Looking at the "black fog" dissipating in front of him again, Shen Jingyuan's expression remained unchanged. He just stood up straight and silently looked at the "landscape painting" in the spiritual power shield.

It was not until the token in his hand began to heat up that Shen Jingyuan came to his senses and walked out of the tower.

The tower door opened again.

But Shen Jingyuan froze in place again.

In eighteen years, so much has changed.

For example, Shen Jingyuan would no longer throw himself into the arms of the man in front of him like before, would no longer pull on his sleeves and act like a spoiled child, would no longer call out to him...

Shen Jingyuan's eyes subconsciously dodged and looked away, "Is there something wrong?"

Shen Jingyuan's tone was extremely cold, as if he didn't know the person in front of him, and was extremely distant.

But the person standing in front of the tower did not retreat at all, but a layer of hesitation covered his face. He did not speak until Shen Jingyuan in front of him showed the intention to leave.

"…Is she…is she okay?"

Shen Qiwen seemed to have not spoken for a long time, his tone was a little stuttering, and the simple four words became extremely stiff.

One could only barely glimpse worry between his brows.

Shen Jingyuan looked at Shen Qiwen, who was no longer young. His hair had long turned white, and the years had not been merciful, leaving traces on his face.

And his body no longer looked as strong as it did in his early years.

“…”

Shen Jingyuan was silent, staring at Shen Qiwen who was still waiting for his answer, and couldn't help but sneered in his heart.

But is it okay?

How could it be good to be locked up in this place where there is no spiritual power at all?

He didn't believe that the person in front of him didn't know or couldn't feel it.

Sure enough, not long after, Shen Qiwen lowered his head as if he knew what was going on, but the corner of his eyes glanced at the closed tower door.

He actually thought about going in with A Yuan when he went in.

But without exception, an invisible barrier at the tower gate would block his next move.

He could only watch the tower gate closing and opening in front of him.

Shen Jingyuan had no intention of answering Shen Qiwen's question. He took a few steps to the side and planned to walk around him.

"A Yuan..."

Shen Qiwen looked at the grown-up A Yuan, and thought about the past before that incident, and it seemed like a dream.

He murmured the nickname buried in his memory.

"Don't call me that!"

Shen Jingyuan's heart tightened, he stopped, and subconsciously retorted sharply.

He could not forget the indifference of the man in front of him when his mother was injured and her life was in danger.

He also could not forget that when the man destroyed the courtyard and wanted to kill him with a sword, he decisively handed over the "scroll", saying that it was his mother's real body and wanted to use it to exchange for his own life.

I can't forget the mocking smile on the demon hunter's face, and the words: "It would have been great if you had known better earlier."

Shen Qiwen was slightly startled, as if he had not expected that the name he blurted out unintentionally would bring such a great stimulation to Shen Jingyuan.

He wanted to say something more, but Shen Jingyuan no longer had the heart to stay.

As he left, Shen Jingyuan glanced at the wooden house next to the tower.

He paused and said, "If you want to live a few more years, go down the mountain early."

"Living here, guarding this tower, will do nothing except make you feel less guilty and shorten your life."

Shen Jingyuan suppressed the indelible worry in his heart and spoke coldly.

But the hand clenched tightly in his sleeve told him clearly that even if those things really happened, he still cared about him.

Shen Qiwen turned around, looked at Shen Jingyuan who left decisively, and closed his mouth without having time to utter a word.

He had no intention of going down the mountain, nor would he go down the mountain.

Waiting outside the tower was the only thing he could do. Apart from that, there was nothing else he could do.

And only here, Xi Yan is safest...

Thinking of what A Yuan is doing now, Shen Qiwen's eyes showed some sadness.

I just hope that what happened to me back then will not happen to others again.

A Yuan will not become a person who cannot distinguish between good and evil in order to eliminate demons.

…

At that time, in the main hall of Chongming Mountain.

Yuan Shouyi has already refined the demon pill that Shen Jingyuan brought.

Yuan Shouyi, feeling that his spiritual power had improved a lot, naturally felt better.

After getting up and tidying up a bit, he came out of the hall and looked in the direction of the Demon Locking Tower.

Does he think he can break the spiritual power shield?

If it were really that easy, would he give him the token to enter the Demon Locking Tower?

Thinking of the spiritual power fluctuations I felt when I was refining the demon pill just now.

I fail every time, why don’t I learn any lessons?

Yuan Shouyi looked at the tower, looked at the two vague figures, and sneered again.

These two people really have deep feelings for this monster.

Retracting his gaze, Yuan Shouyi looked at the young men practicing martial arts in front of the hall.

There was a satisfied smile in his eyes.

Since Shen Jingyuan likes to pick monsters to fool him so much, then he will let the other party do it for real. If he doesn't kill the monster, someone else will naturally kill it.

When the young men outside saw their master coming out, they practiced even harder.

Yuan Shouyi didn't have the heart to keep watching these people. He just stood there and watched for a while before returning to the main hall.

"Hey, why did the master leave again?"

Seeing Yuan Shouyi return to the main hall, the young men who had originally wanted to show off became discouraged.

Seeing this, Qi Jin, who has always been strong-willed, immediately put away his training posture and expressed the inner thoughts of his fellow disciples.

"Yeah, it wasn't like this before." Seeing Qi Jin speak, another person stood up.

It was Qi Jin’s fourth junior brother.

The past he was talking about was when they first went up the mountain, which was the most suitable time to learn new knowledge (brainwashing).

"Alright, alright, are you practicing just to show off to the master? Stand still and practice well!"

"Once you've mastered the skills, come down the mountain, and catch monsters, you'll have plenty of opportunities to see the master."

Zhang Rui looked at his somewhat discouraged junior brother and spoke again.

He looked at the main hall in front of him with longing.

Even though this open space was not far from the main hall, they still had not gone in to take a look.

Thinking that the eldest senior brother could always meet the master alone, Zhang Rui's eyes were filled with envy.

He also thought that he would be able to go down the mountain to gain experience soon. When he caught the monster, his master would probably not be partial to him anymore.

After hearing what Zhang Rui said, Qi Jin also realized this problem and made up his mind secretly.

I must perform well in this training and strive to gain the favor of my master.

It would be best if you could see the master at any time like the eldest brother.

To these young people whose minds are not yet fully mature, Yuan Shouyi can be considered a master, but he can also be said to be their savior.

If they had not been rescued by their master, they would have starved to death or frozen to death.

Thinking of this, there was a bit more gratitude in the eyes of the young people.