There is a beast in the bright morning.

After successfully becoming a debtor on the spot, Hao Chen was forced to change his lazy ways and get up early every day to work, all in order to get a promotion and a raise.

Of course, if Haochen relied on the meager salary of the Four-Unlikes, he would work himself to death and still not be able to pay off Diting's debt. Therefore, in his spare time, Haochen would choose to earn some extra money.

For example, helping the beasts of the Rainbow Cloud Mountains solve their problems and earning some commission, or collecting some protection fees to protect the peace of the Rainbow Cloud Mountains, these are Hao Chen's main sources of income.

Through Hao Chen's efforts, he successfully earned extra money and ousted Tian Lu, becoming the new king of Caiyun Mountain Range (the leader of the evil forces).

However, this is far from enough. As for the idea of ​​using force to get away with it, Hao Chen nipped it in the bud as soon as it appeared.

He could leave now, and that would be the end of it all. He also believed that Di Ting and the others couldn't do anything to him, but Tian Lu and the Four Unlikes couldn't do the same, as they had many connections behind them.

Therefore, Haochen chose to stay and pay off his debts. However, the main reason was that they were fluffy and too cute, which perfectly suited Haochen's tastes.

To paraphrase a phrase Hao Chen learned in his previous life: Just as the West cannot lose Jerusalem, Hao Chen cannot lose the furry creatures like the Tianlu Qilin.

Therefore, Hao Chen had considered capturing those ferocious beasts, but he did not know their current location, nor did he have any information about them.

Hao Chen also asked the Four-Faced Beast to inquire about the information of these ferocious beasts, but even the Four-Faced Beast did not know which ferocious beasts were imprisoned in the forbidden area.

All that is known is that most of the ferocious beasts inside are not native to this world, but come from outer space, so even the earth itself cannot know their whereabouts.

Furthermore, these ferocious beasts have somehow been misled by the secrets of heaven, making them impossible to predict. Therefore, Hao Chen can no longer count on Di Ting, Da Di, and Bai Ze.

As for the Heavenly Court, Hao Chen was even more confused. After all, the escape of the ferocious beasts was no small matter. Logically, the Heavenly Court should have sent troops to arrest him and capture those ferocious beasts.

But now, the Heavenly Court has not taken any action, as if it doesn't care about these ferocious beasts escaping.

As for not knowing about this, Hao Chen didn't believe that the Heavenly Court, which ruled over the Three Realms, would be unaware of it.

Regardless of the Heavenly Court's reasons for not intervening, Hao Chen was pleased to see it. After all, Di Ting had no time limit, so if he encountered a ferocious beast he could defeat, he could simply deal with it.

That morning, Hao Chen was cleaning when three beasts suddenly appeared at the door. However, when they saw Hao Chen, they were so frightened that they retreated.

Rabbit: "What should we do? It's that ferocious beast."

Tanuki: "He's not going to eat us, is he?"

Raccoon: "It's okay, we just paid our protection money."

Suddenly, Hao Chen appeared behind them, blocking their retreat: "What are you whispering about? Tell me, what brings you to the Deer Man Shop?"

Unexpectedly, it would have been better if Hao Chen hadn't spoken. As soon as he opened his mouth, the three hands on the other side reacted violently and knelt down in front of Hao Chen with a thud.

The Rabbit King kept kowtowing, saying, "Your Majesty, I was wrong. I will never come here again."

Lili also clung to Haochen's paw and cried, "Sir, I have a wife to support and a crying baby to nurse. I really have no money left."

The raccoon was so frightened that it froze on the spot: "I, I... Waaah, don't eat me!"

Hao Chen stared blankly at the three whimpering beasts in front of him, completely exasperated. Anyone who didn't know better would think he had bullied them. It was just collecting protection money, was it really necessary? Was it really necessary?

"Alright, stop crying. If you cry and ruin the floor I just swept, I'll really eat you all."

As expected, Hao Chen's words were quite effective. Under Hao Chen's tyranny, the three beasts stopped crying.

But they huddled together in fear, and even when Hao Chen asked them what they wanted to do there, they just shook their heads and didn't dare to make a sound.

Just as Hao Chen was having a headache, the Qilin was attracted by the commotion and, seeing a beast at the door, thought a guest had arrived.

"Haochen, why didn't you call me when our guests arrived?"

The moment the three beasts saw the Qilin, they rushed behind it as if they were seeing family, grabbing its cloak as if it would give them a sense of security.

The four-legged creature glanced at the three guys behind it, then at Hao Chen: "Hao Chen, what did you do to them? Why do they seem so afraid of you?"

"It's a misunderstanding, you four-legged creature. I've only met them a few times, and I'm not very familiar with them."

As Hao Chen spoke, he gestured with his eyes for the three rabbits not to say anything out of line. The three beasts, feeling threatened, could only nod in agreement, but inwardly they thought, "Yes, yes, we've only met a few times, and only when they came to collect protection money from us."

However, they dared not say these words aloud. The Four-Faced Beast could also tell that they were hiding something from Hao Chen, but since they were not going to say anything, the Four-Faced Beast did not intend to interfere.

Then the four-legged creature looked at the three beasts behind it and said, "Alright, take off my cloak first, and tell me what brings you to the deer-man's shop?"

Perhaps because of the docile appearance of the four-legged creature, the three rabbits were no longer as afraid as they had been at the beginning, and they told the deer man about their purpose in coming to the shop.

After listening to what the rabbits had to say, the four-legged creature said, "So you came here because you want me to help you investigate who attacked you."

The rabbit said, "That shadowy figure was so fast that I didn't even see it before I was knocked unconscious."

Lili continued, "He's incredibly strong too; I still have a bump on my head now."

The rabbit cried and said, "When I woke up, I found that I had been tattooed with an 'eight' shaped eyebrow."

The raccoon held up its paws and said, "My nails have been painted on."

Tanuki also complained, "They drew a big eye on me."

"How are we supposed to face anyone now?!" x3

Seeing this, Hao Chen immediately thought of Taotie and had an idea: "As an ancient ferocious beast, Taotie has lived for a long time. Could it be hiding some treasures? Moreover, Taotie's body is now incomplete, and it can't even beat Tianlu. It's a good opportunity to borrow some from it."

Tanuki then said, "So we'd like to ask you, brother, to help us investigate."

The four-legged creature stroked its chin and said, "That may be true, but the Deer Man Shop is not a charity."

Upon hearing the words "Qi Bu Xiang" (a pun on "Qi Bu Xiang"), Li Li knew there was hope, so he took out a piggy bank and said, "We've prepared a little something for your trouble."

Sure enough, the money-grubbing nature of the Qilin instantly kicked in, and it teleported to Tanuki's side, grasping his hand holding the piggy bank and saying, "Eliminating harm for the people is the sacred duty of our Deer Man Shop."

Unexpectedly, Hao Chen's claws also reached out, trying to snatch the piggy bank from the four-legged creature's hands: "Don't worry, leave it to me. Today I'll show you that your protection money wasn't paid in vain."

"Protection fees?! Hao Chen, shouldn't you explain this?!"

The four-legged creature's ears twitched; it felt as if it had guessed why the raccoon dogs were so afraid of Hao Chen.

Hao Chen gave the four-legged creature an awkward smile, then let go of it and let it take the piggy bank: "Four-legged creature, I'll be right there."

Just then, Tanuki waved his hand, and a yellow ox pulled up a cart full of food: "We've specially prepared some food..."

Before Lili could finish speaking, a blue figure rushed over and jumped onto the food: "Qilian, I heard what you were saying. Leave the matter of the shadow to me."

As Tianlu ate a few bites of food, the Four-Faced Beast complained, "Pipi, you little glutton."

Tianlu retorted, unconvinced, "And you're talking about me? Aren't you a miser yourself?"

After saying that, Tianlu jumped off the food and chased after Haochen in the direction he had left: "Qi-like creature, help me store the food."

Meanwhile, in the Heavenly Garden, as the Heavenly Emperor was strolling and admiring the flowers, Venus appeared.

The Heavenly Emperor glanced at Taibai and said calmly, "Taibai, you've arrived."

Venus bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have a question?"

"What's the matter?"

"Your Majesty, regarding the nineteenth level of hell, why do you..."

Before Venus could finish speaking, the Heavenly Emperor interrupted him: "You want to ask why I didn't send troops to capture the murderer, right?"

Venus did not respond, but waited quietly for the Heavenly Emperor to give his answer.

Then the Heavenly Emperor rolled up his left sleeve, revealing his empty left arm to Venus's horrified expression, shrouded in an aura of darkness and death.

Taibai asked tremblingly, "Your Majesty, who did this?"

The Heavenly Emperor's face was grim. He slowly uttered a name: "Demigod Dark Night of the Temple."

Upon hearing this name, Venus suddenly realized that it was Dark Night, a top-tier demigod of the temple. Even if he were alone, he would be beyond the capabilities of the Heavenly Army's soldiers and generals.

The Heavenly Emperor said, "Hmph, this incident in the Underworld was his doing, and he also warned us not to meddle in other people's business."

"Your Majesty, are we really not going to do anything about this?" Taibai's face was equally grim. Apart from the time of the investiture of the gods, when had the Heavenly Court ever been threatened like this?

The Heavenly Emperor then laughed and said, "Haha, the temple is beset by internal and external troubles. I'm afraid Dark Night is still on the run. As for those ferocious beasts, as long as they don't come to the Heavenly Court, there's no need to pay attention to them. I heard that the Buddhist sect is doing quite well in the mortal world. It's time to let them warm up."

Suddenly, the Heavenly Emperor turned his gaze sharply behind him: "Who is it? Come out here."

Upon hearing the Heavenly Emperor's voice, Venus also became somewhat nervous, as the news of the Heavenly Emperor's injury could not be allowed to spread.

Under the watchful eyes of the Heavenly Emperor and Venus, a divine beast with yellow fur, black legs, tiger stripes on its forehead, wings, and black fur on its ears, wings, and tail emerged from a corner of the garden.

"Yingzhao greets Your Majesty and Lord Taibai." The divine beast named Yingzhao looked nervous, as if he had heard something he shouldn't have.

The Heavenly Emperor glanced coldly at Yingzhao, then gestured to Venus with his eyes.

Venus instantly understood the Heavenly Emperor's meaning and said to Yingzhao, "Yingzhao, come with me."

Yingzhao didn't know what Taibai Jinxing was taking him to do, but as an insignificant gardener in the Heavenly Court, he had no choice but to follow Taibai Jinxing.

The Heavenly Emperor looked at Yingzhao's retreating figure and shook his head with a hint of regret, saying, "What a pity. Yingzhao is quite obedient, but he knows a bit too much."