Xiao Duchuan wiped the coffee off his trousers and glared unhappily at Lin You, who was sitting opposite him.
“Shut up.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll shut up.” Lin You made a zipping motion across his mouth. “Speaking of which, Brother Xiao, did you really find him?”
Xiao Duchuan nodded. “It’s definitely him. And… It’s not a reincarnation.”
Silence fell between them.
After staring at each other for a moment, Lin You was the first to curse.
“So, Teacher really isn’t human? He actually kept this from us for so long!”
His voice wasn’t quiet, drawing the attention of quite a few people in the café.
Lin You was already eye-catching, and now he had become the focal point for everyone.
Sensing the prying gazes, he glared irritably at the crowd peeking at him, causing several girls to blush.
Xiao Duchuan tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table, his eyes dark and unreadable.
He didn’t understand either.
Since Teacher wasn’t human, why did he fake his death back then?
Was he… running away from them?
Thinking about how he had spent a thousand years searching for Bai Yanzhou’s reincarnation just to rekindle their bond, only to find out the man wasn’t even dead and was living it up…
Xiao Duchuan felt incredibly stupid.
Why didn’t I realize it sooner?
Seeing the resentment radiating off his older brother growing thicker by the second, Lin You sensed trouble.
He knew very well that while Xiao Duchuan always looked cold and aloof on the surface, he was crazier than anyone underneath.
Back then, when he learned of Bai Yanzhou’s death, Xiao Duchuan, who had been on the throne for less than a year, almost followed him to the grave.
If Lin You hadn’t stopped him with everything he had, they wouldn’t be here today.
Now that he knew the person he loved had been alive all this time, wouldn’t he go insane?
“Brother Xiao, calm down. Calm down.” Lin You tried to soothe him. “Since Teacher isn’t dead, isn’t that a good thing? If you ask me, you should just kidnap him and lock him up at home. Problem solved.”
Xiao Duchuan pressed his lips together, his brow furrowed.
Indeed, that sounded like a good plan.
But when it came down to actually doing it, Xiao Duchuan hesitated.
“Hmph, no rush.” Xiao Duchuan gritted his teeth as he felt the sensations transmitted back from his clone. “I want him to taste what I went through back then.”
A thousand years had passed, and the love from those days had long turned into a paranoid obsession.
Lin You sighed and silently lit a candle for his teacher in his heart.
Meanwhile, Bai Yanzhou was holding the freshly washed Coal Ball, liking him more the more he looked at him.
He couldn’t resist burying his face in Coal Ball’s tummy and rubbing against it.
“Who does such a cute little kitty belong to~?”
“Wu-meow!”
Coal Ball yowled in dissatisfaction, pressing his paws against Bai Yanzhou’s face in an attempt to push him away.
But not only was this futile, but it also resulted in his paw pads being captured in Bai Yanzhou’s hand.
“Even the paw pads are pink! Let Big Brother give them a kiss~”
Coal Ball reached his limit. He slapped Bai Yanzhou across the face and struggled free from the devil’s clutches.
Too scary… I never expected Teacher to have this side to him.
Coal Ball, with dark lines hanging over his face (TN: anime expression for speechless/dread), hid inside his newly bought cat bed and refused to come out, no matter how much Bai Yanzhou called.
Bai Jimu chewed on his bone, crying internal tears.
Sob sob sob, Bro has been completely bewitched by that little vixen.
He doesn’t love me anymore QAQ.
Seeing that he couldn’t coax the kitten out, Bai Yanzhou gave up and returned to his seat with regret.
Bai Jimu immediately seized the opportunity, shuffling pitifully over to Bai Yanzhou’s feet.
“Bro~”
Bai Yanzhou patted the little Beagle’s head soothingly. “Good boy. By the way, those two people who tried to catch you—was it them?”
Bai Yanzhou naturally hadn’t forgotten the important business.
After Bai Jimu told him about his encounter, he immediately started investigating.
There were only two dog meat restaurants nearby, but they both seemed to source their ingredients through legal channels; there was no evidence of them stealing dogs or catching strays.
Sure enough, Bai Jimu took a look and shook his head.
“It wasn’t them, Bro. I remember one was tall and strong with a tattoo on his arm, and the other was very dark-skinned and looked fierce.”
Bai Yanzhou frowned, habitually fingering the prayer beads in his hand as he thought.
Since it wasn’t them… it had to be another shop.
Perhaps he should expand the search area. Maybe shops that sold dog meat disguised as other meat.
Or maybe… those two were just hired hands?
Although Bai Yanzhou was a powerful great demon and a skilled doctor, finding people still required connections.
After all, his influence didn’t stretch that far.
“It’s okay, Bro. If I see them again, I’ll definitely tell you. It’s just a pity I didn’t memorize their scent.”
Bai Yanzhou rubbed Bai Jimu’s head. “Alright, I’ll keep an eye out for you too.”
The clinic remained quiet.
Bai Jimu sat at the door holding a grilled sausage.
Just as he was about to take a bite, the sound of crying drifted over.
“Boohoo… Nuomi, my Nuomi…”
It was a little girl crying, and it sounded quite pitiful.
Bai Jimu thought for a moment, then walked over to the crying girl with his sausage in hand.
“Little sister, don’t cry. What’s wrong?”
He crouched down to be at eye level with her, his emerald green eyes full of concern.
The little girl sniffled. Seeing Bai Jimu, she wasn’t afraid. She held up the ‘Lost Dog’ poster in her hand and stammered, “B-big brother, have you seen my Nuomi? Boohoo… She’s been gone for three days…”
Bai Jimu took the poster. The photo showed a white Pomeranian with round eyes that looked very lovable.
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, I haven’t seen her. Are you crying because Little Nuomi is lost?”
“Boohoo, y-yes, Big Brother. I’ve looked for so long, but I can’t find her.”
Seeing the little girl about to cry again, Bai Jimu quickly handed her the sausage and patted his chest. “Don’t worry! Big Brother will help you find her!”
“Really?” The little girl’s eyes lit up. “T-thank you, Big Brother! My name is Qiqi!”
Seeing her stop crying, Bai Jimu breathed a sigh of relief. He patted her head and said, “Okay Qiqi, I’m Bai Jimu. Can you bring me something of Nuomi’s? I’ll wait for you at Baizhou Hall just ahead.”
“Okay, Big Brother, wait a moment!”
Clutching the sausage Bai Jimu gave her, the little girl ran off in a flash.
Bai Jimu watched her leave, but his expression darkened.
Come to think of it, the number of stray dogs in the area had been dwindling bit by bit.
That was very abnormal.
Plus, the old folks at the market had been discussing rumors of dog thieves nearby, and many people’s pets had gone missing.
This put Bai Jimu on high alert.
They were his own kind; he couldn’t just watch them disappear without explanation.
Even if they were catching strays, they shouldn’t be sent to dog meat restaurants—of course, vicious dogs that bit people indiscriminately were an exception.
He had to investigate the cause.
I need a plan. Oh right, Bro told me once about a strategy called ‘using oneself as bait’ to enter the trap.
I can be the bait, go to the dog thief’s lair, and rescue the other dogs!
I just don’t know if Bro will agree.