“No, no.” Mu Anxiao said as she walked.
Feng Qishi kept pace with Mu Anxiao.
Half an hour later… at the foot of the city bridge, Feng Qishi sat cross-legged beside Mu Anxiao, looking dirty, his eyes fixed on the scattered silver in the bowl. He asked, “Is this money enough?”
“No,” Mu Anxiao replied, her eyes tightly closed.
“Actually, I think this is enough to buy steamed buns,” Feng Qishi whispered.
Mu Anxiao opened one eye, glanced at the scattered silver in the bowl, and said, “You have no idea about the prices here. Wait.”
“I think it’s enough…”
Feng Qishi had only spoken halfway when an old woman suddenly stopped in front of them. She then took out some silver from her sleeve and said, “You poor thing.” As she spoke, she bent down and dropped a few copper coins into the broken bowl.
Feng Qishi looked up at the old woman’s kind face, then at Mu Anxiao’s hidden head beside him. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, it’s not easy for you either,” the old woman said, straightening up with difficulty before leaving.
After watching the old woman walk away, Feng Qishi nudged Mu Anxiao’s arm with his elbow and said, “You’re going too far.”
“Is anyone there?” Mu Anxiao asked.
“It’s dark now, everyone’s gone. Open your eyes,” Feng Qishi said, reaching for the broken bowl.
Mu Anxiao opened her eyes, looked happily at the scattered silver in the bowl, and laughed, “Wow, I was never begged from so much before. You’re amazing.”
“It was all from those aunties,” Feng Qishi said.
“It’s good to be pretty,” Mu Anxiao said, unceremoniously pinching Feng Qishi’s dirty cheek.
Feng Qishi pushed Mu Anxiao’s hand away with disgust and said, “Only this once.”
“I think you should join Hei Feng,” Mu Anxiao said, wiping her dirty hand on Feng Qishi’s blue robe.
“Who is Hei Feng?” Feng Qishi frowned.
“You don’t know him,” Mu Anxiao said nonchalantly.
“Sister,” Feng Qishi pulled Mu Anxiao’s hand away from his sleeve, saying, “I’ve only been here for less than a day. How could I possibly know anyone here?”
“I thought you were quite close with Xu Lanyan,” Mu Anxiao said.
“Who is Xu Lanyan?” Feng Qishi feigned ignorance.
“That guy who lent me his robe,” Mu Anxiao introduced briefly.
“Oh, he told me his name. I didn’t remember it,” Feng Qishi said, realizing.
“What do you remember?” Mu Anxiao said, scooping up the scattered silver from the bowl into her money pouch.
“This is mine,” Feng Qishi said, putting down the bowl.
“This is the money I’m buying you steamed buns with,” Mu Anxiao argued unreasonably.
“Be careful, or I won’t protect you,” Feng Qishi glared at Mu Anxiao.
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao pouted and took out a few pieces of scattered silver from her money pouch, handing them to Feng Qishi. “Here.”
“All of it,” Feng Qishi held out his hand.
Mu Anxiao hesitated for a moment, then grudgingly took out more scattered silver and placed it in Feng Qishi’s palm, saying, “Happy now?”
“That’s more like it,” Feng Qishi said, weighing the silver in his hand. Then he realized, “Wait, I don’t have a money pouch.”
“Then just put it in your sleeve. The space is big enough anyway,” Mu Anxiao pointed to Feng Qishi’s sleeve.
Feng Qishi stared for a few seconds, then handed the silver back to Mu Anxiao, saying, “Never mind, you keep it.”
“Didn’t you just say you wouldn’t give it to me?” Mu Anxiao said, looking down at the scattered silver.
“You can give it to me, you can keep it yourself, but you can’t keep it,” Feng Qishi said righteously.
“So domineering,” Mu Anxiao said, smiling and taking the scattered silver back into her money pouch.
“Let’s go,” Feng Qishi picked up the broken bowl and stood up.
Mu Anxiao agreed and extended her hand, saying, “Give me a hand.”
“You can stand up yourself. Stop being so dramatic,” Feng Qishi said impatiently, looking down at Mu Anxiao.
“You’re the dramatic one,” Mu Anxiao retorted, pushing herself up with one hand from the ground with great effort.
“This street isn’t lively at all,” Feng Qishi said, looking around.
“If it’s not lively, it means it’s not safe, and people don’t dare to go out at night,” Mu Anxiao said casually, taking Feng Qishi’s arm.
Feng Qishi was startled and looked down, saying, “Don’t you know that men and women should not touch each other?”
“You’re a man?” Mu Anxiao feigned surprise.
Upon hearing this, Feng Qishi narrowed his eyes and said, “If you try to change my gender again, I’ll…”
“Can you stop threatening me with that? I’ve never threatened you,” Mu Anxiao shot back.
Feng Qishi was momentarily speechless and said, “Who said I was threatening you? I said if you change my gender again, I’ll change yours too, into a man.”
“I don’t mind. Anyway,” Mu Anxiao looked around and leaned closer to Feng Qishi, “Those kids today called me Uncle.”
“Then I’m better than you. At least people can tell I’m a man,” Feng Qishi said, pushing away Mu Anxiao’s head that was leaning on his arm. “Can you stop leaning your head on me?”
“If I lean on you, it’s harder for monsters to find me,” Mu Anxiao whispered.
“You…”
As Feng Qishi uttered a single word, a gust of cold wind blew towards them. Mu Anxiao shivered and said, “They’re here.”
“Who’s here?” Feng Qishi asked, inexperienced.
“Monsters,” Mu Anxiao said, sniffing the air. “No, it’s the smell of that old woman.”
“The one who gave us money last?” Feng Qishi asked.
“Mm,” Mu Anxiao nodded and looked back at the disheveled old woman in front of them. She said, “I knew no one would be so generous. After all this time, she’s not human.”
Hearing this, Feng Qishi followed Mu Anxiao’s gaze to the disheveled old woman not far away, her eyes emitting a black glow. He asked, “What kind of monster is this?” He then lowered his head to look at Mu Anxiao, who was peeking out from behind him.
Mu Anxiao stared intently at the old woman’s glowing black eyes and, after thinking, her eyes widened. “A rabbit spirit.”
“A rabbit spirit?” Feng Qishi exclaimed, looking back at the old woman. “Impossible, she looks more like a ghost to me.”
“This is how she transformed,” Mu Anxiao affirmed.
“What should I do?” Feng Qishi suddenly asked.
Mu Anxiao was taken aback and looked up, meeting Feng Qishi’s eyes. She asked, “You’re not going to make me go, are you?”
“Well, I can help you secretly with my magic, but… asking me to face a female demon head-on,” Feng Qishi chuckled dryly, “I’m actually a little reluctant.”
Mu Anxiao gripped Feng Qishi’s arm and said, “This isn’t the time for you to be a gentleman.”
“I know, but you also know that I haven’t dealt with…”
“You were so cool when you scared that dog-headed monster today,” Mu Anxiao said, giving Feng Qishi a thumbs-up to encourage him.