Chapter 7

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A baby entrusted to be raised by a fox spirit caused great concern among the police.

"Do monsters eat children? It's been a whole day and night— is the child still alive?"

Since ancient times, Chinese legends have mostly cast monsters in a negative light.

Yet Taoist Wen Yuan was less worried. "I trust my senior brother. He risked his life to rescue the child; he wouldn’t throw her back into the fire. This monster must be a good one."

Reassured that the child was still alive, the police were invigorated and immediately began reviewing surveillance footage from the roads surrounding the villa. A fox carrying a baby would surely be conspicuous.

However, after searching several nearby streets, they found no such sight.

Yen Taoist, yawning beside them, said, "Perhaps this monster possesses cultivation and can transform into a human. You might want to expand your search area."

His suggestion made everyone’s faces fall. It was like searching for a needle in a haystack, and their eyes were already strained from watching the monitors all night.

One policeman sitting next to the Taoist suddenly asked, "Taoist, do you have any methods for locating people? We’re unfamiliar with monster abilities; we’ll need your help."

Wen Yuan’s eyes were barely open. He was old, drained from traveling at night and monitoring footage all day. He simply couldn’t keep up.

"I do, but right now, I really can’t."

With that, he leaned back in his chair and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

The officers shook their heads quietly, lowering their voices.

Meanwhile, the two monsters on the mountain had also passed a peaceful night. After medicine and feeding, Qing Yao fell into a deep sleep. The gray wolf kept brushing her forehead; the fever that had flared earlier subsided by midnight. Though she was drowsy later on, the fever never returned, and the cub showed no signs of diarrhea. They slept until dawn.

In the morning, Qing Yao’s condition improved greatly. As long as she didn’t have diarrhea, the fever was completely gone, and she even had the energy to suck on her own toes.

The gray wolf pressed the fox to use his demon power to heat water for the milk. The fox resisted, lying by the cup, muttering that this wasn’t how demon power should be used and that it was a waste. The gray wolf slapped him silent with a paw.

"Get to work. The cub’s hungry."

"We should catch a nursing cat or dog. There are plenty in the city. That way, we won’t have to buy milk powder or bottles."

After their supermarket trip, the fox had gained some understanding of money. He’d seen the prices of chicken legs in the frozen section—this box of milk powder could buy him many chicken legs.

The gray wolf glanced at him coolly. "You go catch one? If the cub dies, I’ll eat you first."

The fox gathered some demon power and dropped it into the water, which began bubbling.

The gray wolf tested the temperature, quickly prepared the milk, and let the cub hold the bottle herself. He wiped her hands, feet, and bottom and changed her diaper.

In just one day, the gray wolf had become quite skilled at taking care of the cub.

While the cub ate, the fox pulled out the chicken feet they had buried yesterday and gnawed on them loudly for a while, glancing at the gray wolf. The fox hadn’t eaten since yesterday, giving up his food and having no time to hunt. Feeling a bit guilty, he placed two chicken feet in front of the gray wolf.

"Here."

"Hmm?" The gray wolf looked strangely at the chicken feet, then at him.

The fox turned his head away, back facing her. "Take it or leave it. If you don’t want it, give it back."

The gray wolf hesitated, then took the chicken feet in her mouth and thanked him.

After tidying up, the gray wolf packed the money, picked up the cub, and headed down the mountain again.

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Today, they had to find a place to live. Humans had machines to boil water, which was far more convenient than using demon power. Using demon power could alert Taoists, making it hard to stay hidden.

Qing Yao, now rested, stayed awake in the gray wolf’s arms, looking around energetically, babbling softly, occasionally saying words like "daddy" or "mommy." She held a small cloth doll, creating the image of a family of three.

Once at the foot of the mountain, the fox looked around nervously. "Where do we go now?"

The gray wolf threw out three words: "I don’t know."

"You don’t know anything but still come down the mountain? Waste of time."

The gray wolf shot a glance, and the fox quickly said, "I remember humans have a place that handles rentals—what was it called? ‘Yaren’, yes, Yaren."

"You’re right. We need to find a Yaren."

"Where?"

"Ask around."

The fox was adept at asking for directions. Soon, he approached a middle-aged man.

The man didn’t understand "Yaren," thinking the fox meant a dental problem, kindly recommending a reputable hospital over small clinics.

The fox corrected him: "Not about teeth, I mean a rental agency."

The man paused, then laughed. "Oh, you mean a real estate agent! These young people speak so strangely now. There are plenty of agencies—three on this street alone: Lianx, Zix, Dex. Pick any."

After asking, the fox proudly returned to the gray wolf.

"Which one do you want?"

"Whichever is closest."

"I see one nearby!"

The two, holding the cub, quickly entered. The agent warmly asked about their preferred location, room size, and budget.

When asked if they wanted the entire place or to share, the fox blinked and pointed to himself and the gray wolf. "We want to share."

The agent looked surprised. "Ah? You two aren’t married?"

The two answered in unison, "Of course not!"

"Oh, so you want to rent a two-bedroom apartment? Any location preferences?"

They shook their heads in confusion.

The agent assumed no preferences and said, "I have a few listings to show you."

So, the three spent the entire morning touring various complexes, both new and old. Prices ranged from 1,800 to 2,500 yuan, all requiring a deposit plus three months’ rent upfront.

The gray wolf kept calculating how long their money would last. She was shocked to find that even the cheapest two-bedroom left her with barely any money afterward.

And that money would only cover three months.

Three months was too brief. Where would they earn money afterward?

The fox shared her concerns and felt uneasy. He immediately asked the agent, "Are there any cheaper places?"

The agent nodded. "One-bedroom apartments are about the same price, but older one-bedroom houses only cost around 1,000 yuan. Would you accept that?"

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"Yes, of course. Show us."

This time, the agent took them to a very old complex. There was almost no greenery. The elevator floor was stained with dark, unclean patches and creaked loudly as it rose. The hallways were dilapidated, with large sections of peeling plaster on the walls.

The place looked precarious.

Though it was residential, it still had an apartment layout—many units per floor. The agent stopped at the end of the corridor.

"This is it."

Opening the door, a musty old smell hit them. The room was about 20 to 30 square meters. The yellow floorboards had worn down to white beneath. The walls near the floor were peeling due to moisture. The bathroom was filthy with thick dust.

The only merit was the balcony. Unlike apartments, this unit had a decent floor-to-ceiling balcony. Morning light streamed in through the broken sliding door, offering a view of the opposite rooftop, a small factory on the left, and an overpass on the right.

The roar of vehicles and hum of the factory blended into a lively symphony.

The agent explained, "This one is cheap, only 900 yuan a month. Convenient living—bus stops and markets nearby. Utilities and property fees included."

The fox and the gray wolf silently regarded the place, not thrilled despite the low price. Qing Yao, usually lively, clung to her doll and nestled into the gray wolf’s arms, staring at the items hanging above the sliding door, swaying slightly.

The agent busied himself near the door, seemingly oblivious.

Even though it was cheap, they were reluctant to live here. It was worse than the mountain.

The agent showed them a few other places, but the two were unsatisfied. One-bedroom units were too small; the gray wolf couldn’t even turn around fully.

By midday, the trio, having found nothing suitable, returned to the street.

The fox wagged his retracted tail. "I told you, lakeside villas are better. The houses there are large, close to the mountain, and now empty. We could just move in without paying rent—stay as long as we want."

The gray wolf was somewhat swayed.

"What if the owner finds out?"

"We’ll run. I’m fast—no one can catch me. When we came down this morning, we saw no one inside. Let’s check again. I’ll find a good spot."

The gray wolf didn’t refuse. The two monsters, holding the child, returned to the lakeside villas.

The area was even quieter. Only a few property managers patrolled; no homeowners were around, not even nannies. The silence was eerie. The patrols avoided the area where the incidents had occurred, clearly wary.

They arrived just as three property staff were quitting.

"Brother Wang, we don’t want to quit, but we’re scared. You saw what happened yesterday—over thirty skeletons. Someone I just warned the day before ended up like that. Who wouldn’t be afraid?"

Two others nodded vigorously. "Yeah, this place is cursed. My prayer beads, worn for years, broke last night. It saved my life. I’m leaving today."

The supervisor sighed heavily. "Fine, if you want to leave, go ahead. I want to leave too."

The two monsters silently passed nearby.

Almost all villas were detached, except a row of townhouses by the road. Near the lake stood twenty or thirty large villas with private yards. Though the environment was good, the area was somewhat far from the city center and the nearby industrial high-tech zone under development. Originally, only half the homes were occupied, and residents rarely stayed in the villas. There were more nannies than owners.

After the incident, the nannies fled even faster than the homeowners.

The villa where the incident happened was in the best spot, facing the lake.

The fox thought fewer people were near that villa and wanted to move next door to it, but the gray wolf slapped him down.