Netherworld’s Spirit Envoy - -

of us buried Lei Heng together. Leilei remained silent, and so did we, as we returned to Liuzhou City. Leilei wanted to go back to school, and then we lost touch with her.

Though I felt uneasy about her, seeing her seem as though she hadn’t yet recovered from the blow of her father’s death, I wondered if she could persevere in such a state.

Li Bai and Lin Zhe were also quite injured and left after settling Leilei.

Having promised Lei Heng that I would take good care of Leilei, I found myself with some free time, so I went to the girls’ dorm to deliver breakfast to Leilei every day. I swear, I had no ulterior motives at the time.

“Leilei, Leilei from Room 317 on the third floor, hurry downstairs to get your breakfast. I bought soy milk and your favorite pork and scallion buns!”

Standing under the girls’ dorm, I held a floral umbrella and a bag of food, using my hand as a megaphone to shout towards the dorm.

This was my tenth day of persistence.

On the first day, I woke up everyone in the girls’ dorm, but Leilei didn’t show up. I’m a stubborn person, and thanks to me, none of the girls, except Leilei, ever ran late, even the old gatekeeper praised me; now he finally had someone to chat with.

That’s right, now the only man in the whole school who likes me is the old gatekeeper, and the girls have been moved by my sincerity. They all say that if they find someone who treats Leilei as well as I do, they would be willing to be my girlfriend.

Leilei has splashed cold water on me and scolded me in front of everyone, but I had only one thing to say, “I will be responsible for what I’ve done!” Don’t forget, I am a man of my word!

Twenty days later, “Leilei, I’m here!” As soon as I shouted from under the girls’ dorm, Leilei walked out, gave me a cold look, and came downstairs.

I quickly approached her, eagerly handing over the bag of food, “Your favorite donkey meat sandwich with millet porridge, good for your stomach.”

Leilei expressionlessly took it, turned around, and saw everyone in the girls’ dorm smiling at her.

I quickly thanked the girls one by one; without their help, who knows when Leilei would finally talk to me.

Leilei spun around and stared at me coldly, “Why are you smiling at them?”

I was taken aback. I was just smiling to show my gratitude and hadn’t done anything else. Why was Leilei upset?

She shoved the bag of food back into my hand and turned to leave. The girls upstairs started teasing again, “Leilei, are you giving up on your black horse prince?”

Leilei turned back and spit in my direction, “Him, a black horse prince? At best, he’s a black bull!”

What did that have to do with me? I quickly caught up with Leilei, trying to persuade her, “Leilei, you need to eat breakfast. Skipping it isn’t good for your health and might cause stomach issues…”

“Oh, you’re so naggy!” Leilei responded impatiently.

I felt that since I had promised Lei Heng to take good care of Leilei, I couldn’t let him down. Now, I’m the only family Leilei has left, and if I can’t take care of her, who can?

So, I’ve been playing both mom and dad, coaxing Leilei and taking care of her. Seeing her recover from Lei Heng’s death felt like my greatest achievement.

Two months after we returned from Langdang Mountain, I received a call from Li Bai. He asked me to bring Leilei to Sha County Snacks.

When we arrived, Li Bai and Lin Zhe had been waiting for a while. Without further ado, they ushered us into a car and drove us to their supposed company.

But… when Li Bai said we had arrived at the company, Lin Zhe, Leilei, and I looked around for a while and didn’t see any company signs. In front of us was just an animal hospital, not very big, but with four or five guard dogs at the entrance.

They were all black-backed, with collars on their necks, one end tied to the door. They sat neatly on the ground, watching us from afar with their tongues out.

“Hurry up and get out of the car,” Li Bai turned back and said impatiently to us.

After getting out of the car, Li Bai really did head towards the animal hospital, becoming visibly excited as he approached the dogs.

“Dadao, Ruier, Mimi, Lala, Saosao,” Li Bai squatted down, letting the five big German Shepherds rub and lick him. The names he gave them were truly peculiar.

Having played enough with the dogs, Li Bai turned back and impatiently shouted at us, “Come over here.”

The three of us exchanged glances and decided to walk over.

When we were about three meters away from the animal hospital, the five German Shepherds began watching us warily, baring their teeth, ears perked up, looking quite imposing and ready to react.

I paused and cautiously asked, “Li Bai, is it really okay for us to just walk over like this?”

Weren’t we supposed to be going to a company? Why bring us to an animal hospital? Could it be that this is where Li Bai works? He seemed happier to see those dogs than greeting Li Kui.

“Why are you being so fussy? Just come over here. We have to fill out some paperwork. You’re really wasting my time!” Li Bai cast a sidelong glance at me and went inside, leaving the three of us standing there, hesitant to move.

Judging by the friendly way the dogs interacted with Li Bai, they didn’t seem too aggressive. Lin Zhe and I shared a look and tentatively stepped forward.

As the dogs erupted into deafening barks, Lin Zhe and I zigzagged our way through, narrowly avoiding their jaws. We ended up with our clothes shredded, standing inside the animal hospital’s lobby.

Meanwhile, Leilei stood outside, looking at us innocently.

“It’s okay. They look fierce but didn’t actually hurt us. They just tore our clothes a bit, that’s all.” My pants had turned into fringed shorts, and Lin Zhe’s shirt was now a sleeveless vest.

Leilei looked helplessly at her own denim shorts. With her pale legs exposed, she hesitated to walk through.

While I was considering going to help Leilei, Li Bai sauntered back with a grin, eyeing Lin Zhe and me up and down. He casually gestured at Leilei, saying, “Don’t worry, it’s fine. They’re all males, and they adore pretty girls.”

With that, he even asked the dogs, “Isn’t that right?”

Sure enough, all five dogs lay down at once, wagging their tongues at Leilei in a fawning manner. They looked so cheeky that it made you want to give them a smack.

Reassured by Li Bai’s words, Leilei carefully maneuvered her way between the dogs, making it through without incident.

At that moment, Lin Zhe and I gained a whole new perspective on Li Bai’s unique personality.

“Okay, you all can have a seat,” Li Bai said, crossing one leg over the other as he sat on the sofa. With his hands resting on his knee, he gave us a sidelong glance that sent shivers down both mine and Lin Zhe’s spines.

In an instant, we felt a creeping sense of unease, as if we were being scrutinized inappropriately.

Once we were seated, Li Bai began his long-winded spiel. Although he was a bit verbose, we understood the gist of what he was saying.

This place was a branch of Li Bai’s company. Due to the confidentiality of their operations, we couldn’t access the company’s internal areas until we became official employees.

“Are you interested in joining our company?” It was phrased as a question seeking our input, but before Lin Zhe and I could respond, Li Bai turned his head and said, “Great, what about you, Leilei? They’ve already agreed.”

Leilei was just as caught off guard. Neither Lin Zhe nor I had said anything. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say a word, Li Bai nodded, stood up, and said, “Since you all agree, please wait a moment. I’ll get the contracts.”

Li Bai took a couple steps forward, then turned with a smile and said, “Shasha, look after our guests for me; it’s quite dangerous here.”

Was there someone else here? We hadn’t noticed anyone. Just as we started looking around, Leilei let out a scream. A five-meter-long python emerged near her, flicking its tongue towards Lin Zhe and me.

Li Bai covered his mouth and giggled, “Leilei, there’s no need to worry. Shasha is only interested in males, so relax.”

With a meaningful smile, Li Bai turned and left the room.

Li Bai’s departure gave us a full half hour alone with the python. By the time he returned, Lin Zhe and I had climbed onto a nearby two-meter-high cabinet, staring down at the python with a mix of tension and anger.

Much to our surprise, Li Bai nonchalantly picked up the python’s head, looking at us with disdain. “What’s there to be afraid of? Shasha’s fangs were removed by a hunter. She won’t harm you,” he said.

Hearing that, we finally breathed a sigh of relief. Once we climbed down, Li Bai handed each of the three of us a hefty stack of documents, each about as thick as a finger.