Zuo Zhu: “…That’s not necessary.”
She hesitated, still trying to reason with the demon, “The two people next door are the ones you wanted to keep during the day, why don’t we just find something else to eat?”
Her mood was complicated. She had only just ensured her own safety, and now she was worrying about others.
The demon refused.
Zuo Zhu asked cautiously, “If you eat those ghosts, will you be full?”
“Yes,” the demon replied with a frown, clearly annoyed, “but it’s not tasty.”
Ignoring his grim expression, Zuo Zhu held onto his arm and stepped outside, “Then let’s eat some ghosts to fill our stomachs. Whether it tastes good or not doesn’t matter.”
The demon glared at her, “Why should I listen to you?”
Zuo Zhu blushed, “Because I like you.”
“What does your liking have to do with me?”
Zuo Zhu: “…”
She grabbed the demon’s arm firmly. “Liking is just liking. Just like you like eating people, I like that you only eat me, so don’t eat anyone else!”
Her words tangled the demon’s thoughts; he couldn’t respond quickly.
Seeing him dazed, Zuo Zhu pressed her advantage: “A ghost can only like one person. You can only like eating me.”
“No!” The demon scoffed like a rogue spirit. “Then I won’t like you. I want to eat with many people.”
Zuo Zhu: “…”
She shouted, “But Huo Fu likes me! He said he only eats me! If you eat anyone else, it’s like he betrayed me! I’ll go tell him!”
The demon still retained Huo Fu’s usual hesitant human personality. Although it didn’t fully understand Zuo Zhu’s logic, the threat of “telling Huo Fu” made it falter.
Zuo Zhu felt mentally exhausted.
Coaxing a demon was like coaxing a three-year-old child, except a three-year-old child only cries when upset. A “three-year-old” demon, however, could immediately swallow her whole if dissatisfied.
This comic shouldn’t be called First Ghost Catcher; it should be Mountain Village Demon, Three and a Half Years Old.
Too bad there’s no comic section on Jinjiang; she could have developed it there.
Finally, the demon gave up the idea of eating Liu Minmin, letting Zuo Zhu lead it around the village.
“Look for ghosts that are easier to eat, just nibble a little.”
After all, she was human. Collaborating with the demon to eat people made her uneasy, so she persuaded it to nibble on the ghosts instead.
The village ghosts were all former evildoers who had turned into vengeful spirits. Eating them carried no moral burden for Zuo Zhu.
Annoyed, the demon chased a horde of wailing, terrified ghosts, swallowing them one by one.
When it seemed full, Zuo Zhu kindly suggested, “Is there a way to store some of these ghosts, so we could have them as snacks even after leaving the village?”
The demon stared at her incredulously, “You actually want me to eat this after we leave the village?”
And who would ever treat ghosts tasting like coal slag as a snack?!
The next day, when Huo Fu’s personality returned, Zuo Zhu felt extremely guilty.
Last night she had tricked the demon into thinking Huo Fu liked her, and now she nervously fiddled with her fingers.
Huo Fu didn’t comment, just gave her a calm glance before looking away.
Zuo Zhu took this as a sign he wasn’t dwelling on it.
She happily got up to have breakfast.
“Go tell Lin Tianming and the others that I’ve found a way out. We can leave this afternoon.”
Zuo Zhu paused, “Have you prepared everything?”
Huo Fu looked up at the village sky, murmuring, “Almost done.”
His expression was complicated.
Zuo Zhu interpreted it as the melancholy of leaving home.
She didn’t rush to eat, instead sitting on the bed seriously: “There’s something important I need to ask you.”
“?”
Zuo Zhu: “Do you have money?”
“I mean, after we leave, I’ll definitely follow you, but I have no money. If you don’t either, we’ll just be living off air.”
Huo Fu’s complicated thoughts broke instantly. He stared at her silently, unable to speak.
“Why are you worried about something so trivial? Shouldn’t your first concern be whether I’ll be safe when we leave and whether I’ll go on a killing spree?”
Normally, anyone releasing such a demon into society would feel intense guilt and constantly worry about how to stop him.
Zuo Zhu was frustrated. “Trivial? Not having money isn’t important? Even if you’re a demon, no money to eat, no money for a place to sleep, no money for transport—you’d still get kicked out!”
Huo Fu: “…”
He tossed a card onto the bed. “There should be money in here.”
Zuo Zhu asked, “Whose is it?”
“Human trafficker’s,” Huo Fu said calmly. “The same one who sold me when he massacred the village. He was here too, so I killed him as well.”
Huo Fu had been sold at a very young age for complicated reasons.
He glanced at Zuo Zhu and leaned close to whisper eerily, “You’re not afraid I’ll massacre a city when we leave? If that happens, you’ll be complicit as a human…”
Zuo Zhu thought Huo Fu still had some lingering chūnibyo tendencies.
She warily replied, “Don’t pin that on me. You’d go anyway, with or without me!”
In her haste to refute, she moved suddenly, bumping her forehead against Huo Fu’s chin.
Instinctively covering her head, she lifted it and her lips brushed his briefly.
A surprising thrill.
She stepped back quickly, hands raised defensively, “It wasn’t intentional!”
Huo Fu frowned, touching his lips, “Did you just kiss me?”
Zuo Zhu felt guilty, “That was just a friendly touch. We’re adults—let’s move on.”
Huo Fu pulled her closer, “I’m only 20, not of legal marriage age.”
Zuo Zhu froze. Right, Huo Fu was 20, while the original owner had already graduated at 23.
Truly a case of an old bull courting a young cow.
Huo Fu stared at her, inexplicably finding her more pleasant than before.
Even when touched, he felt less averse.
He patted her head, then grinned devilishly, “You’re lively now. How about some exercise to lose weight?”
Zuo Zhu could only smile, “Okay.”
Huo Fu looked satisfied, even excited, ready to watch her endure the pain.
Zuo Zhu: MMP.
After finishing her grueling morning run, she returned for breakfast and remembered Huo Fu’s words.
“Wait,” she called to Lin Tianming. “Huo Fu said he found a way out. We can leave this place with him this afternoon!”
Lin Tianming, previously despondent, suddenly brightened, “Really? Huo Fu already found the exit? We can leave this afternoon?”