The next morning, thunder rumbled.
The early autumn in the South Sea is a continuous drizzle.
The thunder awakened Li Yang.
He felt a warm softness on his calf and looked toward the end of the bed.
Suzu was sitting there, eagerly watching a drama.
Li Yang kicked Suzu off the bed:
"Cats are not allowed on the bed."
Suzu immediately got annoyed:
"Li Yang! I spent all night helping you find someone, and you treat me like this?!"
She was looking for someone with Desire Power.
Li Yang squinted at her:
"Did you find them?"
Suzu boasted haughtily:
"Of course, you can meet them at your pharmacy tonight."
Li Yang looked surprised.
This Black Witch is actually somewhat useful.
Li Yang opened the bedroom door to go and wash up.
Suzu followed behind, chattering about her accomplishments.
"Do you know how few such people there are in the South Sea? Do you know how hard it is to find such a person? You simply can't understand my hardships!"
Li Yang looked at the black dog and the crow.
The black dog lay at the main entrance, dozing, a loyal Guardian guarding its master's door.
The crow tilted its head watching the two, a silent observer.
Li Yang felt the dog and the crow were better, Li Yang preferred quiet.
He said to Suzu expressionlessly:
"I'll buy you a tablet tomorrow."
Suzu immediately stopped nagging, her eyes forming crescent moons:
"You're so nice!"
Then she closed her mouth and sat obediently on the chair, happily thinking about what drama to watch tomorrow.
Hmm, cats aren't so bad, easy to fool.
...
In the evening, at the pharmacy.
It was still raining outside.
Li Yang at the counter closed his book, surveying the pharmacy.
This will be the birthplace of the Demon Club, the origin of the Demon Power.
He glanced at the clock on the wall.
It's already half-past five, why hasn't anyone come?
Did Suzu fool him?
Or was she not capable enough to bring the person here?
Just then, the sound of the doorbell rang, someone had arrived.
Li Yang's eyes slightly narrowed.
The visitor appeared to be around twenty, exuding an aura of decadence.
Their Desire Power was stronger than Suzu, Zhang Shi'ai, and even the black dog Xiaohai.
Li Yang examined their attire.
They wore a white shirt and trousers, like a small office worker.
The white shirt was dirty, with visible shoe prints of various sizes.
Their face still bore injuries.
Just been beaten up, or rather in a group fight.
No, it wasn't a fight; it was a beating, since several people beat up one.
Li Yang asked:
"What do you need?"
The man was very introverted, very nervous, stammering as he spoke:
"I, I, I…"
He hung his head, his face flushed.
The young man didn't know how to start.
He couldn't possibly say that he had a vivid dream where a cat told him to come to this pharmacy, right?
The man cautiously glanced at Li Yang.
He was very insecure, even felt like he was an unnecessary presence in this world.
He thought Li Yang would show an impatient expression, but he found Li Yang calmly observing him.
No disdain, no impatience, earnestly listening, like an old friend known for years.
The man finally summoned the courage to say what he wanted to say.
From incoherent to a complete recount...
Turns out, his name was Liu Cheng.
From high school to college, and now interning, he had always had a nightmare.
Someone started bullying him in high school, humiliating him, taking pleasure in his pain.
The terrifying part was that person ended up attending the same university.
Liu Cheng came from a poor family, while that person was a rich second generation.
That person and Liu Cheng's dorm mates continued to inflict violence and humiliation on him.
Fortunately, there was a girl who liked his silly demeanor, willing to stay with him.
Finally graduating from college, he and his girlfriend joined the same internship workplace.
He thought he had distanced himself from that Demon.
Unexpectedly, that Demon showed up at his company too.
Liu Cheng was very self-conscious, difficult to befriend colleagues.
He only hoped to quietly do his job, but how simple is the workplace?
That Demon quickly mingled with colleagues lavishly, then isolated him, causing trouble for him.
He thought to endure the internship period, get the certificate, and leave the company immediately.
The Demon wouldn't possibly let this toy go.
His girl died, the bastard attempted an indecent act in the conference room, forcing the girl to jump to her death.
Coincidentally, the surveillance was down that day, and he was the sole witness.
The bastard's family was very powerful, and the investigation yielded no results.
Liu Cheng was furious, wanting revenge, but to no avail.
Good for nothing, his attempts at revenge seemed laughable in that bastard's eyes.
He hated himself for being useless.
These days, he kept having a dream.
He always dreamt of a black cat, the cat always telling him to come to a pharmacy.
The cat said that pharmacy had a cure for his suffering.
He thought it was a case of thinking about something so much during the day it seeped into his dreams.
But he just had this intuition that as long as he went to that pharmacy the dream cat spoke of, everything would be fine.
He didn't know, this was the power of the Black Witch influencing him.
After sharing his experience, Liu Cheng looked at Li Yang insecurely.
Seeing that Li Yang didn't treat him as mentally ill, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Yang had two choices.
The first: bestowing upon him the Desire Potion, turning him into a terrifying Demon to wantonly avenge those who bullied him.
The second: making a transaction to strip away his Desire Power.
He immediately rejected the first option.
Li Yang now urgently needed power, needed the Demon Power.
Who wouldn't want to possess Extraordinary Power?
Especially after the notion of a Demon Club was birthed in his mind.
Thus, only the second option remained, extracting Liu Cheng's Desire Power.
Li Yang put down the book he was holding:
"This pharmacy doesn't just sell things; it also acquires things, things I like very much."
Liu Cheng didn't understand what Li Yang meant.
Li Yang earnestly looked into Liu Cheng's eyes:
"You have a strong desire, I really like your desire.
Hand over your desire to me, as a transaction, I will resolve your current predicament.
Tell me, what is your desire?"
His voice was very magnetic, like a Demon's whisper, a beguiling Devil.
Liu Cheng instinctively said:
"I, I want others to fear me!"
Li Yang was taken aback.
He thought Liu Cheng would say something like killing that enemy or something.
Turns out it was hoping others would fear him?
Could it be that he spent a lifetime fearing others, and he believes if they feared him, nothing would happen?
A slight smile appeared on Li Yang's lips:
"Alright, your desire is mine now, deal's done!"
Liu Cheng was awestruck by the runes in Li Yang's eyes, his mouth agape.
Li Yang resumed holding his book:
"You can leave now."
Regaining his senses, Liu Cheng nodded, walking towards the pharmacy's exit, feeling at a loss.
Li Yang lowered his head to continue reading.
Suzu ran down from upstairs, arms resting on the counter, supporting her face:
"Li Yang, can you buy me a tablet tomorrow?"
Li Yang picked up his book, saying:
"Follow that kid."