You want me to play the Foehn wind? Are you kidding me?

Elio was held in mid-air, his four legs hanging down naturally, his tail curled up. He didn't struggle or bark, but just hung there quietly, watching him.

Silver Wolf finally raised her fingers, opened her mouth slightly, and then closed it again.

Oh crap! My cartridge is with Eriol!

Lu Feng lifted the black cat to eye level and looked at him.

Elio did not speak.

Silver Wolf remained seated and finally spoke, his voice slightly faster than usual.

"Um... he likes to bite people, I suggest you put him down."

Lu Feng glanced at the silver wolf, said nothing, and turned his gaze back to Elio.

Lu Feng picked up the Eriol and looked at it for a few more seconds.

Then he uttered three words that shocked Eriol.

"Elio".

Elio's body froze.

His ears turned slightly backward, and his tail was no longer curled.

Elio didn't speak immediately. After a while, Elio opened his mouth slightly.

"...How do you know my name?"

Lu Feng did not answer.

Elio waited for a while but received no reply.

His tail twitched a few more times, brushing against Lu Feng's arm.

Lu Feng looked at him for a few more seconds, then let go and put him back on the table.

He straightened up, said nothing more, and turned to walk towards the courtyard gate.

He pushed open the half-closed wooden door, and his footsteps gradually faded away along the alley.

Silver Wolf sat in the chair and, after confirming that the footsteps had completely disappeared, breathed a sigh of relief before turning his head to glance at the black cat crouching on the table.

Elio remained crouched on the table, motionless, his tail having returned to its normal position.

A questioning voice came from Silver Wolf.

"Elio, how does Foehn know you?"

Elio's gaze remained fixed on the direction of the courtyard gate, and he did not answer Silver Wolf.

Silver Wolf was no longer in the mood for playing, after all, he had just narrowly escaped death.

Elio remained motionless, pondering why Foehn recognized him.

Why does Fenfeng know me? I haven't shown my face to him before, have I? Why is that?

Elio stood frozen in place, just like a dead Hakimi.

Seeing Elio like this, Silver Wolf became a little anxious and walked over to Elio, picking him up.

"Eriol? Eriol? You're not dead, are you?"

After a while, two more figures walked in through the door.

When Kafka entered the courtyard, the first thing she saw was Silver Wolf holding Elio by the scruff of his neck, lifting him into the air.

Kafka paused at the doorway.

Blade followed behind her. When Blade walked in and saw this scene, he paused for a moment, but did not speak.

Kafka frowned.

"Wolf cub? What happened to Elio?"

Silver Wolf turned to look at her, still holding the frozen Eriol in his hand.

"Kafka! Come quick! Eriol looks like he's about to die!"

As he spoke, he fiddled with Eriol for a moment.

"Look! Your body has become stiff!"

Kafka walked over and glanced down at Eriol, who was being held in the air.

"He's not dead."

"Then why did he start to stiffen up?!"

Kafka did not answer.

She reached out and gently squeezed Elio's paw, but Elio did not react.

Blade stood at the doorway, leaning against the doorframe, watching this scene unfold.

"...Has he had this happen before?"

Silver Wolf shook his head.

"No! Never! He just suddenly froze! And I've heard that small animals often do that when they die!"

After saying that, he raised Eriol in his hand.

Kafka withdrew her hand, shifting her gaze from Elio to the silver wolf's face.

What happened before he froze?

The silver wolf opened its mouth briefly, then closed it again.

"Just now... Fenfeng came in."

Kafka's gaze sharpened slightly.

"foehn?"

"Yes, it was him. He suddenly pushed the door open and walked in, then saw Eriol, picked him up, looked at him for a few seconds, and then said..."

Silver Wolf paused for a moment.

Then he said the name "Erio".

Kafka was silent for a moment, then looked down at the still-frozen black cat.

The blade opened from behind.

"Does he know Elio?"

"I don't know, and he left right after he said that."

After saying that, Silver Wolf shook the Elio he was carrying in his hand again.

"Eriol? Can you hear me? Are you dead? Move!"

Eriol's tail tip finally twitched.

Then his ears twitched, turning at a very small angle.

Silver Wolf's eyes lit up.

"He moved!"

Kafka looked at Elio.

"You're awake?"

Elio did not answer immediately.

He raised one of his front paws and gently touched the hand holding the silver wolf with his paw.

The silver wolf released its grip, landed back on the ground, stood firmly on all fours, swayed its tail slowly, then squatted down and licked its front paws.

"I see."

All three of them were full of questions.

Kafka opened her mouth.

"What do you know?"

Elio looked grave and remained silent...

……

At the tea stall in Changletian, March 7th was holding a steaming cup of Immortal's Happy Tea, poking at the fruit pieces at the bottom of the cup with a straw.

Xing sat on the stone bench opposite her, also drinking tea from the same shop, but her eyes were fixed on the fox-people's tails, ears, and legs as if she were aiming at them.

Walter sat a little further away, holding a map of the area provided by the Cloud Cavalry, his brows furrowed.

"Oh, Miss Tingyun said she has some errands to run and asked us to wait here for her."

On March 7th, he took another sip of tea.

"Why does she always say she has something to take care of, and then disappear for so long?"

Walter's voice came from the side, but he didn't look up.

"She probably has her own plans. As guests, it's not appropriate for us to ask too many questions."

March 7th muttered "that's true" and then continued drinking tea.

At that moment, Tingyun was walking briskly through a quiet alley.

Her signature smile was still on her face, but her pace was much faster than usual, and her fingers gripped the fan tightly.

The appearance of Fenfeng in Luofu was the biggest variable in itself, and her original plan needed more time to unfold.

She stirred up trouble regarding the secret teachings of the Medicine King, waiting for the opportune moment to make Jing Yuan and the Starry Sky Train proceed according to her plan.

But the presence of Fenfeng was like a stone hanging over her head, and she didn't know when it would fall. She had to complete her plan before Fenfeng decided to "do something".

We must speed things up; we must get things done before the foehn winds strike.

She stopped in front of an inconspicuous house deep in the alley and pushed the door open to enter.

The room was dimly lit. A person dressed in a dark robe, with most of their face hidden by a hood, sat behind a table, as if they had been waiting for her.

"Lord Phantom."

The man stood up and bowed.

"No need for such formalities."

Tingyun's voice was still in that gentle tone, but it was a little shorter than usual.

"Send a message to the Medicine King's secret teachings... the plan is ahead of schedule, no need to wait any longer."

The man paused for a moment.

"Ahead of schedule? But what about the preparations on the Jianmu side..."

I said earlier.

Tingyun's voice remained gentle, but there was no smile in her curved eyes.

"I will handle Jianmu's situation personally."

The man remained silent for a moment, then bowed and left the room.

After the door closed, Tingyun stood alone in the dimly lit room, gently tapping her fan against her palm.

She needed to be faster, to place all the pieces on the chessboard in their proper positions before Fenfeng made his next move.

She put away her fan, pushed open the door and stepped into the morning light. Her steps regained their usual calm rhythm, and a gentle smile returned to her lips, as if nothing had happened.