Mu Anxiao had always refrained from prying into Feng Qishi's experiences over the past year, fearing she might touch upon painful memories for him. Yet, despite this, Mu Anxiao remained puzzled by Feng Qishi's strong aversion to using healing magic, an aversion she had witnessed more than once.
Seeing him like this now, she wondered about the difficulty of communicating with him once she entered the palace. She couldn't help but ask, "You seem resistant. Were you harmed by healing magic?"
"It's just a spell," Feng Qishi disliked Mu Anxiao's probing attitude. "How can a spell harm me or not harm me?"
Upon hearing this, Mu Anxiao observed Feng Qishi's suddenly changed demeanor and then looked at her own wound. She said, "Since you weren't harmed by this spell, then heal me." She deliberately said this, wanting to see what Feng Qishi would say.
This time, Feng Qishi fell silent again.
Mu Anxiao carefully observed Feng Qishi's preoccupied expression and thought of the young boy. She asked intentionally, "Who is that child to you?"
"You don't need to know," Feng Qishi replied coldly.
Mu Anxiao: "I don't need to know. Shen Mo... Feng Qishi, we are partners after all. If you won't let me know everything, can you at least let me know half?" She tried to observe Feng Qishi. "Honestly, I've always wanted to know what you went through this past year."
"Does that have anything to do with you?" Feng Qishi met Mu Anxiao's eyes.
Hearing Feng Qishi's indifferent retort, Mu Anxiao felt an awkwardness creep over her. She was speechless for a few seconds before saying, "It has nothing to do with me, but..."
"I will only help you with missions. Other than that, it's none of my business. Also, I am Shen Moyun now, not Feng Qishi. You," he pointed at Mu Anxiao's face, "remember your identity as well."
"What is my identity?" Mu Anxiao didn't react immediately.
Feng Qishi simply uttered two words: "Mu Xiao."
Mu Anxiao was rendered speechless by this.
Then, Feng Qishi pointed to his arm, which Mu Anxiao was holding, and said two words: "Let go."
"Fine, I'll let go," Mu Anxiao said. She released his arm, took half a step back, and muttered, "That soul has already seen my wound. If I enter the palace, she will definitely check my injuries. If I'm discovered then, I..." She trailed off.
"You'll what?"
"I'll curse you."
"Curse me..." Feng Qishi let out a cold laugh. After replaying Mu Anxiao's words in his mind, he recalled the soul's cunning methods. Then, he hesitated for a moment, suddenly remembering the soul's joyful attitude when conversing with Mu Anxiao earlier. He no longer hesitated and dismissed the thought.
Mu Anxiao, too lazy to say more to Feng Qishi, lowered her head.
Feng Qishi looked down at Mu Anxiao's sudden silence and asked, "What's wrong?"
"As Youxian said, once you enter the palace, there's no possibility of leaving. That soul..." Mu Anxiao said, shaking her head slightly. "She must be terrifying. And now I'm just a half-immortal who can't do anything. Thinking about my life... sigh." She shook her head again.
"You're afraid of death," Feng Qishi said coldly.
Mu Anxiao let out a cold laugh, glanced up at Feng Qishi, then turned her back and looked towards the palace gate. She said, "You know, I have my master, but I feel like having this master is the same as having no master."
Feng Qishi frowned slightly.
Mu Anxiao completely ignored Feng Qishi's reaction, tilted her head back, smiled, and continued, "I have to handle everything myself. If it weren't for Hei Feng, I probably..." She sighed. "Would have died by now."
"What?" Feng Qishi was startled.
Mu Anxiao pursed her lips, turned to face Feng Qishi, and said, "Jia San saved my life multiple times. Jia also came from Hei Feng. Naturally, my life belongs to Hei Feng. This time," her eyes darkened, "if I fail, I'll give my life to Hei Feng. He's a Yin messenger anyway, so it'll be convenient for him to take me. It'll be like using a connection then."
She deliberately exaggerated her words to make Feng Qishi use healing magic on her.
"You're exaggerating," Feng Qishi continued with an extremely cold attitude.
Mu Anxiao said excitedly, "How am I exaggerating? As long as my wound is there, she..."
"She likes you quite a lot. If she knew you were the one who sent Youxian to her, she would be very happy. Of course," Feng Qishi interrupted, becoming serious, "before that, you need to figure out how to deal with her."
"Deal with her?" Mu Anxiao was led by Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi said earnestly, "That is, explain why you can hear her voice."
Mu Anxiao looked at Feng Qishi's serious expression. After contemplating his words in her mind, she said, "What you said is incorrect."
"How is what I said incorrect?" Feng Qishi countered.
Mu Anxiao glanced towards the palace gate again and said, "She is light, and she hasn't revealed her true form. Furthermore," she became serious too, "she doesn't know that I saw her. If I explain these things, wouldn't I be walking into a trap?"
"You..." Feng Qishi pondered what he had said to Mu Anxiao. He said blandly, "Since you know, you can handle the rest yourself." He felt awkward internally, but to avoid being ridiculed by Mu Anxiao, he put on a calm demeanor.
Mu Anxiao fell silent. She suddenly felt something was amiss.
Feng Qishi looked down at Mu Anxiao's sudden silence and asked, "What's wrong?"
Mu Anxiao took a deep breath, looked up, and met Feng Qishi's eyes intently. "Are you saying... I might be able to benefit from this wound, turning misfortune into fortune?"
"You could say that, but only tell her when the soul asks. Remember," Feng Qishi became serious to avoid using healing magic, "you must tell the truth. Don't make up too much of a story."
"You're very experienced."
"This isn't experience, it's common sense. It's," Feng Qishi said earnestly, placing his hand on Mu Anxiao's shoulder, "survival common sense. However, I think you might be more experienced than me."
"What do you mean I'm more experienced than you?"
"You praised that soul so much earlier that she was delighted. I think," Feng Qishi gently patted Mu Anxiao's shoulder, "you must have already thought of a way to deal with her."
"Deal with her..." Mu Anxiao said, lowering her eyelids slightly. "You're really something."
"What do you mean by that?" Feng Qishi withdrew his hand.
Mu Anxiao glanced down at her shoulder, which Feng Qishi had touched, and said faintly, "To stop me from pestering you for healing magic, you've thought of all sorts of ways." She smiled down, then looked up at Feng Qishi. "Don't you think you're something?"
"You..."
"Don't 'you' me. I wonder how you'll find an excuse to avoid using healing magic in front of me next time," Mu Anxiao said, then walked around Feng Qishi towards the carriage.