Chapter 643: Shadow’s Fear (2)

Chapter 643: Chapter 643: Shadow’s Fear (2)

"...Me?"

Li Feng stared at Shadow in confusion.

Why was Shadow scared of him?

He didn’t think he had done anything to frighten it.

Then, suddenly, Li Feng froze.

"Ah..."

He finally understood.

Li Feng looked at Shadow, who was standing in front of him with its head lowered, looking almost like a frightened puppy.

’It must be my future self. It seems Shadow mistook him for me...’

Li Feng nodded to himself as he finally figured it out.

From Shadow’s perspective, it probably couldn’t tell the difference between his present self and that terrifying future version.

It must have thought that he had eventually become some terrifying existence.

Li Feng couldn’t help but wonder what exactly his future self had done when he absorbed Shadow.

’Or was it really that scary to be wielded by that cold version of me?’

After all, judging from how frightened Shadow was acting now, whatever had happened back then must have left quite a deep impression on it.

Li Feng smiled apologetically.

"Sorry. I didn’t realize I had scared you this badly."

He gently patted Shadow’s head before explaining everything that had happened during that incident.

Shadow listened quietly from behind its mask, carefully taking in everything Li Feng said.

When he finally finished explaining, Shadow blinked slightly, and a faint sense of relief slowly filled its chest.

So that was what had happened.

That terrifying figure hadn’t been Li Feng... technically not yet.

He had been brought here by a special item to deal with that monster.

Shadow’s tense fingers slowly relaxed as the realization settled in.

Even so, Shadow could never forget those cold eyes and those hands.

It still remembered the terrifying feeling of having its entire existence taken under control without even realizing that such a thing was possible.

...It had been as if its very existence no longer belonged to itself, and that feeling had frightened Shadow more deeply than anything it had ever experienced before.

Worse still, Shadow had believed that it was being used by a complete stranger rather than by its master.

For some reason, that thought had filled Shadow with an intense feeling of disgust and revolt.

It couldn’t explain why, but the idea of being controlled and used by someone other than its master made it feel as though its entire existence had been tainted.

Even now, remembering that feeling made Shadow shudder slightly.

But at least now it understood that the person standing in front of it wasn’t the same person who had frightened it that day.

That had been Li Feng’s future self, not the Li Feng standing before it now.

Li Feng gave Shadow another apologetic smile.

"So, that’s basically what happened. Once again, I’m sorry. I should have explained everything to you earlier instead of letting you misunderstand what happened."

Shadow remained silent for a moment before slowly looking up at him.

Through their connection, Li Feng could still sense the lingering emotion in Shadow’s heart.

At Shadow’s worried look, Li Feng smiled reassuringly and suddenly flexed his arm with a bright, confident expression.

"Don’t worry! No matter what happens, I won’t become like that future version of me you saw! I’ll always be your master, Li Feng!"

"..."

Shadow stared at him from behind the mask.

Then, the corners of its eyes seemed to soften slightly.

Li Feng thought he had finally cleared up the misunderstanding with Shadow, so he relaxed and smiled.

However, just as he was about to continue walking, Shadow suddenly opened its arms wide and looked at him.

Li Feng blinked in surprise.

"Hmm?"

He looked at Shadow’s open arms before suddenly realizing what it wanted.

"Oh? You want a hug?"

A bright smile appeared on his face.

"Haha, sure!"

Li Feng stepped forward and opened his arms, ready to embrace Shadow.

Slowly, Shadow stepped forward and wrapped its arms around Li Feng.

Its tall body bent slightly as it leaned down to hug him, holding him quietly as if it simply wanted to stay close for a moment.

Li Feng smiled slightly as he returned the hug.

’Isn’t this the first time I’ve actually touched Shadow this closely?’

The thought suddenly crossed his mind.

He had spent quite a long time with Shadow, yet somehow, they had never really shared a moment like this.

Most of the time, Shadow was simply following him around, and Li Feng had never thought much about the distance between them.

He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

’It seems there are quite a lot of little things I’ve been avoiding without even realizing it.’

Li Feng gently patted Shadow’s back.

Perhaps he really had been too careless about the small things.

After all, Shadow was his family too.

Now that they were this close, Li Feng couldn’t help but notice something he had never paid much attention to before.

Despite Shadow’s fierce appearance and the intimidating aura it usually carried, its body was surprisingly warm and soft.

Li Feng blinked slightly as he realized this.

’Huh... I didn’t expect Shadow to be this warm.’

He had always thought of Shadow as a mysterious and somewhat frightening existence, especially after seeing what its abilities were capable of.

Yet right now, while they were quietly hugging, it felt completely different.

For some reason, Shadow didn’t feel frightening at all.

It just felt... warm.

And Li Feng couldn’t help but smile at this feeling.

While Li Feng was lost in his thoughts, Shadow remained silent as it continued hugging him.

Its arms were wrapped around him gently, almost as if it were afraid of holding him too tightly.

Every movement was careful and restrained, as though Li Feng were something precious that could be hurt if it wasn’t careful enough.

"..."

As Shadow felt the warmth coming from Li Feng’s body, that strange feeling slowly rose within its very existence once again.

It was a feeling Shadow couldn’t quite understand, but it knew one thing for certain.

It was dangerous.

In fact, Shadow had lied a little when it told Li Feng why it had been avoiding him.

It was true that being controlled by Li Feng’s future self had frightened it deeply.

That fear had been real, and Shadow could never forget the feeling of having its entire existence taken over without its consent.

But that wasn’t the only reason it had been avoiding Li Feng.

There was another reason.

...A reason Shadow had never dared to tell him.