Lou Yi and Jia dared not speak further, meeting Mu Anxiao's intense gaze.
Mu Anxiao let out a soft sigh, lowered her head to look at Bing'er, and then at Bing'er's expectant eyes waiting for rescue. Her heart sank, and she stood up.
"What are you doing?" Jia asked, confused.
Mu Anxiao replied, "I'm going to take a look."
"Where... where are you going?" Lou Yi inquired.
Mu Anxiao paused for a moment, then sat back down.
Seeing Mu Anxiao sit down, Lou Yi stiffened and asked again, "Why did you sit down?"
Jia shot Lou Yi a glance.
Lou Yi fell silent.
Mu Anxiao lowered her head, staring at Bing'er's face, and began to speculate about everything. Even if her guesses weren't entirely correct, she felt it was better to engage her mind than to do nothing. Perhaps, by thinking, she could connect the dots to reality.
Meanwhile.
Feng Qishi strolled to the driver's room and, just as he was about to knock, sensed a demonic aura behind him. He retracted his hand and turned to face Zhao Xiang.
Zhao Xiang's expression was displeased. "Didn't you go to the latrine? Why are you here?"
"Why are you here?" Feng Qishi frowned slightly.
Zhao Xiang replied, "You were here just now, so I figured you'd likely be here now. That's why I came to find you." As he spoke, he walked towards Feng Qishi. xxs壹贰
"You've guessed quite accurately."
"..." Zhao Xiang chuckled and pointed at the door. "Is Bing'er back?"
"No."
"No? Then why are you here?"
"I wanted to chat with the driver. If you have nothing else, you should head back first."
"Together. I haven't spoken with the driver in a while either. This is a good opportunity," Zhao Xiang said, bypassing Feng Qishi and raising his hand to knock on the door.
Feng Qishi's eyes darkened, and he turned away.
After a few knocks.
There was no sound from inside.
Zhao Xiang lowered his hand and said plainly, "He's not in."
Feng Qishi glanced at Zhao Xiang and remarked, "He might have gone out." With that, he turned and walked away.
Zhao Xiang followed.
Feng Qishi suddenly felt his freedom curtailed. After a period of silence, he decided to try and glean some information from Zhao Xiang.
"You really like A Mei," he stated abruptly.
Zhao Xiang laughed. "I do. If it were up to me, I'd just have her come with me. It's quite time-consuming here with you. What do you think," he raised an eyebrow, "am I right?"
"Yes, but she's currently Mu Xiao's maid. If I gave her to you, Mu Xiao would surely be unhappy."
"You care so much about her feelings?"
"She's a maid favored by Empress Miao. Although she doesn't need to enter the palace now, Empress Miao's thoughts change by the minute. So, I must be cautious to avoid offending her, as it wouldn't benefit me."
"You're quite timid," Zhao Xiang concluded casually.
Feng Qishi sighed and asked, "By the way, didn't you say you wanted to be a general? Your injuries have healed. What about the future..."
"I want to stay home and do business. Fighting is too dangerous."
"You didn't say that before."
"That was in the past. Things are different now. I still think it's better to be a young master," Zhao Xiang said, stopping with Feng Qishi at the base of a rockery.
Feng Qishi looked up at the rockery. Before he could speak, Zhao Xiang suddenly asked, "Mo Yun, do you suspect me?"
However, Feng Qishi had never expected Zhao Xiang to say such a thing while walking. He looked at him, and Feng Qishi furrowed his brow. "What do you mean by that?"
"I feel you're on guard against me. Although," Zhao Xiang continued, "I don't know why you are, I think it's mostly influenced by Mu Xiao."
"What does Mu Xiao have to do with it?"
"Ever since she appeared, you've been guarded towards me. Now, you're even deceiving me. You call me brother, and I came to see you because I missed you, but instead, you treat me like this. If that's the case, I'll leave..." Mid-sentence, Zhao Xiang's eyes widened, and he collapsed.
Seeing this, Feng Qishi knelt down in a hurry, grabbed Zhao Xiang's arm, and muttered, "What's going on?"
At the same time, a woman's voice came from behind Feng Qishi. "Are you very worried about him?" As she spoke, the demonic aura from Zhao Xiang's body vanished.
Feng Qishi stiffened and stood up, turning to see Gu Yan.
"It's you." He narrowed his eyes.
"He was possessed by a demon soul. I've now driven the demon soul out of his body, so your friend has returned to normal. Don't you," Gu Yan smiled, "owe me thanks?"
Her tone was similar to Bing'er's.
At this moment, Feng Qishi looked at Gu Yan's self-important expression, his eyes darkening. He turned to look at the demon soul hiding behind the tree and asked, "Why did you possess Zhao Xiang's body?"
The demon soul remained silent, hiding behind the tree.
Gu Yan, seeing that Feng Qishi was ignoring her, became angry. "Since you're ignoring me," she said, and then attacked.
Feng Qishi flicked his eyes, dodged swiftly, and sent a beam of light towards Gu Yan. As Gu Yan dodged, the beam struck her shoulder, and she fell.
Seeing this, Feng Qishi quickly moved to shield Zhao Xiang, then looked at Gu Yan, who was sitting up, and asked, "What is your scheme?"
"I helped you, and you treat me like this. You wait, I will definitely make you apologize." With that, Gu Yan disappeared.
Feng Qishi paid no mind to her attitude. Instead, he turned towards the tree where the demon soul was hidden and said coldly, "Come out."
Behind the tree, the demon soul that had possessed Zhao Xiang's body shivered in fear. It quickly circled out from behind the tree and looked at Feng Qishi. "..." It dared not speak and approached Zhao Xiang's body.
"What did you do to Zhao Xiang?" Feng Qishi asked directly.
The demon soul lifted its face.
However, because the demon soul had been standing far away, Feng Qishi hadn't seen its face clearly. Now, at such close range, he was shocked. "Why do you look exactly like Zhao Xiang?"
"I am Zhao Xiang."
"What?" Feng Qishi's eyes widened as if he had heard the most incredible news.
Zhao Xiang explained, "Our family is wealthy because we are all half-demons. Back then, I didn't want to become a true demon, so I ran away. But when I returned, I was seriously injured. My father, to save me, stimulated my demon soul. I..." He sounded wronged. "I didn't want to lie to you."
"Then how could you come out so easily?" Feng Qishi asked, confused, and glanced down at Zhao Xiang's body.
Zhao Xiang continued, "My father collaborated with Ouyang Ye for me. He's also the one who told me to do this just now. It has nothing to do with that woman." He pointed to his own body.
Feng Qishi blinked in surprise. "What are you doing?"
"Can I go back now?" Zhao Xiang asked cautiously, suddenly seeming timid.
Feng Qishi looked at Zhao Xiang's timid expression and felt resigned. "Go back."
"Thank you," Zhao Xiang said and returned.
Feng Qishi stepped aside, looked around, and asked, "What will you do now?"
Zhao Xiang stood up and tidied his clothes. "I've been exposed. How will you deal with me?" He looked cautious.