That captain who liked guys?

"That doesn't look anything like fireworks, no matter how you look at it! o(≧口≦)o!!"

Hana Ye's face was full of shock as her little hands tugged at Lin En's clothes.

"Something's wrong... that looks like an Exorcism Array! Does that mean-some terrifying monster has descended?! It's... it's so huge!!"

Clearly, this was her first time seeing such an enormous array unfold.

"An Exorcism Array?"

Lin En sounded uncertain.

Hana Ye stared wide-eyed and stammered:

"Y-you don't know? It's a magic array developed specifically to deal with super-scary monsters! I've never seen one myself, but my sister told me about them. She said if you see a light that big outside at night, don't hesitate-just run!"

"Because it means the Exorcist Squad has probably run into some incredibly terrifying monsters!! They're fighting a horribly bloody battle against them!!"

Hana Ye shouted, her legs instantly whirring like little motors as she made to dash in the opposite direction like a tiny whirlwind, (;≧д≦).

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-

Lin En grabbed her and lifted her up, saying with dead-fish eyes:

"What does that have to do with us? We're not monsters. What's there to be scared of?"

Hana Ye yelled as she ran in midair:

"What do you mean, what does it have to do with us?! If they've brought out an Exorcism Array, that means the battlefield is already really close!! If we don't run and some monster boss breaks through, we're both done for!!"

Lin En gazed into the distance.

He couldn't help rubbing his chin.

"That looks like the direction of Gear Street. What a coincidence. They're not trying to exorcise me, are they?"

Lin En immediately went (oﾟ▽ﾟ)o.

Surely not!

That shouldn't be possible!

He had only just descended, and he'd even bravely rescued a little girl. How could this possibly be aimed at him?

"Whatever."

Lin En shrugged, tucked Hana Ye under his arm, and turned to stride off in another direction.

"I'll take you home first. A little detour won't..."

But just then.

Suddenly.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-

Mithril crossbow bolts thudded into the ground just in front of his ankles.

"Halt! Who goes there?!"

A stern voice suddenly rang out from the intersection ahead.

Almost simultaneously, dozens of fully armed Exorcists poured out of the darkness and surrounded the two of them in the blink of an eye. Mithril crossbow bolts gleamed coldly beneath the Red Moon, the runes on their Holy Artifacts glowed faintly, and a suffocating pressure filled the air.

Hana Ye jolted in fright and jumped straight into Lin En's arms, both little hands clinging tightly around his neck.

"(ΩДΩ) Aaaaah! What's going on?! What's going on?!"

Lin En stopped.

He tilted his head.

"Humans? Or... monsters?"

In the darkness, tense figures in black robes could be faintly seen not only on either side of the intersection, but even on the rooftops flanking the street.

Mithril crossbow bolts were aimed at their position.

"Identify yourselves immediately! Otherwise-we'll kill you on sight!"

The cold voice came from the darkness again.

Hana Ye flailed in a panic, (ΩДΩ), and hurriedly said:

"Wait! Um... um... we're human! We're not monsters! We're law-abiding citizens! Very, very law-abiding citizens!"

The figures in the darkness remained on guard.

Because, seriously? It was the middle of the night, at the most dangerous point of the Red Moon's descent, and they were supposed to believe a naked man and a little girl were just strolling down the street? Not a chance in hell.

Lin En stared with dead-fish eyes.

He scanned the number of enemies around them.

"Hey, Cauliflower, aren't they after you again? You do have a Bounty Writ out on you in that Spirit Realm place, after all. Want me to deal with them?"

Lin En made a rough count. There were probably about thirty in total.

Hmm...

Although he wasn't quite sure how strong these people were.

But they dared to shoot at me.

That means they deserve to die, right?

Besides, I've got that "escort the little girl home" mission right now. If these guys are here to snatch her, won't my free wife go up in smoke?

One round should take care of them, right? If it doesn't, I can always do another.

"Whatever! (๑＞︶＜)و! I'll kill them first!"

An eye opened right in Lin En's armpit.

Hana Ye: "(ΩДΩ)?!!"

Squelch-

Hana Ye reacted instantly and poked it until it burst.

Lin En said in pained frustration, "Are you nuts?!"

At that moment, the scene she'd witnessed in the room flashed through her mind-the swelling body, the densely packed eyeballs, and the gruesome sight of that Evil Spirit being scared to death.

She immediately scrambled to wrap her arms around him to stop him from doing anything reckless, saying with a (〃＞皿＜) expression:

"Wait! Don't attack! Don't attack! My name is Hana Ye!! I'm the young miss of the [Youzhi] family! My dad was the Exorcist Association's vice president two terms ago!! My aunt is a White-robed Cardinal of the Church!! My sister is padding her résumé in the Exorcist Squad!! If you kill us, my dad, aunt, and sister won't let you get away with it! Aaaah!!"

At that moment.

She rattled off her entire family background at practically the fastest speed she'd ever spoken in her life.

Every figure surrounding them froze.

Just then, a man's voice came from the darkness.

"Hana Ye? Youzhi Hana Ye?!"

Hana Ye paused.

Lin En paused too.

Huh? Someone she knew?!

Then they immediately saw the man push through the crowd and walk over. He was a young man of about twenty-five or twenty-six, dressed in a black military uniform, his hand resting on his sword hilt and his expression stern.

He glanced at the bedsheet around Lin En's waist and Hana Ye clinging to him, his brows tightly furrowed.

"Is that you... what are you doing here?!"

Hana Ye froze for a moment, then got a clear look at his face. Her eyes immediately widened, and she exclaimed in delight:

"You're... I remember now! You're that... that captain my sister always talks about, the one who likes guys?!!"

The moment she said that.

Every Exorcist on the street fell silent.

All the Exorcists aiming their mithril crossbow bolts at them froze.

The young man's brain crashed for over ten seconds.

Finally.

He said stiffly, "Y-you..."

"Your name is Jones, right?!"

Hana Ye jumped down from Lin En in delight.

"If it is, then I've got the right person! My sister talks about you all the time! She said you secretly write love letters to Mr. Ulac, and Mr. Ulac thinks they're from a girl... is that true?!"

In an instant.

Jones stumbled several steps backward, his face pale.

Not far behind him, a squad member who had been following him also shuddered, turning a stiff, disbelieving stare on his captain.

Every Exorcist nearby, whether in the darkness or on the rooftops, wore an expression of utter shock and disbelief. Their eyes all snapped toward their captain, stunned, as though they'd just stumbled upon the juiciest gossip imaginable.

"..."

A deathly silence blanketed the entire street.

"We ran into someone I know!!"

Hana Ye jumped up.