Hearing Shen Xian’s terrifying roar, Mu Anxiao felt a pang of fear. “I have something to tell you.”
“I don’t want to talk to you.”
“I really…” Mu Anxiao had barely uttered two words when she pushed the door open with a forceful shove.
The next second, she and Shen Xian locked eyes.
Shen Xian said coldly, “I told you to leave.”
Mu Anxiao let out a dry laugh, bent down, and gripped the door. “I’ll close it then. Don’t get angry, you’ll hurt your internal organs. Calm down, calm down.” As she spoke, she closed the door again.
In that instant, Shen Xian saw a shadow of Gu An in Mu Anxiao once more.
Immediately after, Mu Anxiao breathed a sigh of relief. “I really have something to tell you.”
Not wanting to be fooled again, Shen Xian shook his head. “Go away.”
Mu Anxiao: “…” She glanced behind her and then asked, “Then I won’t make lunch for you, alright?”
“…”
“You’re not eating?”
“…”
As expected, the method of persistent entanglement wouldn’t work.
Thus, Mu Anxiao sighed and sat down on the floor. “Fine, if you ignore me, so be it. Anyway, if you don’t listen to me, I won’t leave. You decide what to do.”
At this moment, hearing Mu Anxiao’s voice outside the room, Shen Xian recalled the beginning of his acquaintance with Gu An.
At that time, having just entered the mortal realm, he was unfamiliar with everything and often wore a stern expression, making him unapproachable.
But not long after, he met Gu An.
Gu An was not like others; on the contrary, she was quite persistent.
When she followed him all the way to the inn, he wouldn’t let her in and told her to leave. She didn’t listen and just stood outside.
Shen Xian, unwilling to accept her, closed the door.
So, she continued to pester him, chiming in whenever there was an opportunity.
At noon, she blocked the waiter who was delivering food from entering, and deliberately brought up issues with the ingredients.
Inside the room, to avoid attracting unwanted attention, Shen Xian reluctantly let Gu An in.
Because of a meal, she managed to strike up a conversation with him.
At that time, she called herself a matchmaker.
However, Shen Xian was unfamiliar with the term "matchmaker" and asked what it meant.
The moment Shen Xian asked, Gu An smiled.
Then, she patiently explained the meaning of a matchmaker to Shen Xian.
Having been in the mortal realm for a long time, Shen Xian had not encountered a suitable immortal maiden. After hearing Gu An’s explanation, he was moved and immediately agreed.
That day, Shen Xian and Gu An chatted for a long time. Gu An kept smiling and smiling.
At this moment, thinking of Gu An’s hearty laughter, Shen Xian clenched his fist.
Simultaneously, Mu Anxiao spread her hands, conjured a celestial book, and happened to flip to the page where Gu An and Shen Xian first met.
“Huh?” She stared at the words, rereading them. “No way, Gu An did this too?” Thinking this, she glanced towards the door behind her.
The next second, the sound of Shen Xian getting up and moving a chair came from inside.
Upon hearing this, Mu Anxiao quickly put away the celestial book and recalled the passage she had just read. “Never mind, let nature take its course!” Thinking this, she stood up.
Shortly after, Shen Xian opened the door and looked at Mu Anxiao, who had turned around. “You haven’t left yet?”
“I have something to tell you.”
After the recent memories, Shen Xian, seeing Mu Anxiao’s actions almost identical to Gu An’s, gave up on driving her away. “Come in.” With that, he turned and walked towards the desk.
Mu Anxiao pursed her lips, crossed the threshold, and closed the door behind her with her hands clasped. “Actually, that wasn’t what I wanted to express just now.”
Shen Xian stopped at the desk, his back to her. “Did the sachet tell you something?”
“No.”
“Then why did you decide to come find me?”
At this moment, Shen Xian still believed that the sachet was behind everything Mu Anxiao was doing, including her actions outside the room.
Mu Anxiao could see Shen Xian’s thoughts. “Alright, it does have something to do with the sachet.”
Shen Xian’s eyes deepened. “I knew it.”
Mu Anxiao: “…” She extended her index finger, walking as she did, and used her magic to put the scattered items on the floor back in place, finally restoring the sand pot at Shen Xian’s feet to its original state and placing it on his desk.
Seeing this, Shen Xian frowned. Just as he was about to try and damage the sand pot, Mu Anxiao grabbed his wrist, which was wrapped in cloth. “Don’t move.”
Shen Xian’s body stiffened. He lowered his head and stared at Mu Anxiao’s hand. “Don’t touch me.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Let…”
Before he could utter the word, Mu Anxiao grabbed his bandaged arm with her other hand. “I’m asking you, does your wound hurt when I pull you like this?”
Shen Xian furrowed his brow.
Mu Anxiao looked up at the beads of sweat on Shen Xian’s forehead and sneered, “As I thought, it does hurt.”
“Let go.”
Shortly after, Mu Anxiao deliberately tightened her grip. “I’ll let go only if it hurts.”
“…” Shen Xian rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth.
Mu Anxiao looked at Shen Xian’s pained expression and couldn’t help but smile. “Your obsession is deep, but I think continuing like this won’t do you any good. The final outcome,” she paused, “will surely be your death, and the truth will perish.”
Hearing this, Shen Xian’s eyes widened. He lowered his head to meet Mu Anxiao’s gaze. “What do you mean by that?”
“If it hurts, I’ll let go.”
“…” Shen Xian blinked slightly, still unwilling.
Mu Anxiao said impatiently, “Is it that hard to just say ‘it hurts’?”
“What does it matter to you if I’m in pain?”
“If you’re in pain, then our conversation can proceed. If you’re not in pain, even if I speak, you might not listen.”
Shen Xian: “…”
Mu Anxiao: “…”
“…” Shen Xian looked at Mu Anxiao, then at his own bleeding wound, and forced out a word with difficulty: “It hurts!”
“It’s right that it hurts,” Mu Anxiao said, releasing her hand.
Shen Xian gasped, turned abruptly, and grabbed Mu Anxiao by the neck. “What did the sachet tell you?”
Mu Anxiao tilted her head back, meeting Shen Xian’s eyes tightly. “Let me see you. Gu An didn’t want you to die.”
“Really?”
It was a lie, of course, but at this moment, Mu Anxiao could not falter.
“It’s true!”
Hearing this, Shen Xian released her. “What did you mean by what you just said?”
Mu Anxiao clutched her neck and took half a step back. “You are like this sand pot,” she pointed at the sand pot.
“…” Shen Xian looked down at the sand pot. “Explain.”
“The sand pot originally had soup in it, but after you smashed it, the soup was gone. Now… the sand pot is mended, and it’s at ease. But your heart,” Mu Anxiao pointed to Shen Xian’s chest, “is still full.”
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“Obsession is like the leftover soup. I think you might as well pour out your obsession, like this soup. That way, you can be as light as this sand pot.”