Hearing this, Sakuraba Tsubakiko froze, glancing down at herself.
A flush.
Her small face instantly turned a deep, purplish red.
"S-sorry, Fujino-kun."
With a startled gasp, she bowed deeply.
Then she whipped her head away.
Tap, tap, tap.
Her small steps pattered quickly and densely.
Panicking, she fled without looking back.
"No need to apologize," Fang Zuo called towards her retreating figure. "Keep it like this from now on."
Thud.
"Ow!"
"Sorry!"
The sounds of impact and a flustered cry echoed from outside.
The little thing had slammed into the glass door.
"This really is an interesting place," Fang Zuo shrugged.
Much more entertaining than those icy fairies back in Maoshan, Qingchengshan, or Longhushan.
The ambulance arrived soon after.
Under one glare from Fang Zuo, the office staff meekly carried Kumano Hyoe out.
Inner vision focused on the Nascent Soul.
The infant-stage spirit body was illusory, unstable, utterly shattered.
It remained seated, meditating, deeply asleep.
In a corner, a red point and a black point huddled together, trembling, not daring to move.
The red point was the divine consciousness of the Evil God.
The black point was the lingering spirit of the Tang-style oil-paper umbrella monster.
Both the divine consciousness and the lingering spirit suffered the same flaw: they were too impure.
Utterly useless to the Nascent Soul.
As for that spirit artifact umbrella he'd snapped – over the years, its spiritual energy had all been devoured by the lingering spirit. Hardly useful either.
Even for artifact refining, it's worthless.
Still, Fang Zuo hadn't expected the 'Shikigami' passed down by these Onmyoji families to possess such flashy potential.
"Fujino-kun." A member of the Exorcism Defense Team came down to the office. "Someone's waiting for you in the reception area."
"For me?" Fang Zuo paused.
In the past, everyone and everything shunned this identity – except for little Sakuraba Tsubakiko. No one respected him.
Who could possibly be looking for him?
Taking the elevator to the reception area, Fang Zuo saw a middle-aged man in a suit instantly rise upon spotting him.
It was Sakura Momo's father.
"Hai! Fujino-sama!" The man took a briefcase from an attendant behind him.
Raising it above his head with both hands, he spoke with utmost reverence.
"Fujino-sama, the deed to the Xinrong Planning Building you requested. And the deed of gift formally transferring ownership to you."
"Good. You move quickly," Fang Zuo took them. "Being able to clearly understand your position and value means your family still has reason to exist."
"Apologies for our arrogance." The man bent deeply, bowing at 90 degrees. "The Sakura family begs your forgiveness."
He then drew a talisman bag from within his suit and offered it over his head with both hands.
Fang Zuo raised an eyebrow as he accepted it, sensing a lingering spirit within that wasn't any younger than the Tang umbrella monster.
"Is this Sakura Momo's Shikigami?"
"Yes, sir," the man kept his bow. "Please pass it on to Sakura Momo. The family also begs her forgiveness and hopes she'll find time to visit us."
Fang Zuo nodded. While these island folk had learned Chinese culture imperfectly, their talent for sailing with the wind had not only surpassed the master but exceeded it.
"And your father? Is he well?" Fang Zuo asked casually.
"Thank you for your concern. He is still recovering."
"Alright. We're settled. You may leave." Fang Zuo waved dismissively.
"Fujino-sama, forgive me..." The man lifted his head, eyes filled with naked desire. "The Sakura family wishes for your friendship. We are willing to pay any price."
"Show me your value first," Fang Zuo said, already turning to enter the elevator.
Returning to the main police office, Fang Zuo saw Sakura Momo standing in her glass-walled office, waving at him the moment he entered.
The cluster of office staff spotted Fang Zuo. They held their breath, yet a smirk of schadenfreude played on their faces. Probably expecting him to get chewed out by Sakura Momo like before.
"What is it?" Fang Zuo walked through her door.
Ignoring the stunned stares from the staff, he walked past Sakura Momo.
Planted himself squarely in her chair.
"Hmph. Couldn't you spare a little respect for your Captain?" Sakura Momo pulled down the blinds. "You beat up Kumano Hyoe? All my colleagues complained the moment I got back."
"Are you worried about me?" Fang Zuo propped his feet on the desk.
"I'm worried about Kumano Hyoe's family. He's a half-demon of Hyakura Monster Mountain lineage. His master is a Kenbu Shinto master from Omihachiman." Sakura Momo covered her mouth, giggling. "I'm afraid they'll come knocking and have their bloodline severed by you."
"Hyakura Monster Mountain?" Fang Zuo searched his memory. "The Hyakura Mountain on Tokyo's outskirts? Tokyo's Onmyoji families allow monster colonies so close?"
"Of course." Sakura Momo hopped up onto the desk. "Onmyoji and the monster tribes reached an armistice after World War II. Though skirmishes still happen, large-scale conflict is rare."
"Not only that, monster tribes and Onmyoji families intermarry quite frequently."
Frequent intermarriage?
So these creatures weren't just experimenting with lingering spirits, but couldn't even leave humans alone.
What a perverse species.
He should find an opportunity to see what heights their human-monster hybrid experiments could actually reach.
Only now, with Sakura Momo sitting before him, did Fang Zuo notice.
She'd changed into distressed skinny jeans that hugged her hips perfectly.
Sitting on the desk caused small, rounded curves of her buttocks to spill over the edge.
Through the rips stretching from her knees to her thighs peeked black fishnet stockings.
Fishnets like that could easily look bulky and awkward, like poorly wrapped dumplings, on thicker legs.
On Sakura Momo's long, slender legs, however, they were just right.
Noticing Fang Zuo's gaze on her legs, Sakura Momo's smile widened.
"They also complained you're planning to jump ship to Councilor Abe." She leaned forward slightly, closing the distance.
Suddenly, she felt overdressed.
"That's the plan," Fang Zuo linked his hands behind his head, gently rocking the chair. "Five times the salary."
"I don't believe you." Sakura Momo wrinkled her cute nose.
"She even allows me to sit on top of her." Fang Zuo looked her up and down slowly. "That's somewhat... enticing."
"Da-me, da-me! Nuh-uh, I don't believe it!" Sakura Momo shook her head vigorously.
"Fine, suit yourself." Fang Zuo tossed the talisman bag onto the desk.
"This is..." Sakura Momo tentatively picked it up, disbelief washing over her.
"It's... Hikariyoru Hime!" Recognizing the aura inside, she urgently opened the bag.
A tiny, lantern-shaped ornament, carved from an unknown gem, lay in her palm.
She examined it with excited, reverent fingers.
"Your father brought it," Fang Zuo confirmed, also sensing the spirit artifact. "Told me you should visit the family sometime."
Unlike the Tang umbrella whose spiritual energy had been drained, the lingering spirit within this gem vessel had willingly entered and was refining the gem like it was its own body.
Sakura Momo fixed the gem decoration to her ear.
It was an earring.
A gentle shake of her head...
With each movement, shimmering droplets of light spilled from the lantern's spout.
Brilliant. Dazzling.
Illuminating her exquisite face with even more ethereal beauty.
"Thank you." Sakura Momo leaned down, looped her arms around Fang Zuo's neck, and pressed her soft pink lips against his.
Realizing how boldly she'd acted in her excitement, a fierce blush warmed her cheeks.
Mortified,
she pushed off his shoulders and sprang back upright.
"My father must really be terrified of you," she muttered, flustered, "to send something like this... though it probably wasn't just fear."
"Hmm?"
Fang Zuo extended a finger. He trailed it back and forth over the fishnet stockings at her thigh.
Feeling the smooth skin beneath the mesh.
The touch sent an immediate, electric shiver through Sakura Momo's hypersensitive body.
A soft moan escaped her lips despite herself.