My sister is Luna

"What bad luck! I'm so unlucky! I keep running into ghosts as soon as I step out the door! And twice at that!"

Looking at Zhong Kui's flickering ghost fire, Cain felt very annoyed; he had encountered it again.

"Suspicious trash detected. Clean up, begin!" Zhong Kui's eyes, adorned with ghostly blue flames, flashed, and he swung his scythe toward Cain, trying to pull him out.

Cain immediately drew his blade, knocked away the sickle, and retreated into the yard.

"Kain, what's Zhong Kui doing here?" Pei Qinhu asked, patting Kain on the shoulder as he stood beside him.

“It’s my fault. You guys go first. I’ll deal with Zhong Kui.” Cain stared at Zhong Kui and said to the others.

"That's strange. According to the route, Zhong Kui should have already passed through our yard by this time. Why is he here now?" Ming Shiyin looked at Zhong Kui outside the yard, frowning in confusion.

“Its route has been disrupted. You can tell the divination, right? Why don’t you do a divination and find out?” Cain looked at Zhong Kui warily, but Zhong Kui remained motionless.

"And why don't you leave quickly? I told you I'd hold this place off, so get out of here!"

Cain urged the Yao Tian members, saying that this was a problem he had caused, so he had to solve it himself. It wouldn't do to cause trouble for others so soon after joining the organization.

"It's not like fortune-telling is easy. I don't know the future all the time. Besides, the rituals required for fortune-telling vary in complexity depending on the matter. So I usually only do fortune-telling for important and necessary matters. After all, knowing everything in the future would be very boring and would take away the sense of wonder in life."

Ming Shiyin fiddled with the peony in his hand, leisurely and content.

"Since that's the case, then hurry up and leave. What are you standing there for? Can't you see Zhong Kui right there? Do you want to fight him?"

While keeping a close eye on Zhong Kui to prevent a sudden attack, Cain spoke loudly to the indifferent crowd.

"Hey, Cain, don't be nervous. Zhong Kui won't attack you or us right now. We're all in this courtyard, or rather, we're standing in a range where Zhong Kui won't attack." Pei Qinhu patted Cain's shoulder, signaling him to relax.

"What do you mean? Doesn't it just grab anyone it sees?" Cain didn't quite understand.

"How could that be? If that were the case, there would probably be far fewer people in Chang'an." Gongsun Li spread her arms wide, making an exaggerated circle.

“Zhong Kui is a creation of the demonic organization, so it will follow a certain procedure to patrol and guard Chang’an City. It will only wander around the streets and catch people walking on the streets. It will not enter buildings and attack the people inside, so you don’t need to worry. Just wait for it to leave. Now sit here for a while.”

Gongsun Li's long rabbit ears twitched slightly. She sat down in a chair, poured herself a cup of tea, and drank it all in one gulp.

“That’s right, it won’t stay here for long. It has to go back before dawn. I don’t know why, but we don’t need to worry about it for now,” Yi Xing said calmly as he played chess with himself.

"Is that so? There's such a setting?" Cain was skeptical.

“Look, it hasn’t come over yet, and it hasn’t attacked you. It’s just standing outside the door.” Pei Qinhu pointed to Zhong Kui outside the door.

Zhong Kui, like a ghost, floated silently outside the door, his fiery eyes staring intently at Cain.

"It's looking at me like that. Could it be intelligent? These robot-like beings must have some kind of artificial intelligence, right?" This thought suddenly flashed through Cain's mind.

"You don't believe me? Watch me." Pei Qinhu decided to give Cain a performance and show off his senior Yao Tian's demeanor.

"I came out, and then I went back in."

Pei Qinhu took a step forward, and Zhong Kui's gaze was drawn to him. With a flick of his arm, he pulled his foot back, and Zhong Kui stopped.

"I came out again, and I went back in."

Pei Qinhu kicked out again, Zhong Kui moved again, Pei Qinhu pulled back his foot, and Zhong Kui stopped again.

Zhong Kui's eyes flickered, and a ghostly light stared at Pei Qinhu.

"Hmph, come on, come on, hit me, you idiot!"

Ming Shiyin had said long ago that Zhong Kui was a rigid creation, but Pei Qinhu wasn't afraid at all. He stood in the courtyard, teasing and provoking Zhong Kui. He was even a little excited to have bumped into him today, as it was the first time he had done something so thrilling.

"Hahaha, Tiger, you're hilarious." Gongsun Li covered her mouth and chuckled.

"Hahaha, Pei Qinhu, you're teasing it like that, be careful it doesn't get angry." Cain couldn't help but laugh, and at the same time breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're still watching me, but you can't get in."

Pei Qinhu saw Zhong Kui standing outside the door, staring intently at him, yet seemingly helpless, which only fueled his fearlessness.

"Come here if you dare!" Pei Qinhu beckoned with his finger.

"See, Cain? Close the door, and Zhong Kui will leave."

Seeing that Zhong Kui remained silent, Pei Qinhu ignored him, stretched, walked to the table, picked up a cup of tea, and drank it down.

"Ugh~ I'm so sleepy. It's so late now. Boss, could you please reschedule the next meeting? You can understand that I have escort duties this morning. You don't want me to be so tired while carrying out my mission, do you?"

Ming Shiyin sipped his tea and smiled without saying a word.

"I've never heard of such a shameless request before, I've decided to grant it!"

At that moment, a deep, merciless voice reached Cain and everyone else's ears, and Zhong Kui's enormous body slowly approached.

"Huh?" Cain was stunned. He seemed to have heard something incredible.

Everyone else seemed frozen in place. Even Ming Shiyin, who was usually calm and leisurely sipping his tea, stopped in astonishment, his eyes flashing with surprise.

"Did you just hear something?" Pei Qinhu turned around stiffly, pointing at Zhong Kui.

They nodded silently.

"Boss, didn't you say it was a heartless, inanimate machine?" Pei Qinhu was on the verge of tears.

“Hmm, it seems to be intelligent, so…” Cain looked at Pei Qinhu and nodded seriously. Pei Qinhu had confirmed his guess. Zhong Kui was indeed intelligent, no wonder it was a product of the demonic mechanism.

"Leave this to me. You have work to do this morning, so go back now."

Cain patted Pei Qinhu on the shoulder. This was originally his own business, and Pei Qinhu had done it unintentionally, so he didn't want to get him involved.

"Kain..." Pei Qinhu was moved, clenching his fist, "Good brother!"

"I'll treat you to dinner next time!" Knowing that Cain was reliable and he had nothing to worry about, he nimbly climbed over the wall and left.

"Alright." With that, Cain immediately drew his sword to meet Zhong Kui's attack.

"Ding--"

With a crisp clang of weapons clashing, Cain leaped behind Zhong Kui and quickly ran off towards the wide street.

"You want to take the blame for him? I'll grant your wish!"

Zhong Kui's enormous body appeared clumsy and heavy, but in reality, he chased after Cain at lightning speed, just as Cain intended.

He wanted to lure Zhong Kui away so that the battle wouldn't affect Ming Shiyin's courtyard, since it was Yaotian's current base, and he was mainly worried about causing damage and having to pay compensation.

"Aren't we going to help him?" Yang Yuhuan looked in the direction Cain had left with a hint of worry.

"No need. He also said he would handle it alone. Besides, the next bell will be ringing soon, and Zhong Kui will be touring all of Chang'an. He doesn't have much time to settle personal grudges."

Ming Shiyin smiled; he had experienced a considerable sense of surprise this time.

……