Those people were all cautious of their lives. Feng Qishi found the path of delivering money quite arduous. Every time he visited a household, he had to speak at length before they would believe him. Moreover, they were extremely wary. Even if they outwardly agreed, they dared not open their doors or face him.
So, he had them extend their hands through the crack of the door. With his assistance, they pressed their handprints onto the paper before exchanging silver.
After this process, they remained silent, took the silver, and shut the doors.
This experience made Feng Qishi feel like a monster, but considering the situation on the street, he understood.
The couple in this residence were the only ones who completely trusted him and were grateful to him. Naturally, he felt a desire to protect them.
The courtyard was neither large nor small. Its layout resembled the back courtyard of a grand mansion, and the main gate of the residence was akin to a back door in a large house, so Feng Qishi had to navigate many turns.
The couple quietly watched Feng Qishi as he rounded corners, exchanging glances.
The little boy showed a look of reluctance and then lowered his head to the basin of water that Feng Qishi had used, pouting his lips.
Outside the residence.
After a period of silence, Mu An Xiao suddenly asked, "Was this trip comfortable?"
The fake Lin Yan had been silent with Mu An Xiao for a while. To his surprise, when she spoke, she asked this question, making him feel a little awkward. "How am I supposed to answer that?"
"Answer however you wish," Mu An Xiao said, unable to suppress her desire to expose him.
"...." The fake Lin Yan looked at Mu An Xiao with impatience and said, "I don't want to answer this question either."
"If you don't want to answer, then you're pretending to be in urgent need," Mu An Xiao said casually.
The fake Lin Yan's body stiffened, and he said dismissively, "Then let me ask you, if you went to the latrine, were you comfortable? Would you be willing to answer?"
"Very comfortable," Mu An Xiao replied, not playing by the usual rules.
The fake Lin Yan was speechless.
A Long secretly chuckled.
Mu An Xiao put on a superior expression, "Were you comfortable?"
"Extremely comfortable," the fake Lin Yan replied, mimicking Mu An Xiao's response.
Mu An Xiao: "Very good," she said. Noticing some pastry crumbs on the corner of the fake Lin Yan's clothes, she deliberately asked, "Oh, where is that piece of pastry?"
"Eaten."
"Eaten?" Mu An Xiao feigned surprise. "Why did you eat it without saying anything?"
"I ate it because I wanted to. What does it have to do with you?"
"And you still say it wasn't left for you by Shen Fengzi. You really are something, eating something that Shen Fengzi ate. Tsk tsk," Mu An Xiao showed a look of disgust, deliberately trying to elicit information, "It's true師徒情深 (filial affection between master and disciple)."
"My master couldn't finish it, so I helped him eat it. Is that a problem? We can't let it go to waste," the fake Lin Yan went along with Mu An Xiao's words.
Mu An Xiao: "No problem. Your actions as master and disciple truly make me..." She very falsely wiped her tearless eyes, "shed tears of old age."
It was evident that Mu An Xiao's method of stalling had taken effect. With her delay, the fake Lin Yan had also forgotten the important matter. Instead, he had completely identified himself as Feng Qishi's disciple, gradually forgetting the spell he had cast on the pastry and everything related to himself.
"Are you really crying or pretending to cry?"
Mu An Xiao continued to wipe her tears, deliberately speaking with a rather awkward sobbing voice, "I've been wiping my tears, and you say I'm faking it. You stinky brat, you're truly cold-blooded."
"I..."
"Alright," Mu An Xiao lowered her hand and once again presented the broken lock to the fake Lin Yan. "We should continue talking about this lock."
Upon seeing the broken lock, the fake Lin Yan's eyes darkened. He suddenly remembered his important task. "I have something to do. I won't talk to you anymore."
"What do you have to do?" Mu An Xiao reached out and blocked the fake Lin Yan, who was about to leave.
The fake Lin Yan, afraid that Mu An Xiao would see through him, dared not meet her eyes directly. "I need to..."
"You just said that pastry belonged to your master. Tell me," Mu An Xiao narrowed her eyes slightly, "Why did you lie to me?"
He had been tricked, and now that things had come to this, he could only tell the truth, the fake Lin Yan thought. He sniffled and said, "Actually, I didn't mean to lie to you."
Mu An Xiao looked at the fake Lin Yan's feigned sincerity and put down the hand holding the broken lock. "Didn't mean to... I think you did it on purpose."
"I really didn't mean to. Actually," the fake Lin Yan's eyes welled up with tears, "my master had diarrhea."
"Diarrhea?"
"Yes," the fake Lin Yan nodded. To prevent Mu An Xiao from suspecting too much, he thought for a moment before saying, "It started when he was eating the fourth piece of pastry, after finishing the third."
"The fourth piece..." Mu An Xiao thought the fake Lin Yan was holding the fourth piece. Then, considering his words, she asked, "Why not the fourth piece?"
"I don't know," the fake Lin Yan pretended to be ignorant.
Mu An Xiao played along, "You don't know? Then you just ate the fourth piece." She stared at the fake Lin Yan's stomach. "How do you feel now? Are you okay?"
The fake Lin Yan's gaze flickered. "Master said only the third piece was problematic."
"Problematic?"
"It was probably left out for too long."
"Left out for too long," Mu An Xiao smiled faintly. "You mean, your hosts invited you as guests and gave you expired pastries? Your attitude is quite poor."
"I said it was just that one piece," the fake Lin Yan said, tilting his head to look at the sky. "I don't have time to talk to you now. I need to go buy medicine for my master's diarrhea."
"Your master probably doesn't need you," Mu An Xiao continued to block the fake Lin Yan.
Seeing Mu An Xiao's stance, the fake Lin Yan realized she wasn't going to let him go. His expression stiffened, and borrowing Feng Qishi's manner, he turned hostile. "If anything happens to my master, I won't let you off." He pointed at Mu An Xiao.
Mu An Xiao stared at the fake Lin Yan's pointing finger, tilted her head to look at the sky like him, and said, "You've forgotten."
"I don't have time to waste words with you."
Mu An Xiao: "..." She curled her lips. "I don't have time to waste words with you either."
"Since you don't have time, then let me go."
"All the people here are cowards who fear death, especially after the incident with the demon soul. Everyone has become much more cautious of their lives. Do you think," Mu An Xiao very naturally patted the fake Lin Yan's shoulder and then let her hand fall, "that those pharmacies would open for your master's diarrhea?"
"...." The fake Lin Yan's gaze flickered.
"As far as I know, your master will be fine after going twice. Now, it's time to talk about our problem."
"Our problem?" the fake Lin Yan began to worry.
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