Ruins Within the Ruins

"By the way, can I touch your face?" Mo Yun suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Xia Fan and Li both froze.

She seemed somewhat hesitant. "I heard from Her Highness the Princess... that you seem to have changed... changed in a way that's different from before. She wasn't talking about you as a person, but about..."

She stumbled over her words for quite a while without managing to finish the sentence.

For Mo Yun, who had always been sparing with words, this was an exceptionally rare sight.

Xia Fan guessed what she wanted to say.

"Have I become as elusive as a ghost?" he offered.

Mo Yun immediately denied it. "No, Your Highness never said that. This is only my personal—"

"All right," Xia Fan said with a smile, cutting her off. "You can try."

Mo Yun took a deep breath and slowly extended her right hand, placing it against Xia Fan's cheek before sliding it down and cradling half his face in her palm. It felt solid, with a warm heat to it. That proved that the person before her was neither an illusion nor an Evil Spirit, but a living being in the flesh.

She let out a long breath. "It seems you're still yourself for now."

Xia Fan did not know whether to laugh or cry. "For now?"

"Of course. Her Highness made it sound far too mysterious. I think it would be best to verify it every ten days or half a month. You mustn't secretly disappear." Mo Yun waved her hand after saying that. "All right, my time is precious. Where can I read these books? Take me there now."

After settling the head of the Mechanical Bureau in, Li nudged Xia Fan with her elbow. "She's actually worried about you."

"I clearly told Her Highness that