Each with Their Own Schemes

A cat tail was attached to the dark gray bodysuit, like a furry rope. One tug and it could make the buttocks beneath the suit sway alluringly. The woman in the bodysuit actively swished her cat tail, her eyes syrupy sweet. She thrust out her chest, doing her utmost to emphasize the little "tube" beneath her bra.

"It's almost full!" the catgirl purred. "Maybe another hundred Flow Pearls will do it. Would you like to try?"

The little tube was nearly filled with Flow Pearls, forcing the catgirl to push out her chest as hard as she could. The tube was tied by three golden threads, attached respectively to the collar and the two side zippers of her bodysuit. Once the Flow Pearls exceeded the limit, the tube would drag the zippers downward, "peeling" off the catgirl's top with the weight of wealth.

It was one of the club's most popular inventions among gamblers. Every little tube had a different capacity, and people took turns tossing Flow Pearls into it, betting on who would personally strip the girl of her clothes. The final lucky winner could enter the door lit by pink lamps for free and spend a night of spring passion with the naked girl.

Kaning looked back at the catgirl tempting him and realized she was not as young as she appeared. She was already past thirty. Her glamorous makeup concealed fine wrinkles, and the waist that had borne children was no longer as slender as it had been in her youth; she needed the bodysuit to hold up those eye-catching curves. That little tube truly was about to fill. Before long, she would have to walk bare-chested through the crowd with her arm linked through a guest's, then do her best to please the man of the night, and afterward perhaps force herself home to make breakfast for her child...

He took out a Flow Pearl and placed it in the girl's hand, revealing the shy smile of a gullible fool. "Sorry, I'm not here to... relax. I'm a businessman. I want to..."

"Oh! You want to see the Magician?" The catgirl suddenly understood. Taking him for a novice, she said softly and gratefully, "Then you'd better hurry to the ballroom! He always likes to make a dazzling entrance."

Kaning thanked her repeatedly and went down one floor by the small staircase. Anyone looking at him would have thought him a young man making his first visit. As he descended, he heard a burst of vulgar cheers. The little tube had finally fallen, and the catgirl was being held by a pot-bellied bald man, giggling coquettishly again and again beneath countless gazes.

"Utterly stupid, Kaning," he heard Besen say. "Utterly stupid."

I thought demons didn't care about this sort of thing, Kaning said inwardly.

"I don't feed on this disgusting emotion." Besen dry-heaved. "This place reeks of moonlight—rotten, vulgar mudflats..."

"So I suggest you stay inside the puppet. Go back now. Maiweia is coming."

Besen departed without a sound, like a transparent ghost invisible to all. Kaning descended step by step to the rhythm of the music. A military-style drumbeat seeped into the jazz at first, no more than an embellishment, but it grew faster and louder, becoming an urgent force that stole the show. The dancing girls withdrew to the beat, clearing a vast space in the ballroom, while people clapped along. Then the drums abruptly stopped. Dozens of ceremonial cannons sounded at once from some unknown direction, and an enormous, towering black shadow dropped from above, smashing into the center of the ballroom like a cannonball!

His arrival caused a genuine "earthquake," shaking the guests around the ballroom so hard they could barely keep their feet. The man let out a hearty laugh, removed his bowler hat, and flung it high into the air. White doves burst out from inside it. From that tiny hat flew dozens, then hundreds of doves, their wings fluttering as they shook loose not feathers, but fragrant rose petals.

The huge man raised both hands over his head and clapped powerfully amid the rain of petals. "Welcome, everyone! Welcome to my club!"

"Maiweia! Maiweia!" the crowd welcomed him with frenzied cries. "The Magician, 'Maiweia'!"

Maiweia bowed in every direction, scattering warmth and hospitality wherever he turned. He was a "big man" in the literal sense, standing a full three meters tall. His excessively obese body was tightly wrapped in a custom tailcoat, like an enormous balloon about to soar into the sky. Yet his features were sharply defined, and his bearing confident and steady, making one realize that in any setting beyond a party, he would be just as dependable.

He continued bowing all around him, exchanging a glance with Kaning in the crowd. "Tonight is another full moon. Such a fine occasion deserves celebration!" Then he led a passionate dance before calmly taking a glass of white liquor and leaving the floor. In an instant, elegantly dressed members of high society surrounded Maiweia, their eager faces unable to conceal their anxiety.

Visaf quietly approached and handed his father a small note. Maiweia glanced at it, then smiled. "Is everything well, my friends? Is there anything I can help with?"

Those words ignited their anxiety. A furniture merchant squeezed to the front and steeled himself to serve as the vanguard. "Thanks to your blessings, everything is well, sir! It's just... a small concern... We heard the workshops up above have started operating again."

"That is indeed the case," Maiweia said.

"Good heavens, have mercy, they cannot do this!" The furniture merchant reddened. "Those monotonous factories without a shred of creativity will crush the livelihood of every honest craftsman! With their detestable cheapness, they'll hook Flow Pearls right out of decent people's pockets, and afterward there'll be no path left to make a living by one's craft!"

Another fruit merchant stepped forward, his formalwear enough to make every fruit peddler ashamed of himself. "The fruit business has not been doing well recently either, sir. Since the esteemed Grand Witch departed, the Marsh people have begun to disregard the rules. They intend to transport goods to the Central District themselves! You know how greedy and filthy those mud-covered people are. Without our careful inspections, who knows how many people might catch a plague from rotten fruit!"

Maiweia listened attentively and nodded from time to time. Once the floodgates opened, people poured out their worries: worries over the new workshops, over the "rule-breaking" Marsh. Beneath the surface of their words lay anxiety about the increasingly frequent actions of the City Lord's Office. They were all monopolists, black-hearted merchants, beneficiaries of the existing system. In the past, they had never needed to worry about anything, because everyone knew to "follow the rules," and enforcers would deal with those who did not understand them.

But things were changing. The City Lord's Office was reviving a new set of rules that people had long forgotten. They feared that they themselves would become those who "did not understand the rules."

"I understand, my friends. I understand." Maiweia spoke slowly but with force. "First, I would like to remind everyone that our city will not mistreat a single citizen who earns money through ability and conscience. We run reasonable and lawful businesses. Who would be hostile toward respectable, upright people of status?"

He looked around at their worried faces and answered them with a supremely confident smile. "I have deep cooperation with the workshops, and I know perfectly well that they will not seize the market in the short term—supplying the City Lord's Office alone is enough to keep them busier than they can handle. As for business in the Jade Marsh District, I will personally go and speak with them. We all understand the hardship of independent operators. Now that we have a mature agency system, who still wants to haul goods around themselves in misery?"

"Lastly, I want to remind you all: never, never become hostile toward our City Lord's Office. No matter how the environment changes, only those who cooperate have a future!"

The Magician had made a promise, which meant every problem would be resolved perfectly. The merchants raised their glasses in celebration, put their minds at ease, and began to thoroughly enjoy the feast on the tables. Visaf took his father's glass and presided over the gathering in his stead. After round after round of toasts, Maiweia noticed Kaning was gone and excused himself under the pretext of checking on the kitchen. From backstage, he took a private elevator to a small private room on the top floor, where the man in white formalwear was waiting at the dining table. Maiweia warmly embraced him and kissed both his cheeks with the highest courtesy.

"Kaning! Our most honored guest, our wisest workshop master!" Maiweia tugged at his evening clothes. "Our clothing, our houses, the little toys people love, and those little things that protect them—what more can I say? It is all thanks to you, Kaning. Without your powerful support, even the loveliest little magic tricks would be nothing more than fireworks vanishing in the blink of an eye."

"Likewise, thank you to the club for providing the blood and flesh." Kaning picked up his knife and fork. "And the delicious veal steak."

"Guaranteed slaughtered the very same day, the only one of its kind in the whole city, my friend," Maiweia said proudly. "You won't find beef this good anywhere else!"

Maiweia was not exaggerating. The steak on the plate was cooked to perfection, its seared outer texture distinct, its cross-section a tender pink. A light press of the dining knife brought juices seeping out with the aroma. The chef's skill was superb, and the ingredients even better. Even on Earth, it would have ranked among the finest. This meal was one major reason Kaning had gladly accepted the invitation. They were both people who had known hunger, and only after mopping up the meat juices with bread did they begin discussing business.

"By your standards, this was somewhat hasty," Kaning said. He meant tonight's banquet. In the past, Maiweia would send invitations several days in advance rather than convening one in such a rush as today.

"You are as sharp as ever." Maiweia hesitated for several seconds before setting down his knife and fork. "There is nothing much to hide... This morning, I made a decision."

Kaning listened closely.

"The Maiweia Family is not prosperous enough. We intend to conceive a new 'daughter.' By the moon's rules, such an important matter must be celebrated." Maiweia spoke solemnly. "So you understand, old friend. I want to give you a large order."

Kaning nodded in understanding. "It would be my pleasure. Relics related to the moon, as complete as possible. Any other requirements?"

Maiweia pondered for a moment. "Four children are enough for one father, aren't they?"

"I don't know how to answer that. After all, I'm a bachelor," Kaning said. His quip drew a burst of laughter.

"Oh, come now! Women are throwing themselves at you everywhere." Maiweia laughed until he began coughing. "I probably will not have any more children in the next few years, so I want this ceremony to be grand. As many Relics as possible. The more, the better."

Maiweia took out a beautiful crystal bottle. The black blood inside writhed like a living thing. He tossed the crystal bottle to Kaning.

"In return, I will provide five bottles of Parent's Blood. The purity will be the same as this deposit."

"Deal." Kaning agreed at once. "I'll transport the goods myself."

"You have always been trustworthy."

Maiweia beamed. With the transaction concluded, he relaxed back into his exceptionally large chair and lit some tobacco. "Doing business with you is always easy. No need to waste so many words. Look at those poor fools in the ballroom, getting frightened out of their wits by the slightest breeze and rustle. That is no way for a good boss to act, much less a good father."

Kaning seized the opportunity to state his position. "Their worries are not entirely without foundation."

Maiweia caught the signal. He sat upright and exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Kaning?"

"I'm somewhat worried," Kaning said. The words carried enough weight. When a boss, a leader, said he was "somewhat worried," it meant his concern was nearing its limit.

"Because of that new inspector?"

"Not only that. I believe they found something in the Marsh, something so important that the City Lord's Office immediately began adjusting its strategy." Kaning continued, "Everyone understands the current situation. It is necessary for us to take action."

Mentioning the situation implied that life and death were at stake. And taking action was the heaviest phrase of all; it meant skipping past "talking it over" and preparing to make a move. Maiweia understood the meaning beneath the words perfectly. He remained silent for a long, long time. During that interval, a sunglasses-wearing man in a suit came over to clear away their plates, and Kaning greeted him as well.

"Perhaps later, Kaning," Maiweia said heavily. "We have lived in peace with the City Lord's Office for a long time, and this is the eve of a newborn's birth... We might as well talk a little more before making a decision."

"You see, this is why I don't marry. Family is too heavy," Kaning said flippantly.

"Isn't that the truth! Hahaha..."

They toasted one another and let the matter drop. At that moment, the suited man served drinks and small desserts to cleanse the palate. They chatted some more about amusing old stories and recent news, until Kaning finally rose to take his leave.

"Oh, right." Before leaving, he stopped as though something had just occurred to him. "There's something I should remind you of."

"What?" Maiweia wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Last month, Visaf hired someone to assassinate Chu Hengkong." Kaning put on his hat. "Check the account books when you have time."

Maiweia's complexion turned a terrifying iron green. His broad chest heaved violently, and his breathing grew so heavy it was suffocating. His sleeve suddenly burst apart. That fat, powerful arm swelled by a full circle and took on the black color of filthy water. His already extraordinarily huge body expanded with every breath. Kaning practically felt he was looking at a massive bomb, one that would fill the entire room with rage before taking everything with it in a devastating explosion.

But his breathing gradually calmed. Maiweia visibly shrank, returning to his three-meter stature. He drew a deep breath.

"Thank you so fucking much," Maiweia said in a low voice. "I fucking didn't know..."

"Don't be too rough on the child." Kaning shrugged, walked out of the small dining room, and closed the door. As expected, he heard the thunderous crash of the dining table being smashed apart.

He went alone down the stairs to the garage, where Besen was waiting in the truck.

"How did it go?"

"Stop at the next intersection first."

The truck stopped, and Kaning looked into the rearview mirror. From this position, he could see the upper-floor windows of the club. He waited for a while, then saw a black "mist" spread out from the upper floors. A white-browed man walked out of the mist, tugging along a little girl by the hand. She should have been one of the candidates for the "daughter." Maiweia had not lied to him.

"We can go," Kaning said cheerfully. "Change of plans. We're joining the City Lord's Office to kill the club."

Besen drove the cargo truck some distance before turning his head. "...Huh?"

"Maiweia learned about the assassination and still didn't ask me to stay, which means he has his own 'grand plan.'" Kaning said. "We can't count on him anymore, so we can only treat his corpse as food."

"But why?" Besen shook his head vigorously. "Why would the City Lord's Office help you? You just went to the Marsh. If I were with the City Lord's Office, I'd definitely come beat you up first."

Kaning took out the bottle of Parent's Blood and placed it in the truck's storage compartment.

"The day after tomorrow, send an email. Address it to Ji Qiufeng."

"..."

Besen stopped at a traffic light and stared at Kaning for quite a while. "You humans are truly terrifying. I always thought you and Maiweia were friends."

"Do demons make friends?" Kaning asked.

"No. There is only food and mortal enemies."

"Now you've learned that humans are the same."