Chapter 102

102: Getting a Good Deal and Still Acting Ungrateful?

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To be fair, as the principal of this half-zoo-half-celestial-playground, I had to take some blame. Lu Ya had been living in our humble little corner of the mortal realm for a while now and hadn’t even seen a shopping mall. So here I was again, doing damage control and making a pit stop at the flower and bird market.

I went straight to the same shop as last time.

The shop owner greeted me with a knowing grin. “Here to buy fish again?”

“Nope,” I held up the culprit. “This filter broke. On its own.”

He squinted at it like I was handing him a live grenade. “Looks fine to me. Our products are quality. How do I know it didn’t break because of something you did?”

“What, you think I bashed it against the tank out of boredom?” I shot back. “Just replace it. I’ve got fish to feed.”

He crossed his arms. “You can get it fixed somewhere else.”

“And where exactly would that be? The Fish Filter Repair Center? Come on, be reasonable—”

“Don’t raise your voice. I’m just being honest here.”

“You’re being stingy. Just tell me if you’ll replace it or not.” I jabbed a thumb over my shoulder. “My fish are waiting.”

The man actually started sweating. “They’re still alive?”

“Of course they’re alive! What, did you sell me sick fish?” I glared at him.

Honestly, with how many I crammed into one tank, it was a small miracle they hadn’t revolted.

Just as we were reaching peak customer-service standoff, a familiar voice piped up, “Old Tang, check my dragon-eye butterfly fish, will ya?”

I turned. It was the same old man from my last visit, clutching a bag of anxious goldfish like they owed him rent. He looked ready to cry.

“It’s been sitting at the bottom of the tank all day. Depressed. I tried everything. I’m going insane.”

“Hold on,” the shopkeeper waved me off like an annoying fly and turned full fish doctor. “Isolate it. Check the poop. Might be enteritis.”

The old man nodded. “Didn’t think of that…”

“Wait, wait, wait,” I jumped in. “That fish isn’t sick. It just hasn’t adjusted to the water yet. Add some salt.”

The old man blinked at me. “Huh?”

Then recognition flickered. “It’s you, the kid who mixed, like, eight species in one tank!”

Hey, guilty. But the fish were thriving, so who was really the fool?

Even the shop owner looked confused. “How do you know that?”

I smirked. “Just look at the fish.”

That shut him up.

The old man chuckled and decided to try both salt and meds. “Thanks, boys.”

“No problem,” I said. “Now, about my filter…”

With a real customer watching, the shopkeeper cracked. “Fine, I’ll replace it.”

Victory.

I took my new filter, smug and satisfied, when the old man followed me out. “Young man, how are your fish doing?”

“They’re thriving.” I whipped out my phone and showed him a gif. All my fish were swimming in perfect formation toward my finger like some aquatic army.

He looked at the video like I’d summoned fish magic. “Where do you keep them? This doesn’t look like a home aquarium…”

“Good eye!” I grinned. “It’s a zoo, actually. You know the old Sea Corner Zoo? It’s called Lingyuan Zoo now. We’re reopening next week—swing by!”

The old man cackled. “Calling it an aquarium! Young people these days… Sure, I’ll come.”

“Great! Mention Duan Jiaze for a discount.”

…

Shopping trip done, I even picked up some new outfits before heading back. As soon as I stepped into Lingyuan, I saw Xiao Su and Liu Bin under a tree, doting over a little girl like she was royalty.

She was around six or seven, white dress, big dark eyes, two neat pigtails, holding a cookie like it was gold. A living porcelain doll.

“Whose child is this?” I asked, suspicious.

Xiao Su blinked. “Principal, isn’t she yours? She said she came to find you.”

Excuse me?

I crouched. “Sweetheart, what’s your name?”

The girl crunched her cookie, eyes dancing. “You Su.”

Never heard of her in my life.

“Who told you to find me?”

“Ling Xiao…” she began.

I clamped a hand over her mouth. “Yup! She’s Lu Ge’s relative. I’ll take her to him.”

I yanked her away before she could spill any divine-level secrets. Only when we got to Lu Ya’s room did I realize—oh hell, this was her.

Another “employee” from the Ling Xiao Hope Project. But this one looked like a child! Was this legal?! This was literal child labor in a zoo!

I peeked in. “Master, uh… there’s a newcomer. You recognize her?”

Lu Ya, lounging like an immortal sloth, glanced up from his phone. “Smells like trouble. Oh, the Nine-Tailed Fox is here too.”

I nearly dropped her. “The what now?!”

The girl curtsied. “Lu Ya Daojun, it’s been a while.”

“Hold up—which Nine-Tailed Fox?”

She smiled, all sugar and no shame. “The most famous one.”

“Wait. You don’t mean—DAJI?!”

…

Elsewhere, a different child was causing different levels of chaos.

Zhao Bo had come back from his cousin’s house a changed man. His parents couldn’t figure it out. Fan Haiping didn’t even believe him when he said the birds at the zoo followed him around.

That was until someone in the class group chat shared a viral gif—kids waving goodbye as pearl birds took flight from their shoulders, flapping off into the sunset. Two plump peacocks followed behind like latecomers in a cartoon.

Fan Haiping laughed… until she noticed one of the kids looked eerily familiar. “Old Zhao, is that… your son?”

Zhao Zhengyi squinted. “It is him!”

Zhao Bo confirmed excitedly. “Yeah! That was when we said goodbye at Lingyuan Zoo! The birds really like us!”

More classmates chimed in: “Where is this zoo?” “Donghai City?” “I wanna go!”

Zhao Zhengyi puffed up with pride. “That’s my son in the blue plaid shirt. The zoo’s called Lingyuan. Next to Haijiao Park!”

…

Meanwhile, I had no idea this gif was blowing up online.

Instead, I was dealing with a break-in. Xiao Su and Liu Bin found the front gate forced open, the lock mangled, railings bent. Not just a robbery—this was deliberate sabotage.

And then we saw it: unfamiliar feed in the animal dishes.

“What if it’s poisoned?!” I panicked.

Liu Bin tried to tempt the deer with the stuff, but the deer turned away with an offended snort. Thank heavens.

I breathed out slowly. Right. Heavenly feed. Divine senses. My animals were smarter than me.

Still, I was furious.

I stormed off to confront Lu Ya. “Master, didn’t you notice anything last night?”

He looked ashamed. “Wasn’t paying attention. Mortals aren’t usually worth noticing.”

I facepalmed.

He stood up and summoned his magic sword and knife, solemn as a judge. “I’ll behead the traitor.”

“WAIT.” I dragged him back. “This is a lawful society. We do not decapitate first and ask questions later.”

Grumbling about mortal rules, Lu Ya tapped the aquarium. The water shimmered, projecting last night’s surveillance. At first—nothing.

Then: movement.

Shadowy figures prying open the gate. Moonlight caught their faces just enough—

“Pause! That’s them!”

Just as the screen froze, a peacock behind us spread its tail feathers.

Blue, green, gold. The colors rippled in the light like living metal. Cameras clicked like mad.

The peacocks weren’t done, either. A second male joined in, and the journalists practically drooled.

“I’ve never seen one this stunning in real life,” one said, eyes wide.

They didn’t even need bird feed. The little guys just perched on people’s hands like trained acrobats. One even nuzzled Xiao Su’s cheek, puffball head sinking adorably into fluff.

Xu Chenggong, our awkward new hire, got swarmed too. A parrot bounced on his shoulder, demanding affection. He tried to stay professional, but his smile ruined the attempt.

And that was it—pure gold on camera. The story angle shifted from “small zoo” to “heartwarming human-animal bond.”

Even though it was obvious these birds were trained, the sincerity of the interactions blew everyone away.

As for me? I was roped into performing tricks for the camera—coaxing birds to fly out in formation, re-entering the door by size order like some flying talent show.

By the time we were done, even the lions looked like cuddly cats.

The reporters? Swooning.

The footage? Unbelievable.

The zoo?

Suddenly, the most buzzed-about place in Donghai.

And to think… I just wanted a working fish filter.