NHSDO Chapter 8

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Yan Xuanjing had lived for more than five hundred years, but this was the first time he had ever seen a demon get so utterly dazed by just a single glance at him.

Lin Mu had never seen someone so breathtakingly beautiful.

Just one look made his entire body feel weak and tingly, as if even the simplest movements required too much effort. His mind turned into a muddled mess, everything around him seeming to freeze in place—he only wanted to stand there motionless and stare at him all day.

Lin Mu watched this exceptionally beautiful man walk past him. The fabric and embellishments of his clothing were visibly exquisite and luxurious. His long hair draped down his back, the ends casually tied together, adding a touch of ease to his otherwise severe presence.

With his hands at his sides, he took a few steps into the room, stopping just beyond the entrance. His gaze swept around the office—such a simple action, yet it carried an elegance that seemed meticulously sculpted.

Dahei turned his head to look and also froze for a moment before quickly shaking himself back to reality. He glanced at Lin Mu, who was still staring blankly, then got up and patted him on the shoulder.

Lin Mu jolted, as if his drifting soul had suddenly been called back. He blinked in confusion.

Dahei turned to the man at the door and asked, “Hello, do you need to handle any paperwork?”

The man nodded lightly. “I’m here to see Wu Gui.”

His voice was deep and even, carrying an air of cold detachment.

Yet, it was still incredibly pleasant to the ears—if one were to describe it, it was like the pale, icy snow atop a towering mountain, chilling to the bone, a coldness that reached the heavens.

Lin Mu heard that voice and felt his barely recovered soul float away again.

“Wu Gui, Wu Gui hasn’t—”

Before Dahei could finish his sentence, an elderly man with white hair and a youthful face strolled in from outside.

Dressed in a loose, long tunic, he tucked both hands into his sleeves and lazily glanced around the office, exuding an air of composure. “Why are you all blocking the entrance?”

Dahei gently nudged Lin Mu back to his seat and waved a hand in front of his face. Seeing that Lin Mu was still dazed, he sighed and turned toward the old man who had just stepped inside.

The elder took one look at Lin Mu, stepped forward, spread his palm open, then suddenly clenched it into a fist. Watching Lin Mu’s gaze gradually clear up, he clicked his tongue twice. “Young people.”

It took Lin Mu a few seconds to react. He pursed his lips, slightly embarrassed, and the dimples at the corners of his mouth deepened. “Sorry about that.”

Dahei introduced Lin Mu, “This is the old turtle I told you about—his name is Wu Gui.”

Wu Gui shot Dahei a look, snorted coldly, then patted Lin Mu’s back. “Go make some tea.”

Lin Mu greeted the elder with a nod and got up to head toward the water dispenser. Dahei followed, glancing at Lin Mu. “You back to your senses now?”

“Mm.” Lin Mu nodded sheepishly. “That person is…?”

“I’ve seen his face in the records. He’s a nine-tailed fox,” Dahei whispered. “The next ruler of Qingqiu in the Great Wilderness—his name is Yan Xuanjing.”

Lin Mu didn’t have much concept of what that meant, but he figured it had to be something impressive.

“He’s really good-looking,” Lin Mu whispered back.

Dahei clicked his tongue. “Your willpower is so weak. You got completely bewitched by the nine-tailed fox’s charm in an instant.”

Lin Mu blinked at him blankly. “...Huh?”

“Nine-tailed foxes specialize in preying on people like you—those who are weak-willed and easily dazzled by beauty.” Dahei warned, “If we’re not around, you better run when you see him. Otherwise, you’ll be so captivated that you’ll gladly count the money as he sells you off.”

“Huh?” Lin Mu blinked, finally realizing how abnormal his reaction had been just now. He turned his head to glance at the man who was speaking softly with Wu Gui. After thinking for a moment, he said, “But… he really is just very good-looking.”

Dahei followed his gaze, took another look, and then silently shut his mouth.

Meanwhile, Yan Xuanjing, who was conversing with Wu Gui, paused for a split second.

Great demons had keen senses, so he had heard the conversation over there loud and clear.

Wu Gui noticed his momentary pause, glanced in that direction, and remarked, “They’re just a couple of kids—don’t take it to heart.”

Yan Xuanjing shook his head and returned to their previous discussion, speaking unhurriedly, “I’ve come to help guard the passage, and I also need to look through the records here.”

“That’s fine. The archive is on the second floor,” Wu Gui replied, carefully studying the young nine-tailed fox before him. “The passage is still under control for now, so you don’t have to rush. First, focus on recovering from your injuries.”

Yan Xuanjing wasn’t surprised that Wu Gui had noticed his wounds. He gave a slight nod, then turned his hand over, producing a few plump, fresh spiritual herbs and placing them on the table. “I’d also like to request a divination regarding the recent events in the Great Wilderness.”

Wu Gui furrowed his brows and eyed the herbs for a moment before ultimately accepting them. He then looked Yan Xuanjing up and down and remarked, “You seem to share a deep fate with that little half-demon of ours.”

Yan Xuanjing stilled.

Wu Gui’s skill in stargazing, divination, and setting up formations was renowned throughout the entire demon world. Even in the Great Wilderness, no one could surpass him. If he said something like that, then it had to be true.

And, in fact, it was true.

The reason he had originally gone to that small courtyard enclosed by Zhaomu was, after all, to form a good karmic connection.

However, Yan Xuanjing still couldn’t tell what Lin Mu’s true form was.

Wu Gui saw that he didn’t respond and raised an eyebrow, “What? In this day and age, do you still discriminate against half-demons?”

Lin Mu was just walking over with a cup of tea, happily thinking about greeting this particularly good-looking demon. But as soon as he arrived, he heard that remark. He froze for a moment, silently put the tea down, then turned around and left.

Yan Xuanjing watched Lin Mu’s rapidly retreating figure, stalled for two seconds, and then responded, “No.”

But Lin Mu didn’t hear him. And going after him just to clarify that he didn’t discriminate against half-demons seemed a bit strange.

Yan Xuanjing remained silent for a long time before turning to Wu Gui and asking, “Do you know what bloodline this half-demon has?”

Wu Gui tucked his hands into his sleeves and shook his head. “No idea. His stars are completely obscured, not a single trace can be seen. He’s probably the descendant of some extraordinary being.”

Yan Xuanjing nodded upon hearing this. The two exchanged a few more words before heading upstairs together.

Dahei watched their backs disappear, then turned to look at Lin Mu, who had run to the window, preparing to reattach it.

Lin Mu’s expression didn’t change, appearing the same as usual. But Dahei could still pick up on a faint trace of unhappiness from his demeanor.

Dahei pushed off with one leg, sliding across his chair to Lin Mu. “What’s wrong?”

“That nine-tailed fox…”

Dahei filled in, “Yan Xuanjing.”

“That Yan Xuanjing doesn’t seem to like half-demons,” Lin Mu said.

Dahei didn’t think much of it. “A great demon from the Great Wilderness, and one with a high status at that. Looking down on small demons and half-demons like us is pretty normal.”

“Oh, yeah.” Lin Mu nodded, puffing up his cheeks gloomily. He noisily finished fixing the broken windows, packed up his tools, got Dahei’s contact information, and said he’d officially start working next Monday. Then he turned and left the office.

Lin Mu wasn’t short, but he wasn’t particularly tall either. His back looked like that of an irritated penguin as he lugged his heavy tools home with a huff.

By the time Lin Mu got home, the sky was already layered with fiery clouds.

He sulkily placed his toolbag on the table, glanced at the time, and suddenly remembered—he still had a dog that hadn’t been fed lunch! Panicked, he ran upstairs and peeked into his room, only to find it empty.

Lin Mu stared at the vacant old blanket for a long while, pressing his lips together. He searched inside and outside the house but didn’t find that fluffy white ball anywhere.

He had no choice but to check the surveillance footage. It showed that shortly after he left that morning, the dog had also left. It seemed to be moving fine now, though its left foreleg still had some minor issues.

Lin Mu closed the footage, feeling deflated, like a popped balloon.

He rolled onto his bed, yanked the thin blanket over himself, and buried his head in the pillow, feeling utterly miserable.

What a beautiful demon, Lin Mu thought.

Sure, it was a bit superficial to care so much about appearances, but Lin Mu just felt that chatting with good-looking people every day would improve his mood.

Even being friends would be nice.

But unfortunately, that demon wasn’t just good-looking—he had high status too, with no interest in half-demons.

Of course, to Lin Mu, this was just a minor setback.

It was just an ordinary little episode, and who knew if he’d ever cross paths with that bigshot again.

To Lin Mu, the bigger blow was—

Even the dog didn’t want him.

His Nai Tang (Milk Candy) had run away.

He had been so excited to name the dog “Milk Candy” once it decided to stay, but it had left before he even got the chance.

Lin Mu curled into a ball under his blanket, pressing his head into the pillow. He was sure his pose was the perfect depiction of social withdrawal.

He stayed like that for a while until the air inside the blanket got too stuffy. Feeling around the bed, he found his small electric fan, switched it on, then poked his head out of the blanket and sighed.

Forget it. Out with the old, in with the new.

It was time to visit a pet store and pick up a new dog.

Even if the new one wasn’t as smart and capable of cultivation, dumb dogs had their own advantages—at least they wouldn’t run away.

With this thought, Lin Mu flipped up from the bed like a carp, put on his shoes, grabbed his keys, and dashed downstairs.

As he pulled open the front door, the golden-red sunset poured into the house, accompanied by the cool evening breeze of summer.

Lin Mu locked eyes with Yan Xuanjing, who had reverted to his fox form and was squatting outside the yard, ready to jump in.

Lin Mu froze.

Yan Xuanjing also froze.

The human and the fox stared at each other under the setting sun for a long moment. Then Lin Mu snapped out of it first, visibly brightening as he happily ran over to open the door for his lost-and-found "Milk Candy."

“You’re back!” Lin Mu picked up the dog and immediately checked its previous injuries.

After a whole day, most of the wounds had already healed, leaving only some harmless scabs and scars that would disappear once the scabs fell off.

“I thought you were gone,” Lin Mu sighed in relief, then beamed. “Since you came back, how about I finally give you a name? What do you think of ‘Milk Candy’?”

Yan Xuanjing glanced at Lin Mu and said nothing.

He actually wanted to transform into his human form—it would be more convenient. But this little half-demon wouldn’t be able to withstand the natural charm of a nine-tailed fox and would probably end up fainting on the spot.

And it wasn’t like Yan Xuanjing had any intention of enchanting him in the first place.

As a civilized, well-mannered, and morally upright nine-tailed fox who didn’t need to feed on human or demon souls, Yan Xuanjing had already spent the past 800 years trying his best to suppress his innate abilities. The parts he couldn’t suppress wouldn’t affect other demons anyway.

Who would have thought that this little half-demon had such weak resistance to his human form?

—Even just his voice was enough to lead Lin Mu astray.

It was only when he stayed in his original form that this little half-demon could remain somewhat normal.

To be honest, in all of Yan Xuanjing’s five hundred years of life, this was the first time he had seen a demon who could get so dazed just from catching a glimpse of him.

Even in the Great Wilderness, among other half-demons, there weren’t many as weak as Lin Mu.

At least, Yan Xuanjing had never met one.

Yan Xuanjing followed Lin Mu into the house.

Lin Mu was chattering about the events of the day, every sentence revolving around the incredibly good-looking fox spirit he had met.

Little pervert, Yan Xuanjing thought expressionlessly.

He watched as Lin Mu entered the kitchen. Just as he was about to find a clean spot to sit down, he seemed to remember something and turned back toward the courtyard.

Lin Mu, after setting the rice to steam, turned around—only to see his "Milk Candy" standing at the kitchen door, holding a struggling ginseng root in its mouth.

As soon as it saw Lin Mu looking, it spat the ginseng onto the floor.

The ginseng rolled across the ground, transforming into a chubby little doll with a plump white body. A string of bright red ginseng berries adorned its head.

The little ginseng anxiously glanced around the room before its gaze landed on the stove, where a pot was being heated.

It froze for three seconds—then burst into tears.

____

Author’s Note:

Ginseng Baby: QAQ

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