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墨書 Inktalez
"This," the fox raised an eyebrow, "can be considered an upgraded version of the water ghost sweet soup!"
Xing Ruyi knew that the fox was deliberately brushing her off, and she didn't feel like pursuing it further. She simply looked at the pot of sweet soup and asked, "Can I drink it?"
"Do you want to drink it?" The fox replied with a question, a smirk on his lips, seven parts teasing and three parts mischief, making him look even more like a cunning old fox!
"I want to drink it!" Xing Ruyi licked her lips, and the fox smiled indulgently yet helplessly. He patted Xing Ruyi's head and said, "If you want to drink it, go ahead! With me here, those water ghosts can't do anything to you!"
"Water ghosts?" Xing Ruyi hugged the fox's arm. "Are you hiding something from me? Are you planning to use me to lure ghosts?"
"Are you scared?" the fox asked.
"Should I be scared?" Xing Ruyi lifted her chin proudly, released her grip, and went to drink the soup.
The night spread out like an endless net, swallowing the last hint of brightness. Dark clouds rolled strangely in the leaden sky, and faint lightning flashed like jagged teeth. Xing Ruyi mumbled as she turned over but couldn't find the soft and warm body of the fox. So, she groggily sat up and rubbed her eyes.
The fox stood in a patch of mottled moonlight, dressed in white. Occasionally, lightning would flash by, causing his snow-white clothes to flutter without wind.
"Yin Chensi, what are you doing?" Xing Ruyi instinctively called out the fox's name because the strange atmosphere in the air made her feel a chill creeping down her back. The name of the fox brought an inexplicable sense of security; just saying it made that chill fade significantly.
Hearing Xing Ruyi's voice, the fox turned around and walked back. He gently wrapped his arms around Xing Ruyi's slightly cool body and said, "I'm here! Don't worry!"
"I know!" Xing Ruyi affectionately hugged his waist but kept her gaze fixed outside the window. "Something has happened, right?"
"Shh! Listen!" The fox urged as he tightened his embrace a little more.
A child's sharp cry echoed through the night sky, reverberating in the cold air.
Xing Ruyi was startled and instinctively looked at Yin Yuan. Inside the Bamboo Bed, Yin Yuan opened his eyes unhappily and pouted in grievance.
"Be good! Don't be afraid!" Xing Ruyi patted him gently.
Yin Yuan wrinkled his nose, appearing as if he was saying, "I'm not afraid, you don't need to comfort me."
Suddenly, Xing Ruyi remembered that Yin Yuan was not an ordinary child; he was the Demonic Soul of the Ghostly Fetus, perhaps the most terrifying existence in this world. She sighed silently in her heart, turned around, and looked at the fox.
"Is it a water ghost?"
The fox nodded.
"Let's go out and take a look!"
The fox shook its head and pointed to itself. "I can't go out!"
"I understand! Don't worry, I'll be careful." Xing Ruyi smiled gently and took the opportunity to kiss the fox on the lips.
The fox was a fox spirit. Although she didn't know how powerful it truly was, judging from the reactions of those Monsters and Spirits, it must be extraordinary. Any powerful demon would possess strong magical abilities, and those Monsters and Spirits had very keen senses. If the fox took action, it was likely that before they even approached the truth, it would have slipped away.
The pot of ghost-catching soup that the fox made likely meant the same thing: she would take the lead while he provided support. Xing Ruyi was very satisfied with this arrangement; she never wanted to be safely protected under the fox's tail.
Moonlight filtered through layers of tree shadows, casting a pale spot on the pitch-black ground. The street was very quiet, subtly revealing a sense of loneliness. The lights at the entrance of the Shop were mostly still on, occasionally flickering weakly through either new or old lampshades. The light was somewhat strange, alternating between white and yellow, always dim and muted. As she approached, she realized it was a Moth chasing after the light source, constantly beating against the lampshade. The moth flutters towards fire, seeking its own demise, yet chasing after brightness was the lifelong dream of these Moths.
Xing Ruyi focused her mind and searched in the darkness with her ghostly senses. A damp chill gradually spread from the ground, bringing with it solitude and coldness that mercilessly wrapped around Xing Ruyi, stealing away her remaining body heat. After a while, footsteps gradually approached. She turned around and saw a vague shadow facing her. Squinting in confusion, she took a closer look and recognized it as the person depicted on the wanted poster for Chang Tai that she had seen during the day.
Xing Ruyi stepped back cautiously; just as she was about to speak, she noticed that the man seemed not to see her but was instead searching furtively on the street.
"Can't you see me?" Xing Ruyi moved a bit closer and waved her hand in front of him. Indeed, his gaze passed right over her.
Feeling frustrated, Xing Ruyi found herself unable to determine whether it was this man's issue or her own.
Without time to think further, her feet automatically followed the man as they moved from the main street into a dark alley.
The man's movements grew increasingly mysterious, and his facial expressions became more animated. Listening to his occasional mutterings and intermittent bursts of laughter, Xing Ruyi could only conclude one thing: he was a lunatic.
Just as she hesitated about whether to interrupt her pursuit, she noticed the man had stopped. Looking up, she saw a slightly ajar window that had not been securely closed. This was a poor alley in Luoyang City, where impoverished families gathered, and most of the houses were shabby due to lack of funds for repairs.
Xing Ruyi recognized this particular household; the man worked at the docks carrying goods while the woman stayed home doing some sewing and laundry. After a hard year, they barely managed to make ends meet. They had a child named Tiger, who was as frail as a sickly cat. A year ago, Tiger had caught a cold, and it was she who helped treat him.
Thinking of the recent reports of missing children in the city and realizing that the man before her was a suspect, Xing Ruyi clenched her fists.
At that moment, the man cautiously lifted the window. With the dim light from the alley, she could vaguely see Tiger, cat-like and nestled in his mother's arms, peacefully sleeping against the wall. Tiger's father, the man who worked hard all year round, lay at the window's edge. It seemed they had heard the rumors circulating in the city and were clumsily trying to protect their child in their own way.
Just as Xing Ruyi was about to take action, she saw the man pull out a flute from a cloth bag he carried and gently blow into it towards the room. A wisp of white smoke emerged, almost imperceptibly.
It was sleeping powder! The cheap kind, but enough for this scoundrel to easily abduct a child!
"Bastard!" Xing Ruyi cursed as she rolled up her sleeves and quickly approached the man.
Her hand came down forcefully but unexpectedly passed through his body.
Looking down at the ground, in the dim light, Xing Ruyi realized she couldn't see her own shadow.
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