“Um… Pen Fairy Sister?”
Xiaoyu slowly opened her confused eyes, and the first thing she saw was Ling Xiaoyou’s cute, delicate face.
In an instant, all the memories from before flooded back into her mind.
Xiaoyu tried to sit up quickly, but Ling Xiaoyou pressed her back down again.
“Don’t rush. You just woke up from a coma and are still weak. Don’t hurry to get up—lie down a bit longer.”
“Oh.”
Xiaoyu obediently complied, lying honestly on Ling Xiaoyou’s soft lap, her big eyes wide and shining as she stared at Ling Xiaoyou.
“What is it? Why are you staring at me?”
Being gazed at by the little girl made Ling Xiaoyou feel a bit awkward.
So she reached out and covered Xiaoyu’s eyes with her small hand, preventing Xiaoyu from staring at her any longer.
Suddenly enveloped in darkness, Xiaoyu didn’t rush to remove Ling Xiaoyou’s hand.
Instead, she asked, “Pen Fairy Sister, wasn’t I just caught by a Devil?”
“Then why am I here now? Did you defeat those scary Devils?”
As she spoke, Ling Xiaoyou could clearly sense the excitement in the girl’s voice.
It was obvious she was happy about the Devils being defeated.
“Hmm…”
Ling Xiaoyou thought for a moment.
She had no intention of claiming all the credit for herself and considered whether to tell Xiaoyu about Bai Shuanglian’s existence.
After all, Bai Shuanglian wasn’t the most approachable type.
For some reason, her attitude always seemed to change around Ling Xiaoyou, and if Xiaoyu interacted with her, she might get scared to tears.
But then Ling Xiaoyou thought, since Bai Shuanglian had gone to handle matters concerning Xiaoyu’s mother, it was only a matter of time before she and Xiaoyu met.
Whether she said it now or later only changed how soon they’d meet, so she might as well let Xiaoyu know early and prepare her.
Besides, before leaving, Bai Shuanglian had also mentioned that the physique of a ‘Spirit Nurturer’ was quite rare and planned to ask the child if she wanted to train when she returned.
If Xiaoyu agreed, Bai Shuanglian would introduce her to a few excellent teachers.
Thinking of this, Ling Xiaoyou moved her hand away from Xiaoyu’s eyes.
The latter immediately opened her eyes eagerly, her big eyes sparkling like stars.
“Those two Devils weren’t defeated by me. It was a sister named Bai Shuanglian, an Exorcist, who did it.”
“Of course, without me, Bai Shuanglian wouldn’t have been able to defeat the Devils either.”
Ling Xiaoyou lifted her small head proudly.
She continued, “Now, Bai Shuanglian has gone to handle matters about your mother. I suppose it won’t be long before you hear news about her and get to see her.”
“Mom!”
Xiaoyu cried out in surprise and hurriedly asked, “Pen Fairy Sister, how is my mother now? Is she still safe?”
“Don’t worry about that.”
Ling Xiaoyou patted Xiaoyu’s small head reassuringly.
“Your mother should have been found by that Bai Shuanglian sister by now. She’ll definitely be fine!”
Seeing Ling Xiaoyou’s serious expression, Xiaoyu gradually calmed down and nodded her little head.
Then, suddenly, she asked:
“Pen Fairy Sister, you and Bai Shuanglian Sister must be very close friends, right?”
“Eh?”
Ling Xiaoyou was stunned, not quite understanding why Xiaoyu would say that.
“Because when you mentioned Bai Shuanglian Sister, there was light in your eyes. You looked like you were really good friends!”
Xiaoyu said earnestly.
“Light… in my eyes? You mean me?”
Ling Xiaoyou pointed to herself, her little face filled with disbelief.
“Yes.”
Xiaoyu nodded.
“How is that possible! You must be seeing things! I don’t have a good relationship with that person at all!”
Ling Xiaoyou shook her head vigorously, denying Xiaoyu’s words.
“But, when you mentioned Bai Shuanglian Sister just now, your eyes were sparkling like little stars!”
“I’m sure I’m not mistaken! The two big sisters who live together next door look at each other like that too!”
“I’ve seen it myself!”
Unconvinced by Ling Xiaoyou, Xiaoyu pouted and spoke.
“Ah…”
Ling Xiaoyou didn’t know what to say.
Should she complain about Xiaoyu’s neighbor sisters’ unusual relationship, or insist that Xiaoyu really had seen wrong and there’s no way she’d have that kind of look?
Ling Xiaoyou pondered for a moment, then made a firm decision…
Forget it!
So, she swept a hand over her eyes and immediately saw Xiaoyu’s stunned expression.
Ling Xiaoyou blinked her now empty eyes, holding a pair of crimson, gem-like eyeballs—like works of art—in her hands.
She said,
“Now there’s no light in my eyes, right?”
“Ah!! Sister, your eyes!”
The only response was Xiaoyu’s scream.
***
“Whew, Director Wang finally made it through this ordeal.”
“Yeah. I wonder what happened to her. She suddenly collapsed in her office from severe anemia.”
“Who knows? It’s not even the usual symptoms of overwork.”
“It’s not like a vampire showed up and sucked Director Wang’s blood, right?”
“Haha, that can’t be! Even if vampires exist, Director Wang would need to have a wound, wouldn’t she?”
“True.”
“But Director Wang’s been through a lot. Her child was just born when she lost her husband, and she’s been grieving ever since. Only recently did she start moving on and found a new boyfriend. Then, that man disappeared, with no way to contact him at home or by phone.”
“Yeah. I wonder how Director Wang’s daughter is doing now. She must still be waiting for her mother to come home.”
“But we can’t tell her that Director Wang’s in the Hospital. That would be too much for a child to handle.”
“True, but didn’t the Nurse Director say she’d arrange someone to look after her later? I plan to go, too. Director Wang has always been kind to us.”
“Me too.”
In the corridor outside the Emergency Room, Bai Shuanglian stood beside two chatting nurses, quietly listening to their conversation.
Yet, strangely, even though she was right beside them, the two nurses acted as if they couldn’t see her at all and just kept talking.
It seems Xiaoyu’s mother is out of danger. I should return to tell Xiaoyou and Xiaoyu about this.
Bai Shuanglian glanced into the Emergency Room.
Her gaze passed through the walls, seeing the pale, haggard, unconscious woman lying on the hospital bed.
After a moment of observation, she confirmed that the woman was only suffering from excessive blood loss and some soul damage.
With time to recover, she’d be fine.
With nothing else to do, Bai Shuanglian’s figure flickered as she moved to the Hospital’s rooftop, preparing to leave by sword.
Suddenly, she heard a charming female voice call out to her:
“Please wait, Miss Bai Shuanglian.”