Listening to Lin Yan's confusion, Chen put down the book she was holding, "You're called Lin Yan, right?" As she spoke, she stood up.
"Yes," Lin Yan still stared at the screen, "What is it?"
Chen walked around the screen and strolled to the foot of Lin Yan's bed, asking, "Are you worried about that child now, or… do you want to eat pastries?"
Ever since Zeng left, Lin Yan had mentioned how Zeng hadn't returned every now and then, which made Chen curious about his thoughts.
Lin Yan was not good at expressing his inner feelings normally. Now that Chen asked him directly, he didn't know how to respond.
"....."
A smile flickered across Chen's lips. "If you're not worried about that child, then don't."
"Why?"
"Because, if you only think about yourself, I'll get annoyed listening to you."
"I..." Lin Yan didn't want Chen to dislike him, so he hesitated, "I'm worried about Zeng."
Hearing Lin Yan's reply, Chen's lips curved upwards slightly. "I'll go look for them."
"If you go, who will take care of me?" Lin Yan asked anxiously.
Chen: "You haven't asked me to take care of you for the past hour either, have you?"
Lin Yan's eyes dodged slightly. "I... your presence here is also a form of mental care for me."
"What do you mean?"
"It means, I'm afraid of being lonely." Lin Yan didn't intend to say this, but seeing Chen's uncomprehending expression, he relented.
"Lonely? Are you even a man?"
Lin Yan nodded. "I am."
"You are, yet you fear loneliness? You're sick." Chen finished speaking, glared at Lin Yan, and turned to walk out of the dilapidated temple.
Lin Yan anxiously shouted, "Don't go, stay with me."
This time, Chen left the dilapidated temple without looking back.
Unexpectedly, just before she stepped down the stairs, the sky suddenly turned dark, and layers of black smoke gradually enveloped the surroundings.
Seeing this, Chen's heart sank. She tilted her head and asked in a low voice, "Who is it?"
"....."
Silence.
Chen felt puzzled. She slowly raised her hand and tentatively asked, "Are you demon souls?"
"If you know, then get lost. Hand over that human inside."
Hearing the man's voice, Chen's nerves tensed sharply. "He's injured. He... probably doesn't have the ability to offend you, right?" As she spoke, her gaze roamed everywhere, but she couldn't find the demon soul's shadow.
"If you don't hand him over, I won't be polite," the man said. Then, the masses of black mist slowly approached Chen.
Seeing this, Chen asked, "What exactly do you want?"
Lin Yan, hearing the sounds coming from outside into the dilapidated temple, couldn't help but feel a surge of panic. He held onto the bed, stood up, and forgetting to put on his shoes, walked towards the temple entrance, step by step.
Chen heard the footsteps behind her but didn't want Lin Yan to know her identity.
Helplessly, she waved her hand behind her, and the door slammed shut.
The moment the door closed, Lin Yan stopped in his tracks.
Then, the light inside the dilapidated temple gradually faded. Lin Yan trembled with fear.
"Chen, what's going on?" he asked, his voice trembling.
Chen heard Lin Yan's question, but seeing the current situation, she couldn't reply. She quickly reached out and cast a demonic spell towards the black mist.
Immediately, the black mist gradually retreated.
Chen's lips curved upwards. "Just mere demon souls, trying to contend with me." As she spoke, she swept her gaze, and the dust on the ground instantly swirled up.
Gradually, the dust enveloped the black mist.
"I didn't expect you to have some skills," the man said, and the black mist disappeared.
Chen snorted, circled her hand in front of her, and the dust fell with a swish.
Following that, Chen, after confirming the demon souls had left and the sky had cleared, revealed her weakened state. "I feel so uncomfortable." As she spoke, she bent over, covering her chest, and coughed a few times.
Inside the temple, Lin Yan stood frozen, covered in cold sweat, with a puddle forming at his feet.
Afterward, his lips trembled as he asked, "What's going on?"
At the same time, Chen concealed her weakness, pushed open the door, and glanced at Lin Yan's stance, and the puddle at his feet, asking, "You... really?" As she asked, she walked closer and discovered that he had actually wet himself.
Lin Yan snapped back to reality and, as if seeing a loved one, opened his arms. "That was so terrifying." As he spoke, just as he was about to embrace Chen, she took a step back.
"You're a grown man, and you've wet yourself? How disgusting."
However, Lin Yan hadn't realized it until Chen mentioned it. Hearing Chen say this, he quickly looked down and chuckled awkwardly. "Ha... ha... this isn't urine, it's sweat."
Immediately, Chen pointed at his pants without giving him any face.
This time, Lin Yan felt too embarrassed to look down, and only sheepishly said, "Don't tell anyone, okay?"
Chen nodded. "You can, but clean this up first."
"Okay," Lin Yan agreed readily.
Chen, enduring the pain, said, "You're not allowed to go behind the screen, otherwise, I'll spread the word about you wetting yourself."
"Okay, I won't go." Lin Yan agreed excitedly.
Chen: "....." She turned and walked towards the screen.
At this moment, due to fear, Lin Yan had forgotten all the sounds he had heard. What puzzled him now was why Chen was walking with a limp.
"Chen!"
Hearing this, Chen stopped in her tracks, turned her head to look at Lin Yan, and asked impatiently, "What is it?"
"Why do you look so tired?"
Chen replied without thinking, "There was a sudden strong wind outside. I had to run a couple of steps to escape it, and I got tired. But you too, a mere gust of wind scared you that much? Are you even a man?" As she spoke, she glared at Lin Yan and, bypassing the screen, quickly sat on the ground.
Lin Yan was speechless.
In the deserted marketplace, Mu An Xiao stood in the middle of the road, glancing warily to both sides. He turned and asked, "Shen Fengzi, since you didn't discover anything just now, what good are you?"
Feng Qi Shi replied, "Who said I didn't discover anything? I discovered a phenomenon."
Mu An Xiao asked, "Go on, what phenomenon?"
"I discovered that all the people are gone, and the doors of every courtyard are left ajar."
"Then why are the doors of these shops tightly shut?" Mu An Xiao pointed to the sides.
Feng Qi Shi shrugged his shoulders. "How would I know? I'm just stating the phenomenon I observed."
Hearing Feng Qi Shi say this, Mu An Xiao thought about it and sighed. "There's no doubt about it."
Piao asked, "No doubt about what?"
A twist on Mu An Xiao's lips. "What else could it be? Those people must have been captured by the demon souls. I find it strange, why would demon souls capture them? There are so many mortals, isn't it tiring to capture them?"
Feng Qi Shi thought Mu An Xiao would be worried about this. To his surprise, she was so calmly contemplating these issues, which amazed him.
Piao thought the same.
But seeing Mu An Xiao's state of mind, they didn't ask further.