Don’t Discriminate Against Species

The owl directed a suspicious gaze at Fu Li and Zhuang Qing. "What do you want with me? That human doesn't know the identities of us diners, I'll have to request for you not to let him discover anything fishy."

"Don't worry, we're very clear on the boundary between yao and humans," Fu Li was silent for a moment. "But there's something I don't quite understand. Since your chief labor contractor ran off with your money, why didn't you make a police report or go to the cultivators' management bureau?"

"My workmate said that there are too many chief labor contractors who abscond with money, so it's especially difficult to get the money back," The owl paused for a moment. "The humans are too cunning. When they really want to dodge a creditor, even their shadows won't be found. As for the management bureau…" The owl shook his head frantically. "I don't dare to go to them."

"Why?" Fu Li didn't understand.

"I heard there are a lot of powerful, great yao there with profound cultivation," The owl swallowed. "So scary."

"What are you scared of? It's not like they eat owls," Fu Li felt that this owl had too little courage.

"What if they do?" The owl glanced around their surroundings, hugging the lunchbox in his arms tightly. "The field dog working with me went to the management bureau a few days ago to make a police report and hasn't returned till now. I'm worried he offended someone from the management bureau…"

"Wait," Fu Li interrupted the owl. "You said the field dog hasn't returned till now?"

"This field dog is a bit simple-minded. For the sake of saving a bit of electricity, he said he would run over in his original form," Anxiety filled the owl's face. "I've been searching for him nonstop the past two days. I'm worried he was locked up by the management bureau, but if I ran to the bureau, that would be the equivalent of delivering myself to them."

"Wait, why do you persist in thinking that it was the management bureau who captured your friend?" Fu Li felt that this issue couldn't be neglected.

"Who else would it be if not them?"

“It’s impossible for it to be them.”

“On what basis can you be so sure?”

“Because we’re from the management bureau.”

The owl stared blankly, his eyes so wide that they almost popped out of his sockets. A moment later, he turned and was about to make a run for it when Fu Li grabbed a hold of him.

"Don't eat me, owls have a lot of parasites!" The owl was so frightened that he turned into his original form. Even then, his claws still had a death grip on the lunchbox.

"You're all feathers, what is there to eat?" Zhuang Qing erected a barrier around them to avoid any human from assuming that they were abusing a national endangered animal. "Bring him back."

The owl thought with desperation that this would probably be his last time watching over his old friend's descendant and that he would never be able to eat at his place again. Who knew if other humans or yao would bully this descendant after his death?

After the owl was brought to the management bureau, Fu Li poured a cup of tea and set it on the table. The owl was hanging his head silently.

"You don't want to save your friend?" Zhuang Qing flipped open a recording book. "Or do you mean to say that you don't dare to come to the management bureau because the field dog's disappearance has something to do with you?"

"We've been good friends for more than a hundred years, how could I have harmed him!" The owl was slightly agitated. "He really wasn't captured by you guys?"

"Since he's your friend and you thought that he was captured by the management bureau, why didn't you attempt to rescue him from this place? Is your brotherly affection made of plastic?" Zhuang Qing let out a mocking laugh. Using his phone, he snapped a few shots of the owl and then input the pictures into the yao world's population database. Census information on several different owls very quickly appeared. "What is your registered birthplace?"

"Wuyue Province."

"Wuyue Province…" Zhuang Qing raised his head, glancing at the owl. "So you're a dusky eagle-owl."

"How did you know that?" Fu Li was curious.

"Most dusky eagle-owls in our country appear at Wuyue Province." Zhuang Qing couldn't help adding, "Read up a bit more when you go back, strive to get into university on your first try."

Fu Li: …

"Continue speaking," Zhuang Qing dragged Fu Li to his side and sat him down. Turning to Fu Li, he spoke in a low voice, "Sit properly, don't walk here and there."

Since the owl had already landed in the other party's hands, he could only give a complete and systematic account of things. "The field dog and I can't be considered good friends, but there isn't any animosity between us either. After he spoke about making a report at the management bureau, he turned into his original form and ran out of the work shed. I'm not too clear on what happened after that either. Was it really… not you who caught him?"

"Why would we catch him?" Zhuang Qing did a simple note-taking and then sent a search directive for the dog to their work chat. He told the owl, "We will deal with the chief labor contractor who ran off with your money as soon as possible, you can go back with peace of mind."

"You're really letting me go?"

"You want us to treat you to supper?"

"T-That won't be necessary," Hooking two claws around the lunchbox, the owl flew off without a single glance back.

"It seems our management bureau has overlooked an aspect of our work," Zhuang Qing closed the recording book as he spoke to Fu Li. "Strengthening our publicity at the grassroots level is very important. We'll discuss this aspect of our work at our meeting tomorrow morning."

Fu Li nodded. "Oh." He took out his phone and started informing his colleagues of this.

Zhuang Qing nodded with satisfaction. Thankfully, he wasn't too stupid when it came to work.

"Then let's arrest that chief labor contractor now," Fu Li stood up, ready to walk out.

"There's no need for you to go," Zhuang Qing took a cup of water, fixing his eyes on the surface of the water. As a leader of the aquatic races, his vision could extend to anywhere where there was water, as long as he willed it.

The chief labor contractor had been very well-off the past few days. He had gone back to his home state with his pockets bulging and bought a large golden chain under the envious gazes of his friends. There wasn't anything lowkey about the way he did this. With every person that passed by him, he itched to swing about the chain around his neck.

"Wang ge, you made a fortune?"

"No no, I just made enough for a couple hundred thousand meals," Labor contractor Wang raised his chin. "Nothing much."

"To say that a couple hundred thousand is nothing much, it seems Wang ge really made a fortune lately and no longer fancies this little bit of money."

Satisfaction filled labor contractor Wang's heart upon seeing the onlookers' shocked gazes. He bought a few cans of beer and a catty of pork before staggering home, humming a song. He had merely taken a few steps when his ankle twisted by accident. When he next looked up, he realized that he was already standing outside a police station in the capital.

The shock caused sweat to seep out profusely from his head . He hadn't even drank the beer, why was he already drunk and even hallucinating?