Su Youjin

Xiao Xiao's eyes lit up as he thought of another monster.

The fox demon!

Yes, that was the scent of the fox demon!

After racking his brains and arriving at the answer, the corners of Xiao Xiao's mouth curled into a wide smile.

But how had this girl come to carry the fox demon's scent?

Could it be...

At the thought of that possibility, Xiao Xiao's expression immediately turned ugly.

Xiao Xiao thought of Ruan Rou, that beautiful girl who had lost her life far too soon, despite her life having only just begun.

"Heh heh." Xiao Xiao covered his face and laughed silently. There was nothing he could do for that girl.

But he would never allow the same thing to happen a second time right under his nose!

Xiao Xiao gestured for Ear Mouse to come over. He did not want to wake the girl and then be mistaken for a thief who had trespassed into the greenhouse.

Wouldn't that be terribly unfair?

This time, Ear Mouse did not give him any meaningful looks. It obediently came over.

Xiao Xiao walked several steps away. He only stopped once the flowers and plants blocked his view of the girl.

He turned around and crouched down, facing Ear Mouse at eye level. Looking into those scarlet, vertical pupils, he asked softly, "Do you know that she has been possessed by the fox demon?"

Ear Mouse stared quietly at Xiao Xiao. After a while, it nodded, then shook its head.

Xiao Xiao: ...

"You nodded because she really has been possessed by the fox demon, but shaking your head..." Xiao Xiao spoke slowly as he pondered. "Why did you shake your head?"

Ear Mouse made a muffled "whimpering" sound, somewhat like a dog's bark.

What a wondrous monster. It was clearly supposed to be a mouse, yet it had a rabbit's head and a sika deer's body, and the sound it made was like a dog's bark.

Xiao Xiao was briefly filled with emotion, but immediately pulled his thoughts back and focused on why Ear Mouse had shaken its head.

Obviously, Ear Mouse was trying to convey some information to him. But they did not speak the same language.

Xiao Xiao reached up and rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

"The girl really has been possessed by the fox demon, so why did you shake your head?" Xiao Xiao asked Ear Mouse the same question again, receiving the same response. Ear Mouse nodded first, then shook its head.

Suddenly, Xiao Xiao thought of a possibility.

Could it be...

"She really has been possessed by the fox demon, but the fox demon hasn't succeeded, right?"

Xiao Xiao stared intently at Ear Mouse. After seeing it nod, he waited a while, but when it did not shake its head, he knew he had guessed correctly.

So that's how it was!

This was truly a pleasant surprise! Xiao Xiao had originally been worried about whether someone who had lost control of their mind could return to normal. Now things were simple. As long as he drove away the fox demon, the girl would recover completely.

"This girl is quite impressive." Xiao Xiao muttered to himself. She had not been completely robbed of her mind by the fox demon. Her mental fortitude was truly extraordinary.

When a monster possessed someone, humans were naturally the weaker side. And this had happened without warning. To still hold the monster at bay and prevent it from getting its way—let alone a young girl, even a strong man might not have been able to accomplish that.

However, although she had managed to maintain the situation for now, the girl had clearly paid a heavy price.

Xiao Xiao remembered how the girl, though beautiful, had been far too pale and thin. Her eyes were ringed with dark shadows, and deep weariness lay between her brows.

Thus, besides trusting that no one else could enter the greenhouse, the reason the girl had not noticed a stranger approaching was that she was simply too exhausted.

She was standing at the edge of a cliff, with an abyss of eternal darkness stretching endlessly behind her.

She had to keep her nerves taut every moment of every day. She could not leave even the slightest opening, or she would be swallowed by the monster and doomed beyond salvation.

She had no right to relax.

Fortunately, she still held one advantage. This body belonged to her. As long as she did not give up, the fox demon would have to pay an enormous price to take it away.

Therefore, with both sides exhausted, she could still find a little time to rest.

Otherwise, how could human stamina compare to that of a monster? If the fox demon merely dragged things out with her, this body would sooner or later belong to it.

"You want me to help drive the fox demon out of her body, right?" Even though he was eighty percent certain, Xiao Xiao still confirmed it once more.

Ear Mouse nodded.

After receiving a definite answer, Xiao Xiao began to think. As he saw it, there were no more than two ways to help the girl. One was to drive the fox demon out of her body through external force. The other was to help the girl defeat the fox demon.

So which method would be better?

Xiao Xiao shifted his gaze and saw Ear Mouse quietly crouching in front of him. He could not help asking, "You're her friend, right?"

Ear Mouse tilted its head slightly. It seemed not to understand, or perhaps Xiao Xiao's sudden question had simply left it confused.

Only after a long while did Ear Mouse give an almost imperceptible nod.

Then it raised its head high, wearing an arrogant expression.

Xiao Xiao found it somewhat amusing. It really was a tsundere.

"Do you know what I should do to help her?" Xiao Xiao quickly got to the point. Although Xiao Xiao found it strange that Ear Mouse was so certain he could help the girl, after learning that the fox demon was behind this, he clearly could not stand by and do nothing. No matter what, he had to do his part.

However, although Xiao Xiao had quickly come up with two ways to solve the problem, in the very next second he was bitterly forced to realize that the issue was not which method he should choose, but that he had no idea how to carry out either one!

What a tragic fact.

And as he watched Ear Mouse's mouth open and close, without understanding a single word it said, he felt as though his sorrow were about to overflow into a river.

"Mm~" The sound was nearly inaudible, but to a monster—and to Xiao Xiao, whose five senses had been greatly enhanced—it sounded as though it had rung right beside his ear.

Xiao Xiao instinctively turned his head, but the luxuriant flowers and plants blocked his view. Only then did he realize that he was still crouching. His physical constitution really had been strengthened. If this had been before, his legs would have gone numb long ago.

However, when Xiao Xiao turned back again, Ear Mouse had already vanished.

Xiao Xiao: ...

Was it really okay to just abandon him like that? Would he really not be mistaken for a bad person when he went out?

Xiao Xiao hesitated for a moment, but still slowly rose to his feet. The greenhouse was neither particularly small nor particularly large, so the moment Xiao Xiao stood up and turned around, he met the girl's gaze.

The girl had an extraordinarily beautiful pair of eyes. Their shape was lovely, and their amber irises were clear as water, shimmering with ripples of light.

At that moment, they gazed at him with a trace of confusion.

Fortunately, she had not screamed. Xiao Xiao let out a small sigh of relief.

Just as Xiao Xiao awkwardly tried to think of something to say, his gaze shifted, and he saw Ear Mouse lying across the girl's legs.

Huh? It had not disappeared. It had gone to the girl's side.

"This is Yinzi." Noticing Xiao Xiao's gaze, the girl reached out and gently stroked Ear Mouse's smooth fur, which gleamed like silver satin. She introduced it softly. Her clear voice was sweet like a mint candy, with a faint coolness, and a slight softness touched her normally cold face.

Xiao Xiao froze, then the tension in his heart completely eased.

He walked forward slowly.

"Hello, my name is Lin Mo."

"Yinzi brought me here."