"I'm also 8 years old," said the little girl while wiping tears from her face.
*Pfffft...*
Mei Ling shot an annoyed glare at Ronin, then took a deep breath before turning back to the little girl and said, "Actually, I forgot to tell you, I'm 8 years and 1 month old," raising her chin proudly.
"Ha-ha…." Ronin couldn't hold back his laughter any longer and burst out laughing.
"What on earth is so funny?" asked Mei Ling, pointing at him.
Ronin quickly composed himself and adopted a serious expression, asking, "Did I really laugh?"
"Yes, you definitely laughed. I saw it with my own two eyes," Mei Ling replied, gesturing from her eyes to Ronin.
"Seriously?" Ronin inquired, his face amused.
"Enough of that!" scolded Mei Ling, before turning her attention to the little girl. She asked with annoyance, "Now, tell me, why are you crying here?"
The little girl explained, "I came with my mother to the exhibition in this village, and there was an acrobat show with both male and female performers. We watched it together, but after the show ended, I couldn't find my mother anywhere. She went missing."
Upon hearing the little girl's words, Ronin and Mei Ling were dumbfounded, taking a few seconds to process the information. Mei Ling finally spoke, "Let's go. We'll help you find your missing mother," with a speechless expression on her face.
The little girl nodded her head and stood up from the ground, wiping away the tears from her face.
All three of them walked into the village. Although the village wasn't large, it buzzed with a crowd. Mei Ling looked around with a mix of excitement and fear on her face.
Seeing the lively crowd, Ronin felt nostalgic, as happy and excited smiles adorned everyone's faces.
As Mei Ling had suggested, they continued searching for the little girl's mother. After a few minutes of searching, they heard an anxious voice from behind, calling out, "Layla, is that you?"
They all turned around quickly to see the woman who spoke. "Mother, I finally found you," Layla said, running towards her mother, and they embraced tightly, relieved to be reunited.
Despite Layla being a peculiar little girl, the sight of mother and daughter together brought a sense of relief to everyone.
However, as Layla's mother noticed Mei Ling, her smile vanished, replaced by a dark expression. She muttered under her breath, "Demon," and without a second glance, she reached for Layla's hand and hurriedly walked away.
The look on Layla's mother's face triggered memories of Mei Ling's own dark past, a time of hardships she and her mother had endured when she was a baby. The memory of that past washed over her, causing her to instinctively cower behind Ronin, fear etched on her face. The excitement and happiness she had felt just moments ago faded away completely.
She hallucinated that the crowd around her was giving dark and condescending looks, causing her to panic even more.
Ronin furrowed his brows while watching Layla's mother disappear into the crowd. He reached out his hand and gently placed it on Mei Ling's head, infusing her with warm and pure demon energy. This helped her to calm down, relax her tensed nerves and muscles, and feel at ease.
"I'm with you," Ronin reassured Mei Ling, observing the relaxed look on her face.
Mei Ling nodded with a cute smile, and they decided to explore the exhibition together. They joined in on various activities like throwing rings, shooting bows, enjoying sweets, and watching puppet shows.
After having enough fun, they both hopped on the giant wheel. As it began to rotate, Mei Ling clung tightly to Ronin, closing her eyes and shrieking with fear. Ronin laughed and hugged her back, and the moment he touched her, her fear vanished, and she opened her eyes with excitement, continuing to shriek happily.
Though their time on the giant wheel was short, Mei Ling had a blast. They strolled around the exhibition site, and Ronin asked if they had missed any games to play.
"No, brother Ronin, we played everything in this exhibition," Mei Ling replied with a huge grin on her face.
"Alright, then let's head back to the forest," Ronin suggested, and Mei Ling reluctantly nodded in agreement.
Both of them headed towards the village entrance, intending to leave, but their progress halted when they heard an anxious voice from behind.
"Sir… wait… did you see my daughter?" Layla's mother asked. Ronin had his skin and face covered, making it unclear if he was human or demon. Despite this, Layla's mother was desperate to know if they had seen her daughter again, hoping for any information.
Ronin remained silent, choosing not to respond, and began to walk away, with Mei Ling following him.
Observing Ronin's lack of response, Layla's mother's anxiety escalated further. She quickly stepped in front of Ronin and knelt on the ground, pleading, "Please, I beg your pardon if I did anything wrong, knowingly or unknowingly. My daughter is just a child; she doesn't even know right from wrong. Please, tell me if you saw my daughter… please…"
Ronin attempted to move around Mei Ling, but she reached out and held his hand, halting his movement. "Mei Ling, we have to move," said Ronin with a furrowed brow.
"Brother Ronin, let's help her. If we act like them, what difference will there be between them, who treated us like animals, and us?" said Mei Ling, her face displaying a stern expression, which only added to her cuteness.
"Sigh, naive and innocent," said Ronin, shaking his head with a helpless look.
"Such an intense, corrupted, evil, and malicious presence - dark cultivators? I never thought I'd encounter them so soon," Ronin murmured inwardly while looking around.
"Who is it?... Who is it?" Ronin muttered, still observing everyone in the village.
" Apologize to Mei ling. I will save your daughter," said Ronin, addressing Layla's mother.
"Yes... Yes... Please... Please forgive me for my rude behavior when we first met," said Layla's mother, kowtowing towards Mei Ling.
Mei Ling moved to stop Layla's mother from kowtowing, but Ronin reached out to hold her shoulder and said, "You deserve her apology."
"Hmm," Mei Ling nodded, halting her movement and staying still.