I Heard The Demon Lord Has A Crush On Me? - Chapter 2

Mist billowed and curled, and bright peach blossom petals floated atop the steaming hot springs.

Fair hands reached out from the blurred water vapor, cupped a handful of water mixed with a few bright petals, and splashed it all over his body, the droplets then trickling down his slender neck.

Having washed away all his fatigue, Qingmo let out a satisfied sigh.

Lazing in the hot spring, his fingers idly poked at the floating petals. Glancing up casually, he suddenly caught sight of a small white ball huddled on the bank, prompting him to part the mist and swim over.

A short while later, hearing the wooden door click shut, Qingmo called out to the blurry figure behind the mist: “Tan Chao, save more peach blossoms. We are making peach blossom pastries.”

Newly bloomed peach blossoms were sweet and fragrant, and with only one chance a year to enjoy this treat, it was far better than eating dry, hard flatbreads.

“Yes,” Tan Chao acknowledged. “Master, someone from the Illusion Spirit Bureau is here.”

“The Illusion Spirit Bureau…” Qingmo murmured, a myriad of possibilities flashing through his mind. Chatting idly with Qingniao this morning, could Su Yuan have sent people to smash his place up? On second thought, the man didn’t seem like that kind of person. But then again, you can know a person’s face without knowing their heart; perhaps he really was that petty?

The more he thought about it, the more an unnamed fire welled up in him. Qingmo resolved to dig out this ugly, monstrous queen and expose him to make Su Yuan lose all his face!

Tan Chao stood on the bank, feeling as though the humid air had suddenly grown a few degrees colder, tinged with a mischievous aura.

The hot spring no longer felt quite so relaxing. Resigned, Qingmo washed his face and crawled onto the bank like a little beast, shaking out his damp, clinging strands of hair.

“I spoke ill of Su Yuan this morning, so he must have heard it. The Illusion Spirit Bureau is his territory, do you think they will use this chance to bully us…”

Tan Chao draped a robe over him from behind, gave his hair a quick wipe, and reminded him: “The Demon Lord is not a narrow-minded person, plus he does not even know you live here.”

Ah, right.

Qingmo snapped back to reality. The Misty Cloud Pavilion was his residence in the mortal realm, passing outwardly as an ordinary teahouse running a law-abiding business. Even if the Illusion Spirit Bureau came knocking, they were not targeting the Ghost Fiend.

Thinking along these lines, his backbone instantly stiffened.

Sluggishly shuffling in his wooden clogs, ignoring the water droplets dripping from the dark strands hanging by his cheeks, and looking rather unkempt overall, he pulled open the door.

In the inner corridor, a man looked as though he had been waiting for a long time. Sitting cross-legged on the floor with his chin propped on his hand, he looked dazed and completely lifeless.

Lowering his gaze to inspect him for a moment, Qingmo impatiently folded his arms and gave the useless manager a kick. “Slacking off again? Are you itching for a beating?”

Chi Ying rubbed his rear as he stood up, looking ready to cry. “Pavilion Master, it seems we have gotten ourselves into trouble…”

It turned out that a customer who came to listen to music earlier had drunk several pots of free tea without paying a single coin, only to claim that his spirit beast had been stolen and falsely accuse the pavilion staff. He had caused a huge scene in the main hall and refused to leave, eventually calling in the Illusion Spirit Bureau to preside over justice.

Upon hearing this, Qingmo cast a subtle glance behind him, a flash of guilt crossing his eyes before he quickly put on a nonchalant expression.

“That customer probably has massive backing. What kind of place is the Illusion Spirit Bureau? It is directly managed by the Demon Lord; ordinary mortals like us cannot afford to provoke them…” Chi Ying was still rambling to himself. “Pavilion Master, what should we do this time? The Illusion Spirit Bureau is not like those regular government officers who can be dismissed with a bit of silver…”

Qingmo rolled his eyes, his lips moving silently. Although no sound came out, Chi Ying deduced from his mouth shape that the Pavilion Master was cursing him out.

“I can knock out ten Demon Lords with a single punch,” the fellow muttered as he adjusted his lapels and stepped outside.

Inside the main hall, relying on the Illusion Spirit Bureau backing him up, the troublemaker was still smashing furniture and making a racket. A few musicians who had been innocently implicated huddled together like little chicks, their hopes reignited the moment they saw Qingmo emerge. “Pavilion Master!”

Qingmo gave a slight nod, making a hand gesture telling them to leave quickly. Sweeping his gaze around, he saw the Misty Cloud Pavilion looked like a demolition site for illegal construction.

Right or wrong, Su Yuan was going to pay for the renovation silver.

Silently logging a mental tab and letting out a breath, he stepped forward to negotiate. “Esteemed guest…”

Before he could finish, a pricey white porcelain jade bottle came flying straight at his face with a whoosh.

Tan Chao’s blade moved even faster. Stepping in front of Qingmo, he drew his weapon in a flash and cleanly cleaved the jade bottle in two.

The porcelain shattered upon hitting the floor with a crisp crash, and along with it, what little remained of Qingmo’s purse strings shattered as well.

He turned to Tan Chao with a wronged expression. “That was so expensive.”

Even catching it would have been fine, why did you have to chop it in half with a single slice?

Tan Chao sheathed his weapon with a blank expression. “Your head is not as hard as it.”

“…That is true, too.”

Tan Chao had a block of wood for a brain and did not know how to beat around the bush; it was no use arguing with him. Heart bleeding, Qingmo turned his attention back to the troublemaker.

“What kind of spirit beast is worth making such a big fuss? Are not the damages to my Misty Cloud Pavilion enough compensation?”

He wore a fierce expression, his long hair still shedding water droplets onto his shoulders. His skin was so fair it seemed translucent, and his pretty features carried very little intimidation, actually prompting quite a few people nearby to steal curious glances at him.

Following those gazes, he saw the lowest-ranking animal trainers of the Illusion Spirit Bureau. Yet their posture toward ordinary people was utterly arrogant, and upon seeing Qingmo look over, they put on an even more haughty air.

Hmph, bullies riding on the master’s coattails!

The fat middle-aged man kicked a table and chair until they wobbled precariously. “Compensation? Can your pile of junk compensate for this?! That is a nine-tailed fox!”

His bellow drew visible displeasure from the trainers present.

Mortals only knew that nine-tailed foxes were rare and extremely expensive, but Qingmo knew this was no longer a problem that could be solved with gold and silver.

A triumphant smile flashed across his face. Ignoring the troublemaker, he casually picked an unlucky target and closed in step by step. “A nine-tailed fox? As far as I know, the total number of remaining nine-tailed foxes in the entire demon realm, including the clan leader, is barely a few dozen. For such a rare creature to be running loose… does the Demon Lord know about this?”

The unlucky trainer secretly wiped the cold sweat pooling in his palm and put up a bold front. “This is an internal matter of the Illusion Spirit Bureau, it is not your place to worry about it! No matter the spirit beast, theft is a grave crime!”

He felt somewhat hollow inside as he said those words. Relying on the mysterious status of spirit trainers, they had frequently oppressed ordinary citizens, and no one had ever dared to resist. Running into someone this tough was a first, and since he could not figure out Qingmo’s background, what if…

The man’s reaction was captured entirely by Qingmo. Sensing the timing was ripe, he dropped his fierce aura, morphing back into a lazy, salted-fish persona while adopting a surprisingly easygoing tone.

“Brother, let me be honest with you. I used to work in the Illusion Spirit Bureau myself, so I know a bit of the inner workings…”

“Really?” The man looked skeptical; the Illusion Spirit Bureau was not a place just anyone could enter.

“Of course,” Qingmo said, spinning his tall tale with absolute conviction. “I saved up a bit of money, retired at the peak of my career, and opened this teahouse to spend my old age.”

“Put that way, I suppose we can be considered colleagues.” The man breathed a sigh of relief. “Looking at this decent-sized teahouse of yours, you must have made a tidy sum hauling in silver. We are all in the same boat, so how about we take a step back and call it quits regarding this little demon matter today!”

Hauling in silver…? Spirit beasts?

Such a niche line of work… did your Sovereign know about this?

…

After an earth-shattering commotion, the ending turned out to be a fizzle. Smiling, Qingmo waved his hand to send the trainers out of the shop, then leaned against the doorway and sighed at the mess inside.

Just how much money was going to be wasted on this… his little treasury was completely emptied out!

While Chi Ying and the others were busy leading the staff in praising the Pavilion Master’s incredible skill at handling any crisis, Tan Chao had already spotted the catch. “You just let them go like that?”

This fellow would normally make a mountain out of a molehill even when he was in the right; there was no way he would swallow a loss when he was actually in the wrong.

“What kind of look is that? Are you suspecting me?” Qingmo’s defense was lacking, but his attitude remained defiant. He retreated to his sole surviving recliner, closed his eyes, and pretended nothing had happened.

Tan Chao: Stare…

Qingmo: …

Ah, fine, fine!

Finding it completely unbearable, he sprang upright and grumbled softly, “Nothing gets past you!”

Reaching into his robes, he pulled out a palm-sized ball of white fur adorned with nine fluffy tails, blinking wet, dewy eyes—a nine-tailed fox, more genuine than real gold.

“Ying…” The little fellow had stayed in Qingmo’s arms for too long, and its whole body radiated the fresh fragrance of peach blossoms.

That is more like it. Exactly as expected. Tan Chao withdrew his gaze and headed to the kitchen to fetch the freshly made peach blossom pastries.

Qingmo took a huge bite, the sweetness filling his mouth as he mumbled indistinctly, “Who knows what that guy Su Yuan is busy with all day. The Illusion Spirit Bureau really needs a cleanup. Go give him a report tonight.”

“Yes.”

“As for this little thing…” He picked up the little nine-tail and rubbed it against his face, utterly smitten with its warm, fluffy feel, “I will send it back once I am done playing with it.”

Hearing this, Chi Ying hurried over. Catching sight of what was in his hands, his eyeballs nearly popped out of his head. “There really is a spirit beast?! And you stole it?!”

“Tch!” Qingmo was deeply displeased by that phrasing. “Stole? Once it enters the Misty Cloud Pavilion, it belongs to me!”

The sun slowly dipped below the horizon, spilling the lingering glow of dusk across the sky. Qingmo cuddled the fragrant, soft little fox cub and burrowed under the covers. Since he was usually busy, he had to make the most of this hard-earned day off.

The furry cub paced back and forth on the soft bedding, its tail curled in a state of complete insecurity. Having just escaped the hands of bad guys, it had now fallen into the clutches of this person. Although his appearance was fine, his gaze revealed an unmistakable air of evil.

Clueless as to what was going through the little cub’s mind, Qingmo had a natural fondness for such soft, fluffy creatures and doted on it endlessly, hugging the little fox tight against his chest even as he drifted off to sleep in a haze.

The sleep was dreamless all the way into the deep of night, until a rustling sound echoed outside the window.

Groggily letting out a yawn, Qingmo rolled over to scoop the sleeping little fox back into the bedding as a powerful fluctuation of spiritual energy swept through, searching every corner to no avail.

Only after Su Yuan’s spiritual pressure receded did Qingmo leisurely lower his barrier, gently poking the tip of the little fox’s nose. “Su Yuan is not busy trying to fall in love, yet he still has time to come looking for you. You can keep me company for two more days.”

“Ying?” The little fellow looked bewildered, too sleepy to keep its eyes open, and curled back into a ball to resume sleeping. This cute little sight melted Qingmo’s heart. Placing a hand over the white ball of fur, he closed his eyes in absolute contentment.

Right at that moment, a stealthy, eerie noise drifted from outside the window.