Chapter 12 Lingling's Whereabouts_1

"Young Master... Lingling has come back to see you..."

"Lulu..."

In front of the gravestone, Chen Chao whispered to the gravestone before him, while Lingling floated up to it, gently wiping off the dust with her hand. Teacher Yan placed the bouquet softly in front of the gravestone, murmuring something softly.

"Lulu..."

"Use this."

Chen Chao passed a damp towel to Lingling, who took it and floated to the gravestone to carefully wipe the whole surface. Observing Lingling's focused movements, Teacher Yan, who had finished paying his respects, stepped aside and whispered to Chen Chao who had come along,

"In the blink of an eye, more than ten years have passed. What will Lingling do next?"

"What else can she do? She'll probably stay here like she did a few years ago, right?"

"But... what if the G Organization comes again... Didn't Lingling suddenly disappear back then?"

Chen Chao glanced at Lingling, who had evolved into a Nightmare Bell, and heaved a sigh,

"I know this isn't right, but where else could Lingling go?"

"Let's adopt Lingling together."

"Do you think she would want that?"

Teacher Yan looked determinedly at Lingling, who was silently floating in front of the gravestone after cleaning it, and said with resolve,

"I want to try! And I plan to seek out Lorraine Tower and ask it to reverse Lingling's evolution."

"Have you lost your mind? Do you really think just anyone can meet Lorraine Tower? Moreover, why would it help you reverse Lingling's evolution?"

"One must try to know. Becoming like this must be hard for Lingling... after all, they once dreamed together that Lingling would evolve into a Dream Spirit..."

Chen Chao fell silent, at a loss for words on how to console his old friend. After some time, Teacher Yan slowly approached Lingling and said softly,

"Lingling, come with us."

"Lulu..."

"Come with us, I will try to meet Lorraine Tower and ask it to reverse your evolution."

"Lulu..."

Lingling shook her head; the bell on her hat chiming with a low, resonant sound. Teacher Yan, taken aback and puzzled, stepped back and asked,

"Do you like your current form? I remember how you and he longed to become a Dream Spirit together..."

"Lulu..."

Lingling bowed her head, turned, and floated to the gravestone, her hand gently passing over the name etched there. Seeing Lingling's actions, Teacher Yan silently lowered his head, and Chen Chao patted his shoulder, softly saying,

"Alright, Lingling doesn't want you to force this, but Lingling, you should still come with us. Staying here is too dangerous for you, and you don't want to never see him again, right..."

"Lulu..."

After thinking it over, Lingling agreed to Chen Chao's suggestion, floating despondently beside the two men. Chen Chao cast one more glance at the gravestone then, along with Teacher Yan and Lingling, turned to leave. Just as he was about to say something, a pale-faced man walked toward them. Chen Chao, puzzled, looked at the man who had nothing in his hands and swallowed the words he was about to say.

After walking away, Chen Chao said with a hint of seriousness,

"There seemed to be something off about that man."

"Coming to the cemetery without any preparations for worship..."

"I will notify the cemetery staff to keep a close watch on him!"

In the afternoon, after a day of classes, Feng Yuan, dragging Qi Chen, decided to head out to the alley off-campus to enjoy some delicacies,

"Do you have to be in such a hurry? It's only just past five, isn't it a bit early?"

"To get a spot, of course! And what if all the tasty food is gone if we go late?"

"Ji~"

"Xiao Ji, what are you nodding in agreement for? You don't even like the food he orders!"

"Ji~"

"Doo?"

"Ah Mu, don't stick your head out too far, or you might fall."

Noticing Ah Mu poking his body out of the backpack, Qi Chen quickly said, then, after thinking, he shook off Feng Yuan's hand, swung the backpack to his front, and with both hands protected Ah Mu, who was peeking out most of his body.

"Doo~"

"Ji!"

Seeing this, Xiao Ji turned around and bumped straight into Feng Yuan's arms, nearly knocking Feng Yuan to the ground. Once Feng Yuan steadied himself, he bent down to pick up Xiao Ji and after a while placed him on top of his head.

"Sorry, I haven't recovered my strength yet, so I can't hold you for too long."

"Ji~"

Xiao Ji contentedly perched on Feng Yuan's head, looking around and sometimes provoking Ah Mu in Qi Chen's arms.

"Doo!"

"Feng Yuan! Control your Xiao Ji!"

Seeing Ah Mu glance at his own head, Qi Chen said dissatisfiedly to Feng Yuan. After all, Ah Mu was much larger than Xiao Ji, and Ah Mu had green leaves on his head; Qi Chen did not want to end up like Feng Yuan with Ah Mu on his head.

"What's wrong with my Xiao Ji? He's very well-behaved~"

"Ji~"

"Dudu."

When Feng Yuan arrived at Chang's Gourmet Shop, he was pleasantly surprised to find that his favorite food was still available, and he quickly said,

"Four servings of the golden soup dumplings~"

"Can you even finish that much!"

"I'll savor them slowly~ Let me see, what snacks should I add..."

"Aren't you afraid of overeating!"

"Don't just watch me order; what are you having?"

"Let me see..."

After placing the order, Feng Yuan took his number plate and found a quiet corner to sit down. Xiao Ji hopped from Feng Yuan's head to the table and curiously looked at the number plate on the table.

"Ji?"

"Xiao Ji, don't peck! That's not food."

"Ji?"

"When did you develop the bad habit of pecking at everything you see? You have to change this bad habit!"

"Ji!"

Seeing Xiao Ji turn around and present his rear end toward him, Feng Yuan quickly reached out to tease Xiao Ji's silly hair,

"Ji!"

"Ow! Ouch! Xiao Ji, why did you peck me!"

"Ji!"

Watching Feng Yuan and Xiao Ji play around, Qi Chen shook his head, put Ah Mu on the table, and took out some Spirit Beast Food to feed Ah Mu. Seeing Qi Chen's actions, Feng Yuan said with some pride,

"Don't just feed Ah Mu Spirit Beast Food all the time, you should change it up once in a while."

Qi Chen glanced at Feng Yuan dismissively and said,

"Isn't your Xiao Ji also always eating Spirit Beast Food?"

"Ji?"

"That's only because I haven't had the chance to make Spirit Beast Food for Xiao Ji! You will see when I make it for Xiao Ji one day!"

Seeing Feng Yuan somewhat embarrassed and angry, Qi Chen said with a slight smile,

"Cooking and using fire are forbidden in the school dormitory."

"Er..."

Feng Yuan suddenly remembered the school's rules and deflated, but then retorted stubbornly,

"Can't I go make it at a teacher's house!"

"Which teacher's house are you going to? You're not even that familiar with any of them, are you going to feel comfortable just showing up at their door?"

Struck again, Feng Yuan fell silent for a moment before looking at Qi Chen and said fiercely,

"Then I'll go to your house!"

"Whatever you like, just don't start a fire."

Qi Chen said indifferently. At this moment, a pale-faced man approached the table, performed an ancient courtesy to Feng Yuan, and said,

"You and your Spirit Beast seem to have a great relationship."

"Ji?"

Xiao Ji tilted his head to look at the man, and Feng Yuan teased Xiao Ji's silly hair and said,

"Of course~ But who are you? You don't look like a waiter. Do you need something from me?"

The man laughed heartily and said,

"Certainly not, my surname is Wei, you can call me Old Wei. I was just curious about the recently rumored special mutated Eggshell Chicken and wanted to take a look."

As he said this, the man reached out his hand toward Xiao Ji and said,

"Could I have a look?"

"Ji?"

Xiao Ji hesitated for a moment without approaching the man's outstretched hand. Seeing this, Old Wei retracted his hand with a tone of disappointment,

"It seems that won't work."

"Of course not. Whose Spirit Beast would casually approach a stranger."

Feng Yuan looked at Old Wei curiously, and after a few exchanges with him, Old Wei bid farewell regretfully and walked away. Watching him leave, Feng Yuan muttered to himself,

"Such strange power..."

Feng Yuan looked up and smiled at a confused Qi Chen, who didn't understand why the man had just left and said,

"Oh~ Qi Chen, isn't there an autumn excursion this week?"