Chapter 846: Chapter 846: The Origins of Tai Hei
Capital Metropolitan, Demon Clinic.
When Samuel Chalmers returned with Scarlett Jennings, Dashiell had just handed over the little canine demon to the clinic’s demon doctor for treatment.
The demon clan has a unique constitution and doesn’t fall ill as easily as ordinary humans. Even when injured, they recover faster than average people. Thus, Capital Metropolitan doesn’t have medical facilities specifically for demons, but there are demon clinics opened individually by demons skilled in medicine.
The clinic is situated at the boundary between Demon Street and human territory, yet it’s rare for humans to accidentally enter.
Scarlett Jennings knew of this clinic, but she wasn’t familiar with the demon behind it. However, it was said that the demon doctor of this clinic had a deep relationship with Aaron Hearne.
When Samuel Chalmers and Scarlett Jennings walked inside, they saw outside the consultation room, Dashiell with a small orange cat on his head, crouching by the wall, both looking somewhat downcast.
Seeing the two approaching, Dashiell immediately stood up with the orange cat on his head and called out,
"Scarlett!"
Then he looked towards Samuel Chalmers beside Scarlett Jennings, with slightly red eyes, his voice inexplicably carrying a sense of grievance, "Brother Samuel..."
Samuel Chalmers knew this little flood dragon and was aware that he followed him back then for the opportunity of Dragon Transformation.
He didn’t care much about his address.
Scarlett Jennings noticed the flash of disappointment in Dashiell’s eyes and straightforwardly shifted his attention by asking, "How is the little canine demon?"
Dashiell replied, "Still inside undergoing emergency treatment. The injuries are severe, but it shouldn’t die."
He spoke frankly, and the little orange cat on his head whimpered and cried upon hearing this.
The little orange cat reverted to its small bean form, with the demon features like ears and tail not yet retracted, but no one minded.
"Boohoo... It’s all my fault, Taihei got into trouble because of me..."
Samuel Chalmers also wanted to know how the tainted demon aura came about on the little canine demon, so he signaled him to speak,
"Speak in detail."
Barrett Clement was still sobbing and ignored Samuel Chalmers’s words. Scarlett Jennings thought for a moment, then took a Shellback turtle snack from her bag and handed it to him,
"Speak in detail."
Barrett Clement sniffed it, took it, and then spoke while leaning close to Scarlett Jennings.
"Taihei and I went out to play and saw someone deliberately throw a dying dog under a car wheel, pretending the dog was injured by the car to extort money. Taihei got angry at how those people treated the dog, so he fought them."
Though it was deliberate extortion, to make the dog’s injuries look more genuine, those people had actually run over the dog’s legs with a car.
Taihei, being a canine demon himself, couldn’t stand such things.
Initially, it was just a lesson, but by accident, they discovered a group of cat-and-dog traffickers stealing cats and dogs.
The extorted dog was also bought from those traffickers, specifically choosing pedigree dogs with owners.
Barrett Clement liked to watch short videos and knew that online some cat-and-dog traffickers captured cats and dogs specifically to eat them. Being of the same kind, Barrett Clement couldn’t bear the thought of those cats and dogs being eaten, so he told Taihei he wanted to rescue those animals.
The two imps followed the group all the way out of town, finding the truck loaded with cats and dogs.
What happened next was as Scarlett Jennings had been told.
In order to protect him, Taihei exposed his demon identity, causing those people to threaten him with Taihei and the animals, and later Taihei was taken away separately and imprisoned.
After hearing the entire sequence of events, Scarlett Jennings wasn’t surprised by the actions of the two imps, but she hadn’t heard what she wanted to know about Taihei’s condition.
"If Taihei was normal before, the tainted demon energy might have been caused after he was taken by those dog traffickers."
Scarlett Jennings looked at Samuel Chalmers, "Is there something wrong with those people?"
Samuel Chalmers said, "Those were all ordinary people."
They weren’t demons, nor did they have any taint on them.
Upon hearing this, Scarlett Jennings’s eyes narrowed slightly,
"Then it must have been from earlier, which just happened to manifest at that time."
She said as she asked Barrett Clement about Taihei’s situation, like his demon family and where he came from.
Barrett Clement responded,
"Taihei is an orphan demon, he was born without parents."
He had met Taihei just a few months ago.
At that time, his dream of running away from home to become an internet celebrity had fallen through, leaving him listless, even losing his appetite for his favorite fish snacks.
Then one day, when he accidentally dropped his fish snack, Taihei suddenly appeared and snatched it away.
Naturally, Barrett Clement wasn’t going to let that go, so despite Taihei being a dog, he rushed up and wrestled with him.
After that scrap, they became acquaintances, as Barrett Clement learned Taihei stole his snacks because he had nothing to eat, prompting him to generously share half of his snacks with Taihei.
In return, Taihei would fight on his behalf.
In this way, Barrett Clement gained a partner and no longer yearned to be an internet celebrity cat.
He wanted to cultivate diligently and attend school with Taihei!
"Taihei didn’t have a name before, I gave him the name Taihei."
Because the little canine demon was entirely black, calling him Little Black or Blacky was too common, so Barrett Clement moved a dot from the character for "dog" to create "Taihei."
Barrett Clement felt proud of the deep meaning behind the name and was immensely satisfied with it.
"By the way, when Taihei was fighting fiercely with a crow demon who bullied me, his eyes turned red too, but they quickly returned to normal."
Barrett Clement’s intermittent recounting finally revealed useful information.
Scarlett Jennings finally pieced together Taihei’s basic situation from his account.
Taihei, born as a canine demon cub, wandered off to Capital Metropolitan for unknown reasons. The tainted demon energy, which could drive him mad, had been dormant in his body until it emerged under special circumstances.
And from Scarlett Jennings’s understanding of the demon clan over these days, unless a demon develops spiritual wisdom and transforms partway, typical demon cubs usually have their own tribes. Even if both parents died, they wouldn’t be left alone, nor would they be without a name.
Scarlett Jennings tended to conclude,
"He might have escaped to Capital Metropolitan."
If he were a wild demon cub, even for survival, he wouldn’t typically venture deep into human territories.
Yet not only did he arrive at Capital Metropolitan, but he also mingled within the demon clan’s activities, suggesting he was more likely...
Seeking refuge.
Was someone hunting him?
Perhaps the reason for the capture was linked to the tainted demon energy lurking inside him.
If this deduction was correct, there were only two likely reasons for his capture by those people.
Either, like them, they discovered the taint and wanted to investigate it.
Or... they were the ones who caused Taihei to become tainted.
Suddenly, Scarlett Jennings recalled something and looked at Samuel Chalmers, "Can we track down who the dog traffickers trading Taihei with?"
Samuel Chalmers apparently had the same thought and understood why she asked, promptly taking out his phone to make a call.
Soon enough, Scarlett Jennings saw him return, his deep, dark eyes carrying a hint of coldness,
"There’s just been a report from the bureau; the humans at the warehouse were attacked by an unknown creature."
His voice was low and steady as he said,
"All their hearts were torn out, none survived."