Watching Hu Yuan, who had been tricked into going back to accurately find Xiao Yun for Chen Yun, my eyes nearly popped out of my head in surprise. Was she a fox spirit reincarnated? I had been in contact with her for less than twenty-four hours, yet she could transform into such a personality. Which personality was the real her?
The aloof CEO from our first meeting, then the neighborly older sister pretending to be pitiful and distressed about Xiao Yun being captured, and now a seductive siren. Could she have multiple personality disorder?
Aloof? Intellectual? Sexy, or something else?
As soon as Hu Yuan left with the fur, Chen Yun gagged, spitting out several mouthfuls of saliva before straightening her back. Seeing me staring intently at her, she rolled her eyes and pulled her top up slightly.
"What are you looking at? Dare to glance again, and I'll dig your eyeballs out."
"Tch! I wouldn't look even if you gave them to me for free. You're so self-absorbed."
"You..."
Just as she uttered "you," the sound of a copper basin falling to the ground echoed from the courtyard.
"Help! Someone, come quickly, the young master has vomited blood and fainted..." followed by a flurry of panicked footsteps. Southern School Evil Encounter Notes.
Since the main gate was not fully closed, I quickly ran over upon hearing the commotion and peered through the gap. I saw seven or eight people gathered around, tending to Hu Yuan, who was lying on the ground.
Hearing the noise, more people gradually emerged from the house.
"What are you all crowding around for? Hurry up and clear the space!" a middle-aged man in his fifties shouted after coming out.
After being reprimanded, the surrounding crowd hastily cleared a space. Through the gaps in the crowd, I saw Hu Yuan, his face deathly pale, blood at the corner of his mouth, and his brows tightly furrowed as if in immense pain.
The middle-aged man looked at Hu Yuan, his brow furrowed, his expression grave. He quickly bit his middle finger and touched Hu Yuan's glabella and philtrum twice. Then, he lifted Hu Yuan's shirt and touched his heart meridian. Finally, he ordered someone to carry Hu Yuan into the ancestral shrine for treatment by the family elders.
After everything had settled, the middle-aged man turned his gaze towards us. He had seen us from the moment he appeared, but being anxious to save Hu Yuan, he hadn't done anything.
"Who are you people? Are you here to divine fortunes or to ask about matters of fate?"
The middle-aged man bore a striking resemblance to Hu Yuan, perhaps seven or eight parts alike. Standing before us, he exuded an aura of natural authority. Just as I was about to speak, Chen Yun interrupted.
"This is my cousin. He just graduated from high school and hasn't found a good job, so we wanted to ask when he'll find a proper job, to ease my aunt's worries."
I rolled my eyes at her words. Cousin? She was quite the fibber. This was a perfect demonstration of 'a woman's mouth is a deceptive ghost'; she could talk the living into the dead.
Facing Chen Yun's eloquent speech, the middle-aged man didn't respond but fixed his gaze on me. Instantly, an indescribable aura surged from him. It made me feel as if the man before me was a towering mountain, insurmountable, and I was but dust at his feet, ready to crumble if he so much as stamped his foot.
"He's trying to attack me with his aura," I frowned, looking at the middle-aged man. I didn't understand why he would attack me on sight, as if we had a deep-seated feud.
However, his aura had no effect on me. I had encountered much more terrifying old monsters, like Prince Wu and Princess Gege. Their auras were far stronger than his. Moreover, after the baptism of the shadowy senior's aura within me, trying to harm me with his aura was simply wishful thinking.
I stood there, neither too stiff nor too relaxed, my eyes appearing vacant, as if I hadn't felt his aura at all. I simply stared at him blankly, like an internet-addicted youth who hadn't woken up yet.
Seeing that I was unaffected by his aura, the middle-aged man furrowed his brow and withdrew his oppressive presence.
"Your cousin's complexion is unusual. He is not suited for divination. If possible, it would be best to take him to the hospital." Without waiting for our response, he turned and entered the temple, slamming the large door shut behind him.
Chen Yun blinked, looking at the closed red door, then at me. She shrugged, "See? They said you're sick and need a doctor. We should go back and see one." Without further ado, she grabbed my hand and pulled me away.
I struggled a couple of times but couldn't break free. Despite her slender build, her grip was surprisingly strong, and my wrist ached. Only after fastening my seatbelt did she release my hand.
A red handprint, already turning a bit blue, had appeared on my wrist, indicating the force she had used. Rubbing my wrist to alleviate the pain, I asked with dissatisfaction, "What exactly are you trying to do? And why did you stop me from talking to him?"
"I'm not trying to stop you from talking to him; I'm saving your life. If you had spoken, I guarantee you wouldn't have lived past tonight." Chen Yun seemed oblivious to the dissatisfaction in my tone as she started the car and swerved onto the road.
It wasn't until we were quite a distance away that Chen Yun let out a sigh of relief. "I know you have many questions, and I know what you want from the Hu family. But finding the Hu family isn't about them. Do you understand?"
"You know I'm looking for the Hu family?" I pressed Chen Yun, bewildered as to how she knew my secret.
Looking for the Hu family was a commission from the old monk at Beishan Mine Town. I had been procrastinating, not because I didn't want to understand this karmic connection, but because ever since I returned, I had been dealing with foxes, and I had even killed more than one. I feared my actions might incur the displeasure of the Hu family.
"Sister knows a lot more than you think. For example, you killed several foxes at a construction site a few days ago. Or perhaps a month ago, you went north to help a group of tomb robbers with a supernatural affair? Or perhaps you..." Chen Yun listed my deeds in the south one by one, as if she were a worm inside my stomach.
Hearing this, I could only gape in astonishment, not knowing what to say. After a long while, I finally asked, "How do you know so much about my affairs? Are you a worm that has transformed from my stomach?"
"You're the worm! Don't you know that walls have ears? If it weren't for me blocking the news, you would have been captured long ago with the Tiger Kui Seal running around the world. You wouldn't have the time to bicker with me here. Listen to your sister, when you can't see the path ahead, you must hide in the shadows or bury yourself until you can see clearly through the fog. Otherwise, once you fall into a pit dug by others, you won't even have a place to cry."
"Why are you helping me?"
"Because I'm your senior sister."