Xiao XingChen's smile froze.
The words "Xue Yang" were too big of a shock to him. His complexion was quite pale to start with. After he heard the name, all of the blood drained from his face. His lips were almost a shade of pink-tinted white.
As if he wasn't sure, Xiao XingChen asked in a low voice, "... Xue Yang?" He was suddenly startled, "A-Qing, how did you learn of this name?"
A-Qing, "Xue Yang is the person with us! He's that bastard!"
Xiao XingChen stammered in confusion, "The person with us? ... The person with us..." He shook his head, as though he was feeling somewhat dizzy, "How did you know?"
A-Qing, "I heard him kill someone!"
Xiao XingChen, "He killed someone? Who did he kill?"
A-Qing, "A woman! She's very young. I think she had a sword with her. Xue Yang was hiding a sword on him as well. It was because I heard them fighting. They were really loud. The woman kept on calling him 'Xue Yang', and said that he 'wiped out the temple', that he 'killed countless people', and that he should be 'rightfully punished'. Oh heaven, he's out of his mind! He's been hiding beside us all along, and I don't even know what he's trying to do!"
A-Qing stayed awake the whole night, making up lies in her mind. First, she definitely couldn't let Daozhang know that he killed living humans thinking that they were walking corpses. She couldn't let him know that he killed Song Lan with his own hands either. So, although it'd be unfair to Daozhang, she couldn't tell him about Daozhang Song's death no matter what. The best would be for Xiao XingChen to run away as far as he could after he discovered who Xue Yang was!
Yet, the news was too hard for him to accept. And, it also sounded rather absurd. Xiao XingChen couldn't believe it at all, "But his voice is different. And..."
A-Qing was so frustrated that she kept on knocking her pole on the ground, "He purposely made it so that his voice is different! He's afraid that you'll recognize him!" Suddenly, an idea popped up, "Oh right! Right, right! He has nine fingers. Daozhang, do you know? Did Xue Yang also have nine fingers? You've definitely seen him before, right?"
Xiao XingChen staggered, almost falling to the ground.
A-Qing immediately helped him to the table, where they both sat down slowly. After a while, Xiao XingChen spoke again, "But, A-Qing, how did you find out that he has nine fingers? Have you touched his hand before? If he really is Xue Yang, though, how would he have let you touch his left hand for you to discover it?"
A-Qing clenched her teeth, "... Daozhang! Let me tell you the truth! I'm not blind. I can see! I didn't touch his hands, but saw them instead!"
Each shock was greater than the previous. Xiao XingChen was almost at a loss for words, "What did you say? You can see?"
Although A-Qing was afraid, she couldn't hide the truth any longer. She apologized and apologized, "I'm sorry, Daozhang! I didn't lie to you on purpose! I was scared that if you knew that I'm not blind, you'd chase me away! But please don't blame me for now. Let's run away together. He'll be back after he finishes shopping for food!"
Suddenly, she closed her mouth.
The bandages that wrapped around Xiao XingChen's eyes were initially white. Now, though, two smudges of red seeped from within. The blood grew more and more and eventually leaked through the bandages, trickling down from where his eyes once were.
A-Qing cried out, "Daozhang, you're bleeding!"
Xiao XingChen seemed as if he had just noticed. With a faint exclamation, he reached his hand to his face. When he took it away, it was covered in blood. With quivering hands, A-Qing helped him wipe some off. Yet, the harder she tried, the more blood there was. Xiao XingChen raised a hand, "I'm fine... I'm fine."
