Master Xiao must know what had happened to Little One during this time!
"Master Xiao, tell me. What happened to Little One?"
"When you found Little One, what was it like?"
"What danger did it encounter?"
"It—"
"It was captured."
Xiao Xiao didn't hide the truth.
As the boy had just said, it was better to tell him the truth than let him speculate and frighten himself.
Besides, the whole thing had been something of a misunderstanding.
"It was captured?!"
The boy shouted.
"Who captured Little One?"
"Why did he capture Little One?"
"He..."
Xiao Xiao made a gesture to stop him.
The boy's right hand gripped his left wrist,
and the vine crawled onto the back of his hand.
It gave the boy a little comfort without his even realizing it.
"Sorry."
The boy lowered his eyes. The shadow cast by his bangs deepened the darkness in his gaze.
"I got too worked up."
"I understand how you feel."
Xiao Xiao shook his head slightly.
"Don't rush."
"I'll tell you everything."
"Okay."
The boy looked up.
His expression was much calmer now.
One finger of his right hand, which was holding his left, lifted and gently rubbed the vine.
Xiao Xiao briefly explained the whole story.
"...He did mean well, in a way."
Though he had also had his own motives.
Xiao Xiao left that part out.
"But taking such a one-size-fits-all approach can easily cause problems."
Xiao Xiao's words slowly eased the tension in the boy's heart.
So the man hadn't come specifically for Little One?
He'd simply captured every demon he came across because he believed demons harmed people.
"How could he just decide what to do without asking anything...?"
The boy couldn't help complaining.
He could at least have asked him,