Under Mo Chuan's help, the four people present had their minds greatly expanded (physically), felt much happier (physically), and finally were presented with rose-gold bracelets by the police uncles amidst a sky full of stars (physically), and invited for a chat in a special car.
Mo Chuan was helping the surrounding construction teams and firefighters clean up the aftermath when he suddenly heard someone shout from behind: "Ah!! Big brother-in-law, why didn't you leave one for me! I haven't made a move in a month!"
That's right, number three was our great genius (not) swordsman, Meng Le.
"Didn't you make a move at the Ten Thousand Sword Sect? Swinging your sword ten thousand times."
"Ahhhh!!! Are you a devil?!"
Because Meng Le needed to "experience the harshness of society" (after all, he had been drinking on the mountain), Yi Tian Xing stuffed him into Mo Chuan's team to work. However, because this kid still harbored feelings for Mo Fei, the term "brother-in-law" made Mo Chuan very uncomfortable, so Mo Chuan often showed Meng Le a cunning side similar to Mo Fei's.
After leaving Meng Le to help clean up another part of the aftermath, Mo Chuan turned back to Paitiao Hutong and waited at the stall for Zhang Hanshan and Su Yueqing.
Yesterday, Abe Haruko had informed Mo Chuan: Su Daji was dead.
Clearly, the vixen hadn't lasted more than a year or two as expected, but hopefully, she had handled her affairs.
Speaking of which, she had definitely cast a charm spell on herself back then... otherwise, knowing his personality at the time, she would have definitely died the next day.
In that case... all the main culprits on the ghost side of the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade incident had been dealt with...
Mo Chuan unconsciously took a small pipe from his pocket. As he filled it with tobacco, he realized he hadn't brought any fire.
"Here." A wisp of flame ignited at the fingertip of a jade-like finger, approaching Mo Chuan.
It was Tang Jingjing.
Mo Chuan lit the pipe, took a light puff, and asked, "When did you arrive?"
"Just now." Tang Jingjing put away her Thousand Mechanisms Umbrella and said, "The emergency center has finished counting the casualties. Three civilians with minor injuries, one with serious injuries, but the street is quite badly damaged and will likely need some time to rebuild."
"But I'm very curious, how did that fire hydrant get in there?" Tang Jingjing asked with a strange expression, gesturing. "It's so big, and it's only this big..."
"Cough, cough, ladies, be more lady-like." Mo Chuan flicked the ash and asked, "What's going on? Can you get foreign firearms in Longjing City?"
Hearing this, Tang Jingjing's face darkened, and she said, "These five people are from Yanzhou. Yanzhou's public security is generally not good, and coupled with its long border with the Roman Empire, smuggling is too easy."
"And," Tang Jingjing glanced at the old residential areas and siheyuan around them, saying, "Isn't it not just Longjing, but all cities, where the inner city and outer city are worlds apart? They are only separated by a wall, yet they are two worlds."
Mo Chuan remained silent and looked at his watch.
"There have been shooting incidents across the country during this period," Tang Jingjing continued on her own. "Someone has brought in a large batch of weapons..."
"Chuan Ge!"
Mo Chuan and Tang Jingjing turned their heads at the sound and saw Zhang Hanshan waving at them, with the white-haired young boy behind him.
"Boss, two bowls of douhua, four oil pancakes."
...
Mo Chuan, Tang Jingjing, and Zhang Hanshan stared blankly (⊙﹏⊙) as Su Yueqing swallowed the fifteenth oil pancake, then downed the eighth bowl of douhua in one go. She patted her belly and said, "Phew~ I'm full..."
"Uh... Su Daji doesn't give you food?"
"No..." Su Yueqing sighed slightly, a hint of melancholy in her eyes, and said, "It took several days to arrange the old ancestor's funeral in Jinling, and I hadn't eaten before coming here."
"..." Mo Chuan rubbed his chin, speechless.
"Oh, right!" Su Yueqing seemed to recall something and quickly took out a silk-wrapped item from her waist, handing it to Mo Chuan. "The old ancestor said to thank Young Master for fulfilling her last wish and asked me to give this to Mo Chuan Ge as a token of her gratitude."
Mo Chuan was silent for a moment and accepted the silk-wrapped package.
Just then, a beautiful young girl walked over and said to everyone at the table, "Excuse me, everyone. My grandfather is not feeling well, and we are closing the stall now. Could you please settle the bill?"
"Certainly." Mo Chuan was just taking out his wallet when he heard the girl say, "Nine bowls of douhua, seventeen oil pancakes, the total is sixty-one yuan and fifty cents."
"...You really can eat..." Mo Chuan's mouth twitched involuntarily. Just as he was about to pay, Zhang Hanshan bumped his hand. He looked up and saw Tang Jingjing, Zhang Hanshan, and Su Yueqing all looking at him and the girl with strange expressions.
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
"Girl, they ate over sixty yuan worth of breakfast, which is quite accommodating to our business. Just charge them sixty yuan." From a distance, the old man's voice broke the silence.
Facing everyone's gazes, Mo Chuan calmly handed over a red banknote and said, "No need for change." Then he turned and walked out of the alley.
Seeing this, everyone exchanged glances and could only follow Mo Chuan.
After the group left the alley, Su Yueqing softly asked, "That... if I'm not mistaken... was that girl just now... a demon? And she can transform... obviously a powerful demon..."
The other two clearly wanted to say the same thing and looked at Mo Chuan in unison.
"Yes, a cat demon that has cultivated for at least several decades." Mo Chuan said as he looked at the message on his phone.
"But isn't that old man in danger? I remember that cat demons need to absorb people's yang energy to cultivate?"
"Alas..." Mo Chuan led everyone through a few turns in the alley, finally stopping in a hutong.
Green tiles on the eaves stained with moss, a lazy cat resting in the early autumn wind.
"This is..." Tang Jingjing frowned. "Shaozi Hutong, not far from Paitiao Hutong."
Before she finished speaking, the group saw the girl helping the old man push their three-wheeled cart into the hutong.
The girl's pupils constricted when she saw Mo Chuan, but she first pushed the cart into a courtyard. After a while, the girl came out holding a small tin box and said to Mo Chuan with a bitter smile, "Sir officer, you've seen through it?"
Before Mo Chuan could speak, the girl placed the tin box on the ground and was about to kneel before Mo Chuan.
Mo Chuan, with quick hands, grabbed the girl's wrist.
"Officer," the girl said with a sorrowful expression, "I still need to take care of my old man. Can you give me some time to arrange his affairs before you come back for me? If you don't trust me, I can give you my heart's essence blood..."
"Girl, did you see the cabbage stems I bought back yesterday?" the old man's voice came from the courtyard.
"No." Mo Chuan shook his head and said, "I gave you a counterfeit bill earlier, I'm here to pay for the food."
As he spoke, Mo Chuan opened the small tin box, inserted a red banknote, and then, as if he hadn't seen the girl's reaction, left with everyone.
Walking on the street, everyone was silent for a long time.
The girl's reaction and demeanor did not seem faked, making it hard to believe she would harm the old man. Moreover, it was clear she wasn't the first time encountering an ability management personnel who recognized her. Her practiced routine of bribery and playing the victim was heartbreaking.
"This old man and his wife have a habit of adopting stray cats and dogs. This cat demon was probably adopted by him when he was young." Mo Chuan patted his pocket, perhaps because he had run out of tobacco, and then took his hand out again. "This old man's children died on the first frontline. After his wife passed away, he was left alone and helpless. This cat demon wanted to repay his kindness, so she cast a small illusion on him, making the old man believe he had a granddaughter."
"Not all demons and ghosts are evil. Sometimes, human hearts are not as pure as those of beasts. Sheep know the grace of kneeling to drink, and crows have the ability to return favors."
As Mo Chuan spoke, everyone saw a "person" at the street corner ahead loudly reprimanding an old man.
"But where is she?"