Chapter 145

Chapter 145

Chapter 145 – First Published on Jinjiang Literature City

The next morning.

Xie Chen woke up earlier than Bai Li. The young boy in his arms had not yet turned back into a cat and was still sleeping soundly.

“Lili, morning.”

Xie Chen didn’t wake him, just murmured softly and kissed his cheek.

Coming out of the room, Xie Chen ran into Bai Si, who had also just woken up.

“Xie Chen.”

Bai Si rubbed his eyes, still looking a bit tired. “You make breakfast for Lili. I’ll go prepare his medicine.”

“Alright.”

The two of them divided up the tasks clearly and each went to do their part.

Around ten o’clock, Xie Chen said he needed to go out for a bit.

The kitten, who had just taken his medicine, anxiously grabbed onto him upon hearing this.

“Mister, take me with you!”

“Be good. I won’t be gone long. Stay at home with your brothers, alright?”

“No.”

Bai Li clung to him and wouldn’t let go. Ever since they had been separated last time, the little cat had become extremely clingy.

Xie Chen couldn’t take him out. Besides the fact that he still needed medicine three times a day, given his current condition, even Bai Si wasn’t confident he could stay in that form consistently.

“Lili, stop fussing.”

Bai Si pulled him off. “Xie Chen can’t just stay here doing nothing. Be good, we’ll stay home and play with you.”

With several older brothers coaxing him, Bai Li finally gave in and reluctantly agreed to let Xie Chen leave.

Xie Chen went to the company.

Anna nearly burst into tears of joy when she saw him. “Boss, you’re finally back.”

Xie Chen hadn’t been to the company in quite a while. Many decisions required his input, and some contracts needed his personal signature.

But Anna hadn’t been able to find him.

She had nearly lost her mind over the past few days. Thankfully, she saw him before that happened.

Xie Chen took care of the more pressing and important matters.

Afterward, he instructed Anna calmly, “I won’t be in the office regularly for a while. If anything urgent comes up, contact me.”Anna nodded. Seeing that he was about to leave, she couldn’t help but ask, “Sir, is Lili doing alright?”

At the mention of Bai Li, Xie Chen’s expression visibly softened.

“He will be.”

Xie Chen changed his wording as he replied.

After leaving the company, Xie Chen went to the hospital.

Bai Rong’s injuries were healing well. Maybe because she was worried about her younger brother, she was very cooperative with the doctors and followed their instructions closely, hoping to be discharged as soon as possible.

“Second Sister.”

Xie Chen called out to Bai Rong, who was sitting up against a pillow on the hospital bed.

Bai Rong sat up straight and didn’t beat around the bush. She asked directly, “What’s the situation with Qiao? Did you take down his lair?”

“I teamed up with Gong Zhe. It won’t be long before they all disappear.”

“Good.”

Bai Rong was satisfied with that result. She glanced at her injuries and added, “I’ll get discharged as soon as I can. Qiao is cunning. If he wants to talk, I’ll take you all to find him.”

Hearing that, Xie Chen shook his head.

“That won’t be necessary. Just focus on recovering here in the hospital.”

As he spoke, he seemed to recall something and told her about the recent signs of Bai Li’s improvement.

“I’m planning to take Lili back to Demon Mountain once all this is settled.”

Bai Rong raised her eyebrows, somewhat understanding the purpose of his visit today.

So, he was here to give a heads-up to his siblings in advance.

After staying in the hospital room for a while, Bai Rong’s attitude toward him was a bit better than before.

She could tell that Xie Chen truly loved their Bai Li.

But she still wasn’t sure how long that love would last.

Company, hospital.

The places Xie Chen went posed no problem.

After going out for two days in a row, Bai Li knew he had gone to the company and to visit Second Sister, so he gradually let down his guard.

On the third day.

Xie Chen didn’t go to the company, nor did he go to the hospital.

He went straight to a remote place, leading a little wolf by his side.

“Awoo.”

The scent was still there.

Lang He occasionally reported to Xie Chen, who remained expressionless as he led him forward.He was baiting that old crow.

The old crow hadn’t given up since disappearing last time.

Xie Chen knew he had been circling around him and Lili. There were several of Lili’s older brothers watching over him without leaving his side. Even if the old crow had wings, he wouldn’t be able to touch him.

Since he couldn’t touch Lili, he started probing whether the old crow wanted to make a move on him instead.

Sure enough.

After he brought along the little wolf who looked like a dumb dog, the wolf, relying on his keen sense of smell, gave him a response.

“He’s nearby.”

“Mm, got it.”

Xie Chen’s path grew more and more remote—he specifically chose places with few people.

If the other party tried anything, at least the commotion wouldn’t draw much attention.

When he reached a nearly deserted peach orchard, Xie Chen stopped walking.

The weather hadn’t fully warmed yet, and the peach branches were bare—no flowers, no leaves.

“Boss Xie, are you sure no humans will come here?” Lang He looked up and asked Xie Chen.

Xie Chen replied calmly, “No, they won’t.”

“How can you be so sure?” The little wolf was puzzled. “The air is nice here. People might come for a walk, right?”

Xie Chen repeated firmly that they wouldn’t, and even explained why.

“This peach orchard is mine. Starting from 200 meters outside the grove, outsiders aren’t allowed in.”

Lang He: “……”

Envious tears suddenly streamed from the corner of his mouth.

“Lang He.”

Xie Chen looked down at the little wolf. “Head back first. Be careful on the way—don’t let anything happen.”

Lang He hesitated and looked at Xie Chen. “If I go, are you staying here alone?”

“Mm.”

The loyal little wolf quickly shook his head when he heard that. “I’m not going. I’ll stay with you.”

He was a wolf, after all—at the critical moment, he could at least get in a bite.

Xie Chen didn’t agree.

“Go back.”

His tone left no room for refusal.

The little wolf howled a few times, but in the end, under Xie Chen’s command, he turned and dashed away.

Only Xie Chen was left at the mouth of the peach grove.He turned around, his gaze dark and heavy. “Still not planning to come out?”

As his voice fell, a gust of wind swept past him.

The old crow's voice came with an eerie tone. He didn’t show himself, only spoke.

“It’s been a long time, Shangshen Ruchen.”

Ruchen—an unfamiliar yet familiar name.

Xie Chen lifted his eyes and glanced in the direction of the voice. “Who are you?”

“Just a nobody, someone who once followed you.”

The old crow laughed. “After you fell into demonhood, I, your loyal follower, also embraced the darkness without hesitation. But in the end, you became half-god, half-demon, and did countless absurd things for a mere little spiritual being. In the end, you even used reincarnation to trade for his rebirth. Shangshen, what you did made me feel... rather redundant.”

After hearing his background, Xie Chen sneered, “So it turns out you’re just a meddler trying to interfere with my private life.”

Having been in the entertainment industry, he nailed down the old crow’s type quite accurately.

“Do you know, what you’re doing now is basically being a sasaeng fan? And sasaengs get hunted by everyone.”

The old crow replied indifferently, “Ever since I followed you into darkness, I’ve already been hunted by everyone.”

“Shangshen, I loathe this current world. If you would just destroy it, maybe... a new one would be born.”

Xie Chen laughed coldly. “Wishful thinking.”

To destroy this world would mean wiping out his own people.

What a dreamer.

The two stood off against each other, and the black mist surrounding the old crow seemed to act like a catalyst, gradually changing Xie Chen’s eyes.

Every time Xie Chen changed, it was triggered by specific conditions.

For example, the demons he encountered last time.

Or when he couldn’t find his little milk cat.

And now, the murderous intent rising toward the old crow.

All of this made him no longer just the human Xie Chen.

If the identity of a human couldn’t protect Lili, then he would reclaim his former self.

The old crow knew he wasn’t a match for him, so from the start, he was full of precautions, not even showing his face.

“You can’t catch me.”

The old crow laughed wildly. “I’ve been in darkness for too long—there will never be a day when I perish.”

The black mist around him never dissipated, as if it granted him eternal life.

Xie Chen ignored his arrogant nonsense. He simply raised a hand and pointed in a certain direction.

The old crow's throat was twisted by an invisible force, and dark purple blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

However, after dying, he resurrected once more.Xie Chen made him personally taste the pain of death. Even if he came back to life again, the pain still remained.

No one knew how much time had passed.

Xie Chen dragged him deep into the peach grove and buried him beneath a peach tree.

He fed the peach tree a bit of blood—it would then instinctively trap the demon buried beneath it.

But the demon still didn’t die.

“Ruchen, destroy... destroy this world.”

He wanted to embrace rebirth along with this world. He no longer wished to live in this body.

Xie Chen ignored him.

The world would not be destroyed.

But this demon, who posed a threat to Lili, he would certainly eliminate.

Back at the villa—

Xie Chen brought Bai Lili back to his own villa. Of course, accompanying the move were Bai Si and Bai Jing as well.

As for the other Bai brothers, since Bai Lili's condition had slightly improved these past two days, Bai Lin had already sent them all back to their respective duties.

Tan Yi had a tight schedule lately, and all the work he postponed previously now had to be resumed one by one.

Exhausted to the point of collapse, Tan Yi barely managed to return home after nightfall.

The first thing he did was find Bai Lili.

“Lili.”

Tan Yi buried his face into the soft, pudgy belly of the little milk cat.

“I don’t want to work anymore.”

The snow-white little furball reached out a paw and patted Third Brother’s head.

“Third Brother, you can quit your job. I’ll support you.”

To make his offer more convincing, the milk cat even pitter-pattered back to the room and brought out the money he had saved to show Third Brother.

All his money had been saved by Xie Chen, who even converted it into cash and placed it in a box.

The cat loved counting money, so Xie Chen deliberately did it this way to let him enjoy it.

The pile of money looked like a lot, but to Tan Yi, it wasn’t much.

He wasn’t as wealthy as Xie Chen, but his income from acting, endorsements, and variety shows was still considerable.

“Thank you, Lili.”

Tan Yi was deeply moved, petting the little cat with affection, wishing he could just hide him away and never give him back to that guy.

The brothers cuddled for a long while until Gong Zhe came and dragged Tan Yi away. Only then did Xie Chen hold the milk cat back into his arms again.

“Mister!”The little milk cat, tired from playing with Third Brother, wrapped his paws around Mister’s handsome face and gave him several smooches.

Xie Chen let him kiss as much as he wanted, his eyes full of indulgence.

“Lili, I’ve discussed it with your Fourth Brother. In two days, we’re going home.”

The milk cat, who hadn’t been back to the mountain in half a year, instantly widened his eyes: “!”

“Mister, home!”

“Yes, we’re going home.”

Xie Chen caught the little milk cat who had jumped out of his arms in excitement and gently coaxed him, “Good boy, don’t run around. Your Fourth Brother said you can’t do any intense activity.”