Xie An stood for a moment, then reached out and grasped the handrail before tentatively stepping down the stairs.

"Watch out!" Xie Shuci immediately forgot about the shopkeeper and ran over in three steps, afraid that Xie An would fall.

Xie An couldn't hear anything and struggled to walk down the stairs. Xie Shuci darted up the stairs and grabbed his arm.

"Xie Shuci?" Xie Shuci's empty pupils looked at him, his lips moved slightly, and he spoke silently.

Xie Shuci nodded, then, remembering that the little blind boy couldn't see, she took his hand and brought it to her lips, saying, "Yes, it's me. Why aren't you staying in your room? What if you fell?"

Xie An shook his head slightly and said, "I'm worried about you being gone for too long."

"I'm fine. The doctor said it's just a little bruising, and it will be fine after massaging it away."

"Don't hide it from me anymore."

"Okay, okay."

To outsiders, Xie Shuci's words sounded like he was talking to himself.

Ever since Xie An appeared, the shopkeeper has dared not speak again.

He knew perfectly well that Xie An was blind and deaf, but he still dared not say anything more to Xie Shuci.

Xie Shuci led Xie An to sit in the main hall. Xie An grabbed his sleeve and said silently, "Please ask the shopkeeper if we can borrow some paper and ink."

Xie Shuci had no suspicions. He could listen to storytelling every day at the inn to relieve his boredom, while Xie An could only live alone in his own world. Perhaps he also wanted to write to relieve his boredom.

He turned and walked to the counter, asking the shopkeeper for paper and ink. Upon hearing this, Ah Dong eagerly ran back to his room to fetch them.

Xie Shuci carefully laid out the paper, while Adong ground the ink beside him.

Just then, Xie An suddenly leaned down and moved closer to him. By the time Xie Shuci looked up, Xie An was already very close to him.

Xie Shuci was startled and plopped down on the stool, which made A Dong burst into laughter.

Xie An's nostrils twitched slightly, and his brows furrowed gently. "Xie Shuci, you smell."

"..."

Xie Shuci swore that in his original world he would shower every day! Showering here isn't very convenient, but he only showers every other day, and there's absolutely no smell!

Perhaps it was Xie An's serious expression that made Xie Shuci a little embarrassed. She grabbed his hand and pressed it to her lips, saying, "What do you know? This is the scent of a real man!"

Xie Shuci stubbornly refused to admit it.

"The scent of a real man? I want to smell it too!"

Ah Dong poked his little head over, sniffing around Xie Shuci, and finally pinched his nose, wrinkled his little face, and said with disgust, "Brother Xiaoci, why do you smell so much like medicine? It's awful."

Xie An smiled slightly and turned his head away, but Xie Shuci could clearly see the words he was saying: "So all men smell of herbs."

Xie Shuci glared at him, then remembered that he was a little blind and couldn't see at all. He suspiciously raised his arm and smelled his clothes. Sure enough, there was a medicinal smell. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was just strange.

But the blind boy actually made fun of him, which greatly hurt Xie Xiaoye's pride. He snorted unhappily, pulled A Dong to his side, and grabbed the blind boy's hand and pressed it against A Dong's face.

“Adong, tell him that Xie, the little man, is going to slay demons and monsters. Tell him to stay here for a while and wait for my triumphant return,” Xie Shuci said.

A-Dong obediently repeated Xie Shuci's words.

Xie An calmly withdrew his hand, placed the brush aside, rubbed the spot where A Dong had pasted it with his thumb, nodded in Xie Shuci's direction, and said, "Take care."

Xie Shuci: "..."

He felt that the little blind man was getting more and more infuriating!

Xie Shuci flicked his sleeves, turned around and walked to the counter, telling the shopkeeper that he wanted to take a bath and change clothes.

The shopkeeper glanced at Xie An discreetly, lowering his voice as he was about to say something to Xie Shuci, when he saw Xie An, who was grinding ink not far away, suddenly nod and turn his head to look over. His eyes were empty, and his pupils seemed to be covered with a layer of mist, making it impossible to see his emotions clearly, but it made people feel uneasy.

The shopkeeper was startled and hurriedly looked away, saying to Xie Shuci, "Young Master Xie, please wait in the washroom for a moment."

Xie Shuci felt the shopkeeper was a bit confused. He said "okay" and subconsciously turned to look at Xie An. Xie An was grinding ink with his head down, his expression very peaceful. However, because he was blind, he did not notice the ink stain on his snow-white cuff. Looking at this peaceful scene, a smile appeared in Xie Shuci's eyes.

The little blind man is joking with him now; perhaps he really will gradually let go of the past.

Xie Shuci glanced at it twice, went back to his room to get a change of clothes, and then went to the bathroom.

In the main hall, A-Dong was holding a small windmill and leaning over the table watching Xie An write.

Perhaps it's because humans are naturally drawn to beautiful things.

Just watching Xie An quietly, A Dong didn't find it boring at all.

"Father, Brother Xie An is not only handsome, but his handwriting is also so beautiful!" A Dong sat on the stool, swinging his toes in the air, and squinted at the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper looked uneasy but didn't dare say anything. He gave him a hasty smile and said, "A-Dong, come back quickly, don't disturb your brother's calligraphy!"

Ah Dong pouted, "No! I want to see!"

Perhaps thinking that Brother Xie An hadn't heard his praise, A Dong jumped off the stool, ran to Xie An's side, and first tugged at his sleeve, but Xie An remained unmoved, still writing something on the paper.

Ah Dong is still young and doesn't recognize many characters. Moreover, Brother Xie An's handwriting is wild and messy, so it's hard to tell what he's writing.

Seeing that Brother Xie An ignored him, A Dong grabbed his hand with his little hand, wanting to imitate Brother Xiao Ci by putting it on his face to talk to him.

Xie An gently raised his arm and broke free from his small hand.

He then picked up a piece of Xuan paper with a few words written on it and handed it to him, pointing in the direction of the shopkeeper, indicating that he should take it.

Ah Dong was initially a little aggrieved because Brother Xie An wouldn't let him touch it. But when he handed him the paper with writing on it and told him to show it to his father, he immediately stopped feeling aggrieved. He happily ran to his father with the paper, held it up high, and said, "Father, look! Brother Xie An wrote this!"

The shopkeeper's face changed drastically when he saw what was written on the paper. He instantly lost all color in his face, snatched the paper, and tore it to shreds.

A-Dong asked in confusion, "Dad, what are you doing?"

The innkeeper glanced at Xie An fearfully and forced a smile, saying, "Brother Xie An made a few mistakes in writing. Adong, it's getting dark, you should go back to your room first, and Dad will bring you your meal in a little while."

"oh……"

Xie Shuci was halfway through washing when he realized that it was already completely dark outside the window.

The washroom had only two candlesticks, casting a dim light in the corner of the room. Unfortunately, the washroom was in a very secluded location; there were hardly any people around, and not a single footstep could be heard.

Xie Shuci grew up in the modern world and had to sleep with a lamp on at night. Now, in this strange place, the surroundings were as quiet as a chicken's nest. There was only a dim light in the bathroom, and the candlelight reflected on the screen, like two menacing monsters. When the wind blew, they would immediately open their bloody mouths and start to jump.

All the horror movie scenes Xie Shuci had ever watched flashed through his mind, giving him goosebumps. Looking at the dimly lit room, he was extremely nervous, terrified that something might jump out from any corner. He frantically washed himself, muttering to himself, "Demons and monsters, leave! Demons and monsters, leave!"

"Ah—help!"

Just then, a woman screamed from not far away.

A piercing, shrill scream shattered the tranquil night sky, snapping the tightly wound nerve in Xie Shuci's mind. "Holy shit!"

Xie Shuci screamed, stepping out of the bathtub, his foot slipped, and he fell flat on his face with a thud. The woman's screams continued, filled with endless terror, causing Xie Shuci to burst into tears. Ignoring the pain, he scrambled to his feet and ran out. As he passed the screen, he grabbed an outer robe and wrapped it around himself, then burst through the door and ran out.

"Aaaaaaah!"

Xie Shuci felt he had never been so scared in his life. There was no candlelight around him and darkness behind him. He didn't dare to look back, as if a ghost was chasing him. He only knew to run towards the light.

Xie Shuci's screams mingled with the woman's screams, along with what sounded like countless messy and heavy footsteps.

"Help!"

"quick!"

"Ahhh..." Xie Shuci ran out of the inn's backyard and rushed into someone's arms as soon as she entered the lobby.

"Waaah..." Xie Shuci's face was still wet with tears. She tightly gripped the clothes of the person in front of her and tried to burrow into their arms, as if she wanted to crawl into their clothes.

There was a familiar scent about this person, and Xie Shuci instantly recognized him as Xie An. He became even more unrestrained, crying with snot and tears streaming down his face, his hands tightly wrapped around Xie An's neck, his whole body pressed against Xie An, and he kept squeezing into his arms, trying to soothe his frightened heart in this way.

"Damn...that scared me to death..."

"Don't laugh at me..."

"I want to go home!...I want to go home..."

Xie An seemed to recognize Xie Shuci as well, and helplessly let him hug him. He felt Xie Shuci's body trembling. After hesitating for a moment, he gently covered the back of Xie Shuci's head with his large hand and soothingly stroked his head down to his back.

The water droplets that hadn't been dried soaked through his clothes, and the warm skin pressed against his chest, the sensation felt incredibly real. Xie An realized something, and his body stiffened instantly.

This pause makes the senses throughout the body clearer.

But Xie Shuci, oblivious to his own danger, kept rubbing against him!

Xie Shuci hadn't recovered from his shock and was clinging to Xie An's neck as if it were the last piece of driftwood. But then, he suddenly felt Xie An's body stiffen like a piece of wood.

He lifted his head from Xie An's embrace, his eyes blurry with tears. The thin outer garment on his shoulders slipped down to his shoulder blades with his movement, and was about to fall to the ground when Xie An pressed down on his back and caught the garment before it fell.

Xie Shuci's slow-witted mind finally caught on.

He ran so fast that he grabbed a piece of clothing from the screen and ran out.

Now……

He wasn't wearing anything.