Xiao Yan stared at the Xiao Yi in his imagination, just about to shout, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west!" when a translucent figure suddenly passed through the wall, overlapping with the imaginary Xiao Yi.
He jolted, snapping out of his fantasy. An elderly soul with white hair and beard and a translucent body hovered silently before him, a pair of deep eyes staring straight at him.
The violent collision between reality and fantasy, coupled with that sudden, terrifying sight, left Xiao Yan's mind utterly blank. His taut nerves snapped completely, and the heroic spirit welling up in his throat took a sharp turn, becoming a piercing scream that soared and warbled-
"Aah-a ghost!!!"
Faced with this scream worthy of a soprano, the corner of Yao Lao's weathered mouth twitched violently. He simply floated there in silence, then rolled his eyes extravagantly at his disciple, who had leaped up from the bed in fright.
That spectral eye roll seemed to carry tangible contempt, sending the color that had just drained from Xiao Yan's face rushing back in a flash. This time, it was not fear, but pure embarrassment and indignation.
"Wh-what are you looking at me for?!" Xiao Yan retorted, stiffening his neck. His voice still held a cracked rasp from that scream. "You floated through the wall in the dead of night without making a sound! Who wouldn't be scared? Finished putting on your show?"
The muscles of Yao Lao's otherwise placid face seemed to twitch again, almost imperceptibly. Recalling how he had been wearing that ridiculous costume and playing along with Xiao Yi not long ago, he felt a complicated, indescribable mix of emotions rise within him.
"Forget it. I won't quibble with a fledgling brat like you." Yao Lao's ethereal figure rose slightly as