The little boy said, "It's all your fault, why did you..."
"How do you feel here?" Feng Qishi suddenly interrupted.
Following his gaze, the little boy looked at Feng Qishi, his eyes sinking, "..."
Feng Qishi asked, "Isn't it better than being there?"
The little boy, "..." He lowered his head.
Mu Anxiao looked at Feng Qishi's suddenly serious demeanor with surprise. Then she glanced at the little boy and had nothing more to say.
Feng Qishi asked, "When did you leave me?"
"Ten years ago, just after I arrived here," the little boy replied truthfully.
"You are my inner demon."
The little boy nodded slightly.
Feng Qishi, "..." He didn't know what to say.
"When I was little, every time Mom scolded me, you would say, 'When we grow up, Mom will like us. Of course, even if we grow up and Mom still doesn't like us, you'll try hard to make her like us.' But," the little boy looked at Mu Anxiao, "after she came, everything changed. If she hadn't appeared, you would never have become Shen Yan again."
The little boy was Feng Qishi's inner demon from the mortal world. His sole objective was to make Feng Qishi forever remember the most painful memory in his heart.
That memory was his mother.
Before coming here, Feng Qishi had let go of that past and had even forgotten his sorrow.
However, after entering the inn and meeting the waiter, he inexplicably recalled his mother's face.
Then, he encountered the little girl in red.
Gradually, he remembered the past, recalled everything from his childhood, and those memories began to control him, making him pity himself.
It wasn't until the little girl was engulfed in red light that Mu Anxiao grabbed him, protecting him, that he awoke.
"Do you like your mother?" he asked.
The little boy replied, "Yes."
Feng Qishi, "..."
"Don't you like her?"
At this moment, Feng Qishi realized that the little boy was not just his inner demon, but also the lingering thoughts of his childhood, thoughts connected to his mother.
Childhood, in others' eyes, was beautiful and fulfilling.
But in Feng Qishi's eyes, it was black and white.
His mother's accusations, her scolding, every word she spoke was deeply etched in Feng Qishi's heart. He was afraid, afraid of those words, afraid of his mother.
Yet, he longed for his mother's care and praise.
But for him, those were just impossible dreams.
Every time he was hurt, he would hide in the bathroom, stand before the sink, look at himself in the mirror, and tell himself that his mother was doing it for his own good, and that when he grew up, his mother would like him.
Even if she didn't like him, he would try his best to show her that he wasn't stupid, that he was a son who made her proud, and that she would like him as much as she liked his two older brothers!
His mother, subtly, became his unresolved issue, gradually escalating into an inner demon.
After arriving here, he had come to terms with everything, thus the inner demon lost its space to survive and left his body.
From then on, the inner demon endured ten years of hardship alone and developed its own consciousness. In the inner demon's eyes, the desire to change his mother's heart never wavered.
Evidently, in the little boy's eyes, Feng Qishi had become an obstacle to pleasing his mother in the mortal world. Clenching his fists, he coldly stared at the silent Feng Qishi and asked, "Don't you like her?"
Like or not like?
Having been here for so long, Feng Qishi had stopped contemplating this question. Now, with the little boy's inquiry, he began to think again, "I..."
"No child dislikes their mother. You are like me."
Feng Qishi, "..."
The little boy's eyes began to glow red.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao quickly reached out and grabbed Feng Qishi's arm, calling out, "Wake up."
Hearing her, Feng Qishi shook his head slightly, then turned to look at Mu Anxiao, "What are you shouting for? You startled me."
Mu Anxiao said, "Your inner demon is trying to control you again." She looked at the little boy, who was frowning deeply.
The little boy grew angry, "You cold-blooded woman, don't meddle in my affairs."
Mu Anxiao pulled Feng Qishi back a few steps, then stepped forward to deliberately block him, saying, "You are just a figment of his inner demons. Do you think you're so great just because you've appeared?"
The little boy, "..." He furrowed his brow slightly.
Feng Qishi looked down at Mu Anxiao, surprised.
The little boy declared, "I already have my own consciousness, I..."
"You're just a brat, and you want to possess his body?"
Immediately, the little boy revealed a sinister smile, "That's exactly what I intend."
"I disagree," Mu Anxiao said firmly, drawing her Soul Sword.
Feng Qishi, "..." He looked down at Mu Anxiao in disbelief.
The little boy said, "I am a demon, and you..."
"Don't think that just because you are Feng Qishi's inner demon, I won't dare to do anything to you, you little brat," Mu Anxiao said, and immediately swung her Soul Sword.
The little boy's lips curled, and a red mist once again surrounded his body.
Mu Anxiao commented, "Inner demon, you're quite perverted."
Feng Qishi retorted, "If you say that about him, you're saying it about me."
"You must have a girlish heart, otherwise, you wouldn't like being a little girl so much," Mu Anxiao said with disdain, "You're disgusting."
"I never had a girlish heart when I was little. I just wanted..." Feng Qishi's eyes darkened, "I just wanted to become a real man and protect my mother."
"What's the use of saying this now?" Mu Anxiao said, glancing at the inner demon who had transformed back into the little girl. Her eyes narrowed, "Shen the Madman, I understand."
"You understand?"
"Your inner demon has possessed the little girl, and this little girl has absorbed the monster's demonic energy. That's it," Mu Anxiao said, her eyes fixed on the little girl with determination.
The little girl laughed, "So confident."
"It seems I guessed correctly."
"I don't want to disappear," the little girl glanced at Feng Qishi, "I want to occupy his body, that way, I can go back."
"You can't go back," Mu Anxiao said, tightening her grip on her Soul Sword.
The little girl's eyes widened, she flung her hand forward, and streaks of red light flew towards Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao's brows tightened, and she swiftly swung her Soul Sword.
The next second, the red lights were absorbed one by one by the blue light emanating from the Soul Sword. "Shen the Madman was someone I saved with my spiritual energy. If you, a mere inner demon, want to possess him, you'll have to get past me first." Saying this, she charged forward.
Feng Qishi, "..." He looked at Mu Anxiao's rapidly charging figure in disbelief, astonished.
The little girl stood in place, also looking in disbelief at the blue light flashing past her on both sides. "How can this be?" she muttered, lowering her head and concentrating her efforts on casting her spell.
At the same time, after quickly circling the little girl several times, Mu Anxiao stopped in front of her, saying, "So that's your cheap trick." She then pressed her Soul Sword to the little girl's neck.
Feng Qishi, "..." He clearly didn't understand anymore.