262: The frolicking iron-haired dog

She pulled out her phone, her palm stone-cold.

The screen was still stained with a bit of sweat that had seeped out from her nervousness earlier.

Thinking of those energetic Iron-Haired Dogs, plus a conspicuous pair of red underwear.

Currently frolicking in an unknown Demon.

Ling Qi felt that the old injury on her lower back seemed to hurt even more... Zi Wei Palace, third floor, secret room.

Shang Wan Ning sat cross-legged, the dense divine power around her slowly retracting and gradually returning to peace.

The early stage of the eighth rank had been firmly stabilized by her; the divine power flowed through her brand-new meridians, smooth and harmonious.

She was planning to run a Great Cosmic Orbit.

The golden light of the remaining Law of Reincarnation flickered slightly.

Sensing a faint vibration coming from the space outside the realm.

It was the energy ripple unique to the Netherworld when it forcibly closes a spatial tunnel.

It was also mixed with a hint of... a chaotic dog smell and the fibrous feel of some cheap fabric?

Shang Wan Ning's eyebrows twitched slightly, and the golden light at her fingertips quietly vanished.

"The Netherworld... what are they up to again?" she whispered to herself.

A faint trace of anger flashed through her eyes.

Whatever, Sister Meng should have finished her seclusion anyway.

Her own thoughtful Secretary-General has a purple epic item, so nothing should go wrong... Ling Qi gripped her phone and dialed You Yu's number, getting straight to the point: "Minister You, why were the Iron-Haired Dogs able to leave the Netherworld without permission? Give me an explanation."

On the other end of the line, You Yu was feeling drowsy while facing a pile of reports when he heard the Secretary-General's cold, heavy voice.

The cinnabar pen held between his two fingers almost dropped onto the official documents. "Aren't the Iron-Haired Dogs always in the Netherworld?"

He reflexively asked back.

His heart skipped a beat—judging by Ling Qi's tone, Big Dog must have caused a huge disaster.

Without time to think, You Yu clicked on the Netherworld monitoring system on his desktop, his hands tapping rapidly on the virtual keyboard.

The moment he entered the "Iron-Haired Dog Pack" command, the last segment of surveillance footage popped up on the screen.

[A dozen Iron-Haired Dogs were circling around Chen Yu, the White-Haired Loli smiling so wide her teeth showed but not her eyes.

She casually tapped a few times on the permission panel, and the barrier gate opened in response.]

"Chen Yu—!"

You Yu's roar almost shattered the earpiece.

Ling Qi, prepared for this, held her phone away, yet she could still hear the loud bang of an inkstone hitting the desk from the other end.

She looked at the lingering mist of Yao Zui Cliff.

Well, no need to guess.

Besides that little ancestor, the White-Haired Loli, who would dare release the Iron-Haired Dogs from the realm?

You Yu took a sip of chrysanthemum tea to suppress his anger.

A flash of inspiration struck him, and he opened a chat box to type: "Lord Prefectural City God, the Secretary-General asks you to go to Yao Zui Cliff; she says your exclusive spiritual power is needed for assistance."

"Rest assured, this is a paid mission."

Just as the message was sent, the loli's chibi avatar immediately started bouncing: "Got it! Thanks, Little Yuzi, for the business referral~"

Chen Yu teleported out of the Netherworld.

Humming a little tune, she strolled toward Yao Zui Cliff, the abacus in her pocket clicking away.

She rubbed her small hands together in delight.

Thinking to herself, when did Ling Qi change her nature to be so generous?

Could it be that being used as a body pillow a few days ago brought them close enough?

Has the iceberg Secretary-General finally learned to be human?

The more she thought about it, the happier she became, her steps practically taking flight. The cowlick on her head bobbed up and down in the light.

Seeing Ling Qi standing by the rift from afar, her gold-rimmed glasses reflecting a cold light, Chen Yu put on a face full of smiles.

"Secretary-General~ I heard there are incense offerings to be had? Let's agree first, if it's less than a hundred thousand, I won't..."

Before she could finish, she spotted the messy dog hair on the ground and half a piece of familiar red underwear fabric.

Chen Yu's smile froze on her face, her eyes widening like copper bells: "My Big Dog, Xiao Hei, Er Ha..."

Belatedly reaching for the dog whistle at her waist, she realized it had long been snatched away by the pups.

Ling Qi slowly turned around, lightly tapping her limited-edition wristwatch: "Lord Prefectural City God, the eighteen Iron-Haired Dogs you released using your permissions."

"They've entered the Demon with some unlucky fellow's red underwear."

She paused, her finger brushing against the frame of her glasses, "Now we need to use your exclusive spiritual power to locate them. The fee will be deducted from your pet care allowance for this year."

"Deduct my allowance?" Chen Yu shrieked and jumped up.

"Those were limited-edition strawberry panties! Who told them to snatch those!"

She suddenly caught sight of the dog tail fur You Xiang was holding and immediately bristled, "Ling Qi, you set me up."

"Set you up?" Ling Qi raised an eyebrow.

Suddenly, she raised her hand and pressed down on Chen Yu's shoulder, spiritual power pouring into her brow from her fingertips.

"Forgot? Last time you tore down the iron gates of Fierce Dog Ridge to use as a seesaw, I was the one who fixed the mess for you."

She smiled meaningfully, "Now I'm just letting you make use of your 'Demon Affinity'; it's very fair."

Chen Yu was pinned in place by the spiritual power.

Her eyes watched as Ling Qi pulled out a compass covered in tracking runes.

The compass needle spun wildly.

With a "click," it pointed deep into the rift, accompanied by the faint sound of barking.

"Found them." You Xiang flew over to check.

"Northeast, 75 kilometers from the Mercury Plane tunnel."

"What are we waiting for?"

Ling Qi pushed Chen Yu aside and pulled a Demon-Binding Rope from her storage ring, "Lord Prefectural City God, please go personally and retrieve both the dogs and the underwear."

She shook the QR code on her phone, "If you can't find them, don't even think about getting your overtime pay next month."

Chen Yu looked at the pitch-black rift and then at Ling Qi's freezing cold gaze.

Suddenly, she clutched her head and wailed: "I knew it, nothing good comes cheap. That's the Ancient Demon!"

But seeing the permission token flashing in Ling Qi's hand, she still pulled out a teleportation talisman with a miserable face.

"You're ruthless. When I get back, I'm definitely going to pluck (sleep with) all your fox fur."

The moment the talisman paper burned.

Louder barking erupted from deep within the rift, mixed with a strange sound of metal grinding.

Ling Qi's pupils contracted, and the compass needle turned due north.

The tracking runes burst with a blinding red light—there, right at the weakest source of the Demon tunnel.

"Open a tunnel wide enough for one person."

"Yes, Secretary-General."

Just as the tunnel expanded with a "hum," Ling Qi's eyes turned slightly red, and she looked at Chen Yu with a smile like a blooming flower.

Her voice was sickly sweet, but her words were laced with ice: "The Prefect used to be a seventh-rank deity, it's just that her realm has fallen."

"One won't die in the Demon; at most, the realm will fall to the fifth rank."

She tilted her chin slightly, her tone nonchalant.

"After taking a few beatings from the Demon race, perhaps her nature will change."

Chen Yu covered her buttocks.

The loli's intuition made her hair stand on end.

But just as she wanted to jump away, Ling Qi flipped her palm, and a ball of spiritual energy condensed in her palm.

With a "bang," she sent her entire body flying into the tunnel.

White light suddenly erupted at the tunnel entrance.

"Ah—" with Chen Yu's scream, it slammed shut.

Rubble mixed with demonic winds was ground into dust, leaving only half of her hair ribbon floating in the air.

It still had a few strands of stubborn hair attached.

"Secretary-General, acting like this, wouldn't it make things awkward for the Lord Prefectural City God?" You Xiang twisted her body delicately.

"Don't worry, she won't come looking for trouble with you."