In the twentieth century, demons were unknown, and demon-slayers had desisted to exist. The last of the demon-slayers ever known to exist, Feng Chang, had made a pact with the demons, that they would keep their identity unknown and neither race would ever bother each other. As time went past, other classes emerged, to maintain the balance of the world.

That was the history that Nan Xi and Shaojun's grandparents would tell them, and they owned a special friendship, comparable to that of brothers. As time passed, they realised there was something further to their births, but they couldn't identify who they were and what was their purpose in the world. However, Shaojun would know if his friend was in trouble, and vice versa.

Three hours had passed since their return from the department store, but Nan Xi's smartphone was still turned off. Shaojun's heart was starting to feel uneasy. It struck him that his friend might have met with harm, but as he was unable to contact his friend, how would he come to his rescue?

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Meanwhile, Nan Xi was still hunting for Clares. There was no way he could have made a mistake. Her face was as clear as day. As if in a trance, he had followed the figure to a deserted building. But upon arriving there, the girl had suddenly vanished! With all the willpower in him, he decided that he would not leave until he had found Clares. He carefully watched around him while calling out Clares' name.

There were far too many questions left unanswered. For years following Clares' disappearance, Nan Xi had dreamed of Clares day and night. He had written uncountable emails and letters to her, but his attempts in locating her were unfruitful. The authorities had even dismissed his case, dismissing it as a lover's quarrel. But on the night before her disappearance, they had not even been quarrelling. He assumed that she was mad at him, but he couldn't understand the reason behind her anger. Had he done something wrong without realising it, to warrant her sudden departure?

He stopped touring around the area. Now that he considered it, how could it be possible that she had disappeared in just an instant? Dissatisfied, he paced up and down and shouted her name more loudly, but it appeared that there was not a single soul, much less a girl in the vicinity. It was already starting to get dark, as a few grey clouds were overhead.

When not using the motorcycle, Nan Xi would usually carry his dagger in his sling bag. Currently, the mentioned dagger was starting to emit heat while still in his bag. The growing heat of his pack compelled Nan Xi to inspect the bag to find out the source of the heat. He was surprised when the dagger gleamed with a red glow, brighter than it had the other day when he and Rufeng had picked up Gerald. Something had to be amiss, but he didn't know why, and it was sending chills down his spine. He recalled Rufeng's stories of demon-slaying, and though he believed her words to some extent, it had not occurred to him that demons would be present in the Chinatown-like city they were living in. What if demons were present, and one claimed his life before he could ever get to tell Clares he loved her and wanted to be with only her all his life?

A dark wisp of black smoke materialised before him. In his fear, he closed his eyes. He recited all the names of the possible gods and deities he had known of, starting from the various buddhas and bodhisattvas worshipped by the Buddhists in China, Taoist deities of Taiwanese culture, and the gods prayed to in the major religions. He didn't dare to open his eyes, in the fear that the evil would still be there when he reopened his eyes, and he continued reciting the names amidst shivers and chills. He felt the demonic presence approaching closer step by step, but he was not ready to die. He focused his mind on his thoughts of survival, concentrating so deeply that he felt a sudden burst of energy radiating in his abdomen. He sensed the energy manifesting around him, getting more significant with each second, and his eyes popped open.

Meanwhile, Shaojun pedalled as far as he could with Nan Xi's motorcycle, hoping that his intuition was right, and the vision he had of Nan Xi was correct. At that point, his only priority was his friend's life. He forgot that the girl who much confused him was holding on to him on the pillion while holding her pesky feline companion which was on the verge of driving him to insanity. All that remained on his mind was to rush to the spot before his friend was gone forever.

Minutes ago, when Shaojun suddenly had the vision, the silly girl had barged into the room, insisting that her cat had told her that Nan Xi was in trouble. If not that his friend had been missing for what seemed like forever, he had no reason to believe her. That had to be the most incredible thing Shaojun had ever heard, a cat knowing that a human was in trouble! Then she had insisted that Gerald was no ordinary cat, and he had special abilities, one being premonition! He glanced at the cat, and Gerald had hissed at him, shooting back with an intimidating glare. He didn't know what got into him after that, because he was already racing to the motorcycle. The girl trailed after him with the cat on tow. Whatever the cat did, it seemed to have worked!

Perhaps we should tell him he isn't wearing any shorts, Gerald whispered to his now-master, with a horrific grin, as Shaojun put more force into the pedals. Fortuitously, the wind was too mighty for the frantic male to have heard the words of the cat-demon, or it would drive him into insanity once more. Rufeng whispered back, Not now, Gerald. She didn't want anything to stall Shaojun while Nan Xi's life was at stake. Her voice was so soft that only the cat-demon, with his unique powers, could hear what she had said.

When Nan Xi opened his eyes, he expected a powerful force to have come to his help, but to his surprise, whatever came to his aid had taken an incredibly adorable form!

It turned out that standing beside him was a wolf cub, so delightful and yet, so ethereal. It was not like any wolf cub he had ever seen on television. It was slightly translucent in appearance and was mainly grey, except for a tuft of coloured fur on the top of its head. In a flash, he had forgotten the threat of the demoness. He was utterly absorbed by the presence of the bundle of cuteness before him!

"What is your name, little one?"

"I am not little, I am twenty thousand years old!" the mystic beast roared, but instead of a deafening cry, it was more like a squeak. Even the demoness that had manifested was taken aback by the scene before her. Initially, she had desired to feast on the stupid human for lunch. But now, the scene had reduced the demoness to having to teleport in a beanie seat and popcorn. The banter between the human and the beast was merely hilarious, and she didn't know now whether to laugh or cry; to cry basically because it now seemed that the human wasn't going to end up becoming her dinner anymore. Instead, she was watching them talk like a scene from a movie.

"What is your name then, O big one?" Nan Xi asked in awe.

"Heng Yi," the tiny wolf huffed and leapt into his arms. Their eyes met momentarily, and a flash of lightning streaked the air around them, giving rise to a multitude of coloured smoke and tiny clouds. The demoness' mouth fell open in astonishment, and Shaojun, who had just arrived, gasped. The scene was so magical and extraordinary that all who witnessed it, except for the demons, had been unable to believe it. It was contrary to a dream. Shaojun was not aware that such beasts even existed, much say the terror before them. He imagined beasts to look like the titular character of 'Beauty and the Beast', or at least like the creatures in the Harry Potter series. The little wolf that appeared was nowhere close to his imagination.

"What's happening?" Rufeng asked Gerald, keeping her voice low to ensure Shaojun could not hear them.

The cat-demon answered with a confident voice, "They've completed the soul-bonding between master and soul beast."

"But the wolf..."

"He has summoned his familiar," the cat-demon said.

"What kind of sorcery is this?" Rufeng questioned, while Shaojun ran to his friend crazily. "Back in my era..."

"In the twentieth century, many new classes now exist. I cannot explain all of this to you in such a short time," Gerald yawned, settling his little head in her arms.

"Right, we should go to their help," Rufeng snapped out of her distraction. In their flurry, she had forgotten her demon-detecting bell tied to her old clothes, which she had left at home. "Where's the demon?" She needed Gerald's help to detect the demoness' location.

"At the right of your friend, munching on popcorn and enjoying the scene," the cat hissed sarcastically. "I guess she's no longer hungry for Nan Xi's meat any longer and found it more interesting to watch them bond." The demoness wore a cascade of purple gowns, and her hair was as white as snow. From her appearance, there didn't seem at least any evil in her. Perhaps appearances were deceiving. However, as she had a kind heart, Rufeng sincerely hoped she didn't have to send the demoness into damnation.

"That happens?" Rufeng remembered how almost every successful brawl she had fought in the past with a demon ended up bathing her in blood. Demons' blood differed from that of humans in the sense that their blood was of a different colour depending on their seniority, senior demons had gold or silver-coloured blood. In contrast, junior demons' blood ranged from shades of blue to dark violet. She had a tough time washing off the bloodstains, so in the end, she went with having dark red gowns tailored for her fighting needs. Red had thus become the signature colour for her battle gowns. Back then, demons were often cruel and heartless souls. But it was the first time she had heard that someone won a fight without involving physical force or demon-slaying skills!

In front of her, the demoness had stood up from Shaojun was poised beside Nan Xi, and Heng Yi had already assumed the most adorable defensive stance she had ever seen, determined to defend his new master to the death.

"No, Heng Yi!" Nan Xi exclaimed, fearing his furry little familiar cum friend would be hurt, and an astonishing sight greeted those present. The dagger hopped out of Nan Xi's bag and hurled itself in the direction of the demoness, wedging itself deep into her right shoulder blade. The demoness howled for a very long time, before managing to extract the dagger and toss it to the floor. A few more excruciating cries filled the air, as magical flames scorched the demoness' right hand.

The last Rufeng witnessed of the demoness was her muttering some brief incantation, and immediately vanishing without a trace. At least everyone was safe, she thought as she faced the stunned Nan Xi, who was rooted to the spot in his amazement. Everything had happened so quickly, but Rufeng knew that in this vast land, she had to keep an open mind to all the weirdness that she had just known and witnessed.