Master of Kaidan
Chapter 48: Overcoming the Immature Self

Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Overcoming the Immature Self

As the thought arose, it clung to her like a maggot in a bone, impossible to peel away. Feng Xue tried to cast aside the intrusive thoughts, but within the narrow, dim confines of the box, where she couldn’t do anything, the more she tried to control her thoughts, the more uncontrollably they spiraled.

Just as in the dead of night when one’s mind inevitably wanders, Feng Xue, too, began to feel cornered by the oppressive weight of her own thinking.

Having lost all sense of time, unsure if Chen Xiyao would come back, and overwhelmed by the extreme suffocation of her confinement, even the sound of her own heartbeat began to annoy her. Her consciousness seemed to have detached from her body and yet was imprisoned within the cardboard box.

She wanted to lift the lid of the box and run to a crowded place immediately but was suppressed by the dangers outside. In her mind, different voices even began to emerge.

And they were exposing the very issues Feng Xue had forcibly suppressed from her thoughts—

"Is it really as dangerous out there as he says?"

"Will those people really torture her?"

"Maybe Chen Xiyao is the bad one?"

"Maybe..."

"No, that’s not right!" Feng Xue suddenly pinched her thigh hard, using the pain to break free from the tangled mess of thoughts.

She couldn’t confirm whether Chen Xiyao’s words were true or false, but what she was certain of was that he must have secretly done many things for her.

In a world where food is unnecessary, the source of daily food was a problem, but he was with her every day, so when did he go hunting?

And lately, the smell of blood on him had been getting stronger. He might not have noticed, but Feng Xue could distinctly sense the change.

While she was asleep, he must have secretly intercepted a lot of things.

And today...

He had left all his equipment behind.

Feng Xue reached her hand into the unknown dimension, touching the white robe, Sleeve Sword, and shoes that Chen Xiyao had left behind...

She could clearly feel the noticeably weakened aura of the other party who, after taking off his equipment, was now only wearing a canvas jumpsuit.

If she were captured, then all his equipment would be irretrievable. Was it really necessary to scare her like this?

No, there’s another possibility! The people hunting you are also a ruse! You are not in any danger at all!

A voice echoed in her mind, but Feng Xue soon found a counterargument—

"If everything is a lie, then there’s even less reason to leave! After all, I have the possibility to escape, and if I really do run away, it would be easy to discover the truth. Then he would essentially be nurturing an enemy!"

"And there’s the dress! Setting aside the toys and the handgun, the storage equipment must surely be a rare item. I don’t understand how he turned paper into such strange items, but there must be some rules to it. He tried for so long yesterday, and he must have been trying to create a storage tool, but the only storage tool he ended up giving me was— even if it’s a dress. He could have sold it or bartered it, rather than just casually giving it to me!"

Chen Xiyao thought and thought, and her heart became increasingly convinced that she was right, although Feng Xue was as cold as ice, she was definitely a good person without a doubt!

But, should she go out to have a look?

Even though Chen Xiyao had already tried her best to convince herself that it was dangerous outside, the intense feeling of loneliness made it difficult to suppress the urge to leave.

With this cardboard box, as long as she was a little cautious, there shouldn’t be any problems, right?

Or rather, this cardboard box should have been prepared for stealth in the first place!

Once the thought arose, it became unstoppable. Chen Xiyao placed her hands on the sides of the cardboard box and gently lifted it two centimeters, then slowly moved toward the door in a squatting position, taking small, cautious steps.

Just as she had not yet reached the door, she suddenly heard some noise, which made her, who had been in silence for a long time, prickle up her ears sharply.

"He’s back?" Chen Xiyao’s heart overflowed with surprise, but she still forcefully restrained the idea of lifting the box to greet him at the door, leaning the box against the wall while peering through the peephole, carefully observing the outside situation.

This wall had a hole that wasn’t too big; if an intruder came in, she would immediately activate her skill and escape through here.

She had already tried the Fog skill, and although she couldn’t create a high-efficiency fog area of five meters high with a radius of fifty meters like Feng Xue, turning the whole room into a foggy environment was still doable.

"Bang!"

The door was brutally kicked open, and Chen Xiyao’s heart "thudded" at once. Although she hadn’t clearly seen who it was, Feng Xue definitely wouldn’t make such a noise upon returning.

As expected, as the already battered door collided with the wall, several men in uniform clothing entered the house and began to search around.

They didn’t exchange information with each other as the minor characters in novels would, revealing intelligence in the process, but maintained silence, checking the interior quickly and efficiently.

Chen Xiyao’s heart rose to her throat. Although she and Feng Xue had already verified the function of this box, she still couldn’t avoid worrying about being discovered.

Rustle rustle, rustle rustle...

Noisy sounds successively came from several rooms. Even without seeing it with her own eyes, Chen Xiyao could imagine the desolate scene of bed boards being lifted and stools being knocked over.

Although there weren’t many decorations, the bedroom was after all tidied up by her with care. Even if she had to change locations every two or three days, listening to it being destroyed like this still left her feeling unpleasant.

Those people came in a hurry and left just as hastily. After making the inside of the house a mess, they vanished from Chen Xiyao’s sight.

"Are they looking for me...or rather, traces of where I’ve lived?" This thought popped up in Chen Xiyao’s mind, making her feel a bit nervous and fearful, yet bizarrely, also somewhat exhilarated.

She looked at the open doorway and suddenly started taking little cautious steps, carefully moving towards it.

"These guys are so rough in their ways, definitely not good people!" Watching roughly forty or fifty people continuously entering and leaving the surrounding rooms, Chen Xiyao thought to herself as she placed the box down by the door. Even though there was no evidence to suggest they were coming for her, just this behavior made her feel that being discovered wouldn’t lead to anything good.

"Should I follow them to have a look?" As she watched the nearby residences being swept through, Chen Xiyao watched the crowd but in the end chose to give up. Not to mention that these people were all riding motorcycles, even if they were just walking, the idea of catching up to them with small cautious steps while squatting was quite impractical.

"Really, why can’t these mixed soldiers chatter a bit more, to let me get a grasp of the situation!"