Chapter 4: The Riddle (14)
Upon noticing his tail seemed to have shrunk by a segment, now only half its original size, the male character’s first reaction was, “Should I change my name now? ‘Short Tail’ sounds kinda catchy.”
Wait, what am I even thinking about? Holy cow!
His gaze shifted to Little Fox, and just as he expected, her appearance had undergone some noticeable changes as well.
For instance, the fuzz on her skin wasn’t as thick anymore, and her golden fur seemed a little lackluster and dull.
Moreover, he felt that his mind was now much sharper in recalling past memories.
Now, that’s definitely a good sign!
He suppressed his drowsiness, hefted the already snoozing Little Fox onto his back, and continued making his way away from the manor.
If he and Red Lips—no, Luo Ying—could keep their determination to stay away from the manor, perhaps they would be able to recall everything they had forgotten.
As he went along his path, small animals appeared here and there, giggling and mimicking the little fox’s previous hushing poses.
The male character completely ignored them, weaving through the cute critters, though those clingy little guys quickly surrounded them again, looking blissfully ridiculous.
But the male character didn’t care; at one moment, he suddenly felt an extra surge of power within him, like something that was always his had just been hiding away until now.
His strides grew larger; even without a flying sword to ride, each step took him farther, as if some shackles were gradually being thrown off, completely losing their grip.
“Feels good! Really good!”
The surrounding little animals didn’t scatter; instead, they kept bouncing along after him.
Upon hearing his exclamations, they surprisingly echoed, “Feels good! Really good!”
The male character was stunned.
He halted for the first time, scrutinizing these little creatures that looked remarkably like the two of them had before.
He recalled that the animals living outside the manor were called wildlings by the steward.
Moreover, the people inside the manor almost never ventured out, and it seemed the wildlings had never set foot inside. It was as if there was a clear river separating them, preventing either side from crossing.
Except for him and Luo Ying.
“I say, you weren’t humans once, were you?” The male character finally remembered what he had looked like before.
He was a person, not an animal.
Even though his tail was now curled up like a ball, the fur all over his skin still made him look like a wildling.
The little animals couldn’t grasp a word he was saying; some smarter ones, like parrots, mimicingly repeated his questions back to him.
He finally gave up on trying to communicate.
These guys clearly couldn’t understand!
Stomach grumbling, he pressed on, and at this moment, Luo Ying woke up.
Habitually, she patted her lower back only to find nothing. Her face bloomed with disappointment and melancholy.
When the male character saw this, he knew the original Luo Ying had returned.
“Big Tail, Red Lips… hehe, if I ever find out who gave us those cringeworthy nicknames, I swear I’ll chop his head off!” Luo Ying fumed.
But what followed was her piercing scream.
She really didn’t expect to have turned into a fox! When she was crouched by the spring, staring at her own face like it was the end of the world—
The male character rushed to comfort her, “It’s okay! The farther we get from the manor, the quicker we’ll recover.”
However, there was one thing he had to remind her: “From this point on, we definitely shouldn’t eat anything in this world.”
The desire to restore their appearance overtook their hunger.
Especially for Luo Ying. The thought that the damned manor turned them into animals made her grit her teeth, wishing she could rush back right now and slice that pesky Little Wild Cat with a sword.
The male character stopped her.
After some careful consideration, Luo Ying realized if they went back only to be turned into animals again, that would be quite the loss, so she let go of that thought.
The two of them merely sipped some spring water and set off again.
After trekking for most of the day, as the third night away from the manor approached,
Suddenly, Luo Ying “thumped” down to her knees, caught off guard and bursting into tears.
The male character silently stood by her side, saying nothing.
Because at that very moment, they had just recalled what mission the manor lord had sent them on.
“It really was me; I really did k*ll my Master! Boohoo… boohoo…”
Luo Ying wailed uncontrollably.
“It’s not your fault; we were both manipulated by the manor lord. Even Ling Xiaozu didn’t recognize us,” the male character reassured her.
“But I still ended up killing him…”
He sighed deeply.
As Luo Ying sobbed, she reached for her Dark Light Sword to take her own life, causing the male character to rush in to stop her, and suddenly they were a tangled mess.
“Wait! I remember your Master didn’t d*e!” he shouted, “The exotic that visited the manor a few days ago was Ling Xiaozu, wasn’t it?”
Luo Ying froze.
She recalled the hazy figure of the exotic she saw while hiding in the bushes earlier.
It seemed that the male character was right—the old man must have indeed been Ling Xiaozu.
It was just that, at the time, they acted like they’d been brainwashed, and all their past memories had been wiped clean; they couldn’t recognize him at all.
“That’s right, it was Master! It really was Master!”
Luo Ying kept repeating, as if to solidify her conviction.
The male character said, “He didn’t d*e, or perhaps he only pretended to be injured under your sword to let us come back and report to him.”
Luo Ying shook her head, “No, I know my sword technique too well. No one could have survived that situation.”
“Ling Xiaozu not only visited the manor but also chatted with me in the middle of the night. If it weren’t for the Sect Leader helping me see my true self, I’d probably still be in the dark about the manor.”
Now was the perfect time for the male character to share his encounter with Ling Xiaozu with Luo Ying.
Wiping her reddened eyes, Luo Ying looked serious.
“If what you say is true, then perhaps we should meet with our Master to seek the truth.”
The male character added, “But before that, we should probably shed all this fur we’ve got on us…”
Luo Ying’s face turned red.
After unknowingly turning into animals, they must have done quite a few intimate things without even realizing it.
Now, on the verge of returning to human form, Luo Ying suddenly felt shy, even refraining from letting her fingers brush against the male character.
With the remaining light of day, they hopped onto a flying sword and zipped off into the distance.
As they sped along, the fur on their skin kept shedding.
Along their flight path, they left behind countless floating tufts of hair.
Finally, as the sun dipped below the horizon again, Luo Ying joyfully touched her cheek; she had fully reverted to the admired beauty everyone adored.
“Lin Nan, I have a question. About the affair with the Sect Leader… it clearly happened before, so why did that manor lord send us to assassinate Master once we got to the manor?”
The male character replied, “Perhaps we returned to the past?”
