Lin Yan shook his head. "No."
Mu Anxiao blinked her eyes wide. "Why?"
"I really don't feel like I've done anything wrong to you." After speaking, he buried his head in his meal.
Mu Anxiao let out a dismissive scoff. "..."
Discrepancy between words and deeds.
In reality, Lin Yan felt he had wronged Mu Anxiao greatly.
He mused, if someone had cursed him for a whole day, he would have surely collapsed, perhaps even hating that person to death.
Yet, Mu Anxiao had not.
Instead, she had meticulously prepared a table full of dishes for him.
Thinking of this, he felt a sense of happiness.
Feng Qishi said, "My disciple is young, don't be angry." He placed food into Mu Anxiao's bowl.
Mu Anxiao ate as she replied, "It doesn't matter. After all, in life... isn't it all about hurting each other? I'm used to it." She tilted her face slightly to conceal her awkwardness. "I've been used to it for a long time."
Lin Yan: "..." He glanced at Mu Anxiao in his heart.
Subsequently, Feng Qishi changed the topic. "By the way, where did you get these dishes?"
Mu Anxiao: "Guess."
"I can't guess."
"If you can't guess, then forget it." Mu Anxiao bit the tip of her chopsticks and looked at Lin Yan across from her. "Do they suit your appetite?"
Lin Yan: "Yes."
"It's good if they do, otherwise if they don't, your master will find fault."
Feng Qishi: "..."
At the same time, Piao stood in the kitchen, casting a glance at the messy stove and sighing. "You wouldn't even agree to become my disciple when I offered to teach you cooking. Mu Anxiao, you're relentless." With that, he began to clean the kitchen.
A quarter of an hour later.
Mu Anxiao took a sip of water from her teacup and asked, "Lin Yan, do you know where those demon souls took those people?"
Lin Yan: "..." He also took a sip of water.
Mu Anxiao looked serious. "..."
Feng Qishi chimed in, "My disciple's main task is to guard the residence. If you ask him this, he definitely won't know."
Lin Yan: "Master, I know."
Mu Anxiao: "..." She shot Feng Qishi a glare.
Feng Qishi looked embarrassed. "Since you know, then tell us."
"The shops."
"The shops?" Mu Anxiao was startled, recalling what Wan Sha had said yesterday, and muttered, "She revealed a clue."
Feng Qishi: "Who?"
Mu Anxiao shook her head.
Chen asked, "Could it be that Wan Sha is helping us?"
Mu Anxiao: "I don't know."
Feng Qishi sneered. "Speaking of which, Wan Sha is quite treacherous. What happened? She was 'quietly cultivating,' but quietly cultivating ended up making her a subordinate of the vine spirit. I'm impressed." He shook his head as he spoke.
Mu Anxiao glanced at Feng Qishi. "..."
Lin Yan continued, "They've locked everyone up in the shops."
Mu Anxiao asked, "Did their souls leave their bodies?"
Lin Yan: "No, they're all just locked up inside. If I'm not mistaken," he looked at Mu Anxiao, "they might be waiting for you."
Mu Anxiao: "..." She suspected they wanted to use those people to threaten her, perhaps to commit suicide?
Feng Qishi: "Why have you stopped talking?"
Mu Anxiao snapped back to attention. "We'll split up shortly."
Feng Qishi expressed surprise. "Splitting up again?"
Mu Anxiao: "It's the only way. You and your disciple, along with Chen and Piao, will go rescue those people. I suspect they won't release everyone."
"You're going alone?"
"Yes, none of you need to go."
"Isn't it very dangerous for you to go alone?"
Mu Anxiao glanced at Lin Yan. "This time, I won't fail."
Lin Yan's revival was a gamble for Mu Anxiao.
She bet that if Lin Yan was revived, her path forward would be smooth.
After a night, he was resurrected. Although her spirit had also suffered considerable damage, she had won her gamble.
Therefore, from now on, she believed in herself and was certain she could deal with those demon souls.
And she, herself, would not die so easily!
Feng Qishi said, "You... I'll go with you."
"You don't need to come with me. This is between me and Wan Sha."
"Wan Sha?"
"Yes. If I'm not mistaken, Wan Sha's mission is to kill me, and Gui Xiao is the demon soul holding those people. As long as you guys can hold back that Gui Xiao, I won't die. Conversely, if you can't suppress Gui Xiao," Mu Anxiao's eyes darkened, "then I can only bid you farewell forever."
Feng Qishi: "..."
Mu Anxiao: "Alright, let's do it my way."
A quarter of an hour later.
They stopped together outside the residence.
Feng Qishi walked gracefully to Mu Anxiao and said, "I want to hug you."
Mu Anxiao took a step back. "No."
Feng Qishi: "..."
Piao exclaimed, "Just let him hug you. Is it going to kill you?"
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao glared at the talkative Piao and then looked up at Feng Qishi. "You're not a child..."
Before she could finish speaking, Feng Qishi suddenly stepped forward, bent down, embraced her, and said softly, "Protect yourself. If anything happens, call me. I will definitely appear."
Mu Anxiao's hands had nowhere to go, but after hearing Feng Qishi's words, she indeed felt much more at ease.
"I know," she said, gently patting Feng Qishi's back.
Chen grumbled, "You're not dying, this is too exaggerated."
Piao glanced at Chen and said, "If you were fighting alone, I'd give you a hug too."
"No need."
"..." Piao did not seem to hear Chen's words and walked forward gracefully. "It's my turn."
Upon hearing this, Feng Qishi stood up and deliberately moved to block Piao. "You should go."
Mu Anxiao: "..." She nodded, turned, and walked down the steps, leaving.
As she moved away, Piao looked annoyed. "Feng Qishi, what are you doing?"
Feng Qishi: "..." He turned to look at Piao. "Even if you give her ten hugs, she won't become your disciple."
During this time, Piao had repeatedly urged Mu Anxiao to take her as a disciple.
Feng Qishi had witnessed all of this.
Piao: "You saw through me."
"She has a master. If you act like this, her master will be unhappy." Feng Qishi said, glancing at Lin Yan. "Disciple, lead the way."
Lin Yan: "Okay."
Chen muttered, "You're a demon, I'm a devil. And Mu Anxiao is an immortal. In your eyes, I'm just that insignificant." With that, she turned and followed Feng Qishi.
Piao sighed. "..."
The boundary.
Zhang Yan stood by the lake, watching Piao try to bribe Mu Anxiao through the entire process, and was also angered. "Mu Anxiao is my disciple. What are you thinking?" He said, throwing a stone he held into the lake.
The old gentleman replied, "If it weren't for my disciple, your disciple wouldn't be your disciple."
Zhang Yan glanced at the old gentleman. "What are you talking about? He just taught my disciple a meal. My disciple isn't so easily bribed. But speaking of which," he looked at Lin Yan, who was leading the way in the lake, and clicked his tongue. "The disciple you took on as a disciple has absolutely no immortal destiny."