Chapter 468: Playing Around

The scent drifted out from deep within a narrow alley.

The two wound their way around and around, finally stopping in front of a shop door.

A red sign and warm yellow light seeped through the semi‑transparent curtain; in the gray‑blue Mirror World it looked like a solitary lighthouse.

The sign read—

'Chinese Cuisine Mapo Tofu Specialty Shop'

The characters are correct.

In this bizarre space where all writing in the world is mirrored and reversed, every stroke on this sign points the right way.

San Yue Qi and Lin locked eyes.

'…Should we go in?' San Yue Qi whispered.

Lin bit her lip.

Her Reason String told her that a normal shop suddenly appearing in such a cursed place was extremely suspicious, most likely a trap, probably a bait set by enemies—

But her stomach let out a mournful growl.

'Enter.'

Lin forced two words through her teeth, 'Yuanban Family members never retreat from battle. I want to see who would open a restaurant in a place like this.'

She strode toward the shop door.

San Yue Qi quickly gripped her Ice Bow and followed her.

The shop door was half‑ajar.

San Yue Qi gently pried the curtain open with the tip of her bow and slipped inside.

Lin followed closely, two gems already set in her palm.

The interior was a bit more spacious than the outside.

Four or five wooden tables were neatly arranged, each bearing condiment bottles and chopstick holders.

Warm yellow light poured from an old chandelier, bathing the space in a cozy, aged glow.

A person stood behind the counter.

The figure faced away from them, head bowed, concentrating on cutting something on the board.

The knife rose and fell with steady rhythm, the cutting board emitting a regular 'thud‑thud' sound.

He wore a white chef's apron, his broad back silent.

San Yue Qi blinked.

'…It's a person!' she whispered, unable to hide her surprise, 'Alive! A moving person!'

Lin said nothing.

She stared at the silhouette, her brows knitting tighter.

That outline… that posture… this inexplicable uneasy feeling…

The person stopped chopping.

He turned around.

It was a face of about forty, features proper, expression calm, dark eyes lacking luster, like two ancient wells reflecting no emotion.

He still held a kitchen knife, its blade stained with deep‑red chili oil.

San Yue Qi did not recognize him.

But Lin recognized him.

'Yan Feng— Qili—!!!'

The four words were almost forced out of Lin's teeth, each syllable soaked with ten years of suppressed Rage.

Her twin ponytails lifted slightly from the intense emotional surge, and the gems in her palm instantly flared with dangerous blue light!

'You traitor! How dare you return to Winterwood City?!'

San Yue Qi jumped in fright.

Yan Feng… Qili?

She had a recollection of the name.

Ten years ago, during the Fourth Holy Grail War, she had never directly dealt with this Master, but from others' descriptions she knew the person—

a disciple of Yuanban Shichen.

someone who wanted to kill her master.

a Heimu participant in the Holy Grail War.

an enemy of the Yuanban Family.

Her bow snapped taut, Ice Arrow aimed at the man behind the counter.

The atmosphere inside tightened to the extreme in an instant.

However—

Yan Feng Qili looked at the two tense girls before him, his face showing none of the expected reaction.

No panic.

No guilt.

No mockery.

He merely… tilted his head.

Then he set the kitchen knife down, raised both hands, and made a few gestures.

It was a fairly standard sign‑language motion: his right index finger pointed to his ear, drew a circle, then waved; then he pointed to his mouth and waved likewise.

—I can't hear.

—I can't speak either.

Lin: "……?"

San Yue Qi: "……Eh?"

The two of them froze in place.

Lin's Rage was doused like with a bucket of cold water, and for a moment she didn't know how to react.

She stared at Yan Feng's Calm, composed, even slightly bewildered expression that seemed to say "What are you talking about?", and her brain went into a brief freeze.

"……You, you are pulling what trick?!"

Lin's voice still carried Rage, but it was no longer so certain, "What did you do in Winterwood City ten years ago, you thought feigning deafness and muteness could—"

Yan Feng still looked at her with those completely unruffled eyes.

He repeated the gesture once more.

I can't hear. Can't speak.

Then he spread his hands, indicating he was powerless.

San Yue Qi leaned toward Lin, whispering, "Um... Lin, he seems... really can't hear us speak?"

"How could that be!"

Lin gritted her teeth, "He is a Magus! Yan Feng Qili is the Church's envoy, how could he suddenly become deaf and mute—"

"But look,"

San Yue Qi pointed at Yan Feng's ear, "He isn't wearing a hearing aid, nor does he show any Magic correction marks. Moreover, from just now until now, his reactions to us have been based on seeing us speak, not on hearing sound…"

Lin fell silent.

She was unwilling to believe.

But Reason String told her that what San Yue Qi said might be true.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

"……Paper."

She squeezed a word from between her teeth, "Pen."

She used the briefest imperative tone, accompanied by the "write" gesture.

Yan Feng nodded.

He bent down, retrieved a plain white notebook and a ballpoint pen from beneath the counter, and placed them on the counter in front of Lin.

Then he turned around, continued handling the ingredients on the cutting board, as if nothing had happened earlier.

Lin stared at the pen, then at his back.

Ten years of accumulated Rage, questioning, and hatred were now all blocked in her throat, with no outlet.

She grabbed the pen and wrote on the paper at lightning speed.

The pen tip almost pierced the paper.

After finishing, she slapped the notebook with a "slap" onto Yan Feng's front.

The handwriting on the paper was sharp and forceful:

"Do you still remember me? You traitor!"

Yan Feng stopped his chopping motion.

He lowered his head and stared at the paper for a long time.

Long enough that Lin thought he would keep playing dumb.

Then he lifted his head and looked at Lin.

He spoke.

"Sorry."

His voice was low and steady, like a word that had been uttered countless times until it completely lost weight and meaning.

He slightly bowed, giving a very proper kowtow.

Then he set the paper aside and continued chopping.

Lin: "……………………"

The string in her brain named "Reason String" emitted a near‑breaking wail.

"You—!!!"

She pointed at Yan Feng, her fingers trembling, "You clearly can speak!! You were just pretending to be deaf and mute?! You are playing me!!!"

The gem in her hand lit up again.

San Yue Qi hurriedly lunged forward to stop her: "Lin Lin Lin, calm down, calm down!! Put the gem down first!! We still have questions!!"

"Let go of me, San Yue Jie!! Today I will definitely make this liar taste the power of Yuanban Family Gem Magic!!!"

"It's wrong that he lies, but you don't get worked up first—!!"

Yan Feng Qili stood behind the counter, expressionless, watching this farcical scene.

He offered no defense.

He didn't flee.

He also gave no apology (except that one word earlier).

He just quietly watched, as if watching a slightly amusing street drama.

Lin, gasping for breath amid San Yue Qi's restraint, finally slammed the gem onto the counter, producing a muffled "dong" sound.

"……Fine."

She squeezed the words from between her teeth, "Since you can speak, then explain yourself to me."

She spoke each word with a pause:

"Now, what exactly is the situation?"

Yan Feng tilted his head.

"Situation?"

He repeated, his tone Calm and sincere, "What situation?"

Lin: "......"

She felt her blood pressure rising at a speed visible to the naked eye.

San Yue Qi hurriedly chimed in to smooth things over, speaking extremely fast:

"It's outside! Outside there's not a single person! The streets are completely empty! All the shops have their doors shut, the letters on the signs are all backwards! The chips at the convenience store taste like chewing paper! We walked for twenty minutes and didn't even see a cat! The whole world feels like it's been put on mute! Sir, do you know what's going on?!"

She finished saying it all in one breath, looking eagerly at Yan Feng.

Yan Feng remained silent for a moment.

Then he looked at San Yue Qi with a very strange gaze.

That gaze held no malice, no mockery, not even hostility.

There was only one kind……

The pity one feels for an idiot.

Lin understood.