In the bright and spacious room, Miller sat quietly on the sofa with his eyes closed, waiting for something.
It was extremely quiet all around, and there wasn't a sound at all. But suddenly, Miller opened his eyes, his golden eyes fixed on the door of the room.
The next moment, he stood up without hesitation and walked towards the door. His long, silver-white robe trailed on the ground, and his long, luxurious white hair swayed gently in contrast.
But as the owner of the hair got closer to the door, the ends of the long hair seemed to be eroded by the light, and even had a hint of gold.
The gold color started as just a tiny bit at the ends of his hair, then rapidly rose upwards, instantly covering most of his long hair. By the time Miller stood at the doorway of the room, his original hair color was completely unrecognizable—his once pristine white hair had transformed into a dazzling, radiant sun.
Miller opened the door and, as expected, saw Xu Ling standing in the doorway.
"You've come," he said, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips, as if oblivious to Xu Ling's vacant expression and unfocused gaze. "Come in."
He moved aside.
Xu Ling, who had been standing there blankly, suddenly seemed to receive a command and obediently walked into the room.
With a "snap," the room door slammed shut. Outside, the bright lights that had guided Xu Ling there suddenly dimmed, returning to their original state.
Xu Ling knelt down obediently on the sofa, her usually bright almond-shaped eyes losing their luster and staring blankly into the air.
For a long time, Miller stood aside without approaching. From a distance that was neither too close nor too far, he observed Xu Ling intently, as if it were the first time he had seen her.
After a while, seemingly satisfied with what he saw, he finally decided to approach. However, he only walked to within a hand's width of Xu Ling before stopping.
Miller slowly squatted down, his golden eyes still intently fixed on Xu Ling, but his expression was colder than ever before.
Despite having the same appearance, only with long hair now a dazzling gold, Miller's entire aura changed drastically.
At this moment, no matter how he tried to get closer to people, it was as if there was a hazy veil between them, making him seem aloof and indifferent.
“We meet again,” Miller said to Xu Ling with a hint of familiarity. “No… I misspoke, this should be our first meeting.”
There was complete silence; no one answered.
Xu Ling's eyes remained unfocused.
Fortunately, Miller didn't care whether there was a response or not. He continued to say to himself, "I need your help here. Well—it's just a small favor for you, is that alright?"
It was the first time in his life that Miller had asked someone for a favor, and his tone was a little stiff. Fortunately, he spoke earnestly enough that you could still tell he was sincerely asking for help.
However, no matter how sincere one's intentions are, they mean nothing to Xu Ling at this moment.
But this did not stump Miller; he took Xu Ling's silence as an admission.
"It's good that you agreed," he said.
Perhaps feeling that what he was doing was somewhat coercive, Miller thought for a moment and then took something out of his pocket.
A delicate chain dangled from the base of his thumb. With his hand outstretched, a flawless, round crystal shimmered brilliantly under the light.
“Although nothing in this world should be able to harm you, just in case…” He unfastened the necklace, leaned slightly forward, and put it on Xu Ling. The dazzling light shone on the girl's smooth neck, and Miller nodded in satisfaction. “With this, there won't be any problems.”
After doing all this, just as he was about to stand up, his ears twitched. Even though the room was quiet, he seemed to hear a sound.
Then, he squatted down again, looked intently into Xu Ling's unfocused eyes, and said, "Your friends are coming back, so I won't keep you any longer."
After saying that, he stood up and took a few steps back. The next second, Xu Ling, who had received the instruction, also immediately stood up, turned around, and walked towards the door.
A cool evening breeze brushed against her face, and Xu Ling suddenly shivered and woke up. She blinked, looking around at the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar surroundings, feeling a little out of sorts.
When did she arrive at the door?
Xu Ling asked herself this question.
And how did she get through it?
Xu Ling tilted her head, her brows furrowed in confusion; she couldn't recall that memory at all!
But how could that be?
From the room to the church entrance, it's such a short distance, and in such a short time, how could she possibly not remember?
What exactly happened?
Almost instantly, a feeling of horror arose, and Xu Ling turned around to look back with a serious expression.
Night had fallen, making the brightly lit church seem like an isolated island. This place, supposedly the most sacred place under the protection of the God of Light, inexplicably felt to Xu Ling as a den of filth.
Isn't that how it's always written in novels? Don't be fooled by how virtuous and righteous a place may seem; the filth beneath the surface can be just as appalling...
Xu Ling subconsciously took a step back, but just as she was lost in thought, a familiar voice rang in her ears: "What are you doing?"
Xu Ling turned her head and saw two figures appear in the night – it was Kaopu and Fei'er!
"You're back!" Xu Ling was instantly overjoyed, forgetting what she had been thinking just now, and ran to greet them.
However… looking at Fei Er and the reliable person sitting steadily on his lap, Xu Ling’s gaze couldn’t help but pass over the two of them and look back, “Huh, why are there only the two of you? Where’s A Bao?”
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear!
As soon as she finished speaking, she heard the sound of wings flapping in her ear. The next second, a creature that was almost completely invisible in the darkness landed on her shoulder.
"Gah!"
A familiar voice rang out. Great, Abao is back!
Now is the time to hold them accountable!
"What have you been doing? Why aren't you home so late at night?" Xu Ling asked, hands on her hips.
Of course, this questioning was especially directed at the reliable "culprit"!
Kaopu didn't answer immediately, but just winked at her.
Does this mean...we'll talk about it later?
Not sure if she had misunderstood, Xu Ling held back for the time being, seeing its appearance. Actually, she didn't hold back for long; she quickly found an excuse to send A Bao away and then couldn't wait to ask her the question she had just asked.
"Alright, just tell me! Where did you two go?" Seeing that A Bao's figure had completely disappeared, Xu Ling pointed from Kaopudian to Fei'er, her face serious as she waited for their answer.
With no one else around, Kaopu stopped hiding his true feelings and jumped from Fei'er's head onto Xu Ling's shoulder, quietly telling her what had happened.
"What! You found Ruth?!" Upon hearing the words "there are clues about Ruth," Xu Ling couldn't help but raise her voice, completely ignoring everything Kaofu said afterward.
"Shh—! Keep your voice down! Keep your voice down!" Kaopu really didn't expect Xu Ling to be so excited. He was startled by her and wished he could cover her mouth on the spot.
Of course, although they were a bit slow, they still took action from the bottom of their hearts.
"Ugh!!!" The next second, Kaopu covered Xu Ling's face with his entire cat body, using almost all his strength to stop her from speaking.
It has to be said that this move was very effective; Xu Ling not only lost her voice but also nearly died.
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