The Lin Residence.
Night deepened, and the sprawling residence had fallen quiet.
In her boudoir in the rear courtyard, Lin Wanyi sat beside a round table wearing gold-rimmed glasses. A small snack box filled with assorted treats sat before her.
Pitch-black Coal Ball, for the snacks' sake, performed all the tricks used to beg for food on the island: spinning atop a brush pot, spreading wings to dance to "Gokuraku Jodo," and the stepping Iron Mountain Lean practiced for two and a half years:
"Gooji, gooji~..."
Lin Wanyi could not make sense of Coal Ball's shamanic dancing. Of course, she was in no mood for it anyway. She simply worried about her man's safety, while also fearing that she might be targeted and carried off by those unknown kidnappers.
To guard against any mishaps, Lin Wanyi had practically turned her boudoir into a "Ten-Thousand Poisons Formation." The door, windows, and roof were all rigged with traps.
But as the saying went, whatever you feared would come knocking. Just as she waited on tenterhooks for her man to return, a faint sound came from outside:
Whoosh~
Amid a faint rush of air, a shadow appeared outside the window.
"Goo?"
Coal Ball sensed something wrong and immediately turned around.
Lin Wanyi thought Xie Jinhuan had arrived, and delight rose in her heart. But a closer look revealed that the figure outside wore a cloak and hood, clearly the getup of some sinister scoundrel. Her face paled, and she discreetly drew the Poison Gu Needle from her sleeve:
"Who's there?"
"Me."
"Who are you? I'm warning you, my man is formidable, and I'm no pushover either. I just don't want to fight at home..."
Tap, tap, tap...
As she spoke, footsteps reached the door:
Creak~
The door swung open, revealing a figure in