"..." Lin Yan did not understand the dagger's intentions for a moment.
At this moment, on the other side of the screen, Feng Qishi exclaimed, "What does she mean by that?" the moment the dagger spoke. He then turned to Mu Anxiao, who was still watching the painting.
Mu Anxiao replied, "Perhaps she has betrayed us."
"Betrayed?"
"Mhm," Mu Anxiao nodded and turned to Feng Qishi, "What did you do to her?"
Feng Qishi was taken aback by Mu Anxiao's question. "What could I have done to her?"
"Just tell me what you did to her?"
Feng Qishi frowned. "Why are you asking me this?"
"You weren't surprised at all when you saw her transform into her human form just now."
"I didn't want to be surprised, so what?"
"Your lack of surprise means..." Mu Anxiao paused intentionally before continuing, "it means you've seen her in her human form before."
"..."
"Why aren't you speaking?" Mu Anxiao tilted her chin up.
Feng Qishi pursed his lips and said, "Because of this, you suspect me." He pointed to himself.
"I never said I suspected you."
"Then why are you suddenly asking me this question out of the blue?"
"Because she betrayed us," Mu Anxiao said casually.
Feng Qishi's expression stiffened. "You suspect me just because she betrayed us."
"I'm telling you," Mu Anxiao expressed her exasperation with Feng Qishi, "I'm not suspecting you. I'm just asking if you did something to her."
"Doesn't your asking this question imply suspicion towards me?"
"You..." Mu Anxiao was utterly speechless with Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi calmly looked at Mu Anxiao's constipated expression and asked, "Mu idiot, why the long face?"
Mu Anxiao lowered her head due to her ongoing spellcasting and said, "Shen lunatic, you weren't this stubborn in the past." She then looked up at Feng Qishi again, "I mean, why can't you understand what I'm saying?"
Feng Qishi replied, "It's not that I don't understand you, it's the implication behind your words that's directed at me. Of course," he took a deep breath, "I admit I let her go, and that was wrong of me. But wasn't that to avoid her suspicion? In other words, it was to gain the imposter's trust so I could help my disciple. But you..."
"But what?" Mu Anxiao interrupted, swallowing. "I just wanted to know what you did to her. You could have just answered, why the unnecessary rambling?" As she spoke, she thought of her task and felt a surge of urgency.
Feng Qishi: "..." He quietly looked at Mu Anxiao's face without uttering a word.
Mu Anxiao sighed in helplessness. "Why are you not speaking again?"
"Your questioning itself is problematic..."
"Stop," Mu Anxiao said, looking down and recalling the dagger's thanks to Feng Qishi before she left. "Let me rephrase, alright?"
"Go ahead."
"..." Mu Anxiao curled her lips. "I noticed that the dagger seemed quite afraid of you initially, and the 'thank you' she uttered sounded very insincere. Coupled with her sudden betrayal, it made me think... you must have done something to her?"
"Mu idiot, don't you get tired of thinking so much all day?"
"No, I don't. Just tell me, what did you do to her that made her retaliate like that?"
"I..." Feng Qishi dodged his gaze slightly and said, "I blew her away with the wind."
"..."
"I'm telling the truth."
Mu Anxiao knew Feng Qishi was telling the truth, but she hadn't expected him to use such a childish method for such a childish act.
At this moment, she finally understood why the dagger would retaliate against him in such a childish manner.
Thinking of this, she sighed and turned back to the screen, where the dagger and Lin Yan were locked in a silent stare-down. She frowned.
Feng Qishi followed Mu Anxiao's gaze to the screen and asked, "What are they doing?"
Mu Anxiao replied, "The dagger is waiting for Lin Yan to respond, and Lin Yan is waiting to be rescued."
"How do you know what my disciple is thinking?"
"Big brother," Mu Anxiao sighed softly and turned to Feng Qishi with a smile. "Haven't you noticed that your disciple's eyes are constantly glancing behind the dagger?"
Upon hearing Mu Anxiao's words, Feng Qishi shifted his gaze back to the screen.
Indeed, as Mu Anxiao had said, Lin Yan's eyes were repeatedly looking towards the alley entrance.
"You're quite observant," he said awkwardly.
Mu Anxiao didn't look at him and replied, "It's not my observation that's keen; it's your disciple who's too obvious." As she spoke, she looked at the dagger glaring at Lin Yan, then deliberately moved her finger, which was still performing the spell.
This time, Feng Qishi remained silent.
In the alley.
The dagger broke the stalemate. "Are you listening to me?"
Lin Yan darted his eyes and said, "Isn't that guy your master? Doing this," he took half a step back, "isn't that betraying him."
"You saw through it."
"Anyone who heard you say that would think the same."
The dagger let out a cold laugh. "Not necessarily."
"..." Lin Yan swallowed and said, "If I have to choose one."
"Yes."
"Alright then," Lin Yan took a deep breath of the air that didn't concern his life. "Tell me, are you going to betray that guy."
The dagger impatiently replied, "I'm giving you two choices, just pick one. What's the point of all these questions?"
"I know it's pointless, but..." Lin Yan narrowed his eyes. "I want to know, because only by knowing can I make the right choice."
"I don't want to be with him anymore."
"Why?"
"..." The dagger suppressed her bad temper and said, "Because he's just a ghost without a specific identity, and I'm a demon. Why should I listen to him?"
"How long have you been with him?" Lin Yan deliberately stalled for time.
The dagger asked, "Why are you asking this?"
"Only then," Lin Yan glanced towards the alley entrance again, "can I make the right choice."
The dagger didn't notice anything amiss with Lin Yan, so she pondered and said, "Countless years."
"What?"
"I was originally a discarded dagger. After a heavy rain, I met him. If I had to give a precise number of years, I..." The dagger shook her head slightly. "I couldn't say."
"Okay, then... how did you two meet?"
Hearing Lin Yan's incessant questioning, the dagger said faintly, "Lin Yan, are you toying with me?"
"I'm not," Lin Yan stated firmly.
The dagger: "You..."
"As expected, you ran here."
Upon hearing this, the dagger knitted her brows, turned, and looked at the wolf demon who had stopped at the alley entrance. "Dead wolf, you're quite persistent."
In contrast, Lin Yan, as if seeing a family member, breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Wolf demon, save me."
"Alright, I'll save you now," the wolf demon said, extending his hand and conjuring a ball of red fire. "Dagger, I won't let you go this time." With that, he began to approach them.