Chapter 4.1

"What about you? Also expensive?" (1)

Shi An did not answer the other party's question. He was bundled up in a thick blanket, exposing only his head. Tendrils of white mists slowly rose from the glass of warm milk he was holding, steaming his face red. He continued to gawk at Mu Heng while lost in his own thoughts.

Shi Ze Chun suppressed his anger and forced out an awkward smile. "Shi An, Chief Mu is talking to you. Are you listening?" He asked, stressing each word.

Shi An, still lost in his thoughts, reflexively turned to Shi Ze Chun and let out a confused sound. "......Huh?"

"......" This little rascal wasn't listening at all!!

Shi Ze Chun was so furious that his veins throbbed wildly. He wanted to lash out at Shi An, but because of Mu Heng's presence, he restrained his rage.

Mu Heng did not mind that Shi An was spacing out. He lowered his eyes to study Shi An again. Under his silvery-white eyelashes, eyes like a steel blue blade, reflecting the distant and lonely silver skyline, were now heavy with inquiries.

After staring at Shi An for a few seconds, Mu Heng turned to Wen Yao. "Was that test done?"

"......That!" Wen Yao paused momentarily before replying: "That test, not, not yet."

Some monsters could imitate a human appearance and voice, or parasitise a human body. Therefore, humans who had close contact with monsters needed to be tested for safety purposes. However, these types of monsters were beyond rare, so such situations were almost rare. Hence, humans had gradually overlooked the existence of this test.

"Do you need me to send in a request for the equipment now?" Wen Yao asked nervously. "The equipment will be delivered here shortly."

"No need," Mu Heng replied. He took a step forward towards Shi An. "Give me your hand."

——That's what the moving piece of shiny said. Hence, Shi An dazedly stretched out his hand.

When Mu Heng grabbed Shi An's slender wrist, his black leather combatant glove was cold and rough, inflicting a peculiar pain on Shi An's skin.

That pain startled Shi An into retracting his hand, but his wrist was grabbed back again midway. Immediately after, a small silver bracelet encircled his wrist with a "click."

Hearing that sound, Shi An finally returned to his senses and lowered his head belatedly. His gaze fell on the silver bracelet.

Shi An's slender, smooth and snow-white wrist brought out the gleaming brilliance of the silver bracelet. The patterns on the silver bracelet were constantly changing, and were fascinating under the lighting.

Shi An's eyes brightened when he saw the fascinating, shiny bracelet.

Soon, the patterns stopped changing and settled on a certain shape.

Mu Heng frowned when he saw the shape. His silver-blue eyes, hidden under the long white eyelashes, stared fixedly at the silver bracelet, puzzled.

Shi An was also contemplating the bracelet. Hmm......I don't understand.

The atmosphere was heavy with tension; even the flow of time seemed to have slowed down. Finally, Mu Heng lifted his eyelashes, stared at Shi An, and said: "It's done." He pressed lightly on the surface of the silver bracelet——"click"——the bracelet unclasped.

Wen Yao was relieved by the outcome and gradually relaxed from her uneasiness——this was her first time seeing Mu Heng use that bracelet, which seemed like a dangerous signal. Fortunately, everything was normal.

Shi An's gaze chased after the bracelet, and he asked wistfully: "You are taking it away?"

Mu Heng paused his movements and noticed the obvious disappointment on the young boy's face. He slowly replied: "If not?"

"You're not giving it to me?" Shi An inquired forlornly.

"What are you saying?" Shi Ze Chun's expression changed when he heard what Shi An asked——his eyes were shooting daggers at Shi An. However, Shi Ze Chun forced himself to stay calm and he explained through gritted teeth, "This type of detection bracelet is expensive to make. Only a few high-ranking officers of the Monster Management Bureau have it. How can it be given away so casually?"

"......Oh," Shi An said, and he raised his eyes towards the man in front of him.

Mu Heng had been silent since earlier and was studying Shi An thoughtfully.

A silver-blue light settled at the bottom of Mu Heng's eyes. Besides the brilliance and beauty of those eyes, there was also ice-cold sharpness. Even the shiny silver bracelet was dull in comparison to Mu Heng.

Shi An thought for a moment and asked: "What about you? Also expensive?"

As soon as his words came out, everyone gasped.

"......" Shit! Shi Ze Chun almost fainted at those words.

"You want to purchase me?" Mu Heng ignored everyone and looked straight at the young boy beside him.

Wen Yao, who was standing at the side, was disorientated and shocked. She could hardly believe her ears.

Shi An replied: "Actually......" Only getting the hair is fine——

"This......this......please don't take it seriously. This child just got out of danger. He is not thinking clearly......" Before Shi An could finish his sentence, Shi Ze Chun stepped forward angrily and explained in panic.

Meanwhile, the old butler finally got over that shocking question. His face turned ashen and pulled up the thick blanket to cover Shi An's face.

"......" Darkness appeared in front of Shi An. He stared confusedly at the blanket blocking his sight and was deeply puzzled——What happened?

"That.......My apologies......" Shi Ze Chun forced a smile out.

At that moment, one of the on-site inspection members ran to Mu Heng to give his report. He whispered a few sentences and handed Mu Heng a material file.

Mu Heng took the file and flipped through it twice. Then, he turned to look deeply at the young boy, bundled up snugly from head to toe, one final time. Afterwards, he glanced at Shi Ze Chun and lightly interrupted the other party's incoherent speech: "There's no need to worry."

After that, Mu Heng closed the file and turned to walk towards the banquet room.

*