“Then why are you glaring at me?”
“Because you mentioned them, and your past life’s identity has made me feel disgusted with you.”
“You’re quite loyal.”
“It’s a must.” Xu Lan felt proud.
Following the flow, Mu Anxiao thought for a moment and asked, “Why do you call yourself Xu Lan?”
“I was afraid I wouldn’t remember my master’s name, so I gave myself a new name, Lan. After my master arrived, she added a surname to me,” Xu Lan smiled with her eyes lowered. “From then on, I was called Xu Lan.”
“I see,” Mu Anxiao realized. She looked at Xu Lan’s red attire and then thought of Xu Lan’s red attire. She asked, “Why do you and your master both wear bright red?”
“Master likes red for good luck.”
“Eh? So you wear red when you go up to complete tasks?”
“Of course not. Master, this red outfit, worn in the demon realm, won’t attract suspicion.”
“...” Mu Anxiao gave a dry chuckle.
Xu Lan pointed to the teacup in front of Mu Anxiao’s hand. “Drink it.”
“I’m not drinking.”
“Then why did you pour it?”
“To scare you.”
“...” Seeing Mu Anxiao’s nonchalant expression, Xu Lan couldn’t help but laugh.
“What are you laughing at?”
“I just think you’re quite laughable.”
“I’m laughable? How am I laughable?”
Xu Lan: “...” She just laughed, not speaking.
Mu Anxiao: “...” She had a dark expression.
Downstairs.
Feng Qishi sat at the table, sighing as he watched the strong men still diligently eating. He turned to look at Xu Lan, who was sitting opposite him, and asked, “Then, where is that demon soul?”
“If I knew, I wouldn’t be looking for you.” Xu Lan picked up her teacup and took a sip of tea.
Feng Qishi’s lips curved. “That’s true, but I’m not skilled in this area.”
“Your identity is no ordinary matter.”
“My identity is indeed no ordinary matter, but no matter how you look at it, I’m not a professional. That professional,” Feng Qishi glanced around and then realized Mu Anxiao was gone. “Huh? Where did she go?” He stood up.
Xu Lan looked up at Feng Qishi and smiled. “Your subordinate has been gone for so long, and you only just noticed.”
“...” Feng Qishi lowered his gaze to Xu Lan, walked around the table, and headed towards the stairs.
“...” Xu Lan stood up and followed him.
The room.
Xu Lan: “Wait for me here. I’ll go find master.” She stood up.
“No need to go.”
Xu Lan was startled and asked, “Why aren’t you letting me go?”
“They’ll come up themselves. You…”
Mu Anxiao was mid-sentence when Feng Qishi pushed the door open.
Mu Anxiao rested her chin on her hand, watching Feng Qishi walk hurriedly to Xu Lan’s side, and asked, “What are you doing?”
“I thought you had left.”
Mu Anxiao smiled. “Are you that worried about me leaving?”
Feng Qishi: “Of course I’m worried.”
At the same time, Xu Lan stopped at the doorway. “...”
“I wouldn’t leave…”
“It’s not that it matters if you leave, but the inner core is in your hands. If you escape, I’ll be penniless.”
Mu Anxiao: “...”
Xu Lan, hearing Feng Qishi’s words and looking at Mu Anxiao’s stunned expression, said, “You guys chat, I’ll leave first.” As she spoke, she turned around and was stunned.
“Come here.” Xu Lan beckoned.
Xu Lan: “Yes, Master.” She nodded, walked around the chair, and went towards Xu Lan.
Xu Lan: “Later, I’ll come find…” He glanced at Mu Anxiao, who wasn’t completely blocked from view, “…you.”
“Okay.” Feng Qishi didn’t look back.
Immediately after, Xu Lan consciously closed their door and left with Xu Lan.
Following the flow, Mu Anxiao poked her head to look at the door and asked, tilting her head up, “Are you and Xu Lan on good terms?”
“Your relationship with Xu Lan is also not bad,” Feng Qishi said, sitting down.
Mu Anxiao: “Shen the madman, you’ve given me a great idea.”
“What?”
“From now on, if I want to abandon you, I’ll take away everything you need. This way,” Mu Anxiao’s lips curved, “I won’t have to see you again.”
“You dare.”
“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Mu Anxiao smiled and pushed the teacup towards Feng Qishi. “Drink tea.”
“You’re not drinking, so why did you pour tea?” Feng Qishi asked, reaching out to touch the teacup. “It’s cold.”
“Cold tea.”
“Not drinking.”
“Drink it, and I’ll tell you a secret.”
“A secret about whom?”
“Xu Lan.”
“Xu Lan,” Feng Qishi repeated, letting out a cold laugh. “I’m not interested in him.”
“Then whose secret do you want to hear?”
“Yours,” Feng Qishi pointed at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao’s lips drew into a pout. “Aren’t you bored? My secrets,” she snorted, “you basically know them all, so why ask? Is that interesting?”
“...” Feng Qishi leaned forward, gazing at Mu Anxiao’s face, and asked, “Aren’t you curious whether what I just said is true or false?”
“True or false? You’ve gone that far, I…”
“When I realized you were gone, I was really startled.” Feng Qishi was serious.
Mu Anxiao sneered, “Aren’t you just afraid I’ll run off with the inner core!”
“No,” Feng Qishi was still serious. “I thought you were kidnapped. From now on, stay close to me.”
“...”
Mu Anxiao considered Feng Qishi’s words and then roughly calculated the time she had spent chatting with Xu Lan. She gasped, “Shen the madman, are you serious about these words?”
“Mm.”
“...” Mu Anxiao blinked her eyes. “Uh… your reaction is too slow. So much time has passed, and you’re only just discovering I’m gone. Shen the madman, you’re toying with me.”
Earlier, Feng Qishi had focused all his attention on those strong men. If Xu Lan hadn’t spoken to him, he probably wouldn’t have noticed Mu Anxiao’s disappearance until now.
At this moment, with Mu Anxiao’s sudden realization, he felt awkward.
“...”
Mu Anxiao looked at Feng Qishi’s silent expression and sighed softly. “However, I’m quite touched by your words. At least you know to worry about me. If it were in the past,” she couldn’t help but recall Shen Yan’s past indifference to her, and gave a dry laugh, “you definitely wouldn’t care about me.”
Back then, Shen Yan was outwardly cold but inwardly warm.
Every time Mu Anxiao got into trouble, he would worry endlessly.
But, as soon as he saw Mu Anxiao, he would say some extremely heartless words.
Over time, Mu Anxiao developed a bad impression of him.
However, Feng Qishi could understand.
“It’s fine if you’re touched,” he said.
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao was stunned and smiled faintly. “Can you not say it like that? It makes it sound like you’re completing a task.”
“I’m serious,” Feng Qishi said with a sincere expression.
Mu Anxiao looked at Feng Qishi’s determined expression and smiled helplessly. “Alright, let’s not talk about this topic. I need to discuss a problem with you now.”
“What problem?”
Mu Anxiao then became serious. “The problem of catching the demon soul.”