After a moment of silence, Mu Anxiao thought of Ouyang Ye, who had appeared as a carriage driver. It was at this instant that she suspected Ouyang Ye might be the 'bribed person.' However, considering the timing of Ouyang Ye's arrival, she dismissed the thought. At the same time, abandoning all speculation, she casually pulled the money pouch from her waist and said, "Come in," opening its mouth and aiming it at the silver needle.
"What are you doing?" the silver needle asked, having a premonition that Mu Anxiao was about to do something.
"Going to find A Ju," Mu Anxiao stated directly, feeling there was no need to hide it.
Upon hearing this, the silver needle immediately flew into the money pouch and said, "Absolutely do not let me out."
"There's nothing for you to do here, so naturally, I won't let you out," Mu Anxiao replied. After sealing the money pouch, she hung it back at her waist, then turned around and froze, staring ahead.
At that moment, Feng Qishi stood directly opposite Mu Anxiao, so Mu Anxiao's pause startled Feng Qishi.
"She saw me," he mumbled, glancing down at his body and shaking his head slightly. "It doesn't make sense."
Simultaneously, Mu Anxiao took a deep breath, tilted her head to look at the sky, and muttered, "If I let him come, wouldn't it be more reliable? If I go now, they definitely won't let me in, right?" She began to hesitate, wondering whether to seek support from Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Mu Anxiao's words.
Immediately after, Mu Anxiao began to try contacting Feng Qishi in her own way, "Shen Fengzi, I have something to tell you."
At that moment, Feng Qishi was calmly watching the anxious Mu Anxiao opposite him, intentionally remaining silent.
Subsequently, Mu Anxiao tried this method to summon Feng Qishi several more times.
"..." Feng Qishi remained silent, watching Mu Anxiao with a smirk.
Mu Anxiao's patience was limited. After calling out for a while, her temper began to flare. Clenching her fists, she muttered, "Liar, I'll never trust him again." With that, she huffily walked forward, passed Feng Qishi, and headed towards the maids' courtyard.
Then, Feng Qishi looked down at the blue light emanating from his body, swallowing hard, and realizing that Mu Anxiao was angry.
His nerves tightened, and he quickly turned and caught up with Mu Anxiao.
In the next moment, Feng Qishi suddenly appeared in front of Mu Anxiao.
At the same moment, Mu Anxiao stopped abruptly, looking at Feng Qishi, who was smiling and pretending to know nothing, and remained silent.
Feng Qishi feigned ignorance, "What's wrong?"
Mu Anxiao looked up and glared at Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi pretended to be surprised, "Have you encountered some difficulty?" he asked, glancing left and right.
Mu Anxiao gasped and asked, "Did you hear me calling you?" she glared at Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi smiled, "I did."
"You did," Mu Anxiao followed up with annoyance. "You heard me, and you still ignored me."
Seeing Mu Anxiao's annoyed expression and recalling how anxious she had sounded when summoning him, Feng Qishi couldn't help but reach out and pinch her cheek, saying, "Here I am." As he spoke, he even pulled Mu Anxiao's cheek outwards.
Mu Anxiao frowned and immediately raised her hand to grab Feng Qishi's wrist. Just as she was about to speak, the voices of two maids came in unison from behind Feng Qishi, "Your servant, greets the General." The two of them stopped behind Feng Qishi.
Upon hearing this, Feng Qishi became uneasy. He stared at Mu Anxiao for a few seconds, then, together with Mu Anxiao, released his grip and turned to face the two maids, feigning seriousness, "What did you hear?"
"Nothing," they replied in unison.
Feng Qishi breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I understand. You may leave."
"Yes, General," they said, bypassing Feng Qishi. After glancing at Mu Anxiao, they walked away.
Mu Anxiao's expression stiffened. She raised her hand, rubbing her cheek, and turned to look at the two maids who had quickened their pace. "Your dignity is gone just like that," she said, turning back to look at Feng Qishi.
Hearing this, Feng Qishi turned to Mu Anxiao and said, "The maids in my manor are all dreamers."
"What do you mean?" Mu Anxiao felt Feng Qishi's words implied something more.
Feng Qishi smiled faintly.
Mu Anxiao stared at Feng Qishi's face and said, "Fengzi, you'd better explain yourself clearly. Stop being cryptic, alright?" Her expression became visibly uncomfortable.
Feng Qishi maintained his smile, then leaned down slightly, reached into Mu Anxiao's ear, and whispered, "Listen carefully." As he spoke, he snapped his fingers near Mu Anxiao's ear.
Upon hearing this, Mu Anxiao raised her face to meet Feng Qishi's eyes.
Feng Qishi looked at Mu Anxiao, swallowed his Adam's apple, straightened up, cleared his throat, and said, "Don't look at me, listen." He then turned his face away.
Just as Mu Anxiao was feeling confused by Feng Qishi's behavior, the conversation between the two maids clearly reached her ears.
"Did you see that? The General and that subordinate are so close. There must be something going on between them," said the maid on the left.
The one on the right agreed, "Definitely. I always wondered why the General didn't like interacting with women. Turns out," she chuckled twice, "he has a penchant for men."
"Exactly. I've never seen the General so close to any other woman. Even when they interact, he just gives a fake smile, but with that man, it's different."
"The way he acts is simply intimate."
"Yes, I wish the General would pinch my cheek like that."
"Forget it. The General wouldn't even look at our faces."
"No, it's that subordinate's face that's too big. When I walked past earlier, I couldn't see his features, only flesh."
"You're just trying to comfort yourself," the maid on the right said, laughing.
The maid on the left also laughed upon hearing this.
Thus, their laughter filled Mu Anxiao's ears. She then raised her hand and rubbed her face twice, saying, "Is my face that big?" She knew Feng Qishi must have heard their conversation as well.
Hearing this, Feng Qishi turned to look at Mu Anxiao, cleared his throat, withdrew the magical influence near her ear, and feigned ignorance, "What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb. You definitely heard them too," Mu Anxiao said angrily.
Feng Qishi smiled faintly, "I did. Now," he took a step forward, placed his hands on Mu Anxiao's shoulders, suppressed his laughter, and said with feigned seriousness, "We can be considered to have a homosexual relationship."
"What?"
"The maids in my manor have a characteristic: they gossip a lot. You should be careful."
However, hearing Feng Qishi's words, Mu Anxiao became flustered. "You are the General. You're just letting them slander your reputation like this? Are you crazy?"
"After all, you are with me."
"I'm not with you," Mu Anxiao said angrily.
Feng Qishi laughed, "It's already happened, so you'll just have to accept it."
"I..." Mu Anxiao uttered a syllable, then, bewildered, she didn't understand Feng Qishi. "No, do you have a masochistic tendency? Those people are damaging your reputation, and you're not angry? Not only are you not angry, but you're also turning a blind eye. You're simply insane."
"If it were before, I would care. Now, I don't."
"Why?"
"Because it was you who made me understand that I am an immortal," Feng Qishi said, dropping his playful demeanor. "Think about it, they are humans with only a few decades of life in this world. It's good enough for me to be a passerby in their lives, a topic of conversation during their leisure time."
"..." Mu Anxiao couldn't understand Feng Qishi's thinking. She let out a cold laugh and said, "There's a saying, 'give them an inch, they'll take a mile.' When your reputation is ruined, don't regret it." With that, she walked past Feng Qishi and left first.
Feng Qishi smiled faintly, "I'm willing to be ruined together with you," he said, then turned and quickly caught up with Mu Anxiao.