Chen Mo stood frozen, unable to collect himself for a long while.
He had agreed?
Immortals... ate tofu too?
He instinctively felt the two cornmeal buns tucked inside his clothes, then looked at his empty hands.
"I... I'll go back and get it now!"
Si Chen shook his head. "No rush."
He took a step forward and looked down at Chen Mo.
"You chased after us just to deliver tofu?"
Chen Mo opened his mouth.
Of course he hadn't come just to deliver tofu.
But he didn't know how to say it.
After hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke.
"Um... Lord Immortal, that thing you just did, that..."
He gestured, not knowing how to describe it.
"It's just... you did that, and that thing was gone..."
"Could you... teach me?"
Si Chen didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked, "Why do you want to learn?"
Chen Mo opened his mouth, then closed it again.
He had never actually thought about that.
For five years, he had been like a duck driven onto a perch, forced into the role. Whenever trouble struck a household and they came to him, he would steel himself and go.
He scratched his head and answered honestly.
"Because... I'm the only one in all the villages around here who can see those things."
"If I don't do anything, no one will."
"Even though I'm scared to death every time... if I don't go, those people..."
"Some are still children, and some are the pillars holding up their families..."
"I want..."
He raised his head, a hint of longing in his eyes. "I want to stop those things from hurting people."
After hearing him out, Si Chen suddenly smiled.
He tilted his head and asked, "But aren't you a tofu seller?"
Chen Mo froze for a