Bai Jing's way of doing things

When Xu Le called out the name Ding Ke, Black Cat nodded happily.

Meow!

But Xu Le was confused instead. How should he put it? Ding Ke didn't sound like a cat's name. It sounded more like a person's.

"Your name really is Ding Ke?"

Meow, meow, meow!

Black Cat actually stood up, raised both paws toward the sky, and waved them excitedly at Xu Le.

Was hearing that name what made the cat so happy? Xu Le wasn't quite sure.

Honestly, Xu Le was a little nervous. That name had reminded him of those indescribable monsters again.

This black cat couldn't really transform, could it?

"Ding Ke."

Meow?

"Can you transform?"

Meow!~!

Xu Le's hair was grabbed again.

"Let go! Damn it, no dried fish for you tonight."

After finishing his studies, Xu Le went to a food stall in the Lower City and spent twenty-five cents on a serving of chicken leg and rice.

Ding Ke ate the chicken leg, leaving him with only the rice.

Fortunately, the stall owner offered free soy sauce, so he didn't have to eat it plain.

Rice mixed with soy sauce tasted pretty good, actually.

After dinner, Xu Le returned to the Night Watchers' branch with Black Cat.

Gan and Bai Jing hadn't specifically told him whether he needed to come back. In theory, at this hour, there should have been no need to return and report in.

But Xu Le still felt he ought to make the trip.

First, he really had nowhere to stay. They had said they would arrange accommodation, but hadn't told him where.

Second, he felt that, as a new employee doing clerical work without any field duties, he had better not neglect clocking in and out. There was no point giving people something to criticize.

Meanwhile, in the captain's office.

Gan and Bai Jing, who had just returned from an outing, were discussing Xu Le.

"You spent half the day guiding Xu Le. How did it go? What do you think of the kid?"

Bai Jing swirled the coffee in her cup. Although the water was ice-cold, the instant coffee powder dissolved quickly.

Gan picked up his cup, took a sip, then adjusted his glasses.

"He's very motivated, very quick to absorb knowledge, and very intelligent."

"Three 'verys.' That's some high praise, Gan. Thinking of taking him on as an apprentice?"

At Bai Jing's teasing, Gan shook his head.

"He's a level-one Red Moon Warlock, and so am I. What qualifies me to be his teacher? But Xu Le really is making rapid progress. He quickly masters whatever I teach him, and he often applies what he learns to other situations."

"Heh, rapid progress is a good thing. That means he should be able to start working soon."

Gan looked at Bai Jing with some confusion. After working with her for so many years, he knew his captain's personality very well.

If Bai Jing merely wanted someone to cook the books, Lighthouse University's finance and law departments had plenty of graduates for her to choose from.

There was no need to hire someone half-trained like Xu Le, who had only just earned all his credits.

No matter how low a Warlock's pay and benefits were, they still amounted to several times what a graduate earned.

Besides, cooking the books didn't require a Warlock, much less instruction from another Red Moon Warlock.

"What work do you actually want Xu Le to do, Captain?"

Bai Jing took a deep drag on her cigarette, then crushed the remaining stub against the "No smoking" sign on the wall.

"You can't figure out something this simple? Gan, have all those daily good deeds scrambled your brains lately? I had you teach him. You're a Medium, and so is he. What else could it be? Obviously, I want him doing the same work as you."

The same work as me? Gan gave Bai Jing a long, searching look.

"Do you think Xu Le can handle that job, Captain?"

"How would I know? But he has a lot of potential. You saw that yourself."

"I understand. I'll do my best to teach him. Is there a deadline?"

Bai Jing's expression suddenly grew grave.

"There's no particular rush, but we don't have all that much time either. I just don't think the Black Tide a few days ago was that simple."

"If the next Black Tide is like that too, won't the Guard be under a lot of pressure?"

"The Lighthouse Council has already ordered a batch of new weapons from Zion to improve ordinary soldiers' combat effectiveness. Some retired Warlocks will also return to duty. So there's no need to worry too much about the Black Tide. Training Xu Le is just a precaution. Lighthouse needs capable young people."

"All right. I'll pick up the pace."

"How about this? Once he's familiar with the basics in a few days, let him get a feel for it. Your work depends on individual aptitude, after all. He might not even be able to learn it. But young people are always interested in new things. Your work should appeal to him."

"No problem."

While they were still talking, Wang Shu led Xu Le inside.

Seeing the two standing shoulder to shoulder, Bai Jing teased them.

"Why did you come back together? You're getting along pretty well as coworkers."

At Bai Jing's remark, Wang Shu hurried to explain.

"We didn't come back together. I ran into him on the way."

Xu Le stole a glance at Wang Shu. Why does he look so afraid Captain Bai might get the wrong idea? Does Shu dislike me that much?

"What is it?" Bai Jing asked with a smile.

At her question, Wang Shu's expression gradually turned serious.

"A few days ago, Luo Juning's son, Luo Chai, abducted a scavenger's daughter from the Lower City. This morning, that woman was found dead in a well in our district. Now the story is spreading everywhere."

As Wang Shu spoke, the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.

Hearing this, Xu Le also felt a sense of injustice. But as a newcomer, it wasn't his place to speak.

Bai Jing lit herself a cigarette. After taking a deep drag, she slowly exhaled a smoke ring.

"That sort of thing shouldn't fall to us Night Watchers, should it? Tell me everything in one go."

"The woman was only discovered after she mutated. She injured two of our people, one of them seriously."

The room fell silent again. No one dared disturb Bai Jing at a time like this.

Even though she normally wore a cheerful smile every day.

After a while, Bai Jing finished her cigarette, crushed the stub against the "No smoking" sign again, and spoke slowly.

"How dare some insolent troublemaker from the Lower City cross Mr. Luo Juning. Wang Shu, get a few people to beat that scavenger up later. Make him keep his mouth shut."

"Yes." Wang Shu nodded immediately, showing no intention of questioning Bai Jing's order.

Beside him, Xu Le was bewildered. Beat up the victim? What kind of move is that?

Bai Jing returned to her cheerful demeanor and looked at Xu Le, ignoring the confusion in his eyes.

"What did you come back for?"

Xu Le suppressed his questions and reported honestly.

"I came back to clock out. I don't know where I'm staying."

"Hahaha, all right. Off you go. Have Wang Shu take you to the Night Watchers' dormitory."

"Okay."

When Xu Le followed Wang Shu out of the Night Watchers' branch, Black Cat Ding Ke was already waiting for him on the mailbox by the entrance.

Seeing Xu Le emerge, Black Cat immediately jumped into his arms.

But Wang Shu frowned slightly when he saw Black Cat.

"Your cat?"

"Yes."

"Be careful. Black is unlucky."

"Uh, actually... ah, thanks for the warning, Shu."

Xu Le gave up halfway through his reply. Don't try to change someone, much less everyone.

It wasn't that nobody kept cats in Lighthouse. Nobody kept black cats.

In other people's eyes, keeping a black cat made him a complete oddball.

He was already in the minority. Why bother trying to convince the majority?

Meow! Ding Ke snarled at Wang Shu's retreating back.

Xu Le hurriedly held the cat down. Why did this little thing dare challenge absolutely anyone?

Wang Shu brought Xu Le to an apartment building not far from the branch. Although it was in the Lower City, the building's facilities were quite comprehensive.

The decor and communal amenities were all very new. Since it was so close to the Night Watchers' branch, security wasn't much of a problem either.

The only drawback was probably that his room was apartment 602.

The sixth floor was a long climb, and there was no elevator.

When he opened the door, a clean, tidy apartment appeared before Xu Le.

One bedroom, one living room, one kitchen, and one bathroom. Xu Le estimated it was around thirty to forty square meters.

Though it wasn't much compared with the place he had rented in his previous life, it was worlds apart from the university dormitory.

"This is where you'll be staying."

Xu Le glanced at the large bed, roughly a meter and a half wide, and asked in surprise.

"I get this all to myself?"

Wang Shu frowned.

"If you have a girlfriend or someone like that, you can bring her here too. But it's best not to tell her about Night Watcher business. There's no explicit confidentiality agreement, but some things are better kept from your family."

"Huh? Shu, you've got it wrong. That's not what I meant..."

"All right. I'll leave the key here. Make yourself at home."

Wang Shu gave Xu Le no chance to explain. He left the key on the table by the door and walked out.

Once he was gone, though, Xu Le was happy to enjoy the peace and quiet.

"Ah, why am I even trying to explain this to a block of wood?"

Xu Le flung himself onto the bed, savoring its softness and comfort.

"Ah, this place is mine from now on. As long as I don't quit and keep working for the Night Watchers, I can stay here forever. No rent, free water and electricity. It's like a fucking dream."

Meow!

Ding Ke also jumped onto the bed and nuzzled into Xu Le's arms.

After petting Ding Ke for a while, Xu Le lay on the bed and sorted through his thoughts. Ding Ke lay beside him, and the man and cat gazed at each other.

It wasn't that Xu Le had never considered there might be something wrong with Ding Ke.

But so what?

Has the cat ever hurt me? No.

On the contrary, every time Ding Ke appeared, the cat brought him a little good luck.

Entering Lighthouse, crossing the bridge, the Red Moon Calamity, and finally becoming a Warlock-Black Cat had been there through it all.

Xu Le didn't know whether any of those things actually had anything to do with Ding Ke.

But he was certain that, without Ding Ke, he would never have set foot on the path of a Forbidden Warlock.

Whether it was superstition or intuition, he always felt lucky when Ding Ke was around.

Was it as if King Zhou didn't know Daji was a fox? As the Human Sovereign, how could he not have known?

Even though their story ended in tragedy, Daji never abandoned King Zhou.

If even the Human Sovereign could do that, how could I not make room for a cat?

With his thoughts in order, Xu Le threw himself into his studies once more.

"Don't study today, become trash tomorrow. Work hard!"

Although he couldn't bring books home from the reference room, he was allowed to take personal notes on ordinary material.

Knowing he lacked a foundation, Xu Le had written down the nine spell seals used in Spell Formulas: Presence, Arms, Combat, Practitioner, All, Formation, Array, Forward, and Advance.

Starting tonight, he would study these seals properly to prepare himself for learning real Spell Formulas in the future.

Though the spell seals were complex, they were the foundation of genuine supernatural power.

"Let's start with Presence."

"Presence, also known as spiritual energy, is universally recognized as the source of spells.

The Red Moon Spirit is one kind of Spirit. Presence usually represents energy, the fundamental power.

Most destructive Spell Formulas begin with Presence.

Arms: weapons and destruction. Besides representing weapon attacks, it also represents the form of destruction in a Spell Formula.

The Spell Formula-Presence-Arms combination is therefore an energy-based Spell Formula that destroys through form..."

Xu Le studied very diligently, while Black Cat Ding Ke lay on the desk, quietly watching him until late into the night, until Xu Le fell asleep slumped over the desk.

Ding Ke nudged Xu Le with a little paw, making sure he really was asleep.

Only then did the cat slowly walk over to the notebook, grip the fountain pen with a little paw, and write on the paper.

"I have something to say about how hard my owner works! No, no, how could he possibly be my owner? I am the mighty, the mighty... what mighty thing am I again?"

Meow!

Mortified and furious, Ding Ke tore out that piece of paper, carried it in the cat's mouth, and stuffed it into the toilet.