Chapter 114: Completely Barbecued

[Fully opened meridians!]

[Surging power!]

[The beginning of evolution!]

Baji zipped around the living room, leaping across furniture with a ball in its mouth, moving so fast it left afterimages behind.

Ever since awakening in this cat’s body, it had discovered an irresistible urge to paw at round and long objects. If it didn’t bat them around a few times, it felt unbearably restless—especially when excited.

Like now.

With its meridians fully open and spiritual energy flowing freely, its cultivation was bound to progress at lightning speed.

Its strength would soar, and soon—freedom! Feasting! An endless gluttonous banquet! Kekeke~

"Baji, come here!"

Hearing Chen Huai’an’s call, Baji slammed on the brakes, stopping atop the windowsill, then turned to look at him.

[Ah~ It’s the big boss~]

It instinctively licked its paw, not even realizing its own cat-like behavior.

[The boss gave me an acupuncture treatment. Even though getting too close is risky, I still have to give him some respect.]

With elegant feline grace, Baji strolled over to Chen Huai’an, then flopped down on the ground and rolled onto its back, exposing its belly.

It had learned this trick from watching TV cats—a move that instantly lowered human vigilance.

Originally, Baji had scoffed at the idea.

But after testing it, it realized the tactic actually worked.

Maybe that was why cats had survived into modern times, despite being physically weak creatures.

If they hadn’t learned such tricks, the human cultivators favored by the Dao would have wiped them out long ago.

Sometimes, playing weak was the best survival skill.

"Looks like Baji knows I healed its leg. It’s getting more obedient."

Chen Huai’an rubbed Baji’s head, feeling deeply satisfied.

Since Baji was so cooperative, there was no need to pin it down with acupuncture again.

He raised his watch’s camera, aimed it at Baji, and pressed the scan button.

A green scanning line appeared, sweeping up and down over Baji’s body.

For a moment, the lines surrounding Baji glitched, flickering between multiple colors as if short-circuiting.

Then—

The screen froze on a mess of rainbow hues, the green scanning line vanished, and the entire screen went black.

Pa!

The app force-quit.

The watch shut down on its own.

Chen Huai’an: "…?"

"No way. This is the quality of the Demon Slayer Bureau’s equipment? Or is the battery just dead?"

He plugged the watch into a charger—sure enough, it had completely run out of power.

Pressing the power button, he waited for it to reboot, planning to scan Baji again while charging.

Meanwhile, Baji’s golden feline eyes flickered as it silently watched the watch in Chen Huai’an’s hands.

[That device just now… it felt like it was trying to peer into me. Some kind of detection artifact? But it doesn’t look like one…]

Just to be safe, Baji completely retracted its aura.

Then, it continued rolling on its back, flicking its fluffy tail against Chen Huai’an’s pants as if nothing had happened—fully committing to its Hajime cat disguise.

Chen Huai’an quickly rebooted the watch, opened the app, and scanned Baji again.

This time, everything looked completely normal.

[Scan Complete!]

A big green checkmark appeared on the screen.

[Scan Result: This is an adorable little cat!]

"Ha, I knew it. No way Baji’s a demon."

Chen Huai’an shook his head in amusement, chuckling at himself for even entertaining the idea.

Every demon he had encountered before was ugly as hell, looking as insane as they acted.

Not like Baji, who was covered in sleek black fur, practically a walking shadow, with bright golden eyes that shone like gems.

Something this cute couldn’t possibly be a demon.

That said—he still felt a tiny bit disappointed.

"Don’t worry, Baji. Now that all your meridians are open, one day, you’ll become a truly powerful demon!"

He patted Baji’s head reassuringly.

Baji felt both touched and conflicted upon hearing Chen Huai’an’s words.

[Didn’t expect the big boss to have such high expectations for me…]

As one of the ancient vicious beasts, its very existence was born from evil and catastrophe.

It still vaguely remembered—back when it was young, it couldn’t control its hunger or instincts.

It had devoured the very Chiyou’s body from which it was born, consuming all living creatures within a hundred-mile radius…

By the time it had grown strong enough to control its appetite, it had already become a feared monster, hunted by all.

To survive, it had to keep fighting and eating, and through that endless cycle, it earned its infamous name—

The dreaded beast, Taotie.

If only it were just an ordinary demon.

But it couldn’t tell the big boss its true identity.

The moment Chen Huai’an learned it was Taotie, he would definitely kill it before it could grow strong again.

No one would ever keep a beast like Taotie by their side.

And anyone who did would be hunted by the world.

Chen Huai’an, unaware that Baji was staring blankly at the ceiling, lost in emo reminiscing, was busy thinking about his next target.

Since Baji wasn’t a demon, that was a bit disappointing—

But there was still one more creature in the house that might be worth scanning.

He didn’t expect much.

It was just for testing purposes.

He casually aimed the watch camera at the big blue fish in the water basin.

—

He shouldn’t have done that.

The moment the scan finished, his face froze.

His eyes widened to the size of full moons.

"HOLY SHT!**"

"Triple Egg! Get out here now!!!"

—

Inside the bedroom, Lin Lingling jerked upright, startled by Chen Huai’an’s sudden shout.

Oh f*.**

It was happening.

She took a deep breath, grabbed the spear leaning against the wall, and charged for the door.

She and the big boss might have a chance against that cat demon if they fought together.

Even if she died here today, she would fight for her future peace of mind!

"Chen Huai’an! I’ve come to assist you!"

She kicked the door open, spear raised, and leaped into action—

Only to see Chen Huai’an standing by the windowsill, his face full of delight as he hugged a massive blue fish.

…Why was he hugging the fish?

For a brief moment, Lin Lingling’s brain short-circuited.

Chen Huai’an lifted the fish higher, grinning like an idiotically pure soul.

"Hey, Triple Egg! Guess what?!"

"You were actually right! That random fish I bought from the market—"

"It really is a demon! Hahaha!"

—

The big blue fish: "…"

What the f* is he talking about?**

Lin Lingling stared blankly at the fish spitting water in protest, then turned to look at Baji, who was sitting smugly in the corner watching the show.

Her gaze drifted back to Chen Huai’an.

Her brain fully shut down.

The fish is a demon?

Then what about Baji?

—

[Hey, little brat, the device you gave the boss can detect demon energy, huh?]

[Kekekeke, what a shame. I’ve long since learned to suppress my aura at will!]

—

A chilling voice echoed in her mind.

Lin Lingling froze in place.

Her head slowly turned toward the corner—

Where Baji was calmly licking its paw, looking at her with an inscrutable expression.

Oh f*.**

The cat demon can talk.

The cat demon has intelligence.

—

Her dream of flying swords and immortal cultivation…

Her path to ascension…

All of it…

Her face drained of color, an icy chill shooting up her spine.

Her legs went weak.

With a soft "thud"—

She collapsed to her knees.

It was over.

She was completely barbecued.

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