Don’t Discriminate Against Species

The mass of snow and withered grass exuded the smell of rot. Not too far from them was a well, on which dark green moss had grown. What was scary wasn’t the moss, but the fact that there was only a thin layer of snow in the yard despite the heavy snow. The entire yard was covered in mud.

“Did someone clean the yard? Or…” Qing Xu shut his mouth. No matter how he looked at the yard, it didn’t seem like it had been cleaned. Rather, it was more like an external force had caused the snow to dissipate. However, he felt no spiritual qi, nor was there any baleful qi or resentment. As long as a life form lived at this place, some qi should have been left behind. It was a very scary thing for there to be no qi.

Qing Xu touched his slightly chilled arm. “We should’ve brought Elder Chu today.”

Chu Yu was naturally sensitive towards the qi of all types of yao cultivators. Even the qi of yao who had taken form through heavenly law could be sensed by him.

“No use. Even if Chu Yu had come, he wouldn’t be able to perceive much,” Fu Li took out two talismans and passed them to Wei Cang and Qing Xu. “These talismans were gifted to me by my family’s elders, they can block one hit.”

“What about you?” Wei Cang clutched the talisman. There was a terrifying magic protection formation on this talisman; the individual who made it must have been an exceptionally mighty person. If a life-saving talisman like this were to be auctioned in the cultivation world, there would be a mad scramble among cultivators for it.

The talisman felt slightly heavy in Wei Cang’s hands, as if Fu Li had casually thrown him a house in the prime section of the capital’s fourth ring.

“I don’t need it,” Fu Li smiled. Ever since he passed the Nine Hearts’ Tribulation, his cultivation could no longer be spoken of in the same vein. He even had a faint feeling that he possessed a certain innate ability.

It was just that this feeling was too vague, as if it was shut behind a locked door.

Fu Li did not forcibly break through this door because no one could be sure what this door hid. He had been living very well these few years and was temporarily not in a hurry to know certain truths.

The withered underbrush moved. Something seemed to have rushed out from inside.

Qing Xu and Wei Cang looked back suddenly, their gazes vigilantly settling on the underbrush. A short while later, an exceedingly obese white rabbit crawled out of the underbrush. This white rabbit wasn’t scared despite seeing strangers. It stared foolishly at them for a while before very slowly hopping towards the main door.

The three of them discovered three or four holes the height of ten centimeters at the bottom of the already-peeling main door. They were just nice for the fat rabbit to crawl in and out.

“It seems the great figure of unknown origins inside is very fond of raising rabbits as pets,” Qing Xu looked at the holes at the bottom of the door, a good half of the fear in his heart vanishing. A yao who raised rabbits as pets shouldn’t have a vicious nature.

Fu Li watched the fat rabbit jump up the stairs and squeeze through a hole in the door. After a few shakes of its short tail, it vanished into the hole.

“Fu ge, are we going in now?” Qing Xu turned towards Fu Li, seeking his opinion. Although Fu Li appeared young in terms of appearance, Qing Xu and Wei Cang were very clear who the true decision-maker was.

“Let’s go in and take a look. Follow behind me, don’t walk around recklessly no matter what sounds you hear,” Fu Li thought about it. “If someone calls you, don’t casually reply.”

There were all sorts of magic weapons in the yao world, and each had different skills. There were flight magic weapons that had to be stroked three times before it would fly, gourds that would only spit fire after exposure to sunlight, storage magic weapons that could only absorb the other party’s body and soul if their name was called out correctly, and so on.

Fu Li was worried that the two juniors didn’t have enough knowledge of the yao world’s magic weapons and would suffer losses if they weren’t careful. Only after the two juniors nodded obediently did Fu Li take out his red whip and step onto the stone steps.

The residence’s doors that were once engraved with flowers and covered in red paint had rotted under day after day of wind and rain splatter. The only evidence of its previous grandness were the mottled flower designs. After walking up the stone steps, Fu Li didn’t directly push open the door, but instead lightly knocked on the door twice. Cupping his hands, he said, “This humble one is a little yao of Weishui. I have brought two juniors along to pay a visit. If we have offended you in any way, we seek senior’s forgiveness.”

An object falling to the floor suddenly sounded from inside the house. Fu Li thought that the door would open, but after waiting for a while, the house was once again restored to its tranquility.

He glanced back at Wei Cang and Qing Xu, who directed their large, perplexed eyes at him. At this moment, he felt particularly strongly that Zhuang Qing was a reliable and capable junior.

Upon pushing open the doors, the wooden doors that had been in disrepair for many years creaked. However, what lay behind the door was not the intolerable dilapidation that Fu Li had imagined, but a dazzling sight incomparable in its luxury.

A man wearing a red jade headband and brocade gown was seated in the master’s seat. His jade-like hands were gently stroking the fat white rabbit that had crawled past them, though his eyes were on Fu Li.

The man was very good-looking and had an air of icy arrogance. He sat on the chair casually, as if he was a king waiting for hundreds of officials to bow down to him.

Fu Li couldn’t make out the other party’s true form, but instinct told him that this mysterious great yao had no malicious intentions towards him, and was even… a bit fond of him?

He reflected inwardly. He must have learned this bad habit of being narcissistic from his bureau colleagues.

“An honored guest has arrived at our doors; please excuse this humble one for not going out to greet you. Please sit,” The man waved a hand and a few fair and graceful female attendants walked out of the house with spiritual tea, spiritual fruits, and pastries in their hands.

Coincidentally, these were all in line with Fu Li’s tastes.

Qing Xu and Wei Cang looked at the sparkling fruits on the plate that had a water-like transparent quality to them, and didn’t dare to take them with their hands.

“Many thanks daren for the hospitality. These spiritual moon fruits are extremely hard to come by, it is this junior’s honor to have the fortune of meeting you here,” Fu Li picked up a spiritual moon fruit and placed it in his mouth.

Spiritual moon fruits were the size of grapes and were borne from the essence of the sun and moon. They ripened once every five hundred years, and if they remained unplucked by the seventh day of ripening, they would morph into morning dew and vanish from the world. Similar to the spiritual essence in the mountains, they were extremely delicate spiritual objects. Frequent consumption of these fruits would not only cleanse the meridians but also increase the body’s spiritual qi.

Fu Li often ate these when he was young. Later on, he no longer ate them after living independently. Looking at these fruits, he once again thought of his days on Reflecting Mist Mountain.

“You…” The great yao hugging the rabbit changed his sitting posture. Lowering his head, he stroked the rabbit’s fur, not looking at Fu Li. “Your cultivation isn’t low, how could you not have even seen these things?”

“Please excuse my lapse, daren. This junior has seen them, but I was pampered by my elders during childhood and never lacked food or drink. Afterwards, an accident happened, and this naturally-timid junior hid in the depths of the mountains for many years without leaving. It has been many years since I last ate these,” The corners of Fu Li’s mouth curved as he ate the delicious food of his memories.

“What elder would give you glory and splendor during childhood but abandon you like you’re worthless after you’ve grown up? To me, those elders don’t have much conscientiousness,” The great yao let out a light scoff, throwing the rabbit on his knee to the floor.

A female attendant stepped forward and carried the rabbit away.

“This junior is very grateful for daren’s concern,” The smile on Fu Li’s face faded. “But my family’s elders are extremely conscientious yao, may daren please not make absurd comments.”

The great yao was not infuriated by Fu Li’s disrespectful tone. Instead, he laughed gently and looked up at Fu Li. “You are a good child.”

Qing Xu and Wei Cang met each other’s gazes. Why was there something off about the atmosphere?

Fu Li hadn’t expected the other party to have such a good temper either. Compared to the ancient great yao he had previously encountered, this individual was practically a gentle and harmless little lily.

“What did you seek me out for?” The great yao raised his chin. His gaze remained on Fu Li, as if Qing Xu and Wei Cang hadn’t existed from the start.

“This junior is employed at the cultivation world’s management bureau and heard that this place was haunted, so I came over to pay a visit. I was not aware that daren was resting here and interrupted daren’s quiet cultivation, please forgive me,” Fu Li got up and bowed deeply to the great yao.

“No need for courtesy. This place of mine has always been quiet, having a junior to accompany me in conversation adds joy to my life,” The great yao got up and helped Fu Li up. “My name is Feng Ruizhong. According to seniority, you can just call me uncle.”

Fu Li obediently bowed after hearing these words. “This junior is Fu Li. I pay my respects to Uncle Feng.”

“Good good good,” Feng Ruizhong repeated this word thrice. He patted Fu Li on the shoulder. “Since you’ve called me uncle, uncle will also give you a welcome gift.”

He took out a Qiankun pouch and removed the restriction on it. “There are some toys inside, you can throw them away or play with them as you wish.”

Fu Li hadn’t expected the other party to be so generous. Having grown accustomed to the ancient great yao’s style of fighting the moment there was a sign of dispute, Fu Li couldn’t quite adapt when faced with such a generous ancient great yao. “One should not accept a reward without merit – how can this junior accept senior’s esteemed gift?”

“I want to give you a present because you’re pleasing to my eyes, what need is there for merit?” Feng Ruizhong stuffed the Qiankun pouch into Fu Li’s hands. Seeing that there were two yao behind Fu Li and worried that they would be jealous of Fu Li because they didn’t receive any gifts, he passed them each a bag of gemstones while he was at it. “You’re still young, take these stones to play with.”

Gripping the bag of gemstones that was the size of an adult fist, Wei Cang and Qing Xu suddenly came to a realization – they had run into a nouveau riche yao. These many gemstones were enough for them to even buy two or three houses in the capital.

“This house has been ownerless all the while and I felt that the feng shui here wasn’t bad, so I lived at this place for a few months. If it’s not appropriate, then I’ll move out tomorrow,” Feng Ruizhong was very easy to talk to. Clearly, he didn’t want to make Fu Li’s job hard. “Are there any other things that need my attention?”

“May I know if Uncle Feng… has registered with the Yao Union? The current human world is different from the past – if yao cultivators want to travel in the human world, then they have to go to the Yao Union and sign up for an identification card.”

“I’ve been living here all this way and have not gone outside. I wasn’t aware that there was such a rule,” Feng Ruizhong glanced out the window. “May I request little Li to bring me to the Yao Union and get this settled?”

“Sure,” Fu Li heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed there were also very normal ancient great yao.

No, not right. He didn’t seem to be that normal either. Fu Li touched the Qiankun pouch he had shrunk and then glanced at the gemstones Wei Cang and Qing Xu were holding. Was giving generous gifts at the drop of a hat considered normal?

Feng Ruizhong glanced at Fu Li’s clothes. The next instant, the brocade gown he was wearing turned into attire similar to Fu Li’s. He touched his short hair and told Fu Li, “Let’s go.”

Feng Ruizhong pulled open the door. The moment he stepped onto the stone steps, he looked up at the sky. Heavy snow resembling goose feathers floated onto his face.

Fu Li turned his head back and discovered that the other party looked a little desolate.

But when the other party discovered his gaze, a gentle smile appeared on his face. “Let’s go.”

His feet stepped onto the filthy, muddy ground. He wrinkled his brows slightly, but when he saw Fu Li not more than two steps away from him, he still followed after him with wide strides.

Fu Li took out his phone and booked a car using an app. He told Qing Xu and Wei Cang, “The two of you can go back first, I’ll bring Uncle Feng to the Yao Union to register and eat lunch with him along the way.”

“Yes,” Qing Xu and Wei Cang knew they couldn’t help even if they were present. This great yao called Feng Ruizhong seemed easy to get along with, but they still needed to rush back and let the boss know. If anything were to crop up, they could still make preparations in advance.

Getting to know a yao was easy, but understanding a yao’s heart was difficult. It was best to be prepared for all situations.

The car booked through the app came to a stop in front of Fu Li and Feng Ruizhong. Pulling open the car door, Fu Li let Feng Ruizhong sit first before doing so himself.

Feng Ruizhong didn’t ask Fu Li much, possibly because the driver was human. Fu Li could tell that he was unaccustomed to being in such a narrow space, yet he didn’t make any complaints.

Fu Li subconsciously had a favorable impression of this great yao, despite the fact that they had never met before and he couldn’t even see through the other party’s true form.

When they reached the Yao Union, Feng Ruizhong got off. After the car drove off, he asked Fu Li with furrowed brows, “You didn’t pay that human?”

He was the image of an elder who couldn’t resist educating a junior on the right behavior after seeing him take advantage of others.

“Don’t worry, Uncle Feng. In the current human world, paying doesn’t necessarily have to be done with actual cash. Paying through the phone can also be done,” Fu Li took out his phone. “It’s been deducted.”

“So that’s how it is,” Feng Ruizhong exclaimed in admiration. “Humans seriously have endless creativity.”

It seemed like this yao cultivator was extremely friendly towards humans. The remnants of worry in Fu Li’s heart vanished entirely.

In the management bureau’s public workspace, Xu Yuan, who was scrolling through the internet, suddenly let out a startled gasp, shocking everyone into thinking that Zhuang Qing had come. All of them sat up straight, but didn’t see Zhuang Qing appear at the door after waiting for a while. They didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Beauty Xu, what are you so frightened for? You scared us into thinking that the boss came over.”

Xu Yuan turned around and looked faintly at her colleagues. “Do you still remember Fu ge saying that he bought a house?”

“Yeah, what about it?” Chao Yun was holding up a cosmetic mirror and re-applying lipstick with single-hearted devotion. “Didn’t he mention it yesterday?”

“Then you definitely don’t know how he bought the house,” Xu Yuan took a deep breath. “He didn’t buy the house, the boss gave it to him.”

Chao Yun’s hand shook, smearing lipstick on her chin. Covering her chin, she said in shock, “Impossible. With how stingy the boss is, how can he bear to spend a few million on a house for Fu ge?”

“It’s not a few million,” Xu Yuan swallowed.

“That’s more like it,” Chao Yun removed the makeup stain with magic. “The boss’ stinginess has already penetrated deep into his bones, stinginess can’t be cured by love.”

“No no no, that’s not what I meant. The boss gave Fu ge a villa worth more than ten million, not a few million. The video of him and Fu ge buying the house has already been crazily forwarded all over the internet, go look at it yourselves.”

The next moment, everyone in the office was either fishing out their phone or clicking their mouse. It was complete chaos.

A certain well-known forum:

A certain media website that relied on its headlines to prevail over others:

A certain weibo:

After everyone finished looking through the revelation along with all the pictures, videos, and facts, the entire office was so quiet the drop of a pin could be heard. A long while later, Chu Yu asked in a low voice, “What’s so great about that? The boss and Fu ge have a very good relationship, right? Hahahaha…”

“I’m about to believe in love,” Chao Yun’s expression was complex. They had followed Zhuang Qing for so many years and were all aware of Zhuang Qing’s bad habit of being stingy. But other than saying a few teasing words in private, there wasn’t any dissatisfaction. In fact, they not only respected Zhuang Qing, but also worshipped him.

Because if all the cultivators present had experienced what Zhuang Qing had, they would not have done better than him. Even doing as well as him would be challenging.

The boss had toiled for the cultivation world all these years, and it was always him who raced to the front when things were most dangerous and painful. Anyone who saw this and was not a thankless wretch would want the boss to relax a little and live life a little more happily.

But all the boss did the past few years was work and more work. Apart from them, he pretty much didn’t have a single friend by his side, nor did he care about such things.

Now that they saw this piece of news, they should’ve been secretly teasing him in their chatgroup. But when they saw the boss gripping Fu ge’s shoulder in the video and the way his brows and eyes gentled, there was a warm and sour feeling in their hearts. There was nothing they could bring themselves to say.

A long while later, Chao Yun closed the video and smiled. “This is quite good.”

“Yup, it’s quite good,” Chu Yu nodded.

Glancing at one another, they saw the gratification in each other’s eyes.

Footsteps sounded outside. Everyone looked towards the door and saw Qing Xu and Wei Cang running over hastily. Propping their hands against the doorframe, they gasped for breath. “A-An ancient great yao appeared!”

Seeing that only two of them had returned, everyone’s faces turned green. “What about Fu ge?”

If something happened to Fu ge, how would the boss live?

After all, he had even generously bought Fu ge a villa worth twenty million.

“F-Fu ge?” Seeing everyone look at them with grave expressions, Wei Cang and Qing Xu were given a huge shock. Why were their expressions so frightening?

“What happened to Fu Li? Why is it only the two of you who came back?” Zhuang Qing appeared behind them, his expression as cold as ice.

“Fu ge’s fine,” Wei Cang stared blankly for two seconds. “He brought the great yao to the Yao Union to sign up for an identification card.”

Everyone: …

There was actually an ancient great yao who was so easy to deal with. Wasn’t this individual a bit too in touch with the people?

Upon hearing where Fu Li had gone, Zhuang Qing set off without even looking back. Seeing the ugly expression on Zhuang Qing’s face, Wei Cang and Qing Xu looked at their other colleagues worriedly. Had they done something wrong?

Outside the entrance to the Yao Union, Feng Ruizhong glanced at the signboard hanging on the door. The words were a little simple and crude, but fortunately could still be recognized.

Nurturing and Relaxation Club for Elderly.

Was this the Yao Union’s name in the human world?

He followed Fu Li through the entrance of the Yao Union and saw several people in the yard holding a very large umbrella. They were seated around a table and throwing around small cubes. Among them were two humans and two yao cultivators. The atmosphere could still be considered harmonious.

They might quarrel from time to time, but wouldn’t fight.

“That’s called mahjong, it’s a game invented by humans,” Fu Li softly explained to Feng Ruizhong. “They are fixed mahjong friends and will gather for a game when they’re not occupied.”

“Fu Li daoyou is here?” Wang Cuihua saw Fu Li and greeted him as she touched the tiles. The other three people also took the initiative to enthusiastically greet Fu Li.

“They seem to respect you very much,” A smiling expression took shape on Feng Ruizhong’s face.

“En. The cultivation world is especially respectful towards people from the management bureau.” Fu Li brought him into the inner yard and raised his voice, “Grandpa, are you around? I brought a yao over for registration.”

“I heard you, I heard you,” The grandpa pulled open the semi-open door. “I’m not deaf, don’t be so loud. The young yao now are really…”

The grandpa suddenly fell silent. He stared blankly at Feng Ruizhong behind Fu Li with trembling limbs, seemingly at a loss for words.

Fu Li looked back at Feng Ruizhong and saw that he had a hand placed on the side of his mouth. Looking at his expression, he didn’t seem very happy. He hastened to explain, “Grandpa is a good yao, my identification card was also done by him.”

“En,” Feng Ruizhong’s expression became gentle again.

“Please enter,” The grandpa bowed and retreated to the side. After Feng Ruizhong entered, he followed him in.

The grandpa switched on the light in the room, took out a wooden chair, gave it a few wipes, and then placed it in front of Feng Ruizhong. “Daren, please sit.”

Feng Ruizhong looked at Fu Li. Fu Li dragged over a stool and sat down beside his chair. Only then did he sit on the chair with some dislike.

“Your name?”

“Feng Ruizhong.”

“Age?”

Feng Ruizhong thought about it. “Just write ten thousand then. Round it up to a whole number.”

Fu Li turned to look at Feng Ruizhong. Exactly how old was he to be so casual when filling in his age?

“Place of birth?”

“Jiao Province’s Nan… Nanshan.”

The grandpa very quickly did up the data. There was not the slightest trace of baleful qi on Feng Ruizhong. Naturally, he was not an evil yao, so his registration was done very quickly. Before half an hour was even up, he received a temporary identification card.

“Your official identification card will be ready three days later, may I know where this humble one should go to send it to daren?”

“Little Li is my junior. You can pass it to him after it’s completed,” Feng Ruizhong’s attitude towards the grandpa was very indifferent. Despite that, the grandpa didn’t mind and respectfully saw them out of the yard.

Watching as the two silhouettes disappeared through the door, the grandpa gave a deferential bow, bowing so deeply that he nearly touched the ground.

“With an identification card, you will be an ordinary human in the human world,” Fu Li glanced at the sky. He spoke to Feng Ruizhong in a low voice, “As long as you don’t do anything over-the-top, you can try all the delicious food, drink the finest liquor, and play any interesting games you want in the human world.”

“Okay, I haven’t been in contact with the human world for many years. If Little Li has the time in the future, would you be able to bring me about?” Feng Ruizhong opened an umbrella and held it over Fu Li’s head.

“Sure,” Fu Li nodded with a broad smile.

“There seems to be a dragon with impure blood in that iron car staring at you,” Feng Ruizhong pointed at a car a short distance away. “Is that your friend?”

“En?” Fu Li looked over. Realizing that it was Zhuang Qing’s car, he nodded vigorously, “Uncle Feng, that’s my best friend, Zhuang Qing.” Saying so, he ran over, leaving the shade of the umbrella.

Feng Ruizhong glanced at the empty space beneath the umbrella, and then looked at Fu Li’s cheerful back. He let out a light laugh.

“Zhuang little dragon,” Fu Li knocked on the car window. “Did you come to fetch me?”

Zhuang Qing scrolled down the car window. He glanced at the handsome yao cultivator standing on the steps with a small smile, and then glanced at Fu Li, who was looking at him with all smiles. He nodded. “En, I came to fetch you home.”

“Hello, Little Li’s friend,” Feng Ruizhong came over as well. He felt about and took out a Qiankun pouch, extending it into the car.

“Come, it’s a welcome gift from this elder. You must accept it, don’t frown upon it.”