I Heard The Demon Lord Has A Crush On Me? - Chapter 10

So the owner of the Misty Cloud Pavilion is you.

Early in the morning, the Misty Cloud Pavilion had few patrons. The small ball of fur slumped over Qingmo’s shoulder, let out a lazy yawn, and closed its eyes to resume its interrupted nap.

Am I amazing? Qingmo asked with immense pride.

Mm. Su Yuan chuckled. I used to wonder what kind of person the owner of the Misty Cloud Pavilion truly was. I finally get to see the real face today.

From another perspective, the Misty Cloud Pavilion could be considered world-renowned.

Qingmo shrugged noncommittally. Just as they stepped through the entrance, they ran into a customer being aggressively chased out by the bouncers.

That confirmed the rumor: the Misty Cloud Pavilion loved beating up its patrons.

The irate customer shouted furiously in the middle of the street, What kind of garbage teahouse is this?! They take your money and will not even let you speak the truth, the zither playing is atrocious and the singing is even worse!

Passersby were long accustomed to the scene. The Misty Cloud Pavilion stirred up major and minor disputes with customers every single day, so onlookers would at most glance over a couple of times for the spectacle, but not a single person actually intervened.

The songs at the Misty Cloud Pavilion were notoriously terrible. If Qingmo had not continuously poured his private treasury into keeping the place afloat over the years, it would have gone completely belly-up long ago.

The singing girls and musicians here were not proper apprentices by any stretch; even half-baked amateurs were rare, mostly just folks trying to scrape together a living.

This gave Su Yuan good reason to suspect that Qingmo was only willing to keep working part-time at the Lingyao Palace purely to earn money to sustain the Misty Cloud Pavilion.

Which death-defying fool dared to cause trouble on his turf?

Qingmo narrowed his eyes, rolled up his sleeves in a fighting posture, and patted the man on the shoulder. I have seen your face before. The moment you stepped through the door, you started pawing our girls’ legs. This is a respectable teahouse! If you ever dare pull that again, I will beat you until even your own mother does not recognize you!

Slender in build and possessing delicate features, despite his fierce tone, he carried zero intimidation factor. What the customer actually feared were the two burly bouncers standing behind him.

Hmph! Who wants to stay? You deserve to never make any money… Hey, hey! Put me down!

There was no point in wasting breath on such a scoundrel. Qingmo gave a subtle hand gesture, signaling the staff to carry the hooligan out and toss him far away.

Amidst the noise, the ball of fur, which had barely managed to drift off to sleep, was woken up once more. Irritated, it crawled up and let out a tiny, fierce hiss at the scoundrel.

You are not allowed to hiss at people, Qingmo scolded, tapping it on the nose.

Just as Su Yuan thought that while Qingmo was hardly upright, his parenting skills at least seemed proper, he heard Qingmo continue: Next time you run into someone like that, bite them straight away! Bite them for all you are worth, right in their most vulnerable spot!

As he spoke, he even gestured to demonstrate, and the ball of fur recorded the lesson with a look of vague comprehension.

Su Yuan:

Perhaps entrusting the nine-tailed fox to the Ghost Fiend had not been a very wise decision after all.

The weather was turning warm and spring was at its peak. Today felt rather sultry, and since Qingmo was someone who never minded the cold, he had long since switched to thin robes. Su Yuan, on the other hand, had merely shed his heavy black fur cloak; beneath the thick outer robe, layers of inner garments still remained.

Even so, he looked much more spirited than before.

Hm? Something is wrong, extraordinarily wrong.

Based on Qingmo’s intuition, Su Yuan had definitely dressed up carefully today. For instance, the wooden hairpin holding his hair was brand new, the tassel on his waist pendant was brighter, and as he drew closer, a faint, lingering trace of spice could be detected. All these details hinted that the purpose of his outing today was far from simple.

He beat around the bush to probe. When I visited your home yesterday, you were too lazy to even get out of bed. How is it that the young master is willing to venture out today?

Su Yuan replied with graceful ease, There is a market in the city. I have been cooped up at home for too long, so I wanted to stroll around.

Going for a stroll at a market hardly required dressing up. Qingmo naturally disbelieved his words, growing even more suspicious that he intended to secretly rendezvous with that lover of his.

Playing the scoundrel, he declared, It just so happens I have not strolled through a market in ages either. I will accompany you!

Oh? That sounds delightful.

The two caught the tail end of the morning market, which was bustling with crowds, a constant stream of pedestrians, and endless peddler cries.

At first, Qingmo managed to keep his duty in mind, trailing a short distance behind Su Yuan, who turned around from time to time to check on him. Are you not coming along? If you stay that far back, you might get lost.

Qingmo gestured for him to mind his own business. No, no, do not mind me, I am just browsing.

And browse he did, until something genuinely caught his interest.

A vendor had set up a stall by the roadside, selling sugar paintings.

Crystal-clear, molten sugar dripped onto an iron plate, solidifying within moments so it could be picked up. When Qingmo leaned in to look, the vendor had just finished shaping a small cat.

Having heard no movement from him for a while, Su Yuan turned back to look and found him completely captivated by the sugar painting.

Wow, how cute, it looks just like Tanggao! Qingmo excitedly told the vendor, I want this little cat!

Su Yuan stepped over to pay, instructing the vendor to craft another cat based on Qingmo’s description, this one slightly larger than the first.

Qingmo tilted his head. An enlarged version of Tanggao?

This is Migao. Su Yuan held up the completed sugar painting, waved it before Qingmo’s eyes, and then handed it to him with the tone of someone coaxing a child. Here, hold it and play.

The ball of fur curled into a tight ball inside Qingmo’s robes, its tails tucked away meticulously with only its tiny head poking out.

Qingmo held up the two cat sugar paintings right in front of it. Look, are they pretty? Just as cute as you!

The ball of fur turned its head away in absolute disgust. No one could be cuter than its furry self! Being equally cute was not allowed either!

The vendor chuckled with amusement. Young master, your little puppy is truly amusing. How about I craft another one based on its likeness, free of charge?

The ball of fur: Ying?

What kind of eyesight was that?! You are the puppy!!

It nearly crawled out to lash its tail across the man’s face so he could see clearly what species it actually was. Qingmo easily pressed down its bristling head, still refusing to let the matter rest as he continued to fan the flames. Haha, alright, craft one just like this puppy!

At the corner of the street, two street ruffians were loitering around doing nothing. One of them noticed the commotion at the sugar painting stall, and upon closer inspection, realized the young man standing before the stall looked exceptionally familiar.

He was precisely the fellow who had thrown him out of the Misty Cloud Pavilion earlier. Looking as though he had suffered the greatest grievance in the world, he nudged his companion. Boss! Look, that is the kid who bullied me at the Misty Cloud Pavilion just now!

The ruffian boss looked in the direction pointed, spat on the ground, and sneered, Isn’t this that little beauty we ran into at the gambling den last time! Such a waste of a pretty face, completely devoid of fun.

Although Qingmo had worn a veil last time, his distinct demeanor could be recognized instantly by his eyes alone.

Judging by appearances, he had no backup this time aside from a frail-looking man standing next to him whose delicate features hardly suggested any fighting prowess.

The two put their heads together, determined to avenge their grievance. Let us go! Teach that brat a lesson!

Just as the sugar painting shaped like the ball of fur was completed, the little creature in Qingmo’s arms suddenly grew restless. Qingmo initially thought it disliked the sugar painting, only to spot two ill-intentioned ruffians approaching.

He deftly sidestepped a pair of wandering, greasy hands, his brows furrowing in displeasure. You again? Birds of a feather, all the worst elements gathered in one place.

Even when cursing people, he sounded so scholarly. The ruffians were even less convinced he could slip through their fingers this time. Hey, little beauty, your temper is still as fiery as ever… Ah-yah!

In a blind spot where no one was paying attention, the ball of fur opened its mouth wide and clamped down with a fierce awoo, biting the ruffian hard enough to draw a blood-curdling shriek of agony.

The baby fox’s milk teeth had not fully grown in yet, nor could it pierce skin, but its grip was astonishingly solid. Qingmo yanked on it a few times without making it let go, growing so anxious he slapped at it lightly. Little ball of fur, let go! Let go right now! It is filthy!

The ruffian boss clutched his trembling arm, howling in pain. It will not let go, so hit it! Why are you hitting me?!

A threatening, low growl rumbled in the nine-tailed fox’s throat as it shook its head, spat with absolute disdain, and finally released its grip.

Boss, I will help you! The second ruffian joined the fray, but tripped over an unseen obstacle and took a hard tumble, successfully knocking the cat sugar painting out of Qingmo’s hand and onto the ground.

With a slight, crisp crack, the crystal sugar shattered. Qingmo’s face darkened instantly, a heavy aura of palpable gloom radiating off him that made both ruffians instinctively sense danger.

They had apparently kicked a major hornets’ nest.

This person was not nearly as easy to deal with as he looked.

Ah-ah!

Spare my life, great hero!

Demonstrating firsthand, Qingmo delivered a swift kick to show the ball of fur precisely where the most vulnerable spot was located.

Nearby residents and vendors had fled in terror from the bloody brawl, leaving only the sugar painting stall standing unshaken. The vendor walked up to Su Yuan with a smile, noting that Su Yuan showed no intention of stepping in. Sovereign, are you not going to help?

Su Yuan shook his head, a warmth of profound satisfaction filling his eyes. He can handle it himself. If I intervened, he would only be displeased.

True to his words, Qingmo not only handled it, but handled it to absolute perfection.

The two ruffians were forced to kneel by the roadside with wooden signs hung around their necks, bruised and battered, forced to chant aloud: I am guilty, I should not have broken the sugar painting.

Pretending ignorance, Su Yuan bought two new cat sugar paintings from the vendor for him. Qingmo looked utterly enchanted by them, refusing to eat them, though the ball of fur happily crunched away on its own likeness.

Nothing could halt its journey of feasting; you cannot become a chubby ball in one bite, but bite by bite, you certainly could!

The appearance of the ruffians had been entirely unexpected, but it failed to dampen Qingmo’s high spirits. The capital’s market was vast, filled with all sorts of bizarre and novel trinkets. He browsed until the sun shifted and most stalls began packing up, only then thinking of heading home.

And along with that, he remembered the purpose of this outing.

Su Yuan… he called out blankly to the man beside him.

Hm? Su Yuan replied in a gentle voice.

Do you… still have things to do?

Su Yuan looked momentarily blank. Ah, almost forgot!

With a look of I knew it, Qingmo was already preparing to hide in the shadows to catch the so-called ugly person red-handed, only to watch Su Yuan wander unhurriedly into a roadside flower shop. There is an empty flower pot at home, and Father asked me to buy some iris seeds.

Qingmo slapped a hand across his own face.

So this really was just a pure, ordinary shopping trip? Had he been tricked again?

After purchasing the seeds, they walked back together. Su Yuan dropped Qingmo off right in front of the Misty Cloud Pavilion, noticing his spirits seemed slightly lower than before.

Holding his hand, Su Yuan shook the two sugar paintings. Tonight, let Migao and Tanggao keep you company.

Qingmo puffed out his cheeks. Hmph, I am going to chew Migao to pieces later!

Su Yuan wanted to stroke his soft hair, but felt the gesture might be too forward, forcing him to restrain his restless hand.

High above, a crisp, lingering birdcall drifted on the breeze as two small blue kites flew side by side, tracing an identical graceful arc before landing steadily right in front of Qingmo and Su Yuan.

These were the Dao of Heaven’s messenger birds; the Lingyao Palace did not feed them for nothing.

Clues regarding the blood skull have been discovered in Chizhou City. The Supreme Lord orders us to investigate posthaste.

The message Qingmo received was identical down to the letter, leaving him slightly startled. What a coincidence? Bai Yingfei was still nagging me about it yesterday.