This is…
Zhou Kai was a little confused when he saw that the soul had disappeared without a trace.
The soul had looked extremely frightened just now. Its expression had been one of someone who was in grave danger.
Then… It disappeared.
Is it because I consumed its fire?
Zhou Kai was speechless.
He felt that there was something amiss about this situation.
However, he did not feel any guilt about it.
Spirits that had committed bad deeds even when they were dead should be killed.
Slap!
A half-burned cupboard fell down, revealing a refrigerator within.
Zhou Kai, who had been abruptly woken up from his stupor, looked over and his expression changed.
A burned corpse was lying beside the cabinet along with another refrigerator.
Zhou Kai hurriedly walked over and discovered that the corpse belonged to a male of indistinguishable age. Based on his body's position, he seemed to have died protecting that refrigerator.
Zhou Kai walked over to the refrigerator and opened it.
The refrigerator was a little hot to the touch, but he saw a little girl curled up inside it upon opening it.
She seemed to be around six to seven years old. She was wearing a white dress, and her hair was in a ponytail. Her skin was pale, and she had a small body.
However, she seemed to be unconscious.
Zhou Kai hastily carried the little girl out.
The fire within the mall was gone, but the suffocating smoke remained.
Zhou Kai removed his damp clothing, wrapped it around the girl, and ran out.
Due to the strange disappearance of the huge fire, the firefighters and numerous helpful spectators were working together. The scene was very chaotic.
When Zhou Kai left the building, he spotted an ambulance and hurriedly carried the child over.
"Hurry up, doctor. This is a child that was trapped inside. She is unconscious." A doctor quickly started to perform a checkup.
Zhou Kai let out a sigh of relief, ready to put the child down.
Just as he was about to do so, the doctor stopped him.
"You can't leave now!"
Zhou Kai was stunned. "Why?"
The doctor replied, "Help look over her for a while."
Ah!
Zhou Kai was dumbfounded.
The doctor then said, "What? You saved someone, yet you are unwilling to look after them for a while longer? We are understaffed at the moment, and the backup will only arrive later. For the sake of this child, it should be alright if I take up a bit of your time."
Upon seeing that Zhou Kai was still hesitant, the doctor said helplessly, "What are you so afraid of? This is an emergency, and many people are taking notice of this incident. I'm not trying to blackmail you. Plus, this child fainted because she breathed in smoke. She is actually alright. However, I do not know when she will wake up, which is why I need your help."
When the doctor mentioned that, Zhou Kai could only reply unwillingly, "Alright then, I will stay by her side. Are you sure that she is alright?"
"I'm certain. Sorry to trouble you." Upon saying that, the doctor hastily ran toward a person that had been recently saved.
Helpless, Zhou Kai carried the girl onto the ambulance and carefully helped her settle in.
He felt a sense of pity as he looked at the little girl's tightly-closed eyes and pale face.
He had a younger stepsister from his father's new family, as his father had remarried. His stepsister and this girl were about the same age.
He was not close to his parents, but the children born in their newly-formed families were not bad. That stepsister, in particular, really liked Zhou Kai.
Unfortunately, both families had ostracized him somewhat and would not allow him to come into contact with the children easily. He had not seen the aforementioned stepsister in about six months.
As he was lamenting, Zhou Kai suddenly saw a flash of blue light.
Stunned, he looked over but saw nothing.
He thought that he was hallucinating.
However, that flash of blue light reappeared a moment later.
Zhou Kai saw it clearly this time.
It had come from the necklace the little girl was wearing. There was some kind of embellishment on it, which seemed to be a gemstone.
As the gemstone flickered with blue light, Zhou Kai discovered the faint smoke emitted from the little girl's body.
Zhou Kai was dumbfounded.
How could a child he had randomly saved possibly be extraordinary?
He focused and observed, choosing to wait before taking any action.
Zhou Kai slowly discovered that there was a pattern to the flicker of the blue light. A wisp of smoke would appear from the girl's body each time the flicker occurred, as though the smoke was being expelled.
The little girl's complexion improved as the smoke gradually disappeared, and her breathing became regulated as well.
The gemstone finally stopped flickering. Then, the little girl opened her eyes.
Zhou Kai sighed.
Over a short period of time, he had already encountered two types of spirits. Other than experiencing a miracle, he had also been involved in a strange event. Had he accidentally intruded into the other world or something?
Zhou Kai silently sized the girl up. He was not in a hurry to speak.
The little girl looked around, saw Zhou Kai, and… stared back silently.
The surrounding area was quiet, and the atmosphere slowly became strange.
Zhou Kai could not stand it anymore. "Are you awake? Do you know the phone number of your family? I will help you contact them."
The little girl remained mute and continued to… stare.
Zhou Kai frowned and asked, "Who did you come into the mall with? That person… Um, please be mentally prepared. The person protecting you is most likely no longer alive. Who was he to you? Do tell me his name if you can."
The little girl… stared!
Zhou Kai was dumbfounded.
Are you kidding me? Don't tell me that such a beautiful girl is actually mute?
But that does not seem quite right either. Mute people can hear things. Also, the children of this day and age are quite clever. This should not be the reaction of someone whose family has died, right?
Zhou Kai sized the little girl up dubiously and said straightforwardly, "If you refuse to speak, miss, I have no choice but to hand you over to the police."
Zhou Kai stood up with the intention of calling the police over.
The little girl made a second move then. She reached out, grabbed hold of his sleeve, and stared… However, her gaze seemed quite delicate and pitiful.
Zhou Kai's heart melted instantly from the cuteness.
This child is still young and might be acting this way because she is in shock. It is my fault for being so rude. I should take good care of her. Buy her good food, nice clothes, things to play with… F*ck, my *ss. What the hell am I thinking about?
Why am I coming up with such strange thoughts?
I'm already so broke that I have trouble taking care of myself, yet I actually thought of raising her! This thought is extremely frightening and should not exist in the first place!
Zhou Kai's mind cleared. He then looked at the little girl warily.
Are my thoughts affected by this girl?
After all, I actually thought of raising her!
Shameless girl, I should not have saved you.
"Since you are awake, the doctor will contact your family. If there's nothing else, I am leaving." Zhou Kai got ready to leave the ambulance as he spoke.
"You offended the Fox Spirit Lady. It will not let you off."
Zhou Kai heard a clear voice speak and stopped moving.
He turned, looked at the girl, and asked, "What did you just say?"
The girl, who had wiped that pitiful expression from her face, stretched her body and stated matter-of-factly, "Raise me. That way, you can live on."
Zhou Kai was left speechless.