Chapter 39: In the Haunted House
Lin Jiangli appeared carefree on the surface, but deep down, he was also someone with little emotion.
Monsters, the survival of humanity, the old geezers at the Bureauānone of it really mattered to him. Dead or alive, it was all the same.
Consequently, when he was schoolmates with Qin Huai, Lin Jiangli often looked down on him. He thought Qin Huai was like a dog for the upper managementāenslaved without knowing how to resist, killing monsters when told to, even getting covered in severe injuries.
It wasn’t until Qin Huai gained his freedom, used the monsters’ blades to wipe out the upper management cleanly without leaving a single one, took the Inquisitor seat himself, and enacted many effective iron laws, that Lin Jiangli was thoroughly convinced and willing to work under him.
Qin Huai didn’t deliberately hide the dirtiness of his methods. He was completely frank about all discussions, ignoring them entirely.
This attitude was more terrifying than response or suppression. Those in the know at the Bureau feared this officer extremely. Qin Huaiās reputation in both the human and demon realms could be described as notoriousāeveryone wanted to beat him.
This kind of person… is dating???
Lin Jiangli suspected he was hallucinating.
But he looked down at their interlaced hands, then looked up at the cat tail behind Duan Ke and the twitching ears on his head, and fell silent.
…I can’t be having auditory and visual hallucinations at the same time. I’m not sick enough to be buried yet.
“Oh… I didn’t know you had a boyfriend, hahaha. What a surprise, Boss!” Lin Jiangliās expression was calm with a hint of grimace.
Qin Huai gave a “Mn,” barely satisfied with Lin Jiangliās reaction.
Standing between them, he introduced Duan Ke first, then introduced Lin Jiangli to Duan Ke.
“This is Lin Jiangli, logistics in our department.”
Qin Huai introduced him lightly, his expression calm, completely unaware of how shocking his words were.
Duan Keās internal shock was no less than Lin Jiangliās, but he suppressed it for the moment and greeted obediently, “Hello, Brother Jiangli.”
Brother?
This arch-demon calls a human so affectionately??
Lin Jiangli was shocked. But he quickly figured it outāsuccubi, of course they would actively show favor to humans. Any human could be a food reserve in their eyes.
The Progenitor Succubusās keen observation skills were not to be underestimated; any unnatural reaction could likely be detected by Duan Ke.
People from the Bureau couldn’t reveal their identities to the outside world; it was a rule tied to their lives. Lin Jiangli put away his emotions, smiled naturally, and returned the greeting.
He said, “The haunted house over there opens in two hours. Do you plan to go?”
“Since we met, how about we carpool? They require groups of at least three.”
Duan Keās eyes widened. He had been looking forward to the evening haunted house event all day and didn’t know about this rule.
Fortunately, he was reminded by Qin Huaiās colleague. Otherwise, if he couldn’t find anyone suitable to group with later, he would have been worried to death!
“Sure, let’s go together.”
Duan Ke squeezed the hand Qin Huai was holding and looked up to ask for Qin Huaiās opinion. “Does Brother think it’s okay?”
Qin Huai: “Okay.”
With Lin Jiangli there, some things are actually more convenient.
Lin Jiangli was truly horrified by the stickiness of these two, almost breaking into a cold sweat.
Qin Huai really didn’t look like he was affected by magic; he was quite sober…
Did he really start dating the enemy?!
The more he thought, the scarier it got.
Lin Jiangli chose to clear his mind immediately to protect his brain cells.
“…Then I’ll head over there first, haha. There are some rides I haven’t been on yet.” Lin Jiangli pointed to the opposite side. “See you at the haunted house entrance at 8 PM.”
Lin Jiangli left as if his pants were on fire. Qin Huai, still echoing Duan Keās address in his mind, stared gloomily at Lin Jiangliās back for a few seconds.
This habit of calling people ‘Brother’ indiscriminately needs to be punished sooner or later.
Duan Ke was completely unaware of Qin Huaiās grudge. His big tail swayed behind him. Holding his hat with one hand, he peeked sneakily to confirm the guy had left, then looked back at Qin Huai with astonishment.
“Why did you say that just now, Brother?”
Duan Ke really didn’t understand, his exquisite little face full of surprise. “I’m not Brotherās boyfriend. Why lie to him? Is there a reason you must lie?”
Qin Huai gave a faint “Mn,” intending to make up a random reason to gloss over it, then act pitiful to get Duan Ke to agree to pretend to be a couple.
But before he could speak, Duan Ke kept a straight face and covered his mouth.
Qin Huai let him cover it, raising an eyebrow slightly in question.
“Wait a moment.”
“Can I guess?”
Duan Ke was excited, his amber eyes shining. “I played a script murder mystery just now and haven’t had enough yet! Let me guess, let me guess.”
Qin Huai: .
It didn’t trigger the kid’s enlightenment… but triggered his competitive spirit.
It felt like punching cotton; Qin Huai felt a vague sense of frustration. His lower face covered by Duan Keās hands, he looked at him with gloomy eyes.
But Duan Ke was truly having fun today.
From dressing up to playing games, he was very immersed. The kitten wearing pretty clothes, staring at people with shining smiles, was simply too well-behaved; Qin Huai had no defense.
He sighed lightly in his heart, took Duan Keās hands down, wrapped one in his palm, and said lightly, “Mn, you guess.”
Duan Ke was even more excited.
He pulled Qin Huai to sit on a pumpkin chair nearby, using his tail to hook the hat and place it in front of them to block the passersby staring at them.
Little Black had sent him many melodramatic TV dramas before. After watching them, Duan Ke felt his knowledge reserve on human emotional entanglements was extremely rich. He could definitely guess it!
Of course, the result was obvious.
Duan Ke spoke until his mouth was dry, listing twenty TV drama plots, but Qin Huai said none were correct.
His voice was a bit hoarse. He coughed lightly, accepted the milk tea Qin Huai handed him with a bitter face, and took a big sip.
Duan Ke chewed on the toppings, cheeks puffed, complaining resentfully, “Still not right? Then why is it, Brother? Why lie to your colleague for no reason?”
Qin Huai looked calm, avoiding the real reason. He said, “The examples you gave probably wouldn’t apply to anyone else either. No one would pretend to date someone just to create office gossip.”
“There are!” Duan Ke bit the straw unconsciously, staring seriously at Qin Huai. “That’s how they act in TV dramas, and there are lots of them! Brother, is it that you don’t watch them at all? You lack life experience!”
Qin Huai naturally hadn’t watched much TV, but he knew the tropes. He told Duan Ke that most things in TV dramas were fabricated and exaggerated, completely different from reality.
His words stunned Duan Ke. He stopped drinking his milk tea, biting the straw silently for a long time.
“Is that so…? So that’s how it is.”
Duan Keās voice lowered. He scratched his face with his index finger embarrassedly. “Aiyaya, I really didn’t know… I thought they were based on prototypes. Don’t laugh at me, Brother.”
Seeing him like this, Qin Huai was also slightly stunned. His body moved faster than his brain, pulling the person into his arms and patting his back to comfort him.
Actually, he had a vague feeling before.
Duan Ke was just imitating humans. Often, he couldn’t understand the logic of how the human world operated. Small details that ordinary people would understand quickly would make him struggle for a long time.
Not being human, and being alone in human society for so many years… has it been hard?
Qin Huai was emotionally dull; his heart only began to ache in fine, dense throbs after holding the person. It felt stifling.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t know.” Qin Huai rested his chin on Duan Keās fluffy hair whorl. “Kittens learn a little slower than humans, it’s okay. I’ll teach you slowly in the future.”
I’m not actually a cat, Duan Ke thought.
But curling up with Qin Huai was too safe; he could be fragile as he pleased. He didn’t want to dodge this partiality at all, responding with a low nasal sound, secretly scratching Qin Huaiās collarbone with the tip of his cat ear.
Inside the Haunted House.
The sky had turned completely dark, and more people came to play. The three met at the entrance and told the staff they wanted to group up.
“Tonight’s haunted house will be a little different from usual; there are changes in mechanisms and NPCs.”
The female staff member maintained a perfect smile. “If you suddenly get separated from your companions, don’t panic. Invisible partitions guide people into different rooms, but the final exit is the same. NPCs won’t just come out of hidden doors; they might also come from the ceiling or tunnels. The experience is more thrilling haha. If you have heart conditions, please don’t play!”
Duan Ke was scared just listening, clutching Qin Huaiās sleeve tightly. He was scared but wanted to play, his heart beating to overload. He had plucked the fur decorations on his pants bald.
“Don’t be afraid.” Qin Huai ignored Lin Jiangli, coaxing him in a low voice. “Hold onto me when we go in, and you won’t be separated by partitions. I’ll warn you if there are NPCs.”
Lin Jiangli, who was picking up a walkie-talkie nearby: “………………………………..:)”
The staff member continued to smile, asking the three to put on eye masks and leading them into a pitch-black entrance.
Qin Huai listened to the quiet surroundings, contrasting it with the noisy long queue at the main entrance just now, and understood.
Clumsy tricks.
But he said nothing, just leading Duan Ke inside.
After the three went in, the female staff member walked out of the curtain but stood straight at the door without moving.
“Ah…?”
A girl named Xiao Liu turned around and responded stiffly.
Her colleague, who was already impatient, looked over in annoyance. But the instant she saw Xiao Liuās demeanor clearly, she broke into a cold sweat, all sound stifled in her throat.
…H-Her head… why is it turned three hundred and sixty degrees back like that?? Like it’s broken!
But Xiao Liu quickly turned her body around too, startling her colleague again.
She touched her neck in confusion, as if unaware of what happened or why she was standing there, and quickly walked towards her colleague.
Duan Ke was held very tightly by Qin Huai.
Only after the broadcast announced they could remove their eye masks did Duan Ke dare to lift a corner very slightly. But when the eerie castle music started, he slammed it back down with a snap, covering his eyes tightly with both hands.
For some reason, the ceiling here was terrifyingly low; Qin Huai even had to hunch slightly. It was like the three were locked in a cramped coffin.
Lin Jiangli and Qin Huai exchanged a calm glance.
He knew well that the Dream Demon they had been tracking was here, lurking in the dark.
Lin Jiangli listened carefully and pointed a direction to Qin Huai and Duan Ke: “There are more people over there. Let’s go that way first… Uh, Xiao Ke, take off your eye mask first?”
“I don’t dare…”
Lin Jiangli: .
He mouthed to Qin Huai: Your boyfriend isn’t the Demon King?? Scared of ghosts??
Qin Huai only nodded, ignoring him. He mouthed back: Did you bring a gun?
Lin Jiangli had severe leg injuries and couldn’t assassinate, but his marksmanship was fierce enough for self-defense.
Receiving an affirmative answer, Qin Huai told him to go towards the crowd first to detect the Dream Demonās location; he and Duan Ke would follow.
Lin Jiangli had no worries about Qin Huai and left first. Qin Huai bent down to encircle Duan Ke, leading him to a secluded corner, whispering comfort that there was nothing to fear.
Fear of ghosts was a psychological barrier hard to overcome, yet Duan Ke was a scrub who loved to play.
He finally agreed to let Qin Huai take off his eye mask. Squinting to look around, he found the ceiling extremely low, pitch black, without the Halloween decorations mentioned in the intro.
“…Did we go to the wrong place?” Duan Keās teeth chattered. “W-W-Why are there no mechanisms…”
“There are over there.”
Qin Huai wrapped both of Duan Keās hands in his palms, incredibly patient. “Let’s go over there first. The crowd is there. This is probably a storage room or something.”
“Okay, okay.”
Duan Ke was led by Qin Huai, palms full of sweat.
Qin Huai felt it. Amused by this real and cute reaction, he laughed low, wiped Duan Keās hands on his clothes, and held them tight again.
Duan Keās heart was beating fast from fear. But as he slowly adapted, a delayed embarrassment set in.
…I was the one who wanted to play, and now I’m so scared I can’t walk and need Brother to lead me completely. How can I be like this!
Duan Ke cheered himself on silently, took two stomping steps forward, looking righteous.
“Brother, kittens have great night vision. You follow me, and you won’t bump into things.”
Qin Huai naturally indulged him. Duan Ke walked ahead, suddenly blinded by a flash of reflection, staring blankly in that direction.
Qin Huai asked, “What’s wrong? Still scared?”
Duan Ke snapped back. “Ah, nothing… just a mirror. Brother, let’s go quickly, it’s so scary and gloomy here…”
Their figures quickly disappeared into the cluttered storage room.
Duan Ke had left, but the figure in the mirror did not disappear.
It smiled slightly in the mirror using Duan Keās appearance, lazily adjusting the hat on its head.
Ripples suddenly appeared on the mirror surface, as if something abruptly sprang out from within.
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