Chapter 10
Meanwhile, in the corridor of the Dimensional Management Bureau, a row of ice sculptures emitting a chilling aura stood lined up. The raw materials were all the administrators who had been derelict in their duties in the 103rd plane last time.
Every time the Heavenly Dao teams from various planes passed by, they felt like monkeys walking on thin ice.
Although the new director appointed by the Lord God didn’t often make appearances, his actions-speak-louder-than-words style left them with lingering fear, preventing them from slacking off.
However, the newly reorganized Heavenly Dao team for the 103rd plane was leisurely and carefree, like a retirement department.
Everyone was surprised. This shouldn’t be the case!
The Bureau’s function was to ensure the stability of the various planes, usually by respecting the rules of each plane’s operation.
But the Yokai world was notoriously full of troublemakers. Just like last time, if left unchecked, according to calculations, it would quickly escalate into a plane-wide war.
Moreover, there were occasionally powerful Yokai and Taoist priests who cultivated diligently. If they succeeded, they would challenge the Heavenly Dao, and if they failed, they would turn evil and drag the whole world down with them, causing the collapse index to soar.
In short, the Heavenly Dao team and the beings of the plane would always suffer.
The 103rd team being so relaxed now seemed like a sign of madness.
“You’re the mad one.” The representative of the 103rd team rolled his eyes, pointed his thumb towards the light screen behind him, and said proudly, “See? Times have changed.”
The Yokai Mountain, rich with spiritual energy, was peaceful and quiet. As the white mist dissipated, a line of Yokai cubs lined up, some carrying small baskets, some carrying small bamboo baskets, their tails swaying as they walked along the mountain path.
If they encountered a powerful Yokai blocking the way, the leading fox cub would hold up its bamboo basket, and the other party would quickly step aside.
The cubs rolled around happily in the flower fields halfway up the mountain, then ran back to their baskets and shook their fur, showering countless tiny mountain flowers.
When they had collected enough, they ran to the mountaintop, chose a flat rock with the most sunlight, spread out all the collected flowers, and carefully plucked the stems, their tails wagging.
What kind of idyllic scene was this, a Yokai farming simulator?
The peaceful scene left everyone dumbfounded: “How can this be?”
The administrator of the 103rd shrugged: “These days, the fox cubs have been getting many Yokai to work, they don’t have time to mess with mortals, so there are fewer conflicts.”
Even the most turbulent Yokai Mountain was peaceful, and the entire plane had become much more stable.
Everyone looked on with envy, asking curiously, “What are they doing with so many flowers?”
The administrator of the 103rd shook his head: “I don’t know.”
As long as it kept the Yokai cubs occupied, that was enough!
The fox cubs didn’t know that there was a group of working Heavenly Dao members watching and discussing them from above.
They focused on sorting the flowers on the rock, making balm according to an ancient recipe, and then brought thirty small porcelain jars to Ning Zhixia.
“How is it? Are our goods up to standard?” The fox cubs fidgeted with their fingers, looking expectantly at the quality inspector.
Ning Zhixia took a jar and tried it. The balm was soft, smooth, and moisturizing, melting quickly on the back of his hand, and even in this season, it didn’t feel sticky.
Inspector Ning nodded, hands behind his back: “I’ll take them!”
The fox cubs cheered: “Yay! Hooray!”
Ning Zhixia actually didn’t need so much balm, but since they had brought it, he decided to keep it as small gifts for his customers.
So the next day, he went to complete the registration procedures for the balm and obtained a license. Afterwards, as agreed, he bought a dozen boxes of various flavored chips and cookies and gave them to Baizhu.
Many new customers had come recently, filling up his appointment schedule. They had seen the reviews online and decided to give the shop a try.
Lu Yaoguang hadn’t exaggerated in her video. The flower stands outside the small house were full of spring vibes, there were a few cuddly cats lounging on the windowsill, and the manicure skills were worth the price.
After getting their nails done, customers couldn’t help but say, “Owner, what’s that smell? It smells so good!”
Qu Banqing grinned: “The smell of fresh meat.”
Customer: “?”
Ning Zhixia pushed him aside without changing his expression, holding up a small porcelain jar and saying, “It’s the scent of this balm.”
“Oh, oh.”
The customer curiously opened the lid, dabbed a bit on, and sniffed. The balm had a light, slightly sweet fragrance, without the cheap smell of artificial fragrances, and it didn’t become cloying even after a long time.
She exclaimed in surprise: “How much is this?”
Ning Zhixia stammered: “We’re having a promotion, a free jar with every purchase of 500… yuan.”
The customer slapped the table: “That’s so—”
Ning Zhixia nervously: “Uh, you can also spend less…”
Customer: “Worth it!”
“Mhm~” Ning Zhixia immediately shut up and smiled.
The customer immediately added two more Swarovski crystals to her chosen design. Even after she left, Qu Banqing still couldn’t believe it.
Wow, that works too?
He had originally thought that if no one wanted the balm, he would just use it himself. Unexpectedly, the fox cubs’ balm was surprisingly popular.
Every customer who was interested in the balm would add a little to their budget to reach the threshold and take a jar home, significantly increasing the average spending per customer.
Qu Banqing raised his arms and cheered: “Increase production!”
Ning Zhixia clenched his fists: “Secure the customer base!”
The transformation and upgrade were going so well!
So Baizhu soon received a new order from the nail salon, happily submitting a snack list, achieving snack freedom for the Yokai Mountain cubs at the tender age of three hundred.
“These cubs can really eat, the three-wheeler full of snacks is already gone.”
Ning Zhixia finished placing his supermarket order based on the list and, as usual, hummed a tune as he opened the platform to upload recent photos. A few seconds later, the humming stopped.
Ning Zhixia scrolled through the comments, frowning and muttering, “What’s this?”
The top comment from an account was filled with harsh words, accusing him of being a bad business—
GoldenAutumnDream: [So expensive, a single glass rhinestone cost me dozens of yuan, and the quality is terrible! And that crappy balm, after using it, my skin had an allergic reaction, my hands are red and swollen, this shop ruined my hands!]
Many people replied below, saying they had also used the balm and hadn’t experienced any allergic reactions, and that the shop had a price list, so if she had objections to the price, she could have gone to another shop.
GoldenAutumnDream: [I can go to whichever shop I want, mind your own business!]
GoldenAutumnDream: [I can’t even complain about the price?]
Anyone who defended the shop was accused of being paid shills by the owner. Some asked her to provide evidence of her allergic reaction, but she dodged the question, turning the comment section into a chaotic mess.
Ning Zhixia clicked on her private message demanding a refund and medical expenses, understanding what was going on, and replied: [Then call the police.]
GoldenAutumnDream was furious, yelling: [Fine, I’ll have the police shut down your shop!]
“Shut down your shop~ If you can actually pull that off, how powerful are you? How much influence do you have?”
Ning Zhixia stared at the constantly popping up messages, his lips curling into a sarcastic sneer. “Huh?”
That evening, the fox cubs brought another hundred jars of balm to replenish the shop’s stock. After neatly arranging them in the cabinet, they swarmed onto the long sofa in the living room, urging Qu Banqing to put on cartoons.
“Slurp, slurp…”
The four fox cubs nestled comfortably on the sofa, one hand holding their tails, the other holding milk tea, diligently slurping the jelly at the bottom of the cup.
Ning Zhixia, unusually, didn’t join in the fun, angrily pedaling an exercise bike upstairs.
“We’re not relying on you to generate electricity, why are you pedaling so hard?” Qu Banqing observed him for a while, then leaned closer and asked, “Tell me, what happened?”
“Hmph.”
Ning Zhixia snorted, handing him his phone with an indignant expression, and told him about what had happened today.
“Hmm?”
Baizhu paused his milk tea slurping, nudged his sisters, and the fox cubs exchanged looks, their triangular ears perking up in unison.
“Who is this person?”
Qu Banqing muttered as he saw the screen full of insults, his eyes widening. “We haven’t offended her, have we?”
“She came two days ago, the Mrs. Jin who lives nearby.”
Ning Zhixia helped him remember miserably, “Permed hair covering her eyes, just missing an evil poodle in her arms to complete the look.”
Qu Banqing was stunned: “Ah…”
Apart from her grumbling a few words while paying, nothing had gone wrong that day. He didn’t expect her to dig a pit and wait for him to fall in. After the incident, Ning Zhixia had inquired with the neighboring shops. It turned out this person was quite lucky. Whether it was calling the police or mediation, she always found loopholes to exploit, causing a commotion but emerging unscathed.
Although most customers believed Ning Zhixia, it was hard to prevent others from fanning the flames. If this turned into a drama, it would damage the shop’s reputation.
Ning Zhixia sighed softly and looked up to see Qu Banqing pursing his lips silently. He paused, not wanting his bad mood to affect others, and immediately bumped his shoulder, saying, “I’m just venting, don’t purse your lips.”
“Hmph, you wouldn’t tell me even if I didn’t ask.”
Qu Banqing also bumped his shoulder. “So what are you going to do?”
“Hmm…”
He had screenshots of the private messages as evidence. Ning Zhixia thought that the amount was too small to constitute extortion, so he planned to send the balm for testing and post an announcement to explain.
He finished and asked Qu Banqing uncertainly, “Do you think this is a good way to handle it?”
“Hmm? Oh…”
Qu Banqing seemed distracted, then nodded after being nudged again, “Sure, sleep in tomorrow, I’ll take it for testing.”
Ning Zhixia muttered softly, “I’ll go.”
“Are you afraid of troubling me?” Qu Banqing pinched his cheeks, staring into his eyes and saying softly, “Don’t worry, get a good night’s sleep, maybe you’ll wake up tomorrow and find that there’s nothing worth worrying about.”
“Okay!”
Ning Zhixia giggled, and they started bumping shoulders like two childish kids again.
Seeing that his debuff had worn off, Qu Banqing said he would fry some chicken legs and wings for a late-night snack. As he went downstairs, he casually glanced at the sofa, where the cubs were completely absorbed in the cartoon.
After he entered the kitchen, the fox cubs rubbed their tails together, revealing their sharp teeth in silent understanding.
The second hand ticked, the door opened and closed, and the sky tonight was dark and gloomy.
The cold white light from the phone screen illuminated the woman’s malicious face. Her fingers tapped away, quickly adding a dozen more negative reviews.
Who in business didn’t care about their reputation? The “compensation” she wanted wasn’t much, and the businesses she had targeted before had all paid up to avoid trouble. This trick had always worked.
Mrs. Jin was smug, letting out an exaggerated yawn and leaning back in her recliner to watch short videos. Soon, she started to feel sleepy.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz…”
In her hazy drowsiness, she felt something vibrating deep inside her ear canal, scraping against her eardrum like thunder. Mrs. Jin irritably poked her finger inside.
The rustling sound continued. She twisted her little finger and suddenly felt a sense of triumph. She actually pulled something out.
Mrs. Jin looked down. It was just a crushed dried flower like the ones from that nail salon, now red as if stained with blood, clinging to her fingertip.
She flicked it away in disgust. The buzzing sound returned, and she quickly turned her head and continued poking her finger inside—
“Rustle…”
“Rustle…”
A large amount of dried flowers seemed endless, expanding as if soaked in water, blocking her ear canal, more and more, tighter and tighter, spurting out of her ear like a spring—
“Ah!!!”
Mrs. Jin screamed in fright, her eyes snapping open, the ceiling lamp emitting a dim yellow light.
Large beads of sweat rolled down her forehead. Mrs. Jin tremblingly opened her hand, but there was nothing there. She froze for a moment, realizing it was just a dream, and angrily cursed her bad luck.
Before she could relax, the familiar itching in her ear canal returned. She grabbed the ear pick from her keychain and dug inside fiercely. Red petals fell onto her, gradually turning into the lower half of some kind of insect, its severed limbs twitching…
Mrs. Jin’s face instantly turned pale, and she tremblingly touched her ear.
“Rustle… rustle…”
The severed half of the insect seemed to be crawling deeper with its twitching legs, its mouthparts gnawing at her eardrum, a sharp pain shooting through her bones. She collapsed onto the recliner, letting out a series of short, low wails.
“Gasp! Gasp! Gasp!”
Mrs. Jin opened her eyes again, clutching her chest and gasping for air, her entire body drenched in sweat as if she had just been pulled out of water. She had rolled onto the floor at some point.
The room was pitch black, only the static on the TV screen flickering, casting a pale, cold light on the floor.
Her hand, groping around in the darkness, suddenly touched something cold. She trembled and looked up, her face contorted in terror, her eyes rolling back as she fainted with a thud…
The next morning, the sun was shining brightly. The cats, energized after their breakfast from the automatic feeder, squatted by the flower stand, tilting their heads and contemplating which flower to destroy today.
Ning Zhixia bounced downstairs at ten o’clock, saw the empty milk tea cup on the coffee table, and tilted his head, scratching his hair.
He had been so preoccupied last night that he hadn’t watched cartoons with the fox cubs, and he didn’t even know when they had left.
He tossed the cup into the kitchen trash can. There was congee simmering in the clay pot on the stove, a layer of rice oil solidified on top. It was at the perfect temperature now, ready to be served with pickled vegetables.
Just as Ning Zhixia came out with his bowl, he saw Qu Banqing returning with some groceries.
“What did you buy?” Ning Zhixia sniffed at him like a puppy.
“Li Ji’s braised dishes, their braised pig ears are delicious.”
Qu Banqing opened the box, adding to their simple breakfast of congee.
“Mommy, you’re the best!”
Ning Zhixia ate heartily, satisfying his craving, then held his bowl and asked, “By the way, when will the test results be out?”
“You mean this… I chose the expedited option, and they’re already here.”
Qu Banqing sent him the electronic report, raising his chin triumphantly, “See? The formula is clean, no allergens at all!”
“Wow! Awesome!”
Ning Zhixia put down his bowl and quickly took screenshots to post on his account to clarify the situation.
The wilted cabbage seedling from last night perked up again. Qu Banqing patted his head and took the dishes to the kitchen to wash.
Ning Zhixia happily opened the platform, only to find that the malicious comments from yesterday had been completely deleted, and the account that posted them was deactivated.
“…Huh?”
Great, fully armed for battle, only to be met with a white flag.
Ning Zhixia didn’t understand why the other party had a sudden change of heart overnight. Finding it strange, he didn’t dare to let his guard down, quickly edited a post explaining the situation, and attached the test report.
“Knock, knock!”
Long fingers gently tapped on the windowpane.
Ning Zhixia looked up and saw Audrow standing outside the window, his waist-length silver-gray hair fluttering in the wind.
A fluffy calico cat squatted on the windowsill, mewing sweetly and sniffing at him.
Audrow looked at it and slowly extended a finger towards its twitching nose. The calico cat’s eyes lit up, and it quickly opened its mouth to bite.
But the other party seemed to be teasing it. Just as its fangs were about to touch his fingertip, he moved it away and flicked the cat’s forehead.
The calico cat covered its head with its paws and meowed angrily, but the mischievous person looked amused, as if wanting to do it again.
Ning Zhixia interrupted blankly, “Hello?”
Hearing this, Audrow looked up at the young man inside. The spring chill still lingered, and he was wearing a fluffy pajama top with puppy ears, looking soft and cuddly, his eyes bright and sparkling.
His cold, long fingers were being held and licked contentedly by the calico cat. Audrow didn’t seem to mind. He was just thinking that if it were the middle of winter, this little human would probably be bundled up like a ball, and with a gentle push, he would roll away.
Seeing him staring at him silently, Ning Zhixia asked again, “Are you looking for me?”
Audrow “hmmed” and asked, “Are you free?”
Ning Zhixia: “…Yes.”
Audrow nodded: “Then come with me.”
Ning Zhixia: “…?”
Was he stuck in some kind of time loop?
