Chapter 59: The Eunuch's Fox Pet
"Do we still need to guess?"
Pei Duo received the confused look from the little fox, as if to ask, what's so great about this sudden realization?
Although it is difficult to distinguish the male and female foxes with the naked eye, when Lin Zhi spoke, there was no doubt that his voice was the clear and crisp voice of a young boy.
Pei Duo's fingertips touched the fox's soft belly, just above the pair of bells, but the little fox still showed no intention of dodging and let him touch it comfortably, as if touching here was no different from stroking the back.
Pei Duo remembered that Lin Zhi was practicing alone in the mountains, and he understood his reaction.
His eyes passed over the pair of petite bells, and he chuckled and said, "You were so unprepared, no wonder you got fooled."
This seemed to touch the little fox's heart. The little fox lay beside him and said weakly, "Anyway, you won't cut my belly open while you're touching it."
The little fox's voice was not loud, but he had a stubborn attitude to justify his behavior of showing off his belly.
Pei Duo realized that he had misunderstood, but did not explain. He stroked Lin Zhi's fur on the side of his body and closed his eyes to rest.
His head still hurt a lot, but compared to the previous degree, it was bearable enough for him. At least as he became calmer, the illusion disappeared, leaving only the pain that had been with him for many years.
Lin Zhi felt his touch and breathed a sigh of relief.
He just tried his best to restrain his human instinct of shame and not dodge.
Humans would feel ashamed if their abdomens were touched or if other parts of their bodies were observed, but demons wouldn't feel ashamed.
Even monsters that have been immersed in the human world for many years sometimes cannot control their instincts. Only those monsters that attach great importance to human etiquette and can integrate perfectly will demand self-esteem.
As a demon who had never left the mountains, he was of course unrestrained and had never accepted such a concept. How could he show the corresponding attitude? Moreover, he was a fox demon famous for his charm and indulgence.
If Pei Duo had touched somewhere else just now, he could even hook his tail over there, but Pei Duo obviously wouldn't do that, at least not now. Even an unintelligent fox like Pei Duo wouldn't have such a bad taste, let alone knowing that he had intelligence.
Lin Zhi curled her lips in her heart. After establishing this kind of character, the next thing she had to worry about was Lord Pei, who was raising a demon pet.
After all, the little fox demon knows nothing, and there are many people in this world who covet beauty.
As for Pei Duo's deliberate words "It turns out to be a male fox", it was just to make him angry. Lin Zhi didn't intend to take the bait.
Giving the other person an unexpected response within their plan can effectively arouse their interest.
As a person of the same kind, Lin Zhi knew that Pei Duo would be attracted to this kind of interest. After all, that was how he was attracted to Ming Yao in the first place. Well, Song Jiazhu would be the same.
Pei Duo didn't know that the little fox lying beside him and being stroked by him was thinking about someone else at the moment. He was combing the fox's soft fur from time to time.
This repetitive action doesn't seem to make people bored, but rather addictive.
With this in mind, Pei Duo discovered that Zihu's calming spell seemed to be staged, and he needed to cast the spell again after a period of time. However, judging from his increasingly tired appearance, such continuous consumption was a bit too much for him.
This full moon night was not as difficult as before.
The moon is like a silver plate. Under the thin clouds, it looks particularly huge, and even gives people a vague feeling as if it is about to fall from the sky.
The lights of the pleasure boats are like stars, spread across the wide surface of the Neijiang River.
In the hot summer of July, the pretty ladies on the pleasure boats wore tulle layers on their body and waved their handkerchiefs, sending out gusts of fragrant breeze that made the guests passing by feel half numb.
There were constant laughter and joy on several small flower boats, not to mention the largest pleasure boat on the river, which had pavilions on top and the sound of stringed instruments and orchestras.
Bai Xin's badge swayed in the air as she moved. She was dressed in men's clothing today, looking very heroic. She stood on the side of the boat with a confused look on her face.
She took out the silver plate in her hand, and the pointer on the silver plate moved for a few seconds and then stopped moving.
She put the silver tray away when she heard footsteps behind her.
"Young Master, why are you standing here alone? Do you want to go inside and listen to me play a song?"
The girl in pink leaned aside coquettishly, smiling at Bai Xin.
Bai Xin lowered his voice and asked, "Is there a girl named Hang Wan'er on this boat?"
The prostitute's face changed and she shook her handkerchief unhappily.
"Sir, don't you know that the Hang Wan'er you are looking for is just the imagination of a stinky scholar? There has never been such a person on our many ships. Humph, there are many opportunistic scumbags who changed this name and were severely scolded by my mother. Now there is an Oiran with this name, but she has already booked all the appointments. Ordinary people can't see her. Besides, I haven't seen any man who has outstanding talent and won the first place in the imperial examination come out of her room."
The pink lady smiled and said to Bai Xin, "Sir, why don't you come to my place to listen to music? If you are willing, I can be your Hang Wan'er."
Bai Xin couldn't bear it anymore, so he shook his head and left.
The next day, a body was fished out from Neijiang.
"He lives in Pingzaifang and is a scholar. This is the tenth scholar fished out of Neijiang in the past three months."
Inside Pei's residence, Bai Xin lowered his head and reported to Pei Duo.
What first attracted the attention of the Demon Suppression Bureau was not the deceased, but the story about the famous prostitute Hang Wan'er that was circulating in the capital.
Because people's beliefs can give birth to spiritual things, the more people believe in the existence of a thing, the more likely it is to be born.
The story of Hang Wan'er was written by a scholar who failed the imperial examination.
It is said that there was a woman named Hang Wan'er, who was extremely talented and had a great literary style. Unfortunately, her family fell into poverty, so she became a prostitute.
She was very fond of talented scholars. If they were truly talented, she would rather not have gold or silver but have a long conversation with them. But if she found that the person had no real talent, she would light a lamp in the middle of the night and ask them to leave.
The protagonist is a scholar who went to Beijing to take the imperial examination. One night, he met Hang Wan'er and talked with her about poetry, songs, ideals and ambitions. The protagonist felt that he had met his confidante and became more and more engaged in the conversation. In the middle of the night, Hang Wan'er asked him if he could redeem her if he became the top scorer in the imperial examination, and she was willing to be his concubine every day.
The protagonist didn't dare to exaggerate, he only said that there were many talented people but didn't dare to make a conclusion. However, Hang Wan'er said that the young man would definitely pass the exam.
During the exam the next day, the scholar seemed to be enlightened by a fairy. He came up with many brilliant ideas. In the end, he won the top spot and married Hang Wan'er.
What a clichéd imaginary story, thought Lin Zhi as she lay beside Pei Duo.
"Not long after this story was written, it became popular because many people failed the exam. It was just a bitter consolation for scholars. Later, someone said that he really met Hang Wan'er, but he was not well-educated and was invited out by Hang Wan'er in the middle of the night. He also specifically described how Hang Wan'er was as beautiful and charming as in the book."
"More and more people said they had met Hang Wan'er, and soon the first dead person appeared. Before he left, he had made an appointment with a friend to look for Hang Wan'er. The government was investigating whether he was framed, but his friend said they were together in the pleasure boat, and the dead person suddenly disappeared."
"Two members of the Demon Suppression Division went to the spot to investigate whether there was any demonic aura, but they found nothing, so the case was closed as a case of accidental fall into the river."
"In the same month, another dead person was fished out in Neijiang. He was also a scholar. He also went to look for Hang Wan'er as a joke. He also disappeared inexplicably and was found drowned the next day."
"The government office transferred the case over to us. The captain of the Demon Suppression Division went to the deceased's home and nearby area, but also found no trace of demons or ghosts. The scholar who wrote the story had already returned home, and the Xuan Envoy over there did not find anything unusual about him."
"Next month..."
"… So far, there have been ten people. Yesterday was a full moon. I carefully patrolled the Neijiang River. The silver plate pointed the way but did not turn effectively. My subordinates were incompetent and failed to find any trace of the evil creature."
Bai Xin lowered her head in shame. Under the chief of the Demon Suppression Division, there were sixteen Xuan Envoys guarding various places in Dai Viet. She was the Xuan Envoy stationed in the capital, and she had actually allowed a monster to openly harm people in her own territory. She could only ask the chief to personally investigate whether it was a human or a monster who did this.
"knew."
Pei Duo nodded and watched Bai Xin put down the file and walk out.
He held Lin Zhi, who was lying on the table, in his arms, combed his hair and asked, "Little fox, what do you think?"
"If those people were all drowned and nothing was missing, it doesn't seem like a demon did it."
Lin Zhi didn't say much, only the parts he knew.
Normally, monsters harm people in order to eat them, or they cannot control themselves and hurt people, so they just drown people. This is not like their style. Besides, the capital is the headquarters of the Monster Suppression Bureau, and there are temples and Taoist temples in the suburbs. Normally, monsters will not come here to do such obvious actions, not to mention that Bai Xin did not detect any monster aura.
"But if it was done by humans, why would they pick on scholars? They don't seem to be important people."
Lin Zhi swung his tail, indicating that he was just a little fox, how could a little fox understand these things.
"Whether it is or not, we will know when we go and have a look tonight."
Lin Zhi raised her head: "She just hurt someone last night, how dare she show up tonight?"
"Evil spirits born from stories and fantasies that have not yet fully matured are like rootless duckweed, with no one to drive them. They act according to their instincts and do not care about any rules."
Pei Duo put down the file in his hand and scratched his chin following the little fox's movements.
He had encountered many demons and had read almost all the archives of the Demon Suppression Bureau. Naturally, he could gain experience from past events and see the clues.
Lin Zhi was stunned: "You know the answer and you're asking me?"
"Actually, I want to ask you how you plan to swallow her. Do you want me to stuff her directly into your body, or tear her into pieces and turn her into spiritual energy to inject into your body? You monsters should be able to eat this kind of spirit. After I deal with it, her karma will not be transferred to you."
The gentle young man casually decided the life or death of the monster who had not yet been revealed with his words, and his light brown eyes showed a calm light.
Pei Duo sighed softly: "Little fox, you are too weak now. With this half heart, when will you be able to truly do what you can do for me in the deal?"
Lin Zhi thought that she wanted to impress this man and follow him till death. She obviously wanted to try whether the calming spell he cast after recovery would be stronger.
He read Pei Duo's mind as if he was reading his own mind, and responded quickly.
"Feed however adults like. I'm not picky."
The little fox lay down, indicating that he could do anything.
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