Mu Anxiao watched the hapless Yin Chai, who couldn't find the entrance, with a helpless look. "Can you do it?" she asked.
Yin Chai: "It's not whether I can do it, it's that I clearly felt the entrance was right here just now?" He looked to both sides again, "But now it's suddenly gone?"
"It's because your abilities are limited," Mu Anxiao taunted.
Abilities?
Yin Chai had always known his abilities were insufficient, but even so, he could still find his way home.
So, encountering such a situation made him quite dejected.
"..."
Wan Sha: "Everyone stumbles, even horses slip. You speaking like this is very irresponsible, Mu Anxiao."
Mu Anxiao understood Wan Sha's ulterior motive.
The moment Wan Sha uttered those words, Mu Anxiao quickly apologized: "I'm sorry, I was wrong."
Yin Chai: "It's alright, I forgive you. But speaking of which, you're the person I've seen who is most eager to go down. Based on your performance, you could have waited a while longer." Saying this, he turned and continued searching.
Mu Anxiao thought to herself, was she that eager?
Wan Sha glanced at Yin Chai, then looked at Mu Anxiao, "What are you thinking about?"
"None of your business," Mu Anxiao said, shifting her gaze back to the dilapidated temple.
Inside the dilapidated temple.
Xie Xin and Xiao Zeng sat facing each other at a table. Xiao Zeng, however, unexpectedly took Wan Sha's words to heart. "That demon soul said Mu Anxiao is the murderer of ten beggars. Do you believe it?"
Xie Xin: "I don't know." She propped her chin with one hand, thinking of the doubtful look Mu Anxiao had given her earlier, and asked, "Do you think I'm a demon?"
"A demon?"
"Yes, do you think I am?"
"I don't know, but," Xiao Zeng swallowed, stood up, "if you are, I'll choose to stay away from you."
Xie Xin smiled helplessly at Xiao Zeng's fearful demeanor, "So afraid of death at such a young age."
"Of course. I'm still young. If I were to be killed by a demon at this time, I would die with regret."
"Who taught you that?"
"..." Xiao Zeng's eyes flickered, and he said, "The one outside."
"Mu Anxiao."
"Yes, she said the most fundamental thing a person should do is love themselves. In this world, besides the people who gave birth to you and raised you, the one who can treat you best is yourself."
"It seems she taught you a lot."
"...." Xiao Zeng's eyes darkened, "I really can't believe she would do something like that."
Xie Xin: "What are you talking about?" She didn't quite understand what Xiao Zeng meant.
"Wan Sha just said that what happened last night was done by Mu Anxiao, and you said you didn't know," Xiao Zeng said, "Then I think it's true..."
"Even though she doesn't believe me, I still have to say it: she definitely wouldn't do something like that."
"You believe her?"
"Although I really don't want to believe her, it's about the matter, not the person. I think," Xie Xin shook her head slightly, "what that demon soul said is definitely false."
"Mm," Xiao Zeng nodded.
Xie Xin: "Actually, I'm very sad."
"Why?" Xiao Zeng was young and couldn't understand many things.
"Because I trusted her so much, yet she repeatedly called me a demon. Do you know..." Xie Xin said seriously, "what kind of feeling she gave me?"
"What feeling?"
"Who I am, only she decides. At first, when Feng Qi Shi suspected me, only she believed me, and I was very happy. But," Xie Xin said, "now she suddenly calls me a demon. I find it strange. She's the same as Feng Qi Shi. Can't she sense that spell?"
"..." Xiao Zeng thought about Xie Xin's words and then about what Mu Anxiao had asked him outside. He said, "Don't say it, she really didn't expect it."
"She doesn't know Feng Qi Shi set up a spell to make us see demons?"
"No." Xiao Zeng shook his head and asked, "By the way, you didn't tell her, did you?"
"No, I was just thinking about her not trusting me."
"Ignorance is no offense."
"I didn't expect her to be not as capable as Feng Qi Shi."
That's right. Initially, both Xiao Zeng and Xie Xin thought Mu Anxiao was more capable than Feng Qi Shi, but after this incident, they had a new understanding of Mu Anxiao.
"I didn't expect it either," Xiao Zeng said, still preoccupied with Wan Sha's words, "Then tell me, is she the murderer of... the beggars?"
After their conversation, Xie Xin was no longer sad.
So, she said, "Of course not. If she were, why would she investigate? You child, you're also silly."
Xiao Zeng breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good."
"I think that demon soul just wants to frame Mu Anxiao."
"She really does have a grudge against Mu Anxiao."
"You know?"
"I overheard Chen mention something similar, but I don't know the specifics."
Xie Xin smiled at Xiao Zeng's mature demeanor, "I have a younger brother about your age."
"And then?" Xiao Zeng was clearly not interested in Xie Xin's brother.
Xie Xin: "But he's incredibly childish. If someone scolds him outside, he runs home and cries to his mother. He cries about everything, acting like a little girl."
Listening to Xie Xin's words, Xiao Zeng couldn't help but recall his own past.
In the past, he was also a little boy who liked to cry to his mother. His mother even used to say he wasn't like a boy, more like a girl.
But, even though his mother said that, he still missed those days.
"..."
Xie Xin saw Xiao Zeng's silence and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Xiao Zeng said with a wry smile, "If you don't push yourself, you'll never know how brave you are."
"Did Mu Anxiao teach you that too?"
"Mm," Xiao Zeng nodded.
"Xiao Zeng, I like you. How about," Xie Xin leaned forward, looking at Xiao Zeng, and smiled, "you be my younger brother?"
"Your younger brother?"
"Yes, come home with me, and I'll take good care of you."
"Let's forget it."
"Why?"
"Your parents won't like me. If I go home with you, I'll only become a burden to your family."
"Your thinking is truly mature," Xie Xin said, smiling faintly, "But I don't think you need to think so much. Just tell me, do you want to be my brother?"
"Compared to you, I still prefer my older brother."
"Who is your older brother?"
"Feng Qi Shi," Xiao Zeng said, picking up his cup and taking a sip of water.
"..." Xie Xin wasn't angry. Instead, she smiled faintly, "If you don't come home with me, you'll just be a beggar in the future, a beggar for life."
"..." Xiao Zeng looked at Xie Xin's expression, which denied his future, and said, "Before you came, the beggars here all had their own livelihoods."
"What? Even beggars can find work?"
"Yes, it was Big Brother and Mu Anxiao who helped them find it. But after this incident, everyone..."
Xie Xin interrupted, "And they've all become beggars again."
Xiao Zeng's eyes darkened, "That's because Big Brother is busy."