The morning sunlight filtered through the window lattice, casting dappled shadows on the clinic floor, which was already filled with the scent of herbs.
Bai Xuan, dressed in his neat school uniform, was taking small sips of millet porridge.
Bai Yanzhou sat opposite him, quietly flipping through a medical casebook with yellowed pages.
In a corner of the counter, Coal Ball was curled into a black fur ball, seemingly dozing.
Only the occasional slight twitch of his ear tip revealed that he wasn’t completely asleep.
Everything looked peaceful and harmonious.
However, this tranquility was destined to be short-lived.
“Ow—my nose!”
An exaggerated scream from Bai Jimu came from the backyard, followed by a crisp clatter, sounding like some pottery had been knocked over.
Bai Yanzhou didn’t even lift his brow. His gaze remained on the medical casebook as he spoke flatly in the direction of the backyard, “Little Bi, keep it down.”
Before he could finish his sentence, Bai Jimu rushed in with a mournful face, his head covered in crushed green leaves. He was clutching a handful of mangled plants, and the air instantly filled with a cool and slightly pungent scent.
“Bro! Bro! I accidentally knocked over the mint you were preparing! And… and I stepped on it!” He held up the pitiful plant.
His nose was stained with conspicuous green juice, and paired with his expression that screamed, “I was wrong, but I didn’t mean it,” he looked exactly like a large dog that had just rolled in a mud puddle.
The intense minty smell assaulted his sensitive nasal cavity, causing him to let out two loud sneezes in succession, shaking the crushed leaves off his head.
Bai Xuan was so startled he almost dropped his spoon. He stuttered, “B-Brother Mumu, a-are you okay?”
On the windowsill, Ming Shu, who was elegantly grooming her fur, paused.
Her amber eyes clearly reflected a disdainful “I knew it.”
She flicked her tail and said coolly, “Reckless. Mint is pungent and cooling, with a strong nature. With it all over your head and face, watch out for headaches and dizziness later.”
Bai Yanzhou finally put down the medical casebook.
His calm gaze swept over the “remains” in Bai Jimu’s hand and the tip of his nose, which was slightly red from the mint’s irritation.
His tone betrayed no emotion. “So, is this the result of your excess energy early in the morning? Mint is used to disperse wind and heat, and clear the head and eyes—not for you to use as a wake-up spray.”
“I didn’t mean to!” Bai Jimu argued hastily, trying to lean close to Bai Yanzhou for comfort, only to be ruthlessly pushed away by a palm against his forehead.
“I just saw a cabbage butterfly in the backyard. Its wings were white and pretty, so I wanted to pounce on it… I didn’t notice the mint drying on the rack behind me…” His voice grew smaller and smaller, his eyes darting guiltily around.
The invisible tail behind him was likely drooping in dejection.
“Pouncing on butterflies?” Bai Yanzhou repeated. His tone remained flat, yet it made Bai Jimu instinctively shrink his neck.
“I remember I sent you to the backyard to sort the honeysuckle we brought in yesterday, to sift out impurities and withered leaves.”
Bai Jimu suddenly remembered his “real job” and became even more flustered. “Ah! Honeysuckle! I… I’ll go right now!”
He turned to rush back to the backyard, nearly tripping over the threshold.
“Stop.” Bai Yanzhou called him back. “Clean off that ‘mint essence’ first. Wash your face and hair thoroughly. Then go clean up the overturned basket and the mint. Sweep up every single crushed leaf.”
He paused, turning his gaze to the windowsill. “Ming Shu, please handle the sorting of the honeysuckle. Be careful not to mix in old stems and impurities.”
“Okay.” Ming Shu responded briskly.
She jumped lightly off the windowsill and walked silently toward the backyard, leaving a slightly mocking look as she passed the chagrined Bai Jimu.
With a mournful face, Bai Jimu looked at Bai Xuan, the only one likely to be soft-hearted, for help.
Bai Xuan whispered, “B-Brother Mumu, go… go wash up quickly. The s-smell is really strong.”
Bai Jimu had no choice but to head dejectedly to the water tank to wash up.
For a moment, the clinic was filled with an even stronger scent of cool mint, mixed with Bai Jimu’s whining complaints as he washed his face.
This little interlude didn’t last too long.
After cleaning himself and the mess in the small yard, Bai Jimu’s excess energy seemed to recharge instantly. His depression disappeared as quickly as it had come.
He soon regained his vitality and began circling Ming Shu, who was carefully sorting honeysuckle in the backyard.
“Sister Ming Shu, this honeysuckle smells so good! It smells sweet!”
“Sister Ming Shu, your fingers are so nimble! You sort so fast and well!”
“Sister Ming Shu, look at this flower, isn’t it huge? The color is so pretty!”
Ming Shu was annoyed to death by his noise. Her brow furrowed slightly, and finally, she couldn’t help but look up, her eyes sharp as knives. “Shut up. If you keep chattering, I’ll sift you out along with these weeds.”
Bai Jimu instantly went silent. He made an exaggerated motion of zipping his lips and squatted obediently to the side for less than two minutes.
However, a Beagle’s curiosity and energy cannot be suppressed for long.
Seeing Bai Xuan finish breakfast and put on
his backpack to leave, he immediately found a new “target” and leaned in, chirping, “Little Xuan, Little Xuan, come back early after school today! Brother Mumu found a new snack shop on the corner yesterday. They have small bone-shaped cookies that look delicious! How about we go on an adventure together?”
Bai Xuan was amused but helpless. “B-Brother Mumu, I… I have to do h-homework first…”
“Homework is quick! I’ll help you!” Bai Jimu promised grandly.
At this point, Bai Yanzhou stood up, filled Bai Xuan’s water bottle with warm water, and spoke in a gentle but unquestionable tone, “Little Xuan, time to go. I’ll walk you to school. Little Bi, watch the house. Also, copy the first chapter of ‘Ode to Medicinal Properties’ three times to calm your mind.”
“Huh? Copying books?” Bai Jimu’s face collapsed instantly, looking like a frost-bitten eggplant.
After seeing Bai Xuan off, the clinic returned to a brief calm.
Bai Jimu sighed and took out paper and pen, beginning his painful task of copying.
Ming Shu finished sorting the honeysuckle and spread it evenly in a new bamboo basket to dry, her movements skilled and efficient.
She occasionally glanced at Bai Jimu, who was scratching his ears and cheeks in frustration, the corner of her mouth curling up almost imperceptibly.
Coal Ball had woken up at some point. He stretched long on the counter, then walked with elegant cat steps, jumped down, and silently approached Bai Yanzhou’s feet, rubbing his head against his pant leg.
Bai Yanzhou was checking the honeysuckle Ming Shu had sorted.
Feeling the touch at his feet, he looked down.
Coal Ball looked up, his golden pupils appearing clear and bright in the sunlight, completely different from the deep, unreadable look in the courtyard the night before.
He let out a “meow,” the sound soft and filled with pure reliance.
Looking at him, faint ripples of suspicion rose in Bai Yanzhou’s heart again.
Which side is the real one in this Jekyll-and-Hyde cat performance?
Or are animals just naturally fickle?
He squatted down, extended a finger, and gently scratched Coal Ball’s chin.
Coal Ball immediately let out a loud, satisfied purr, narrowing his eyes in pure enjoyment.
“Sometimes, I really don’t know what you’re thinking,” Bai Yanzhou whispered, his voice so soft only he could hear it.
Coal Ball’s purring paused for half a second, then resumed even louder. He even rolled over, exposing his soft belly, curling his paws in a defenseless posture.
Bai Yanzhou didn’t touch his belly.
Instead, he stood up, his gaze sweeping over Bai Jimu, who was about to fall asleep copying, and Ming Shu, who looked lazy but was alert to everything, finally landing on the high-quality honeysuckle at hand.
“Ming Shu, good job,” he praised rarely.
Ming Shu nodded slightly in response, but her gaze lingered thoughtfully between Bai Yanzhou and Coal Ball rolling at his feet.
“Dr. Bai,” she suddenly spoke, her voice cool. “If the mind is restless and liver qi is stagnated, besides wind-dispersing and heat-clearing herbs like mint and honeysuckle, can we also use Albizia bark and Turmeric root to soothe the liver and relieve depression?”
Bai Yanzhou looked at her with some surprise, not expecting her to initiate a discussion on pharmacology, and with such a precise angle.
“Indeed. Albizia bark relieves depression and calms the spirit, while Turmeric root promotes Qi circulation and resolves stagnation. They are often effective for symptoms caused by emotional discomfort. However, medication requires syndrome differentiation and cannot be generalized.”
He paused, then asked back, “You seem to have quite a bit of insight into these calming and depression-relieving herbs?”
Ming Shu lowered her eyes, methodically washing her face with her paw, her tone flat. “Having lived a long time, one inevitably encounters annoying things. I just figured it out by trying it on myself.”
She spoke lightly, but Bai Yanzhou heard the implied meaning.
This cat demon seems to have a story too.
Just then, Bai Jimu, who had been nodding off while copying, jerked awake, nearly falling off his chair.
He shook his head, saw Bai Yanzhou and Ming Shu looking at him, and immediately flashed a bright, goofy smile. “Bro! Sister Ming Shu! I finished one copy! Aren’t I awesome!”
Seeing his heartless, happy look, the suspicion raised by Coal Ball and the thoughts brought on by Ming Shu’s words seemed to dilute a little.
Bai Yanzhou shook his head helplessly. “Keep copying. Make your handwriting neater.”
“Got it!” Bai Jimu responded energetically, burying his head back in the paper, even though his handwriting remained crooked and scrawly.
Coal Ball stopped rolling and sat up, his golden pupils quietly watching it all.
After an unknown amount of time, Bai Jimu finally completed his “great task” of copying the book.
Although the handwriting was still hideous, his attitude was commendable.
Ming Shu had found a few more medical books from somewhere and was reading quietly.
Coal Ball spent most of the time dozing, occasionally lifting his head to follow Bai Yanzhou’s movements with his eyes.
When the clock pointed past three in the afternoon, around the time Bai Xuan would be finishing school, Bai Yanzhou’s phone suddenly rang.
It was an unfamiliar local number.
He picked it up, and an anxious female voice came from the other end—it was Bai Xuan’s homeroom teacher, Ms. Li.
“Is this Mr. Bai, Bai Xuan’s guardian?”
“I am,” Bai Yanzhou replied steadily.
“Mr. Bai, it’s like this. In art class this afternoon, Student Bai Xuan… had a little accident.”
Ms. Li’s voice held confusion and uncertainty. “We were doing crafts with colored clay. Somehow, the red clay in Bai Xuan’s hand… seemed, seemed to suddenly become very… alive? It started moving on its own and even… ‘attracted’ the clay of the student next to him. Now it’s become a rather large, slightly pulsating ball of red mud, and the children are quite scared.”
Bai Yanzhou’s fingers tightened around the phone. His eyes sharpened instantly, but his voice remained calm. “How is Bai Xuan?”
“He’s fine, just seems frightened and a bit at a loss. We’ve temporarily put that… thing in an empty box. Mr. Bai, is it convenient for you to come to the school now? We might need to talk…”
“I’ll be right there.” Bai Yanzhou hung up decisively.
He stood up, his movements still composed, but his aura carried an imperceptible chill.
“Bro, what’s wrong? Did something happen to Little Xuan?” Bai Jimu immediately sensed it and leaned in, worry written all over his face.
Ming Shu also put down her medical book and looked up.
Coal Ball was fully awake now, sitting high on the counter, his golden eyes fixed on Bai Yanzhou.
“Little Xuan had a small situation at school. I’m going to pick him up.” Bai Yanzhou was concise as he grabbed his jacket. “Little Bi, watch the clinic. Ming Shu, please keep an eye out.”
He didn’t say much, but the words “small situation” obviously didn’t reassure anyone present.
Especially since it involved Bai Xuan’s uncontrolled power as a demon.
Bai Yanzhou walked quickly out of the clinic, the sunlight casting a long shadow behind him.
Inside the clinic, the relaxed atmosphere from moments ago seemed to freeze instantly.
Bai Jimu paced anxiously in circles. “Is Little Xuan being bullied? No, I have to go see!”
“Quiet, puppy.” Ming Shu stopped him coldly. “If Dr. Bai told you to wait, don’t go add to the chaos.”
Although her tone was calm, her slightly tense body and frequent glances at the door revealed that she wasn’t indifferent.
Coal Ball jumped off the counter and walked silently to the door, looking through the glass in the direction Bai Yanzhou had left.
A very low, almost inaudible growl rumbled in his throat, carrying a vigilance uncharacteristic of a feline.
It seemed Bai Xuan’s school life was far from as peaceful as they had hoped.