The Seven Demons of the City

Yang Fan is a young man in the modern city and a third-rate novelist.

On a whim, he decides to raise a little flower to cultivate his sensibilities.

Writers are romantic, but lazy. What's the point of raising flowers? The pots may last forever, but the flowers come and go. In the end, he buys a trumpet vine outside a Taoist temple and takes it home.

The trumpet vine thrives in the little courtyard of my home, spreading all over it. Then one late night, I am typing away on my faded old Shenzhou laptop, its keyboard worn from years of use.

Half-asleep, sipping tea that's been steeped until it barely tastes like tea, I think there's lightning and thunder outside and rain is coming. I shut the window, and the expected thunderstorm arrives. Then I see a pair of dainty feet appear on my sofa. A girl in an orange-red dress has just barged into my life.

On guard, I grab my laptop and hold it up like a brick for protection. I am a staunch materialist and atheist.

"Fox spirit, spare me!" I cry, staring at the girl as countless vines sprout from her body.

The girl pouts. "You're the fox demon! I'm a trumpet vine!"

Me: "..."

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.