Chapter 39, Fluffy

"The  main reason I summoned you is because I'm about to open my restaurant and I have no employees." Li Jain sat on the edge of his table with his back straight as if it were an executioner's block.

When the ghosts heard what he said, they suspected that their ears were hallucinating. What human would want to hire ghosts to work for him in his restaurant? The thought is preposterous.   It must be a joke. A practical joke. The  ghosts look at one another and shake their heads. Their suspicions are confirmed. It must be a prank. They've been summoned by one of those sick humans with a terrible sense of humor.

"You want to hire us to work for you in your restaurant?" the ghost named Lian asked 

"Yes, what's wrong?" Li Jain asked with  a smile on his face.  

'What's wrong? Everything is wrong!' The ghost wanted to scream out loud. He could never do that though, so instead, he just shook his head. While people are looking for priests to drive away ghosts' energy from their homes and businesses, this guy wants to hire them into his home.

Li Jain knew what the ghost was thinking and just shook his head, "Don't worry about the ghost energy, with this," He took out a book from his space on the table, "This can cleanse you from ghost energy. This little book is going to be enough to purify me from all ghost energy. You just need to cultivate the method in it." 

The ghost in the upper corner waves his hand and the book begins to float above his hand as if there was some sort of invisible force field around him preventing anything from touching it.  "There's actually such a good thing."

 The other four went forward to examine the book carefully, their expression changed 360  degrees when they saw the content within the book, their expressions full of disbelief and surprise. A technique that can turn ghost energy to spiritual energy? That would be amazing, indeed. The book contained numerous methods for turning spirit energy into spiritual energy. Every ghost will do everything to get their hands on this book. Some even go crazy over the mere idea of having such knowledge, this is only a chance of being blended among humans.

"What's your condition?" The ghost's name Wang asked his voice was cold and indifferent. There was a tone of authority hidden under that cold facade.

Something about this ghost made Li Jain feel strange. He has seen so many spirits, but this man looks so different from all the others that he found strange.   Perhaps the ghost had more power than most other ghosts, perhaps he had higher levels of cultivation? But that shouldn't be the case if everyone came according to his requirements.

 So where does this power come from then? And why is he here?  Li Jain didn't understand and it confused him. Li Jain was never curious or envious of anyone. He was never concerned of how things are; unless they were related to him, they are nothing to him. So, why now? Why does he feel a twinge of something strange towards him?

Li Jain decided to ignore the strange feelings and looked at the man, "What's your name?"

He felt like there was something about the way the man talked. Although it was low and gruff, he felt a kind of warmth underneath it that somehow made it seem almost soothing. He couldn't put his finger on it and yet he liked this feeling very much. Had they met somewhere before? It shouldn't be, right?

"My name is Liu Xiong." The man introduced himself with a slight nod. 

"Liu Xiong." Li Jain repeated it once. The name didn't ring a bell in him but he didn't mind it too much either.  

"My requirements of you guys are very simple. I have seven children, they're all  little angels. Your first priority is to protect them. Making them cry will be the worst thing you've ever done! Even if they cry, you shouldn't be the reason. You've already signed a contract with me, you'll be under my command from now. Apart from regular activity, you're expected to help out with the restaurant. Two of you will be in charge of hunting while the rest will stay in the restaurant. As for the benefits; I'll give up resources to cultivate, you'll live in my house, I'll pay you every month, your freedom is not restricted, after work, you can go about your own business. Just don't kill anyone without a reasonable explanation. That's all, you can tell me if you have any questions!" Li Jain explained his conditions in short sentences.  

The five ghosts looked at each other again and nodded their heads. They have expected difficult tasks to complete but this has left them speechless.  They are in a bit of shock at this sudden request. This is definitely the strangest thing any of them have ever done in their lives.  It seemed absurd that someone would offer them so many benefits with a easy task.

While the others were in doubt, Li Jain didn't think that was an easy task. His restaurant will need high quality materials which are hard to find, and the beast needed for dishes has to be high level to have a better effect. Once he becomes popular, there will be people coming to find trouble. That's why he needs to be prepared by then. With a wave of his hand, a book appears in front of him, "Take this book and cultivate a physical body. Once you're done, we'll start business."

"Yes boss!" The group shouted as Li Jain handed the book to Liu Xiong.

"Oh right, I almost forgot. What's your name?" Li Jain asked with a hit of embarrassment

"My name is Bai  Lian, Boss."

"I'm Zhou Lifen"

"I'm Hou Mingyu"

"My name is Ding Weiyuan"

Liu Xiong had already introduced himself, therefore, he said nothing. 

"My name is Li Jain, I hope we can get along well." 

After all was said and done, Li Jain took the five of them upstairs and give them the two empty rooms there. Bai Lian, Zhou Lifen, and Hou Mingyu took one room while Liu Xiong and Ding Weiyuan took the other. 

Another peaceful night went by.  Li Jain closed his eyes and began meditating throughout the night.

The next morning, when Juanxin woke up, he saw his dad was staring at him with a smile. Such a rare sight! He blinked once, twice, but  the smile never faded away,   even when he yawned and stretched his arms above his head like an overly enthusiastic cat. The grin seemed to grow wider. "Good morning, daddy."

"Good morning. I have good news for you. Guess what it is." When all he received in response was another long yawn from his son.

Li Jain eyes started to glaze over again, "What do you think?"   

The boy shook his head, "I can't guess, because I don't know what to expect."

Li Jain chuckled softly, "Well... I have a friend here who wants to see you." He put his hands under the bed and took out a cute white fox. It had big round eyes that were framed by black lashes. It sniffled the air curiously before jumping off of Li Jain's lap to jump onto the sheets of Juanxin's own, right between them. It hopped into Juanxin's lap and curled itself around him.

Juanxin stared at the fox and immediately awoke, "Daddy did the magic egg hatch?" he asked excitedly. The fox nuzzled his chin, making little coos and squeaks.

"Yes, and as promised, you got yourself a pet." Li Jain said with a proud grin. "Since you and he are connected, you should be able to understand him."

"Really? Thanks daddy!" Juanxin leaned forward and kissed the top of his dad's head. The fox squeaked again and rubbed its face against his hand lovingly. Its fur was soft but silky,   much more fluffy than anything he would've imagined. He scratched behind the small ears gently. 

"What will you name him?"

"Name? I'll call it Fluffy, it has lots of fur." He giggled and ran his fingers through the fur on the back of his new pet's neck.  

"That's a cute name." Li Jain smile lovely

"Yeah, I can't wait to introduce him to my brothers." Juanxin said happily.  The fox let out a soft wah, causing both father and son to chuckle.