It works!
Everything works!
No wonder this cat demon was so powerful, yet behaved like a little kitten around Chen Huaian.
It must have known all along that Chen Huaian’s acupuncture could make it evolve. So it deliberately feigned disability to trick him into treating it.
What a cunning beast!
Should I expose it?
Lin Lingling felt torn.
For now, this monster didn’t seem harmful. Ever since the founding of the Demon Slayer Bureau, they had come across harmless monsters. Some resurrectors even drew power directly from monsters.
The last time she had been attacked by the cat demon was only because she’d tried to trespass.
Now that she was here legally, the cat demon hadn’t bothered with her at all.
So… could it be considered harmless, at least for now?
Lin Lingling shook her head hard.
“No, Chen Huaian has to know. These are just my guesses—what if this monster really is the patient, cunning type?
And I definitely can’t let the cat demon realize I told him, or it might get angry and lash out at me!”
Of course, there was another possibility—
Chen Huaian already knew the black cat was a monster.
Lin Lingling made up her mind, but before doing anything rash, she had to test him first.
After watching for a while, she finally gathered her courage, pushed the door open, and walked over to the sofa. She sat down beside Chen Huaian, but after one nervous glance at Baji, she quietly shuffled to the edge.
By then, Chen Huaian was almost done with the acupuncture.
He looked up and said casually:
“Three Zeros, you’re up early. What do you want for breakfast?”
“Yes… I want steamed buns.” Lin Lingling’s heart was racing, but she forced her voice to stay steady.
Chen Huaian didn’t even look up.
“Oh. Then I want some too. Go buy them.”
Lin Lingling: “…”
She had thought he’d already bought breakfast.
Turns out he was just too lazy to go.
Of course she couldn’t actually go buy buns, so she hurriedly changed the subject:
“Chen Huaian, there are more and more monsters lately. Best not to go out before dawn. Those stray cats and dogs everywhere in the streets—even the fish sold at the market—could be monsters. If you get too close, you might get attacked. They’re hard to guard against!”
On the windowsill, the large black carp that had been eavesdropping with half its head above water instantly sank down.
The Baji lying on Chen Huaian’s leg flicked its eyes toward Lin Lingling, who was looking down at her toes. His heart leapt into his throat.
【What is this human brat plotting!?】
【Is she going to expose me!?】
Baji’s eyes gleamed with murderous intent.
He’d been careless!
He should have seized a chance to eliminate her earlier.
Just now, when Chen Huaian was giving acupuncture, though it had been agonizing, he had actually felt the benefits deep in his bones. Because Chen Huaian wasn’t harming him at all—he was opening his meridians!
The spiritual energy he had absorbed these past days had been mostly used to expand his meridians.
His goal was to open his meridians, grow stronger, then break the seal and escape.
But doing it that way required painstakingly opening them little by little with spiritual energy. Chen Huaian’s meridian-opening needles were completely different—they blasted open meridians all at once, rough but efficient.
To him, this was a hundredfold blessing.
Moreover, since this big guy was willing to help open his meridians, it meant he hadn’t yet discovered the truth.
Once his meridians were fully open, he could reveal just a little of his demonic power to mask himself, and live here without fear of being exposed.
And if he ever wanted to, he could leave freely.
Could anything be better?
But now—this damned human cub wanted to ruin the perfect harmony between him and his boss!!!
“You mean Baji might be a demon?” Chen Huaian arched a brow, pulling out the last of the silver needles. He had just finished.
“Baji, are you a demon?”
Chen Huaian asked.
Baji immediately flopped onto his back and chirped:
“Meow?”
Chen Huaian lifted him up and grinned at Lin Lingling.
“See? How could such a cute little kitten be a demon? But maybe one day he’ll have the chance to become one.”
Lin Lingling’s lips twitched.
She finally understood—Chen Huaian had no idea.
But what about later?
By the time this cat demon evolved into a demon general…
“That’s not what I meant.” Lin Lingling forced a smile at Baji.
“Even though I’m scared of cats, Baji clearly isn’t a monster. He’s just a normal kitty.”
Baji tilted his head up at Chen Huaian: Meow~
【That’s right!】
【Just a kitten with open meridians!】
【Definitely not some ancient beast like Taotie…】
“Chen Huaian, this is for you.”
Lin Lingling handed him a watch.
“It’s a custom issue from the Demon Slayer Division.”
Chen Huaian blinked and accepted it, confused.
“Uh… why are you giving me something from the Demon Slayer Division?”
Lin Lingling had her excuse ready. She waved a hand lightly.
“You’re not officially in the Demon Slayer Division yet, but the higher-ups think highly of you. This thing isn’t worth much—it just has some extra functions. Keep it, use it.”
She said it casually, but inside, her heart bled.
This watch was worth fifty thousand!
It had many features, but its most important function was scanning for evil spirits.
That feature was very prominent.
She was certain Chen Huaian would use it.
And once he tried it, just a glance at Baji would say everything. The cat demon wouldn’t suspect her.
After all, a monster couldn’t speak—so naturally, it would assume she had no brains.
Among the monsters cataloged by the Demon Slayer Division, all those with human-like intelligence could speak. And most weren’t too bright. She had nothing to worry about.
“Alright, nice watch. Thanks.”
Chen Huaian accepted it, turning it over curiously.
Lin Lingling let out a quiet sigh of relief. She’d have to requisition another watch later, otherwise she couldn’t take missions. Luckily, the Division had spares. She just had to file the request.
She glanced at Baji a few more times before preparing to return to her room and continue training.
But as she stood, Chen Huaian stopped her.
“Hey, Sanling, where did the Tianfu District Demon Slayer Division move to? How do I pick up missions now?”
Lin Lingling froze, then replied:
“It’s easy. There’s an app on the watch for accepting missions. Just confirm and call me. For your first mission, someone will accompany you.”
There wasn’t actually such a rule.
Chen Huaian didn’t need her tagging along.
She just wanted to freeload.
“Tsk, tsk, this watch is pretty interesting~”
Chen Huaian fiddled with the Demon Slayer Division watch like a bumpkin who had never seen tech before.
So many features! It made him dizzy.
But the best one was definitely the yokai detection function.
It reminded him of that old Pokémon-catching game on real-world maps, or those horror apps where you detected ghosts. Both were immersive.
Now this evil spirit detector was even more fun.
Imagine—you see a cute puppy, but a quick scan reveals it’s a monster. Wouldn’t that be like opening a blind box?
He opened the app, and the manual popped up:
【Detection energy levels range from demon to demon general (calculation for evil spirits is the same). The display color changes with the energy level, from low to high: yellow, orange, red, purple.】
【After turning on detection, aim the camera at the target and press detect.】
【Detection consumes a lot of energy, so please be sure to charge regularly.】
“Great, fool-proof tutorial!”
Chen Huaian got it instantly.
But theory was one thing.
Practice was better.
He needed to test it.
For example…
That guy playing basketball next door.
