Shen Minyao was immediately discharged from the hospital that morning. Since there wasn’t anything wrong with her body, the doctors deemed it safe for her to go home. Although Cheng Lifan was still worried about her stepdaughter’s condition, she sighed in relief when she was assured by the doctor that there was nothing wrong with Shen Minyao and that she only needed a few days of rest to fully recover. 

The first thing the fox woman did after arriving at the Shen residence was to check Shen Minyao’s room, making sure that no demon or ghost was residing at the place. Although she had seen lower demons the moment she stepped outside Cheng Lifan’s car, they were harmless inanimate objects1 that had reached their first century, making them aware of their surroundings. 

These kinds of demons were known to protect the house and its inhabitants. They were usually harmless, though they tended to play small pranks. Still, they had the capacity to get angry and could group up to take revenge against those who threw them away or didn’t treat them well. 

If there was a calamity about to hit the family, these kinds of demons tended to take the hit to save the family. Alas, even if they could all sacrifice their lives to save the real Shen Minyao, they wouldn’t be able to stop Shen Qing from killing her cousin outside the residence. 

Since the Shen residence was quite old already and had been inhabited by three generations of the family, the fox woman wasn’t surprised to see these kinds of demons occupying the place. 

Grandfather Shen was also living with them while Shen Qing and her family lived at the house across from the main house, which the head of the family gave to Shen Minyao’s uncle when he got married decades ago. Meanwhile, Shen Xin—along with Cheng Lifan and their children—lived at the main house since Shen Xin was to succeed his father in the future, leaving Shen Minyao and her younger half-brother, Shen Qingyuan, as his successors. 

“Xiao Yao, if you feel that you aren’t ready to go back to school, you can tell me, okay?” Cheng Lifan appeared outside her door and knocked to get Shen Minyao’s attention. 

“It’s okay, Mama. My head is clear now. Missing a few more classes would make it hard for me to catch up with the lessons.” Shen Minyao gave her stepmother a weak smile. The fox woman doubted she would get used to acting like a spoiled child in front of Cheng Lifan. She wondered how long it would take for this woman to realize that the Shen Minyao in front of her wasn’t her real stepdaughter. 

“Alright. Just tell me if you need anything. I’ve already explained your situation to your father, so please don’t quarrel with him anymore,” Cheng Lifan said worriedly. Her husband and her stepdaughter rarely saw and talked to each other, and their relationship turned sour from their last meeting at the hospital. 

The fox woman pressed her lips into a thin line. She was really tempted to tell Cheng Lifan about her short temper when it came to dealing with idiots like Shen Xin, but she had chosen to hold her tongue instead. It would be too abrupt to change Shen Minyao’s personality this early. 

“Actually, I want to ask you a favor, Mama… if that’s okay with you.” 

Hearing her stepdaughter seek her for help made Cheng Lifan’s face light up. Shen Minyao rarely asked her for anything. 

“If that’s something I could do, then I don’t see why not.” She walked towards her stepdaughter and took Shen Minyao’s hands into hers. “Yao’er, if you are still worried about Shen Qing, let me deal with her instead.” 

The fox woman shook her head and smiled genuinely this time. Shen Qing wasn’t something worth her airtime at all. 

“No, Mama. It’s alright. Uncle and Auntie might say something bad about you again if you intervene. As I said, I intend to end the engagement I have with Brother Yin. I think Qing Jie only did it because she wanted to be with him.” 

A bitch and a trash? Why would she stop them from being together? If anything, she would rather not see their disgusting faces anymore as they only fouled her mood. 

Cheng Lifan obviously wanted to say more, but she only sighed and patted Shen Minyao’s arm in understanding. Perhaps, it would be for the better if her stepdaughter and Su Yin part ways if that meant her Yao’er would lead a happier and peaceful life. 

“Then, what kind of favor do you need, Yao’er?” She asked Shen Minyao gently. Cheng Lifan was set to give anything Shen Minyao would ask of her. 

“Mama, I want to get stronger. Can I get some physical training?” The fox woman asked Cheng Lifan. This host’s body was too weak and would easily tire from the stunts she was pulling. Even with her heightened senses, Shen Minyao’s body wasn’t able to keep up with her speed and agility. 

Cheng Lifan blinked in surprise from her stepdaughter’s unusual requests. She had never thought that Shen Minyao would consider something like this. 

“I can arrange that if you want. Yuan’er was also thinking to do the same because Grandpa has been asking him to take some training.” 

“Great! I’ll be glad to join him in his training.” The fox woman smiled. The faster her body improved, the better. 

The real Shen Minyao had a lot of memories with her younger brother. Although Shen Qingyuan could be arrogant and mean at times, he listened well to his older sister. Shen Minyao was eight years older than Shen Qingyuan, so the young boy of ten would still look at the fox woman as his older sister.

The fox woman wasn’t looking forward to seeing the boy. She had never been fond of children and only tolerated Little Jiu’s presence in her past life. So dealing with Shen Qingyuan would prove to be a headache she had to endure in the future. 

Commonly known as Tsukumogami, they are inanimate objects that once they have served their owner/s for 100 years, they receive a soul and therefore become alive and self-aware.