Shen Lu watched Mu Anxiao's expression, which seemed to be a display of sorrow for Hong Yan, and said indifferently, "She's living far better than you now, so don't worry about her. You should focus on yourself," he said, looking down at his arm, which Mu Anxiao was still tightly holding. "And, you can let go now."
Mu Anxiao: "I should indeed think about myself, but," she released his arm, "I don't think it's right for you to speak about Hong Yan like that."
"It's already good that I could bring her up. It's not me being critical, Mu Anxiao, but why have you become so fussy now?" Shen Lu said with disdain.
Mu Anxiao glared at Shen Lu and asked, "How long have you been in this mortal realm?"
"Quite a long time."
"Quite a long time," Mu Anxiao said, tilting her head up to stare at Shen Lu. "Speaking of which, you're something else. You've searched for so long and still haven't found the destined immortal woman. I truly don't know what to say to you."
"You should mind your own business," Shen Lu glanced sideways at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao lowered her eyes and smiled, deliberately saying, "You'll regret treating Hong Yan like this in the future." As she spoke, she reached out and took the lantern from Shen Lu's hand.
Shen Lu looked at her and said dismissively, "Mu Anxiao, what are you doing?"
"The road is dark, I'll borrow your lantern. I need to go find your senior brother."
"You?" Shen Lu suddenly said.
Mu Anxiao looked at Shen Lu's condescending gaze and, like him, said with disdain, "Yes, me. What about it?" She widened her eyes.
Shen Lu smiled.
Mu Anxiao looked at him in confusion and asked, "No, what are you laughing at? You..." Before she could finish, she suddenly remembered what Shen Lu had said before the topic of Hong Yan, and her expression froze. "What did you mean when you said my senior brother suffered greatly for me?"
Shen Lu: "For you, he's willing to marry the woman Ouyang Ye arranged for him."
"What?" Mu Anxiao was stunned.
"My senior brother said," Shen Lu looked down into Mu Anxiao's eyes and said in a low voice, "Since you're unwilling to marry him anyway, then he'll let you go. Marriage is something he should have done a long time ago. In this life, it's just..."
"Where is he now," Mu Anxiao interrupted, unable to listen further.
Shen Lu sighed, "It's that thatched hut. You should have been there before."
"The thatched hut?" Mu Anxiao repeated, suddenly remembering the thatched hut in the corner of the city wall. She shook her head, "No, I need to go find him." With that, she turned and ran.
Conversely, Shen Lu calmly watched Mu Anxiao's receding figure, smiled down at the ground, and turned away, disappearing.
A moment later.
Mu Anxiao ran to the back door and saw that it was chained. She frowned slightly, looked up at the wall, and then, without a second thought, took a few steps back, rushed forward, and leaped onto the wall, climbing over it.
At the same time, the woman who intended to harm Lin Zhao appeared and muttered, "What's she in such a hurry for?" Saying that, she passed through the wall and followed her.
A quarter of an hour later.
Mu Anxiao, relying on her memory and the light from the roadside lanterns, ran through several alleys and arrived at the corner of the city wall. To her surprise, there was nothing there.
"No way." She stopped, looking around in disbelief, and then suddenly remembered... the thatched hut could only be seen when one was trusted by Ouyang Ye. Realizing this, she knew she had been tricked by Ouyang Ye again. "Damn it," she panted, clenching her fist.
"What are you doing here?"
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao slowly turned to look at the woman who had followed her and exclaimed, "You're stalking me."
"What are you doing here?" the woman asked again.
Mu Anxiao said, "It has nothing to do with you, this is my own business." As she spoke, she looked back behind her, and there was still nothing.
On the contrary, the woman began to suspect Mu Anxiao, "You deliberately led me here, didn't you?"
"No," Mu Anxiao, too lazy to talk to the woman, turned and left.
The woman frowned and quickened her pace, following Mu Anxiao. She said, "You deliberately brought me out because you knew I would definitely make a move on Lin Zhao. You..."
"That's enough, I came out to find someone," Mu Anxiao said, turning to look at the woman following her. After a moment's thought, she said, "Right, I have a question for you." She stopped, thinking that perhaps the woman could see the thatched hut.
The woman: "You want to harm me, and you still want to ask me questions? You have quite the thick skin."
"Can you see the thatched hut over there?" Mu Anxiao got straight to the point, gesturing to the empty space beside her.
Immediately, the woman followed Mu Anxiao's finger, turned her head to look, and said, "I see it. It's a thatched hut."
"You can really see it?" Mu Anxiao was astonished.
The woman frowned, "I see it, don't you?" As she spoke, she glanced at the thatched hut again.
She saw it!
The woman's words also led Mu Anxiao to a new line of thought. She looked sideways at 'the empty space' and realized that Ouyang Ye trusted no one, not gods, only demons.
Thinking this, she turned back to the woman, and just as she was about to ask the woman to help her take a look, a strong wind blew.
Then, after swaying twice with the wind, the woman was blown away.
Mu Anxiao stood rooted to the spot. As she raised an arm, attempting to cast a spell, a hand suddenly grabbed her arm. She started, and before she could speak, she lost consciousness.
After an unknown period, Mu Anxiao woke up. However, she was not in the General's Mansion but in a dilapidated temple outside the city. Looking at the cobweb-covered beams, she couldn't help but recall the first time she hid from Shen Yan decades ago. Blinking her eyes, she slightly turned her head to look at the bonfire beside her, her heart sinking as she sat up.
"You're awake."
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao was startled. She twisted her head and said, "Why is it you again?"
"That's right, it's me again," Shen Lu said with a smile.
Mu Anxiao raised her hand and patted her forehead, saying, "You did it on purpose."
"Yes, on purpose," Shen Lu said, handing Mu Anxiao the wooden stick with a chicken leg stuck in it. "Want some?"
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao leaned over and took the chicken leg. "Why did you deliberately trick me like this?"
"I just wanted to see how deep your feelings for my senior brother were," Shen Lu said, smiling slightly. "They are indeed quite deep."
"Boring," Mu Anxiao said, taking a bite of the chicken leg. Then, she realized something was wrong and quickly looked at Shen Lu, saying, "Your senior brother didn't agree to Ouyang Ye."
Hearing Mu Anxiao's words, Shen Lu couldn't help but laugh.
Mu Anxiao glared at Shen Lu and took another bite of the chicken leg, saying, "You deliberately led me there, didn't you?"
"Some people are just too foolish," Shen Lu said, picking up the wine pot and offering it to Mu Anxiao. "Want to drink?"
Mu Anxiao shook her head, chewing the chicken in her mouth.