu Dongyou grow up. He casually mentioned Xu Dongyou’s mother, saying, “Your mom has been quite upset these past few days. You should comfort her when you get home.”
Xu Dongyou was taken aback, then nodded, “I understand. Thank you, Uncle Zhang.”
The owner nodded with a smile.
Xu Dongyou walked to his building. As he passed the neighborhood fitness area, he was called over by familiar neighbor grandmothers and aunts. After a brief chat, they expressed their concern for him.
Xu Dongyou responded good-naturedly, without a trace of impatience, which made the elderly neighbors very happy. They then thoughtfully stepped aside, saying, “You should go home quickly. Your mom must be missing you.”
Xu Dongyou nodded, said goodbye to the neighbors, and with his anxiety fading, quickened his pace and went straight to the fifth floor, where he knocked on the door.
Inside, his mother’s loud voice immediately responded, “Who is it?”
Footsteps approached, and the door opened to reveal a slim woman with fashionable curly hair. Upon seeing Xu Dongyou, she exclaimed in surprise, “I thought you weren’t coming home this week.”
She turned and shouted into the house, “Husband, Dongyou is back!”
Soon, a slightly overweight middle-aged man with a beer belly and a good-natured demeanor walked out of the master bedroom. He glanced at Xu Dongyou, patted his thigh, and said, “Wife, don’t you think Dongyou looks thinner?”
Xu Dongyou was stunned.
He was quite sensitive to the word “fat” now. In his human form, he was tall and slim, so why was his demon form a round, plump ball?
Mother Xu, hearing Father Xu, immediately began to scrutinize him, fully agreeing, “He has lost weight! He must be exhausted from school.”
Father Xu: “I’ll quickly make something delicious to nourish him.”
Mother Xu nudged Father Xu and couldn’t help but complain, “I told you to start the broth yesterday, but you wouldn’t listen. Now the kid is home, and he has to wait for hours to drink it.”
Xu Dongyou quietly said to his mother, “Mom, I’m not hungry right now. Besides, it’s too late to have soup.”
His father then said, “I’ll wash some fruit”, and went into the kitchen.
Mother Xu pulled him to sit on the sofa, concerned, “Did something happen?”
The bustling sounds from the kitchen abruptly stopped, and his father stood by the door, listening to the conversation.
Xu Dongyou shook his head, “No, nothing happened.”
His mother became even more worried, “I raised you. I know your temperament and character well.”
Not wanting his parents to worry, Xu Dongyou made up a different reason, “Someone jumped off a building at school. A lot of people at school are affected.”
His mother gasped, “What happened?”
Xu Dongyou shook his head again.
His mother gently patted his arm, searching for words to comfort him. His father, meanwhile, came out of the kitchen with a plate of fruit, eagerly offering it to Xu Dongyou.
Both parents were showing their concern for him in their own ways.
Xu Dongyou felt warm inside. These were his loving parents. Even without a blood relationship, their love was genuine.
“By the way, Mom, where’s Yangchen?” Xu Dongyou asked, curious.
At this time of day, his brother should have been home already.
His mother got angry at the mention, “Your brother has been obsessed with mobile games lately. I don’t understand what’s so fun about them. He’s playing all the time.”
Xu Dongyou’s brother, Xu Yangchen, was a freshman in college in the same city. He usually came home on weekends. However, according to their mother, Xu Yangchen had become addicted to mobile games this month. He would play all night and sleep until noon the next day.
“Always staying up late like this will ruin his health sooner or later.” Mother Xu was so angry, “I’m not against him playing games in moderation, but he can’t stay up all night obsessing over them. Because I kept nagging him, he decided not to come home this week.”
Xu Dongyou thought for a moment and said, “Maybe it’s because he was under too much pressure during the college entrance exams. Let’s wait for half a month and see if the situation improves. If not, I’ll talk to Yangchen.”
He felt that his mother was angrier about his brother not coming home to avoid her nagging rather than the fact that he was playing games.
His mother nodded, glanced at the time, and urged Xu Dongyou to go to bed. After saying goodnight to his parents, he returned to his bedroom.
His parents didn’t have high economic status. To hide the fact that he was adopted, they had even quit their jobs and moved to a new city. Not long after, his mother got pregnant, and the burden of supporting the family fell almost entirely on his father. Over the years, being able to buy a small apartment was already quite an achievement.
Thus, he and his brother still shared a room. His parents felt guilty about this, but neither he nor his brother minded.
Back in the bedroom, he could still hear his parents’ muffled conversation in the living room.
Their shared room had two beds. Xu Dongyou’s bed got better light because Xu Yangchen had always been robust while Xu Dongyou was delicate and pretty, making his family subconsciously more protective of him.
The next day, Xu Dongyou’s mother came back with groceries and handed them to his father, who skillfully started cooking.
Breakfast was congee with preserved egg and lean meat, along with some homemade pickles, which were refreshing and slightly spicy. Even Grandma Chen next door found them delicious. Every time his father made a batch, he would give her a plate.
After breakfast, Xu Dongyou sent a message to his brother, asking if he would be coming home today.
About an hour later, Xu Yangchen replied with a long message.
【I’m not coming back. I don’t want to be scolded by Mom. Plus, I can stay in the dorm and team up for games. Gotta go, bro, I’m about to enter a dungeon.】
Xu Dongyou put his phone away helplessly and continued eating.
After breakfast, he and his father instinctively started washing dishes and cleaning up while his mother sat on the sofa watching TV.
He spent the whole day trying to spend as much time with his parents as possible and only headed back to school in the evening.
During this period, Xu Dongyou occasionally went to the Bureau to learn how to draw talismans. On weekends, he would go to the rooftop to learn the “Water Evasion” spell from Jiu Chao.
According to Jiu Chao, Water Evasion is one of the first spells most demons choose to learn because many of them fear water and wet fur is very uncomfortable.
Learning Water Evasion would allow them to stay dry when entering water. With enough demon power, they could even manipulate water to some extent, enabling them to dive underwater without needing to breathe.
It’s a very practical ability.
Whenever the “Water Evasion” ability was used, it required a spell incantation to activate. Jiu Chao suggested that Xu Dongyou memorize the spell so well that he could recite it in three seconds. If something unexpected happened, there was a high chance he might panic and not be able to complete the incantation.
Xu Dongyou took Jiu Chao’s advice seriously and recited the spell in his mind whenever he had a moment. He also practiced moving spiritual energy and demon energy throughout his body.
Because he was busy studying, Xu Dongyou didn’t join Tian Ze on his latest mission. Tian Ze’s task this time was in a small town, more than two hours away from the city.
During this period, Xu Dongyou also asked Elder Chen about the patterns of Zhulong’s waking and sleeping times.
Elder Chen said, “In the beginning, Zhulong would wake up only once every few hundred years. However, recently, the intervals between awakenings have been shortening. In the past ten years, Zhulong has been waking up every six months, and this year, it’s become once a month.”
Xu Dongyou asked quietly, “Why is that?”
Elder Chen, while pouring tea, replied, “I’m not sure. It might be related to the gradual recovery of Zhulong’s ancient powers.”
Xu Dongyou’s eyelashes fluttered.
If Zhulong woke up once a month…
Then this month, Zhulong had already awakened twice. Xu Dongyou increasingly felt that Zhulong’s early awakenings might be related to him. However, this was just speculation.
Besides running between school and the Bureau, Xu Dongyou occasionally persuaded Jiu Chao to take him into the sealing array.
Zhulong still lay asleep in the same position as when Xu Dongyou had left last time, showing no signs of waking.
The Bureau was urging the factory to finish making the giant water dispenser for Zhulong. It would be ready in a few days.
Soon, the chief contacted Xu Dongyou, asking him to learn how to operate a crane.
Zhulong’s huge size and the fact that it was the first time trying to deliver something into the sealing array posed challenges.
No one knew if Zhulong would go berserk upon seeing these items. If it destroyed them, causing water to spill, it would be troublesome.
To be safe, the Bureau had a five-meter-long, seven-meter-high giant water dispenser made, which could hold nearly a thousand liters of water. This was enough for Zhulong to take three big gulps.
Xu Dongyou found himself busier than ever, with no time to go home on weekends. He called his parents in advance, telling them that he couldn’t come home because of school club activities.
His parents understood and told him to focus on his studies and not to worry about home.
After hanging up, Xu Dongyou dove into his new learning.
In about two days, Xu Dongyou learned some basic driving skills. With the help of Bureau staff, they secured the water dispenser onto the crane, along with three pieces of cooked beef, specially treated to prevent spoilage. The beef would be good for a month.
There were only two entrances to the sealing array, and neither could accommodate the large crane. But this didn’t deter the Bureau.
They disassembled the crane beforehand and reassembled it inside the sealing array. It would stay there for Xu Dongyou to use whenever needed.
Xu Dongyou sat in the crane’s driver’s seat. Under the watchful eyes of Elder Chen, the chief, and several others, he carefully started the crane and cautiously entered the sealing array.
