He just sat there, staring bnkly, his back hunched like his name, like a shrimp, listless and cking energy.

  "I'm... I'm not hungry," he waved his hand, his eyes occasionally darting toward the door, showing some anxiety. His nose kept sniffing the air, like a hunting dog.

  "What are you doing?" I asked directly. He was acting strangely today.

  "Boss... I... I can stay in the shop tonight?" He seemed afraid that I would refuse.

  "Give me a reason."

  "I'm... scared!"

  What a straightforward reason! From Zhang Daxia's shifty eyes, I could indeed sense the genuine fear coming from him.

  "Alright, you can sleep in the living room tonight. I'll get you a bnket ter." I wiped my mouth, then turned my head and raised an eyebrow. "Did you owe money to loan sharks? Are they coming to collect tonight?"

  "No, no, it's not that!" The more Zhang Daxia denied it, the more nervous he became, unable to get his words out. "It's... it's... it's strange..."

  "Alright, alright, I won't ask anymore. It's getting te; goodnight." Pressing someone with a stutter isn't kind.

  After taking another dose of medicine, I turned into bed, and before long, I drifted into sleep.

  I don′t know how long I had been asleep when I was suddenly awakened by the sound of tables and chairs being overturned outside the door, mixed with Zhang Daxia′s desperate cries for help.

  I jerked the covers off and rushed barefoot out of the room—the doors and windows that were originally closed were now wide open, and all the furniture—benches, tables, everything—was spinning in the air. Zhang Daxia was pitifully clutching a table leg, his body stretching out like rubber, as some unseen force from outside the door was pulling him as if trying to drag him out of the shop.

  Such a huge scene, yet there wasn′t even a hint of wind. Not a strand of my bangs moved. The tornado-like force that permeated the shop was overwhelming, yet silent and formless.

  I rushed into the center of that "tornado," grabbing tightly onto Zhang Daxia's wrist.

  An eerie feeling, alternating between freezing cold and scorching heat, like the ssh of a sword, drilled from the heart outward, forcing all my organs together, as if at any moment they might be sucked out of my body.

  I didn′t know what was happening. All I knew was that my power was too weak, and I couldn′t hold on to Zhang Daxia.

  Before he slipped from my grasp and was completely pulled out the door, I clearly saw that the honest and simple man who had been working for me for nearly a month had transformed into a dark brown puppet. Only his eyes still moved, and his mouth continued to stutter as he screamed for help.

  I chased after him into the night. Under the dim, hazy light, the streets and buildings around me were all shrouded in an eerie blue mist. A group of bck, fierce birds with animal heads, bird bodies, and bat wings spread their semi-transparent wings, hissing as they flew rapidly through the mist. Each one carried a small yaokai that had turned back into its true form in its beak.

  One of the bck birds swooped down and grabbed Zhang Daxia by the neck, screeching as it soared into the sky, struggling. Several cat yaokais desperately swiped with their cws, their high-pitched cries begging for help. An elderly turtle yaokai, still wearing a bathrobe, was vomiting uncontrolbly from the speed of the flight. Countless tiny flower spirits and insect yaokais were all crying out in agony.

  These strange birds seemed to have gathered all the nearby yaokais.

  Another one swooped toward me, and I quickly shrank my neck and dodged to the side. That beast grabbed a rat yaokai hiding behind a trash can in its beak.

  It was then that I clearly saw the face of this bird, which was unmistakably a skull wrapped in bck and white feathers.

  Wait, this thing... I seemed to recall something, but no, it couldn′t be here!

  Zhang Daxia had already been carried far away by the bird. I instinctively tried to chase after him, but quickly realized I couldn′t move anymore. A numbness started spreading from my toes. The blue mist floating around me released a faint, sweet scent that continuously seeped into my body.

  “Boss, save me, save me, save me!” Zhang Daxia shouted, no longer stuttering for the first time.

  But my running slowed more and more, and I watched as Zhang Daxia was about to disappear from my sight.

  Suddenly, two threatening cat calls rang in my ears. A bck and a white cat, both robust and with sharp gleaming eyes, appeared from the air. The white cat, in particur, spread a pair of enormous wings mid-air. Every white feather on its wings shimmered with golden specks, dazzling and magnificent, exuding unmatched majesty. Countless skeletal birds rushing toward it were forcefully swatted aside, and with several fshes of white light, these creatures were shattered into pieces, colpsing to the ground.

  Meanwhile, the bck cat, although without wings, showed no ck of fierceness and courage. It fought fiercely with the skeletal birds, tearing them apart with its cws and teeth.

  The appearance of the two cats seemed to bring with it an overwhelming presence, not only shattering most of the skeletal birds but also causing the surrounding blue poisonous mist to dissipate almost instantly.

  A group of small yaokais who had narrowly escaped from the birds' clutches scrambled to flee, while Zhang Daxia, too weak to stand, was grabbed by the white cat by the arm and thrown towards me. Zhang Daxia immediately hugged me tightly, crying loudly.

  My feet regained sensation, and I could walk again. Looking at the two cats, I felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity.

  One bck, one white, with wings on their backs... this isn’t...

  "Chang Tongkai! Xuan!" I excimed, unable to contain my shock.

  The white cat turned its head, gncing at me with a look of suspicion in its eyes.

  "First, deal with those skeletal birds!" I urgently pointed at the remaining enemies—this wasn′t the time for reunions.

  The white cat let out a low growl, spread its wings, and charged towards the remaining skeletal birds. The csh of bck and white was especially striking in the dark night.

  However, things quickly took a turn for the worse. Just when I thought victory was tipping in our favor...

  The torn pieces of the skeletal birds suddenly began to tremble. Each fragment started to swell and mutate, like infted balloons, and then, with a burst, a completely intact, brand-new skeletal bird emerged from the broken pieces. In just a few seconds, the skeletal birds not only revived, but their numbers multiplied exponentially.

  The two cats, under the increased onsught, were starting to show signs of weakening.

  "Stop fighting and run!" I shouted desperately from below.

  The bck and white cats realized the situation was dire and quickly withdrew from the battle. One grabbed Zhang Daxia, the other grabbed me, and we raced forward.

  The enemies relentlessly pursued us, their hissing growing louder and closer.