"..." Piao replied.
"What does your silence mean?" Mu Anxiao asked.
"It means I won't give up," Piao stated.
Mu Anxiao glanced at Piao's stubborn expression and then at Chen, who looked disappointed again. "I don't have time for you," she said, shifting her gaze back to the fake Lin Yan.
Seeing that Mu Anxiao was ignoring him, Piao stopped pressing.
"..." Chen sighed.
Gu Xiao and A Xia exchanged glances with Piao but said nothing.
Outside the temple.
An Yan floated on the roof of the dilapidated temple, listening to Piao's voice inside. He recalled the day Piao had completely ignored him after returning, his eyes darkened, and he flew away.
At the same time, Mu Anxiao sensed An Yan's demonic aura. Her eyes widened, and she immediately dashed out of the temple.
Feng Qishi followed.
Piao and the others did not follow.
Moments later.
Mu Anxiao stood outside the temple, surveying the surroundings. "There was clearly a demonic aura just now, why is it gone?"
"I felt it too," Feng Qishi replied.
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao looked at Feng Qishi and asked, "Is there still one now?"
"No," Feng Qishi answered.
"No..." Mu Anxiao uttered, wondering if the demonic soul might be Mu Xi.
With that thought, she swallowed and turned her back.
Feng Qishi looked at the back of Mu Anxiao's head. Recalling how she had been looking at the fake Lin Yan intermittently, he casually asked, "Is there something you're hiding from me?"
Mu Anxiao's heart sank. "What could I possibly be hiding from you?" she replied, stealing a glance at him.
"Why are you acting guilty?"
"I'm not."
Feng Qishi then moved in front of Mu Anxiao and said, "You are. Whenever you feel guilty, your voice gets very soft. You..."
"Are you sober?" Mu Anxiao interrupted.
Feng Qishi paused, looked down at Mu Anxiao, his eyes flickered, and said, "I am."
"But I don't think you are."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because you're being very annoying," Mu Anxiao said, taking a step back and starting to survey the surroundings again, subtly sensing for demonic energy.
"We're partners. You have to tell me anything that's bothering you. Don't bear it all yourself..." Feng Qishi began.
"You should go check on your disciple," Mu Anxiao interrupted, walking past Feng Qishi.
Seeing this, Feng Qishi quickly turned around and asked, "Mu, you silly girl, are you jealous?"
Mu Anxiao stopped in her tracks at his words, turned sideways, and looked at Feng Qishi, who was smirking at her. Her mouth twitched. "Shen, you lunatic, have you lost your mind?"
"Otherwise, why have you been avoiding me?"
Mu Anxiao... She knew Feng Qishi well enough to know that if she didn't say something, he would keep pestering her, possibly even following her.
Thinking quickly, she returned to Feng Qishi, tilted her head back to meet his gaze, and said, "I just have a lingering impression of you."
"What impression?" Feng Qishi didn't understand.
"You know yourself," she said, pointing to Feng Qishi's chest, then turning to leave.
Feng Qishi froze and looked down at his clothes, which Mu Anxiao had smudged with her finger. "Mu, you silly girl, you've dirtied my clothes!" he shouted, but he still followed Mu Anxiao.
In truth, Feng Qishi understood exactly what Mu Anxiao meant.
From this incident, he realized that Mu Anxiao was hiding something from him.
He knew that Mu Anxiao wasn't someone who would fuss over such trivial matters. Her fussing now indicated that something was amiss.
A quarter of an hour later.
Mu Anxiao and Feng Qishi stopped in the woods.
Feng Qishi stood behind Mu Anxiao and asked, "Did you find anything?"
Feng Qishi had been chattering incessantly on their way, preventing Mu Anxiao from focusing on finding the demonic soul.
Hearing his question, she finally grew impatient. "Can you stop following me?" she asked, turning to face him.
Feng Qishi looked at Mu Anxiao's obvious impatience and smiled. "I've followed you all this way. If you're only saying this now, it might be too late."
"I've been trying to tell you, did you even listen?"
"Yes, you said things before, and I wasn't listening. Do you think," Feng Qishi smiled, "I'll listen now?"
Mu Anxiao was speechless. She placed one hand on her hip, pursed her lips, and nodded slightly. "Fine, you follow. Keep following, but can you please stop talking? Especially stop asking if I have feelings for you."
"Then do you have feelings for me?"
Mu Anxiao felt like she had dug her own grave. She rolled her eyes. "No. Don't worry, I will... find a suitable maiden for your immortal destiny. Then, I'll come up here," she pointed to the sky, "invite your master and your fellow disciples down to congratulate you. And by the way, I'll ask them for a matchmaking fee."
"You really do have a wild imagination."
Ever since Feng Qishi had first taken the initiative to kiss her, she had been saying this, but each time, her words were just that – words.
A maiden for his immortal destiny?
It was unlikely to find such a person. Feng Qishi wasn't worried about any of that. His sole objective was to make Mu Anxiao open her heart.
"Just you wait," Mu Anxiao said, pointing at Feng Qishi.
"I'll wait," Feng Qishi replied.
Mu Anxiao scoffed at the smile in Feng Qishi's eyes and turned away. As she took a step, she happened to see a young girl.
"There's a girl," she said, retracting her foot.
Feng Qishi stepped forward and followed Mu Anxiao's gaze to the girl who was swaying unsteadily as she approached. He frowned, then looked at Mu Anxiao's stunned expression and asked, "What's wrong?"
"She's human."
Feng Qishi... He looked back ahead, his brow furrowed.
"You go," Mu Anxiao pushed Feng Qishi's arm.
"Why me?" Feng Qishi asked.
"I'm not good at interacting with mortal women."
In the past, whenever Shen Yan saw a person in a sinister place, he would make Mu Anxiao go. Mu Anxiao had always refused from the bottom of her heart, but due to her lack of ability, she could only comply.
Ultimately, she had suffered many setbacks in such situations, which was why she was reluctant to go.
"I'm not good at it either," Feng Qishi said.
"You..." Mu Anxiao looked at Feng Qishi's nonchalant expression. Recalling Shen Yan's urging in the past, she deliberately said, "Fine, I'll go if I have to."
"You shouldn't go either," Feng Qishi said, reaching out to grab Mu Anxiao's arm.
"Why not?"
"Don't you remember? In the past, when I sent you, eight out of ten people turned out to be demons. You've offended so many demons, it's not safe for you to go."
"You think she's not human?"
"Mm."
"Why do you think so?"