As Qiao Nuo held Ruan Qing and jumped out the window, Ruan Qing casually grabbed the black cat with its fur standing on end as if it were about to pounce from the window and took it along.
Qiao Nuo didn’t pay any attention either, carrying Ruan Qing and making several jumps, heading straight towards a distant place.
The First University had long plunged into darkness, with only a few dim streetlights illuminating the area nearby. However, a bit farther away, it remained pitch black.
Under the cover of darkness, it felt as if ghosts could emerge at any moment, cruelly tearing people apart.
At some point, pedestrians on the street had disappeared, and the entire world became extremely quiet.
Quiet to the point of making one feel uneasy and eerie.
Evidently, the ghost domain had appeared prematurely, and it was only around 8 PM, four hours away from midnight.
The strength of the pen spirit had clearly increased.
But ‘he’ had just been stabbed by Ruan Qing with ‘his’ own weapon, so ‘he’ should be at the weakest point.
Unless...
“He should have found ‘his’ bones.” Qiao Nuo, running with a serious expression, spoke, remaining vigilant of what was behind him. “I just don’t know how many ‘he’ found.”
If ‘he’ only found a part of them and could advance the ghost domain by four hours, then after ‘he’ gathered all the bones, there might never be a relatively safe time again.
There might never be a true sun and daylight.
Because the ghost domain would never disappear again.
The ghost domain might even gradually erode the real world, eventually overlapping with it.
That would be a real disaster, the entire world falling into hell, and humans becoming food and toys for the ghosts.
The strength of the pen spirit was indeed outrageous.
The black cat, nestled in Ruan Qing’s arms, was initially affectionate, rubbing against Ruan Qing’s hand, and its tail wagged happily, more like a dog than a cat.
But after Qiao Nuo’s words fell, the cat’s body stiffened for a moment.
Although the black cat quickly returned to normal, Ruan Qing, who had been holding it all along, noticed it.
Ruan Qing lowered his gaze to the black cat in his arms, and his eyes narrowed imperceptibly.
Could this cat understand human speech?
At first, when the cat was affectionate towards him, Ruan Qing didn’t think much of it because he had always been well-liked by various animals since childhood.
Even the fiercest animals would become very docile in front of him.
So Ruan Qing didn’t suspect anything.
But the stiffness of the black cat in that moment just now seemed a bit suspicious, as if it understood Qiao Nuo’s words and had some connection with the pen spirit.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have reacted like that.
At this moment, Qiao Nuo happened to carry Ruan Qing to the area under the streetlight. Ruan Qing held the black cat at eye level and looked into its pupils.
Innocent and clueless, it appeared normal.
As if it was just an ordinary little kitten.
But these behaviors could all be feigned. Ruan Qing pretended to be gentle as he brought the cat closer, as if he was about to nuzzle the black cat with his face.
The black cat, watching the face gradually enlarging in front of it, stiffened instantly, staring straight at the young man’s delicate face.
Moreover, in the previously innocent pupils of the black cat, a hint of human-like emotions emerged uncontrollably.
Seeming nervous, excited, and expectant.
At this moment, if one didn’t look at the cat’s body and only focused on its eyes, they would resemble human eyes to some extent.
Clearly, this cat indeed had some issues.
After confirming his suspicion, Ruan Qing put the black cat back in his arms, showing no intention of rubbing against it.
The black cat became even stiffer, but this time, the stiffness was more like petrification.
After realizing this, the black cat sneakily glanced at Ruan Qing, a trace of disappointment flashing in its pitch-black pupils, making the whole cat look somewhat dejected.
The tail that had wagged happily just now stopped swaying.
Although the black cat had problems, Ruan Qing didn’t abandon it.
The black cat’s abnormal behavior occurred when Qiao Nuo mentioned the pen spirit finding the bones.
The black cat was either related to the pen spirit or connected to the pen spirit’s bones.
Ruan Qing speculated that it was more likely related to the bones of the pen spirit.
Because when Qiao Nuo spoke just now, he didn’t mention the term “pen spirit” but used ‘he’ to refer to it.
In this situation, the black cat evidently couldn’t react to ‘him’ since people unfamiliar with the situation wouldn’t even know who ‘he’ referred to.
So it seemed that it could only be due to the word ‘bones’.
Just those two characters alone triggered a reaction from it. It’s highly likely that the black cat knew where some of the pen spirit’s bones were, or there was some connection between the cat and those bones.
Of course, these were just Ruan Qing’s speculations, but regardless of which one was true, it’s evidently crucial.
However, the black cat had just heard Qiao Nuo’s words, and its alertness was undoubtedly high. It might be challenging to coax any reaction from it now.
After a little while...
Qiao Nuo didn’t notice Ruan Qing’s strangeness. He remained vigilant, constantly checking behind him, wary of anything approaching.
Fortunately, it seemed nothing was following them.
Although he didn’t perceive anything following them, Qiao Nuo didn’t stop. He wanted to run a bit more.
However, just as Qiao Nuo was halfway through, his phone started ringing.
Qiao Nuo ignored it at first, but the ringtone continued persistently, as if it wouldn’t stop until he answered.
The ringing sounded particularly loud in the quiet night, likely to draw the attention of many beings.
Feeling annoyed, Qiao Nuo stopped and took out his phone after putting Ruan Qing down.
Ruan Qing discreetly glanced at the phone screen. The caller ID was marked as ‘Teacher.’
After seeing the name, Qiao Nuo visibly hesitated for a moment, then proceeded to answer the call with an unusually polite tone, “Teacher, this is Qiao Nuo. Is there something you need?”
After listening to the other person, Qiao Nuo turned to look in the direction he had just run from, furrowing his brows. “Are you sure?”
“But I just met him in the classroom a moment ago. It should be ‘him.’”
Not knowing what the other person said, Qiao Nuo’s expression became very serious. “Teacher, I’ll come over right away.”
After hanging up the phone, Qiao Nuo looked at Ruan Qing.
Although Qiao Nuo hadn’t said anything yet, Ruan Qing, looking at his expression, had a bad premonition. He tightened his grip on the black cat.
Sure enough...
“I have something to attend to and need to leave for a while,” Qiao Nuo said to Ruan Qing in a deep voice.
Upon hearing this, Ruan Qing’s eyelashes trembled lightly. His slender figure exuded anxiety and helplessness.
However, he just pursed his lips, said nothing, and then nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.
Qiao Nuo initially thought the young man would object. After all, he was so afraid of ghosts that he even feared encountering something scary while digging a grave. If Qiao Nuo left him alone, he might throw a tantrum and not allow him to go.
Qiao Nuo had already figured out in his heart how to deal with the young man’s possible unreasonable behavior, but he didn’t expect the young man to agree.
Qiao Nuo paused for a moment, furrowing his brows slightly, and stared straight at the person in front of him.
As Qiao Nuo held Ruan Qing and jumped out the window, Ruan Qing casually grabbed the black cat with its fur standing on end as if it were about to pounce from the window and took it along.
Qiao Nuo didn’t pay any attention either, carrying Ruan Qing and making several jumps, heading straight towards a distant place.
The First University had long plunged into darkness, with only a few dim streetlights illuminating the area nearby. However, a bit farther away, it remained pitch black.
Under the cover of darkness, it felt as if ghosts could emerge at any moment, cruelly tearing people apart.
At some point, pedestrians on the street had disappeared, and the entire world became extremely quiet.
Quiet to the point of making one feel uneasy and eerie.
Evidently, the ghost domain had appeared prematurely, and it was only around 8 PM, four hours away from midnight.
The strength of the pen spirit had clearly increased.
But ‘he’ had just been stabbed by Ruan Qing with ‘his’ own weapon, so ‘he’ should be at the weakest point.
Unless...
“He should have found ‘his’ bones.” Qiao Nuo, running with a serious expression, spoke, remaining vigilant of what was behind him. “I just don’t know how many ‘he’ found.”
If ‘he’ only found a part of them and could advance the ghost domain by four hours, then after ‘he’ gathered all the bones, there might never be a relatively safe time again.
There might never be a true sun and daylight.
Because the ghost domain would never disappear again.
The ghost domain might even gradually erode the real world, eventually overlapping with it.
That would be a real disaster, the entire world falling into hell, and humans becoming food and toys for the ghosts.
The strength of the pen spirit was indeed outrageous.
The black cat, nestled in Ruan Qing’s arms, was initially affectionate, rubbing against Ruan Qing’s hand, and its tail wagged happily, more like a dog than a cat.
But after Qiao Nuo’s words fell, the cat’s body stiffened for a moment.
Although the black cat quickly returned to normal, Ruan Qing, who had been holding it all along, noticed it.
Ruan Qing lowered his gaze to the black cat in his arms, and his eyes narrowed imperceptibly.
Could this cat understand human speech?
At first, when the cat was affectionate towards him, Ruan Qing didn’t think much of it because he had always been well-liked by various animals since childhood.
Even the fiercest animals would become very docile in front of him.
So Ruan Qing didn’t suspect anything.
But the stiffness of the black cat in that moment just now seemed a bit suspicious, as if it understood Qiao Nuo’s words and had some connection with the pen spirit.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have reacted like that.
At this moment, Qiao Nuo happened to carry Ruan Qing to the area under the streetlight. Ruan Qing held the black cat at eye level and looked into its pupils.
Innocent and clueless, it appeared normal.
As if it was just an ordinary little kitten.
But these behaviors could all be feigned. Ruan Qing pretended to be gentle as he brought the cat closer, as if he was about to nuzzle the black cat with his face.
The black cat, watching the face gradually enlarging in front of it, stiffened instantly, staring straight at the young man’s delicate face.
Moreover, in the previously innocent pupils of the black cat, a hint of human-like emotions emerged uncontrollably.
Seeming nervous, excited, and expectant.
At this moment, if one didn’t look at the cat’s body and only focused on its eyes, they would resemble human eyes to some extent.
Clearly, this cat indeed had some issues.
After confirming his suspicion, Ruan Qing put the black cat back in his arms, showing no intention of rubbing against it.
The black cat became even stiffer, but this time, the stiffness was more like petrification.
After realizing this, the black cat sneakily glanced at Ruan Qing, a trace of disappointment flashing in its pitch-black pupils, making the whole cat look somewhat dejected.
The tail that had wagged happily just now stopped swaying.
Although the black cat had problems, Ruan Qing didn’t abandon it.
The black cat’s abnormal behavior occurred when Qiao Nuo mentioned the pen spirit finding the bones.
The black cat was either related to the pen spirit or connected to the pen spirit’s bones.
Ruan Qing speculated that it was more likely related to the bones of the pen spirit.
Because when Qiao Nuo spoke just now, he didn’t mention the term “pen spirit” but used ‘he’ to refer to it.
In this situation, the black cat evidently couldn’t react to ‘him’ since people unfamiliar with the situation wouldn’t even know who ‘he’ referred to.
So it seemed that it could only be due to the word ‘bones’.
Just those two characters alone triggered a reaction from it. It’s highly likely that the black cat knew where some of the pen spirit’s bones were, or there was some connection between the cat and those bones.
Of course, these were just Ruan Qing’s speculations, but regardless of which one was true, it’s evidently crucial.
However, the black cat had just heard Qiao Nuo’s words, and its alertness was undoubtedly high. It might be challenging to coax any reaction from it now.
After a little while...
Qiao Nuo didn’t notice Ruan Qing’s strangeness. He remained vigilant, constantly checking behind him, wary of anything approaching.
Fortunately, it seemed nothing was following them.
Although he didn’t perceive anything following them, Qiao Nuo didn’t stop. He wanted to run a bit more.
However, just as Qiao Nuo was halfway through, his phone started ringing.
Qiao Nuo ignored it at first, but the ringtone continued persistently, as if it wouldn’t stop until he answered.
The ringing sounded particularly loud in the quiet night, likely to draw the attention of many beings.
Feeling annoyed, Qiao Nuo stopped and took out his phone after putting Ruan Qing down.
Ruan Qing discreetly glanced at the phone screen. The caller ID was marked as ‘Teacher.’
After seeing the name, Qiao Nuo visibly hesitated for a moment, then proceeded to answer the call with an unusually polite tone, “Teacher, this is Qiao Nuo. Is there something you need?”
After listening to the other person, Qiao Nuo turned to look in the direction he had just run from, furrowing his brows. “Are you sure?”
“But I just met him in the classroom a moment ago. It should be ‘him.’”
Not knowing what the other person said, Qiao Nuo’s expression became very serious. “Teacher, I’ll come over right away.”
After hanging up the phone, Qiao Nuo looked at Ruan Qing.
Although Qiao Nuo hadn’t said anything yet, Ruan Qing, looking at his expression, had a bad premonition. He tightened his grip on the black cat.
Sure enough...
“I have something to attend to and need to leave for a while,” Qiao Nuo said to Ruan Qing in a deep voice.
Upon hearing this, Ruan Qing’s eyelashes trembled lightly. His slender figure exuded anxiety and helplessness.
However, he just pursed his lips, said nothing, and then nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.
Qiao Nuo initially thought the young man would object. After all, he was so afraid of ghosts that he even feared encountering something scary while digging a grave. If Qiao Nuo left him alone, he might throw a tantrum and not allow him to go.
Qiao Nuo had already figured out in his heart how to deal with the young man’s possible unreasonable behavior, but he didn’t expect the young man to agree.
Qiao Nuo paused for a moment, furrowing his brows slightly, and stared straight at the person in front of him.
