CH 22

The blood-stained painting had been spread out on the table. When Pi Xiu came out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel, he saw Wen Xi leaning against the sofa, dazedly staring at the painting of his birthday party.

“What are you looking at?” Pi Xiu asked.

Wen Xi came back to his senses and blurted out: “Nothing. I was just observing the differences between this painting and the one I had once.”

Pi Xiu sat down next to him and asked: “Even after so many years, do you remember the details of the painting?”

“Even though I have been dead for so many years, it felt like I was asleep for the entire time.” Wen Xi rubbed his head. “I don’t even remember how I exactly died.”

Pi Xiu: “So? If you have nothing to worry about, then it’s not that bad.”

Wen Xi smiled and nodded: “You’re right.”

The two of them sat together calmly for a while. When Wen Xi realized that the temperature emanating from Pi Xiu’s body had increased, he couldn’t help but frown and ask: “Why do I feel that your body temperature is higher than before?”

Pi Xiu casually replied: “The hotter the weather, the higher my body temperature will be. Why? Did I burn you?”

Wen Xi shook his head: “I was just wondering what you had done so far to endure the summer heat.”

“Endure the heat? Hugging ice pillows to sleep on. If that’s not enough, find some pond inside the mountains and forests, crawl inside, then wait until summer passes before coming out.” Pi Xiu sighed and hugged Wen Xi again. “Anyway, none of those are as good as you.”

Wen Xi raised an eyebrow and said: “You should thank me then.”

Pi Xiu snorted: “I helped you stabilize your soul and register you in my household. I don’t see you thanking me much.”

“I’m letting you hug me as much as you please, doesn’t that count as thanking you?” Wen Xi leaned against Pi Xiu’s chest and looked at him: “Don’t push your luck!”

Pi Xiu lowered his eyes and said: “Who is pushing his luck? Let me ask you something, how old are you and how old am I? Look at you shouting at me like that, it looks like you have no respect for your elders. You’re not afraid that I’ll send you to your next life with a single slap?”

“I know you wouldn’t dare to do it before summer is over.” Wen Xi leaned back again, away from Pi Xiu. Wen Xi wasn’t sure if it was because of his unstable soul that he had been somewhat sensitive to his own body temperature. After all, when he wasn’t near Pi Xiu, Wen Xi would often feel cold, as if he was being buried in the snow. For that very reason, Wen Xi had to stick to the old demon like this in order to feel some warmth.

When Wen Xi placed his hand on Pi Xiu’s shoulder to move away, Wen Xi couldn’t help but laugh when he heard him hiss. Before Pi Xiu took his hand, Wen Xi had already sat still beside him.

Wen Xi changed the subject and asked: “How do you think this painting got into Taotie’s hands?”

“You’ll have to ask him to find out.” Pi Xiu fiddled with Wen Xi’s wrist and asked: “Have you felt if anyone has been watching you these past few days?”

Wen Xi shook his head and smiled at Pi Xiu: “Apart from the fact that you reinforced the formation, you are always bringing me with you. Taotie won’t dare to get close.”

“Right.” Pi Xiu’s ego grew abruptly: “Taotie also knows that I’m stronger than him. If we were to face each other, I alone could beat three of him.”

Wen Xi leaned against Pi Xiu for a moment, and then coldly asked: “If you’re so powerful, how did he scam you out of all your money, then?”

Pi Xiu stiffened and didn’t say a word for a long time. When Wen Xi noticed that the old demon’s face had turned blue and then white, he couldn’t help but ask: “Is it possible that he took advantage of you in a moment of carelessness?”

“Yes, he took advantage of that and escaped.” Pi Xiu hastened to say.

Wen Xi stared at Pi Xiu for a moment, as if he had accepted that response, so Wen Xi no longer continued to dwell on that topic. However, internally, Wen Xi thought: ‘Pi Xiu is a reckless demon who only knows how to talk with his fists. He’s the type who, despite having been betrayed, shows a face of complete happiness when counting the money.’

As Wen Xi slandered Pi Xiu in his mind, the sound of the bead curtain being pulled aside was heard. It was Hou Si, who had made a triumphant return from carrying out a special task. Huo Si had infiltrated Wu Zu’s High School to steal the report card for his Boss, and his Boss’s Wife, to check.

Pi Xiu threw a gold coin at Hou Si and dismissed him. As for the report card, Pi Xiu was terrified to read it.

“What are you so afraid of?” Wen Xi grabbed the report card from Pi Xiu’s hand and said: “If you don’t dare to read it, I will. If his grades have gotten worse, I’m…..”

Pi Xiu frowned and said: “What are you going to do?”

‘Will you scold that naughty brat? Keeping this little one with me all the time has made his personality change, and now he’s into threatening people?’

“I won’t let you hug me.” Wen Xi then changed the subject: “You see, I have worked so hard to make him improve his grades to the point of exhaustion, which almost caused my soul to scatter. Why shouldn’t I complain?”

Pi Xiu could only snort: “It’s not that I don’t want you to complain, it’s just that the merits I’ll obtain from this cannot be shared with you. I’m surprised that this matter concerns you so deeply.”

Wen Xi remained silent for a moment, until he finally said: “I suspect he was falsely accused of theft because he was connected with my family.”

“What do you mean?” Pi Xiu asked.

Wen Xi: “At that time, I met him in my grandfather’s study since he was my grandfather’s favorite candidate. A while later, before the Imperial Examinations in Spring, my family fell into disgrace. Since it would be scandalous for someone who had connections to the Wen Family to be part of the list of successful candidates, they used shady tricks to implicate him with a crime to get rid of him.”

Pi Xiu looked at him and said: “You really are quite kind-hearted, aren’t you? But what if you fail to make his grades improve? Won’t you be wasting your energy?”

“I don’t fear what’s fake, but I do fear what’s real. When I think about the fact that his career could have been destroyed by my family, I feel constant guilt and pity for him. So I’m simply doing this to ease my own conscience.”

As he finished speaking, Wen Xi heard Pi Xiu laugh.

The old demon hugged him, sighed, and said: “Hey, if you keep this up, you’ll stop being a ghost and you’ll end up becoming a monk one of these days. I’ll have to take you to get your head shaved then. In fact, the treatment of monks nowadays is quite good. They have a lot of benefits and they can also earn money by doing certain jobs.”

Pi Xiu caressed Wen Xi’s hand and became lost in the thought of something wonderful: “When the time comes, you can have a stall in front of the Restaurant entrance. As a 20-year-old Eminent Monk, you can make fortune-telling and earn a lot of money every day.”

Wen Xi: “……”

Wen Xi coldly withdrew his hand and thought: ‘I can’t believe that this anus-less idiot would spout such misinformed cultural nonsense.’

…

Pi Xiu went back into the dream realm at night, due to the fact that Wu Zu had finally placed among the top three places of the weekly tests. Pi Xiu gave the student a rare kind smile that looked somewhat abnormal as well.

Wu Zu became so nervous from that smile that he hugged his book, and said: “Mister, if you have something to say, say it directly. Don’t smile. Your smile scares me.”

“What are you afraid of? Don’t I look good when I smile?” Pi Xiu touched his face and thought: ‘Last time, the little one told me to smile more often because I looked good smiling. How could this student not appreciate it too?’

Wu Zu took a deep breath, looked at Pi Xiu for a moment, and then looked at the paper in his hand. After forcibly swallowing saliva, Wu Zu said: “No, Mister, your smiling makes you look very handsome.”

Feeling relieved, Pi Xiu sat in front of Wu Zu and said: “You have improved in this weekly test, reaching even the top three. From now on, do your best to improve in math. The regional exam will be next week, so you’ll have no problem getting first place.”

Wu Zu: “……”

‘Why do you take it for granted that I’ll get first place in the regional exam? Does this guy think my high school is the only school in town?’

The student rubbed his face and sincerely said: “Mister, actually, I think that there’s nothing wrong with being a loser.”

Pi Xiu raised an eyebrow and said: “I don’t think it’s good.”

“I don’t want you to think what’s good or what isn’t. I want to think about what’s good or what isn’t for me.” Wu Zu stood up and said: “I’m very satisfied with what I have now! I have no problems taking an exam, and I’m really satisfied with everything I have achieved. Seriously Mister, I really tried my best to improve in math.”

Pi Xiu looked at him and said: “I do believe that you’ve done your best, but it’s also true that you haven’t done the best you’re actually capable of doing.”

Wu Zu earnestly said: “Even today, when I went to eat at the Restaurant, I was still practicing the exam questions. Suzhen even told me that I was working extra hard and gave me a bowl of lotus seed soup as a reward. Every time, she would bring me a huge bowl of soup. If I were to change my morals to being wicked, I could bring down their Restaurant just by drinking soup.”

Pi Xiu: “……?”

‘No need to worry about ending up in bankruptcy over a giant bowl of lotus seed soup. It’s just that as soon as I’m not present to watch over Jia Suzhen, that giant bowl will make a reappearance. It’s too much.’

Pi Xiu scoffed and said: “Don’t worry, even if the Taotie were to come just to eat lotus seed soup, the Restaurant wouldn’t be ruined.”

Wu Zu nodded: “That’s right. Besides, I don’t think the Restaurant owner seems to regard the Restaurant as a legitimate business. It’s probably a hideout or something. When the time comes that it attracts too much attention, he’ll probably run away.”

Pi Xiu: “????”

‘What hideout? Can you make it clear to this old man?’

‘I’m a fucking self-employed businessman. An honorary taxpayer of the country! How come that, in your eyes, I’m not involved in a legitimate business?!’

Wu Zu sighed and said: “Although he has no tattoos on his body of the Azure Dragon on the left, and the White Tiger on the right, it’s obvious at first glance that he’s a gang leader. What do you think Suzhen will do if he commits a crime and runs away? Will she still get her salary?”

Pi Xiu laughed angrily: “What will happen then if she doesn’t get her salary? Will you manage to help her anyway?”

“If Suzhen is willing, it’s not impossible to get her to come to my house as a nanny.” Wu Zu blushed. “Then, I’ll be able to closely listen to her singing, and also….”

With a slap on the back, Pi Xiu shattered the young student’s romantic dreams.

Wu Zu looked up, only to be hit by the cold exam paper in the face, knocking him back to the cruel insensitivity of reality. Needless to say, it was out of the question for Wu Zu to not read the books and solve the practice test questions. Even if Wu Zu was dead and buried underground, Pi Xiu would dig out the little bastard to prepare for the exam.

Pi Xiu looked at Wu Zu, and said in a cold voice: “Don’t say that you’re a loser. As long as you still have enough breath to hold a pen, you can learn.”

As Pi Xiu watched this brat work on solving the problems, he couldn’t help but remember what the little one had said. Pi Xiu then thought: ‘Why can’t the children of the world learn from Wen Xi? Take the initiative to want to go to school, want to study, pursue progress then be good children with all-round development in morality, intelligence, body and beauty? Ah, it’s indeed true that comparisons are truly odious.’

‘However, if I think about it, Wu Zu’s face won’t achieve handsomeness, let alone be more good-looking than Wen Xi.’ Thinking this, Pi Xiu looked at the student in front of him with a more serious expression on his face.

‘Ah, right now I could be looking at Wen Xi’s pretty little face sleeping at night. But instead, I have to work as a nanny and tutor some mortals.’

‘It’s very hard for me.’

After the night passed, Pi Xiu finally came out of the dream realm and stared at Wen Xi  who was sleeping for a long while. Then, Pi Xiu stretched out an arm, hugged Wen Xi, and laid down to sleep. It wasn’t until noon that Pi Xiu went downstairs to take a look at the business.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he walked down stairs, he met some familiar monster customers, who sneaked glances at him, with smiles on their faces. Pi Xiu looked over at them, with his characteristic indifference, unaware of whatever was being said about him.

Pi Xiu walked to the kitchen, washed a tomato, and took a bite. After swallowing, he asked: “Hey, do you know what’s going on over there? Why are the customers staring at me with smiles on their faces today?”

Ren Jiao stirred the pot and smiled: “So you still don’t know, huh? The official Women’s Federation account has posted a picture of you and Wen Xi.”

Pi Xiu was taken aback, which caused him to gradually stop chewing.

With a frown, Pi Xiu took out his phone to look for the said official account. With a trembling hand, Pi Xiu clicked on the official account, as if anticipating the embarrassment of the post.

The title stated: To create a civilized and harmonious family, the role model for monsters begins with me.

Pi Xiu paused to take a breath. As soon as he saw the first photo in the post, the tomato in his mouth suddenly stopped being sweet.

The photo showed Pi Xiu standing in the middle, with a cold expression on his face. Wen Xi, on the other hand, was standing next to him with a fake smile. Both were holding the same sign in their hands.

In red letters on a gold background, the words ‘Harmonious Family’ were written.

The only sincere smile in the picture was that of the Lotus Flower Spirit of the Women’s Federation. This perfectly bright smile was inherited from the Two Gods of Harmony and Union.

On the other hand, Wen Xi and Pi Xiu gave the impression of being close on the surface, but estranged at heart. Like a pair of fake husbands who have been sleeping in different beds for many years, and had no real feelings for each other.

Below the photograph, the words ‘Pi Xiu and his wife’ were written. The small letters written in Song font1 stabbed Pi Xiu’s eyes, who held his phone with a slightly trembling hand. It took him a full two minutes to muster up enough courage to scroll down. In the following comments, the two words ‘Concrete Proof’ fiercely hit his single heart.

‘It shouldn’t. It really shouldn’t be….’

‘How come I got married?’

Ren Jiao patted Pi Xiu’s shoulder to comfort him and said: “Hey, when you get married and invite guests, you should be generous when necessary. Don’t make it hard for others.”

Pi Xiu didn’t reply to Ren Jiao, and instead, kept scrolling down. All of a sudden, Pi Xiu came across something that made him say: “They’re saying that Lil Broom is my son.”

Ren Jiao: “????”

“What? Let me see.” Ren Jiao leaned closer to look and discovered that Pi Xiu had clicked on a link, which redirected him to another post. The title written in scarlet red was even more blinding than the ZERO plastered on Lil Broom’s exam paper.

A thunderstorm from the Demon World. Stepmother and stepson entangled in a secret relationship?! Was this what the supposed ruler of the demon world has become? What a ridiculous thing indeed!

There was no need to read any further, as Ren Jiao could already feel the oncoming bloodshed.

Ren Jiao closed his eyes and quietly said: “Fish have seven seconds of memory. I can forget what I saw, I will forget it soon, I……” However, the next second, Ren Jiao picked up Pi Xiu’s phone and shouted: “Fuck! ‘Put a green hat on your father’s head’?! Who the fuck wrote this shit? They’re all fucking dead!”