It turns out I'm a second-generation demon.

"I died not long after," Zhang Chen said. "On my way home from working overtime, I encountered a robber. My resistance angered him, and he slit my throat with a knife. If you follow the news, you should remember the murder case in Pudong New District six months ago."

Li Xianyu said awkwardly, "I have no recollection of it."

Zhang Chen: "...It doesn't matter anymore. After I died, my soul wandered for a while. I saw my mother crying until she fainted, and my father trembling as he held my urn. I saw my girlfriend comfort my parents for a few words and then forget about me. I became the subject of sighs and gossip among my colleagues and friends, and the news that was all over the internet. But all of that was forgotten soon after. Everyone went back to their own lives. Except for my parents, I was just a passerby to everyone else."

"Until I remembered it, I came here..."

If ghosts could shed tears, Zhang Chen would be weeping right now, because Li Xianyu saw sadness in his eyes, a sadness as vast as the ocean tide.

"It's still here, waiting for me, just like it waited for me under the bridge back then."

"It turned back into that filthy dog, but this time it could no longer wait for the person it was waiting for." Zhang Chen lowered his head, his eyes filled with guilt: "For the past few months, I've watched it here every day, watched it suffer from hunger, watched it wag its tail and beg for mercy, watched it gaze in the direction I left from time to time. It turns out it had always remembered me, and had always been waiting for me."

"But there's nothing I can do. It can't see me or hear what I say. We can only do this, day after day."

A dog that was abandoned.

A person who feels guilty.

They watched over each other silently, separated by an untouchable world.

"I have a question," Li Xianyu raised his hand, puzzled, "Why can't it see you? The book says that dogs can see dirty things that humans can't..." He forced an explanation, "I didn't mean you're dirty."

The great-grandmother immediately explained to her great-grandson: "How could mere dogs possibly see spirits? After the ancient demons, humans occupied the throne of the spirit of all things, but even humans cannot see spirits. For descendants of ancient demons to see spirits, apart from certain special bloodline talents, they can only cultivate their Qi to cleanse their eyes and, over time, achieve the ability to see ghosts. The only other way is for someone like you to have your great-grandmother open your spiritual eyes."

So, you've been fooled by the book again?

Grandma stared at Zhang Chen and said, "Do you want to see it, or rather, let it see you?"

Zhang Chen excitedly asked, "Is that okay?"

Great-grandmother: "Yes, but only if my great-grandson agrees."

Li Xianyu patted his chest and said, "No problem."

Grandma warned, "It takes energy."

Li Xianyu: "Let me ponder this for a moment."

For the first time ever, Sanwu stepped forward to take responsibility, saying, "I have the energy, I'll lend it to you."

The great-grandmother rolled her eyes coquettishly and said irritably, "I only suck the essence of my great-grandson."

After saying that, she pouted her little mouth and sucked in with a "whoosh".

Li Xianyu was shocked: "I didn't agree to beg for a bean bag..."

The next moment, an overwhelming sense of exhaustion washed over him. Li Xianyu, feeling completely drained, clutched his waist, his face pale, and his legs trembling slightly.

The great-grandmother's face flushed red as she received the nourishment. She took a step forward and tapped Samoyed's head with her slender finger. Samoyed's initial reaction was to bare its teeth and adopt an aggressive posture, but it immediately retreated after the great-grandmother touched it with her finger.

It looked around blankly, then saw a familiar figure, froze, and then let out a joyful whimper as it pounced on Zhang Chen, passing through his body.

The Samoyed clearly couldn't understand the situation and anxiously circled around Zhang Chen, barking softly incessantly.

Zhang Chen withdrew his hands sheepishly, his eyes filled with disappointment; he was dead after all.

"I'm here," Zhang Chen squatted down and gently patted its head. "I'm late."

Samoyed stuck out its tongue to lick his hand, knowing it was destined never to touch him.

"I'm not a good owner. I'm selfish and only think about myself, discarding you like trash. Cream, I'm so grateful for your company during my loneliest time. I know how terrible loneliness is, but even though I'm terrified of it, I still abandoned you here. Don't wait any longer, go, your future doesn't belong to me."

"This is really goodbye."

"I'm sorry, please forgive me, please forgive me..."

Zhang Chen's body began to become ethereal, turning semi-transparent, and this transparency continued to intensify.

Spirits exist because of their obsessions; if those obsessions dissipate, they will vanish into nothingness.

Li Xianyu clutched his kidneys and sighed, "You think it's just a passerby in your life, but it sees you as its whole world. You have a girlfriend, but it only has you. It's too late to regret it now. Be good to your dog in your next life, if there is a next life."

Unfortunately, there is no underworld or reincarnation in this world; when a person dies, they are truly dead.

Zhang Chen turned his head and gave Li Xianyu a grateful smile before his soul dissipated.

With that, he was completely erased from the world.

Body turns to dust, soul returns to heaven and earth, all vanish into thin air.

The Samoyed barked incessantly, as if trying to persuade its owner to stay.

Regardless of whether it understood or not, Li Xianyu leaned closer and said, "He's long dead. You should get a new owner. Why don't you come with me?"

Samo turned its head and bit Li Xianyu's outstretched hand, baring its teeth and revealing a ferocious expression.

"Tsk, you don't appreciate kindness." Li Xianyu took a few steps back. "I'll come see you again tomorrow. You can wait if you want."

After returning home, Li Xianyu carefully wrote a task report according to the format and sent it to the "Task Department" email address.

The Shaxian Hotel owner's mission was now completely over, classified as a case of a spirit harming people. In his report, he explained the cause and effect and assured that the spirit had dissipated.

The entire report was just over a hundred words long, very concise. Firstly, it was a minor incident, and secondly, a task report couldn't be mixed with personal feelings. Otherwise, Li Xianyu could have written a lengthy 20,000-word article, criticizing the Shaxian Hotel owner's character and mocking him for deserving it, and then sighing and lamenting the unfinished love affair between the dog and the ghost, lamenting that lovers could not be together in the end.

According to the three-year plan, he will receive points within three days. Five points may not seem like much, but if converted to RMB, wow, that's five thousand a day, that's incredibly impressive.

But upon closer reflection, he realized that exchanging it for money wouldn't be of much use. He had no worries about food or drink, and didn't have to pay rent. His only major expense was hotel room fees, which, while enticing, were beyond his means. Exchanging it for money would only result in his great-grandmother squandering it all.

Not cost-effective.

I've decided to keep it for now, and eventually accumulate enough points to exchange it for a powerful artifact like the Xuanyuan Sword.

Grandma, with a box of Anmuxi yogurt biscuits dangling from her mouth (bought on the way), waited for him to finish his report. Her pale face flushed with a fawning smile: "Li Xianyu, you've finished your task!"

As soon as Li Xianyu heard her sweet, coquettish tone, he knew something was wrong. "Speak your mind."

Grandma said, "The gatekeeper said that points can be exchanged for money, right?"

Li Xianyu said angrily, "Baoze Group is such a rip-off! We risked our lives on this trip, and they only gave us five points, which can only be exchanged for fifty yuan."

The great-grandmother immediately raised her eyebrows: "How dare you trick my precious grandson!"

Sanwu suddenly said, "Five points can be exchanged for five thousand, right?"

Grandma said quietly, "You're lying to me."

"So what if I lied to you?" Li Xianyu glanced at her sideways. His great-grandmother met his gaze and pouted... Li Xianyu's waist tightened, and he changed his words, "Maybe I remembered wrong, um, I remembered wrong."

His great-grandmother patted him on the head and said bluntly, "Buy a gaming helmet."

Li Xianyu: "No, even if you take advantage of me, I won't buy it."

Seeing this, the great-grandmother knew that her great-grandson had made up his mind. She picked up the fruit knife on the coffee table, put it to her neck, and burst into tears: "I have served your father with hard work and dedication for decades, and raised you with great difficulty. But I never expected that I would raise such an ungrateful wretch. How unjust is Heaven! Rather than be angered to death by you, I would rather go first and apologize to your father in the afterlife."

That's insane.

Li Xianyu's eye twitched. This line sounded so familiar. Wasn't it the scene from last night's period drama where the old mother threatened to kill herself to force her son to commit suicide?

"Goodbye and don't come back." Li Xianyu remained unmoved and turned to go to the toilet.

Grandma put down the knife, scratched her head, and said, "Huh, this trick doesn't work on him."

She looked at the expressionless, exquisitely crafted puppet. "What can you do when your child is disobedient?"

Sanwu remained silent, then reached into his wallet and pulled out a brick. "Want to give me a beating?"

The great-grandmother slumped onto the sofa and sighed, "My great-grandson seems to be different from all his predecessors."

After waiting for a while, and not hearing Sanwu speak, he continued, "My other great-grandchildren either crave my power or genuinely respect me, but none of them dare to be so disrespectful."

Sanwu: "He is under your control."

The great-grandmother squinted: "Hey, little girl, you've reached the pinnacle of Qi cultivation. Your skill is unfathomable. In my eyes, this level of skill ranks among the top tier. My Li family has come to this point with only one heir. I can't be insatiable and risk the family line dying out."