“Huh? Customers?” Wang Ling raised her right hand and scratched her head.
Still sitting on the ground, she used her left hand to push away the white cat that was meowing wildly, stopping it from quarreling with the yellow dog.
Wang Ling added, “I only opened the shop today, and no customers have come yet. What? Is little brother going to be big sister’s first customer? Hehehe!”
“Customer?!” Su Wan was startled, and his little face flushed red again.
Several men nearby let out malicious laughs, prompting Wang Ling to glare at them.
“I’m just teasing little brother. What business is it of you stinking men? Stop laughing over there and trying to take advantage of me. Hmph!”
Wang Ling put on a haughty expression and puffed out her ample chest, drawing the men’s gazes for quite some time.
“No, no,” Su Wan repeatedly replied. “I don’t spend much time at home. I like going out to play, so forget it.”
Actually, Su Wan had nowhere to keep a cat or dog.
And as for his mother’s place…
Whenever things got busy there, he didn’t dare return at all.
It was simply too embarrassing.
“Oh~ I see…” Wang Ling nodded, then smiled and said, “Then come inside and pet the cats. You can play with the little dogs, too.”
By then, the passersby gathered around them had begun to disperse, each returning to their own business.
Wang Ling put the kitten back in its nest, then looked at Su Wan and said, “Don’t worry. Big sister swears she won’t touch you today. Really!”
Wang Ling then asked, “I heard a Master went to your house. Is the Disciple Acceptance Banquet happening in a few days?”
As she spoke, she glanced toward Cang Ye, seemingly aware that he was the so-called expert.
“Oh~” Su Wan glanced behind him and introduced Cang Ye to Wang Ling.
“This is my Master. The formal disciple acceptance ceremony will be held in three or four days.”
“Oh~” Wang Ling responded before saying, “I heard a Demon was causing trouble near your home. Is that why you brought in a Master?”
“Let me remind you of something,” Wang Ling added.
“You’re still young, and there are some things you don’t understand. You can’t casually talk about evil spirits and Demons. The government has a Demon Suppression Bureau, an organization specifically responsible for handling rumors like these.”
“If you spread such rumors carelessly, you’ll get arrested,” Wang Ling added.
Another child watching the commotion asked, “Sister Wang, aren’t you only in your twenties? How do you know so much? Did you learn all this ten years ago? Have you been living here for ten years?”
Wang Ling shook her head and said, “Not exactly. I’ve only been here for eight years. This shop has been open for eight years, too. Before that, I lived elsewhere and heard about related matters. Just wait. It won’t be long before someone comes to silence us.”
“Silence us?” the child nearby asked.
“Yes~” Wang Ling said, deliberately frightening them.
“Anyone who talks carelessly will have their tongue cut out! Children’s hearts and lungs will be dug out and fed to dogs!”
“The little dogs in my shop seem to have gotten much fatter recently. I haven’t fed them much, so how did they suddenly get so fat?”
The corners of Wang Ling’s mouth curled into a smile as she glanced at Su Wan.
“Waaah!” One child immediately burst into tears and ran away.
Wang Ling glanced after the child, but when she realized it wasn’t Su Wan, she immediately lost some interest.
She turned to Su Wan and asked, “Aren’t you afraid?”
Su Wan replied, “…I’m not afraid. You’re just trying to scare people.”
As he spoke, Su Wan asked seriously, “Does the Demon Suppression Bureau really exist?”
“Yes,” Wang Ling nodded and said.
“It does. Big sister once hid far away and saw them silence some people. After that, those people couldn’t speak carelessly anymore. Fortunately, I was hiding far away, so they didn’t see me. That’s why… I can still tell you about it.”
“But in just a few days, big sister won’t be able to chat with you about these things anymore. We’ll have to keep our mouths shut, or we’ll get beaten.”
“The Demon Suppression Bureau…” Su Wan murmured.
He then turned toward his Master and asked, “Master, do you know about this organization?”
Cang Ye nodded and said, “I’ve heard of it, seen it, and learned about it.”
Cang Ye speculated, “Perhaps they’ll show up at the Disciple Acceptance Banquet.”
Su Wan frowned and asked again, “So the Demon Suppression Bureau only suppresses and deals with fiends?”
Cang Ye replied, “The Demon Suppression Bureau doesn’t just deal with fiends. It also handles monsters. As long as something is unusual, they’ll intervene to some extent.”
‘Then what about my mother…’ Su Wan frowned but didn’t say anything aloud.
He thought to himself, ‘When I get back, I should find time to remind Mother about this organization. I wonder if she knows it exists.’
“Let’s go. Keep looking around.”
Cang Ye remained standing at the entrance of the cat and dog shop.
He didn’t go inside, merely glancing at Wang Ling before urging Su Wan to leave.
“Oh, understood, Master.” Su Wan obediently nodded.
He turned around, followed his Master, and said goodbye to Wang Ling.
“Then I’ll be going, Sister Wang. I’ll come back to pet the cats another day.”
“Sure! See you another day! I’ll come to your Disciple Acceptance Banquet to join the fun. You can invite me, right?” Wang Ling asked with a smile.
“Huh?” Su Wan replied. “Then I’ll have…”
He looked toward his maid and asked quietly, “Can you get an invitation?”
The maid looked up at Su Wan and answered softly, “This servant can try asking the steward.”
“Oh~” Su Wan replied before smiling at Wang Ling.
“Then you’re welcome to come, Sister Wang.”
Su Wan scratched his head, uncertain whether his maid could actually obtain an invitation.
The real question was whether his status in the family had genuinely improved.
After saying goodbye to Wang Ling, Su Wan continued wandering around with Cang Ye.
The big one and the little one walked along until they arrived at an entertainment venue.
It was a relatively quiet establishment.
Although it offered nighttime entertainment, things were at least somewhat restrained during the day.
It could barely be considered a place suitable for all ages.
As for the actual brothels and courtesan houses nearby, including those tucked away deeper inside the entertainment district, Su Wan had several reasons for avoiding them.
First, he had no money.
He usually didn’t have any money at all.
Second, he was too shy and embarrassed to go inside.
Third, he worried that he might lose control of himself and end up being taken advantage of by those women.
Therefore, he had never visited such places and remained a pure and innocent young master.
He wasn’t some dissolute young master steeped in every vice.
As evening approached, Cang Ye patted Su Wan on the shoulder again and reminded him, “Good disciple, it’s time to go home. You pay the bill.”
“Huh?!” Su Wan exclaimed in surprise.
“You’re an adult, and you’re the Master. Is there really a need to make a minor pay the bill? I don’t even know how to earn money!”
Cang Ye smiled and said, “What a coincidence. Your Master doesn’t have the habit of carrying money when going out. And I didn’t earn anything from setting up a stall today. If you don’t pay, then the two of us… how about climbing out the window?”
“You…” Su Wan glanced at the guards standing on either side, their arms thick and round.
He could only sigh helplessly.
“Hoo! I really can’t do anything with you. Consider it my gift for our first meeting as Master and disciple. Waiter, bring the bill!”
Su Wan called the waiter over and paid for the tea and peanuts together.
After leaving the entertainment venue, Su Wan continued walking through the cool evening breeze.
Cang Ye said, “So your disciple acceptance gift is treating your Master to entertainment? Do you want to take me to a brothel for the night, too? What a special gift.”
Su Wan replied, “I’m a child! Don’t make dirty jokes! Let’s go home, you bad adult. You’re always trying to lead children astray. Hmph!”
Su Wan ignored Cang Ye and hurried toward home.
He was still thinking about telling his mother about the Demon Suppression Bureau.
He wanted to see whether she should leave the area for a while to avoid trouble.
As for Cang Ye?
Su Wan glanced back at his Master and thought for a moment.
Since Cang Ye knew about the Demon Suppression Bureau, presumably…
He probably wasn’t afraid of it.
After all, he’d been swaggering around everywhere without a care, so there was no reason to worry about him.
With that thought, Su Wan decided not to concern himself with Cang Ye’s situation.
“Let’s go home!”
Su Wan shouted, stopped paying attention to Cang Ye, and pushed all other thoughts aside as he hurried toward the left side of the street.
Behind him, Cang Ye called out, “You treated your Master to entertainment as your disciple acceptance gift. Have you thought about what you want in return?”
Su Wan shouted back, “You already gave it!”
He continued running toward the left side of the street without slowing down.
Cang Ye was puzzled.
“Huh? I gave you something? When did that happen?”
Still confused, Cang Ye hurried after Su Wan, chasing him all the way back to the Su Family estate.
A few days later, the Su Family’s Disciple Acceptance Banquet.