"…"
Qi Zixiao had been quiet for some time, but eventually gritted her teeth because she could not find the answer. "That man must have done something!"
"This won't do. I have to add another rule in the astral shadow…"
Qi Zixiao only breathed a sigh of relief and reverted to her previous coolness after redoing the recording, and then called in Chen Cheng for an indirect interrogation.
Hence…
Chen Cheng and the other disciples were all baffled.
What even was this situation?
Zhou Yining, who was another disciple in Chen Cheng's group and managed to switch shifts after much difficulty spoke, "Why… does the saintess have so many questions lately?!"
"…"
Chen Cheng rolled her eyes.
'How should I know?'
Both of them were equally speechless and miserable.
Over the last few days, the saintess seemed to have nothing to do and only cared about asking questions… which left their hearts in their mouth, fearing that they had made some mistake and caused the saintess to be upset.
It was undoubtedly pain and suffering for those beneath when one's superiors were being moody.
Moreover, how could it not be miserable when nothing had happened at all over the last few days?
In fact, it was not just them—Qi Zixiao was equally miserable.
Since she could not let herself slip, she could only try to ask indirectly. But having lived in the Sacred Violet Manor since a young age and not quite understanding common sense, she was far less than Lin Fan in that respect…
Even if she asked a great deal of questions, the information she got was pathetically few.
'Should I go out for a bit?' Qi Zixiao thought, but soon gave up on the idea.
The timing was not right!
Not only did she have no progress in her cultivation after going in seclusion to attempt ascension, but she had even regressed slightly after almost going astray.
She would come across many people if she left now, and there would be even more problems.
"In other words, I'll just have to wait three days."
"When that time comes, I would be able to calm myself and focus on my ascension if there's no change. But if we switched places again…"
Qi Zixiao became silent then.
Another switch?
If they did switch places again, no one could tell what would happen.
***
Let us turn the clock back a bit.
When Qi Zixiao's soul returned to her original body and found herself in the bathing bucket, Lin Fan's soul returned to Earth as well, regaining control over his own body.
He looked around, and what he saw left his mouth twitching.
It was a rather busy pedestrian walkway, but his appearance right now was a little weird…
And that was because he was missing one shoe!
Logically speaking, he was absolutely messed up, was he not?
Still, his other clothing was quite clean and not so filthy, and it was obvious that there had been 'proper upkeep'.
But that was not the issue here—the problem is: why am I here?!
"This… isn't university city! Screw me!"
With his quick wits and being a modern person who read many novels, he quickly got the general idea about his situation.
While he was not certain, he was at least not utterly clueless.
"In other words, I came back three days after my soul switched places with the saintess."
"So, the saintess had been in control of my body over the last three days."
"Then… Did she buy this milk tea too?"
Staring at the half-finished milk-tea in his hand and the lingering sweet scent of milk tea in his breath, Lin Fan blinked speechlessly.
And yet, his speechlessness had just begun.
Click!
He felt a cool touch over his wrist.
Lin Fan: "????"
"You really could run, could you!!!" A panting voice breathed beside his ear.
And there was not just one person beside him—but an entire group!
As he turned his eyes for a clear look at the people and the object on his wrist, Lin Fan instantly felt unsettled and his legs turning to jelly. "M-Mister policemen, what are you doing here?"
"You have to ask?"
The policeman in the lead roared. "We've been chasing you for three days. Three days!!!"
"I must say, you are quite the runner!"
"The food plunderer, was it? We'll see how you run now. Come with us back to the station and explain yourself."
Click!
There was another crisp sound when the policeman cuffed his other hand, which left Lin Fan feeling that he was going out of his mind!
What the actual hell…
His soul had just returned, but he was already cuffed by the police, not to mention that there were a dozen of them surrounding him?
What the heck had that saintess been doing over the last three days?
Murder, or sexual assault?
Could she be a lesbian?
And what the heck was a food plunderer?
His mind was a mess.
When Lin Fan slowly recovered, he found himself already dragged into a patrol car, with two policemen holding him on each side, as if he would slip away if they were not looking.
That left him even more bewildered.
As the car moved, Lin Fan said helplessly, "What are you doing, mister policeman? Aren't you getting the wrong person?"
"I'm an ordinary law-abiding citizen… I hadn't done anything wrong here."
"You didn't do anything wrong?!"
"We've been chasing you for three days. Do you think we could get the wrong person?" The policeman's response was merciless.
Lin Fan. "…"
Wow. The saintess really had stirred some major uproar.
So, right now, he could only offer a pained smile. "Then, could you at least tell me what I've done wrong?"
"Huh!!?!"
The policeman who cuffed Lin Fan lifted a brow. "You're quite something, kid. You really wouldn't shed tears until you see your coffin."
"Fine! See for yourself!"
Then, the policeman whipped out his phone, opened a video and held it in front of Lin Fan.
It was a video compilation.
At first, 'he' was loitering around a steamed bun restaurant… and then he snatched away a steamer-full of buns and ran.
Lin Fan: "…"
After that, the video switched to the next scene where he stole a bowl of fried rice.
After that, it was a bowl of spicy soup.
After that, it was a smoked duck…
And so much more!
***
They eventually reached the last scene, where he stole a cup of milk tea.
Thankfully, the video ended there.
In summary, in different places and different times over the last three days, he had stolen steamed buns, fried rice, spicy soup, smoked duck, potato chips, skewered chicken cutlets, milk tea…
Over twenty types of food, and all of which were quite famous!
Lin Fan: "…"
"Nothing to say now?"
The policeman beside him could not hold back from barking then. "Lin Fan, was it? And a Master's student at that. I'm just curious, don't you know that there's surveillance everywhere?!"
"Or could this be what young people like you call performance art?"
"I did feel like it was some sort of hype." The policeman driving the car added then. "Wasn't it? Every food stall he stole from had exploded in popularity."
"All of them are online hotspots now."
"Really!!!" The look on policemen's faces turned dark.
Oh, me…
Lin Fan wanted to cry but did not have the tears for it.
Right now, he just wanted to ask the saintess, "Are you a tigress, woman?!"