"Asher? What's wrong?" Cai Yan asked, looking up at him. Asher gave her a slight smile before kissing her forehead. "Haha... Even though I knew it was an act, it still hurt me to see you crying like that."
"Oh, that?" Cai Yan grinned as she wiped away her fake tears with a handkerchief. "I just improvised a little bit."
Asher chuckled and hugged her again. "Well, your acting skills are pretty impressive. But don't do it again. I can't stand seeing you cry like that. It's just too painful for me."
"I promise." Cai Yan nodded her head as she looked up at him and smiled, but the very next moment her expression turned serious as she asked, "Do you mind telling me why you asked us to act like this? Was there someone suspicious watching us?"
Asher nodded his head and said, "Yes, I think there was someone watching us in the Village. When I talked to that man, I felt a pair of eyes staring at me. But I didn't see anyone around, so I don't know who it was. However, I think they were using some kind of ability or artifact to spy on us."
Nadia furrowed her brows and thought for a moment before asking, "What kind of ability or artifact do you think they used? I didn't sense anything unusual with my spiritual sense."
"Well, I'm not sure either. But I'm pretty certain that they're hiding somewhere nearby. That's why we had to act like this. Otherwise, they would've become suspicious and might've escaped." Asher explained his reasoning behind their actions.
Cai Yan nodded her head. "I understand. Then what do you think we should do? Even if we go again, they'll be on alert and won't show themselves so easily. We won't have any chance of catching them off guard now that they know we're looking for them."
As she spoke, Cai Yan bit her lower lip and looked down. The wind blew through her hair as she stared at the ground below them, trying to think of something that could help them solve this case. But no matter how much she thought about it, nothing came to mind.
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But his words made both of them look at him in confusion. They couldn't understand what he meant by 'someone who can be seen as the target of abduction without standing out too much'. Who could fit that description?
Then a thought occurred to Nadia, and she asked, "Wait, are you saying you want to use the children of Spring Village as bait? But how are we supposed to protect them when they get kidnapped without getting noticed? If the perpetrator is so good at hiding his tracks, then there's no way we can find them and save them in time."
"Oh, don't worry about that. We just need someone who can pass as one of the children and won't stand out as an outsider." Asher replied with a confident smile on his lips.
However, neither Nadia nor Cai Yan could understand what he was talking about. The only thing that made sense was if one of them dressed up as a child. But who could do that without looking ridiculous? The more they thought about it, the more perplexing it became.
Asher noticed their expressions and chuckled before asking Nadia to land in a secluded place in the forest near Spring Village. Then the three of them jumped off the flying artifact and made sure that no one was watching them. After confirming that they were alone, Asher turned to look at them and smirked, "Now, let's get our child bait for the operation."
The very next moment, Asher closed his eyes and used his Shadow Shapeshifting Technique for the first time. His shadow seemed to come alive as it rose up from the ground and engulfed him completely. Cai Yan and Nadia watched in shock and surprise as his shadow grew larger and larger until it enveloped his whole body.
After a long while, when the darkness receded, Asher stood before them in the form of a child, wearing a white shirt and blue shorts similar to what the other children wore in Spring Village. His height had also decreased, and he now looked like a five-year-old boy.
But the most striking difference was the color of his eyes, which had changed from blue to black, and the shape of his face, which had become rounder and cuter.
The boy then looked at them with a sweet smile and waved his little hand. "Hello there, big sisters! I am Little Ash."