Mu Anxiao listened to the future developments of Bi Hu and Xiao Nian, and a wave of sadness washed over her. She lowered her head, her eyes moistening.
Tian Jiang had grown accustomed to this feeling and quickly recovered. She asked, "Why have I never met you?"
"Oh, I also heard about it from a passing immortal. I'm sorry, I lied to you," Mu Anxiao said softly.
Tian Jiang smiled, "I thought so. Someone as meddlesome as you, if you encountered such a situation, how could you not help?"
"Yes," Mu Anxiao said with a wry smile, "Is that how you see me?"
"I'm just saying, don't take it to heart," Tian Jiang smiled.
Mu Anxiao smiled faintly and asked, "By the way, how did he cultivate?"
"He..." Tian Jiang's expression turned grim.
Seeing Tian Jiang hesitate, Mu Anxiao said, "If you don't want to say it, that's fine. I was just curious."
"I can tell you, but please don't tell anyone else, alright?" Tian Jiang looked up at Mu Anxiao and asked.
Mu Anxiao replied, "I'm already happy that you're willing to tell a stranger like me. How could I possibly tell anyone else?"
"Bi Hu and I exchanged lives," Tian Jiang said softly.
"He transferred his demonic energy to you?" Mu Anxiao exclaimed.
Tian Jiang nodded, "Yes, it was as if he knew his fate. He told me then that if anything happened to him, I should help take care of this life's Xiao Nian. I thought he was being ridiculous at the time, but now... I think I'm the ridiculous one."
"Are you a demon now?" Mu Anxiao looked at Tian Jiang, who was once a demon catcher, in disbelief and asked.
"Yes, he became human, and I became a demon. If I hadn't agreed, he..." Tian Jiang gave a bitter smile, "he wouldn't have died, would he?"
"That was his choice," Mu Anxiao said. Then, she looked at the green light in Tian Jiang's palm and asked, "What is this?"
"He said not to fall for him, otherwise, my identity as a demon would be exposed," Tian Jiang said.
"You like him?" Mu Anxiao was surprised.
"Yes, after that experience, I gradually developed feelings for Bi Hu. But I was the one raising him, so I couldn't show it and never told him. Only after he died did I regret it. I regretted why I didn't tell him I liked him. If I had, he wouldn't have met this life's Xiao Nian. If he hadn't met this life's Xiao Nian, then that place in his heart would have been mine, and he wouldn't have had to die. It's all my fault," Tian Jiang said, tears welling up.
Mu Anxiao looked at Tian Jiang and thought of her past self. Mu Anxiao asked, "Does he... still remember what happened with the past life's Xiao Nian?"
"He doesn't remember. It's fate, in a way," Tian Jiang wiped her tears with a handkerchief. "The moment he saw this life's Xiao Nian, he knew. He said she was the woman he wanted to marry."
"This is fate," Mu Anxiao murmured.
"I might have to leave here," Tian Jiang said suddenly.
Mu Anxiao frowned and asked, "Why?"
"The light on my hand is becoming more apparent, and since you're back, the matter with the rabbit spirit must be resolved. Therefore, I should leave, or I'll be locked onto by those below."
"Why would you be locked onto?" Mu Anxiao frowned. "You didn't kill anyone, did you?"
"Everything has a price. Killing was the condition for exchanging my life with Bi Hu. I killed... three people. If I don't run, am I supposed to wait for death?" Tian Jiang sneered.
However, Mu Anxiao never expected that Tian Jiang... would go this far for Bi Hu. Looking at the now sneering Tian Jiang, she abandoned the thought of becoming her disciple and asked, "Doesn't Lu Yi know?"
"If I hadn't told you, would you have seen it?" Tian Jiang asked.
Hearing Tian Jiang's words, and seeing the indifferent expression on Tian Jiang's face, Mu Anxiao shook her head, "No, I wouldn't have."
"If you dare to say anything, I'll come after you. Be careful," Tian Jiang pointed at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao asked, "Where are you going?"
"None of your business," Tian Jiang said, then stood up and left the room.
Mu Anxiao sat at the table, pondering every word Tian Jiang had just said and Tian Jiang's final transformation. She thought, She must not have killed anyone; she must have had her reasons! With that, she stood up.
Immediately after, the young man and his junior disciple pushed the door open and rushed in. The young man spoke first, "I heard."
Mu Anxiao turned to look at the young man and was startled, asking, "Heard what?"
"About the proprietress," the young man said, looking panicked.
The young man's junior disciple said, "I knew something was off about the proprietress. She's such a ruthless character."
Mu Anxiao hadn't expected these two to have overheard so much. She peeked behind them, feigning ignorance, "I don't understand what you're talking about."
"We heard everything, so stop pretending," the young man said.
"Is she really a demon?" the young man's junior disciple asked nervously.
"I don't know," Mu Anxiao shook her head, walked around the table, and headed for the door.
The young man frowned and turned to Mu Anxiao, saying, "I'm talking to you!"
Hearing the young man's voice behind her, Mu Anxiao paused at the door, then turned back to face him and his junior disciple, "Whatever you overheard, I warn you, if you dare to do anything excessive to the proprietress, I will be the first to not forgive you." She pointed at the two of them.
"She killed someone," the young man said anxiously.
Mu Anxiao glared at the young man, "She didn't."
"She said so herself," the young man insisted.
"I don't believe it. In any case, remember what I said," Mu Anxiao said, then turned and walked away.
The young man's junior disciple watched Mu Anxiao leave and then stepped forward, "Let's not say anything about it. In a few days, we'll just quietly leave."
"Why did you change your mind?" the young man asked.
"Actually, the proprietress has been quite good to us, and I think she must have heard us outside just now," the young man's junior disciple said.
"How do you know?" the young man asked.
"I saw her glance in our direction before she left," the young man's junior disciple said softly.
Upon hearing this, the young man sighed and said, "Alright, we'll pretend we know nothing. Even if we say something, we can't beat her anyway." He frowned, "And you, why are you telling me this? I want to rest."
The young man's junior disciple pursed his lips.
Mu Anxiao went downstairs, glancing at Tian Jiang standing by the counter, then at the busy waiter. She walked over and whispered, "I don't believe you killed anyone."