When the Tsundere Rival Turns Into a Cat - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: The Truth About Demons

Slipping through the gaps in the fence into Li Xingcan’s yard, Jiang Qingyue transformed back into human form. Just as she was about to knock on the door, Li Xingcan barked twice from behind to stop her.

“Woof! Woof!”

No need to knock. Auntie isn’t home—just enter the passcode.

“What’s the passcode?” Jiang Qingyue turned around and saw the other two still stuck outside the fence, while the beagle was wedged halfway through.

“Woof…”

2170217.

Jiang Qingyue entered the code as instructed, and sure enough, the door opened.

After opening the gate and pulling Fu Duosui free from the fence, they all finally made it inside the house.

Once everyone had settled into spots in Li Xingcan’s living room, they began discussing the night’s events.

“Woof…” Li Xingcan spoke first.

Weren’t you taken to Zheng Wenbai’s apartment? How did you end up in the car saving us?

Jiang Qingyue repeated the question for the other two before answering, “I was, at first. Teacher Zheng—Zheng Wenbai—made an excuse to keep me in the apartment. Then she suddenly said she had to step out, and I didn’t think much of it. But then Li Xingcan called me, and I overheard Zheng Wenbai and the principal talking. That’s when I realized something was wrong. So, when I knew Zheng Wenbai was coming back to drive, I hid in her car beforehand and waited…”

“Woof?”

I called you?

Li Xingcan didn’t remember calling Jiang Qingyue.

“Yeah, but you didn’t say anything. As soon as I answered, I heard Zheng Wenbai’s voice saying things like, ‘Is it worth it for irrelevant people?’ Then you asked her what she’d done to me. After that, there was a loud bang, and then only Zheng Wenbai and the principal were left talking. The principal gave her some pills that could turn you into animals and they discussed how to deal with you.”

Jiang Qingyue explained.

Only then did Li Xingcan recall—while she, Fu Duosui, and Lin Xie were planning their next steps, she had meant to call her unreliable older brother (since their parents weren’t in Jiangcheng, he was the only one she could count on). But before she could dial, Zheng Wenbai showed up.

She hadn’t even saved Jiang Qingyue’s number—just called it a few times while searching for her watch, with no one ever picking up. Who knew that by sheer coincidence, she’d accidentally dialed Jiang Qingyue this time and ended up saving all three of them?

Li Xingcan fell silent. Meanwhile, Fu Duosui couldn’t hold back. “Woof! Woof woof! Woof…”

Jiang Qingyue, are you a cat demon? You’re so amazing! Do demons really exist in this world?!

Jiang Qingyue looked at the beagle circling her excitedly and couldn’t resist reaching out to pat her head. “Keep it a secret.”

“Woof woof!”

Of course! So… can you use magic?

“…No.” Jiang Qingyue withdrew her hand. She wasn’t even that familiar with her own identity as a demon yet.

Before Fu Duosui could ask anything else, Lin Xie stepped forward. “Woof woof woof…”

Shouldn’t we be figuring out what to do next? The principal and Zheng Wenbai won’t let us off so easily. This place isn’t far from the school—they might come looking for us soon.

Jiang Qingyue nodded and relayed Lin Xie’s words to the other two.

That’s true. And Zheng Wenbai will probably wake up soon.

Li Xingcan raised a paw and pointed to the side. “Woof…”

Call Li Zhixing and have him drive over to pick us up, then see if he knows how to handle this situation.

At the moment, this seems like the only option—there’s no way we can get far on foot.

Jiang Qingyue went to grab the villa’s landline. Nearby was the phone directory the housekeeper used for contacts. She found Li Zhixing’s name and dialed.

The call connected quickly. Jiang Qingyue glanced at Li Xingcan standing beside her. “Hello, are you Li Xingcan’s older brother?”

“I am. Who is this?” Li Zhixing initially thought it was the housekeeper looking after Li Xingcan, but hearing Jiang Qingyue’s voice, his tone grew slightly more serious.

“I’m Li Xingcan’s classmate, Jiang Qingyue. Right now, Li Xingcan, Fu Duosui, Lin Xie, and I are in some trouble. We’re at Li Xingcan’s house—could you come over?”

Jiang Qingyue kept the explanation as quick and concise as possible.

“I can head over now. What kind of trouble?” The sound of jingling keys came from Li Zhixing’s end.

“Woof woof woof!” Li Xingcan barked beside Jiang Qingyue.

Tell him someone’s trying to kidnap us.

“Why is there a dog barking?” Li Zhixing didn’t recall Li Xingcan ever owning a dog.

Jiang Qingyue hesitated. “That’s Li Xingcan…”

“What?!”

Li Zhixing arrived swiftly. Within minutes, a black Koenigsegg pulled up at the front gate of Li Xingcan’s villa, followed by two cars of bodyguards.

Striding into the house, Li Zhixing spotted Jiang Qingyue in the living room. “Where’s Li Xingcan?”

Jiang Qingyue pointed at the husky. Li Zhixing’s gaze followed, his expression twisting into something indescribable as he frowned at Jiang Qingyue. “Kid, are you joking?”

“Woof woof woof!”

I am Li Xingcan!

After a lengthy explanation—and Jiang Qingyue even transforming into a cat right in front of Li Zhixing—he finally accepted that the husky was indeed his sister.

“The situation is complicated,” Jiang Qingyue said, shifting back to human form as she watched Li Zhixing, who had collapsed onto the carpet in shock. “The principal and a teacher at our school seem to have deep ties to the demon race. They targeted me, but Li Xingcan and the others found out, so they were turned into this.”

“God, am I dreaming?” Li Zhixing still couldn’t believe it. In his twenty-plus years of life, this was straight out of a fantasy.

Just as Jiang Qingyue was about to explain further, Li Xingcan suddenly charged at Li Zhixing, planting her front paws on his shoulders and barking furiously into his ear. “WOOF WOOF WOOF!”

Li Zhixing covered his ears. “What’s she saying?”

Jiang Qingyue omitted some of the more aggressive phrasing. “She said to stop spacing out and call your mom if you don’t know what to do.”

Li Zhixing scrambled up to make the call while Jiang Qingyue glanced outside. His bodyguards were waiting in the yard, so at least safety wasn’t an immediate concern.

Li Xingcan noticed Jiang Qingyue sitting pensively on the sofa. Logically, they should be safe for now—what was still worrying her?

Padding over, Li Xingcan looked up at her. “Whine…”

Is there another problem?

“I’m just worried about my mom. I can’t reach her.”

Jiang Qingyue explained that she had stayed at Zheng Wenbai’s apartment to research how to open the demon realm gate only because he’d suddenly informed her that something had happened to her mother. Now knowing Zheng Wenbai had ulterior motives, she still remained uncertain about her mother’s situation.

After telling Li Xingcan about this, Jiang Qingyue took out two tokens from her pocket. In her haste to leave, these were all she’d managed to bring. The demon realm gate was connected to these tokens, though she hadn’t yet figured out how to activate them.

Li Xingcan looked at the tokens in her hand and barked, “Woof…”

“Then let’s retrieve that book from Zheng Wenbai’s place while you check on Aunt Xuan, wouldn’t that work?”

“It’s too dangerous. We don’t know how many of these strange things they have. One wrong move and we could fall into their trap. They might be waiting for us to walk right into their net right now.”

Even in her anxiety, Jiang Qingyue wouldn’t act recklessly.

As they were talking, Li Zhixing returned from making a phone call. He glanced between Li Xingcan and Jiang Qingyue. “Did our parents know about this all along?”

“Does Aunt Xuan know?” Jiang Qingyue wasn’t sure either. Her mother had only said the Li family could be trusted, but nothing more.

“My mom gave me a phone number, saying it was some kind of ‘Demon Race Liaison Office in the Human World.’ What kind of nonsense is this?” Li Zhixing handed Jiang Qingyue the note with the number, feeling completely bewildered.

“Let’s try calling it then.”

Jiang Qingyue had never heard of it, but she knew so little that following the elders’ advice seemed best.

After making the call and cautiously verifying it was indeed the Demon Race Liaison Office, Jiang Qingyue explained their situation clearly.

Mid-call, a loud crash came from the kitchen.

Li Xingcan’s ears perked up as he turned to see Fu Duosui bolting out of the kitchen with a chicken leg in his mouth.

Before Li Xingcan could speak, Fu Duosui had already reached Jiang Qingyue, dropping the chicken leg in fright as he barked frantically, “Woof woof woof!! So many things are crawling out of the kitchen drain!!”

Jiang Qingyue’s expression turned grave as she relayed this to the others. Everyone rushed to check the kitchen, where they saw a horrifying scene – rats leading the charge, followed by countless unknown insects and even snakes madly pouring out of the drain!

Li Zhixing reacted swiftly, slamming the kitchen door shut, though many had already escaped.

Jiang Qingyue, who could communicate with all small animals, tried speaking to them, but they seemed deaf to her voice, continuing their frenzied rampage and biting anything in sight as if possessed.

Realizing instantly this was the principal’s scheme – unable to enter with bodyguards present, they’d somehow driven these creatures in instead.

Watching the multiplying swarm of insects and rats through the kitchen’s glass door, everyone felt their scalp crawl.

“We need to leave now. Head north – they’ll meet us there,” Jiang Qingyue instructed, hanging up the phone as the group quickly boarded their cars.

Li Zhixing took the wheel while the confused bodyguards promptly followed in their vehicles.

Even crazed, the rats couldn’t match the car’s speed. Under the night sky, the black sports car raced northward at full throttle.

Jiang Qingyue maintained communication with the office personnel via her watch as she hurried to the designated location.

The chosen spot was in an old residential area downtown, quite far from Li Xingcan’s home, but they still couldn’t let their guard down.

This was the Demon Clan’s office—bodyguards couldn’t follow. Upon arrival, Jiang Qingyue got out first to survey the situation. A man dressed entirely in black emerged from the apartment building, his expression cold and stern. The moment he recognized Jiang Qingyue, a chain materialized in his hand and lashed straight at her.

The sudden attack caught Jiang Qingyue off guard. Fortunately, a force from behind shoved her aside just in time to narrowly evade the deadly chain.

Looking back, she saw Husky standing solemnly by the car door in the dim alley, his gaze sharp and wary as he stared at the black-clad man. “Woof!”

“Seeking death!” The man paid no heed to the obstacle before him, swinging his chain again in relentless pursuit of his goal.

“Bold enough to act so brazenly in broad daylight?!” Li Zhixing only then noticed Li Xingcan had also gotten out. He quickly opened the car door to intercept the black-clad man.

Li Xingcan didn’t retreat, charging forward with Li Zhixing. Fu Duosui and Lin Xie weren’t idle either, rushing out from the car. Jiang Qingyue snapped out of her daze and swiftly joined the fray.

They thought numbers would give them an advantage, but neither Jiang Qingyue nor Li Xingcan and the others understood the disparity in strength between humans and demons. When the chain split into five, defying all laws of physics as it shot toward them, there was no way to defend against it.

At the critical moment, Jiang Qingyue transformed into her cat form, dodging the chain. She glanced at Li Zhixing and Fu Duosui, already ensnared, but before she could think of a solution, two more chains attacked from both sides, multiplying the pressure.

Though smaller and more agile as a cat, the disadvantage was deadly—a direct hit from the chain would likely be fatal.

Exhausted, when she saw the third chain coming her way, her fur bristled. Jiang Qingyue knew she couldn’t evade it this time and braced for injury, doing her best to avoid fatal spots.

But the expected pain never came—instead, she heard the sound of the chain striking flesh. Looking up, she saw the majestic dog standing protectively in front of her, a vivid red gash across his shoulder blade.

“Meow…”

Li Xingcan…

“Woof…”

Go. Now.

Unable to understand cat language, Li Xingcan nudged her away with his head, pushing her out of the chain’s range.

“No one’s leaving!” The black-clad man struck again, the chains multiplying and raining down like a net!

At the last possible moment, countless white feathers descended like arrows from the sky, pinning every chain to the ground with precision!

The situation shifted instantly. Everyone looked up to see a white crane diving rapidly, transforming mid-descent into a pale-faced man dressed in white robes with a red sash tied at his waist.

“Stop!”

The newcomer had a crimson mark on his forehead and glared sternly at the black-clad man. “Hui! What are you doing?”

“White Crane, are you obstructing official duties? I’m under orders to capture the anomaly and bring them back for trial. Don’t stand in my way.” With a forceful shake, Hui sent the feathers on his chains scattering.

“Who gave you the order? This matter hasn’t been settled yet—the clan leader and elders are still deliberating. How could you start making arrests?” White Crane stood firm, glancing at the bound Li Zhixing and Fu Duosui. “You’ve even injured humans by mistake. If this leads to inter-species conflict, can you bear the responsibility?”

“Hmph, they were the ones who recklessly charged at me,” Hui retorted, though he loosened the chains binding them.

The moment they were freed, Li Zhixing and Fu Duosui rushed to check Li Xingcan’s injuries, pointing at her as they complained to White Crane, “She’s human too! Look at these wounds! Don’t your kind owe us an explanation?”

White Crane glanced over. “Naturally. These injuries can only be treated back in the demon realm. You’ll need to come with me.”

Hearing they’d have to go to the demon realm, Li Zhixing protectively shielded the group of cats and dogs, stepping back. “How do I know you’re not working with him in some good cop, bad cop routine?”

“I was sent by Elder Xuan,” White Crane said, unfastening a jade token from his waist and tossing it to Li Zhixing. “This is proof.”

Jiang Qingyue’s eyes widened—it was identical to one of the two tokens she possessed. Could Elder Xuan be… her mother?

Nodding to Li Zhixing, Jiang Qingyue transformed back into human form and returned the token. “Are we going to the demon realm now?”

White Crane hesitated before answering, “Not you. I only need to take the injured human as a witness.”

Hui cut in sharply, “She’s coming too. A half-bl00d demon who’s lived among humans for over a decade without registration? If she turns violent, who’ll take responsibility? White Crane, are you showing favoritism?”

A flicker of concern passed through White Crane’s eyes. “Very well, she may come. But before we go, Hui—you must tell me who authorized this.”

“Principal Ding,” Hui admitted, casting a cold look at Jiang Qingyue. “And I know she’s Elder Xuan’s half-human daughter. Isn’t that why you’re really here? To protect her? Let the clan leader decide her fate.”

“Understood.” White Crane ended the discussion, turning to Jiang Qingyue and Li Xingcan. “You two, come with us.”

Li Zhixing blocked his sister’s path. “I’m going too.”

“Woof!” Fu Duosui and Lin Xie stepped forward.

“Impossible. The demon realm is forbidden to humans,” White Crane stated firmly. “Besides, your kind has its own matters to settle. Principal Ding is human—his actions are beyond our jurisdiction. Whether you choose to pursue him or not is your decision.”

Li Zhixing frowned. “But I can’t let my sister go alone.”

White Crane studied his determined expression. “Your parents, Ms. Xun Lin and Mr. Li Shaoyuan, understand these matters. You may consult them.”

“My mother said he was trustworthy,” Li Zhixing countered, pointing accusingly at Hui. “What does this prove?”

“He was following protocol, but there’s been a misunderstanding,” White Crane replied, eyeing the nearly unconscious Li Xingcan supported by Jiang Qingyue. “Her injuries won’t wait. You have my word—your sister will return unharmed by sunset tomorrow.”

Reluctantly, Li Zhixing yielded. As White Crane prepared to leave, he added one last question for Fu Duosui and Lin Xie’s sake: “What about them?”

“Everything will be restored before dawn. Just put your clothes back on and sleep peacefully.”

After speaking, Bai He took out another black iron token—identical to Jiang Qingyue’s—and channeled spiritual energy into it. The token hovered in the air as its light gradually formed a door.

Beyond the door lay an entirely different world. Bai He bound him with Hui’s chains and stepped through first. Jiang Qingyue picked up Li Xingcan, who was still in dog form, and followed.

As the light faded, the door vanished.

Watching them leave, Li Zhixing and the others didn’t linger either. Glancing at the remaining two, he went over and opened the car door for them. “Let’s go. We still have work to do.”