After an unknown amount of time, Yan Chiyu slowly raised his head. His eyes were calm, without any waves or ripples, yet as deep and unfathomable as an abyss.

Although Long Jingyuan is the main body of the capital city, his ability to explore is not limited to the capital city. His powerful spiritual energy can even encompass the entire world.

Long Jingyuan was stunned, having never seen Yan Chiyu with such an expression before. He suspected that if Yan Chiyu were given a pack of cigarettes right now, he could smoke the whole pack in one night.

Night Moon Demon squinted as he pieced together their conversation. After a moment's thought, he finally understood what they were talking about.

He straightened his clothes and said, "There are three possibilities when a person's aura completely disappears. First, the person is dead. Second, they completely concealed their aura, but to be able to deceive Mr. Long requires extraordinary strength. The third possibility is that they disappeared from this space."

Long Jingyuan glanced at Ye Yueyao, who still wanted to talk on and on, and cleared his throat twice to signal him to be quiet.

"I understand." Yan Chiyu walked to the windowsill, the same windowsill where Wu Yue always came and went in a hurry. A gust of wind blew in from the open window, ruffling the boy's dark, shiny hair.

His deep eyes gradually turned a dark blue and remained still, like a calm and waveless sea at midnight, but beneath the surface, undercurrents surged and waves rose.

Yan Chiyu took a deep breath and said calmly, "Go do what you're supposed to do, don't crowd around here."

Ye Yueyao and Long Jingyuan exchanged a glance. They were relieved to see Yan Chiyu as an old man who had lived for so long. No amount of comforting words from them could compare to his own self-understanding and self-consolation.

Until large swaths of dark clouds swept across the orange-gray sky, and the afterglow faded; until all was silent, the deep black sky turned gray, and the pale moonlight shone through the gaps, hazy, indistinct, soft and faint.

Yan Chiyu remained standing by the window, the only difference being—

The boy lowered his eyes, his thick, curled eyelashes casting a shadow that obscured his deep blue pupils, making it impossible to see his expression.

Tiezhu and Cuihua clung to the windowsill, staring blankly at the ashtray piled high with cigarette butts. The two paper figures looked utterly lost. Tiezhu was in the worst position, having to comfort Cuihua, who had been abandoned by her master, while also trying to keep his emotions in check, though his master was clearly in a deep slump.

He was simply overwhelmed.

The strong smell of tobacco lingered in the air, obscuring the boy's expression. A short while later, he turned away, leaning against the windowsill, his face hidden by the moonlight, making his expression even more indistinct.

"Brother Chi Yu..."

The sluggish butter cake, still half asleep, sweetly called to the boy by the window. She got up to go to the bathroom and unexpectedly saw a statue that had been there for a long time. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was Yan Chiyu.

Yan Chiyu raised his eyelids and glanced at it casually.

He stubbed out his cigarette and stubbed it out in the ashtray. Tie Zhu glanced at it and saw a few sparks still rising from the cigarette butt. He gently blew on it, and the cigarette went out.

The boy waved his hand, and the smoke dissipated without leaving a trace.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?" His voice was faint and hoarse.

Su Youbing clenched her fists tightly, her expression not one for comforting others, but she said sincerely and firmly, "Brother Chi Yu, Sister Wu Yue likes you so much, she definitely won't bear to leave you. Just like I don't want to leave Lord Ye Yue's side, you, you don't have to be sad, Sister Wu Yue will come back."

"Okay... Thank you. Go to sleep now."

"Okay, you should go to sleep early too, goodnight."

The flaky pastry skipped off to the toilet and then skipped away again. Yan Chiyu's faint smile froze instantly, slowly cooling and fading away.

He glanced at Cuihua, whose eyes were brimming with tears, then lowered his head and murmured to himself, "She's gone, taking only her own things. She didn't take anything from this world. And she forgot... to take me with her..."

"Ha, what a bad girl."