"Student Xiao?"
Xiao Xiao's silence puzzled the young man. "What's wrong?"
"We..."
"Found it."
Xiao Xiao glanced sideways at the young man.
"Huh?"
The young man was a little bewildered and asked instinctively, "What—"
His voice abruptly cut off.
He thought of a possibility.
"Y-you mean..."
The young man's eyes widened, and his voice unconsciously grew louder. "You found the thing that's keeping the monster from coming inside?!"
Little White Fox twitched its ears.
Its eyes half-lidded, it gave the young man a sidelong glance.
So noisy.
The young man shuddered.
After a moment of confusion, he paid no attention to the interruption.
He hurriedly pressed, "Student Xiao, what is it?"
"What's the thing you found?"
"So it was in my bedroom?"
"In my bedroom..."
There wasn't anything unusual in his bedroom.
Just ordinary furniture.
His bed, nightstand, wardrobe, desk...
The young man's gaze swept across the familiar objects one by one.
After looking around, he still had no clue.
He was just about to listen to Xiao Xiao's answer.
His gaze landed on the painting in front of him.
He froze.
Could it be...
"It's this painting."
The voice beside him confirmed his guess.
The young man swallowed.
"Gulp..."
It really is this painting?
The only thing in his room that was even a little unusual... was this painting.
He knew that.
But...
"My grandfather painted this and gave it to me."
The young man murmured.
It wasn't something he'd happened to buy from a street stall.
Just like the familiar trope in novels...
The painting really was a work his grandfather had made when he was young.
As far back as he could remember, his grandfather had often taken it out to admire, looking as though he cherished it beyond measure.
He'd even said that this painting was