"What do you mean by shaking your head like that?" Jia said with a strange tone, walking around the table to stand beside Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao lowered her head, looking at Jia, and instinctively took a step back. "You're not Jia, are you?" she squinted.
Jia chuckled.
Mu Anxiao, utterly bewildered, asked, "What are you laughing at?" She took another step back.
Jia tilted his head up to look at Mu Anxiao and said, "You're very clever. I am indeed not Jia."
"You're not..." Mu Anxiao trailed off, her eyes widening. "You've possessed him."
Jia tilted his head slightly. "Not exactly. I merely..." he grinned sinisterly, "manipulated him a little, because there are some things I don't want him to hear." He glanced at his hand.
Mu Anxiao: "If you only want to speak to me, why don't you show yourself?"
"Show myself..." Jia laughed. "No, I can't show myself, or you'll know who I am."
"You're a woman, and..." Mu Anxiao swallowed, "an old woman."
"What did you say?" Jia's eyes widened.
Mu Anxiao intended to provoke her. Perhaps then, she would reveal herself.
With that thought, Mu Anxiao continued, "I said, you're an old woman." After saying this, Mu Anxiao couldn't help but scan her surroundings.
"You..."
"I know you're angry, but I still have to say it," Mu Anxiao deliberately interrupted, her tone sharp. "As a woman, using a child like this, doesn't your conscience ache?"
"He is an underworld envoy."
"Underworld envoy..." Mu Anxiao repeated. She hadn't expected the woman who had manipulated Jia to understand so much. She then said, "It seems your identity is not ordinary."
"It's none of your business, you..."
"If you weren't using him, I wouldn't bother with you."
"Can you let me finish what I have to say?"
"No, facing you like this makes me very uncomfortable," Mu Anxiao stated plainly.
"You..." She spoke half the sentence and then chuckled. "I didn't expect you to be so picky."
"I am picky. I'll give you three counts to stop." Mu Anxiao began to count down. "Three..."
"Shut up," Jia said sternly, and then fainted.
Immediately, Mu Anxiao retracted the 'two' that had reached her lips. She looked down at the fallen Jia and asked, "Where are you?"
"..." There was no response.
Mu Anxiao frowned and cautiously scanned her surroundings. "It seems you want to hide, not wanting me to see you." She then tilted her head back towards the blue beam of light on the ceiling.
"You found me."
This time, the woman's voice sounded younger.
Mu Anxiao: "Do you care so much about what I say?" She spoke, and the corner of her mouth curved upwards.
The woman: "Don't be so narcissistic. I was always this young. I was just pretending earlier."
"Pretending..." Mu Anxiao laughed. "If that's the case, then show yourself so I can see what you look like."
"I cannot show myself," the woman said again.
Mu Anxiao laughed. "If you can't show yourself, then that means you're very ugly."
"Say that again." The woman's voice turned sinister.
Mu Anxiao stared at the blue light and sneered twice. "Say it again. You like it when I call you ugly? You're quite self-abusive."
"You..."
"If you came to find me, you must have something on your mind. So," Mu Anxiao said, taking two steps forward and sitting down, "show yourself. Let's sit down and have a good chat." As she spoke, she reached for the teapot.
The woman: "You want me to sit down... I won't."
"Stubborn," Mu Anxiao said, looking down at Jia on the ground. "This child should have a good sleep."
"Mu Xiao."
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao's eyes brightened. She casually put down the teapot, tilted her head towards the blue light, and asked, "Who exactly are you?"
"Who I am is not important, you..."
"You are Mu Xiao." Mu Anxiao interrupted, her gaze firm.
"I am not." The woman's voice was low. With a swift movement, she darted down from the ceiling and appeared before Mu Anxiao. "I know you are Mu Xiao."
Mu Anxiao looked at the blue light before her up close and said, "You know I am Mu Xiao. It seems you don't understand me thoroughly enough."
"What do you mean by that?"
"What do I mean? Figure it out yourself." Mu Anxiao said, picking up the teapot again to refill the teacup before her. "This is top-grade tea. Are you sure you don't want some?" she said without looking up.
"I don't like it."
"Don't like it," Mu Anxiao said, her lips curving upwards slightly. Then she picked up the cup, lowered her head, and inhaled the aroma. "Hmm, it smells truly special."
"Can we get to the point?" the woman asked again.
Mu Anxiao continued to smell the tea without looking up. "You know, Mu Gui is usually stingy, but he's truly generous with guests. This tea," she smiled, "I've never even tasted it."
"Can we get to the point?" the woman continued.
Mu Anxiao looked up. "What point? Do you want me to get to the point with you flying around?" she asked pointedly.
The woman paused for a few seconds. "What do you think?"
"We're not familiar with each other, how would I know what you want to talk about?" Mu Anxiao said deliberately.
The woman: "We're not familiar, but if I came to find you, it's definitely to ask for a favor. You now..."
"Since you're here to ask for a favor, then show yourself," Mu Anxiao said calmly, staring at the blue light. "I don't want to talk to a ball of light, it's quite strange."
"How is it strange? You've been interacting with this little guy for so long," the woman said, directing the light towards Jia. "Don't you find it troublesome?"
"What's troublesome about it? At least he's using his original form," Mu Anxiao said with a sarcastic tone.
The woman was speechless.
Seeing that the woman was no longer speaking, Mu Anxiao smiled. "Think it over. My time is limited." She then took a sip of tea.
"..." The woman remained silent.
Minutes later.
After the blue light circled the room, a young woman dressed in blue appeared across the table. "Now we can communicate, right?"
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao put down the teacup she had picked up for the nth time, looked up at the fresh and refined young woman before her, and asked, "Are you sure this is your original form?"
Mu Anxiao had gone to such lengths because she had always suspected that the person who had helped her might be Mai Xia.
Unexpectedly, the woman who appeared before her looked completely different from Mai Xia.
She was, understandably, surprised.
"Yes." The woman uttered a single word.
Mu Anxiao smiled faintly. "Then I'm truly disappointed."
"Disappointed..." The woman's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that?"
Mu Anxiao yawned and asked, "Since you've come to find me for help, can you tell me your name?" She raised her hand to wipe away tears from her eyes, her gaze fixed on the woman's face.
The woman: "What my name is, has nothing to do with you..."
"It doesn't have much to do with me, but the way you are makes me think you are Mu Xiao."
"Mu Xiao?" the woman repeated, and then said casually, "That's not right. Isn't Mu Xiao your junior sister? Have you never met her? Or are you lying?"
Hearing the woman's words, Mu Anxiao couldn't help but recall the many reasons she had given Mai Xia. She then stared at the woman, her expression stiffening, and asked, "Are you Mai Xia?"
The woman: "Mai Xia..." She repeated, her eyes seeming to flicker. "How could I be Mai Xia? Mai Xia is an older woman, while I am still very young."
"Why are your eyes flickering?"
"I'm not. I'm just..." The woman trailed off, then grew angry. "Mu Anxiao, what exactly do you mean?"
Mu Anxiao?
Hearing the woman address her directly, Mu Anxiao laughed. "It seems you know who I am."
"You..."
"Since that's the case, then stop acting in front of me, Mai Xia." Mu Anxiao said softly.
The woman frowned. "I've already told you, I am not Mai Xia."
"Not Mai Xia," Mu Anxiao said, giving a cold laugh. "Fine, then tell me, who are you?"
"I am..."
"I hope you can come up with a believable name, so we don't waste time on this. It's quite pointless," Mu Anxiao interrupted again, picking up the teacup and taking a sip. "Right, Mai Xia?"
"I am not Mai Xia." The woman was firm.
Mu Anxiao sneered. "Good, you're persistent."
"I really am not Mai Xia, but," the woman was driven to distraction by Mu Anxiao, "I do have some connection with Mai Xia."
Upon hearing this, Mu Anxiao paused the teacup at her lips, looked up at the woman, and asked, "Connection? What do you mean?"
"I am an immortal. Do you believe me?" the woman suddenly asked.
Mu Anxiao frowned. "You say you are an immortal?" she asked, sizing up the woman before asking again, "What is your name?"
"My name is Mai Liang."
"Mai Liang?" Mu Anxiao was taken aback by the woman's name and laughed. "That's too far-fetched. Why don't you call yourself Mai Dong?"
"My name is truly Mai Liang. Mai Xia is my sister."
"Your sister?"
"Yes. Actually, I've always been by her side."
"You've always been by her side," Mu Anxiao had never sensed Mai Liang's presence before. Hearing Mai Liang say this so suddenly, she was a little stunned. "Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure. I'm the one who's by her side."
"You're not human." Mu Anxiao corrected.
Mai Liang lowered her eyelids slightly. "Yes, I'm not human. I'm an immortal."
"You..." Mu Anxiao tilted her head back, somewhat puzzled. "Wait, so does that mean your sister is also an immortal?" She carefully observed Mai Liang's expression.
Mai Liang shook her head.
"No... then why are you? And," Mu Anxiao leaned forward and sniffed the air, "why don't you have any immortal aura about you?"
"..." Mai Liang suddenly fell silent.
Seeing that Mai Liang wasn't speaking, Mu Anxiao asked again, "What's wrong?"
Mai Liang said in a low voice, "I think I am the most unfortunate person in the world."
"Unfortunate..." Mu Anxiao repeated, questioning, "Didn't you become an immortal through your own cultivation?"
"I was forced to become an immortal."
"Forced... When did you become an immortal?" Mu Anxiao asked, though from Mai Liang's youthful appearance, she could tell that Mai Liang had likely become an immortal a very long time ago.
"Twenty years ago."
"Twenty years ago?" Mu Anxiao feigned surprise. "Could your sister see you then?"
"Before Mu Xiao got lost, my sister couldn't see me."
"After she got lost, she could?"
"Yes. I'm also very confused about this, but," Mai Liang said, lowering her eyelids slightly, "my sister can only see me at night."
"At night?" Mu Anxiao exclaimed, chuckling dryly. "That's quite a chilling thing."
"I am not a ghost."
"Your path to becoming an immortal was certainly not a normal one, was it?" Mu Anxiao suddenly said.
Mai Liang frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
"You don't have a body anymore." Mu Anxiao stated directly.
A shadow fell over Mai Liang's eyes. "You've seen through it."
"You died and became an immortal soul. Therefore," Mu Anxiao thought for a moment and continued, "you are only half an immortal. Because of this, your sister can only see you at night."
"To think you figured it out."
"Mm," Mu Anxiao nodded unassumingly and asked, "You came to find me, what do you want?"
"Tell me the truth." Mai Liang suddenly said.
Mu Anxiao's expression stiffened. "Tell you what truth? I don't quite understand?"
Seeing Mu Anxiao's confused expression, Mai Liang made it clear. "Tell me, Mu Xiao, where exactly is she?"