An Old Acquaintance

A gust of wind blew through the wide-open window, scattering the dust and smoke that had been lingering throughout the room. The three figures standing opposite to Moumou gradually emerged into full view. Moonlight completely replaced the kerosene lamp, illuminating the darkness. The slightly taller young man standing closer to the front entered Moumou's field of vision. His familiar chestnut-short hair, his deep brown eyes—small yet full of vitality—his straight bridge of nose, and his tight lip line. No matter how one looked at it, those dignified facial features seemed somewhat forcefully squeezed onto a palm-sized face. If not for the boy's exceptionally calm aura and orthodox posture, no one would ever associate him with being a member of the Grant family, the most powerful family in White Edge City, let alone a very important one.

The person behind the boy was indeed an elderly man. He sported a head of pure white, soft, curly hair, and his beard had grown considerably longer. His slightly hunched figure did not detract from his charm; instead, it added a weathered allure. His smiling eyes and the corners of his mouth gave him an even kinder appearance. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and across his forehead multiplied manifold with his smile, yet they could not conceal the old man's persistent expression of amusement. If he were a bit plumper and wore a white suit, he would be the spitting image of Colonel Sanders come to life.

"Tell me, did the three of you conspire to play a trick on me...?" After a long moment, Moumou finally spoke the first words to break the silence. However, her tone held not a shred of the joy of a long-awaited reunion; if one listened closely, a slight tremble could even be detected. "Don't tell me the three of you knew each other beforehand. My fragile heart can't take any more shocks right now. If any of you knew each other all along and only decided to tell me now, I wouldn't mind blacklisting all three of you."

"Blacklisting?" The brown-haired man asked, completely baffled by what Moumou meant, his expression deadpan.

"It means cutting ties completely. Understand?" Moumou forced a dry laugh with a head full of dark lines. "Big sister here is very fragile right now. You'd better not use interpersonal relationship troubles to strike a blow at me. I'm under a lot of pressure..."

The chestnut-haired boy flashed his usual helpless smile toward Moumou, his tone inadvertently carrying a trace of gentle resignation. Their familiar dynamic made it seem as though the two of them had never been apart. "Although I don't know what you've been up to lately, you can rest assured. Miss Huanluo and I didn't know each other at all before you introduced us. My teacher and I simply wanted to see how much progress you've made, so we used some water magic to temporarily immobilize Miss Huanluo. Master would never bear to lay a hand on you." As he spoke, his gaze shifted from Huanluo all the way to the elderly man behind him.

The old man's plan was ruthlessly exposed by Junyan, prompting him to cough awkwardly twice. "Well now, didn't I just want to see the lass's progress? Two young lasses like you venturing together into the southern forest, walking safely all the way to the Night Ghoul territory, not to mention being recognized and invited to stay by the Night Ghoul clan—the little lass must have made tremendous progress. It's just a shame she didn't seem willing to show it to an old man like me. And as for this lass called Huanluo, the moment she saw we meant no harm, she refused to budge at all, and didn't even react when she was bound by the water dragon. Why are young people nowadays so unfazed by everything?"

"If you aren't unfazed, you don't live long~" Hearing their explanations, Moumou's doubts vanished, her fragile heart instantly repaired, and her mood brightened at once. "Speaking of being unfazed, Teacher and Young Master Junyan, you two take the crown. What on earth possessed you two not to stay properly in White Edge City, but instead run all the way into the forest? You've been trapped in this Night Ghoul forest for so long, yet you don't look worried in the slightest. Do you have no intention of going back, or is there something else going on? Besides, we caused such a huge commotion fighting here, and the two of you aren't even a little bit excited. You still have the leisure to chat and gossip with me here—aren't you afraid the Night Ghouls will suddenly charge up, capture all four of us, and throw us out?"

"Not at all. Our little lass grew from a practically useless little mage into someone capable of fighting a round with an old uncle like me in such a short time. Her future prospects are bound to be limitless, so what does this uncle have to worry about?" The uncle stroked his snow-white beard and smiled. "Besides, neither of you two lasses used your full strength, did you? Were you deliberately holding back, or were you looking down on an old uncle like me?"

"No way." Moumou awkwardly tugged at the hem of her clothes. "We had special circumstances. I'll explain it slowly to you later, Uncle..." Having said that, Moumou cast a tearful, pleading glance at the old man to win his sympathy and beg him not to press further. Otherwise, this would turn into another excessively long story about a four-element magical girl and a warrior girl who couldn't use killing intent.

"Not afraid at all." Junyan smiled and shrugged at Moumou. "Instead, I feel quite relieved. For some reason, I feel that even if the four of us fought here for the entire night, not a single Night Ghoul would come to interrupt our commotion."

"I never knew that cutting one's hair short could grant someone the sudden ability of precognition," Moumou muttered under her breath.

"Believe it or not." Junyan didn't offer any further explanation. He walked over to a stool placed inside the room and motioned for Moumou and Huanluo to sit down as well. "Actually, ever since the moment Teacher and I were placed under house arrest, we remained skeptical of the Night Ghoul clan's actions. We couldn't understand why they insisted on keeping Teacher and me here, constantly asking us if we knew how to cook, what element of mages we were, and things like that. But the moment you and Miss Huanluo arrived, Teacher and I suddenly understood what this group of Night Ghouls was up to."

"What do you mean?" Moumou asked, utterly bewildered, completely failing to grasp what Junyan was talking about.

"May I interject?" Huanluo abruptly interrupted the endless conversation among the three of them. "What... um... is your relationship?" It took Huanluo a long time to phrase that single sentence.

"Oh!" Moumou smacked her forehead hard. "I completely forgot about this. Huanluo, you don't know these two yet. Ahem, let me make the introductions. This chestnut-short-haired young man is Junyan, the third young master of the Grant family, one of the largest families in Kayrenia. And this uncle is his teacher. Remember when I was working for a prominent family for a while back in White Edge City? That's where I worked." After finishing the introduction on this side, Moumou excitedly pulled Huanluo's hand and introduced her to Junyan and the uncle. "This beautiful young lady is no ordinary beauty; she is General Huanluo, the daughter of Grand Marshal Li Yi of the White Tower Kingdom, and her combat power is off the charts."