Chapter 162: Sai Fei Er… Miss?

His ice‑cold expression showed a clear crack for the first time, and his eyes widened slightly.

(Wait…)

He snapped his head around, looking toward the corridor where Xi Lian had just left.

It was empty.

He turned his head sharply again, gazing at Ailixiya dancing wildly in the center of the dance floor.

One, here.

Who was that just now…?

Kesi Mo felt his brain was a bit overloaded.

Could Ailixiya have learned the Clone?

Or perhaps that just now really was…

He, full of doubt, swept his gaze toward the edge of the dance floor.

Yidian was sitting on the sofa she often used, a glass of wine in hand, her exquisite face bearing a helpless expression.

Kesi Mo walked over, and amid the somewhat noisy music his silence stood out starkly.

Yidian noticed him, tilted her head slightly, and asked with her eyes.

Kesi Mo hesitated a moment, then spoke, his voice a bit hoarse from raising it: "Yidian."

"Hm? What's up, Kesi Mo?"

Yidian gracefully set down her glass, gesturing for him to sit and speak.

Kesi Mo didn't sit; he pointed at Ailixiya in the center of the dance floor, then looked at Yidian, his tone carrying a urgency he himself hadn't noticed: "Ailixiya… did she just leave, even for a brief moment?"

Yidian seemed a bit bewildered by the question, shook her head, and in her golden eyes was sincere puzzlement: "No. Since I sat here, AiLi has been dancing there, um… probably close to an hour now. Why ask all of a sudden?"

Kesi Mo fell silent.

His complexion looked complicated under the shifting lights, his eyes full of confusion.

After several seconds, he spoke in a near‑to‑self‑talk volume, whispering:

"…I think I saw someone who looked a lot like Ailixiya…"

"Hm?"

Yidian's eyebrows lifted slightly, clearly surprised and curious about the claim, "Very similar? How similar?"

Kesi Mo opened his mouth, but found it hard to describe precisely the high degree of similarity and subtle differences. "…Extremely similar. Yet a bit smaller. The aura is different. She said her name was… 'Xi Lian'."

"Xi Lian…"

Yidian repeated the name softly, a thoughtful glint flashing in her eyes, "Interesting name. Kesi Mo, where did you see her?"

"In the B7 Corridor. She asked me how to get out, saying she was lost." Kesi Mo answered truthfully.

Meanwhile, Xi Lian's situation was not much better than Kesi Mo's.

She followed the direction Kesi Mo pointed for a while, only to find the corridor labyrinthine, with countless branches, and many places looking identical.

She quickly lost her sense of direction, and worse, felt she was drifting farther off, the surroundings growing quieter, the lights dimmer, not seeming to lead to any exit.

(Ugh… lost again?)

Xi Lian leaned against a cold wall, feeling a bit dejected.

The place was too vast, and the silence made the heart uneasy.

Just as she contemplated whether to retrace her steps or simply call out for anyone, not far ahead, in the shadow of another branch, something seemed to move.

Xi Lian instantly held her breath, watching cautiously.

It seemed to be a petite figure crouched in the corner's shadow, back turned to her.

The person wore a dark coat with a hood, the hood loosely on the head, but a pair of furry, triangular cat ears with yellow tips poked out from the hood's edge, trembling nervously.

More striking was a similarly furry, ring‑patterned long Tail protruding from the coat's hem, skimming the ground, its tip flicking anxiously in small rapid motions, as if its owner was intently avoiding something, tense.

That silhouette, that feature…

Xi Lian's azure eyes widened slightly, a flash of incredulous surprise crossing them.

(Cat ears… Tail… that silhouette…)

A name was almost about to slip out.

She instinctively softened her steps, moved closer, squinting to discern.

(Sai Fei Er… miss?)

Xi Lian's heart missed a beat.

But how could this be?

Miss Sai Fei Er wasn't still confined in the Illusion Realm by Sunlight Creek's edge, sitting there "fishing"?

Who was the cat‑ear girl in the shadow before her…?

Did Miss Sai Fei Er "run" out?

Or… is this just a coincidence?

Xi Lian stood in place, hesitating whether to approach and greet.

If it truly were Sai Fei Er, why would she be here?

Confusion, like spreading vines, coiled around Xi Lian's heart.

And the cat‑ear girl in the shadow seemed finally to notice the gaze behind her, her furry ears snapping backward, the Tail instantly stiffening.

She turned her head extremely slowly, a little, and under the hood, a pair of heterochromatic eyes faintly glowing in the dimness met Xi Lian's probing gaze.

The air seemed to solidify at that moment.

"Whoosh!"

She only felt a flash before her eyes.

Her slender waist was caught in a powerful arm, and she was effortlessly 'scooped' up, her feet leaving the ground instantly.

Mmm——?!

Her startled cry was smothered by a soft, warm palm, blocking it in her throat.

The next second, the world spun.

She was embraced by that shadow, and in a smooth, almost gliding motion, she 'whooshed' into a nearby recess — which seemed to be a narrow triangular space formed by decorative relief on the wall and a structural column, and outside, a clump of broad-leaved ornamental plants conveniently blocked most of the view.

The space was so cramped it could barely accommodate two people standing pressed together.

Xi Lian's back pressed against the cold stone wall, while her front was flush against Pa Duo's gently rising and falling chest.

Pa Duo's other hand remained clamped over her mouth, she held her breath, her cat ears pressed flat beneath her hood, the long tail with its ringed pattern stiffened and pressed against her leg, the tip trembling slightly from extreme tension.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Xi Lian's mind went blank, leaving only the discomfort of being restrained and a strange scent filling her nostrils.

Her blue eyes widened in shock, and through the gaps in the plant leaves she stared blankly at the empty hallway where she had just been standing.

Almost simultaneously, a woman's voice, amused and smooth as a snake gliding over stone, echoed faintly from the fork ahead:

"Little mouse…… where have you hidden yourself this time?"

"You took my 'little toy,' but you'll have to pay a price~"

"Let me think…… what reagent should I use this time to test the…… 'extensibility' of this feline?"

The voice wasn't loud, even carrying a hint of laziness, but each word felt like an icy needle piercing the air, bringing a chilling sense of oppression.

Even though Xi Lian didn't understand why, she instantly sensed the speaker's malevolent nature, and her body tensed further involuntarily.

Pa Duo's reaction was more direct.

At the sound of that voice, her whole body gave a slight shudder, and the hand covering Xi Lian's mouth tightened a little, as if fearing any movement from the person in her arms.

She even lightened her breath, and Xi Lian wondered if she had momentarily stopped breathing.

That unsettling voice and presence lingered nearby for a moment, as if listening or sensing carefully.

Time stretched endlessly in the silent tension.

Xi Lian could hear her own racing heartbeat, as well as Pa Duo's barely suppressed but still slightly hurried breathing.

Finally, the snake‑like cold voice seemed to lose patience, or perhaps judged that the prey wasn't here, and with an indistinct hum of laughter it faded away until it vanished completely.