Xu Baohe

Then I patted the little devil's head and said, "Thank you for coming over." Then I smiled and put my hand under his mouth. He pouted and spat out all the blood he had just bitten. I looked at the blood surrounded by saliva in my hand, patted his head again and praised, "Not bad, you know to surround the blood before swallowing it!" Then I put the blood away.

He grinned at me, and I picked him up and headed back towards the palace: "Come on, let's go back. When we get back, I'll have someone make you some osmanthus sugar."

He was even happier now, his smile widening so I could see his sharp teeth. "No wonder he can bite people, those teeth are really sharp."

He smiled at me again, then snuggled against my arm and fell asleep in my arms.

I held the little devil firmly in my arms and soon returned to the palace. The guards who had just started their shifts were quite surprised to see me: "Miss, you're back so early?"

You're back so early? "I came back too late."

The soldier didn't hesitate and simply nodded, "Please, young lady."

Thinking of Muli, I asked the guard, "How is your general?"

"Uh... the general suddenly went out yesterday at noon and hasn't returned since. I don't know what happened..."

"Never mind, I'll go find him if Mu Li hasn't come to his post yet," I nodded and instructed the soldier, "If your general comes, send someone to let me know."

"Alright, young lady, I'll definitely remember."

When I carried the little devil to the Imperial Observatory, I found the Director standing in the courtyard. He looked me up and down before asking, "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing." I shook my head.

"Alright, let's return the kid first."

“Okay,” I nodded, picked up the little devil and walked towards the well. When we got to the well, the little devil jumped up and climbed out. I called out to him, “Do you want to come with me to the Imperial Observatory?”

The little devil stood on the edge of the well, looking back at me with a bewildered expression. I squatted down to be level with him: "Are your remains in the well? How about I take you to the Imperial Observatory?"

"Sure!" To my surprise, he agreed the very next second: "Can I be with you every day?"

"Hmm," I thought for a moment, "how about we build you a fake well in the courtyard of the supervisor?"

"Sure," he replied readily.

“Alright,” I said, extending my hand. “Come back to the Imperial Observatory with me first. We’ll come back to retrieve your remains once the well is repaired.” But then I thought better of it. “Forget it, I’ll go down with you first to retrieve your bones, and then we’ll go to the Imperial Observatory together to wait for the well to be repaired. It wouldn’t be good if the Crown Prince took advantage of the situation.”

He nodded: "Okay!"

Just as I was about to go down into the well, he stopped me: "I'll go by myself, give me a bag."

“Okay,” I nodded. Many ghosts don’t want anyone to see their dead state, so I gave him a very large bag.

He jumped down into the well with the bag in his mouth, fiddled around inside for a long time, and then came back up with a deflated bag in his mouth.

I looked at the very deflated bag and asked, "Is everything in there?"

"Hmm," he nodded, bringing the bag to me. I took it and weighed it in my hand; it was very light, with only a small bulge at the bottom. I suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for him: "You...when...how many months pregnant are you..."

“Eight months,” he said calmly.

"But I've been dead for decades, so I should actually be older than you."

"Oh, it's alright. Just stay at the Imperial Observatory from now on, and the Director will protect you well."

"Director of the Imperial Observatory? Isn't the current Director of the Imperial Observatory about to retire?"

"It's alright. The next Director of the Imperial Observatory will also protect you well. After all, you're an old fox, and they'll need your help a lot in the future."

"Alright," the kid smacked his lips on my hand, "but let's make this clear first, if the Imperial Observatory changes one day, I won't stay there anymore."

"Okay, it's a deal."

"Osmanthus sugar is a must."

"Okay, I'll have those who make magical implements learn how to do it, and I'll make sure you have enough."

“Xu Yi,” the little devil suddenly stood up from my arms, quite seriously, “how long will you stay at the Imperial Observatory?”

"I don't know," I shook my head. "When conditions arise, people gather; when conditions cease, they disperse. There is a natural order to things."

"Actually, I'd really like to go out and see the world with you," the kid lay back down, "but it might be inconvenient for you if I come along..."

I looked at the little ghost in my arms: "We'll try it out then. If the laws of fate allow you to leave the capital, and I also want to leave, I'll take you with me."

"Really?" The kid turned to look at me. "You won't break your promise?"

"I will keep my word, as long as I have the ability."

"Alright, then I'll wait and see how skilled you become."

"Okay, okay, I'll try to learn as much as I can."

When the supervisor, who was sitting under the eaves, saw us return, he nodded and said, "You're back again?"

"Yes," I nodded, "The Crown Prince ambushed me today and has already recognized Xiao Gui and A Xi. A Xi is hiding in the mortal realm, so he's not easy to find and is relatively safe. But Xiao Gui is different; he can be found out easily with just a few inquiries. I'm worried something might happen to him!"

“It’s alright,” the supervisor raised his hand. “There’s no need to explain so much. Now that he’s joined the Imperial Observatory, he’s a ghost of the Imperial Observatory.”

“Hey, I’m not!” The little devil in my arms stood up abruptly: “I’m only staying at the Imperial Observatory temporarily. I’ll go with Xu Yi when she leaves.”

The supervisor glanced at me, and I lowered my head guiltily. The supervisor nodded: "Alright, as long as the laws of fate allow you to leave the capital, you can go with her."

The little devil turned back to look at me, very seriously: "Xu Yi, you have to work hard and learn more skills so that you can take me with you when the time comes."

“Okay,” I said, touching my nose. “I will learn more, I will definitely learn more.”

"Hmph..." The little devil snorted, then jumped down and walked around in the yard. Later, he stopped at a certain spot and said to me, "This is it. Let's dig a fake well and live here from now on."

I looked at the land he had chosen. It was between my room and the eaves, a place where I could see from both sides. I nodded and said, "Okay, I'll have someone come and do it right now."

Not long after, the craftsmen I had asked to find arrived. They circled the area the little devil had marked out, took measurements, and told me they would fix it in three days. I nodded: "Okay, as soon as possible, and fix it as well as possible."

"Yes." The craftsmen nodded in unison.

Three days passed in a flash. When the little devil saw the newly built well, he happily took his remains from me and fiddled with them, putting them into the well himself. I sat next to the supervisor and couldn't help but frown.

The supervisor tapped the table: "Don't worry about it too much, it will make him happier."

"I feel that if he knew... he definitely wouldn't want to have any more contact with me. After all, it was an encounter destined to end, and there's no need to keep letting emotions seep in. But I'm also worried about his safety..."

"Hmm," the supervisor nodded at the little devil who hadn't come up, "The decision you're making now is definitely the best choice you feel is right. Don't worry about it too much, lest it become a mental obsession."

"If he can't forgive me then, I'll let him do whatever he wants with me."

"How could you bear to part with a friend you've finally found after being lonely for so long?" The supervisor looked over and said, "Just like you, Bai Da, Bai Er, and Wu Zi."

"Sigh..." I sighed. The little devil had already crawled out, still covered in mud. He crawled over and asked me, "What's wrong? Why are you sighing?"

"It's nothing!" I shook my head. "Do you like this well?"

"I love it! I love it so much! It's so much better than the old well, it's like moving to a new house."

"Okay," I breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm glad you like it."

"What were you talking about just now?" The little devil squatted on the ground, opened the box I had prepared, peeled off a piece of osmanthus candy, put it in his mouth, and smiled with some satisfaction.

“Speaking of friends,” I squatted down and tapped the kid’s head, “what should I call you? I can’t keep calling you kid, can I?”

"That's right!" The kid stood up with his hands on his hips. "I need to come up with a really powerful and imposing name, one that makes people think I'm awesome!"

"Okay, what do you want to call me?"

"Let's call him Batian!"

The moment the kid uttered that domineering name, a clap of thunder sounded in the sky. The kid was startled, and I patted his head: "This won't do, the name is too grand, you can't handle it."

The little devil sighed and sat back down on the ground: "Then think about it, it doesn't matter anymore."

"Let's call it 'Baohe' then!"

"Xu Baohe?" The kid stood up. "Okay, I like it. That's settled."

I only intended to call him Baohe, but he added my surname himself...

"Fine, whatever makes you happy."

"Hehe, then I'll be Xu Baohe from now on."

“Yes, that’s right,” I nodded, “Xu Baohe.”

"Alright!" The little devil stood up again and patted his chest: "Xu Yi, if you ever need anything in the future, feel free to ask me to solve it for you. Don't worry, I'll handle it perfectly for you."

"Alright, alright," he said, still calling himself an old man? But he was indeed older than me: "Then I'll leave things to Brother Baohe from now on."

"No problem, no problem." He patted his chest and sat down again to peel and eat the candy.

Although I'm older, I still have the heart of a child. That's good or bad, at least I live a simple and happy life.

In the few days since I returned to the palace, the wells have been repaired, but I haven't seen any Imperial Guards come to report the news. Could it be that they were too badly injured?

I started to walk out, and Baohe called out to me, "Take me with you."

“Okay,” I squatted down, let Baohe climb onto my shoulder, and walked toward the Imperial Guard.

When they arrived at Mu Li's room, they found it empty and the tables and chairs covered in a thin layer of dust. They went out and asked a guard, "Where is your general? Has he not come to the palace these past few days?"

The soldier shook his head: "No, no one notified us, and we didn't dare to ask."

So either Muli was badly beaten and had to heal, or she was placed under house arrest and not allowed to leave the house...

I started walking out of the palace, but hesitated halfway there.

If his elders have placed him under house arrest and forbade us from contacting him, wouldn't my going there be even worse?