For a fleeting moment, Xie Shuci felt that he would rather be captured and eaten by a ghost.

He was a towering 1.8 meters tall, like a koala, hanging naked on Xie An, who was three years younger than him, and he even cried.

Tears streamed down Xie Shuci's long eyelashes. His arms were tightly wrapped around Xie An's neck, and one leg was still frantically squeezing between Xie An's legs.

He was completely naked, and his skin was stinging from the scraping of Xie An's clothes.

"I..." Xie Shuci's panic was replaced by embarrassment and awkwardness. He let go of Xie An's hands and tried to distance himself from him.

"ah!"

Just then, another scream rang out from the void. Before Xie Shuci could even react, his arms instinctively tightened around Xie An.

Xie An tensed up and couldn't push him away for a moment.

Xie Shuci felt like strangling himself.

You're nineteen years old, can't you be a little more assertive? What's with your legs going weak?

Xie An had probably never been so close to anyone before. He looked somewhat stunned, as if he had been frightened, and remained motionless for a long time.

Although Xie Shuci felt that since they were all men, there was nothing wrong with being frank with each other, people in ancient times generally held traditional and feudal ideas, and he didn't want to leave any shadow on Xie An.

Xie Shuci sniffed and pulled his long legs away from Xie An, but he was still a little shaken. One hand was still hooked around Xie An's neck, and the other hand was used to grab the clothes hanging on his shoulder.

"Bang--"

The inn's door was kicked open, and Xie Shuci was startled. Although he didn't care about being honest with Xie An, he didn't want to be exposed in front of others.

Xie An probably realized what was happening and quickly grabbed his clothes to wrap Xie Shuci's body tightly.

Li Song saw this scene when he barged in.

Xie Shuci's cheeks were flushed, and his eyes were also red. There were still tears on his face. A snow-white arm was draped over Xie An's neck. His body was wrapped in a dark robe, and his two slender legs were partially exposed. His long hair was wet and scattered around his ears. It was not hard to tell that he was taking a bath and was not wearing anything except an outer garment.

He nestled in the boy's arms, as if he had suffered some injustice, his nose red from crying, which inexplicably made people's hearts tighten.

Li Song paused for a moment, staring at the dazzlingly white arm, his gaze lingering slightly, "You..."

Xie An glanced sideways, a sharp glint in his eyes, and intentionally or unintentionally turned to block most of Xie Shuci's body.

"Help! Someone's dead!"

"Someone come quick! Get a doctor!"

Li Song snapped out of his daze, his gaze meeting Xie Shuci's bewildered eyes. His ears burned as if on fire. He quickly looked away, gripping his sword tightly, and asked, "I heard you shout, but what happened?"

Upon hearing that someone had died, Xie Shuci's face turned deathly pale. He tightened his arms and shook his head. "No... I only heard someone calling."

Xie An didn't know what had happened, but he felt Xie Shuci's body trembling slightly again. He placed his large, warm hand on Xie Shuci's back and patted it soothingly.

Li Song breathed a sigh of relief and said to him, "Don't be afraid. A demon has broken into the town, and my uncle and I are chasing it. Take him back to your room first and don't come out."

Perhaps it was because Xie Shuci looked different from usual, appearing exceptionally pitiful, that Li Song couldn't help but lower his voice.

"I'm not scared," Xie Shuci weakly retorted, clutching Xie An's clothes.

"Then why are you crying?"

"These are tears that fall in the wind. I'm worried about Xie An; he ran too fast."

"So what's your name?"

"I...I want to scare the monster away."

"..."

Li Song did not continue arguing with him. He told him to go back to his room and close the doors and windows, then picked up his sword and left the inn.

There was no one else in the hall, only a few candles lit. The shopkeeper and Ah Dong were nowhere to be found.

Xie An grabbed one of his hands and wrote in his palm, "What happened?"

Xie An's physique was not as frail as it appeared; he almost completely enveloped Xie Shuci's body, making Xie Shuci feel much more at ease in his arms.

He took a breath, wiped away his tears, took Xie An's hand and pressed it to his lips, saying, "Let's go back to the room first."

After bringing Xie An back to the room, Xie Shuci finally relaxed as he looked at the warm yellow candlelight in the room.

He released Xie An's hand, turned around and locked the door several times before letting out a heavy sigh of relief.

When Xie Shuci turned around, he saw Xie An standing in front of the screen. He walked up to Xie An and patted him on the shoulder. Xie An turned his head in confusion.

Xie Shuci saw his lips move slightly, and asked again, "What happened? Why are you crying?"

Now that the initial shock has subsided, Xie Shuci looked a little awkward as she recalled how tightly she had clung to him. She pressed her lips to the back of his hand and explained, "It's nothing. The bathroom caught fire, and I didn't have time to get dressed. The smoke brought tears to my eyes."

Taking advantage of the fact that the little blind boy knew nothing, Xie Shuci went out of his way to fabricate stories to save face.

Fortunately, Xie An nodded after hearing this, showing no doubt, and then asked, "Are you injured?"

"No. That tiny spark couldn't hurt me at all; it didn't even touch a single hair on my head."

Xie An couldn't hear, so he naturally didn't know that Xie Shuci's speech had a heavy nasal tone, making it sound completely unbelievable.

Xie An: "..."

Xie An pursed her lips slightly.

Xie Shuci ignored the almost speechless expression on Xie An's face.

He thought Xie An had been frightened by his actions and wanted to comfort him. But Xie An acted as usual, seemingly not taking what had just happened to heart, so Xie Shuci didn't say anything more.

Xie Shuci found a change of clothes, intending to change behind the screen. Halfway there, he saw the flickering candlelight behind the screen, the dim corner resembling a monster's lair. He froze, a sudden chill running down his spine. He glanced hesitantly at Xie An, then hesitated.

Xie An sat leaning against the edge of the bed, his pupils lifeless, his face calm, as if he were lost in thought.

"Xie Xiaoci, are you stupid? The little blind man can't see, so why should we avoid him?" Xie Shuci gave herself a frank excuse not to go behind the screen to get dressed.

The little blind man couldn't see or hear anything, so even if Xie Shuci danced right in front of him, he wouldn't be aware of it.

Therefore, he wasn't afraid to change his clothes behind the screen; he simply felt it was unnecessary.

Having mentally prepared himself, Xie Shuci stood outside the screen, casually draped his clothes over it, and took off his outer garment with a clear conscience.

Xie Shuci's skin was pale and very smooth; a light touch would leave a red mark. She had been rubbing against Xie An's clothes for a while, and many places on her body were scratched with red marks, as if someone had pinched her. It didn't hurt, but it looked a little frightening.

Xie Shuci was halfway through removing his clothes when he saw Xie An sitting on the couch in front of him, and he felt inexplicably embarrassed.

He thought for a moment, then turned around and took off his clothes with his back to Xie An.

As Xie Shuci picked up and put down the clothes, she felt a gaze fall on her.

The feeling was strange, like someone was watching him from the shadows, their gaze cold and real. Xie Shuci shivered and subconsciously glanced back.

Xie An placed one foot on the edge of the couch, rested his elbow on his knee, and supported his head with his knuckles, quietly looking in his direction.

The candlelight flickered in his eyes, and Xie Shuci's heart skipped a beat.

For a fleeting moment, he almost thought Xie An could see it!

"Xie An?" Xie Shuci called out tentatively, clutching his clothes.

Xie An was completely unaware and remained in his posture.

"Little blind man?"

Xie Shuci hurriedly put on his inner clothes, walked quietly to Xie An, and waved his hand in front of his eyes.

Xie An's gaze remained fixed on the spot where Xie Shuci had just stood. Although the candlelight reflected in his eyes, they remained devoid of any spirit.

"Phew—" Xie Shuci breathed a sigh of relief; it was just his imagination.

Just then, Xie An suddenly grabbed Xie Shuci's hand, which was about to withdraw.

Xie Shuci's heart jumped, but then she saw Xie An's lips curl slightly, a sly look on his face, and he said, "I knew you were there when there was wind."

"..." Xie Shuci's heart, which had been pounding, was put at ease again.

The little blind man could sense things coming from somewhere; he had almost forgotten.

Xie An didn't wait for his response, but his nostrils twitched slightly.

He released Xie Shuci's hand, got up, groped his way to the window, opened it, frowned slightly, turned to look at Xie Shuci, and tapped the window frame lightly with his fingers, as if trying to attract Xie Shuci's attention.

Xie Shuci stepped forward in confusion and saw Xie An, saying, "There is the smell of blood and corpses in the wind."

Xie Shuci's face turned pale. He pulled Xie An to his side and quickly closed the window.

"What exactly happened?" Xie An asked again.

Xie Shuci felt somewhat helpless. He didn't want Xie An to know, since he figured he wouldn't be afraid if he didn't know.

But he didn't expect Xie An to have an even more sensitive nose than a dog, able to smell it all.

Having no other choice, Xie Shuci had to tell the truth.

He placed Xie An's hand to his lips and whispered, "Don't be afraid. I heard from Li Song that a monster broke into the town and apparently injured someone. He and his uncle are trying to capture the monster."

Humans are born with a fear of death and the corpses of their own kind, so Xie Shuci subconsciously felt that Xie An would also feel afraid.

Xie An, however, showed no reaction upon hearing this, his expression remaining calm and unmoved.

Xie Shuci was very surprised and asked, "Aren't you afraid?"

Xie An paused for a moment, hesitated for a second, and finally nodded.

Xie Shuci took his hesitation as embarrassment at admitting it. Like an older brother, he patted Xie An on the shoulder generously and said, "Don't be afraid, I'll sleep with you tonight."

"..."

"Are you scared?" Xie Shuci asked Xie An.

"I'm not scared, I'm not scared at all, why would I be scared? I'm just staying with you for a while, and I'll go back to my own bed after you fall asleep."

Xie An smiled and nodded after hearing this, "Okay."

The two returned to the side of the screen. Xie An lay down on the couch, but Xie Shuci said he would wait until he fell asleep, so he didn't feel comfortable lying down.

But he didn't dare to stray too far from Xie An. After a moment's hesitation, he took off his shoes, sat cross-legged on the footstool by the bed, placed his hands on the soft cotton padding, rested his chin on his arm, and stared at Xie An's sleeping face for a while.

Several candles were lit in the room, and Xie An's profile was hidden in the shadows, revealing only a rough outline, like a blurred painting, which was very beautiful.

Xie Shuci has always been very timid.

When I was a child, I watched a lot of horror movies to build up my courage, but the more I watched, the scarier I became, while my imagination grew richer and richer.

Xie Shuci waited for a while, then figured Xie An must have fallen asleep.

He quietly slipped his hand under the covers and grasped Xie An's clothes in his palm. Only when he felt Xie An's body temperature did Xie Shuci feel relieved.

Xie Shuci was frightened and cried for a while. He was exhausted and fell asleep in this position, clutching the little blind boy's clothes.

The candlelight flickered, the room was quiet, and Xie Shuci's breathing gradually became steady.

In the quiet of the room, the person on the bed slowly opened their eyes.