Time passed, and the doctor came to examine Noah—there was nothing he could do, as the doctor concluded. His body was in perfect condition, and there was no apparent reason for the pain he still felt.
The story that had been recounted was still being processed by the Radiance family—especially by Arthur—while Sophia continued to care for Noah, bringing him his lunch, some snacks during the afternoon, and dinner. But one thing was certain: nothing he had said was spread beyond that room.
"Do you believe what he said..?" asked Arthur as he lay down beside Alice. "Living with demon beasts... is that really possible?"
"Apparently, yes... And don't they say that cultivators in the major sects normally do that?" she replied, taking off her glasses and setting the book on the small table beside the bed.
"That's different. As far as I know, they use special bonds and avoid the more powerful ones."
"From what you know..." Alice smiled. "Have you ever been in a major sect, by any chance?"
"...This is serious. He's no longer just some unknown little boy that Sophia can simply keep around. He's dangerous."
"The Stellar Demon Wolf is dangerous—even though, from what I saw, he's just a boy."
"A boy raised among demon beasts, who doesn't really know much about human customs."
Silence fell in the room as both of them pondered these words. The quiet was broken when Alice sighed:
— So, what do you want to do?
She said.
"...I don't know," Arthur replied as he embraced her. "I already said he could stay here as long as he wants, so we can't just kick him out."
Upon hearing this, Alice changed her tone and said,
— And we wouldn't do that; you wouldn't do it. He even saved our daughter.
"...I know... but it won't mean anything if she ever gets endangered again."
"...I believe we can only be more careful from now on," Alice concluded. "Maybe it's true—he really is just in search of the pill. This city is very small, after all; there isn't anything here valuable enough to catch the interest of the forest beasts, especially one that the books claim is among the strongest."
"...It didn't exist..."
"No, very few people even know about it. If the secret had actually leaked, someone would have had to tell, and that person would certainly have revealed it to another human, whether from a sect or some big city—not to a forest demon beast."
Arthur fell silent for a moment before sighing. He took one of Alice's arms and wrapped it around himself:
— Alright, fine, let's stop talking about it.
He said, closing his eyes with his head close to his wife's chest, and continued,
— Dwelling on such thoughts won't help... I'll talk with that boy again tomorrow.
"You're going to...?" Alice smiled as she pulled him closer. "You're going to scare him and tell him to behave, aren't you?"
"Maybe... or I'll insist and make him admit if that really is the reason he's here."
"Hmm, but don't overdo it," Alice cautioned. "Noah hasn't done anything wrong, after all. If he's innocent and you end up exaggerating, he might think that we're nothing but ungrateful... not to mention that it's impossible to measure his Qi..."
"...Don't worry, I'll remember that."
Despite their concerns, the night passed just like all the others—calm and warm. They both knew there was no point in arguing about something that was completely out of their control. Brainstorming possible solutions or countermeasures was the extent of their ability at the moment.
When night fell, everyone went to sleep—except, of course, for the guards, and Noah and Sophia, who, after eating, went to the room to bring him his food.
"You know you don't have to do that, right...?" Noah said as he opened his mouth, ready to receive the spoon that was coming his way. "...I can already move a bit, even if it hurts. So I can eat on my own."
"No, I don't mind," Sophia replied, her smile fading as she looked deep into his eyes after a moment of silence. "...Or are you feeling uncomfortable with me here...?"
"N—No, it's not that..."
A genuine response seemed to be sucked right out of his mouth, as if his mind were under someone else's control. Noah reminded himself that indeed, those people—mother and daughter in particular—were strangely dangerous.
'Could this also be an effect of that celestial body...?' he wondered.
[Affirmative!]
[Among other effects, such as the ability to captivate the opposite sex with a single glance.]
[Of course, that's when the body is awakened—which is not the case for either of them, mother or daughter.]
Suddenly, Noah began to hear stifled sobs, and amidst his soup, he saw a few tears fall. Sophia took a deep breath before looking at him and saying:
— Thank you... I know I've said that many times today, but... thank you...
"...You don't need to cry to thank me; I know you mean it sincerely."
Noah couldn't understand why, but that situation made him feel even more uneasy—his heart felt constricted and his throat seemed to want to hold back his words—all because he simply saw her crying in front of him.
"N–No, it's not that, I... it's not that..." she said, smiling as she gazed into his eyes—the most beautiful smile Noah had ever seen. "I'm not crying because I'm sad; on the contrary... I'm very happy."
"Pardon...?"
"You know... I never told my parents because I knew they'd worry and suffer even more, but... I don't know how I managed to hold on until you came to help me... I... I was thinking about ending my life."
They say that people are all alike in certain aspects, except in appearance—and Noah never quite understood that. He had never felt close enough to anyone to say that, at some point, he began viewing that person as an equal. The painful mask he had crafted in childhood remained with him into adulthood, and now, in this other world where he had once thought he could change, truly free himself.
Yet those tears echoed something deep within him—his most hidden memories. A desire he had nurtured for so long—a weakness that had always tormented his life.
"If you... if you had arrived just a little later, I...!"
He didn't even pay attention to his own action nor did he notice Sophia's surprised reaction—the way her eyes widened. Using the long sleeve of his garment, he wiped away her tears, though he didn't notice the ones streaming down his own face.
"Thankfully, you were brave enough not to do that... There's no need to keep reliving something so terrible. Move on—that's the best way forward... I'll help you..."
Words that did not reflect his own reality, because—despite also having been brave—Xiao Yang ultimately couldn't move on in the end.