Shi Yan and Shi Kuai both laughed the moment Mu Anxiao realized what she had said.
Shi Kuai: "Aren't you quite capable? You didn't even detect our demonic energy."
Mu Anxiao looked down at the pebbles at her feet again, sighed, and said, "I didn't expect two beings who don't value freedom to come looking for me. Speak, why have you come to me?"
Upon hearing this, Shi Kuai and Shi Yan exchanged a glance. Shi Yan then said, "Actually, we just wanted to disrupt your... mission."
"Disrupt..." Mu Anxiao repeated the word, recalling the insidious nature of the demon souls under the Vine Demon. Looking at the two beings with weak demonic energy before her, she guessed they were definitely not related to the Vine Demon.
So, she continued, "Unfortunately, you failed."
"Yes, we failed. We originally intended to abduct that old man while the opportunity arose," Shi Yan said, stopping midway. He turned to Shi Kuai beside him, "It's all your fault. You wanted to test her, and now the mission has failed."
However, Mu Anxiao was not interested in the bickering between the two brothers. What truly captured her attention now was the person who had sent them to this place to disrupt her plans.
"Alright, tell me, who sent you?" she asked.
Hearing this, Shi Yan glared fiercely at Shi Kuai, then turned back to Mu Anxiao. "Who? You should be able to guess."
"If I could guess, I wouldn't be asking you," Mu Anxiao replied calmly.
Shi Yan wanted exactly this calm demeanor from Mu Anxiao, and then he smiled. "You guess carefully. We'll meet again." With that, he grabbed Shi Kuai's arm, and they leaped upward together, disappearing.
"..." Mu Anxiao was momentarily stunned. She looked up at the two beams of light soaring into the sky and murmured, "And they're gone." Then, she turned her attention back to the mansion gate.
The Mansion.
The moment the old man walked through the gate into his grandson's room, the candlelight suddenly extinguished.
Simultaneously, his grandson, who was sitting at the desk reading, stiffened. He clutched his book tightly, hurriedly raised his head to look at the darkened room, and asked with a trembling voice, "Who is it?"
The old man's grandson had always been timid since childhood. It was precisely for this reason that the old man favored this grandson the most.
There were three reasons why the old man liked this grandson.
First, the grandson enjoyed reading and studying. Second, he was exceptionally good at taking care of people, especially the elderly. Third, the old man had watched him grow up.
Therefore, no matter what, the old man wanted to see him one last time. Little did he know such a situation would arise.
Helplessly, the old man stood in the darkness and said, without knowing his grandson's direction, "My eldest grandson, live well. Don't be so gloomy all day. As a man, don't be so timid. You..."
Unexpectedly, before the old man could finish speaking, his grandson suddenly said, "Grandpa, it's you."
Hearing this, the old man quickly stopped speaking, startled. He thought, "Can he hear me?"
As his grandson received no reply, he put down his book, stood up, and relit the candle on the desk by the moonlight shining through the window.
The room was not bright, but it was better than being completely dark.
At this moment, the old man looked at the empty bed and froze. He turned around and looked at his grandson standing by the desk, a smile appearing on his face.
His grandson circled the desk, his gaze constantly scanning the room. He asked, "Grandpa, is that you? If it's you, please make a move..." He then looked towards the curtain hanging on the bed frame and said, "Make the curtain move."
"The curtain," the old man repeated, glanced sideways at the curtain, and then reached out to touch it, but to no avail. "I can't touch it." He said this while looking down at his own hands, growing anxious.
Seeing that the curtain remained still, his grandson glanced at the open window and scoffed, "It was just the wind blowing out the candle. Sigh, what was I thinking?" He shook his head.
The old man watched his grandson's self-mocking expression and, considering his own presence there, his eyes darkened, and he temporarily departed.
Outside the Mansion.
Mu Anxiao leaned against the wall, gazing up at the stars. Thinking of the two who had arrived and left so quickly, she sighed. She turned her head to look at the old man who was walking through the mansion gate, looking left and right, and asked, "Who are you looking for?" As she spoke, she pulled away from the wall and stepped towards the old man.
Upon hearing her, the old man quickly turned and looked at Mu Anxiao, saying, "Please help me."
"Help?" Mu Anxiao frowned. "What help do you need from me?"
"Help convey my words."
"Convey..." Mu Anxiao uttered the word and was suddenly startled. "You... want me to convey your words to your loved ones with my voice? Is that what you mean?"
"Yes," the old man affirmed.
Mu Anxiao looked at the old man's determined expression, then at the tightly closed mansion gate, and considered the passing time. Hesitation began to creep into her heart.
"..."
"You're unwilling to help me?" the old man probed.
Mu Anxiao shook her head. "It's not that. At this hour, even if I knock on the door, I might not find anyone..."
"My grandson is still awake."
"You mean, if I knock, your grandson will open the door?"
"Yes."
"Then I wouldn't be let in. Besides," Mu Anxiao considered the current situation and said, "You are a ghost. If I tell your grandson that your grandfather wants to speak to him, he'll surely think I'm crazy. In that case, things will become more complicated."
The old man was also a reasonable ghost. The moment Mu Anxiao spoke these words, he too began to hesitate.
Then, Mu Anxiao observed the old man's hesitant expression and pursed her lips. "How about this? You tell me what you want to say to your grandson and loved ones, and I'll write it down for you in the form of a letter, and then give it to them. What do you think?" She carefully observed the old man's expression.
The old man's expression remained unchanged, making Mu Anxiao increasingly nervous.
"..." After a few seconds of silence, the old man said, "Your handwriting is different from mine, and I'm illiterate. If you write it for me, it might seem too fake."
"Then you write it?"
"I can't."
Mu Anxiao felt they had reached an impasse.
So, she pondered for a moment and asked, "Then what do you suggest we do?"
"Convey my words through your voice."
"But my master said we cannot let people know of our existence. You..."
"They already know about demon souls. What's the point of you saying this?"
Mu Anxiao: "..." She was effectively silenced by the old man's words.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's speechless expression and recalling how his grandson had missed him earlier, the old man said, "Knock on the door. Do as I say, please."
"But..."
"If you suffer any grievances, I will compensate you with money."