Lin Xiangyi walked over to the only table in the room and set down the meal box.
“Xiao Ye, come here.”
He beckoned to Shen Ye, stepping toward her one slow, graceful pace at a time.
Shen Ye sensed something was off and warily shrank her neck back.
“You… what are you going to do?”
Under her terrified gaze, Lin Xiangyi reached a hand out toward her.
He’s trying to grab my ear again—no way!
Shen Ye quickly wrapped both arms around her head, desperately shielding the precious lifeline atop her scalp.
But Lin Xiangyi took a different route, redirecting his fingers to pinch her cheek instead.
“Mmph—!”
The girl yelped in pain, struggling as she grabbed hold of the man’s hand.
Lin Xiangyi spoke through gritted teeth:
“Do you have any idea that because of you, I almost got arrested?”
“Mmph~ Ah~ Dun~ Know~ It hurths!”
Shen Ye stammered out her cries of pain as glistening tears spilled from her golden eyes.
The girl’s cheek was soft and springy to the touch—a satisfying handful. Lin Xiangyi thought about squeezing a bit longer, but seeing her pitiful look, his heart softened.
He let go and said helplessly:
“Grand Senior Brother entrusted you to me. If something happens to you, I’ll have a hard time explaining myself.”
Shen Ye rubbed her little cheek and muttered grumpily:
“Oh.”
Nothing’s happened to me yet, right? No need for all this?
Junior Brother always takes advantage of the fact that I’m short right now to bully me.
Just wait until I turn back—you’ll see!
Seeing that the girl clearly had no idea what was going on, Lin Xiangyi continued:
“Do you remember what we did yesterday?”
“Nope.”
She looked at Lin Xiangyi, her eyes still glistening with leftover tears, full of confusion.
Didn’t I just sleep all day? What did I do? My ears and tail didn’t even show.
“Cough.”
As if recalling something embarrassing, Lin Xiangyi’s face flushed slightly, and he averted his gaze.
“Forget it. It’s probably better that you don’t remember.”
“But you were acting strange yesterday. I felt like the injury to your Spirit Body was affecting your mind. Did you notice anything?”
“I didn’t feel anything?”
Shen Ye glanced around at her surroundings and guessed part of the reason.
“Did the people from The Association do something?”
“They suspected I was mind-controlling you, so they ran some tests on you.”
“What?!”
Shen Ye was taken aback, immediately snapping her gaze to Lin Xiangyi, panic written all over her eyes.
“Did they—”
The implication in her words was obvious.
Lin Xiangyi understood exactly what she was worried about.
“Don’t worry.”
He said softly:
“The Disguise Spell I placed on you is very solid. They couldn’t see through it.”
Shen Ye let out a sigh of relief, her whole body going limp.
“That said,”
Lin Xiangyi pulled over a chair and gestured for Shen Ye to sit, then asked:
“Have you noticed anything off about any other part of your body?”
“Me?”
Shen Ye sat in the chair and looked at Lin Xiangyi, meeting his serious gaze. It felt a little strange.
She tilted her head, twirling a strand of hair around her finger as she played with it, her eyes looking at Lin Xiangyi clear and innocent.
“Aside from feeling like my hair’s gotten a bit longer, I don’t think there’s anything else.”
“Is that so?”
Lin Xiangyi muttered to himself, then after a moment of thought, spoke again:
“What about your Spiritual Power? How’s the recovery going?”
“Right now I feel—”
Shen Ye extended her hand, and a small bead of water condensed at her fingertip, morphing into a miniature mountain stream that flowed between her five fingers.
“Really good.”
Though the girl’s expression was calm, the way she looked at her own Spirit Control Creation still made Lin Xiangyi feel like he was looking at a proud, self-satisfied little cat.
“Mhm.”
A faint smile tugged at Lin Xiangyi’s lips.
The spells on Xiao Ye didn’t scatter from Spiritual Power influence. Given her level of Spirit Control, it really seems like she’s fine now.
He continued:
“Then make a mirror.”
“Huh?”
Shen Ye found the sudden request odd.
“Why?”
“Just make it first. You’ll know once it’s done.”
“Huh?”
A hint of adorable suspicion crept across Shen Ye’s delicate face as she stared at Lin Xiangyi for a moment, but she did as he asked anyway.
Her fingertips twitched slightly, and the stream of water began to expand and stretch, eventually forming a smooth Water Mirror that floated in midair.
Mhm, it’s a bit slower than when I first came to find Junior Brother, but it’s still decent.
Shen Ye admired her own handiwork with a quiet nod.
“And then?”
She asked Lin Xiangyi, but her gaze was inadvertently caught by a flash of gold reflecting off the Water Mirror.
The girl turned her head and looked closely.
“…Huh?”
Shen Ye tilted her head and leaned in toward the Water Mirror.
The mirror reflected a face that was both familiar and unfamiliar.
A pretty face, cool and aloof, yet carrying a hint of childishness.
It looked cute, but held a seriousness that didn’t belong to that age. Her cheeks were smooth and fair.
But those eyes… what was going on?
Why are they gold now?!
Shen Ye leaned in even closer, nearly pressing her face against the mirror’s surface.
The girl in the mirror leaned in too, her brilliant golden pupils reflecting Shen Ye’s shock.
“…My eyes?”
She turned back to look at Lin Xiangyi.
“How did they end up like this?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing.”
Lin Xiangyi spread his hands.
“During the treatment yesterday, you passed out.”
“Before that, I’d already noticed your eyes turning gold.”
He didn’t mention Shen Ye’s strange behavior from yesterday, afraid the kid would die of embarrassment if she heard.
“…”
Shen Ye refused to believe it and looked at the mirror again.
She blinked.
Gold.
She rubbed her eyes.
Still gold.
“Th-This… what do I do?”
She turned around, her face crumpling in despair.
“What else can you do? Cover it with a spell. And if worst comes to worst, just say they’re contact lenses and bluff your way through.”
Lin Xiangyi shrugged, completely unconcerned.
“But I’ve heard that most Black Cats have Golden Eyes. Looks like your Bloodline is pretty pure. That could be considered—”
“Good news?”
Hearing that, Shen Ye was furious.
“What good news? My fa—”
“Fa what?”
Lin Xiangyi looked confused.
“Nothing.”
Shen Ye’s gaze dimmed.
How could this happen…
Father is Human. Mother is a Spirit Being.
After living as a Human for over twenty years, I’ve turned into a Spirit Being.
Master did say that if I stayed by Junior Brother’s side and obediently accepted treatment, there was a chance I could turn back.
But from the looks of it, things are going in the complete opposite direction!?
Wait.
…A chance?
An Wenxin, are you messing with me again?!
Shen Ye gritted her teeth, unable to stop the image of An Wenxin’s beaming face from appearing in her mind.
Master… just you wait!
“At least your Spiritual Power has recovered, right?”
Lin Xiangyi’s voice came from beside her, perfectly soothing Shen Ye’s agitated mood.
She looked at him, silent for a moment.
Yeah.
These eerie Golden Eyes are unmistakably a symbol of a Spirit Being.
Junior Brother’s treatment targets my Spiritual Power Circuits, stabilizing a Spirit Body riddled with holes.
But he would never know—this is a reconstructed physical form.
And the Spirit Body he’s repairing is his Grand Senior Brother’s Soul.
This entire treatment process isn’t so much about healing “Xiao Ye’s” Spirit Body,
as it is about consolidating the fusion between “Shen Ye” and this physical form.
Shen Ye lowered her head and looked at her own palm.
She could feel that a portion of the Spiritual Power inside her was already flowing freely through the Circuits, ready to consolidate in an instant the moment she willed it.
“Let’s go.”
She lifted her head and looked at Lin Xiangyi.
“Go where?”
Lin Xiangyi was caught off guard, not yet processing what she meant.
“Strength Certification, duh?”
Shen Ye walked past Lin Xiangyi and patted him on the shoulder.
“What are you standing there for? Don’t you want a teammate?”