Shen's Appetite

When Yan Qincheng's thought led her to this possibility, she was seized with fear, as her body trembled aggressively. There was no way to confirm if the man was truly what she suspected him to be, but the slight change in his tone warned Yan Qincheng of danger. It was unknown where Yan Qincheng got her strength from, but she managed to wrestle herself free from the man's hold after stomping and kicking him. And with whatever strength was left in her, she ran.

Yan Qincheng ran as fast as she could to distance herself from him. The man blocked the way leading to the street, so Yan Qincheng could only run further into the alley. But with every step she took, the drowsier she became. It was now clear that she had been drugged, but how or when it happened was still unknown to her. In that state, the distance she had covered wasn't much, before her legs gave in and she fell on her butt.

The man silently watched Yan Qincheng's efforts to run with a smug, amused by her struggles. His steps were casual as though taking a stroll. He reached into his coat and took out a military dagger, twirling it on his fingers as a warm smile bloomed on his face. Having such a receptive expression, it was unimaginable to think this man was capable of something like this.

"I'll repeat what I've said to the others. It would be best if you let things run its course. That way, you wouldn't have to suffer like the rest. I wouldn't want to resort to inhumane means this time around."

The man spoke softly.

Someone hearing him talk would think he was worried about Yan Qincheng's welfare, but the sinister glint in his eyes revealed his true intentions.

Yan Qincheng, who was already overcome with fear, stared helplessly as the man raised his knife. There was nothing she could do that she hadn't done. She had tried shouting, but she could barely open her mouth. Her face felt numb, which was probably an effect of the drug in her system. Regardless, she was in a helpless situation, and could only close her eyes to await her death.

'It's alright as long as it's done swiftly. I won't feel any pain that way.'

Conversely, death seemed to be taking its time. Unless the man was toying with her, she should have been dead by now. Yan Qincheng snuck a peek and saw the man still standing with his knife raised. But this time around, it appeared there was someone behind him. And just then, the man's eyes glazed over as he dropped to the floor, revealing in full the person behind him.

The alley was dark, and the effects of the drug made things blurry. Yet, Yan Qincheng could see the figure of a man at least a head taller than the man who had just attacked her. The traditional hanfu he wore added a certain charm of a refined young man from a wealthy background. But Yan Qincheng couldn't see his face properly. The effects of the drugs aside, the man's face seemed to be obscured by the darkness of the night, making it difficult to guess what he looked like.

"My apologies for the interruption. But I'll be needing your companion's help."

Zhi Luan spoke, and shortly after he did, he did something puzzling. Zhi Luan moved to strip the man of his clothes.

Yan Qincheng, who sat helplessly on the floor witnessed her assaulter be stripped until only his underwear was left. Not waiting to explain anything, Zhi Luan left after he was done, not looking at Yan Qincheng again.

Somewhere not so far from where Yan Qincheng was, Zhi Luan sized up the clothes he had gotten. Aside from the arms and legs that were shorter than his, the clothes fit very well. He quickly removed his clothes and put the new ones on. His original clothes were still damp with blood from the wound, but the blood loss was already minimized, and the extra layer of cloth ceased the blood entirely. Now, it would be unwise to walk around with blood-stained clothes, so he folded them and wrapped them with the man's coat. And with that, he headed back into the street.

Zhi Luan continued his tour along the street, taking in the view of the buildings, adapting to the sound of cars and the chattering of the people. After walking for some time, he came upon a building with a picture of a soup bowl and chopsticks right above the entrance, and some characters written boldly.

'Shen's Appetite'

Zhi Luan walked into the restaurant, perfectly blending into the environment. The restaurant wasn't anything fancy, but it was quite spacious. It was split in two by the aisle of the entrance, and yet, the place didn't feel cramped. Zhi Luan had no way to know, but with how empty the place was, it was either the place had no luck with customers, or it was very late.

Zhi Luan walked up to the counter where there were stools to sit on. Then a man came from the room at the other end of the counter.

"It's already past 10 pm, you must be pretty hungry to not care for when I close for business."

The man spoke sarcastically.

The man appeared to be someone in his sixties. He walked up to the counter and started to clean it, while he asked.

"Well, what are you having?"

"I'm not hungry at the moment."

Zhi Luan replied.

The man frowned at Zhi Luan's reply.

"You walked into a restaurant with no intentions to eat anything. Unfortunately, young man, I don't have time to wait till you're hungry. So, if you won't be ordering now, then you might as well leave, I've closed for the day."

The man was irritated but tried to sound polite, nonetheless. However, Zhi Luan's attention was drawn to a box hanging on the wall. What was fascinating about the box was that people were moving in it. There were moving people inside a box hanging on the wall!

Zhi Luan was mind-blown. He got up while the man scolded him and walked toward the box on the wall.