I adopted a child demon from the Gap, and I'm a special agent for the Bureau of Supernatural Ab

Li Cheng slightly opened his mouth and whispered.

…………

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Section 239, Chapter Twenty-Two: The Temperature Buried by Dust

Upon opening the door, the pungent smell of smoke made Li Cheng frown.

He walked gently into the house and slowly closed the door. The room was dimly lit, with only a few rays of light streaming in through the broken window. Everything inside was covered in dust, exuding an old and worn atmosphere, a silent room, and a man standing silently inside.

"I'm back……"

His lips were dry, and his throat was hoarse as if it were being choked, but in the end, he still spoke in a low voice, as if talking to himself, or as if confiding in someone.

Purple demonic energy slowly emanated from the room. Li Cheng was startled and turned around to meet a pair of bright purple eyes. tide smiled faintly, jumped off his back, and landed lightly on the ground.

"Should we clean it? It looks very dirty."

She glanced around, her expression dimming slightly, before raising her head and offering a suggestion to Li Cheng, who was standing beside her.

"Cleaning?" Li Cheng turned his head and looked around. The house had become dirty and dilapidated due to long-term neglect. He couldn't help but smile bitterly. "Cleaning it would be a huge undertaking."

“No problem,” tide said softly, gently holding Li Cheng’s hand. “If it’s home, we can spend as much time cleaning as we want, right?”

Li Cheng's body trembled slightly, and he looked at tide in surprise. However, tide simply lowered her head and held Li Cheng's arm, avoiding his gaze, so his expression could not be seen.

Is it Zi, not Xi? No, that's not right, there's no difference. tide and Zi are the same person. Seriously, how come my brain still hasn't figured this out?

"...That makes sense. Well then, before it gets completely dark, let's clean up here together."

Although they were supposed to be cleaning, the two of them didn't have any cleaning tools at all. Li Cheng had a sudden inspiration: he used his spiritual energy to circulate the air in the room, gathering the dust and throwing it out the window. To his delight, the water supply was still working, allowing him to wipe down the floors and furniture.

Washing the soiled sheets and duvet covers, sorting out and throwing away items that had become trash—busy times always fly by, and before long it was night, and everything became pitch black.

Since the power had been cut off, Li Cheng took out a few candles from the cabinet, lit them, and placed them in the room for lighting. Zi, for some reason, used her demonic power to repair the broken window, then sat on the windowsill watching Li Cheng work inside. Perhaps due to her naturally lazy nature, she only helped for a short while before getting bored and sitting down to the side; however, Li Cheng hadn't originally intended for her to help him anyway.

"Phew, in that case, it's pretty much done."

The clean and tidy house once again overlapped with the old home, only now there was less furniture, fewer traces of the past, and fewer familiar people.

The balcony used to have my aunt's flowerpots, containing some plants she used to care for, but now they've all withered and disappeared, leaving only the worn-out pots. The living room sofa has several holes, seemingly from rats, and the patterns on it are quite faded. The small ornaments that should have been on the dining table, the stone my uncle collected on the side cabinet, the ashtray that's now devoid of ash, and the wall clock that's been removed…

"So many things are missing, and I can't even remember where I put them."

Sitting on the sofa, feeling the soft touch that was both familiar and strange, Li Cheng sighed softly, slowly stretched out his body, and completely slumped on the sofa.

"I've wanted to try this for a long time, but my uncle always thought it was an unseemly and unladylike move. But it really feels very comfortable."

However, the sofa that I used to be able to lie down on completely in my memory now seems a little small.

Feeling pressure on his thigh, Li Cheng opened his eyes and looked up, only to be met with a pair of deep purple eyes and a faint smile.

"purple?"

"Hmmmm~"

"So, at the same time I saw your memories, you also saw all my memories, right? Also, that thing lurking in my consciousness, you destroyed it, right?"

"Oh, right~"

The girl curled her lips into a sly smile, humming a tune Li Cheng couldn't understand, and jumped off him, landing lightly on the ground.

"This is Cheng's old home."

Reaching out, Zi gently stroked the worn patterns on the sofa. In Li Cheng's memory, she had spent more than ten years with him in this room. Although it was only a fragment of memory, she had indeed accompanied him through that time, only he was unaware of it.

This is his home. Although it is now empty and covered in dust, it still exists, and he can still find its existence.

"That's so nice..."

Zi lowered her head and said softly.

"It's so good that Cheng can come home."

Li Cheng was stunned by Zi's words.

Zi raised her head and asked with a smile, "So, Cheng, will you be staying here tonight?"

"Ah? Yes, it's right here."

Although somewhat stunned, Li Cheng quickly answered Zi. At the same time, he thought to himself: Even though he has regained his memories and powers as a demon, she still calls him by the name she used during their time together.

Since there were no shops open nearby, Li Cheng had to use a short break to go to the nearest convenience store and buy some instant food. Perhaps due to changes in her personality after recovering, Zi didn't eat and drink as frivolously as she used to when she was a child. Instead, she ate her portion very politely, which Li Cheng found quite unusual.

Since the water supply wasn't interrupted, Li Cheng took a shower, while Zi, after confirming there was no bathtub, refused and instead used her demonic power to cleanse her body. When Li Cheng finished washing up and came out, she had already changed into a cute set of pajamas that Li Cheng had bought for her, and was sitting on the bed in the bedroom, swinging her legs.

Only one bedroom bed remained in the house—Li Cheng's own bed. The two rooms that belonged to his uncle, aunt, and sister had been completely emptied after the events of that year, leaving only a few cabinets; they were practically empty. Only Li Cheng's single bed, his wardrobe containing his old clothes, and some other old belongings remained.

Zi An sat quietly on the single bed that Li Cheng had slept on for over ten years, gently stroking the faded quilt cover with her hand. She closed her eyes and seemed to see once again the boy in her memory who lay on the bed, unable to fall asleep.

"purple?"

The sound coming from outside the door behind her made her turn around. Li Chengzheng stood outside the door, his gaze towards her slightly complicated.

Is it because the originally innocent and adorable tide has turned back into Zi, so she doesn't know how to get along with the other person?

A smile appeared on the girl's lips.

"It must have been a long time since Cheng last came back here, right?"

She spoke softly.

"...It's been quite a few years," the man said, his gaze somewhat evasive. "I can't even remember when I last came back here."

“It was after the funeral,” Zi said, holding up a finger and shaking it. “Cheng cleaned up the house, and then he hasn’t come back since.”

"Phew, really... that really is, it's been a long time."

“But today, Cheng is finally back,” Zi jumped off the bed and slowly walked to Li Cheng. “No matter how long and complicated things have been, Cheng has come home.”

Her jewel-like purple eyes gazed upwards at the silent man, whose lips trembled several times as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately could not utter a word. After a few minutes of silence, Li Cheng turned his face away, preventing Zi from seeing his expression, and simply said softly:

"There's no one here waiting for me to come back."

The house where he used to live with his wife and daughter had long been sold and demolished in the city's urban planning. The country house where he used to live with his mother was also gone. This last remaining place was empty, and no one would be waiting for him to come back.

All his relatives are buried in their graves, and no one will be waiting for his return.

"That's not necessarily true."

A soft, petite body gently embraced Li Cheng.

"Aren't your family members standing in front of you right now?"

…………

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I'm getting ready to change the book's title.

Chapter 23, Section 240: You are my family

A gentle breeze was blowing, and the moonlight was beautiful. Under the soft moonlight and starlight, two figures, one tall and one short, sat together on the balcony of a house.

"Here, please enjoy!"

Accompanied by a slightly rising tone, a cup of tea was offered to Li Cheng.

"oh oh……"

Taking the tea, Li Cheng, clearly very nervous, gulped it down. The scalding tea then poured down his throat, causing him to shiver involuntarily.

"Pfft-"

The other person chuckled.

Oh, how embarrassing! I can't believe I lost my composure like that.

Wiping the fine sweat from his brow, Li Cheng couldn't help but sigh.

Although he knew after the Cheng Yan incident that one day he would have to face Zi in the real world, he was completely unable to control his nervousness when that day actually came.

As a sage among demons, she possesses immense strength, a terrifyingly calm mind, and the wisdom of an elder accumulated over countless years. Yet, due to severe injury and amnesia, she was raised as a daughter by a human. Even though the two are now closely bound together by a contract, she probably still harbors deep resentment.

"Yes, we are really unwilling to accept this."

"Pfft, cough cough cough—! What, what are you saying?"

The little girl with purple eyes had an innocent and cute smile on her face, with a mischievous look in her eyes, and said softly, "I am really unwilling to sign such an equal contract with Cheng that cannot be revoked, instead of turning Cheng directly into my shikigami (slave)."

I have a feeling that the term "shikigami" has been misinterpreted by the other party and has been given a different meaning.

"Well, well, there's no going back now. No matter how unwilling we are, we can only let it go."

Despite having the face of a child who looked no more than ten years old, Zi wore an expression of regret that only an adult would show. Then, her expression suddenly changed, and she looked at Li Cheng sitting beside her with a serious expression.

"In short, Cheng, you've already seen it, right?"

"What...what did you see?"

"Of course it's our memories. They've seen everything about us, from top to bottom, right?"

I saw your memories in a completely confused and inexplicable way, and I couldn't even quit halfway through, so why use such terrible language that makes it sound like I'm committing a crime?!

Li Cheng roared silently in his heart.

"Ah, although I don't know what happened, I did see it. The youkai sage named Yakumo Yukari, and the fantasy world she protected that no longer exists."

"...Yes, that's right."

There was no anger, no sorrow; the girl before him simply lowered her head slightly, her eyes filled with a sense of longing.

"This is outrageous. He's just a stupid human, yet he did something so unforgivable to me, and I have absolutely no way to retaliate. If it weren't for that accident, if I hadn't lost my memory, such an idiot like Cheng should never have been able to touch me in my entire life."

This feeling of looking down on me and then acting like it makes perfect sense really hurts me. Can't you at least speak a little more gently, considering how long I've taken care of you? At least stop calling me stupid and clueless...