Sunlight filtered into the room and shone on Mao Rongrong, rousing him from sleep.

“Awoo?”

For a moment, Mao Rongrong was confused about where he was. He was also unusually comfortable, lying on something warm, which was different from how his thin futon feels like.

“Are you awake?”

A deep voice startled Mao Rongrong to alertness and when he tried looking at where the sound came from, it was actually from under him?...

“Nuwoo!”

Mao Rongrong was startled and let out a milky cry as a huge hand picked him up and held him. In front of him was Lin Qi’s enlarged face as Mao Rongrong felt Lin Qi’s firm chest muscles under his paws.

Blinking his round eyes in confusion, Mao Rongrong jolted awake and remembered that he was reincarnated into a fluffy animal! Oh no, a cute monster with special powers! But the position where he was lying before was a bit peculiar…

“Your fur was so soft, it was just right as a blindfold.”

Lin Qi gave Mao Rongrong a chin scratch as Mao Rongrong squinted his eyes in pleasure until Lin Qi’s words registered.

“Nuewooo??!”

Don’t tell me I was actually lying on his face?!

Feeling heat flushing his cheeks, Mao Rongrong buried his head under his paws and dived under Lin Qi’s neck to hide from his gaze. Luckily he was covered with fur, if not his face would have been as red as a tomato. Mao Rongrong had never shared a room with anyone else, so he did not know that his sleeping habits were this unruly. How did he even manage to get up onto Lin Qi’s head while asleep?

Feeling vibrations under his body, he knew Lin Qi was laughing at him. Putting a paw on Lin Qi’s lips with his fleshy paws to urge him to stop laughing, Mao Rongrong roared out a good morning, pretending that nothing happened.

Amused by the cub so early in the morning, Lin Qi carried Mao Rongrong to wash up and prepare to head to the office. It was rare that Lin Qi was not grumpy after waking up so early in the morning, probably due to the cute fluff’s antics.

After having a simple breakfast, they arrived back in the office where Lin Qi was to standby in case of emergencies. So Mao Rongrong returned to the familiar desk and sat while looking at Lin Qi. And Lin Qi looked back.

“Maowuu!”

Mao Rongrong raised his paws up like a well-behaved student asking the teacher a question.

Without any emergencies, Lin Qi was pretty free and so, under Mao Rongrong’s request, Lin Qi started to teach Mao Rongrong how to cultivate as a monster. Although the spiritual energy in the world was thin after so many years, monsters with due diligence were still able to advance their skills.

Sitting properly with his paws in front of him this time, Mao Rongrong followed Lin Qi’s instruction to absorb the Spiritual Qi (energy) around him.

To help Mao Rongrong identify the Spiritual Qi, Lin Qi held Mao Rongrong’s paw and injected some energy into him. While doing so, he could not resist kneading on the soft pink toes, causing Mao Rongrong claws to extend and retreat repeatedly.

For monsters, cultivation was an instinctual process and there was not much that Lin Qi could teach Mao Rongrong.

From ancient times, monsters and divine beasts were favored by heaven and had the easiest time cultivating as compared to humans. This was why there was such a power difference between the two camps and monsters were the rulers over the weaker humans. Some monsters, in return for protecting the humans, were even hailed as Gods or divine beasts.

However, a few thousand years ago, the Heavenly Law suddenly underwent changes and started to strike down ancient beasts with tribulation lighting. These were famed and legendary beasts, sparing neither auspicious nor ferocious ones.

Although the heavenly law was always ruthless, it was the first time that so many monsters were eradicated directly, scaring the remaining monsters to go into hiding. Some of the powerful beasts that survived went into hiding or fell into a long slumber to heal their wounds. The series of lighting strikes that changed the monsters’ and humans’ worlds alike resulted in the era of humans.

Without the unreasonable monsters and Gods, humans began to develop rapidly, making advances in science and technology in leaps and bounds. On the contrary, the Spiritual Qi in the world was getting lesser and lesser, resulting in the population of monsters and human cultivators to decline.

Lin Qi was one of the few fortunate ones who was in deep sleep when this occurred. When he woke up, everything changed. It was also then he realized that the upper heavenly realm had collapsed as well.

Observing the cute fluff breathing in and circulating the spiritual qi, Lin Qi put Mao Rongrong’s paw down. The Monster Bureau was also actually built upon one of the dragon veins, making the spiritual energy here to be more abundant than in other places in the city. Now all Mao Rongrong has to do is to diligently practice, be in tune with nature, and absorb the sun’s and moon’s essence going forward.

With nothing else to do, Lin Qi picked up his phone. However, instead of opening his games, he opened the shopping app instead and clicked on the pet section. From hair combs to shampoos, toys, and even a cat tree, Lin Qi continuously added items to the cart.

When he finally checked out with the next-day express delivery option, the amount of money Lin Qi spent would make Mao Rongrong fur rise.

Taking a peek at Mao Rongrong, Lin Qi made sure everything was going well and opened the search engine, and started researching “How to raise cubs properly”. Suddenly feeling the weight of responsibility to raise Mao Rongrong into an upright and moral monster, Lin Qi not only downloaded several books but also asked fellow netizens for advice.

Unbeknownst to Lin Qi, Mao Rongrong was absorbing an unprecedented amount of Spiritual Qi beside him. Although the flow was slow, which thus did not alarm Lin Qi, the constant supply that was being stored in Mao Rongrong’s body was more than what an ordinary cub could handle.

Mao Rongrong, on the other hand, felt as if his entire body was being soaked in hot springs, warm and comfortable. The spiritual qi felt soft and soothing to him, lulling him into a deep sleep. Even when Mao Rongrong was not consciously trying to take in the spiritual qi anymore, it continued to flow into him purposefully. It was as though Mao Rongrong was favored by the heavens and they could not wait to nurture him.

Stolen novel; please report.

Rocking back and forth, Mao Rongrong eventually succumbed and plopped down sideways dozing away as Lin Qi continued his passionate discussion with other mother netizens online.

~ *** ~

After a long while, Lin Qi finally peeled his eyes away from the screen and saw Mao Rongrong peacefully napping on the desk beside him. Mao Rongrong, just like last night, has rolled in his sleep. Instead of lying at the side, he was now beside Lin Qi’s arm, hugging it like a pillow.

Mao Rongrong would occasionally mumble something, rubbing his head against Lin Qi’s arm. When Mao Rongrong started to nibble on Lin Qi in his sleep, Lin Qi thought it was time to go get lunch, before Mao Rongrong really bit down on him.

Just when Lin Qi was going to wake Mao Rongrong up, a man burst into the office, loudly calling for Lin Qi.

“Boss!! Happy New Year!! Are you lonely being here alone?”

Mao Rongrong jumped due to the sudden loud noise and scrambled into Lin Qi’s arms instinctively.

“Neuwoo!!!”

Looking at his boss staring at him with eyes that could kill and the fluffy beast in his arms, Jiu Ke froze in place. Although the cute fluff was worlds apart from their cold boss, the white fur against the rigid black uniform was oddly complimentary. Looking at how the boss was protecting the little fluff in his arms, Jiu Ke felt like he had just seen something he should not have seen.

“Excuse the intrusion!!” Jiu Ke hastily gave a salute, and turned, ready to run away as fast as he could.

“Come here.”

Before he could move, an icy voice interrupted his escape, and he had no choice but to drag himself forward, till he stood at attention in front of Lin Qi.

“Wuuu?”

Seeing that the coast was clear, Mao Rongrong peeked out from Lin Qi’s arms and saw a burly man standing in front of the desk. His skin was tanned and with his well-built physique, it seemed as though he had been doing hard labor all year round.

If Jiu Ke could hear Mao Rongrong’s thoughts, tears would stream down his face and he would complain about what his demon boss has been making him do and how he was suffering under Lin Qi’s ruthless regime.

When Mao Rongrong met the man’s eyes, his round blue eyes reflected the man’s own round brown eyes as they both looked at each other in bewilderment.

“This is Jiu Ke, he is part of my subjugation team. He is a monster of the bear lineage.” Lin Qi casually introduced Jiu Ke as he patted Mao Rongrong’s head as if declaring sovereignty over the little one.

“Oo!!”

Mao Rongrong raised his paw in greeting and Jiu Ke felt like an arrow had pierced through his heart. What is with his absolute level of cuteness?! Where did the boss pick up this cutie from?!

“So why are you back? Planning to do some voluntary overtime?”

“No, of course not boss!! Why are you saying such an inauspicious thing first thing in the new year?! Wait no, you are not going to introduce the little cutie to me?!”

“It's none of your business. If you have nothing, get out before I send you to City A for an inspection.”

“You can’t do this to me, boss! I just came back from another inspection and the monsters there are so unreasonable. It’s already 4202 and the so-called mountain god is still asking for human sacrifi-”

“If there’s nothing, City H recently had a report of a sudden rise in…”

“Wait wait wait, okay this, it's this.” Jiu Ke placed a plastic bottle on the table. Strangely it was stuffed with something gray, which was not liquid.

Hopping down from Lin Qi’s arms, Mao Rongrong approached the bottle in curiosity for a closer look. It was shaking a little as if something was struggling inside.

“I didn’t bring any sealing bottles and encountered this ferocious ghost when I was on my way to the temple. It’s the new year, can’t they give us a break on the holidays at least? I hurriedly stuffed it in this plastic drinking bottle, so I need your help to seal it up properly.”

“What happened to learning how to seal ghosts up yourself?”

“Come on Boss, I already passed that exam. But this is a ferocious one and its resentment is off the charts. I cannot contain all its energy. Only you in the whole department would be strong enough to deal with this level of resentment.”

Pawing at the plastic bottle, Mao Rongrong could not discern any face or shape in the bottle. Although he was surprised to hear that there was a ghost in it, thinking that now he was a monster, it should not be surprising if something like ghosts existed.

Tilting his head as he listened to the ongoing report from Jiu Ke, which half was just him complaining, Mao Rongrong sniffed and felt like he smelt a delicious scent coming from the bottle. The smell was hard to describe as it did not resemble any food he had before. Yet it was a deliciously enticing smell that made Mao Rongrong accidentally drool.

“Actually there was something strange about this ghost. I encountered him in the temple. Usually, the temple’s own sacred energy can keep ghosts away, yet this was able to stay in the temple with such strong resentment and even went as far as appearing in the daylight to attack…”

Mao Rongrong was laser-focused on the bottle and found something strange as the bottle looked like it was slowly but surely expanding. When Mao Rongrong was about to tell Lin Qi about this, the bottle burst and a ghastly scream echoed in the office. The ferocious ghost had gotten out!

“Awuu!!!”

Shocked, Mao Rongrong jumped back as he stared at the large towering translucent figure in the office. It looked like a female, but there were these black smoky particles surrounding it and it was hard to see the ghost’s appearance.

After escaping from the bottle, the ghost tried to run, knowing that it could not beat the people who had sealed her up. Although the little beast looked quite easy to devour, her own preservation came first!

Flying towards the window, both Lin Qi and Jiu Ke looked awfully calm. When Mao Rongrong was about to chase the ghost, it suddenly rebounded as it hit the glass window.

“Come on, don’t create more work for me. This place is sealed up and no ghosts and monsters will be able to escape from here.” Jiu Ke complained as he searched for a proper sealing bottle in a cabinet.

Left with no choice and screeching in anger, the ghost turned around and dashed toward Mao Rongrong instead, thinking maybe she could take the little beast hostage.

Mao Rongrong looked at the approaching figure and suddenly he could not contain his instincts anymore. It simply smelled too delicious!

Opening his mouth, Mao Rongrong gave a milky roar and pounced toward the ghost, and bit down.

“Rongrong!!”

Lin Qi got up in surprise at Mao Rongrong’s actions and did not expect Mao Rongrong to attack the ghost. Although the ghost was no match for him or his team, Mao Rongrong was still a cub who could get hurt!

Mao Rongrong managed to bite down on the ghost figure. The ghost screeched in pain, feeling as if an electric pain, like lightning, had spread through it. The ghost in an attempt to dislodge Mao Rongrong started to flail around, swinging Mao Rongrong in the air. While Mao Rongrong felt that it was kind of fun to swing around like this, he worried about how he could eat this delicious thing when he was hanging on by his bite.

How about sucking it in? It does not have a physical body and it is kind of like air right?

As Mao Rongrong thought that, he began to suck in as if drinking his favorite boba milk tea. Before Lin Qi could rescue Mao Rongrong, the ghost was eaten cleanly by Mao Rongrong and disappeared.

Mao Rongrong landed on the floor on all fours like a cat.

“Maowuu~”

Hey, did you see how cool I was?

“Rongrong!!”

Lin Qi picked up the little fluff by his arm and started to shake Mao Rongrong around.

“You cannot eat that Rongrong! Spit it out now!”

Feeling dizzy with the shaking, Mao Rongrong was confused. Why can’t he eat such a delicious thing?

“Wuuu!!”

“It’s dirty and bad for your health. I’ll buy you lots of fried chicken for lunch later so spit it out okay?”

Hearing that he could have fried chicken, Mao Rongrong’s eyes sparkled.

Fried chicken! Well, it's not that bad of a trade…

Thinking so, Mao Rongrong coughed and gagged a little, before spitting out a black ball on the floor. A vague crying sound could be heard from what looks like a wet fur ball.

“Ooo!!”

You promised! I want a bucket of fried chicken! Spicy!

Heaving a sigh of relief, Lin Qi ruffled Mao Rongrong’s head as Lin Qi held him in his arms protectively.

“Don’t randomly eat these kinds of things in the future. It’s filled with bad energy that we call resentment, and it might make you feel bad.”

Although Lin Qi wanted to harshly scold Mao Rongrong, he in the end could not bring himself to do so and only warned him sternly. Mao Rongrong let out an affirmative roar, but deep in his heart he thought next time he should eat it when Lin Qi was not looking. The delicious aroma was simply just too good to resist. Mao Rongrong licked his lips while plotting his next hunt.

Jiu Ke picked up the ball, and this time properly stored it in one of the advanced sealing bottles that Lin Qi had created for the team previously.

“Wow, your little cub is so fierce. He managed to eat such a scary ferocious ghost!”

Mao Rongrong puffed up in pride and roared in thanks for the compliment.

“Awuu!!”

“If you are done, store it away and get out.”

Lin Qi dismissed Jiu Ke as he turned around, blocking Mao Rongrong’s gaze. It’s best for the cub not to learn from bad influences. In just ten minutes of meeting Jiu Ke, Mao Rongrong managed to learn to be bad!

Scratching his head, Jiu Ke left the office to head to the basement levels where they stored these types of ferocious ghosts. There were also some holding cells for monsters who rebelled and were not compromising. For the ghosts, after being sealed, the underworld officials will periodically collect the bottles back to the underworld to be processed.

Still, Jiu Ke thought puzzledly, the ghost was too quiet. Shaking the bottle in his hand, the ghost did not move at all. Shrugging, Jiu Ke put this behind him and believed that anyone who had once been eaten up would quiet down.

Back in the office, Mao Rongrong was tapping on Lin Qi’s phone with his paw as he decided on what sides he wanted to go with his spicy chicken, while Lin Qi held his other paw and kneaded the pink bean toes dotingly.