At dusk, the setting sun sank little by little beneath the horizon, and the gray darkness of night quietly took its place.
Ji Yan had done nothing for the rest of the daylight hours.
He had eaten a little, then lain back in a recliner, basking in the warm evening sunlight with his eyes closed.
At some point, Kong Yi appeared in the room like a ghost.
He stared at Ji Yan. "You're just going to lie there?"
Ji Yan kept his eyes closed, gently rocking the recliner as he replied calmly, "What else should I do?"
"The Main Quest is targeting me now, and the [Audience]'s anticipation value keeps climbing, but it hasn't issued any 'path' quests."
"I'm public enemy number one right now. If I don't lie here and get myself back into shape, should I go out looking for trouble?"
Kong Yi rubbed his chin. "Fair point."
"What about those women who were secretly watching you?"
Ji Yan said, "They wanted to get involved and claim a share."
"I sent them packing..."
As he spoke, Ji Yan opened his eyes and looked at Kong Yi. "Actually, you didn't go do a 'path' quest. You used your abilities as [The Hermit]'s attendant to follow Doctor Long, didn't you?"
Kong Yi didn't answer.
Taking that as confirmation, Ji Yan asked, "How did it go?"
"Nothing suspicious."
Kong Yi walked aside, unwrapped a piece of candy, and popped it into his mouth. "I was just worried that [The World]'s attendant and [The Fool]'s attendant were working together to set us up."
"But I watched him for over two hours and found nothing suspicious."
Ji Yan stared straight at Kong Yi, then suddenly asked, "Old Kong, can I trust you?"
"If I can, I'll tell you a secret."
Kong Yi immediately