"Ah, I didn’t expect it to be Su Yuan and the Traveler. What brings you two to Wangshu Inn?"
Yanxiao greeted them with a smile, his face showing a hint of apology as he said:
"Just find a place to sit anywhere in the inn for now. Once I finish serving this table, I’ll come over to you!"
"It’s right around mealtime too. If there’s anything you want to eat, just let me know in advance so I can start preparing!"
"Glazed Roast Pork, Golden Shrimp Balls, and Fragrant Jewelry Soup—those three will do..."
Su Yuan spoke quickly, then tugged Aether and Paimon along, clearly trying to get away from Yanxiao...
But Paimon, still not understanding the situation, said with confusion:
"Su Yuan, are you underestimating my combat strength when it comes to food? Just three dishes—who do you think you’re feeding?"
"I could finish those myself! There’s no way that would be enough for the three of us!"
"Paimon, you little glutton. If you eat too much, you’ll get fat, you know!"
"If it really isn’t enough, we can just order more later. No need to waste food, right?"
After Su Yuan pulled Aether and Paimon out of Yanxiao’s line of sight, Paimon complained with dissatisfaction:
"Su Yuan, what’s that supposed to mean?"
"Are you saying I’ll get fat from eating too much? Do you have any idea how much energy I burn every day just to keep flying?"
"Alright, Paimon, don’t take it personally. I’m sure Su Yuan didn’t mean it that way," Aether said, seemingly sensing something, then turned to Su Yuan and asked, "Su Yuan, did you notice something just now?"
"Yes, Aether. Did you notice that the roast meat Yanxiao was holding... kind of looked like Xiao’s arm?"
Hearing what Su Yuan said, Aether quickly activated his mental gears, replaying the earlier scene in his mind.
Then, with a serious and slightly shocked expression, he spoke up:
"Although I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time and only caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye... now that you mention it, Su Yuan, it did look like that!"
"What?! That delicious-smelling roast meat from earlier... was actually Xiao’s arm???"
Paimon’s face was now a mix of terror and disbelief, an incredibly complex expression:
"To be honest, I was just about to ask Yanxiao to bring us a plate of that same roast to try..."
"Aether, Paimon... Wangshu Inn has already undergone some strange changes. The innkeeper, Huai’an, and the proprietress, Verr Goldet, have both mysteriously disappeared..."
Su Yuan furrowed his brows and spoke in a grim, serious tone:
"And Jiangxue, who supposedly died of sudden illness—he was once a skilled martial artist, with physical strength far beyond ordinary people. There’s no way he could have just dropped dead so easily."
"Right now, he seems... very off. Wangshu Inn isn’t safe anymore. We need to leave—now."
"Yeah." Aether nodded, and with Paimon in tow, quietly followed Su Yuan out of Wangshu Inn. Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝·𝘧𝙞𝙧𝙚·𝔫𝔢𝔱
Afterward, the group arrived in a forested area outside the inn.
Su Yuan turned to Aether and said:
"Aether, didn’t you say that whenever you call Xiao’s name, he’ll come to your side?"
"Try calling him now—let’s see what condition he’s in."
"If something has happened to him, and he’s met with misfortune... he might not be able to respond to your call anymore..."
"Okay." Aether nodded, took a deep breath, and began to call out:
"Xiao—Xiao? Are you there?"
He called out several times, then waited for a while, but still, Xiao’s figure did not appear...
At that moment, a feeling of unease and foreboding filled the hearts of Su Yuan, Aether, and Paimon.
Could it be that Xiao had really...
But just then—a figure wearing a green mask suddenly appeared in the distance, sprinting straight toward them!
"Eh? There’s someone over there wearing a green mask, running this way. Is that Xiao?" Paimon pointed in that direction and asked.
"Uh..." Aether squinted into the distance and said thoughtfully, "It’s hard to see clearly from this far away, but it does look like he’s wearing a green mask..."
"But, I mean—I know Xiao pretty well by now, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him show up by running. Doesn’t he usually just appear out of nowhere? Like—whoosh—here one second, gone the next?"
"That person is definitely not Xiao." Su Yuan spoke firmly and without hesitation.
"How can you be so sure?" Aether and Paimon asked, both puzzled.
"It is a weird situation right now—maybe we shouldn’t jump to conclusions..."
"This person’s height... he looks to be at least around 1.78 meters," Su Yuan said slowly.
"If it were Xiao, there’s no way he’d be that tall."
Aether and Paimon: "..."
"...That actually makes a lot of sense. I have no rebuttal for that."
As the person wearing the green mask ran closer, Su Yuan and the others were finally able to get a good look.
The mask he was wearing... wasn’t Xiao’s at all.
Even so, something about the mask seemed vaguely familiar...
"Ah! It’s you! That fake adeptus scammer!!"
Paimon suddenly shouted as the realization hit her:
"The Celestial Sovereign of Stars, the Seizer of Starlight!!"
As soon as Paimon said that, Aether and Su Yuan also remembered who it was—
That guy from Xiao’s story quest—the one who impersonated an adeptus to deceive people!
"Alright, Paimon, the guy has a real name, okay? His name is Wang Ping’an," Aether said to her.
"And besides, after Xiao punished and educated him, he turned over a new leaf."
"Didn’t he later go on a pilgrimage across famous mountains to cleanse his heart, help Tongque build a temple, and atone for everything he did?"
As Aether spoke, he looked toward Wang Ping’an with suspicion.
"But... Wang Ping’an, why are you wearing that deceiving mask again?"
"And more importantly, we were calling out for Xiao—why did you show up?"
After sprinting all the way there, Wang Ping’an was gasping for breath for a while before finally speaking:
"Adeptus Xiao... may have already met with misfortune..."
"I saw Adeptus Xiao in a dream—he temporarily entrusted his title to me... No, more accurately, he entrusted it to the mask on my face. I must wear this mask at all times to maintain this state..."
Hearing Wang Ping’an’s words, Su Yuan and Aether were both shocked, and quickly asked:
"Then what exactly happened to Xiao? Where is he now? What’s his situation?"
"Adeptus Xiao asked me to deliver a message to you. While investigating the death of Jiang Xue, and the disappearance of Huai’an and Verr Goldet, he discovered that Yanxiao is highly suspicious..."
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