“....”
When Feng Qishi heard Mu Anxiao’s bold question, he glanced towards where the old man was and said, “Mu idiot, at this moment, you should choose to shut your mouth.”
Startled, Mu Anxiao pressed her face against Feng Qishi’s arm and said, “Don’t you talk.”
Feng Qishi: “....” He sighed.
At the same time, the old man’s voice reached their ears again, “What are you two doing here in the middle of the night?”
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao’s body stiffened, and she closed her eyes.
Feng Qishi remained unfazed, turning with Mu Anxiao to face the elder holding a lantern and a copper gong, and said, “Just strolling.”
“In the middle of the night, not staying home, and coming all the way here,” the elder illuminated Mu Anxiao’s face with the lantern, “You two are truly strange.”
Feng Qishi: “We don’t have a home here.”
“No home?” the elder repeated, sighing, “If that’s the case, then you should come to my home.”
“No need. Speaking of which,” Feng Qishi feigned ignorance, “What are you doing here?”
“I’m a night watchman, just finished my rounds in the city and was heading home.”
“Your home isn’t in the city?”
“No, I like…”
The elder stopped mid-sentence, and Mu Anxiao suddenly opened her eyes as if sensing something, “You’re not human, are you, sir?” She fixed her gaze on the elder’s face.
The elder was startled, “What do you mean by that?”
“Wasn’t that you calling out just now?” Mu Anxiao continued to hold Feng Qishi’s arm as she asked.
Feng Qishi glanced down at Mu Anxiao, then at the speechless elder before him, and then deliberately took a step back with Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao: “....” She glanced at Feng Qishi, then turned back to the elder.
The elder gave a faint smile.
Looking at the elder’s chilling smile, Mu Anxiao’s heart began to feel uneasy, “It seems you are the elder I was looking for.” Saying this, she let go of Feng Qishi’s arm.
Feng Qishi had not expected Mu Anxiao to be so focused on her mission.
He felt utterly speechless about it.
“What did you say?” the elder frowned.
Mu Anxiao glanced at the lantern and copper gong in the elder’s hand and smiled, “You are truly good at disguising yourself, sir. You must be ninety years old this year.”
“I’m sixty this year. And I am a night watchman. Don’t be so suspicious in the middle of the night, alright?” The elder was clearly startled by Mu Anxiao’s words.
Mu Anxiao’s brow furrowed the moment the elder said this, “You’re not staying in the city in the middle of the night, and you come out…”
“Little girl, you interrupted me before I finished speaking, you…”
“How do you know I’m a girl?” Mu Anxiao retorted excitedly, looking down at her male attire.
The elder: “I’ve lived for so many years, and your height is obviously much shorter than his…” He glanced at Feng Qishi, “If I can’t tell you’re a girl, then I’ve lived in vain.”
“You’re faking it.”
Feng Qishi looked down at Mu Anxiao’s disrespectful attitude towards the elder and hesitated before saying, “Listen to the elder finish, then speak.”
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao turned to look at Feng Qishi, sighed, and relented, “Sir, speak. I’d like to hear what lies you can weave.”
“I weave…” the elder uttered two words and smiled helplessly, “Little girl, then tell me, if I’m not human, what am I?”
Mu Anxiao: “I don’t know. Just finish your story. Why are you here so late? And was that you calling out just now?”
“My home is just ahead. I am the night watchman. I just swapped shifts with another old friend who lives in the city. And I didn’t call out just now, I just happened to pass by and saw you two, so I thought I’d come and ask.”
“You didn’t call out?”
“Yes, I was just passing by.”
“Passing by, who…”
Unexpectedly, Mu Anxiao was cut off mid-sentence as that voice from before came from behind them again: “So noisy.”
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao’s body stiffened, and she slowly turned to look at Feng Qishi and asked, “Did you hear that?”
Feng Qishi nodded slightly.
The elder calmly looked at Mu Anxiao and Feng Qishi’s faces, swallowed, and said, “Little girl, it’s getting late. Don’t scare an old man like me.”
A moment ago, Mu Anxiao had believed the elder’s words were definitely false.
But the instant she heard that voice, she abandoned that thought.
At this moment, she tensed her nerves and turned back to look at the elder opposite her, saying, “Sir, do you believe in ghosts?”
The elder: “I don’t.”
Mu Anxiao then asked, “Do you know about Yao Hun?”
“Yao Hun?” The elder frowned slightly. “I only returned yesterday. Everyone is talking about Yao Hun. What is Yao Hun?”
“....”
Since the incident with Yao Hun, they would immediately return home at night. Yet, the elder appeared at this time.
This made Mu Anxiao extremely suspicious of him.
However, after hearing the elder’s words, her vigilance towards him gradually dissipated.
Feng Qishi, seeing Mu Anxiao’s speechless state, then pondered every word the elder had just said, as well as the time the elder left the city. He asked, “Sir, do you remember who was guarding the city gate? Did you see them clearly?”
“Guarding the city gate?” the elder repeated, thinking for a moment, and said, “Oh, it was that young fellow from before.”
From before?
In Feng Qishi’s memory, Piao was guarding the gate for the first time, yet the elder now said “from before”?
This point made Feng Qishi suspicious of him.
Mu Anxiao frowned upon hearing this.
Then, Feng Qishi pulled Mu Anxiao back a couple of steps, “....”
The elder saw their movement and asked, “What’s wrong with you two?”
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao and Feng Qishi exchanged a glance. Mu Anxiao said, “You are not human.”
The elder: “Little girl, I am human. Why don’t you believe me again?”
Mu Anxiao narrowed her eyes, looking down inadvertently at the lantern in the elder’s hand, which was gradually emitting a green light, and said, “Indeed, you are not human.” Saying this, she clenched her fist.
At the same time, Feng Qishi looked down inadvertently at Mu Anxiao’s hands, which were emitting a red glow, and asked, “Are you going to use demonic arts again?”
Mu Anxiao stared straight ahead at the elder holding the copper gong and said, “Fighting fire with fire. Using magic against monsters is too wasteful.” Saying this, she slowly raised her hand.
Feng Qishi was worried that Mu Anxiao would become reliant on demonic arts. As expected, his worries had come true.
So, he thought for a moment and said, “Doing this will affect your path of cultivation. Mu idiot, can you just be sensible for me!”
“You’re the one who needs to be sensible. At this critical juncture, this is the only way we can survive.” Saying this, Mu Anxiao raised her fist.
Seeing this, Feng Qishi quickly raised his hand and grabbed Mu Anxiao’s wrist, “I’ll protect you.”