"Alright, but before that, I have a question for you," Zhang Yan leaned in and whispered.
"Ask away." The old gentleman nodded, fixing his gaze on Zhang Yan's eyes.
Zhang Yan pursed his lips, then glancing left and right sneakily, he was about to speak when the old gentleman said, "Can you stop being so furtive? I've set up boundaries here; neither demons nor those workers down below can see us."
"You even know about workers," Zhang Yan chuckled.
The old gentleman looked at Zhang Yan's mocking expression and said, "Zhang Yan, don't look down on people. I'm new here, but my adaptability is superb."
"No, no, no, I've noticed you've become much younger since coming here," Zhang Yan said, reaching out to pat the old gentleman's shoulder.
At this, the old gentleman immediately reverted to his serious demeanor, cleared his throat, and said, "Go ahead and ask."
"Okay." Zhang Yan nodded and took a deep breath. "That is, Mu Anxiao's magic isn't unrefined, is it?"
"Why the sudden question?"
Zhang Yan replied, "To be honest, even though that person isn't a top-tier immortal, and let's not even bring up how she got her current status, I just want to say, she had the ability to save Feng Qi Shi. I believe her magic isn't unrefined."
"Her magic isn't unrefined, but there's still much she doesn't understand. Especially on the path to becoming an immortal, to put it bluntly, she has barely... no, she hasn't stumbled at all. Setting aside whether that was Shen Yan's tribulation, I think this girl has had it too easy. If she encounters major events in the future, she definitely won't be able to cope," the old gentleman said earnestly.
Zhang Yan expressed his disagreement, "I think she's very capable. In fact, I don't believe she hasn't stumbled. And also... why does only stumbling count as being capable? She's capable even without stumbling. Moreover, how do you know she hasn't stumbled?"
The old gentleman looked at Zhang Yan's agitated state and asked, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I'm just not convinced. Why should Mu Anxiao, after all her hardship, completing so many tasks excellently here, end up losing everything? I..." Zhang Yan shook his head. "I can't understand it."
"There are many things you can't understand. Mu Anxiao's... I've told you enough, and you wouldn't understand anyway," the old gentleman said indifferently.
"I don't understand, but I want to..."
"You have too many mortal sentiments right now," the old gentleman interrupted.
Zhang Yan was left speechless.
"Anyway, enough with the extra words. That spiritual energy just doesn't belong to her. Also, remember my words: what belongs to you will always be yours, and what doesn't, you can't force it no matter what." The old gentleman vanished after speaking.
Zhang Yan stood there, stunned, muttering, "Why? She's so outstanding, why must she lose everything? Why?" He clenched his fists.
At the same time, Mu Anxiao happened to walk out of her room and saw Zhang Yan standing there. She approached and asked, "What's wrong?"
Hearing this, Zhang Yan wrinkled his nose and turned to look at Mu Anxiao. "Nothing, I just feel sorry for you."
"Why do you feel sorry for me?" Mu Anxiao asked.
"You're about to lose everything. Don't you feel anything?" Zhang Yan asked.
Mu Anxiao blinked. "Feel? No."
"Why?" Zhang Yan asked.
"There's no why," Mu Anxiao shook her head.
"I don't believe you don't feel anything," Zhang Yan stated directly.
Mu Anxiao sighed and said, "It's like your purple fire was lost for so many years, and it still came back, right? So, what belongs to you is yours. What doesn't, you can't get even if you force it, or perhaps, this is fate."
"Fate?" Zhang Yan was confused.
Mu Anxiao smiled. "Think about it, Shen Yan and I had fate, we met, then I accidentally obtained his spiritual energy and became an immortal. These are all the fate between him and me. Now his spiritual energy has returned to him, and the spiritual energy between him and me has also reached its end. Even if I'm sad, I can't forcibly pull it back, can I? It's Shen Yan's, after all."
"Immortal arts..." Zhang Yan found it a bit awkward to say, so he paused and rephrased, "Spiritual energy needs to be cultivated. You spent half your life cultivating the magic within that spiritual energy to such a high level. Are you really willing to let it go?"
"What's there to be unwilling about? Shen Yan spent so, so, so many years cultivating that spiritual energy to such an advanced level, only for me to take it away in an instant. He must have been..." Mu Anxiao lowered her gaze. "Sad, very reluctant!"
"..." Zhang Yan was rendered speechless.
Mu Anxiao looked at Zhang Yan's speechless expression and smiled. "At first, I couldn't understand why Shen Yan hated me, and I didn't even know what I did wrong. But, when I went to the underworld and Shen Yan told me his identity, and that I hadn't drunk the immortal-becoming pill, but his blood, I was shocked."
"You didn't know Shen Yan's identity, or what you had consumed, all along?" Zhang Yan exclaimed.
Mu Anxiao nodded. "Yes, I didn't know. I lived half my life in a muddle. Sometimes, I thought being muddled was good, but after being muddled for too long, the moment I faced reality, it was truly..." she gave a wry smile. "Quite devastating."
"Living a muddled life can also be good," Zhang Yan said.
Mu Anxiao sighed. "Being muddled is good, but it's also better to be clear about what needs to be clear."
"Mmm," Zhang Yan nodded and said, "I really didn't expect you to be so open-minded, truly."
Mu Anxiao smiled faintly. "Only after the misunderstanding was cleared, and the moment Shen Yan grew old, did I understand that I had stolen all of Shen Yan's lifelong effort, even his hope."
"It's not that serious, is it?"
"It is," Mu Anxiao stated firmly. "Therefore, what I've lost is incomparable to Shen Yan's. To put it more bluntly, there's no comparison. If I had the chance," she held back tears, "I would definitely return the immortal age as well."
"You don't have to be so harsh on yourself," Zhang Yan said helplessly.
Mu Anxiao said, "You know, when someone called me a liar, I didn't feel anything. But gradually... as more people said it, I truly started to doubt what kind of person I was. Am I the idle immortal they speak of, or a liar who stole Shen Yan's blood to become immortal? I really..." she frowned deeply. "I truly... no longer recognize myself."
"Don't mind what others say. Just be yourself," Zhang Yan said, his eyes firm, reaching out to steady Mu Anxiao's shoulder.
"Mmm," Mu Anxiao nodded and said, "I know, but the only way I can do what you say right now is through returning. Only by returning all of this can I be myself."