Zhong Zi's gray eyes held a smile. He chuckled and shook his head, "I have not been demonized."
Jing Feng stared at him, still not entirely convinced. "Why don't you let Miss Bai take a look?"
Miss Bai could see the dark energy emanating from demonized individuals, something they couldn't detect.
Jiang Ye looked at Zhong Zi before him, full of hesitation. This person seemed perfectly normal. He was probably telling the truth...
Wang... Hearing Jing Feng's words, Zhong Zi clenched his fist and lowered his head, his eyes filled with an inexpressible complexity.
...
"Young master—! Zhong Zi is back—!" Jiang Ye, like a simpleton, burst into Bai Ran's room without knocking.
Instantly, Bai Ran, who was in cultivation, flared up. "Knock first!"
But the next moment, Bai Ran stared at the unharmed Zhong Zi before her, stunned. "Zhong Zi...?"
"You? How did you get back?" She stood up, looking at him incredulously.
"Young master, you must be quite surprised too. I didn't expect him to return on his own! I thought Si Nian was hallucinating," Jiang Ye said with a foolish grin.
Jing Feng stepped forward, a little nervous. "Miss Bai, please check if he has been demonized..."
Zhong Zi had been captured by demonized people for over two months, and now he had reappeared before everyone safe and sound. Moreover, the abilities of the Nine Calamities were so tricky.
No one could believe it...
Hearing this, Bai Ran looked at Zhong Zi and smiled, a heavy stone finally lifted from her heart. "He has not been demonized."
"Really!" Jing Feng turned around, looking at Zhong Zi with immense joy. "That's great!"
"I shouldn't have resented you before! I didn't expect you to face all the demonized people alone!"
The guilt accumulated over these days erupted the moment Jing Feng saw him.
Jiang Ye also laughed heartily. "Blind to the eyes, but not to the heart."
However, Zhong Zi looked terribly dejected. Facing Jing Feng's apology, he was completely absent-minded and hadn't even heard what he was saying.
Bai Ran frowned. "What's wrong? Why are you staring at me?"
Zhong Zi lowered his gaze, as if harboring many secrets. "It's nothing..."
"I was just thinking... I will never betray my master..."
Bai Ran was a little puzzled by Zhong Zi's strange statement but didn't think much of it. "Tell us, how did you manage to get back?"
Jiang Ye put his arm around Zhong Zi's shoulder and raised an eyebrow at him. "You're so strong, you didn't defeat all those demonized people, did you?"
Zhong Zi let out a helpless smile. It wasn't that exaggerated.
"The Nine Calamities' ability is to hypnotize humans using their eyes," he said calmly. "Her ability requires eye contact, and I happen to be unable to see her eyes clearly."
Zhong Zi's gray eyes could only see the color of souls. He couldn't see what people looked like. All he saw was a ball of light with color.
Jiang Ye blinked, his eyes widening. "You mean you don't even know what we look like??"
He's really blind... Jiang Ye had only been teasing him...
"Your focus is truly peculiar," Jing Feng sighed.
Zhong Zi glanced at Bai Ran, then paused. "The Nine Calamities didn't know my eyes were unclear. She mistakenly thought she had turned me into a demonized person."
So that's how it was. Bai Ran understood the cause and effect. The Nine Calamities mistakenly thought she had turned Zhong Zi into a demonized person, so she didn't pay much attention to him.
Jiang Ye grabbed Zhong Zi and pulled him outside, laughing boisterously. "Let's go! I'll treat you to a drink!"
But Zhong Zi gently pushed his hand away. "I want to talk to my master..."
He turned his gaze to Bai Ran. For some reason, Bai Ran felt that Zhong Zi was hiding something from her.
"You two go out first."
Jiang Ye pouted helplessly and pulled Jing Feng with him again. "Then the two of us will go!"
"What kind of drink in broad daylight!" Jing Feng just wanted to pull his hand away, but Jiang Ye's brute strength made it impossible.
Thus, Jiang Ye dragged the very unwilling Jing Feng out of the room.
...
Bai Ran sat down again, her expression serene. "Is there something you need to tell me?"
Zhong Zi bit his lower lip, his brows knitted together as if in a tangle of unspoken sorrow.
"Master... Actually, there is another person in the previous session. He is also your subordinate."
No... that's not what he wanted to say...
But Zhong Zi couldn't bring himself to speak about what was on his mind...
Bai Ran turned her head and looked at him, puzzled. "If it's about this, why did you send Jing Feng and the others away?"
Zhong Zi averted his gaze, not looking at her.
Receiving no answer, Bai Ran frowned. "Zhong Zi, what exactly are you hiding?"
At this moment, the Wushi Beast in the spatial dimension was extremely anxious. Speak... hurry up and speak...
He couldn't let his father's lifespan be wasted in vain...
He desperately wanted to remind this woman of the truth, but the price to pay was too great. If he said it, he might die.
"I'm not hiding anything..."
Zhong Zi was someone who wore his emotions on his face. Anyone could see that he was lying at that moment.
"Damn it!" The Wushi Beast cursed, filled with frustration and disappointment.
Looking at Zhong Zi's expression, he must have known the truth but couldn't bring himself to say it...
Zhuque looked at the Wushi Beast muttering to himself with a shifting expression and tilted his head. "What are you mumbling about?"
The Wushi Beast was filled with anger, and his tone became much harsher. "Get lost!"
"Crack, crack" The sound of stretching bones echoed. The Wushi Beast blinked, only to feel a wave of heat behind him.
"Bang—bang—bang—"
Zhuque clapped his hands and left in a huff.
The Wushi Beast was beaten beyond recognition and lay miserably on the ground. "Why is it so hard for me...!"
Outside the spatial dimension, Bai Ran looked at Zhong Zi, who still avoided her gaze, and sighed. "Fine, if you don't want to say it, then don't."
"Where is the other subordinate you mentioned?"
Only then did Zhong Zi look directly at Bai Ran. "In Drunkard City, his name is Dong Ling."
Drunkard City... Bai Ran pondered. Her cultivation had now reached the fifth stage of the Integration stage.
However, in her haste to rescue Zhong Zi, Bai Ran had prioritized speed over solidifying her foundation.
Now that Zhong Zi had safely returned, perhaps it was time to train and stabilize her strength.
"During this period, I will enter the cultivation chamber for closed-door training. You go find him and bring him here."
"Your subordinate obeys." Zhong Zi bowed and exited the room.
A moment later, Xuan Qinghong slowly entered the room, holding a cup of tea.
"Drink this. It's a cooling tea to relieve anger," he said, gently placing the teacup on the wooden table before Bai Ran.
Xuan Qinghong had witnessed the little one's efforts during this time.
Bai Ran looked at the steaming hot "cooling" tea and stiffened. "Master... what kind of cooling tea is hot...?"
Xuan Qinghong glared at her, his expression stern. "The weather is cold, why would you drink something raw and cold!"