Don’t Discriminate Against Species

Chapter 41 - Leaving Soul Syndrome

The Kunpeng wasn’t as difficult to deal with as everyone had anticipated. The meal lasted till dawn, after which Zhuang Qing proposed to bring him to a resting place. The Kunpeng didn’t turn him down, his cooperative attitude allowing everyone to heave a sigh of relief.

When they walked out of the private room, the hotel’s boss Wang Han was waiting outside. The moment he caught sight of them, he enthusiastically greeted them, “Chief Zhuang, Kunpeng daren, please take care.”

“En,” Seeing that everyone at the hotel had respectful attitudes, the Kunpeng was extremely pleased. After a few proud nods, he raised his head, stuck out his chest, and headed out.

Wang Han gazed at his back and let out a long breath. Propping a hand against the wall, his legs trembled like vibration machines. “Damn, I was almost scared to death.” He hadn’t wanted to come at first, but had received Fu Li’s message in the middle of the night stating that the Kunpeng placed a lot of importance on face; the Kunpeng wasn’t moved by force or persuasion, but was very easy to deal with as long as one gave him enough face. What else could he do? Of course, he could only grit his teeth and respectfully send off the great yao.

Before coming, he had even written a will in advance. In the event that something happened to him, the hotel would still function as per normal. If he sacrificed himself for the common people, the country and cultivation world would have to give him some face and provide generous treatment to the Wanyue Sect, right?

He stood there with the mentality of a ‘warrior never to be seen again after the howling wind and frigid waters of the Yi River’. Only after the danger had passed did he clearly recognize how much he feared death.

“Fu Li!”

The cultivators disguised as waiters respectfully saw them off at the main entrance. Everyone was just about to relax when a young girl suddenly ran out from a corner, causing their hearts to tense once again.

Lu Yi squeezed past the slightly plump man beside Fu Li and tugged on Fu Li’s sleeve. Gasping for breath, she said, “Even if you aren’t willing to accept my pursuit, must you give up on this job? You make a living outside on your own and it’s not easy for you to find a good job. There’s no need for you to discard this job because of me. If you genuinely feel that it’s awkward to work in the same place as me, then I’ll resign if worst comes to worst. I’m local, so finding a job will be easier for me than you.”

The cultivators shot a glance at Zhuang Qing. What sort of situation was this?

Zhuang Qing glanced at the Kunpeng who had been squeezed aside by the human girl and gave a tiny shake of his head. How was he supposed to know that this old yaoguai had actually provoked a human girl?

“Nothing of that sort happened, don’t overthink. You’re such a nice person, why would I intentionally avoid you?” Fu Li smiled. “I really did resign because I found a job more suitable for me.”

“Really?” Lu Yi released her grip on Fu Li’s sleeve and forced out a smile. “That’s good then.”

“He’s my new boss,” Fu Li dragged Zhuang Qing over. “He’s magnanimous, loyal, and shows a lot of consideration to me.”

“Hello,” Zhuang Qing shifted the hand that Fu Li had used to grab onto his arm. He nodded towards the human girl. “Fu Li does indeed work at our company, he’s not lying to you.”

“Hello.” Lu Yi straightened her posture and hastily replied, “I’m sorry for disturbing you at work. Fu Li is usually very serious when working, please don’t have a bad impression of him because of me.”

Zhuang Qing cocked his head and looked at Fu Li. “I won’t, please don’t worry.”

“Thank you.” Lu Yi took a deep look at Fu Li before saying softly, “Take care in the future.” Saying so, she turned and ran off without looking back.

The cultivators stared at Fu Li. This was an age when romantic freedom was promoted, and there was no opposition to yao getting together with humans on the condition that the human was willing. The management bureau’s newcomer had quite the ability to be liked by such a good girl.

The Kunpeng who was bumped into wasn’t angry either. On the contrary, he bumped Fu Li’s waist with an elbow. “I couldn’t tell that you were a dishonorable yao who doesn’t even let off human girls.”

Fu Li: …

Zhuang Qing and Fu Li brought the Kunpeng to the lodging behind the management bureau where many of the yao cultivators working at the bureau resided. Arranging for the Kunpeng to stay at this place was safer than having him stay in a residential area with ordinary humans.

“The bed can be considered comfortable, though the place is a bit small,” The Kunpeng’s room was nearly two hundred square meters. The Kunpeng stood by the window and looked around for a while before shaking his head and sighing, “Since the humans cook good food, I’ll bear with it for now.” The moment he uttered these words, he transformed into a bird the size of several tens of meters with a plop. Pulling over an enormous carpet, he used it as a blanket and covered his fat belly with it. “You can go busy yourselves, I’m going to sleep.”

Fortunately, the building was specially constructed by the management bureau, otherwise the weight of the Kunpeng’s original form might have brought the entire building down. It was just a pity that Song Yu lived on the floor below the Kunpeng. Shivers ravaged his body at the smell of the Kunpeng, compelling him to kneel on the spot and call him king.

He opened the door a crack with shaking hands. Seeing that Fu Li and Zhuang Qing were heading down from the floor above, he instantly threw himself in front of them. “Fu Li daren, I can smell the Kunpeng. It’s a Kunpeng ahhhh!”

Fu Li touched his bald head. “En, you didn’t smell wrong. He’s staying on the floor above yours.”

The screeches vanished all of a sudden. Song Yu covered his mouth, his gaze darting about in alarm. “Daren, are you joking with me?”

“Don’t be scared, I’ll be moving in a few days later too. I’ll be staying on the floor above the Kunpeng.” Seeing that Song Yu’s cheeks had turned pale from fright, Fu Li said consolingly, “Don’t worry, it’s not like he’ll eat you.”

Song Yu: But I don’t feel consoled.

“You can have one day of leave. Go back and pack up your things. Try your best to move in within three days,” Zhuang Qing glanced upstairs. “It’ll be hard on you this period.”

“We’re serving the people after all,” Fu Li sighed. “It’s just a pity that the landlord of the house I just rented won’t give me a refund if I move out in advance.”

“You’re quite generous when giving away things, but your heart knows how to ache when it comes to rental eh,” Zhuang Qing found the car key. “Let’s go, I’ll send you back.”

After the both of them got into the car, Zhuang Qing said, “The way you were acting last night was different from your usual self.” Fu Li didn’t usually speak so much, nor was he that…crafty.

“That was because Elder White Ape once told me about the Kunpeng’s character. The Kunpeng’s magic power is endless and he can’t be moved by force or persuasion, so it’s best to give him face,” Fu Li smiled. “When encountering a yao that can’t be defeated, fight if one can win, escape if it isn’t possible to win, and surrender if there’s no way of escaping. Only by abiding by these can a yao not suffer losses.”

“Were these also taught to you by White Ape?” Zhuang Qing asked.

“En,” Fu Li nodded. “Elder White Ape said that no matter the situation, one must be alive before anything else can be done.”

Zhuang Qing was silent for a moment before responding calmly, “He taught well.” Learning not to surrender would lead to constant run-ins with a brick wall, leading to a world of hurt and scars. That being said, once certain habits were inculcated, it was very difficult to change them.

Upon returning to his rented house, Fu Li packed up everything. When he went downstairs to find the landlord to check out, the landlord’s house was in chaos. The landlord’s adorable granddaughter was lying on the sofa spouting hogwash while the landlord’s daughter-in-law was sobbing as she dialed the number for the ambulance.

Fu Li’s arrival didn’t attract the attention of any of the people in the house.

He had seen the little girl several times in the less than half a month he had lived at this place. If she wasn’t carrying her tiny backpack to the kindergarten, she was holding her parents’ hands, hopping about on their way out to play. Every time he saw her, the little girl would beam and call him big brother in her soft voice that had a milk-like quality to it. She was an extremely cute girl.

Glancing at the child who was sputtering nonsense on the sofa, Fu Li made his way downstairs and found the little girl after searching all over the neighborhood’s streets.

“Are you lost?” Fu Li crouched down in front of her and pinched the little girl’s soft face.

“Big brother?” Tears decorated the little girl’s face. Upon seeing Fu Li, she burst into tears, “I can’t find daddy and mummy.”

“I’ll bring you to them, okay?” Fu Li extended his hand to the little girl.

“Will you lie and sell me off?” The little girl pointed at a man at the end of the street. “That uncle wanted to take me away just now, but I didn’t agree.”

Fu Li looked in the direction the girl was pointing to. One of the man’s feet was bare and he stood at the center of the intersection of the roads, seemingly searching for something. Fu Li knew what he was looking for – the shoe that he had lost. Only after finding the shoe he had lost could he be reincarnated.

If he really couldn’t find it, he could also let his family members burn a pair of shoes – which he had worn when alive – at the place of his demise. Or, he could reincarnate if he found a death-substitute.

“You did the right thing, that uncle is a liar,” Fu Li took hold of the little girl’s hand. “But I won’t lie to you, you can come with me.”

The little girl cocked her head thoughtfully and then nodded. “Okay. You can’t lie to me, okay?”

Fu Li laughed, “Good girl.”

An ambulance passed by them. One by one, the cars ahead moved out of its way, leaving a path through the congested street for the ambulance.

Holding the girl’s hand, Fu Li walked past the noisy crowd of people and a tranquil river. Then, he covered the little girl’s eyes, wrapped his arms around her, and passed through a dark tunnel. “Don’t make a sound, you’ll see your daddy and mummy in a while.”

The little girl nodded obediently. Faint weeping sounds and pained howls prompted her to hug Fu Li’s neck tightly with some fear.

While she was distracted, the sound of bells drifted over. Very soon, the ringing sound could be heard in front of her. Feeling somewhat curious, she wanted to take a peek, yet the big brother who was carrying her covered her eyes.

“Mr Fu Li.”

“Yinchai daren.”

“The little girl in your arms… is that the Leaving Soul Syndrome?”

The little girl didn’t understand what a yinchai and Leaving Soul Syndrome was.

“Children are timid and have weak yang qi. Receiving a slight shock is enough for their spirit to leave the body. I have some affinity with this little girl, so I’m sending her back.”

“Mr Fu Li is very kind.”

“I’m merely doing it in passing.”

“Goodbye.”

“Take care.”

The little girl once again heard the sound of bells drifting away, yet the hand covering her eyes remained where it was.

A while later, she heard the big brother’s gentle voice.

“We’ve arrived, you can go back.”

She opened her eyes. There was no sign of the big brother. All she saw was a spotless white ceiling, a few uncles and aunties in white clothes, and her still-weeping parents.

“Miao Miao!” The child’s mother saw that the little girl had awoken. She wanted to bring her into a hug but didn’t dare to make any reckless moves. “Are you awake?”

“Mommy…” The little girl sat up on the hospital bed and looked around with confusion. “Where’s the big brother who sent me back?”

“What big brother?” Concerned that the child’s rash movements would pull on the needle connected to the drip, the little girl’s mother hurriedly stopped her, “Don’t move, don’t move.”

The doctor and nurse hastily went up and checked the girl’s physical condition. All of them were amazed. A moment ago, the girl’s pupils were dilated, and she was exhibiting life-threatening symptoms, yet why was there suddenly little to no difference between her and an ordinary person now?

“The brother who led me to you from the street,” The little girl was still slightly bewildered. She didn’t understand why she was now lying on the bed with a scary needle in her hand when she was just in the big brother’s arms. “A bad uncle wanted to take me away, but I didn’t agree. After that, big brother came and said that he’ll bring me to you. We walked for a very long time, and even met an uncle on the way who was carrying a bell.”

The doctor and nurse smiled. “It’s possible for children to have strange dreams when they’re unconscious, there’s no need for the parents to worry. Her vital signs are all normal now. We recommend staying in the hospital for observation for a few more days and doing a comprehensive check-up. If there are no issues, she can be discharged.”

“Thank you, doctor. Thank you both,” The child’s parents stood up and thanked them.

There were many patients in the hospital, so the doctor and nurse proceeded with their respective work after seeing that the child was fine.

The landlady often prayed and burned incense at temples and monasteries, so she asked a few more questions after hearing her granddaughter’s words, “Which big brother sent you back?”

“That pretty big brother that borrowed the house on the floor above ours to live in. While he was carrying me to you, he even met a daren and told that daren that I had the Leaving Soul Syndrome. Grandma, what is a Leaving Soul Syndrome?”

These words gave the landlady and the child’s parents a huge shock.

Leaving Soul Syndrome?

They had coincidentally seen a car accident the previous night when they were bringing Miao Miao home. The person who was knocked down died on the spot and his shoe even flew quite a few meters. Miao Miao seemed to have been frightened stiff by the tragic car accident and cried continuously after returning home. No matter how much they called out to her, she didn’t sober up even when morning came. Moreover, she kept uttering nonsensical words.

Could the fright from last night have caused her to lose her soul?

“Mom,” Miao Miao’s mother felt a lingering fear. She was someone who believed in materialism, but this event concerned her precious daughter, so it unexpectedly caused her to have some doubts. “Do you think this could be true…”

The landlady’s expression was grave. “When I was young, I heard the elderly in the village saying that some children would lose their souls after suffering severe shock. Nothing major will happen if they were called back by someone, but if no one did so, the child would become a fool.”

Miao Miao’s parents looked at their adorable and quick-witted daughter on the hospital bed, and simultaneously felt a chill run through their bodies.

“Mommy, I remembered what that daren was called!” Miao Miao exclaimed in delight. “Big brother called him yinchai daren.”

“Yinchai?”

“Someone called yinchai, and the sound of bells…” The landlady’s voice was hoarse. “That is probably the legendary soul-catcher from the underworld.”

The expressions of the three adults were filled with shock, horror, and amazement. Miao Miao’s mother held her daughter’s hand, her entire body trembling.

At this point in time, they no longer had the leisure to ponder over Fu Li’s identity and the reason why he had such abilities. All they could think of was expressing their gratitude to him. Without him, they might have lost their daughter.

Two days later, the local police station Peng Hang was stationed at received a police report from an ordinary citizen. The content of the report was a little on the strange side. They hadn’t lost anything but had instead picked up their previous tenant’s money. Unable to track down this tenant’s location, they could only request for aid from the police.

“I’ve seen so many reports of tenants not paying rental and landlords treating their tenants poorly, but haven’t encountered situations where a landlord insists on returning a tenant’s money more than a few times,” The police officer taking the case searched the census register for the correct person using the information given by the landlord.

“Found it,” The police officer clicked open the information. “The tenant’s name is Fu Li. He’s the only person listed on his bank account. He doesn’t own any property, doesn’t have a car, and he was registered at Yongliang…”

“Wait, who did you say it was?” Peng Hang placed down his thermos bottle. “What was the name of the tenant?”

“Fu Li.”

Peng Hang squeezed beside the computer, took a clear look at Fu Li’s picture, and slapped his thigh. “This youngster again!”

“Captain, you recognize him?”

“Of course, how could I not?” Peng Hang replied. “It was this youngster who coaxed someone out of committing suicide.” He didn’t mention the matter about the fake medicine. After all, that youngster had done it out of goodwill.

“What a coincidence,” The police officer said. “Then let’s think of a way to find that person.”

After learning about the addition of a Kunpeng to the management bureau, everybody in the bureau did things much more carefully. Even when speaking, they would try as hard as possible to avoid saying the word ‘Kunpeng’, for fear of summoning the great deity by accident.

“Boss, how did you and Fu ge take down the Kunpeng?” Chu Yu’s face was filled with reverence. “That’s a Kunpeng after all.”

“Since you’re so interested, why don’t you personally ask the Kunpeng?” Zhuang Qing stood up from the chair.

“T-That won’t be necessary,” Chu Yu hastily took a few steps back. “How can a little yao like me gaze upon Kunpeng daren’s imposing presence?”

Zhuang Qing raised a brow. “En, it’s good that you understand. If you still don’t cultivate well, you’ll end up having to lower your head to everyone in the future.”

Chu Yu gave a pained smile. “Boss, can’t you leave me some face?”

Zhuang Qing raised a brow at him. “Hardworking people don’t require others to give them face. People who are not hardworking…”

“I know, Boss. I know all of that,” Chu Yu didn’t dare to continue listening to him. “I’ll go back right this instant and practice the way of the Dao. I’ll strive to become the number one Daoist fish expert.”

In any case, he was the only orthodox Daoist fish.

Knocks sounded on the door. Fu Li stuck his head in from where he was standing outside. “I came to get the keys. I’ll leave after picking it up, so you guys can continue to look at each other.”

“Fu ge,” Chu Yu looked at Fu Li as if he was his knight in shining armor. “I heard from them that you’re going to be shifting in. We’ll be neighbors in the future. Which floor are you staying on? I’ll help you to tidy up the house.”

“Many thanks,” Fu Li took the keys from Zhuang Qing. “I was worried that tidying up would go too slowly with one person.”

“Hand this sort of matter to me, I’m an expert at tidying up.”

However, Fu Li simply had too few things, preventing Chu Yu from fully demonstrating his abilities. Apart from a few sets of clothes, it was just set after set of reference books. He didn’t even own a computer, much less any items for interior decoration.

Although male yao cultivators didn’t need to pay too much attention to these, Fu Li’s attitude was a bit too nonchalant.

After tidying everything up, Chu Yu casually commented, “There seems to be a new resident downstairs too. I’m not sure who in our department moved in.”

“It’s the Kunpeng.”

The book in Chu Yu’s hand smashed onto his foot.

At this moment, the door was suddenly pushed open from outside. A slightly plump man walked in and plopped onto the sofa. “Little rabbit, you moved in too?”

Chu Yu’s body swayed. With a bang, he collapsed onto the floor, turning into a fish of despair.

He had a white belly and black back.

“What plaything is this?” The Kunpeng picked up the half-dead fish from the floor and shook it. “Dead fishes don’t taste nice.” Saying this, he opened his mouth in preparation to swallow the fish.

Fu Li hurriedly snatched the fish. “Daren, this is my colleague. You can’t eat him!”

Ilyz: Poor CY can never catch a break~

Updating you guys on my personal situation because it might or not might not affect my release rate. I’m done with my last semester at uni and will be starting work next year. This also means that there may be times when I may not be able to release 2 chapters per week, especially if the word count is on the higher end. I promise there will be at least 1 chapter per week though~

Sorry for this when the release rate was just recently bumped up too I will be taking the remaining time till the end of the year to translate as much as possible to keep to the release rate. I apologize in advance if I do end up only posting one chapter at times, thank you for understanding <3