Although Xiaojia was small, her aura never lost to an adult's. Seeing Xiaojia, Lou Yi, not daring to act rashly, obediently withdrew his hand.
Xiaojia put down her hand and stared at Bing'er's face.
At the same time, Mu Anxiao's consciousness, following the breath from her palm, penetrated into Bing'er's body. The surroundings were dim, and Mu Anxiao followed the red light, moving inwards.
As she walked, the light ahead expanded. Mu Anxiao looked at the seven-colored beam of light not far ahead and stopped.
Beyond the seven-colored beam, Bing'er, dressed in a white skirt, peered through the gap at Mu Anxiao, who stood not far away, and said, "Are you here to save me?"
Hearing Bing'er's expectant voice, Mu Anxiao's eyes sank. She quickly walked forward, scanned the seven-colored beam of light before her, and asked, "How long have you been here?" As she spoke, she looked down at Bing'er.
"A long time," Bing'er replied, looking up at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao looked at Bing'er, who appeared much younger than she should at this time, and felt a strange unease. Swallowing, she crouched down, met Bing'er's gaze directly, and said, "How long is a long time? Do you know?" She wanted to obtain useful information from Bing'er.
Bing'er shook her head and then smiled, "Aren't these beams of light beautiful?"
"They are."
"At first, there was only red light. At that time, I was very cold, very cold. But gradually, these lights appeared, and I wasn't cold anymore," Bing'er said with a childlike smile.
This was how Bing'er should be.
However, Mu Anxiao had never seen this side of Bing'er since the day she met her. Looking at her now, Mu Anxiao's eyes sank. She realized that Bing'er's body had likely been occupied long ago, but she didn't know it.
"Is that so? Do you want to go out now?" Mu Anxiao asked.
Bing'er took a half-step back. "I want to, but I'm afraid."
"Why?"
"Because," Bing'er pursed her lips, "it's so cold. I'm afraid of the cold."
"Is that so? Then why do you still want me to save you?" Mu Anxiao asked intentionally, believing she could get useful information from Bing'er.
Bing'er lowered her eyelids slightly. "Because I'm conflicted."
"Conflicted?"
"Yes, I want to see my father, but I don't want him to be sad," Bing'er said, looking disappointed. "I know my life is coming to an end."
"You..."
"Father will be very sad to see me like that, so I don't want him to see me die. But," Bing'er pouted, "I miss him."
"Bing'er."
"Sister, I have a question I'm confused about," Bing'er suddenly said.
Mu Anxiao frowned. "What do you want to ask? Go ahead." She perceived Bing'er's loneliness and thus cooperated.
"I can feel everything in the outside world, but I'm always drowsy. Also, I feel like there's another me inside my body."
"Another you?"
"Yes."
Mu Anxiao looked at Bing'er's determined expression and thought of Gu Yan. She asked, "Has it been like this since you came here?"
"Yes."
"Can you still feel it now?"
Bing'er shook her head, then said, "But I feel like she's looking for me. Her aura is terrifying. I always feel," she said, "like she wants to destroy me completely. I don't want to die, so whenever she comes, I hide and dare not move. That way, she can't find me."
"..."
Mu Anxiao had never encountered such things before. She only knew that a person's vitality was very tenacious, so tenacious that miracles happened all the time.
Now, Bing'er was using her small body to hide from Gu Yan and Ouyang Ye.
Not only that, but she could actually conceal her own aura, which surprised Mu Anxiao. She was so surprised that she had nothing more to say.
Bing'er: "Why aren't you talking anymore?"
Mu Anxiao put aside her emotions and came back to her senses. "Bing'er, why did you come out when I came in?"
"I know you will protect me, because," Bing'er pointed at the seven-colored beam of light, "you are warm like these lights." She smiled.
Mu Anxiao was taken aback. She looked at the seven-colored beam of light and couldn't help but recall Gu Qin's resolute attitude to save Bing'er. Her eyes sank. "It seems this was her doing."
"What?" Bing'er didn't understand.
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao came back to her senses and shook her head. "It's nothing." She then stood up. "Bing'er, I will save you."
"Sister..."
"I will definitely let you see your father again. Don't worry."
"Sister, are you leaving?"
"Yes. When you wake up next time, you won't be cold anymore."
"Okay." Bing'er was happy to hear she wouldn't be cold.
"I'm leaving. Goodbye." Mu Anxiao waved her hand.
Bing'er smiled.
Thus, Bing'er's smile was imprinted in Mu Anxiao's mind. Turning around, she walked back in the direction she came from from memory.
As the seven-colored beam of light receded, Mu Anxiao turned into a blue light and disappeared into the darkness.
The next moment.
Mu Anxiao opened her eyes, removed her hand, and fell silent.
Feng Qishi looked at Mu Anxiao's expression with confusion and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I know," Mu Anxiao said faintly.
"What?" Feng Qishi asked, confused.
Mu Anxiao took a deep breath, turned to Feng Qishi, and said, "The reason Ouyang Ye couldn't break the sorcery was that what was sustaining Bing'er's body... wasn't sorcery."
"Then what is it?"
"It's spiritual energy," Mu Anxiao said, lowering her eyelids slightly. "Gu Qin did it."
"So that ointment was hers..."
Before Xiaojia could finish speaking, Mu Anxiao interrupted, "The owner of the ointment was Ouyang Ye. Ouyang Ye gave it to Gu Yan. She stole the ointment from Gu Yan, all to absorb the spiritual energy and protect Bing'er."
"You saw Bing'er?" Feng Qishi asked.
Mu Anxiao looked at Feng Qishi, hesitated, and then asked, "I want to ask you a question."
"Go ahead," Feng Qishi said seriously.
Mu Anxiao pursed her lips. "When do you think Bing'er changed? I mean her personality."
"When?" Feng Qishi said, lowering his eyelids.
Lou Yi quietly watched Feng Qishi and asked, "Why are you asking him this? Does it have anything to do with this matter?" He leaned forward slightly, shifting his gaze to Mu Anxiao's face.
Mu Anxiao: "It does." She glanced at Lou Yi, then fixed her gaze on Feng Qishi's face.
After thinking for a long time, Feng Qishi said, "I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"Yes. A child grows. If you ask me to pinpoint her changes, it's really difficult. Moreover, I feel like Bing'er's habits have never changed, so," Feng Qishi shook his head slightly, "I can't say."
Xiaojia glanced at Feng Qishi and Mu Anxiao, and finally settled her gaze on Bing'er's face.