“What are you…” Mu Anxiao began, her words catching in her throat as she saw the spectral child standing by the window.
“I thought you were coming, so I came ahead. Who knew,” the spectral child walked in front of Mu Anxiao, “you didn’t.”
Mu Anxiao looked down at the spectral child’s gaze, which seemed to hold a hint of reproach, and said, “I wanted to, but his family is here. Tell me, how could I have entered?”
“You could have used magic,” the spectral child said, oblivious to Mu Anxiao’s predicament.
Mu Anxiao looked at the spectral child’s excited expression and said, “I can’t use magic anymore.” As she spoke, she turned to look at Feng Qishi, who was quietly observing her.
“You saved me yesterday and gave me your immortal magic, is that it?” Feng Qishi guessed.
“You know about immortal magic?” Mu Anxiao asked, surprised.
Feng Qishi looked at the spectral child without speaking.
The spectral child said, “I told him, but that’s not right. If you used your immortal magic to save someone, how could you be so injured? Unless…” He paused, then exclaimed in surprise, “That wasn’t your immortal magic.”
“It wasn’t mine, it was his,” Mu Anxiao pointed at Feng Qishi.
The spectral child said, “Are you the female swindler who ascended by drinking Shen Yan’s immortal blood?”
“You know me?” Mu Anxiao was surprised that the spirits here knew about her.
“Not just know, your story has spread everywhere. If it weren’t for you, Shen Yan probably wouldn’t have had so many troubles. You…”
Feng Qishi interrupted, unable to listen any further, “It’s all in the past. What’s the point of saying so much? It’s me in front of you now, not Shen Yan. Besides, I, who have reincarnated, haven’t said anything. What’s the meaning of you saying so much?”
“I miss the you from my previous life,” the spectral child said, pouting.
“No,” Feng Qishi smiled helplessly, “how pathetic must I be for you to speak like this? It’s really hurtful, child.”
“In your previous life, you were not bound by the mundane world. The current you is truly pitiful,” the spectral child began to cry inexplicably.
Mu Anxiao looked at the spectral child’s pouting, tear-streaked face, then at Feng Qishi’s, and couldn’t help but recall Shen Yan from the previous life, who never liked to meddle and was never bound by any worldly affairs. She said, “Although I haven’t found a solution yet, don’t worry, I will rack my brains to find a way to take you away.”
“Your words are enough. Also, you don’t need to be so pessimistic. I just want to leave here, not die. Your faces are really making me speechless.” The moment Mu Anxiao spoke, Feng Qishi became cheerful again.
“You’re so pitiful to have such a mother,” the spectral child continued to provoke Feng Qishi’s emotions.
Mu Anxiao looked at the spectral child speechlessly and said, “Alas, since I’m already here, you can leave now.”
“No, I want to look at him a few more times,” the spectral child said, looking at Feng Qishi through his tears.
Feng Qishi looked at the spectral child’s face and couldn’t help but smile, “You were silent the entire time since you came in, were you brewing this up?” He pointed at the tears on the spectral child’s face.
“Mmm, I was too embarrassed to cry,” the spectral child admitted.
Feng Qishi chuckled.
Mu Anxiao looked at Feng Qishi’s face, then at the spectral child, and said, “Alright, when he’s about to leave, I’ll find you.”
“Don’t lie to me,” the spectral child pointed at Mu Anxiao.
“Why would I lie to you? Don’t worry, I’ll return a complete Shen…” Mu Anxiao paused, glanced at Feng Qishi, and corrected herself, “I’ll return a complete Feng Qishi to you.”
“You’d better return everything,” the spectral child pointed at Mu Anxiao and then crouched down before disappearing.
Mu Anxiao let out a sigh of relief.
Feng Qishi’s smile faded as he asked, “Was your relationship with me in the previous life good?”
“Why are you asking this?” Mu Anxiao asked Feng Qishi in return.
Feng Qishi looked at Mu Anxiao without a trace of a smile and said, “I want to ask, because only by asking you can I be at ease.”
“You don’t trust me.”
“You did those things in your previous life. You want me to trust you?” Feng Qishi’s eyes held only indifference. “Do you think that’s possible?”
Mu Anxiao looked at Feng Qishi’s face and suddenly remembered Shen Yan’s expression when they had a falling out that year. Her eyes darkened as she said, “Don’t worry, I won’t lie to you. If I lie to you, may I…”
“Alright, I trust you,” Feng Qishi interrupted, not wanting Mu Anxiao to utter a curse upon herself.
Mu Anxiao pursed her lips. As she took two steps forward, a sudden dull pain struck her chest. She stopped abruptly, her expression turning grim. Seeing this, Feng Qishi quickly threw off the covers and asked, “Is the spiritual energy surging?”
Mu Anxiao could barely hear Feng Qishi’s voice. After a few rapid breaths, she crouched down.
Feng Qishi’s eyes widened as he looked at his legs and feet, clenching his fists. “Mu Anxiao, don’t scare me.”
Mu Anxiao shook her head. With her last bit of strength, she sat down cross-legged and said, “I will return the immortal magic to you, but not now. I still have things to do. I’m sorry, Feng Qishi, I…” She trembled as she placed two fingers on her shoulder, “I will return it to you, but not now, not now.” As she spoke, she used the remaining immortal spiritual energy within her to activate a sealing technique, forcefully suppressing the spiritual energy within her.
Feng Qishi looked down at the slowly flowing immortal light within him and asked, “What is this?”
Mu Anxiao took a deep breath, removed her fingers from her shoulder, and said, “Your immortal light, your spiritual energy.”
“Are spiritual energy and immortal magic the same?” Feng Qishi asked.
Mu Anxiao pushed herself up with difficulty, saying, “Yes, people in the past called it spiritual energy, and now it’s called immortal magic.”
“Why isn’t it called immortal energy?” Feng Qishi questioned.
Mu Anxiao shook her head, “I don’t know. I just follow what others say. Anyway, it’s called immortal magic.”
“Can I use spells?” Feng Qishi asked curiously.
Mu Anxiao walked to Feng Qishi’s bedside and sat on the stool, saying, “Let me explain. Immortal magic and spells are complementary. You can’t have spells without immortal magic, and you can’t have immortal magic without understanding spells. Anyway,” she said, “you can only use spells after you cultivate.”
“What about you?” Feng Qishi asked.
“I also need to cultivate, but compared to you, I have immortal age. I only need to re-cultivate my immortal magic and spells. But you need to cultivate immortal age,” Mu Anxiao said seriously.
“What is immortal age?”
“It’s age. Anyway, after you come back with me, you’ll need to cultivate immortality again. As for the process!” Mu Anxiao shrugged her shoulders and said, “I don’t know.”
“What do you know?” Feng Qishi asked, looking at Mu Anxiao with disdain.