The old man breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Mu Anxiao's words. "That's good then."
As the old man relaxed, Mu Anxiao shifted her gaze to the words "You Lian" that were gradually appearing. "Old man, why does your wife share the same surname as you?" she asked, turning to look at him.
The old man replied, "Because she's from my village. She... was introduced to me by a relative."
"So, did you know her earlier, or did you know...?" Mu Anxiao pursed her lips. "Ah Long earlier?"
"She is my first wife. Actually, this is not my hometown. My hometown is much wealthier than this place. But in order to be with Ah Long, I gave up my business and settled here with her." He glanced at the gate of the residence.
"Ah Long is a maid you found outside?" Mu Anxiao asked in surprise.
"I married my first wife when I was twenty-two. A few days after the wedding, I left. Then, on my business trip, I met Ah Long. I remember it very clearly," the old man lowered his eyelids slightly. "That day, I was in a carriage. It was raining heavily outside, and the road was bad. Before long, the carriage wheels got stuck in the mud. Just as we were growing anxious, Ah Long appeared. Her clothes were tattered that day, and she looked very pitiful, but her mind was surprisingly sharp. If it weren't for her, we might have been in trouble, because wolves roam this area at night."
"Love at first sight?" Mu Anxiao inquired.
The old man shook his head. "Not love at first sight. I saw she was pitiful, so I kept her by my side. She became my personal maid, and with her intelligence, she helped me solve many business problems. I was very grateful to her."
"Love grew over time."
"Yes," the old man nodded.
"Then you still betrayed her."
"I didn't."
"You didn't? You..."
"She suddenly asked me to divorce her. I was stunned at the time."
The old man had kept this matter bottled up for twenty years. Many people who had met Ah Long had blamed everything on the old man, even calling him ungrateful.
They said Ah Long had helped him for most of his life, given him her youth, only to be driven away by him in the end.
Faced with their accusations, he had never spoken a word.
But now, as a ghost, he felt it was time to say something. Since he had already hurt Ah Long's heart, it wouldn't matter if he told Mu Anxiao the truth.
"He asked you to divorce her, so you divorced her."
"She said that only then would her feelings for me not change," the old man said, sighing. "I know what I'm saying sounds irresponsible, but in fact, that's why I let go."
"..."
When it came to feelings, Mu Anxiao claimed to be self-taught, but in reality, she understood nothing.
Over the decades, she had witnessed all sorts of emotional stories.
Yet, she had never experienced any of them herself, so she couldn't comprehend the old man's words.
As the wind stirred, Feng Qishi looked down at Mu Anxiao's clueless expression and said softly, "Mu Xia Zi, ask what you need to ask, and don't ask what you shouldn't. That's their privacy."
"..." Mu Anxiao turned to Feng Qishi. "I want to ask, what's it to you? If you can't stand it, just close your eyes."
"You..." Feng Qishi was left speechless. He lowered his head and met Mu Anxiao's gaze.
Mu Anxiao glared fiercely at Feng Qishi, then looked back at the scroll. "If there's anything going on, there will definitely be movement inside. Once there is movement, we'll go in."
"What do you mean by that?" the old man suddenly asked.
Mu Anxiao replied, "If I knock now, it might not be good, so..."
"You intend to wait until my wife has an episode before going in? Then it will be too late," the old man said, his mind clear.
Mu Anxiao looked at the old man's clear state of mind and then at the scroll. "Even if I go in now, I'll be powerless."
"What do you mean?"
"Only when she dies can I..."
"If she dies, there's no saving her," the old man interrupted.
Mu Anxiao knew, of course, that if she died, nothing could be done, let alone save her.
But what puzzled Mu Anxiao was that wasn't the old man here to see his wife for the last time? Yet now, he wanted to save her, which confused Mu Anxiao.
"..."
"Why aren't you talking?"
"Old man," Mu Anxiao swallowed. "I can't save her. The only thing I can do now is to reunite you and your wife. Isn't that what you want too?"
To stabilize the old man's emotions, Mu Anxiao spoke in a very friendly tone.
The old man's face fell. "I've changed my mind."
"Huh?" Mu Anxiao was startled by the old man's words.
"I don't want her to die; I want her to live," the old man said earnestly, then looked at Feng Qishi. "As long as there is demon blood, can my wife be saved?"
"Yes, but it must be genuine," Feng Qishi said, worried the old man might lose control. He deliberately pulled Mu Anxiao's arm and moved slightly to the side.
Mu Anxiao did not resist Feng Qishi and moved with him.
The old man thought for a moment and nodded. "Okay, I understand."
"What are you going to do?" Mu Anxiao frowned.
The old man replied, "I'm going to find Ah Long. She will definitely help me."
"Using her like this, it might not be right."
"..." The old man's gaze flickered. "Just tell me, how long will it take?"
"I have one more hour. Your wife should be around the same time."
"Okay, I understand," the old man nodded, turned, and ran off.
Feng Qishi said, "Mu Xia Zi, you actually answered him? If he does this, he will surely... get no results."
"You don't understand their feelings," Mu Anxiao said, looking down at Feng Qishi's hand on her arm. "Alright, you can let go now."
Feng Qishi glanced over and released her hand.
Then, Mu Anxiao leaned forward and looked at the old man standing beside Feng Qishi. "You come with me."
"Where are you going?" Feng Qishi exclaimed in surprise.
"I'll help this old man first, and then I'll come back to handle things here," Mu Anxiao said, handing the scroll to Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi took the scroll, sensing the quiet atmosphere around them, and said, "Alright, you go ahead."
"Okay," Mu Anxiao nodded, took a step forward, and turned to look at the old man. "Old man, let's go."
To the contrary, the old man showed no intention of leaving. "Perhaps it's better not to."
"Not to?" Mu Anxiao exclaimed, surprised. She turned and walked to the old man. "What do you mean by that?"
"Going back might only burden them..."
"They can't see you, so how can you burden them? Besides," Mu Anxiao said, "you can just stand beside me and say what you want to say to your descendants. What's the harm in that?"