Thanks to selling themselves out yesterday, Sìbùxiàng made a fortune, giving Hao Chen and Tiānlù a rare chance to rest today without having to work. "Although Sìbùxiàng letting Tiānlù and me rest today means we don't have to work, it seems we never really work anyway. We're either slipping out to play or playing on our phones at home. Truly, Sìbùxiàng might as well have said nothing at all."
Only after thinking about it seriously later did Hao Chen realize that Sìbùxiàng was completely bamboozling them. He lazily rolled over on the bed and looked at Tiānlù, who was tightly wrapped in a blanket, and after a yawn, said, "Ha, Tiānlù, where should we go to play today? How about we go hunting to improve our meals?"
A weak voice came from inside the blanket: "You go yourself. I just want to sleep today; I'm not going out."
"Hmm? Tiānlù, what's wrong with your voice? That doesn't sound like you. Are you sick? Should I call Sìbùxiàng to take a look?"
"No."
Hearing that Hao Chen was going to call Sìbùxiàng, Tiānlù appeared somewhat anxious and revealed his head, which had a bald patch under the blanket.
Looking at Tiānlù's Mediterranean-style hairstyle, Hao Chen covered his mouth, struggling to keep from laughing. Only then did he realize why Tiānlù didn't want to go out. Yesterday, because Sìbùxiàng used him and Tiānlù to make money, Divine Beasts and Spirits from the Caiyun Mountain Range and even other cities came to pet the Pixiu, resulting in them having their fur plucked bald. In pursuit of the so-called Hand of Blessing, and no one knew who started it, the creatures didn't even bother using their paws anymore; they were just pulling the fur out, and the scene became incredibly chaotic. The end result was that both Hao Chen and Tiānlù were successfully balded, with fur missing in patches here and there, which made Hao Chen quite depressed.
However, fortunately, after a night's rest, nourished by the Yin-Yang Power, Hao Chen had regrown smooth and soft new fur. As if to show off, Hao Chen deliberately circled in front of Tiānlù: "Tiānlù, look at my fur, how is it? Is it shiny and oily? Isn't it pretty?"
Tiānlù looked at Hao Chen's smug appearance and panted, "Whoo—whoo—Hao Chen, you... you're hateful! I'm not friends with you anymore, humph!"
Seeing Tiānlù’s whole body shrink into the blanket, Hao Chen felt a thud in his heart. It seemed like he had taken the joke too far, so he quickly reached out a claw and touched the blanket. "Alright Tiānlù, don't be angry. I'm sorry, it's my fault. I won't laugh at you, Tiānlù."
Seeing that Tiānlù remained unmoved, Hao Chen thought for a moment and said, "How about this, Tiānlù? As long as you forgive me, I'll let your fur grow back, how about that?"
Just as Hao Chen expected, upon hearing that the fur could grow back, Tiānlù was impossible to keep unmoved. Tiānlù quickly threw off the blanket, lunged at Hao Chen, and pinned him down. A tail devoid of fur swished left and right: "Hao Chen, can you really make my fur grow back quickly?"
Hao Chen looked up at Tiānlù, who was pinning him down, the baby-pink skin complemented by sparse fur and a bald tail, looking indescribably comical. Tiānlù looked at Hao Chen, who was struggling not to burst into laughter, and felt a sense of injustice. Clearly, everyone was equally ugly and bald yesterday, but after waking up, Hao Chen's fur was already grown in while he remained bald, which made Tiānlù feel very unbalanced. He pouted, tears swirling in his eyes: "Hao Chen, you lied to me. You promised you wouldn't laugh at me."
"Alright, alright, I'm not laughing at you, so don't cry anymore, otherwise you won't look cute," Hao Chen extended his tongue and licked the tears from the corners of Tiānlù's eyes.
Seeing that Hao Chen was no longer making fun of him, Tiānlù got off him: "Hao Chen, tell me quickly, how did you do it? You were balder than me yesterday, how did your fur grow back so fast today?"
Hao Chen's face darkened upon hearing this, and he couldn't help but flick Tiānlù on the head. Tiānlù covered the spot where he was struck and complained, "Hao Chen, what are you hitting me for?"
"Do you want your fur to grow back or not?"
Hearing this, Tiānlù grew quiet. Then, Hao Chen blathered with a stern face: "Ahem, Tiānlù, as long as you smear my saliva on, your fur will grow out quickly."
Tiānlù showed a look of 'I'm not that uneducated, don't lie to me': "Is that for real? Why does it feel so unreliable?"
"Tiānlù, just tell me if you want it treated or not. If not, I'm going out to play."
Saying that, Hao Chen jumped off the bed, pretending to leave. Tiānlù, as expected, grew anxious: "Wait, Hao Chen, I'll get it treated, alright?"
Hearing Tiānlù agree, the corner of Hao Chen's mouth curled up slightly. The 'saliva' thing was, of course, nonsense; the healing primarily relied on his own Yin-Yang Power. As for why he said that, Hao Chen felt that children shouldn't pry into adult affairs. Per Hao Chen's request, Tiānlù lay obediently on the bed: "I'm ready, Hao Chen."
"Uh, right, Tiānlù, I have one more condition."
"Ah! What condition? It won't be very difficult, will it?"
"Rest assured, it's very simple," Hao Chen said, extending his tail in front of Tiānlù: "Tiānlù, I'll help you grow your fur back, but you have to help me lick my tail fur tonight. Look, the new and old fur are all tangled up."
"So that's all it is? Hao Chen, do you just not want to lick it yourself? No problem, just leave it to me."
Once he heard it was just a request to lick fur, Tiānlù agreed without hesitation, feeling relieved—thank goodness Hao Chen didn't ask for anything else. Hearing Tiānlù's agreement, Hao Chen felt a thrill; he hadn't expected to be able to take advantage of Tiānlù twice, quite a score.
Subsequently, Hao Chen began to lick Tiānlù. As the saliva flowed over Tiānlù's skin, Tiānlù felt a cool, icy sensation, which then became a bit itchy. Taking a closer look, he saw the fur growing out at a rate visible to the naked eye.
"Haha, Hao Chen, you're making me so ticklish!"
"Hey, Hao Chen, look, my fur has grown out!"
Having confirmed that Hao Chen really could make his fur grow back, Tiānlù relaxed and lay on the bed, letting Hao Chen continue to lick him. Just then, the door creaked open, and Sìbùxiàng walked in holding a bottle of Hair Growth Liquid: "Pipi, I brought some Hair Growth Liquid for you to use."
What met his eyes, however, was Hao Chen pinning Tiānlù underneath him; Tiānlù's body was damp, his paw was held in Hao Chen's mouth, and unknown liquid was dripping from Tiānlù’s body—in truth, it was just Hao Chen's saliva. "It seems I've come at a bad time. Excuse me, you two continue, continue," Sìbùxiàng looked on in disbelief, never imagining that Hao Chen and Tiānlù would be "playing" in such an elaborate way.
Sìbùxiàng initially wanted to leave quickly to avoid contaminating his eyes, but he suddenly remembered something: "Pipi, Hao Chen, get off my bed now."
Fortunately, after some explanation from Hao Chen, Sìbùxiàng finally believed that they were fine, and then he stopped caring: "Since it's nothing, carry on. I'll leave the Hair Growth Liquid on the table; take it if you need it."
Watching Sìbùxiàng close the door and leave, Hao Chen looked at the hair growth liquid on the table, shook his head, and lunged toward Tiānlù on the bed again.
"Tiānlù, don't worry about Sìbùxiàng. Let's continue your treatment."
There was no way they were using the hair growth liquid; otherwise, how would he have a reason to lick Tiānlù? Amidst Tiānlù's laughter, Hao Chen lay contentedly by the bedside, licking his lips as if he had just finished enjoying a grand feast and was still lingering on the taste.
Watching Tiānlù admire his newly grown fur, Hao Chen said out of the blue, "Tiānlù, you smell so good. I really like you."
Tiānlù, oblivious, said, "Hao Chen, what are you talking about? I'm a Pixiu; I'm supposed to smell good." "Hey, Hao Chen, look, my fur has grown out. Let's go out and play later."
Without the distress of being bald, Tiānlù became optimistic again, but just then, a teacup crashed to the floor downstairs. "Oh no, Sìbùxiàng is in danger! Hao Chen, let's go check it out."
"Hmm, I'd like to see what blind thing dares to come here and cause trouble."
While Hao Chen was helping Tiānlù treat his hair loss, Sìbùxiàng was entertaining a special guest: none other than Dìtīng, who had visited before. Upon hearing that Dìtīng had come to buy the Baize Pillow again, Sìbùxiàng was surprised but didn't think much of it, fetching the Baize Pillow that Baize had left with him to sell.
"Hey, Dìtīng, I remember you came to buy a Baize Pillow a few days ago—was it damaged?"
"Ah, no, Boss Si. I just want to prepare a few more as backups."
Sìbùxiàng had assumed things ended there, but unexpectedly, Dìtīng said there was a personal matter he needed his help with. As it turned out, due to an accident some time ago, an Evil Ghost that had been locked up in the Underworld had accidentally broken its seal. Investigations revealed that the Evil Ghost had fled to the Mortal Realm and was hiding there. Because Dìtīng couldn't stay in the Mortal Realm for long, and because he didn't want others to find out about this (for fear of being charged with dereliction of duty), Dìtīng asked Dàdì for a solution. Dàdì told him he could ask Sìbùxiàng for help.
When Sìbùxiàng heard Dìtīng's situation, he was shocked: "Dìtīng, it's not that I don't want to help, but if even you can't deal with that Evil Ghost, I'm certainly no match for him."
"Boss Si, Dàdì said you have a way. Besides, the reason that Evil Ghost escaped to the Mortal Realm actually has something to do with your employee."
Hearing this, Sìbùxiàng was startled, to the point where the teacup in his hand shattered without him even noticing. "What? My employee? Could it be Pipi? Dìtīng, hold on, I'll go call Pipi over."
Before Sìbùxiàng could get up, Tiānlù, who had heard them, spoke up: "Sìbùxiàng, are you alright? Who's bullying you? I'll get revenge for you."
At this moment, Hao Chen noticed the big black dog sitting across from Sìbùxiàng—Dìtīng.
"Huh, that looks like Dìtīng. Why is he here again? Did his insomnia and hair loss problem not get better? Even so, that shouldn't be enough to scare Sìbùxiàng."
Upon seeing Hao Chen, Dìtīng's pupils contracted, and then he lay on the ground, muttering to himself. Hao Chen knew this was Dìtīng talking to Dàdì, though he didn't know what they were discussing. Dìtīng kept glancing at him.
Soon, Dìtīng seemed to have finished speaking with Dàdì. He stood up, walked over to Hao Chen, and extended a paw with icy blue pads: "Hello, Hao Chen, right? I have something to ask of you. The Heaven and Earth Phenomenon from some time ago was caused by your birth, right?"
Upon hearing Dìtīng's question, Hao Chen nodded: "Yeah, that's right. Is there a problem?"
Soon, Hao Chen learned of the purpose behind Dìtīng's visit to the Deer Man Shop. Aside from buying more Baize Pillows as backups, he also entrusted Sìbùxiàng with finding the Evil Ghost that had fled to the Mortal Realm. And that Evil Ghost had only broken its seal and fled to the Mortal Realm because of the very phenomenon caused by his own birth. Thus, even if he didn't want to, Hao Chen had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree to help.