Bonus 5 Part 2

"I'm ba-... I'm not even done changing my shoes yet!"

He felt like he was being taken away by a demon, like the Tripitaka master being swept away by a monster. He was lifted off the ground by the black wind and landed in Sheng Lingyuan's arms.

Sheng Lingyuan pushed aside the manuscript on the table and reached out to catch the person who was bound by the black mist. The Emperor's finger led the black mist, which passed through Xuan Ji's collar and pulled his head down.

Their lips were only half an inch apart, and the Emperor raised an eyebrow with a smile that was not quite a smile and said, "Say it again, what did you just say?"

Xuan Ji really wanted to speak, he could talk endlessly about the Emperor's bad habits all day long.

But unfortunately, as soon as he caught a whiff of the tea-scented breath, his mind became as clear as a blank slate, and he couldn't remember a single word.

He followed the scent in a daze, and the next moment, he let out a loud scream.

The despicable demon had reached his icy claws into Xuan Ji's clothes.

Xuan Ji was furious and shouted, "Sheng Lingyuan!"

The black mist dissipated, and Sheng Lingyuan burst into laughter.

Xuan Ji frowned and grabbed his hand, glancing down at the manuscript on the table - the Emperor was working on the "Dongchuan Witches Book".

The witch people's tomb had been blown up by the Yue De Sect's disciples, and there was no trace of the Dongchuan ruins left, except for a few remaining books that Xuan Ji had collected... and the memories of Sheng Lingyuan.

Over the past few months, Sheng Lingyuan had become accustomed to writing with a stylus and pen, and his errors in typing Simplified Chinese characters had become fewer and fewer. He had also roughly grasped the pinyin and punctuation, and could even understand some common abbreviations.

He had also flipped through most of the vulgar and lowbrow books in Xuan Ji's study, and had become familiar with the various scripts of foreign countries.

Although he had the tools, it seemed that the task at hand was not going well.

For some reason, his progress in working on the book was unusually slow.

With a quick glance, Xuan Ji noticed that he had only written a few lines all day.

The cup of tea on the table was still the same one he had made before leaving for work in the morning. The bird feather he used to tie his loose hair was still pointing in the same direction. The temperature in the study was at least five degrees lower than in the living room.

Sheng Lingyuan had been sitting motionless in front of the Dongchuan Witches Book all day long, unseen by Xuan Ji.

"Are you having a headache again?" Xuan Ji asked.

"No," Sheng Lingyuan lazily replied, standing up to grab a bottle of Diet Coke from the nearby mini fridge.

Changing the subject, he asked, "Why are you so late?"

"Last night, we caught over twenty 'Xi' on New Year's Eve, but we didn't know what to do with them, so we sent them all to headquarters," Xuan Ji floated out without touching the ground, stepping on his shoes at the entrance.

"We have cages all over the courtyard, and they're making so much noise that my ears are ringing. I suggested building a special animal park for them a long time ago, so we can put all these creatures that have nowhere to go in there and make some money..."

As he spoke, Xuan Ji poured half a bottle of diet coke for Sheng Lingyuan.

The first time His Majesty bought sugar-free Coke, Xuan Ji thought he was confused in the supermarket and couldn't distinguish the packaging, so he carefully explained the history of sweeteners.

But Sheng Lingyuan didn't react much after listening, only asking, "You don't like to drink it?"

Xuan Ji replied, "Not really, I can't taste the difference anyway."

Then he realized that every time Sheng Lingyuan went to open the supermarket fridge, he always took out a bottle of Diet Coke.

In his exclusive dictionary, phrases like "I like" or "I love" were probably grammatically incorrect, and he never said them nor liked to see them. One time, out of curiosity, he tried using an app and a "recommended for you" page popped up, and Xuan Ji saw him visibly frown.

Later, with rare seriousness, he asked about the principles behind big data push notifications and never opened that app again.

That's just the kind of person he was, Xuan Ji was only able to discern his likes and dislikes from subtle clues.

For example, if someone opened a bottle of Diet Coke and offered him a glass, he would accept it, but if it was a bottle of regular Coke, he would most likely playfully refuse.

These things can only be silently observed and summarized in the mundane daily life, with no way to verify and no one to admit to.

"Mr. Denial" seems to have a natural talent for sweet-talking his way out of things. If he had to tell the truth, he'll probably choke on it. But if you're easy to fool, you'll be deceived by him every day.

Fortunately, Xuan Ji grew up with him and knows his true nature. After a few big fights, even "Mr. Denial" himself realized that arguing was exhausting and especially hard on his back, so he made a small improvement - when he doesn't want to say something, he just stays silent or simply says "no".

At least he's not spouting lies in his own home anymore.

As soon as he heard that immediate change of topic with the word 'no', Xuan Ji understood.

So the entire night, His Majesty didn't find a chance to return to his study, and the next day he was dragged out again to walk the dog.

In the midst of the howling winter wind, with a dog in tow, Sheng Lingyuan couldn't find any enjoyment in strolling back and forth. Xuan Ji insisted that he had never walked a dog before and had never experienced the joy of raising a pet in modern urban life.

His Majesty didn't agree with this idea of needing to experience something just because you haven't done it before - by that logic, he hasn't eaten shit either...

Of course, picking up after a dog's poop isn't exactly a noble task either.

Luckily, his patience with Xuan Ji was almost infinite. They walked until the feathers on his hair were all chilled by the cold wind before they headed back.

As they approached the building, the central dispatch office called Xuan Ji again.

Xuan Ji only had time to hand the leash to the Emperor before he left, saying, "Wait for me to come back and accompany you in repairing the 'Dongchuan Witches Book'. Without me, won't it lack a certain flavour?"

Sheng Lingyuan replied, "What flavour are you talking about?"

Xuan Ji rolled up his sleeve, revealing a flame-colored feather on his forearm that flashed and disappeared.

"This Red sleeve - isn't it red?" It wasn't like when he was a child and refused to be called "Little Red."

Sheng Lingyuan couldn't help but laugh to tears, "Get out of here, you're shameless. Are you in a hurry or not?"

"Wait for me, don't touch anything! I remember where you got to in the book!"

Sheng Lingyuan suddenly remembered something and called out to him, "Oh, and leave the 'Thousand Demon Bestiary' with me. I have some free time to fix your damaged copy."

This meant that he agreed.

Xuan Ji was so happy that he didn't think much about it. He glanced around and, seeing no one nearby, tilted his head and pulled out a flame-colored golden thread from his left temple.

He threw it over to Sheng Lingyuan through the air and then drove away.

The 'Thousand Demon Bestiary' desperately tried to follow its owner, but the golden thread only extended half a meter before Sheng Lingyuan caught it and reeled it back in.

It watched helplessly as its beloved owner, who had a heart as big as the sky, ran off to the parking lot without even looking back.

The abandoned Bestiary trembled in the hands of the great demon lord and dared not shine anymore. It obediently transformed back into a half-damaged copy and pretended to be dead.

During the Spring Festival, the traffic in the city was unusually smooth, making driving especially enjoyable. Xuan Ji whistled and even rolled down his car window to chat with a person stuffing small advertisements onto cars along the street.

"Give me the remaining few, I'll take them back to the office to show my colleagues. Go home early, it's the New Year," Xuan Ji handed out a cigarette, "I suggest you don't wander around on the main road. Although there are fewer cars, they're driving faster these days, making it even more dangerous than usual."

The person handing out flyers sniffled and took the cigarette, happily sending off the flyers in their hand and running away.