CHAPTER 189: 140 STEALING CANDY

People often oversleep, but Du Yu took it to the next level—he overwound his welcome at Aunt Su’s house...

What was supposed to be a short stay turned into the end of the month before he realized it.

No helping it, Demon Pet Paradise was just too perfect for cultivation. There were suitable demon pets for Xiaoyan and Little You Ying to spar against, plus Lin Shiwei to train with Du Yu one-on-one.

Without his Demon Soldier Bow, he could focus completely on close combat training. Du Yu clashed with Lin Shiwei, wielding a Patterned Silver Blade, only to get thoroughly thrashed by the girl every time.

It was rough!

When it came to pure sparring with no real danger, Du Yu’s physical edge just couldn’t cover his lack of technique.

Worth mentioning, Lin Shiwei also broke through to Demon Tamer·Great Success during their training sessions.

The Maple Trees across the mountains were always giving off Wood and Fire Attribute Demon Breath. She didn’t even have to convert the breath’s attribute, just trained with cultivation materials piled up. No wonder her growth was off the charts fast.

Lin Shiwei was definitely a warrior—a Fighting Master with more than ten years of training under her belt. In her eyes, Du Yu’s kung fu was just "three-legged cat" level.

Learning a skill means getting beat up sometimes, no shame in that~

At least, that’s how Du Yu kept comforting himself.

After being bullied by Third Sis for so many days, he finally got the hang of this family’s daily routine.

On the night of the 29th, Du Yu quietly crept open his door.

"Click~"

Peeking through the crack, he checked the quiet living room outside, then tiptoed out.

Only when he slipped into the backyard did Du Yu finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The night wind swept by, the maple forest rustling gently. Demon Pet Paradise was pretty peaceful at this hour—most demon pets were resting.

Walking left along the Maple Forest Barrier, Du Yu was filled with emotion.

Under the moon, the maple woods were aflame with crimson, some leaves even glimmering with faint red light—breathtakingly beautiful.

As a demonic plant, the Maple Tree never loses its leaves.

It can turn green, red, or yellow, but even in harsh winter, the Maple Tree stays lively and its branches never wither.

A flicker of demon breath formed at Du Yu’s forehead—the shape of a torch quickly emerged.

Little You Ying looked around curiously. When it’d spun in a full circle and its face turned back, it saw a very serious Du Yu: "No explosions, okay? I’m taking you to get sweets."

Little You Ying’s eyes instantly went wide, spinning with joy again.

Smiling, Du Yu grabbed the torch handle. He led the little guy to the swing, gazing at the towering Maple Tree and whispering, "Let us have a taste, will you?"

"Creak..."

The swing suddenly rocked back and forth—a reply from the Maple Tree.

Why does the swing move? Because both the "rope" and the "seat" are made from the Maple Tree’s branches braided together.

"Thanks." Du Yu aimed the torch at the tree bark, reaching out toward it.

In a flash, the flames at the torch’s head flared up. Little You Ying, eyes scrunched up in bliss, gleefully burned at the maple syrup oozing from between the bark’s cracks.

"Huh?" Du Yu suddenly turned—inside the maple woods, a line of lanterns began to glow.

Fire-Wood Dual-Element Celestial Treasure Beast, Night Fire Cage!

Just like that, the maple forest was filled with rich Ancient Wind vibes.

A bunch of vintage lanterns, straight out of an old-time Lantern Festival, seemed to have stepped out from bustling ancient streets and wandered right into Du Yu’s world.

Most were rectangular, with a handle on top and tassels below.

Every face of each lantern bore a different design, a bit blurred, but each shining with a gentle, warm light.

"You guys do your thing, it’s fine, it’s fine." Du Yu hurriedly waved his hands.

The Paradise at night was a whole different world from daytime—you could even call it another dimension.

Yet, the lanterns seemed eager to help Du Yu light the area; instead of doing their own thing, they all gathered around him.

Du Yu: "..."

You guys really are the sweetest lanterns, huh!

If I’d known this was going to happen, I’d have licked the tree first! Now I’m surrounded by all these Night Fire Cages, I—

"Du Yu, Du Yu~"

"Huh?"

"Come on, hurry up, I’m drooling here~"

"Alright then." Du Yu gently nudged Little You Ying, who was chowing down, aside, stepped forward, and stared at the tree bark.

Little You Ying’s big eyes were full of confusion—he was eating happily, what was Master doing?

Next, Little You Ying couldn’t help but blink.

Because his Master stretched forward and...licked the tree bark...

More precisely, he licked the maple syrup streaming out of the cracks.

"Whoa~" Du Yu staggered back a couple steps, face twisting at the bitterness.

All the beautiful Night Fire Cages drifted apart, as if watching this dopey human in their own mysterious way.

This stuff is a demonic plant’s product! Maple syrup looks tasty, but is it really for people?

"Mmm~ delicious." Little Fen Yang was delighted and so satisfied.

"Ugh." Du Yu clutched his stomach, dry-heaving; felt like his bile was about to come up, it was so bitter.

Suddenly, a rich, magnetic female voice came from behind: "Du Yu?"

Du Yu froze, his head buzzing.

This is sooo embarrassing!

Lin Shiwei lifted a lantern by its handle and shone it forward: "Are you...what are you doing here? Are you okay?"

Du Yu forced himself to relax and looked back over his shoulder.

In the moonlight, the girl wore a long black nightgown, the hem fluttering in the wind. Lit by the glow of a Night Fire Cage, her face was full of concern.

"Why are you crying?" Lin Shiwei’s heart tightened—she thought Du Yu was being bullied at home.

"I’m not, I’m not; it’s a misunderstanding." Du Yu quickly waved it off. Hey, it’s totally normal to tear up a bit when you’re gagging, right?

Lin Shiwei frowned a little, lifting her hand to touch the corner of Du Yu’s eye.

Du Yu reflexively hunched his shoulders, ducked his head, extended his left arm to block her hand, and guarded his chin with his right—pretty much textbook defense posture.

Lin Shiwei: "..."

Du Yu: "..."

Awkward!

Honestly, Du Yu felt wronged—if someone stares you down and beats you up all day, you’re gonna have natural reactions, too.

Lin Shiwei lowered her hand, glanced at the lanterns around, then up at the Maple Tree, frowning: "Did they mess with you?"

"It’s nothing to do with them." Du Yu hurriedly changed the subject, "Shouldn’t you be sleeping? Why’d you sneak out here so late?"

Lin Shiwei looked at him, amused—shouldn’t she be the one asking that?

Seeing Du Yu was fine, she spoke up: "My uncle is coming by to pick up his demon pet—that’s the Earth Bear’s owner. Mom wanted to know if you’d like to see a person-pet reunion."

I just went to your room for you, but you weren’t there, so I thought I’d check the backyard. Just as I stepped out, I noticed all these Night Fire Cages gathering here."

"Ah...I see." Du Yu scratched his head. Well, your uncle’s got great timing!

"The Earth Bear’s owner is your uncle?"

"Yeah, Su Fang." Lin Shiwei let go of the lantern handle and let the Night Fire Cage float, then came over to the swing and plopped down. "You want to watch?"

"Sure, I want to see what kind of person owns an Earth Bear."

"Heh." Lin Shiwei swung back and forth, chuckling softly. "You know, I begged to become a Demon Tamer, but just couldn’t awaken.

So my mom tried to set me up as a breeder’s assistant, hoping to ease my regrets in a different way."

Du Yu picked up the Ghost Firefly Torch, pressing its end to the Maple Tree: "And then?"

Lin Shiwei: "The first lesson Mom gave me was about a breeder’s code: Don’t judge Demon Tamers who come to you for help."

Du Yu burned the bark’s crevices, nodding thoughtfully.

Lin Shiwei: "Demon Tamers usually bring their demon pets here because of some problem. Since they sought us out, it means they want to fix it.

All living things make mistakes.

Our job is to help them solve issues and give advice, hoping they’ll do better next time—not to stare at them or their pets like they’re weird."

"Makes sense." Du Yu nodded.

Breeding is really more of a service job, providing backup for Demon Tamers.

If you look down on the ’patients’ with scorn, you’ll just scare them away—and the problems between people and pets will pile up, and tragedies will only get worse.

"They’re here." Lin Shiwei saw the villa’s backdoor lights up in the distance, grabbed the swing’s rope and tugged gently. "Lend me your jacket?"

Du Yu immediately took off his gray sports jacket, but as he turned to hand it to Lin Shiwei, he paused in surprise.

The Maple Tree’s branches had already lowered down, its red leaves layered together into a blazing Maple Leaf Cloak.

Lin Shiwei hesitated for a second, then patted the cloak: "Thanks."

As layers of leaves slid away like a tide, she reached out for the gray jacket. "Let’s go."

"Mm." Du Yu looked up at the Maple Tree, so full of spirit, and already made up his mind!

He would definitely plant a few obedient demon plants in his own home. Daily life would be a breeze!

Mmm, and when he was bored, Little Fen Yang could tear up some bark for fun and stress relief...

The four met up along the way. Before Du Yu could say a word, the middle-aged man reached out his hand: "Little brother Du Yu, thank you so much for your help."

Su Fang looked about mid-thirties, tall and sturdy, a warm smile on his face.

Strangely enough, some people just have that military air—even in civvies you can tell at a glance.

Du Yu shook hands with him: "Su—uh, please, sir, don’t mention it. I only dared approach Earth Bear because Aunt Su gave me the tips."

He almost called him "bro" but something felt off.

With Lin Shiwei in his gray jacket clearly matching Du Yu’s gray sweatpants, Su Fang stole a couple looks.

He patted Lin Shiwei’s head. "Haven’t seen you in months. How’s the demon taming career?"

"Going well, really good."

"Come on, let’s check out your demon pet." Su Ming’an cut in, breaking up the small talk and leading everyone straight to the northwest corner of the yard.

The Earth Bear was still occupying its spot, flat on its back, snoring away.

Just from the way it was sprawled, you could tell the Earth Bear felt super safe here—showing its soft belly with no worries.

Su Ming’an: "Go ahead."

Su Fang turned to his sister for guidance: "Just wake it up like this?"

Clearly, the person-pet relationship was still tense—Su Fang didn’t want to disturb its sleep for nothing.

But Su Ming’an just smiled: "Why wake it up? Don’t you have a few days off?"

Su Fang: "Sis, you mean?"

Su Ming’an tipped her chin toward the Earth Bear: "Climb onto its belly and sleep with it."

Su Fang might be a Great Demon Tamer, but in front of Su Ming’an, he was just "the patient"—he listened to the doctor.

He lightened his steps and slowly approached.

But clearly, this burly man had never slept on a bearskin bed. He hovered for a while before finally trying to climb up.

"Rrr." The Earth Bear, though deeply asleep, sensed the little mischief by its side—could probably tell it wasn’t Du Yu.

Maybe it mistook Su Fang for Du Yu, but a bear paw reached out, grabbed Su Fang, and plopped him right onto its belly.

Then it just went back to sleep...

Su Fang was stunned for a moment, but with Su Ming’an giving an encouraging nod, he slowly lay down.

The soft bearskin bed rose and fell with the bear’s snoring. Gazing up at the starry night, Su Fang’s face finally broke into a smile.

He was a man in his mid-thirties, a hardened military type, no less.

And yet, this childlike smile—probably hadn’t appeared on his face for over twenty years.