Yuan Haoran covered his head again and followed Long Jingyi to the campsite with a strange smile on his face. He could tell that Long Jingyi was having doubts about his identity, even though he did not ask questions or show a lot of curiosity.
It would be strange if Long Jingyi was not suspicious since he had not tried to conceal himself.
"Senior Long!" A voice called out happily.
Yuan Haoran saw the junior sister who had been hostile towards him from the beginning. Her face was bright and happy as she rushed to welcome Long Jingyi. However, that smile disappeared as soon as she noticed Yuan Haoran behind him.
"What is he doing here?" She asked.
"Yuan Haoran is my guest." Long Jingyi said coldly, once again disappointed with how she was behaving with hostility toward Yuan Haoran.
Another girl stepped forward and stood beside Wan Xiu, subtly pulling on her friends
"I think Wan Xiu is just surprised." The tactful girl said. "Luckily, we made enough food."
Wan Xiu was still disgruntled at the appearance of a stranger in their camp, but she could not do anything. She wondered why Senior Long could not see that the cloaked man was suspicious and had nefarious intentions.
She had looked into his red eyes and seen the evil lingering in them. Moreover, he was responsible for Senior Long scolding them by exposing that they were carrying the eggs. How did he even sense the eggs when Long Jingyi could not?
She could not allow him to continue causing trouble. Her hand clenched into a fist, and her nails dug into the flesh of her palm. She would expose him before he led Senior Long astray. As she was about to say something else, her friend pulled her.
"We have already set up your tent, Senior Long. Make yourselves comfortable while we bring you food." She said before pulling Wan Xiu away.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Wan Xiu could not help stomping her foot in frustration.
"He is up to something, Fu Da. I know it." She said. "We should not leave them alone for too long."
Fu Da sighed. "Wan Xiu, I know you like Senior Long, but you will not get him by behaving like a child. The more you dislike that guy and vent your frustration, the more likely he will start hating you. You have to be smart."
Wan Xiu took a breath and tried to calm down. "I know, but I just can't help it. Since he showed up, I have been having a bad premonition. It feels like something is different. I am sure that man is evil and will implicate Senior Long."
"If you can get the evidence that he is a devil cultivator, you can get rid of him." Fu Da looked around before whispering to Wan Xiu. "Do you remember the weird technique he used to stop the Coal-Scaled Bison? Now, the people from Shademantle have also accused him of using demonic methods?"
"What are you saying?" Wan Xiu asked.
"There is no smoke without fire. I think he is a real devil cultivator. For all we know, he has used a technique to compel Senior Long to go along with everything he says." Fu Da explained.
"We have to help Senior Long." Wan Xiu wanted to rush back, but Fu Da pulled her back.
"Do not be hasty. There is nothing you can do for now. Just observe and look for weaknesses. He cannot conceal himself forever." Fu Da said.
As the girls plotted, Long Jingyi and Yuan Haoran walked into the large tent at the periphery of the camp. Yuan Haoran was surprised at the quality of the structure as well as the materials in the interior space.
The ground was covered with a rug that looked like it was made of animal skin, and the bed was a slightly elevated platform with a thick mattress and plush covers. At the side, there was a small table and a chair.
"You live quite comfortably even in the wild." He commented.
Long Jingyi laughed. "I can sleep on a tree, if necessary, but our academy follows certain rules of discipline. So, I get to enjoy a nice tent since I am a senior. You can have the chair. I am sure the juniors will bring another."
Yuan Haoran sat on the chair and removed the hood of his cloak.
"Why do you keep covering your head?" Long Jingyi asked before smirking. "Are you afraid that people will covet your beauty?"
Yuan Haoran replied flatly. "I like having an air of mystery."
The response was partially true. However, the main reason was his need to do things a little more secretly. He had made the cloak in the first year after he transmigrated into the body. The old ghost had a lot of good things from his living days, and he was not stingy.
The reason he made the cloak with a hood was so he could hide his actions from old Guo, such as learning and practising techniques he should not have known. At the time, he was too weak to act against the old ghost.
In addition, he did not want to betray himself because he was never good at concealing his expressions.
Now that he was out of the necropolis, he kept wearing the cloak for the same reason.
"You know that it is dangerous to limit your peripheral vision like that?" Long Jingyi said seriously. "You will not see a sneak attack coming."
"The cloak had some protective qualities. I will be fine." Yuan Haoran did not care about sneak attacks.
"If you say so." Long Jingyi shrugged before he remembered something. "You said someone is going to try to kill Feng Yie. What should we do? If she dies, we will have to take the blame."
"They are not going to kill her when everyone is awake. And we cannot do anything about it when they make their attempt. I doubt they will allow an outsider to have access to her." Yuan Haoran was unconcerned.
"We cannot let them get away with it." Long Jingyi knew it would be very bad for him if Feng Yie died, and his school would also be implicated in the matter. If Principal Feng decided to escalate the issue, Yuan Haoran might lose his life.
"Maybe they will have a change of heart." Yuan Haoran chuckled.
"Senior Long, we are coming in."
Wan Xiu and Fu Da entered the room. Fu Da was carrying a chair while Wan Xiu was holding a tray with bowls of food. The two of them were quiet as they placed the items on the table. However, they could not resist looking at Yuan Haoran a few more times.
When Yuan Haoran had a hood over his head, he looked terrifying, especially with the scarlet eyes glowing behind the dark cover. Therefore, even though he was a tall and handsome man, he was like a demon.
Uncovered, Yuan Haoran was like a beautiful painting. The slightly messy white hair framing the attractive face and cascading down his shoulders made him look attractive and approachable. Even his bloody eyes looked softer.
The two girls were entranced and lingered at the table for too long.
"Thank you, junior sisters." Long Jingyi said meaningfully after they rearranged the bowls for the third time.
With short bows to Long Jingyi, the two girls rushed out of the tent.
"Keep wearing the hood, or you might be assaulted." Long Jingyi said with a loud laugh.
"You are just worried you will lose all your admirers... Senior Long." Yuan Haoran smirked.
Outside the tent, Wan Xiu and Fu Da felt embarrassed because they had forgotten their main goal was to investigate and expose Yuan Haoran. However, they were not willing to admit it was because the man was too charming.
"He must be using some kind of spell." Wan Xiu said even as the face lingered in her mind. "Now, I understand why Long Jingyi seems to be the only one who is blind to the devil cultivator and his ways. Seeing his uncovered face must be part of the spell."
Fu Da was even more enthralled than Wan Xiu, but she pretended to be calm.
"Do you think it is the reason he always wears the hood of his cloak over his head?"
"It must be the reason. If everyone is affected by his spell, it would cause chaos, and people would suspect something is wrong. We have to be more guarded to avoid falling into his trap again." Wan Xiu warned Fu Da.
"I know." Fu Da nodded, but she was already thinking about how she would meet Yuan Haoran again.