The soft and cute girl was dangerous. Huangfu Jun quickened her pace...
In the most expensive villa district in the imperial capital, on a winding garden path, Huangfu Jun, with her high ponytail, wearing an old gray tracksuit, slowly followed a young girl.
The girl's name was Ai Lin, who had just turned 18 last month.
Ai Lin wore a red brocade dress embroidered with gold and floral patterns. At the collar were a dozen hand-sewn Tahitian black pearls, each full and round, of considerable value. Her wavy chestnut hair fell on her shoulders, paired with her bright red lips, making her look mature and sexy. Only the tender curve of her cheeks slightly revealed the unique girlishness of her age.
Arriving at the gate of a tall, European-style three-story villa, Ai Lin turned around and winked playfully. "Miss Huangfu, when you see my dad later, don't feel any pressure. Even if he disagrees, it's useless."
Huangfu Jun smiled and nodded, but did not speak.
Seeing Huangfu Jun's smiling eyes, Ai Lin's heart tightened unconsciously.
Miss Huangfu was only a few years older than her, about to graduate from university. She was very plainly dressed. The old tracksuit showed signs of wear in several places, and the style of her shoes was old, but they were washed clean, and the pure white color gave a strangely comfortable feeling.
Miss Huangfu had very fair skin, and there was still some baby fat on her cheeks, making her look delicate, beautiful, and cute. When she smiled, her almond-shaped eyes sparkled, and her gaze was as gentle as water, inexplicably reminding one of the warm spring sun, or the lovely sight of pink peach blossom petals trembling in the breeze, enough to melt people's hearts.
But such a beautiful and lovely girl suffered from a condition that made her unable to speak, unable to make a sound anymore. What a pity.
Ai Lin suppressed her strange emotions, turned around, and added another reminder, "Miss Huangfu, my dad is nothing impressive. Whatever unpleasant things he says, don't take them to heart."
Huangfu Jun looked into Ai Lin's eyes, nodding obediently and earnestly.
Huangfu Jun was very grateful for Ai Lin's care and consideration.
But this was only their second meeting. Behind this trust lay another secret.
Huangfu Jun had come to apply for the position of demon catcher after seeing a post online. Although she had no real demon-catching abilities, she had a pair of eyes that could see through all demonic phenomena in the world.
The moment she met Ai Lin, she saw that the girl showed no signs of being troubled by any demon.
When she wrote down her doubts, Ai Lin readily admitted the truth.
She said she had never encountered any demon, let alone being entangled by a fox spirit. The reason she claimed so was just to deal with her despicable father. Her mother had just passed away, and her father, together with his mistress, had seized all of her mother's inheritance.
The Ai family's business was originally not surnamed Ai, but Lin, inherited from Ai Lin's mother, Lin Wei. Lin Wei was the only daughter of the Lin family. She had been very capable, a formidable businesswoman. However, when Ai Lin was three years old, she suddenly fell seriously ill. After recovering, her mental state deteriorated, and she had to withdraw from the business world, leaving all the Lin family's assets to her husband, Ai Huwei, who had married into the family.
Ai Lin had vague memories of her mother. At the age of four, she was sent abroad by her father and raised by professional caregivers using the education fund her mother had set up for her.
She had always wanted to return to China to be with her parents, but her academic tasks were too demanding, and the butler around her was very strict. In over a decade, she had only returned a handful of times.
The reason she could come back this year was to attend her mother's funeral.
She hadn't even seen her mother for the last time.
But as soon as she returned, she found that her father was already preparing for his wedding to his mistress, and even her mother's villa had long become the permanent residence of the mistress and her daughter.
However, that wasn't the most infuriating part. The most outrageous thing was that her father produced a so-called will, claiming that all property under Lin Wei's name was to be inherited solely by her husband, Ai Huwei. The only property Ai Lin could have was the education fund her mother had bought for her over a decade ago and a dowry that could only be withdrawn after seven years of work.
Upon learning this, Ai Lin was so angry she almost ground her teeth to pieces. But she didn't act immediately. She began to make various arrangements using the pocket money she had saved over the years.
She absolutely refused to believe that her mother would leave all the property to her beastly father and the shameless mistress and her daughter.
The so-called will must be fake. She even suspected there was something suspicious about her mother's death. But to overturn all this, she needed evidence.
Under the pretext of having a box of her mother's antique jewelry as a dowry and needing her father's help to appraise it, she had entered this villa several times, all to set up various smoke screens and traps.
Among them, a coral ring carved with a nine-tailed fox brought the rumor of a demon to the villa, which was one of the smoke screens.
Ai Lin was an excellent student, especially in science. After a few small traps, Ai Huwei and the mistress and her daughter actually believed that a fox spirit was haunting the house. So Ai Huwei began searching everywhere for a master to exorcise the demon.
Another part of Ai Lin's plan was to find a demon catcher herself, to help find evidence of Ai Huwei's forged will.
Among the applicants for the demon catcher position, Ai Lin immediately took a liking to the mute Huangfu Jun.
After Huangfu Jun saw through the truth at a glance, Ai Lin found her even more reliable and hoped she would help cover up everything by acting as her demon catcher.
Huangfu Jun had already investigated the employer's information. Although things had developed beyond her expectations, she readily accepted the job.
Even if she couldn't really catch a demon to cure her strange illness, the generous reward and Ai Lin's sincere gaze were too good to refuse.
"Miss Huangfu, let's go in." Ai Lin entered the password, and the smart door immediately opened.
Huangfu Jun smiled and nodded. Just as she was about to follow, a chill ran down her back.
Huangfu Jun's brows twitched. She turned around alertly. Across the road, there was nothing but flower branches swaying in the wind and ornamental shrubs.
But she had clearly felt a powerful energy field that humans shouldn't possess.
Was it a demon?!
Huangfu Jun's hair stood on end.
Its energy was extremely strong, stronger than anything she had ever seen. If it had been targeting Ai Lin, it would have affected Ai Lin's energy field, but it hadn't.
So, was it a coincidence?
Huangfu Jun's heart tightened inexplicably. Or was it coming for her? According to a small demon she had caught, the only ones truly qualified to catch demons in this world were the Monster Bureau and the Half-Monster Bureau. Wild demon catchers like her, who awakened halfway, weren't allowed.
From the little demon's tone, the Monster Bureau and Half-Monster Bureau seemed less like superstitious organizations and more like official, law-abiding supernatural research institutes.
Since it was a law-abiding research institute type of organization, even if she were caught as an "unlicensed demon-catching vendor," there should be room for negotiation, right?
She didn't want to be an "unlicensed demon catcher," but she had no choice.
Half a year ago, she was in a car accident. Fortunately, she wasn't injured, but a small green mark appeared on her chest. The mark was S-shaped, less than a centimeter, like a vein showing through the skin, thin and inconspicuous.
But later, it grew bigger and bigger, climbing up her chest and eventually reaching her neck. At the same time, she suddenly lost her voice and could no longer make a sound.