Chapter 3 (1/2)

Hao Ren froze. As Lily walked past him, he rubbed his eyes trying to clear his vision. He took a second look at her, but she was completely normal.

He was certain of what he just saw—a pair of triangular ears which were covered in beautiful silver hair! He was very certain of his eyesight and short-term memory, but he definitely couldn’t explain what he had just seen,

He slapped himself and muttered, “Maybe I was hallucinating. I am just too tired today.”

“Landlord, what did you just say?” Lily turned her head around, her big beautiful eyes were glowing in the dark. “Hallucinating about what?”

She heard his murmur. Hao Ren was awed by her sharp hearing ability. With a flick of his hand, he dismissed it while saying, “It’s nothing! I am alright. Let’s hurry up so that we can settle in for the night.”

“Okay!” Lily carried the massive suitcase on her shoulder and kept rambling, “Landlord, I’m starving! Is there any place close to your house where I can grab a bite? Or can I eat at your house? I will pay for it. Hey, why are you walking behind me? Please lead the way, I am not familiar with the place…”

Hao Ren sped up and took the lead. Though Lily was loquacious and naive, Hao Ren was impressed by her forthrightness. “No problem, I’ll be the host tonight. I am alone anyway.”

Just as he finished talking, the ‘floop’ sound occurred again!

Hao Ren’s reflexes were faster this time. He looked up immediately and caught sight of the silhouette of a bat the size of an eagle swooping across the night sky!

Naturally, it did not actually occur to him that it was a bat, but rather, a large bird foraging at night. Outside the town was a vast piece of wasteland. For there to be wild birds in the skies of the town was not something uncommon. Instead, he was more worried about Lily as he did not want her to get a bad first impression of his place, so he made up a story. “Don’t worry! That might just be a wild bird from the nearby wasteland.”

Suddenly, Lily approached him, puffing. “Mr. Landlord, I have something I need to do here. I suggest you keep going, I… I’ll catch up later”

Hao Ren was perplexed. “No, I’m not going to leave you here. It is like a maze in this alley, even locals would get lost at times… Why are you standing so close?”

As Hao Ren turned around, their eyes met — Lily was just inches from him—she stared straight at him. Hao Ren was taken aback and stepped back half a meter from her, “Look! I am a gentleman!”

He would turn abrasive when he was nervous.

Hao Ren was not sure if it was an illusion—he noticed there was a sense of hurriedness in her. Lily looked up the night sky and sniffed. “Landlord, please go. I can catch up later as I can remember your smell… So stop being shilly-shallied. I really have something on!” pleaded Lily.

“No!” Hao Ren was agitated. He did not seem to be bothered by her ‘remember your smell’ remark and replied with a straight face, “What if something happens to you? I just can’t bear to leave you here alone. What is it with you being so secretive?”

As mentioned before, Hao Ren was a good man; despite the fact that she was strong, he felt that he had a duty to ensure her safety.