Hello, Welcome to Merit Supermarket (SUPERMARKET)
Originally, they hadn’t given much thought to this Spirit.
But after the black cat left the riverside and Jiang Chenyi saw it for the first time, his mindset instantly changed.
"The cat is a good cat!" he suddenly exclaimed, leaving Huo Yunxi utterly confused.
The young man stepped out of the alley and walked straight up to the black cat. Under the gaze of its green eyes, he reached out—ah, he missed!
The cat’s alertness was clearly high. The moment Jiang Chenyi’s arm twitched, the cat had already tensed its muscles.
In an instant, the black cat leaped onto another rooftop before looking down at Jiang Chenyi from above.
As Huo Yunxi also stepped out, the cat’s fur bristled, and it hissed fiercely at the man.
Jiang Chenyi gave Huo Yunxi a suspicious look, and the man seemed equally puzzled: he hadn’t done anything, so why was the cat hissing at him?
"Meow-roar!" The black cat let out a loud cry before swiftly jumping across the rooftops and disappearing.
Jiang Chenyi naturally wasn’t going to let it go, so he grabbed Huo Yunxi’s hand. "Go, catch it!"
Even if the black cat wasn’t a Spirit, given the agility of felines, there was no way a human could catch up to it!
So now, they had to rely on Huo Yunxi!
Huo Yunxi wasn't very keen on going; he wasn't particularly fond of cats—he preferred dogs!
Back in the army, they had dogs, and he would often run over to spend time with them!
But...
The young man in front of him raised his hand to reveal the Bell with his beautiful light golden eyes fixed on Huo Yunxi: "Partner! We're partners!"
Huo Yunxi: "..."
‘If you have the guts, put down that Bell first!’
‘No Bell, no partner, huh?’
Huo Yunxi was so annoyed he almost laughed, but for the sake of the Bell, he still went to help.
A flash of silver light, and Huo Yunxi chased after the black cat, while Jiang Chenyi found an open space and quietly waited for him to return.
However, he wasn't completely idle.
He bought a cup of warm milk tea from a nearby shop as a reward for Huo Yunxi after catching the cat—who would have thought that a former military tough guy would have such a soft spot for milk tea? Warm, half-sweet, pure milk tea, and if there were toppings, just a third of the sugar.
Jiang Chenyi had discovered this little quirk of his while staying with the He family.
Back then, after dispelling the Karmic Sin from most of the He family members, while waiting for He Lianhua and the others to return, he had been treated to milk tea by the youngest generation of the He family.
Not just milk tea, but all sorts of snacks.
They had eaten their way from one end of the street to the other, and then back again!
In the end, Jiang Chenyi realized that this guy's favorites were all kinds of milk tea and meat.
As he was lost in these memories, on the other side, Huo Yunxi's progress wasn't going smoothly.
Cats are agile, and spiritual cats are even more so.
A highly spiritual cat that has become a Spirit? Agility level ++++.
If Huo Yunxi hadn't picked up a trick or two from the supermarket, he definitely wouldn't have been able to catch up with this black cat.
Even so, it took him a full hour of chasing before he finally got the cat in his hands.
"Meowwwww!" Upon realizing it had been caught by the detested human, the black cat immediately began to struggle wildly with its sharp claws and teeth attempting to bite Huo Yunxi's body.
But as a Spirit, its form could be transformed.
The black cat bit down, but missed... It bit again, and missed once more, causing the cat to curse angrily, and its fur bristling all over.
So when Huo Yunxi returned, Jiang Chenyi saw a pitiful little creature that seemed to have lost all will to live.
He handed the milk tea to the man and took the little creature from his hands: "What happened?"
How did it end up like this in such a short time?
Once in Jiang Chenyi's arms, the black cat immediately curled up with its green eyes still warily glaring at Huo Yunxi.
But Huo Yunxi had no mind to pay attention to it at the moment as his eyes fixated on the milk tea in his hands.
This made the black cat even angrier ("What?!")
If it weren't for knowing it couldn't defeat this human, it would have given him a couple of punches!
Jiang Chenyi looked at the restless but hesitant black cat in his arms and gently poked its ear.
When the cat's angry eyes turned to him, his slender fingers landed on the cat's chin.
Scratch, stroke, smooth.
Huo Yunxi squatted in front of Jiang Chenyi and sipping his milk tea while watching the cat go from (艹皿艹) to =w=
This little expression...
The man suddenly laughed, causing the black cat, which Jiang Chenyi had just managed to calm down, to bristle again!
"Huo Yunxi!" Jiang Chenyi held back the cat's paw that was about to strike and glared fiercely at Huo Yunxi.
Finally, he carried the cat to a secluded spot.
With Huo Yunxi gone, the black cat's wariness shifted to Jiang Chenyi.
Before the young man could fully release his hold, the black cat was already thinking of escaping, but Jiang Chenyi's words froze it in place: "You cooperated with that person because you wanted to find your master's grave, right?"
The black cat's tail drooped, and under Jiang Chenyi's gaze, it pressed against the ground, until its body almost lying flat.
Jiang Chenyi sensed the hostility emanating from the cat but continued calmly, "He said he would help you find the grave, but do you really trust him?"
The cat's eyes had turned into slits, with its front half pressed to the ground, and its back half slightly raised.
Anyone who has raised a cat knows that this is a sign of an impending attack.
"I can help you find it. The price is a portion of the Merit your master left you, and you must stop helping that man spy on the police station. How about that?"
Jiang Chenyi snapped his fingers, and instantly, the world in the cat's eyes completely changed!
The black cat stared in astonishment at the light emanating from this human. It was warm, like the feeling of the sun shining on its body.
Purrr, the cat wanted to lie down.
Jiang Chenyi reached out and poked the fur at the tip of the cat's ear. Seeing that it didn't dodge, he pinched its neck.
The cat lay down while a rumbling sound coming from its throat.
Neck pinched, butt pinched, the black cat was completely relaxed, that it even exposing its soft belly.
Jiang Chenyi, while petting the cat, asked, "Do you want to make a deal? I can really help you find your owner's grave."
The Black Cat squinted at this human for a long time before slowly letting out a meow, indicating agreement.
Jiang Chenyi smiled until his eyes curving into crescents. He hadn't expected that in this case, the first one to make a deal with him would be a black cat.
Moreover, the other party had sought the deal themselves.
That Black-robed man might deceive people, but what kind of skill is it to deceive a cat? Could it be that he was eyeing the Merit on the Black Cat, planning to drain it and then discard the cat?
The more Jiang Chenyi thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
It's not uncommon for small animals to become Spirits after death, especially those who were loved by their owners throughout their lives and carried some lingering attachments before passing. Such animals are most likely to become Spirits.
If the owner hasn't passed away, these Spirits would stay by their side as they did before, until the owner dies or their energy is depleted.
The Merit on the Black Cat was transferred to him by his owner before death.
Preferring to give his Merit to a cat rather than to others, it's either that the owner had no close friends or family, or that none of them could compare to his beloved cat.
But in either case, the Black Cat's owner must have loved him dearly.
After the Black Cat agreed to the deal, Jiang Chenyi looked around to confirm that there were no people or cameras nearby, then opened the Hidden Door and led the cat inside.
The cat didn't know what he was supposed to do. He had agreed to the human's words because this person had the same warm aura as his owner.
Upon seeing the "Stars" in the sky, the cat's instincts made him eager to pounce and catch them!
Fortunately, before he could act, a Star landed on the tip of his nose.
"Meow!"
The Black Cat instinctively reached out with his paw and accidentally scratching his own nose.
He closed his eyes in pain and shook his head. When he opened them again, the Stars were all gone, and the warm light had vanished.
The Black Cat blinked in confusion, then turned to the human beside him and let out a series of loud meows: "Meow meow meow meow meow!"
“You promised to help me! Human, are you deceiving me?’
Jiang Chenyi had just received a fragment of memory. Hearing the urgent meows, he crouched down and gently patted the Black Cat's head. "I know where your owner is buried. Will you come with me?"
The Black Cat's eyes widened in surprise, then he closed his mouth before sitting obediently at Jiang Chenyi's feet and looking up at the human with anticipation.
Jiang Chenyi noticed a faint plea deep in the Black Cat's eyes.
This look softened Jiang Chenyi's heart.
What wrong has the cat done? The cat just wants to find his owner's resting place, which is why he was deceived by a bad person!
The cat seeks his owner, the cat is good!
The human deceives the cat, the human is bad!
Jiang Chenyi crouched down again and gently rubbed the Black Cat's head. "To avoid being discovered, I need you to hide here for a while. You'll be out soon."
As he spoke, he revealed the Bell on his wrist, indicating that the Black Cat should stay inside.
The Black Cat didn't hesitate and promptly transformed into a green light before disappearing into the Bell.
By the time Jiang Chenyi returned to his original spot, Huo Yunxi had already finished the milk tea in his hand.
He seemed to be in a daze. When he saw Jiang Chenyi return, he instinctively looked behind him. Upon not seeing the Black Cat, his brows relaxed slightly. "He's gone?"
Judging by his tone, he seemed quite pleased.
But unfortunately...
Jiang Chenyi pointed to the Bell on his wrist. Realizing what the young man meant, Huo Yunxi's face instantly darkened!
"You actually gave my territory to a cat?!" Huo Yunxi gritted his teeth in anger!
Jiang Chenyi shook a finger. "No, no, no, I didn't give it away. I just lent it out for a while."
After saying this, he didn't wait for Huo Yunxi to react and grabbed his hand before pulling him outside.
"Let's go, we need to fulfill the little black cat's wish."
Huo Yunxi's expression was still not great. Although he didn't particularly like the title "Mr. Bell", the Bell was his possession. It was one thing to let Jiang Chenyi use it, but how could he give it to a cat?
Feeling the resentment emanating from behind him, Jiang Chenyi turned back helplessly. "Why are you picking a fight with a little kitten?"
The kitten was so cute and pitiful. What's wrong with pampering it a bit?
Huo Yunxi turned his face away.
Along the way, he didn't say a single word, clearly still very upset.
Jiang Chenyi found himself both amused and somewhat relieved.
Amused because this man, in his twenties, was acting like a child and even quarreling with a cat.
But relieved because he sensed that Huo Yunxi's human vitality was growing stronger—he wasn't constantly thinking about saving people, he had his own hobbies and temper, and when nothing was happening, he had his own way of life.
A hero who couldn't live past thirty due to war had finally, after a century, extended his life.
Jiang Chenyi now suspected that the Celestial Master who had protected Huo Yunxi in the Bell might have also wanted this hero to wake up and see the long-awaited era of peace.
That Celestial Master might not have been certain Huo Yunxi would awaken, but doing so indeed left a glimmer of hope.
Coincidentally, that hope had found its destined person.
Jiang Chenyi patted Huo Yunxi's shoulder while smiling to comfort him. "Alright, alright, I'll split the Merit from this deal with you, half and half. Consider it rent for borrowing your territory."
Huo Yunxi snorted but didn't reject Jiang Chenyi's offer. After a moment of hesitation, he said to the young man, "Convert the Merit into money."
He didn't lack Merit now, just money.
And as it happened, Jiang Chenyi was someone who never lacked money!
Jiang Chenyi nodded decisively. "Fine! I'll get you a card and deposit it all in there!"
After successfully bribing negotiating, Huo Yunxi's expression quickly returned to normal.
It wasn't until the car stopped that he realized their destination this time was actually a martyrs' cemetery.
He turned sharply to Jiang Chenyi with his eyes filled with disbelief. "What's going on here?"
It wasn't Qingming Festival, so there were only a few people in the cemetery.
Jiang Chenyi decided to call out the Black Cat and carrying him as he walked as he recounted the images he had received.
"His owner was a police officer who solved many major cases in his lifetime. But because he upheld justice at the expense of his own relatives, all his family and friends distanced themselves from him. In the end, only his colleagues remained by his side."
The owner of the Black Cat had sacrificed his life to save a group of children, being stabbed over ten times by assailants and ultimately succumbing to excessive blood loss.
After his passing, the Black Cat was initially taken in by the local police station, but it couldn't adapt to life there and ran away on its own.
"And then..." Huo Yunxi felt a sense of unease. If someone had been taking care of the cat while its owner was alive, how did it end up dying?
Jiang Chenyi paused before looking down at the unusually quiet Black Cat in his arms.
"It ran back home, but there was no one there anymore. It just waited there and starving itself to death." The cat refused to eat or drink, and staying on its former bed until court officials handling the inheritance arrived and discovered that the Black Cat had starved itself to death.
Huo Yunxi pursed his lips as a hint of guilt surfacing on his face.
He preferred dogs over cats because he thought that cats were too temperamental and not as loyal as dogs.
But in reality, this was his bias.
Cats can be just as loyal to their owners, but they are often more reserved and don't easily show their true feelings, which leads to misunderstandings.
He realized that his attitude toward the Black Cat had been somewhat harsh.
So, he crouched down to meet the cat at eye level, and openly admitted his mistake: "I haven't treated you very well. I'm sorry."
The Black Cat stared at him for a while with its tail rising high. Although its facial expression was unreadable, the tail suggested that the cat was in a rather good mood.
"Meow!"
‘Since you and my owner share a similar scent, I'll forgive you!’
Its tail swished around to gently brush against Huo Yunxi's face, and just like that, the man and the cat reconciled.
Jiang Chenyi picked up the Black Cat again and continued walking.
Soon, they arrived at the tomb of the martyr.
"Found your owner." Jiang Chenyi said as he released his grip.
The Black Cat landed in front of the tombstone. Although it couldn't read human words, after becoming a Spirit, its perception had become much sharper. Even through the soil, it could still sense the familiar presence beneath.
The Black Cat slowly curled into a ball and quietly lay on top of the grave.
Seeing this, the two of them silently left the area, giving the Black Cat space to mourn its owner.
As they left the martyrs' cemetery, Huo Yunxi suddenly remarked, "I thought you'd ask it to help you find the Black-robed man or have it follow you from now on."
Jiang Chenyi shook his head, "What are you thinking? I'm here to make deals, not to kidnap cats."
Thanks to the little Black Cat, he had earned a thousand Merit Points from this trip.
As for finding the Black-robed man... forget it, let's not trouble a little cat.
After earning some extra income along the way, the two of them refocused on their main task.
With Mr. Meng's cooperation, the police were openly investigating the "Human Aroma" case while secretly gathering information about the Black-robed man and passing it all to Jiang Chenyi.
A few days later, through Mr. Meng's efforts, he was able to recommend a few people to become "Delivery Persons."
"After those six people died, we've been a bit short-handed here. And because the dock was exposed, some of the people handling the goods were transferred elsewhere, so things are a bit chaotic here for now."
Chaos wasn't a good thing for the Perfumer and others.
But for the police, it was a perfect opportunity to infiltrate the ship and trace it back to the main base.
Upon learning about this, Huo Yunxi was the first to volunteer, and he confidently stated his reason: "I'm not human, so even if I'm exposed, I won't be harmed. And in certain situations, I can infiltrate more secure areas."
Spirits can be tangible or intangible, making them perfect for undercover work!
The Captain immediately swallowed his refusal. Although he felt a bit awkward about involving an outsider, this way, his comrades would be much safer!
He wanted achievements and the truth, but he didn't want to trade his comrades' lives for them.
Therefore, after hearing Huo Yunxi's reasoning, the Captain agreed to his request almost without hesitation.
The only difficulty now was... Huo Yunxi was too handsome, and his aura made him seem anything but ordinary. If the people at the dock saw him, they would definitely find him suspicious.
Regarding this, Huo Yunxi silently looked at Jiang Chenyi.
The young man leaned against the doorframe and, upon seeing Huo Yunxi's gaze, confidently gave a thumbs-up.
A makeover, right? He had it covered.
He recalled that there was a mask specifically designed for undercover work on the shelf. With this mask, not only could one's appearance and demeanor be altered, but even height and gender could be changed.
"How... how much does something like that cost?" The Captain was extremely tempted.
He wasn't the only one; the other officers were equally intrigued.
But...
"Sorry, it's not available for sale to the public at the moment..." Jiang Chenyi declined with some frustration.
Although the Merit Points from the transactions between the He family and Old Master Liang were both in the six figures, and Jiang Chenyi himself had received over a hundred thousand Merit Points, the shelf level of this mask was still quite high, and his Merit Points were not quite enough.
Huo Yunxi could use it because he wasn’t entirely a customer; he was also half a person that was able to access goods through Jiang Chenyi’s own transactions.
After being refused, the Captain sighed regretfully, but at the same time, his gaze toward Jiang Chenyi was filled with longing!
‘Big boss, could you let me know when you have something good to sell? QAQ’
Jiang Chenyi avoided his burning gaze and silently handed him a business card: "Just to clarify, items on the ordinary shelves require you to come and pick them out yourself."
At this point, the Captain didn’t fully understand the difference between the ordinary and non-ordinary shelves. It wasn’t until one day when he visited the supermarket and saw the products and their descriptions on the different sections of the shelves that, like the police from the Chashan City Public Security Bureau, he wished he could empty the entire supermarket!
Jiang Chenyi handed the mask to Huo Yunxi, gesturing a number to him. Huo Yunxi nodded in agreement.
Then, in front of everyone, he put the mask on his face.
As the mask fully adhered to his face, Huo Yunxi felt as if it was continuously expanding and extending. But to the onlookers, Huo Yunxi now resembled a character reset in a face-customization game—all his distinctive features had completely vanished, replaced by an average-looking person of ordinary height and build!
This was the first time Jiang Chenyi had seen the mask’s effect. If it weren’t for the faintly familiar aura he sensed, he would never have known that someone else lay beneath that facade, even if they passed by each other.
Most importantly, the mask could even conceal Merit Evil Energy, so even if they encountered the Black-robed man, there was no fear of exposure.
Products from the supermarket are always top-notch!
The mask’s effect was indeed worth its price of one thousand Merit Points!
Keep in mind, this one thousand Merit Points was what he had just earned from the cat, and now it was all spent!
After confirming the undercover personnel, Mr. Meng informed them: "The day after tomorrow, go to the parking lot of the Foreign Trade Building to receive the goods. The car and luggage have already been prepared for you. Once you receive the goods, deliver them directly to the designated location. As for whether you’ll be able to board the ship smoothly after that… I can’t guarantee it."
If only ordinary people were involved, they would definitely need to lay low for a while and gain the other party’s trust before initiating the next move.
But now they had Huo Yunxi, as well as Jiang Chenyi’s assistance. Dragging things out further would only result in more people getting hurt.
"This time, we’ll try to infiltrate the ship and aim to find the final destination in one go!" The Captain clenched his fist with his eyes shining with determination!
Success would mean striking at the heart of the matter, cutting off the problem at its root!
Failure would mean alerting the enemy, and all efforts would be in vain!
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