The Guide to Capturing a Black Lotus

Dormitory.

It was hot and dry, the cicadas outside the window were chirping loudly, and the fan on the ceiling was working, blowing only hot air.

The fan was old and had a rotating function, but it didn’t turn smoothly, often emitting a droning sound that led people to worry if its neck was about to break.

“Oh no, the air conditioner is broken again.” Half an hour ago, her roommate took a clothes drying rod and prodded the drooping fan blades of the air vent. After leaving those words, she then ran downstairs gleefully.

Reporting repairs.

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In summer, there were a lot of people reporting their air conditioners for repair. Although there was a queue, they would conveniently wait in the hall to enjoy the air conditioning, so she wouldn’t be back for a while.

Ling Miaomiao was the only one left in the dormitory. The fan was blowing hard overhead, but it was still hot. She was lying on her desk doing her papers, and she picked up the paper underneath her hands and fanned herself. The turbulent wind stirred up the fine hair around her ears.

“Wong——” A sudden noise sounded, as if the fan had twisted and broken its skeleton. The fan blade was still spinning in vain, as if it had hit some obstacle, snapping.

Nkdt Ykysxkys oyp pvyavzle: “Qlv esod, esd’v pkv sd vbl qyd…”

Jlqsal vbl osaep olal swv sq bla xswvb, vbl czynj-nzsvble qktwal iwknjzu qzlo esod qasx xke-yka yde pyv esod sd bla elpj. Mbl nssz pnldv sq obkvl rzwxp rswale shla bla qynl, yp kq vbl essa sq y rlynlqwz nsdhldkldnl pvsal bye srldle.

Tla hkpkvsa qasx vbl pju, dsv iwkvl pyvkpqkle okvb bla lulp pvkzz sd vbl cssj, pxssvbzu vssj yoyu vbl rld kd bla byde, blze kv kd bkp byde, rzyule okvb kv, yde vwnjle kv kdvs bkp yaxp. Tkp czynj lulp zssjle yv bla wdczkdjkdtzu.

Nkdt Ykysxkys: “……”

Fbl zlydle cynj kd bla nbyka okvb bla lxrvu bydep yde pxkzle yv bkx: “Pked’v usw pyu vbyv vbl Vyaydsaxyz Jwalyw byp clld pvaknv zyvlzu?”

Mbl uswdt xyd rywple yde alynble kdvs vbl nsxrzknyvle nszzya vs rwzz psxlvbkdt swv. Wasx vbl pkel, bkp qkdtlap olal pzldela yde clywvkqwz. Gqvla plyanbkdt qsa y obkzl, bl qkdyzzu rwzzle swv y pwprldele cyetl qasx kdpkel vbl nszzya yde pbsole kv vs bla: “Nssj.”

Tl oyp saktkdyzzu hlau alpkpvydv vs vbkp vbkdt. Jwv dso, vblal pllxle vs cl yd yka sq pbsokdt sqq.

Mbl cyetl oyp vbl wpwyz pvyqq RP cyetl. G nbkr oyp lxcleele kd vbl xlvyz lmvlaksa, yde ldtayhle okvb qswa dwxclap, “0306.” Jwv kv oyp pxyzzla vbyd vbl wpwyz cyetlp ulv y zkvvzl vbknjla vbyd vbl dlnjzynl, zkjl y jkvvld’pnszzya nszzya…… Oalax, keldvkvu cyetl.

As she thought of this, Ling Miaomiao’s face instantly revealed a devilish smile.

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However, Mu Sheng did not notice this. He was absorbed in peeking at the person in front of him.

Since she was indoors, the girl was casually wearing a red polka dot dress. The skirt was loose, exposing her shoulders and a bit of her collarbone. Her hair was pulled up smoothly, a few strands of chestnut hair fell on the back of her neck, and the bright and flamboyant red set off her skin’s pale color even more, like a strawberry cake in a window display.

He quickly took her hand and lowered his head to kiss her fingers.

Ling Miaomiao’s hairs stood on end: “Hey……”

His long eyelashes were lowered into a neat row. His expression was quiet and pious, and only his chaotic breathing revealed a little of his suppressed desire.

Ling Miaomiao quickly glanced at the door, struggling to stand up, and guiltily gave him a few pecks on his face, “It’s broad…… broad daylight, don’t make a scene.

2.

There was a reason behind the seperation between humans and demons.

When Erbao was fifteen years old, he was already as tall as Liu Fuyi. There was an added magnetism to his voice, and when he carried a bucket of water in the yard, he would reveal the muscles of a strong adult man’s arms, often putting people in a trance.

Xue Can had already grown into a beautiful girl and married the son of a demon-hunting family. At her wedding, Ling Miaomiao felt a little shocked—— the little girl leaning on the side of Liu Fuyi’s leg blowing bubbles years ago, had reached the age she was when she first came to this world.

That day, she was astonished to find her first gray hair while looking in the dressing mirror.

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Mu Sheng silently stood by the door and saw her quietly pulling out her hair and hiding it.

Every year, Ling Miaomiao would spend eight months with the protagonist group, traveling the world to catch demons, and four months dragging Mu Sheng home for vacation. Since there was no need to have children or worry about trivial matters, life was really too easy. It seemed that in the blink of an eye, fifteen years had passed by.

The county mayor’s daughter had turned 30, but nothing seemed to have changed, and her appearance and temperament were the same as before. But from that day on, she properly combed her hair into a married woman’s updo, and was embarrassed to continue dressing like a young lady.

At night, he held her in his arms. The young man was still the same as when they first met, a high ponytail, white hair band, a pair of thin, stubborn, dark eyes, looking at her in the dark, kissing her while determinedly undoing her hairdo: “Why are you wearing it like this?”

“I should have worn it like this a long time ago.” She turned her head away from him, shaking her head and joking, “Hey, I don’t want to be old, but the years are not kind to me.”

At the present, she was just barely able to match him, but in a few years, when Erbao looked the same age as him, how was she to cope?

In the meantime, the system sent out a transmission alert once a year to remind her of the existence of another world. It has already done so fifteen times.

At the end of the year, her county mayor father passed away from old age. Ling Miaomiao arranged a proper burial for him, holding his hand and sending him off peacefully. In the mourning hall, Mu Sheng silently kneeled with her until midnight.

The night was very quiet, after crying, her mind was empty and she began to think of her father.

As if a radar detector was installed in his head, the first thing he said in the flickering candlelight was: “You want to leave.”

Ling Miaomiao was startled: “I didn’t……”

He smiled uncharacteristically lightly, his profile obscure under the bright candlelight, “You don’t have to hide anything from me, I know everything.”

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“Truthfully……” Ling Miaomiao paused and counted on her fingers for him, “Look, Erbao has grown up and Xue Can has gotten married. Brother Liu and Sister Mu have a son and daughter, a family of their own. In this place, I don’t have any regrets left……”

“Yes.” He interrupted, seemingly very reasonable and understanding. He softly replied, “It’s okay.”

Ling Miaomiao was slightly relieved. The next second, he stuffed a cold smooth bead into her hand, lowered his eyes, and added plainly: “When you leave, just crush it for me.”

Ling Miaomiao looked at it with the aid of the candle flame for a while. The semi-transparent bead seemed to have shifting red veins, like ripples over the water’s surface.

She felt something was wrong and tried pinching it. The person beside her swayed and suddenly spat out a mouthful of polluted blood. His face instantly paled to a paper-white, but he still stared obstinately at the ground and knelt with a straight back.

Ling Miaomiao was so frightened that her soul seemed to have flown away: “You are sick, aren’t you Mu Ziqi!”

She grabbed his shoulders, pried opened his mouth, and forced the bead in. Her hands were covered with his blood, and they were panting, their shadows wavering in the light, like a pair of malicious spirits.

Ling Miaomiao had been hunting demons for more than ten years. It was long enough to know that the power of great demons was embodied in their demon core. With the loss of their core, they would not live long. By his age, he should have a demon core. If she crushed it, wouldn’t it be the same as telling him to die?

“Why are you like this……” The more Ling Miaomiao thought about it, the more scared she was. Her body trembled, and she was so angry that she burst into tears.

Mu Sheng clutched her hand and raised his eyes to look at her, his dark eyes were full of resignation and reluctance, his blood-stained lips were red: “You said you had no other regrets, so it is clear that you have given up on me.”

Ling Miaomiao dried her tears with her sleeve: “Who said they wanted to go alone?”

“I wanted to ask you if you would be willing to leave with me……”

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He was stunned for a while, and the hollow appearance lit up little by little and he appeared to be a bit confused: “……Can I?”

“Why not.” Ling Miaomiao grumpily rubbed his face, “You’re not even afraid to die, are you afraid to give it a try?”

And so there was today.

This was Ling Miaomiao’s hometown. The real Miaomiao was a little different from Ling Yu’s appearance, but she still had alert almond eyes, pale rosy cheeks, soft hair, and a supple waist.

She made it hard for people to leave her.

Mu Sheng laid kisses from the back of her hand all the way to the neck, his actions becoming more and more uncontrollable. He was absolutely head over heels for Ling Miaomiao, and it took a great deal of effort for her to settle him: “Director Xu is here!”

The young man separated from her, but carelessly rubbed his fingers over the marks left from earlier: “Stop trying to scare people.”

After saying that, his lips moved up again, rubbing her lips, one hand gripping her waist through her skirt. Ling Miaomiao’s face quickly reddened: “Not here……”

Mu Sheng sighed and slowly let her go, water seemed to pool in his eyes, giving him an aggrieved look.

As if to prevent a crime from being committed, she squeezed his hand and struggled to explain: “This is not the same as at home…… it’s a public place.

Seeing that he obediently did not move, she picked up the watch lying on the table and took a look at it.

It had already been half an hour.

She pulled out a chain hung with keys, flash drives and fingerprint locks out of her school bag and urgently swung the fluffy pink fox tail decoration: “Hurry back, don’t neglect your duties.”

Ziqi, if someone catches you, you won’t be able to come next time.

Mu Sheng dawdled, venting all his anger on the barrier order¹Yeah, sorry if this doesn’t make sense. I honestly didn’t really know how to translate this., turning and stroking the fox tail over and over, shedding several of its hairs in the process: “Why is it this kind of thing?”

Ling Miaomiao pushed his shoulders, pursed her lips and smiled: “How cute is it, just like you.”

“Humph.” A cloud of fog appeared. After it dissipated, the person in front of her disappeared along with it.

Ling Miaomiao regretfully stroked the fox tail and placed a light kiss on the barrier order.

The floor tiles of the office corridor were composed of rich and imposing marble tiles which reflected the light. The high heels of the female staff struck the tiles with a sharp, clear sound.

Director Xu was a leader with a unique aesthetic taste. In today’s highly industrialized world, where the white minimalist style has taken over the major public security bureaus, investigation bureaus, and laboratories, the Paranormal Bureau had gone for a medieval European style. It was as extravagant as a church, with a high dome ceiling full of incongruous frescoes. Above Mu Sheng’s head was a pure and holy angel flying with open arms to a unclothed Mary.

Someone walked by him then turned back around while clicking their tongue and smiling: “Ey? 0306, why are you here blushing?”

The young man fixed his expression, the soft and innocent sweetness instantly put away. He then calmly replied: “It’s nothing.”

Translator Note: Wow, one more chapter and it’s over. This feels pretty crazy. Anyways, I hope everyone has a wonderful day~