Bureau of Demon Affairs CH8
Chapter 8: The Demon Black Market
The moment Zhou Xun showered, changed into her pajamas, and finally collapsed onto her bed, she felt her body and soul undergo a process of profound healing.
If Zhou Xun had one true passion in life, it was sleeping.
She glanced out the window. Across the way, the Immortal Lord’s curtains were tightly drawn. Satisfied, she rolled over and drifted off. Usually, Zhou Xun’s sleep was a dreamless void, but tonight was plagued by a series of persistent, irritating dreams.
In the first dream, Shen Gongbao sat on her sofa, pointing at the TV and demanding: "This is tedious. Change it."
In the second, a sleek black leopard with glowing emerald eyes prowled toward her with a rhythmic, feline grace. It opened its mouth and spoke in a voice straight out of a Disney feature: "Why haven't you lit the candles? It’s dreadfully dark in here."
The phantom leopard haunted her until 4:00 AM. Zhou Xun woke up exhausted. She checked the window—his curtains hadn't moved. Just as she managed to drift back into a light doze, her phone buzzed at 6:00 AM.
A text from an informant: [Mermaid’s Tears. The goods have arrived.]
Adrenaline replaced fatigue. She ditched her uniform for civilian clothes and headed to the garage. As she walked, she felt a faint warmth emanating from the spell-mark on her right arm. Suddenly, a mental map flickered in her mind, showing Shen Gongbao’s exact coordinates. Every step she took updated the distance in real-time.
Great. He’s a walking GPS now.
She realized the tracker didn't trigger in the office or at home. It seemed that once the distance exceeded 400 meters, the "pinging" started.
How annoying! She had planned to leave him at home quietly, but that was clearly impossible. No one could handle a mental alarm clock going off in their head every ten seconds.
She had no choice but to go back for Shen Gongbao. However, when she punched in the code and opened his door, the apartment was empty. She searched the living room and the bedroom—nothing.
"Venerable Lord?"
She called out several times, even checking the closets and under the bed. Silence.
Losing her patience, she barked, "Shen Gongbao!"
Out of the corner of her eye, a dark shape moved atop the kitchen refrigerator. Zhou Xun froze, her gaze locking onto a massive black leopard perched there. A cold sweat broke over her as she was a split second away from reaching for a weapon.
"Blasphemy! How dare you address ben zuo by name!" the leopard spoke. His front paws were crossed elegantly, his tail draped down like a willow branch. He was a creature of pure shadow, black from his fur down to his paw pads, with the only color coming from his emerald eyes and the pink inner lining of his ears. Those ears were tipped with fine tufts of fur and were currently flattened out to the sides.
He was giving her the "airplane ears" treatment.
Zhou Xun stared, mesmerized. The leopard stood up, let out a long stretch, and leaped down. Mid-air, the beast shifted back into the Immortal Lord's humanoid form.
Zhou Xun was stunned. Usually, when demons revealed their true forms, it was a partial transformation—bestial features on a humanoid frame, often still walking upright. She had never seen a "Pure Beast" transformation like this. Furthermore, most demons were extremely private about their true forms; this man didn't care at all. He even stretched in front of her.
Is his thick skin also at the "Immortal" tier? she wondered.
"Furthermore," he said, "ben zuo sent you a dream-message last night. Why did you ignore me?"
"Huh?" So it was him. She’d thought she was just having nightmares.
She pulled out her phone and waved it in his face. "Modern people use these to communicate. Also, just because you don't sleep doesn't mean I don't. Please do not disturb me after midnight. In fact, if possible, do not contact me after work unless it's an absolute emergency."
Her righteous lecture caught Shen Gongbao off guardShe felt slightly guilty.
, but his sharp mind quickly processed her tone. He bared his fangs in retort. "You insolent creature! Given the difference in our genders, ben zuo was merciful enough not to demand your presence by my side day and night—yet when you left, you didn't light a single candle! The house was pitch black!"
Now it was Zhou Xun’s turn to be taken aback. The sun hadn't set when she left, and she had indeed forgotten to show him how the lights worked. For a moment, she felt a brief pang of relief that he hadn't tried to start a fire, followed by a flicker of guilt as a realization hit her.
Wait, don't tell me this guy is actually afraid of the dark? she thought incredulously.
But she quickly shut down the internal monologue. "Serve you day and night? I'm not a slave. Your Great Shang Dynasty is long gone, and even the Qing Dynasty bit the dust!" She gave him a brisk demonstration of the light switches.
The audacity of this woman, talking back to me! Shen Gongbao huffed, fuming.
Before he could escalate, Zhou Xun pivoted. "It was my oversight. Tell you what—breakfast is on me."
* * *
At a street stall, the Immortal Lord sat on a tiny plastic stool, his long legs cramped. But after a bowl of warm, sweetened soy milk and some fried dough sticks (youtiao), his brow unfurrowed. This was the first time he had eaten since his deification.
His anger evaporated.
Zhou Xun, oblivious to his shifting mood, spent the meal organizing the day’s task in her group chat. Afterward, she picked up Tang Na at a nearby intersection. She had texted the recruit to wear civilian clothes for field duty.
"Good morning, Captain Zhou! Good morning, Immortal Lord!" Tang Na chirped from the passenger seat, buckling her belt with the infectious energy of a fresh graduate.
Ah, to be young again, Zhou Xun sighed internally.
"Do we have a lead on the mermaid?" Tang Na asked.
"Yes. My informant says the guy will likely have taken the bait at the Black Market by 9:30."
At the mention of the Demon Black Market, Tang Na’s excitement doubled. She’d heard of it, a decade ago, it was a den of demon gangs and illegal contraband where neither humans nor demon authorities dared tread. Since the Bureau’s inception, the first Director had cracked down hard, turning it into a "Commercial Exchange Zone" that adhered—at least theoretically—to core societal values."
"Still," Zhou Xun warned, "the market is full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. The water here is deep. Usually, Captain Du handles this beat, so we’re keeping a low profile. We need to respect the local demon customs."
Tang Na nodded, then glanced at the deity. He was still incredibly conspicuous.
"Venerable Lord," Zhou Xun suggested, "how about you change into those new clothes we bought?"
He emerged in a crisp white shirt, a vintage black leather jacket, brown trousers, and round-toed Derby shoes. He looked undeniably stylish, though his flowing hair and ornate jade headpiece lent him a striking East-meets-West eccentricity.
Zhou Xun had to admit: his aesthetic sensibility was far superior to her own.
* * *
They reached the destination and parked. Zhou Xun told Tang Na to leave her weapons behind. Then, looking at the deity’s striking but far too recognizable face, she handed him a pair of sunglasses.
"What is this for?"
"We’re going undercover. When the target arrives, we move. Please pretend to be a visiting merchant. Tang Na and I will be your assistants." With a mix of flattery and trickery, she slid the glasses onto his face.
The Black Market was roughly the size of a football field, a labyrinth of shops and stalls selling everything imaginable. It was a maze of illegal extensions and "fire hazards" that had ignored several government mandates to renovate. Most of the occupants were demons, many showing their true features. For most, this was a rare place to be themselves but for some, it was a way to bypass facial recognition cameras.
Zhou Xun led them west, toward the antique district. Outside one shop, a van was being unloaded. Burly men were lugging heavy wooden crates that required two people to lift. Zhou Xun noted that this shop had been shuttered the last time she visited. When one of the men caught her eye, he immediately looked away, ducking his head and scurrying inside with a crate.
Zhou Xun excelled at remembering faces, and she didn't recognize him. Why hide? If he recognized her as an officer, what was he guilty of?
She glanced at the plate: HE-C95601. She quickly messaged Zhu Zhu in tech to run a check on the vehicle and its owner.
With that sorted, she led them through a series of turns into a narrow alley. Deep within sat a small shop: Hu’s Pawnshop. The alley was so sun-starved that the ground was carpeted in moss.
"No matter what the boss tries to sell you," she whispered before knocking, "do not buy it. It’s all fake."
She knocked on the outer iron gate. A wooden door creaked open, and a delicate, handsome face appeared.
"Ah, you've arrived!" Boss Hu welcomed them in.
He was modestly dressed, short, and clearly aged, yet his skin was fair and his eyes were filled with a peculiar, lingering charm. He rubbed his hands together, smiling sweetly at Zhou Xun. "Captain Zhou, I’ve gathered the intel. You’ll definitely succeed today."
Zhou Xun nodded, her face a mask of professionalism.
"So... about my little... incident... can we call it even now?" Boss Hu’s eyes narrowed, making him look exactly like a fawning fox.
Zhou Xun remembered something. "What’s the deal with that antique shop at the corner?"
"Ah, you’ve asked the right person! I know every inch of this market," Boss Hu chirped. "The owner of that shop is a man named Yang. A goat demon."
Zhou Xun’s heart skipped. Surely not that much of a coincidence?
"Does he have a relative or associate named Yang Yue? A goat demon who went missing recently?"
Boss Hu’s narrow eyes widened. "Actually, yes. How did you know?"
Translator's Notes:
The moment Zhou Xun showered, changed into her pajamas, and finally collapsed onto her bed, she felt her body and soul undergo a process of profound healing.
If Zhou Xun had one true passion in life, it was sleeping.
She glanced out the window. Across the way, the Immortal Lord’s curtains were tightly drawn. Satisfied, she rolled over and drifted off. Usually, Zhou Xun’s sleep was a dreamless void, but tonight was plagued by a series of persistent, irritating dreams.
In the first dream, Shen Gongbao sat on her sofa, pointing at the TV and demanding: "This is tedious. Change it."
In the second, a sleek black leopard with glowing emerald eyes prowled toward her with a rhythmic, feline grace. It opened its mouth and spoke in a voice straight out of a Disney feature: "Why haven't you lit the candles? It’s dreadfully dark in here."
The phantom leopard haunted her until 4:00 AM. Zhou Xun woke up exhausted. She checked the window—his curtains hadn't moved. Just as she managed to drift back into a light doze, her phone buzzed at 6:00 AM.
A text from an informant: [Mermaid’s Tears. The goods have arrived.]
Adrenaline replaced fatigue. She ditched her uniform for civilian clothes and headed to the garage. As she walked, she felt a faint warmth emanating from the spell-mark on her right arm. Suddenly, a mental map flickered in her mind, showing Shen Gongbao’s exact coordinates. Every step she took updated the distance in real-time.
Great. He’s a walking GPS now.
She realized the tracker didn't trigger in the office or at home. It seemed that once the distance exceeded 400 meters, the "pinging" started.
How annoying! She had planned to leave him at home quietly, but that was clearly impossible. No one could handle a mental alarm clock going off in their head every ten seconds.
She had no choice but to go back for Shen Gongbao. However, when she punched in the code and opened his door, the apartment was empty. She searched the living room and the bedroom—nothing.
"Venerable Lord?"
She called out several times, even checking the closets and under the bed. Silence.
Losing her patience, she barked, "Shen Gongbao!"
Out of the corner of her eye, a dark shape moved atop the kitchen refrigerator. Zhou Xun froze, her gaze locking onto a massive black leopard perched there. A cold sweat broke over her as she was a split second away from reaching for a weapon.
"Blasphemy! How dare you address ben zuo by name!" the leopard spoke. His front paws were crossed elegantly, his tail draped down like a willow branch. He was a creature of pure shadow, black from his fur down to his paw pads, with the only color coming from his emerald eyes and the pink inner lining of his ears. Those ears were tipped with fine tufts of fur and were currently flattened out to the sides.
He was giving her the "airplane ears" treatment.
Zhou Xun stared, mesmerized. The leopard stood up, let out a long stretch, and leaped down. Mid-air, the beast shifted back into the Immortal Lord's humanoid form.
Zhou Xun was stunned. Usually, when demons revealed their true forms, it was a partial transformation—bestial features on a humanoid frame, often still walking upright. She had never seen a "Pure Beast" transformation like this. Furthermore, most demons were extremely private about their true forms; this man didn't care at all. He even stretched in front of her.
Is his thick skin also at the "Immortal" tier? she wondered.
"Furthermore," he said, "ben zuo sent you a dream-message last night. Why did you ignore me?"
"Huh?" So it was him. She’d thought she was just having nightmares.
She pulled out her phone and waved it in his face. "Modern people use these to communicate. Also, just because you don't sleep doesn't mean I don't. Please do not disturb me after midnight. In fact, if possible, do not contact me after work unless it's an absolute emergency."
Her righteous lecture caught Shen Gongbao off guardShe felt slightly guilty.
, but his sharp mind quickly processed her tone. He bared his fangs in retort. "You insolent creature! Given the difference in our genders, ben zuo was merciful enough not to demand your presence by my side day and night—yet when you left, you didn't light a single candle! The house was pitch black!"
Now it was Zhou Xun’s turn to be taken aback. The sun hadn't set when she left, and she had indeed forgotten to show him how the lights worked. For a moment, she felt a brief pang of relief that he hadn't tried to start a fire, followed by a flicker of guilt as a realization hit her.
Wait, don't tell me this guy is actually afraid of the dark? she thought incredulously.
But she quickly shut down the internal monologue. "Serve you day and night? I'm not a slave. Your Great Shang Dynasty is long gone, and even the Qing Dynasty bit the dust!" She gave him a brisk demonstration of the light switches.
The audacity of this woman, talking back to me! Shen Gongbao huffed, fuming.
Before he could escalate, Zhou Xun pivoted. "It was my oversight. Tell you what—breakfast is on me."
* * *
At a street stall, the Immortal Lord sat on a tiny plastic stool, his long legs cramped. But after a bowl of warm, sweetened soy milk and some fried dough sticks (youtiao), his brow unfurrowed. This was the first time he had eaten since his deification.
His anger evaporated.
Zhou Xun, oblivious to his shifting mood, spent the meal organizing the day’s task in her group chat. Afterward, she picked up Tang Na at a nearby intersection. She had texted the recruit to wear civilian clothes for field duty.
"Good morning, Captain Zhou! Good morning, Immortal Lord!" Tang Na chirped from the passenger seat, buckling her belt with the infectious energy of a fresh graduate.
Ah, to be young again, Zhou Xun sighed internally.
"Do we have a lead on the mermaid?" Tang Na asked.
"Yes. My informant says the guy will likely have taken the bait at the Black Market by 9:30."
At the mention of the Demon Black Market, Tang Na’s excitement doubled. She’d heard of it, a decade ago, it was a den of demon gangs and illegal contraband where neither humans nor demon authorities dared tread. Since the Bureau’s inception, the first Director had cracked down hard, turning it into a "Commercial Exchange Zone" that adhered—at least theoretically—to core societal values."
"Still," Zhou Xun warned, "the market is full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. The water here is deep. Usually, Captain Du handles this beat, so we’re keeping a low profile. We need to respect the local demon customs."
Tang Na nodded, then glanced at the deity. He was still incredibly conspicuous.
"Venerable Lord," Zhou Xun suggested, "how about you change into those new clothes we bought?"
He emerged in a crisp white shirt, a vintage black leather jacket, brown trousers, and round-toed Derby shoes. He looked undeniably stylish, though his flowing hair and ornate jade headpiece lent him a striking East-meets-West eccentricity.
Zhou Xun had to admit: his aesthetic sensibility was far superior to her own.
* * *
They reached the destination and parked. Zhou Xun told Tang Na to leave her weapons behind. Then, looking at the deity’s striking but far too recognizable face, she handed him a pair of sunglasses.
"What is this for?"
"We’re going undercover. When the target arrives, we move. Please pretend to be a visiting merchant. Tang Na and I will be your assistants." With a mix of flattery and trickery, she slid the glasses onto his face.
The Black Market was roughly the size of a football field, a labyrinth of shops and stalls selling everything imaginable. It was a maze of illegal extensions and "fire hazards" that had ignored several government mandates to renovate. Most of the occupants were demons, many showing their true features. For most, this was a rare place to be themselves but for some, it was a way to bypass facial recognition cameras.
Zhou Xun led them west, toward the antique district. Outside one shop, a van was being unloaded. Burly men were lugging heavy wooden crates that required two people to lift. Zhou Xun noted that this shop had been shuttered the last time she visited. When one of the men caught her eye, he immediately looked away, ducking his head and scurrying inside with a crate.
Zhou Xun excelled at remembering faces, and she didn't recognize him. Why hide? If he recognized her as an officer, what was he guilty of?
She glanced at the plate: HE-C95601. She quickly messaged Zhu Zhu in tech to run a check on the vehicle and its owner.
With that sorted, she led them through a series of turns into a narrow alley. Deep within sat a small shop: Hu’s Pawnshop. The alley was so sun-starved that the ground was carpeted in moss.
"No matter what the boss tries to sell you," she whispered before knocking, "do not buy it. It’s all fake."
She knocked on the outer iron gate. A wooden door creaked open, and a delicate, handsome face appeared.
"Ah, you've arrived!" Boss Hu welcomed them in.
He was modestly dressed, short, and clearly aged, yet his skin was fair and his eyes were filled with a peculiar, lingering charm. He rubbed his hands together, smiling sweetly at Zhou Xun. "Captain Zhou, I’ve gathered the intel. You’ll definitely succeed today."
Zhou Xun nodded, her face a mask of professionalism.
"So... about my little... incident... can we call it even now?" Boss Hu’s eyes narrowed, making him look exactly like a fawning fox.
Zhou Xun remembered something. "What’s the deal with that antique shop at the corner?"
"Ah, you’ve asked the right person! I know every inch of this market," Boss Hu chirped. "The owner of that shop is a man named Yang. A goat demon."
Zhou Xun’s heart skipped. Surely not that much of a coincidence?
"Does he have a relative or associate named Yang Yue? A goat demon who went missing recently?"
Boss Hu’s narrow eyes widened. "Actually, yes. How did you know?"
Translator's Notes:
- Airplane Ears (飞机耳): it refers to ears flattened and tilted outward indicating moods like fear, annoyance, or excitement.
- Crouching Tigers and Hidden Dragons (藏龙卧虎): A common idiom for a place filled with undiscovered talents or dangerous individuals.
- Hu (胡): A common surname in Chinese folklore for fox demon (Huli Jing), as the word for fox (Hu) sounds the same.
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