I don't want to come up with a funny book title anymore.

If it were just the two of us, Chu Jiaoyang and I, we would probably have been sightseeing all the way here.

Of course, this was before he returned to the Xie family.

Now that he knows someone is waiting for him, Xie Fengnan wants to get out of trouble as soon as possible.

So he quickly surpassed Jiang Moran.

Chu Jiaoyang was shocked when he saw this.

Huo Dou, unaware of the reason, also followed along.

So the three of them and the dog chased each other, making it seem like they were sprinting for their lives.

They only stopped when they reached the settlement.

Jiang Moran, slightly out of breath, looked at Xie Fengnan, who seemed completely unfazed.

She turned her head to the other side and saw that Chu Jiaoyang was also panting.

Great, it's balanced now.

"Hey, you troublemaker, you're in last place, you still need to practice," Chu Jiaoyang teased Huodou.

The worm scratched the ground with one paw, as if to say, "Let's have another fight!"

"Let's stop competing, let's get down to business now." Chu Jiaoyang waved his hand in refusal.

Xie Fengnan could tell from his expression that waving his hand wasn't a refusal, but rather a sign that no further words were needed.

Giving himself two seconds to suppress his smile, Xie Fengnan prepared to find a place to make his move.

The settlement was small, and the houses were built of stone, looking simple and sturdy.

Just as Xie Fengnan was preparing to explore further, a boy-like figure emerged from around the corner.

He was thin, with a gaunt face and pale skin.

Unlike the animal skin clothing worn by the Yan tribe, he was dressed in coarse linen clothes.

When he saw Xie Fengnan and his group, he only paused for a moment before continuing on his way as if he hadn't seen anything.

Xie Fengnan's heart skipped a beat, and he stepped forward to greet him, "Hello, can we talk?"

The boy, who had been expressionless, was clearly stunned, his whole body filled with resistance and wariness.

Xie Fengnan immediately gave a friendly smile, his voice gentle and harmless: "We mean no harm, we just want to ask you about something."

"What is it?" The boy took a few steps back and whispered.

Do you know someone named Kun Zeyuan?

The boy's eyes widened. "What...why are you looking for him?"

"There's something I need his help with," Xie Fengnan explained patiently. "It's something that absolutely needs him, and it's not something I'm doing wrong."

The boy remained silent for a moment, seemingly struggling with whether or not to reveal the information.

His gaze lingered on Xie Fengnan and the other two for a while before he seemed to finally make up his mind. He took a deep breath and said, "Come with me, but only one of you can go in to see him. The others will have to wait outside. He... he's not used to having too many people around."

Xie Fengnan agreed after a moment's thought.

Along the way, the boy walked quickly but somewhat unsteadily, glancing back every now and then with a tense expression, as if something terrifying was chasing him from behind.

Xie Fengnan witnessed his actions.

They then stopped in front of an inconspicuous stone house.

The boy raised his hand to signal Xie Fengnan to be quiet, and quietly pushed open the door.

The room was dimly lit, with only a few rays of sunlight filtering through the cracks in the roof, and dust particles danced in the beams of light.

In a corner of the room, a young man was huddled in a pile of messy, tattered bedding. His sky-blue hair obscured his face, making it impossible to see his expression.

But you could sense that he was like a frightened, trapped beast, hugging his arms tightly, his body trembling, muttering something unintelligible.

"Brother Yuan, I've come to see you..."

Upon hearing the sound, Kun Zeyuan looked up abruptly, his eyes filled with fear and confusion.

Her emotions calmed down a little after seeing the boy, but when she saw Xie Fengnan, she covered her head with her hands and shrank into a corner.

Seeing this, Xie Fengnan thought to himself, "It seems that this earth spirit has also had quite a few mishaps."

"You saw... his condition isn't good." The boy pulled at his hair with a troubled expression.

"Indeed." Xie Fengnan stroked his chin. "Did something happen to him?"

It seems inappropriate to bring Kun Zeyuan back to the Spirit Source Realm in his current state. Let's find out more about the situation first.

"I don't think so?" The boy's voice was filled with confusion. "He used to be quite normal, but in recent years, I don't know what's wrong with him, he's like a completely different person."

"Nothing or anything has happened here?"

"No," the boy shook his head, quite certain, "and nothing seems amiss either."

Xie Fengnan scanned the room, trying to find clues from the slightest traces.

Logically speaking, a normal person's temperament wouldn't change drastically for no reason; something must have happened to cause it.

This boy is also strange; we can't confirm whether his words are true or false, so we have to ask the person involved.

Xie Fengnan was puzzled. Looking at Kun Zeyuan, it seemed like he had a split personality.

I don't know what stage we've reached now, or whether we can still communicate.

He took a few steps closer to Kun Zeyuan and lowered his voice: "Kun Zeyuan, can you hear me?"

Kun Zeyuan's eyes shifted slightly as he looked at Xie Fengnan. His lips moved a few times, but no sound came out.

Seeing his reaction, Xie Fengnan leaned closer and asked, "Do you still remember Chi Yanli and the others?"

A glimmer of light seemed to flash in his eyes, his lips trembled slightly again, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out a barely audible sound from his throat: "Noisy... my head is so noisy..."

Kun Zeyuan dug his fingers deep into his hair, curling his body up even tighter, as if trying to shrink himself into a small space where no one could disturb him.

Seeing this, Xie Fengnan suggested, "Shall we find a way to drive away those noises?"

"What...do I need to do...?" Kun Zeyuan looked up, like a drowning person reaching out, trying to grasp a glimmer of hope.

"Let's go out and get some sun," Xie Fengnan said, squatting down and looking into Kun Zeyuan's eyes.

"Sunbathing...?"

"Correct."

Xie Fengnan didn't know if there were real voices clamoring in Kun Zeyuan's mind, or if it was because he had a mental illness.

However, it's worth trying to shift his attention away from this state.

The brain has limited attention span and tends to focus only on things that are "meaningful".

Other redundant information will be ignored to prevent overload, and the degree varies from person to person.

And when you assign "meaning" to almost everything, you become extremely sensitive.

If you can't break free from this state, it's basically a confirmed diagnosis.

Xie Fengnan half-supported and half-pulled Kun Zeyuan outside, saying, "Go out for some fresh air, maybe those sounds will disappear."

As soon as he stepped out the door, the sunlight was so bright that Kun Zeyuan instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes, muttering, "Too bright..."

Xie Fengnan slowed down his movements. "Don't be afraid, we'll get used to it in a while."

Seeing Kun Zeyuan's condition, Xie Fengnan found a tree and had him sit down against the trunk.

The dappled shadows of the trees lessened the scorching heat of the sun. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, and Kun Zeyuan, having recovered, began to look around.