At this moment, anyone who tried to stop Yan Zhen from finding his Dan Zai was the enemy!
Yan Zhen frowned and looked at the young girl before him, saying, “I am.”
The girl was slender with a round face, snow-white skin, and an air of lively cuteness between her brows. When she saw Yan Zhen’s face, she clearly froze for a moment, but anger quickly spread across her face—she could see perfectly well that this man was clearly about to close up shop and leave! Sure enough, a swindler who’d taken the money was trying to flee!
Furious, she raised her delicate white hand and waved it toward Yan Zhen’s face.
In an instant, an almost imperceptible wave of aura carrying a dizzying force rushed toward Yan Zhen.
Yan Zhen frowned, displeased.
So, he also reached out and casually grabbed at the girl—
The next second, a flash of white light appeared.
The girl in front of him had vanished, and in Yan Zhen’s hand was now a rabbit, its scruff firmly pinched between his fingers.
The rabbit’s red eyes were filled with terror as it kicked and flailed, trying to escape. Unfortunately, the powerful grip held her tight—she could barely struggle, let alone land a kick on her captor.
Only now did she realize she had kicked an iron plate. She had wanted to punish the swindler with her Demon Arts, but instead… instead…
The rabbit trembled all over, terrified of what awaited her.
This shopkeeper—this shopkeeper was too terrifying! What… what kind of background did he have?!
After catching the rabbit, Yan Zhen immediately carried her to the backyard.
She looked quite plump, and the Spiritual Energy within her was pure. Maybe he could make braised rabbit for Dan Zai? He had been hesitating over what to cook for Dan Zai, and now this one had delivered herself—perfect as an extra dish.
And so…
Jing Xiaorou watched helplessly as she was carried into the kitchen and placed on the chopping board, her entire rabbit face filled with horror.
Help!! He’s going to eat me!!!!!
Jing Xiaorou wanted to beg for mercy, but to her greater horror, she found she couldn’t speak at all!
She could only… only wait for death…
The rabbit demon, who had cultivated for over a hundred years and spent the last decade or so throwing her weight around, once again felt the terror of being turned into a dish.
Yan Zhen pressed one hand against the shivering rabbit while picking up a small knife with the other, gently drawing it down from the top of the white rabbit’s head—
Jing Xiaorou squeezed her eyes shut, awaiting death, her heart filled with endless regret.
If she could do it all over again, she would never have arrogantly come looking for trouble. Someone of this strength would never swindle others over a measly fifty thousand yuan. And even if he did have some peculiar hobby for cheating people, she had zero ability to resist him—what was the point of coming here? Just to throw her life away!
After she died, she wondered what Yi Chen would do? He’d definitely be worried…
Just as the blade was about to slice through Jing Xiaorou’s scalp, a voice suddenly called out from outside.
“Shopkeeper, shopkeeper? Is the shopkeeper here—”
Yan Zhen paused the knife and glanced at the rabbit awaiting slaughter.
The voice outside grew more urgent.
After a moment’s thought, Yan Zhen set down the knife, picked up the rabbit, and walked back out to the front courtyard.
Standing timidly by the moon gate of the front courtyard was the customer who had just bought a pot of Plant Chu grass from him yesterday. The grass wouldn’t bear fruit for a few more days—why was he back already?
Yan Zhen paused. Did he want a refund?
Frowning, he looked at the customer and said, “Refunds only get half the money back.”
The young man—Liu Yichen—quickly waved his hands and said, “No, no, I’m not here to return anything. I really like the plant you sold me, Shopkeeper. I’m just waiting for it to bear fruit.”
Yan Zhen was puzzled. “Then why are you here?”
Liu Yichen hesitated before speaking. “I was wondering if you’ve seen… my assistant?” He hurriedly explained, “She’s very protective of me and might think you tricked me—though I believe you wouldn’t, of course—but I’m afraid she might misunderstand. So… oh, right, she’s not very tall, about this height.” He gestured to his shoulder. “Round face, probably wearing a white skirt. A very cute girl. Has she come to see you?”
His words were a bit disjointed, but the worry in them was unmistakable.
The truth was, after waking from his nightmare last night, Liu Yichen hadn’t thought much of it and hadn’t noticed the slight oddness in his assistant’s tone. But when he woke up early today—unlike his usual habit of sleeping until noon after nightmares—and found her missing, he recalled their conversation from the night before. Anxiety gnawed at him, fearing his fiercely loyal assistant might have offended the shopkeeper and suffered some harm.
Tears welled up in Jing Xiaorou’s rabbit eyes.
Yan Zhen suddenly understood but felt a little conflicted.
He *had* seen her. But if he admitted that, would he have to return the rabbit to the client? That would mean one less dish for Dan Zai.
Still, the idea of braised rabbit had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. Though the rabbit’s Spiritual Energy was pure, it paled in comparison to what he had on his mountain. He’d just wanted to give Dan Zai a change of taste.
So Yan Zhen answered frankly, “I’ve seen her.”
Liu Yichen should have been relieved, but for some reason, a chill ran down his spine. He asked nervously, “Then… do you know where she is now?”
Yan Zhen silently raised his hand and dangled the rabbit in front of Liu Yichen.
Jing Xiaorou’s rabbit eyes widened in shock. H-h-he just *revealed* her identity like that?! Yichen would definitely be terrified of her now!!
Liu Yichen didn’t quite understand. His gaze fell on the rabbit—he’d noticed it earlier but had been too preoccupied with his assistant’s whereabouts to pay it any mind. Why was the shopkeeper waving it around now?
Yan Zhen shook the rabbit again. “Here she is.”
It took Liu Yichen a moment to process the words. But he wasn’t stupid, and soon, comprehension dawned. He took three steps back, exclaiming in shock, “She’s a rabbit?”
Yan Zhen corrected him. “A Rabbit Demon. About two or three hundred years old.” The rabbit trembled violently in his grip, looking utterly pitiful. “I was just about to cook her when you showed up. Want her? You can take her for 100,000.”
Liu Yichen’s face cycled through shades of red and white, his emotions in turmoil.
In the end, he said, “I’ll pay by card.”
Five minutes later, Yan Zhen closed the shop door and hummed a tune as he headed to the kitchen to cook.
One mediocre Rabbit Demon less, 100,000 yuan richer—his savings had grown a bit. In the human world, money was indispensable for everything, and he couldn’t just casually sell off the mountains of gold he had. This way of earning wasn’t bad.
Once he saved up enough, he’d buy Dan Zai a house.
He’d heard how tough humans had it these days—without a car or a house, finding a partner was nearly impossible. Dan Zai was already so big—who knew when he might go into heat? Best to prepare early and make sure Dan Zai didn’t fall behind other humans.
Although Dan Zai seemed to have a place to live now, Yan Zhen had inquired about it—that house was assigned.
Assigned things weren’t reliable, and besides, how could his precious Dan Zai always live in a place that was just handed out? Dan Zai deserved the best.
Humming a tune while thinking, and thinking while cooking.
In no time at all, Yan Zhen swiftly prepared a large batch of food and packed it all up.
Afterward, Yan Zhen stepped out, locked the shop door, and strolled leisurely in a certain direction.
Off to find Dan Zai!