"Hello, please help me pick a bouquet that represents friendship."
"Hello, please help me pick a bouquet that represents love."
Two voices sounded one after the other.
In the flower shop, Su Tang instinctively turned his head to look at the person who'd come in right after him.
Short white hair, tied back into a crisp low ponytail. Deep black pupils, with the right eye covered by an eye patch like Himeno's.
Her clothes were clean and smart too: a simple off-shoulder top and solid-color slacks, neatly cinched at the waist—striking and dashing.
To be honest, at first glance, what popped into Su Tang's head was the image of those huntresses from anime or games before he crossed over.
Maybe because the look is so classic, works from East and West tend to converge on this archetype.
Of course, dashing or not, he wouldn't pay special attention just for that. The reason he turned was the person standing beside the woman.
"What? Never seen a fiend?"
The one-eyed woman noticed Su Tang's gaze and raised her chin.
Yes—the other woman at her side was a fiend!
Long, dark-red hair spilling down; red twin horns like Power's on her head; eyes unlike a human's.
Though cosplay could be used as a cover, Su Tang's Division 4 experience with nonhumans let him recognize her at a glance.
"Tokyo's regulations: any fiend without a Public Safety harmlessness certificate is strictly forbidden from appearing in public."
Seeing that the fiend didn't seem feral, Su Tang offered a friendly reminder. "If you run into other devil hunters, they might treat her as a devil and take her down."
"Oh? You're Public Safety?"
The one-eyed woman had been looking around at the flowers, but on hearing this she turned back, a bit surprised at Su Tang.
"Mm. I'm off duty right now."
Su Tang pointed to the burning clouds outside and smiled.
He was headed to a school to tutor; of course he wouldn't wear his Public Safety uniform. Not appropriate, and no need. So he'd just thrown on some casual wear to go out.
"Never heard of you. You a newbie?" The one-eyed woman looked him over and asked.
Huh.
An industry insider.
Su Tang was a bit surprised, but considering she had a fiend at her back, it made sense. Aside from gutsy or unhinged devil hunters, no ordinary person would entrust their back to a fiend.
He nodded with a smile. "Yeah. I joined Public Safety about half a month ago."
"No wonder…"
As she spoke, a clerk came over.
"Ma'am, sir—were you the ones who wanted bouquets representing friendship and love?"
"Yes. Please pick something fresh," Su Tang nodded.
"Same for me," the one-eyed woman said.
"Very well, please wait a moment. If you're tired, you can sit in the garden area over there. We'll finish the selection shortly."
After pointing out the garden seating, the staff hurried off.
Business was clearly good—this was the best-rated shop nearby that Su Tang had purposely chosen.
"You don't recognize me?"
The one-eyed woman suddenly said.
"Uh…" Su Tang froze, not sure why the topic had veered, but he reacted at once and smiled. "I only just joined. There's a lot I don't know yet."
A big shot?
No sooner had the thought arisen than the woman chuckled and shook her head. "Heh. As I expected—Public Safety onboarding doesn't teach history anymore, huh."
"Well then, I'll introduce myself. I'm Guangxi."
Guangxi!
Su Tang's eyes widened instinctively.
Seeing his reaction, Guangxi said, "Oh? Seems you've heard my name."
"Yeah. The very first devil hunter. Miss Makima mentioned you."
He answered, sighing inwardly.
So—five days after he'd learned from the "guinea pig" crowd that Guangxi was coming, he'd actually run into her already—and off duty, in a flower shop.
If Guangxi was here, then the one beside her should be…
"This is my retainer—and… lover. The Dragon Fiend."
Sure enough, Guangxi slipped an arm around the waist of the bashful fiend and smiled.
Uh.
Su Tang blinked.
That single sentence carried a lot: older-woman dynamic, same-sex partners, cross-species love… and judging by the shackles on the Dragon Fiend's wrists, possibly some more unusual play.
Worthy of the first devil hunter—truly more adventurous than her juniors.
He sighed inwardly but didn't show shock.
Same as always: respect, understanding, best wishes.
"Mm." Satisfied with his reaction, Guangxi, still holding the Dragon Fiend's slim waist, said, "By the way, since you're Public Safety—do you know the true identity of that 'black-robed man' who made the papers recently? Rumor is he's contracted to the Dragon Devil."
"The black-robed man?" Su Tang didn't understand how he'd somehow ended up with that nickname. It didn't sound like a superhero at all—more like a puppet master villain. He shook his head. "No idea."
"Oh. Then I'll just find him myself. That guy stole my woman's title—I've got to make him issue a statement."
She didn't seem to expect an answer—just asking on the off chance—so she wasn't disappointed.
The corner of Su Tang's mouth twitched.
All this for a title?
Fine—give her the "Dragon Devil" title, then. The Holy Lord was a dragon, and a demon, but not the "Dragon Devil."
"You don't get it. If people worship you long enough…"
Noticing his puzzlement, Guangxi seemed to want to say more, but she shook her head and let it drop.
Su Tang didn't press either.
Silence settled between them.
He checked his phone—half an hour left till the appointment. Estimating the distance, he'd make it just right.
Any slower and he'd have to grab a taxi.
He looked up to flag a clerk and hurry things along—when something caught his eye.
A kind of polyhedral shape, overall purple, with yellow patterns centered on each face.
Guangxi was idly turning it in her hand.
His pupils shrank. Four big characters flashed in his mind:
—The Pan'ku Box?!
The Pan'ku Box.
Its proper name might have been the Pangu Box; whether the "Pan'ku" was transliteration noise or something else, Su Tang didn't know.
But that was how he'd said it as a kid, and the original cartoon used it too, so he stuck with it.
His impression of the Pan'ku Box was deep.
In Jackie Chan Adventures, the demon arc was his second favorite after the talismans.
Though much of it had blurred with time, he still remembered the classic setup—one door, one demon.
And the Pan'ku Box played a key role: it was the key to opening the Door of the Underworld.
Turn it correctly and decipher the inscriptions, and you could obtain the confinement info of the demon corresponding to that code.
And now this key was being casually twirled in Guangxi's hand!
A throb pounded in Su Tang's temples. His breath even stalled for several seconds!
Having faced the Holy Lord's pressure in person, no one knew the terror of the Eight Demons better than he did—
Even those infinitely weakened by hell!
"Holy Lord, Holy Lord…"
He called in his mind—but no response.
Huh?
Something's off.
After the initial jolt, he calmed. The Holy Lord had cast magic again while weakened, but he'd rested more than two days; if there were danger, he should be able to force himself awake.
No movement now…
Just as he was thinking, Guangxi's voice came.
"Mm? Interested in this thing?"
Turning the box in one hand, she spoke to him.
"Huh? Ah—yeah." Su Tang reacted quickly and said, "I like strange little artifacts like this. Could you tell me where you got it?"
"Oh, this. Easy enough—you can buy one in the souvenir shop when you visit the HK museum," Guangxi scoffed. "They're real hustlers—the top-tier version costs tens of thousands, with a global limited run of 3,000 sets. I had to pull strings to get mine."
"…???"
It felt like—for the second time since that night—Su Tang's brain had been violated.
What had he just heard?! The Pan'ku Box available casually as a souvenir? With a top-tier limited edition?!
He tugged a smile into place and asked, feigning interest, "What… is it? Why so expensive?"
"The normal one isn't pricey—it's just a wooden brainteaser. Kind of like a Rubik's Cube? A Kongming lock? Nine linked rings?"
Guangxi thought a moment and continued, "It's modeled after a relic from an ancient temple. They said it symbolized some ancient culture, I forget the rest."
A relic from an ancient temple!
Su Tang seized on those words at once.
If he remembered right, the Pan'ku Box was indeed found in a temple.
"They excavated that relic? Where is it now?"
He asked, feigning nonchalance.
"At the HK museum. I forget which display." Guangxi glanced at him, then casually tossed the box over. "Looks like you really like this stuff. As your senior, here's a meet-and-greet gift."
!
He hadn't expected her to be so dashing as to give away something worth tens of thousands on a whim. Fortunately, his enhanced body reacted in time, and he caught it.
Bzzzt—!
The instant he caught it, Su Tang's whole body stiffened!
"What's wrong?" Guangxi asked, puzzled.
"Hss… ah—nothing, nothing." He shook his head, came back to himself, and swiftly stuffed the box into a pocket with a smile. "Static. Zapped me a bit."
Meanwhile, waves surged in his heart.
That wasn't static. That was green lightning from righteous chi magic when it touched him!
Exactly as portrayed in the cartoon!
The Pan'ku Box was filled with righteous chi magic—and could only be handled by ordinary humans and righteous chi masters!
He, Su Tang, clearly didn't fit that category!
Luckily it was a replica—only a trace of righteous chi suffused it, which dissipated in an instant.
No—in fact, if even a replica, just by imitating the inscriptions and patterns, could be imbued with righteous chi… how strong would the genuine article be?
"Sir, ma'am—here are your bouquets. Sorry to keep you waiting."
While Su Tang pondered why he'd been repelled by righteous chi, the clerk arrived with a bouquet of red and one of white. "Red roses—symbolizing passionate, ardent, deep love; white lilies—symbolizing pure, flawless, eternal friendship. Excellent specimens. Are you satisfied?"
"No problem."
He and Guangxi nodded together.
"Great." The clerk handed the red roses to Su Tang, and the white lilies to Guangxi.
"This… seems swapped," Su Tang said in surprise. "I asked for friendship; she asked for love."
"Ah! Sorry, so sorry!" The clerk bowed in a fluster. "My mistake. I'll switch them out."
"Forget it—it's nothing. We can just swap with each other."
Waving it off, Guangxi took Su Tang's roses and handed him the lilies, then wrapped an arm around her lover's waist and headed for the register.
"Sir, that lady paid for yours as well," the cashier told Su Tang when he approached.
Well then. Meeting a senior like Guangxi, he'd not only gotten a free bouquet but also a brainteaser as a gift.
Most importantly, he'd learned news of the Pan'ku Box.
But why had he been repelled by righteous chi? The Holy Lord's remnant soul? His fiery chi? The contract?
Taking out the limited-edition box and turning it idly, Su Tang pondered as he headed for his appointment with Reze.
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