Don't Pet Stray Cats by the Road

Seeing the two deep in conversation, Dugu Yan sat to one side without saying a word.

After all, whenever Mo Lin came up, Ye Lingling had endless things to say.

Even if she wanted to get a word in, it was difficult. Bored, she could only extend her wicked claws toward Xiao Hei, who was grooming himself nearby.

She had wanted to get her hands on the little thing for ages, but he had stayed curled up in Ye Lingling's arms, leaving her no opening even when she wanted to touch him.

"Hehe, let me see how you feel."

Just as Dugu Yan launched her sneak attack, Xiao Hei suddenly stopped grooming himself and turned to stare straight at her, his eyes vicious.

Xiao Hei's pupils narrowed slightly. The instant Dugu Yan met his gaze, she felt cold all over as an aura of death rushed into her face.

In her eyes, Xiao Hei was no longer the docile little black cat from before. He was a savage tiger that ate people without blinking.

She wanted to cry for help, but her voice stuck in her throat, refusing to make a sound.

At that moment, she could not even move her body. She simply stood rooted to the spot, unable to do anything.

"Xiao Hei, what are you doing?"

Just then, Mo Lin's voice rang out.

Immediately afterward, the oppressive feeling vanished without a trace. Freed from its control, Dugu Yan felt her entire body go limp and fell from her chair onto the ground with a thud.

"Yanyan!"

Ye Lingling turned and was startled to see Dugu Yan's face pale with fright. She hurried over to help her up.

But the instant her hand touched her, she discovered that Dugu Yan was trembling violently, and even her eyes looked somewhat vacant.

"Bad cat! Who told you to go around hissing at people!"

Mo Lin landed a heavy punch on Xiao Hei's head. Xiao Hei, who had been baring his ferocity just a moment ago, instantly behaved himself, lying there with utterly innocent eyes.

After teaching Xiao Hei a lesson for hissing at people, Mo Lin finally turned his gaze toward Dugu Yan on the ground.

Dugu Yan's expression was vacant, her face pale. From the looks of it, she had clearly been scared out of her wits. Fortunately, her Soul Origin had not been harmed.

After all, Xiao Hei was a Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, inherently capable of devouring souls.

Dugu Yan really had no fear of death. Had he not noticed in time, she probably would have been left an idiot even if she survived.

"Yanyan, what's wrong? Say something! Don't scare me."

Ye Lingling shook Dugu Yan. Seeing that she still would not speak, she was worried sick.

How had she ended up like this in such a short time?

"Don't worry, she's fine. She just got frightened. She'll be all right once she comes to her senses."

Xiao Hei had not struck to kill. Otherwise, Dugu Yan could have died eight hundred times over in that brief moment.

"Is she really all right?"

"Yes. When have I ever lied to you?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Mo Lin realized he seemed to have let something slip.

Fortunately, Ye Lingling did not seem to notice anything wrong. All her attention was on Dugu Yan now.

Only after several minutes had passed did Dugu Yan fully recover her senses.

But when she saw Xiao Hei again, she jumped straight up in fright.

Clearly, Xiao Hei had cast quite a large shadow over her mind.

"I told you she was fine. Look how high she can jump."

Picking up a skewer from the table, Mo Lin casually pointed at Dugu Yan, who was still shaken.

Ye Lingling was speechless.

She's this terrified, and you call that fine?

"Yanyan, what happened just now? What scared you so badly?"

Despite Dugu Yan's usual carefree manner, she was actually even more timid than Ye Lingling.

But what exactly had happened just now to frighten her like this?

I was right beside her, and I didn't notice anything unusual. Surely Xiao Hei couldn't have scared her?

As she thought this, Ye Lingling lowered her head to glance at Xiao Hei. He was tilting his head, looking up at her with an adorably clueless expression.

At that sight, Ye Lingling immediately ruled Xiao Hei out. How could such a cute little thing frighten anyone? There had to be some other reason.

"I... I..."

Faced with Ye Lingling's questions, Dugu Yan clearly had not completely calmed down. She even stammered as she spoke.

"Lingling, let's go back. I'm a little tired."

What had just happened left her afraid to linger here any longer. All she wanted now was to leave as quickly as possible.

With that, she grabbed Ye Lingling and tried to leave.

Ye Lingling did not resist. After all, Dugu Yan was so frightened that she would worry about letting her leave alone.

"Um... Mo Lin, I'll head back first. Let's talk another time."

Mo Lin nodded without stopping them.

Only after Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan had left did he glare at Xiao Hei beside him, his expression turning somewhat dark.

"Look what you've done."

I finally managed to get her to come out, and one hiss from you sent her straight away.

"Forget it. Don't let it happen again."

Since Dugu Yan was the one frightened this time, he would not pursue it further. Had it been Ye Lingling, he would have used Xiao Hei to make tiger-bone liquor today.

But after this fright, Dugu Yan probably would not tag along next time. Looking at it that way, perhaps it was not such a bad thing.

"Hm?"

Mo Lin tilted his head, his gaze landing on Zhu Zhuqing, who had appeared nearby at some unknown point.

"Looking for me?"

Well, now. Tang Hao hadn't shown up, but someone unexpected had come instead.

Speaking of which, how did she find me?

"Yes. I'd like to talk to you."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded, her gaze settling on Xiao Hei beside him.

"Talk? About what? Are we that close?"

How she had found him did not matter. What mainly struck him as interesting was the timing of her appearance.

He had only just beaten Tang San half to death, and now she had come to see him. It was hard not to entertain other thoughts.

He had not refused outright, which meant there was still a chance.

Zhu Zhuqing lightly pressed her lips together and glanced around. After weighing her words inwardly for a moment, she spoke again.

"May I sit down to talk?"

"No."

Mo Lin's answer was extremely blunt. This time, he left no room for discussion whatsoever.

"If you're asking someone for a favor, act like it. I'm already showing you plenty of consideration by not making you kneel while you speak to me."

Zhu Zhuqing froze at his words, then gave a bleak smile.

He was right. Someone asking for a favor needed to act the part. As she was now, she could be said to have no other choice.

"I want to follow you."

"Huh? What did you say?!"

The moment she spoke, she left Mo Lin at a complete loss.

Seriously, are girls nowadays all this forward, or are you just that desperate?

"I want to stay by your side. I want to leave this place."

"If you want to leave, then leave. Your legs are yours. Nobody's got you tied up."

Good grief. The way her mind worked had him completely baffled.

"I don't know where to go. Besides, you're very strong. I can feel it."

As she spoke, Zhu Zhuqing pointed at Xiao Hei, who was yawning.

Her pointing left Xiao Hei somewhat bewildered too.

The man and tiger exchanged a glance, and the same question surfaced in both their minds.

"What did she feel?"