When the Tsundere Rival Turns Into a Cat - Chapter 28

By the time they finished speaking, they had arrived at the Elder Hall. The temperature here was relatively milder, and all nine chairs were occupied—the last one belonging to Xuan Yu.

Li Xingcan recounted the actions of Ding Pei and Zheng Wenbai once more, after which the elders began their discussion.

“The matter concerning Ding Pei is of grave importance,” said the white-bearded demon clan leader, seated at the head of the table, his wooden cane resting beside him. “As the bridge between our two races, if he truly harbors ulterior motives, the consequences would be unimaginable. Someone must investigate this thoroughly. Who is willing to take on this task?”

Xuan Yu stepped forward. “I’ll go. There are still some matters I need to attend to in the human world.”

“Good, it’s settled then,” the clan leader nodded. “In two days, when things here are mostly wrapped up, you can depart immediately. The sooner you resolve this matter, the better.”

“But I have one question,” Xuan Yu added. “Ding Pei is, after all, human. Even if we uncover the truth, how should we handle him?”

The two races had long maintained a policy of non-interference—bringing him back for punishment was out of the question.

“Retrieve all items belonging to our clan and erase the memories of those involved. Let the matter end there. Avoid unnecessary complications.”

With the decision made, Xuan Yu stayed behind to discuss other affairs, while Bai He led Li Xingcan and Jiang Qingyue to Xuan Yu’s residence in the demon realm to settle in.

As a demon elder, Xuan Yu had his own territory in the central city. From a distance, Li Xingcan spotted a massive, fluffy sphere and guessed that must be the place.

Jiang Qingyue, visiting for the first time, was equally unfamiliar and somewhat astonished.

Bai He pushed open the door and ushered them inside. “You can stay here. Try not to go out unless necessary. If you need anything, use the communicator inside—just a bit of spiritual energy will activate it. I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave now. Elder Xuan will return shortly.”

“Understood. Thank you.”

Li Xingcan hopped out of the basket and waved at Bai He before examining the interior of the house.

Everything inside was soft and fuzzy. Upon closer inspection, Li Xingcan realized the texture resembled yarn balls, giving the entire space a warm, cozy feel.

Jiang Qingyue reverted to her human form and lifted Li Xingcan onto the table. Still preoccupied with earlier events, she mused, “What could Ding Pei’s motive be for doing such things? He possesses so many demon artifacts, yet the clan leader and others were completely unaware. Do you think something happened to the half-human, half-demon children he was responsible for placing? Could he have stolen their belongings?”

“That’s highly unlikely.”

Li Xingcan swung her legs idly from the table’s edge, explaining casually, “Those children had their memories erased before being sent to the human world. They wouldn’t remember anything. There’s no way the demon clan would let them take demon artifacts with them. As for how Ding Pei got his hands on those items—isn’t it obvious? He was lining his own pockets.”

“Lining his own pockets?” Jiang Qingyue pondered this.

“Humans and demons aren’t that different. Most parents in this world care about their children, and demon clans are no exception. Those demon parents worried about their kids would definitely go through Ding Pei to find their children and loved ones. Even if their children and partners have already forgotten them, just getting a glimpse might bring them happiness. This way, demon parents seeking Ding Pei’s help would naturally offer him some ‘appreciation gifts.'”

Li Xingcan picked up a ball of yarn from the table and examined it. “Actually, when Aunt Xuan investigates, she’s just looking into this embezzlement. Clear the embezzled accounts, wipe the memories, and it’s all clean. As for why Ding Pei is so eager to enter the demon realm, his motives aren’t hard to guess… For humans, there are only so many pursuits.”

“What pursuits?” Jiang Qingyue watched Li Xingcan playing with the yarn and asked.

“Material wealth, lifespan, and spiritual fulfillment. Given Ding Pei’s social status, he certainly lacks nothing materially, so it’s either of the other two. But he is getting quite old.” Li Xingcan shrugged and put the yarn back.

Jiang Qingyue fell silent for a moment. It did seem plausible. She looked at Li Xingcan sitting on the table. “Then what are your pursuits?”

“Me?” Li Xingcan pointed at herself.

“Yes.” Jiang Qingyue nodded. There were too many things about Li Xingcan she couldn’t figure out. The girl seemed full of contradictions.

“I don’t have any pursuits. Just muddling along, doing whatever comes to mind. Everything’s an experience. The more you experience, the more you understand what you truly want. As for now, who cares about that?” After saying this, Li Xingcan spread her arms and lay back on the table, which was woven from yarn and felt soft beneath her.

“Is that why you’re so carefree?” Jiang Qingyue began to understand. Li Xingcan wanted to experience every kind of life, leaving the outcome to fate. How liberating.

“Life’s all about experiences. Why not be free? Doing what you can to the extreme is the best experience.” Li Xingcan crossed her legs and swung them, feeling like a philosopher—her words were so profound.

“Then why are you ranked last in the entire school?”

Jiang Qingyue hit the nail on the head. Li Xingcan’s smirk froze, and her eyes slowly turned to Jiang Qingyue. “Why bring up sore points? Don’t you find rote memorization of those things boring? A general understanding is enough. Does it have to be perfect?”

“No, I find those things very interesting. And shouldn’t we strive for excellence in learning?” Jiang Qingyue realized why Li Xingcan’s grades were poor—it was like she only read the table of contents in books.

“Strive for excellence…” Li Xingcan repeated the phrase and nodded at Jiang Qingyue. “You’re suited for academia. You’d definitely achieve great things.”

“I…” Jiang Qingyue was about to speak but remembered she had to stay with the demons. Her mood darkened as she shook her head. “Probably won’t get that chance.”

Li Xingcan remembered this too. She wanted to say something but didn’t know how. For Jiang Qingyue, there was no choice.

The room fell into silence, the atmosphere growing heavy.

Uncomfortable with the mood, Li Xingcan looked around and changed the subject. “Aunt Xuan’s place is nicely decorated. Did you two live here before?”

“I’ve never been here before. My mom used to live with me in Sucheng before. I started boarding school in fifth grade, and she would come back to the human world to take care of me during holidays,” Jiang Qingyue replied.

“Oh, I forgot you said you hadn’t been here before.”

Li Xingcan scratched his head, realizing he’d been too eager to make conversation and had overlooked that detail.

“It’s fine.”

Jiang Qingyue fell silent for a moment, then looked at Li Xingcan, who seemed visibly uncomfortable. “Don’t worry about me. Once you recover and go back, all these memories will be erased. You probably won’t even remember me by then.”

At the mention of this, Li Xingcan frowned and sat up cross-legged. “Why should they erase my memories? I won’t agree to it.”

“This is the demon realm. They don’t care about human rights,” Jiang Qingyue said without much hope.

“Well, shouldn’t demons have demon rights?” Li Xingcan retorted, hands on his hips.

“You’re not a demon.”

Li Xingcan: “…”

The conversation had hit a dead end.

Both of them were trapped in circumstances beyond their control. Once Li Xingcan left, he would forget Jiang Qingyue completely, and their paths would never cross again. There was no point in arguing now.

After a while, Xuan Yu returned from outside.

She placed a medicine bottle on the table and sat down in a chair. “This is Xingcan’s medicine. Change the dressing later. You two will stay here for the next couple of days. Once you’ve recovered, we’ll set off.”

“Aunt Xuan, is there any way I can keep my memories? I won’t tell anyone—I’ll keep it a secret. Or if there’s some condition I can meet, I’ll agree to it,” Li Xingcan tried to negotiate.

“Xingcan… Let’s talk about this later. For now, just focus on recovering,” Xuan Yu said gently, clearly reluctant to discuss it further before shifting the topic.