"...I'm really not angry."

Pan Ling unconsciously moved back a little, "But, but Uncle Xu, please stop pinching me..."

"You're not saying what you mean, little Ling," Xu Shi said with a smile.

"No, I didn't..."

Xiaoling instinctively denied it, but then suddenly realized something and stared at him with wide eyes.

"You also have times when you say one thing and mean another, right?"

Xu Shi said seriously, "For example, right now... since you have it yourself, isn't it normal for others to have it too?"

Pan Ling blinked, as if... it really was true?

"Everyone has some dirty little secrets hidden in their heart, little Ling."

Xu Shi chuckled and sighed, "The only difference is more or less... Your brother Luo Yu is human too, so it's normal for him to act this way, isn't it?"

"Then, then you..."

Pan Ling bit her lip.

"Of course I do too. If I had to say, the darkness in my heart is probably much greater than that of the average person."

Xu Shi said generously, "Of course, I consider your father a friend, so you don't need to worry that I will have any bad intentions towards you."

"I...I'm not worried at all..."

"Don't worry, thank you for your trust."

Xu Shi laughed happily, "But what I want to say is that you shouldn't let your abilities become a burden."

"Why?"

"You can sense what other people are thinking; that's a remarkable ability."

Xu Shi said earnestly, "So you should learn how to face all of this correctly."

He saw things clearly. The girl's real problem was that she felt there was too much negative energy around her. Everyone acted one way in front of others and another way behind their backs, which was indeed unpleasant. Afterwards, she kept it all bottled up inside and couldn't find anyone to confide in. Over time, she naturally became gloomy and withdrawn.

In a sense, this can be considered a complication of her ability to ascend to higher ranks.

The conflict that day was not the main problem, but at most a trigger or a spark, since it involved her brother Luo Yu. Otherwise, she wouldn't have dared to come looking for her.

"Then, can you teach me how to face this?"

This piqued Pan Ling's interest, and she quickly asked.

"Well... I can only offer you some advice?"

After a moment's thought, Xu Shi said, "For example, if it doesn't concern you, just ignore it or pretend it doesn't exist. But if it does concern you, you can prepare in advance based on the other party's thoughts. At least you won't suffer any losses if you do that."

That's right, it would be too embarrassing to talk about someone with mind-reading abilities being ambushed.

"Of course, it's also very necessary to train and improve your own abilities. You probably can't control them at will right now, right? If you can control them freely, then you can turn them off normally, which will easily filter out a lot of things, right?"

"Uh-huh."

Xiaoling nodded repeatedly; Uncle Xu's idea sounded very feasible.

But she had another question, "Uncle Xu, do you think... there really isn't anyone in this world who has no secrets in their heart?"

"Maybe there are, like newborn babies?"

Xu Shi said half-jokingly, "But people like that are a minority. I've never met one, and I guess you haven't either... So if you do, just consider it a pleasant surprise. Most people have secrets in their hearts."

"oh."

Pan Ling responded, and the struggle and sadness on her face faded considerably.

"Do you feel much better now?"

Xu Shi couldn't help but pat her head.

"Um."

Little Ling didn't flinch, and gradually a smile appeared on her face.

The truth is, she never expected things to turn out this way, but undeniably, after listening to Xu Shi's advice, she did feel a sense of sudden enlightenment.

Because this was the first time she had ever confided in someone, well, before. She had never shared her secrets with anyone before, so naturally no one had ever helped her relieve her inner turmoil.

At most, one can find a secluded place, a rock, or a big tree to confide in, but that only treats the symptoms, not the root cause; the pain will still linger.

"...Thank you, Uncle Xu. Your words were very helpful."

She sincerely thanked Xu Shi.

"Why are you being so polite? I already said your father is my friend, so of course you are too."

Xiao Xu waved his hand, "Besides, I also prefer to see girls smile."

"Then, can I still come to you like this... to chat in the future?"

These words warmed Pan Ling's heart, and she couldn't help but ask another question.

Going with her sister to learn swordsmanship from Aunt Xia wasn't so bad, but it was her sister's hobby, not hers. In comparison, Xu Shi was more attractive to her.

"If you'd like?"

Xu Shi did not refuse, "I'm glad you don't mind if I have a falling out with your brother Luo Yu."

"No, no! According to you, Uncle Xu, I should... take it in stride?"

The little girl quickly shook her head, "And you can rest assured, I won't tell anyone."

She was referring, of course, to her ability to perceive the darkness within Xu Shi's heart.

"It's okay to tell others, I'm not a good person anyway."

Xu Shi didn't care at all. "Of course, it would be better if you didn't say anything."

"No, you actually care quite a bit. If I really told you, you might spank me..."

Pan Ling muttered something.

Xu Shi almost fell off the rock; it was numb and tingly, and he could feel it so clearly.

This is only C-level mind-reading, right? What if it leveled up to B or A? I don't even want to think about level 1...

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!