“……”
Feng Qishi watched Mu Anxiao suddenly fall silent and then glanced at the portrait hanging in the ruined temple. "Are you finding me particularly annoying right now?"
"Quite annoying, yes."
"Let's not talk about that. Don't you think this place has changed since my portrait was hung here?" Feng Qishi raised an eyebrow.
As Feng Qishi had said, over the past two days since he arrived, the beggars had returned much less often, and the money they begged for had also increased. At first, Mu Anxiao hadn't thought much of it, but now, hearing Feng Qishi mention it, she felt a sense of curiosity.
"What did you do?"
"What do you mean, 'what did you do'? It doesn't sound nice when you say it like that."
"Then how else am I supposed to put it?"
Hearing Mu Anxiao's words, Feng Qishi thought about how she had been avoiding him lately. He asked, "Are you thinking of ways to sever ties with me again?"
"..." Mu Anxiao's inner thoughts were exposed, and her gaze flickered involuntarily. "I'm not."
"If you're not, it means you are!" Feng Qishi lightly smacked the top of Mu Anxiao's head.
Feng Qishi's blow was neither light nor heavy. Regardless, Mu Anxiao disliked this feeling.
"Words are words, but why did you hit me?" Mu Anxiao rubbed her forehead.
"How does it feel?"
"It hurts," Mu Anxiao stated firmly.
"It's supposed to hurt. Your ability to perceive things is truly lacking. With so many demon souls lurking around, how could you not have discovered them? What can you even do?"
Hearing Feng Qishi's words, Mu Anxiao couldn't help but recall the past two days. While she had been talking about catching demon souls, she had actually been preoccupied with finding ways to get Feng Qishi away from her. Now, hearing Feng Qishi say this, she suddenly realized... she really didn't consider the bigger picture.
"..."
"I've been hit," Feng Qishi said.
Mu Anxiao lowered her head. "I was wrong."
"It's good that you know you were wrong. I was afraid you wouldn't know," Feng Qishi said, pointing to his portrait. "Do you know why I hung this portrait here?"
"To show off, I guess," Mu Anxiao replied casually.
"There's some truth to that. But have you noticed a change in me?" Feng Qishi asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean," Feng Qishi reached out and patted Mu Anxiao's shoulder, "have you noticed... I'm becoming more like my past self?"
"No, you haven't," Mu Anxiao shook her head.
However, this was not the answer Feng Qishi wanted. The moment Mu Anxiao spoke, Feng Qishi removed his hand from her shoulder, stepped back half a pace, and asked, "Isn't it good that I haven't changed?"
Seeing Feng Qishi's expectant look, Mu Anxiao pondered his words and her own thoughts over the past two days. She fell silent.
"..."
"Why are you not speaking again?"
"Actually, I really don't want to have any connection with you."
Mu Anxiao hadn't intended to say this, but since Feng Qishi could always see through her, she felt there was no need to hide it.
Feng Qishi felt a pang in his heart upon hearing Mu Anxiao's words, but recalling his past with her, he felt some things needed to be clarified now to avoid future awkwardness.
"I understand. I've also thought about it. The conclusion of our previous life was indeed not pleasant. You've always felt you owed me, but," Feng Qishi paused for a moment before continuing, "ten years ago, when you brought me back, I realized things weren't as you thought. In fact, I owe you. So, from now on, I will repay you. You don't owe me anything, and you don't need to feel any guilt."
Mu Anxiao had never imagined she would be having such a conversation with Feng Qishi. As she listened to his words, she felt a sense of relief, but upon further consideration, she felt it was still not right.
"You don't owe me."
"I do owe you."
Mu Anxiao understood the feeling of owing someone more than anyone else. She didn't believe Feng Qishi owed her, and therefore, she didn't want to hear him say it.
"You don't owe me! Why are you so stubborn?" Mu Anxiao exclaimed agitatedly.
Feng Qishi hadn't expected Mu Anxiao to become so agitated over this. He swallowed the words that were about to leave his lips and gave an awkward smile. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing."
"If there's nothing, it means there's something."
"Really, nothing."
"There is something."
After a while, their conversation about whether Mu Anxiao was okay finally came to a halt.
"There is something," Feng Qishi said again.
Mu Anxiao was speechless.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's speechless expression, Feng Qishi couldn't help but smile. "Now, can you tell me if it's better for me to go back to how I was or to stay like this?"
Whether Feng Qishi reverted to his old self or maintained his current state made little difference to Mu Anxiao. However, through their brief interactions over the past two days, she had discovered a rather serious issue.
"Right," Mu Anxiao looked up at Feng Qishi. "Why are you so different towards outsiders and towards me?"
"How am I different?"
"Well," Mu Anxiao thought for a moment, "you're very fierce towards outsiders, but towards me... you're quite meek."
"Are you calling me names?"
"You're two-faced," Mu Anxiao said.
Feng Qishi: "......"
"I'm talking to you."
Feng Qishi asked, "If I call you two-faced, are you happy?"
"Not happy, but your two-faced behavior is quite pronounced," Mu Anxiao said earnestly.
Feng Qishi was somewhat convinced by Mu Anxiao's serious response. Then, he reflected on his state over the past couple of days and suddenly realized he might indeed have been overdoing it, even feeling a sense of mental division himself.
However, if he were truly impartial towards everyone, as Mu Anxiao implied he should be in the current world, wouldn't his authority vanish? Then Mu Anxiao would be bullied again.
Therefore, to gain Mu Anxiao's understanding, he decided to fabricate some words to make her retract her statement.
"I'm a slow-to-warm-up person. As for you, I'm more familiar with you, so I'm less polite. If you're not used to it," Feng Qishi smiled, "I can be even colder towards you."
"No need."
"You've gone this far, you just want me to be more ruthless towards you, right? Alright then, starting today, I won't protect you. How about you protect me instead?" Feng Qishi said.
In the previous life, Shen Yan would always push Mu Anxiao to the front. In this life, Mu Anxiao no longer wanted that feeling. So, the moment Feng Qishi spoke, she became playfully flippant. "Oh, so that's how it is. This is good. Actually, I'm also a slow-to-warm-up person. I don't like smiling at strangers either."
"Really?"
"Really, really. I think the way you are now is wonderful," Mu Anxiao said enthusiastically.
"You're quite two-faced yourself," Feng Qishi remarked indifferently.