Douluo Continent: Martial Soul Young Gilas, Sandstorm King!

Chapter 131 Will I... die?
Zhu Zhuqing was very excited and stretched out her little fist, signaling Lin Xia and Young Kiras to also extend their "hands".

Lin Xia stretched out her palm, while the young Gilas raised its little paw.

"rock-paper-scissors!"

Zhu Zhuqing: Scissors (two little fingers)

Lin Xia: Cloth (palm)
Young Gilas: Stone (clenched into a ball by its tiny paws)

"Oh no! Brother Lin Xia, you lost!"

Zhu Zhuqing cheered and pointed at Lin Xia.

"You're a 'ghost'! You need to count while blindfolded!"

Lin Xia chuckled to herself, realizing she had lost in the first round.

He obediently took a clean, soft cloth from the shelf next to him, folded it, blindfolded himself, and stood with his back to the two people.

"Let's start counting! One, two, three..."

Zhu Zhuqing's clear voice rang out, accompanied by a rustling sound and the baby Gilas's soft "yo-ji yo-ji" chirping, clearly indicating that the two little guys had quickly found a place to hide.

Lin Xia, blindfolded, smiled and counted slowly.

Although his powerful mental strength was deliberately concealed, he could still clearly perceive the fluctuations in the surrounding aura.

He could "hear" Zhu Zhuqing, like a nimble kitten, tiptoeing behind a huge floor vase covered with heavy brocade in the corner of the room, and trying to hold her breath.

Young Gilas's aura was even more concealed; it seemed to blend directly into the shadows beneath the bed, its breathing becoming extremely faint, almost becoming one with its environment—this was clearly an instinctive enhancement of its aura concealment brought about by the newly acquired dragon blood.

"Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred!"

After counting, Lin Xia ripped off the blindfold and said loudly:

"I've come to find you!"

Lin Xia's sharp gaze swept across the room.

Instead of immediately heading towards the known hiding place, they deliberately created some searching noises and headed in the wrong direction.

"Huh? Isn't it here?"

Lin Xia deliberately spoke loudly, walked to the desk, and flipped through the papers on the table.

Zhu Zhuqing hid behind the vase, nervously covering her mouth with her hand, her big eyes blinking, her body tense.

Young Kylas remained motionless, like a true shadow sculpture.

Lin Xia felt that it was about time, so she pretended to suddenly notice and bent down to look under the bed.

"Haha, I found you, little guy!"

"Yoji!"

Young Kiras let out a somewhat frustrated cry and crawled out from under the bed, seemingly a little resentful, but that's how the rules are.

"Alright, now it's Larvitar's turn to be the 'ghost'," Lin Xia announced with a smile.

Young Kylas immediately perked up.

Lin Xia covered its eyes again with a soft cloth (adjusted the size) – for a creature with such keen senses, covering its eyes was more symbolic.

Lin Xia then took Zhu Zhuqing's small hand and quickly searched for a new hiding place.

This time, Lin Xia didn't choose a corner, but instead led Zhu Zhuqing to hide behind a huge, floor-length, heavy curtain.

The two stood close together in the shadows by the window.

Zhu Zhuqing gripped Lin Xia's clothes tightly, her face flushed with excitement and nervousness, her big eyes sparkling as she looked out through the gap in the curtains.

"Yoji! Yoji yoji!"

Young Gilas began to count, its voice carrying a peculiar rhythm. After counting to one hundred, it ripped off the strip of cloth.

Its scarlet eyes gleamed with a sharp light. It did not act immediately, but tilted its head slightly, as if listening and sensing carefully.

Its small ears, covered in lava shell, twitched slightly, and its nostrils flared gently.

When it focused its senses, the dark gold dragon mark on its chest seemed to flash with an extremely faint aura—the ancient dragon blood from the Dragon Tomb not only strengthened its body but also seemed to have given it a more acute intuition about space and life force. It first made a show of circling the room, touching and scratching here and there with its little paws, creating an atmosphere.

Suddenly, it abruptly turned towards the curtains, pointed with its little paw, and let out an excited cry.

"Yo-ji! (Found it!)" Then, like a dark red shadow, it rushed over and accurately pulled open the curtains, revealing Lin Xia and Zhu Zhuqing, who were holding their breath behind it.

Wow! We've been found!

Zhu Zhuqing jumped out happily, her face showing no sign of defeat, only the joy of the game.

"Younggilas is amazing!"

"Yo-ji yo-ji!"

Young Gilas shook its little head proudly, and the dragon mark on its chest seemed to glow slightly.

"It's your turn to hide, Zhuqing."

Lin Xia reminded her with a smile.

"Ok!"

Zhu Zhuqing nodded vigorously, her little face full of excitement.

"This time I'm going to hide somewhere you'll never find me!"

She jogged around the room searching, and finally her eyes lit up. She opened a low cabinet where bedding was stored and tried to curl up her small body inside.

Lin Xia and Young Gilas exchanged a smile, then turned around to await the next round of searching.

The laughter from the hide-and-seek game had long since ceased.

Lin Xia leaned against a pillar, watching Zhu Zhuqing clumsily brushing the dust off her clothes not far away.

The little girl's face was flushed from a day of playing wildly, with fine beads of sweat on her forehead and a few strands of black hair clinging to it. She was breathing slightly, but still had a lingering excitement.

Young Gilas lay at her feet, its little tail idly sweeping the ground, its scarlet eyes reflecting both the satisfaction of exercise and a hint of fatigue.

The dark gold dragon and red gold phoenix patterns on its chest shimmered with a barely perceptible glimmer under the light.

"Zhuqing, are you tired?"

Lin Xia smiled and spoke gently.

"You should go back and rest, or your sister will worry."

He had intended to end the pleasant afternoon naturally by asking her what she wanted to do tomorrow, or reminding her to go to bed early.

However, before he could finish speaking, he saw Zhu Zhuqing, who was adjusting her skirt with her back to the light, suddenly stop.

Her small shoulders began to tremble slightly and uncontrollably.

A sudden sob broke the silence of the courtyard, faint yet unusually clear, like the sound of a string finally breaking after being forcibly suppressed.

Lin Xia's smile froze instantly, and her heart sank.

"Zhuqing?"

He straightened up, took a step forward, and his voice was filled with obvious surprise and worry.

Under the dim light, Zhu Zhuqing slowly turned around.

That little face, which had just been brimming with innocent joy, was now streaked with tears.

Her clear, large black eyes were filled with tears, which rolled down like shattered stars.

Her eyes were no longer filled with the carefree innocence of a child, but with an overwhelming sense of bewilderment, helplessness, and a kind of despair that made Lin Xia's heart tremble...

"Brother Lin Xia..."

Her voice was thick with nasal tone, faint and weak, yet it was like a cold awl, piercing Lin Xia's heart unexpectedly.

"Am I...am I going to die?"

(End of this chapter)