Er's face lit up at Mu Anxiao's reply.
"What are you smiling about?" Mu Anxiao asked.
"As long as you let me travel with you, I won't have to die."
"You really are afraid of death."
"Yes, my parents told me that if I leave here, I'll be killed by monsters."
Mu Anxiao: "..."
"Why aren't you talking to me?"
"Going on like this, being so timid, is not a good thing."
"I will try my best to be brave, but," Er shook his head slightly, "not now."
Mu Anxiao: "..." She was utterly speechless.
And so, because of Er, Mu Anxiao and the others delayed their departure by one day.
Early morning.
Er and the Cook stood outside the inn's door, looking at the locked entrance and the bare walls, expressions of reluctance on their faces.
Er: "You have to protect me." He turned his head to look at the Cook.
The Cook said firmly, "Don't worry, boss. You will always be my boss in my heart."
Er smiled, "With those words, I am reassured."
Behind them.
Mu Anxiao and Feng Qishi exchanged a look, then both looked at the Cook and Er.
Throughout the night, Er and the Cook dared not interact with Lu Hua, leaving her to taste loneliness.
Now, she quietly watched the backs of Er and the Cook as they looked back at the place with lingering affection. She thought of what she had done to them and said, "I will give you my inner cores."
Hearing this, Er and the Cook turned simultaneously to look at Lu Hua, who had suddenly spoken.
Lu Hua: "..." She looked at Xu Lan, who was pulling her.
Seeing this, Xu Lan voluntarily untied the black rope bound to her wrist.
Lu Hua said, "Thank you," and stepped closer to them.
Immediately, the two of them stepped back half a pace, their faces filled with fear.
The next second, Lu Hua opened her hand, conjured a money pouch, and handed it to Er: "Here."
Er was stunned. He glanced at the Cook, then cautiously extended his hand and took the money pouch, swallowing hard. "This is an inner core."
Lu Hua nodded. "Yes, this is compensation for how I treated you before."
The Cook: "You're not going to kill us anymore."
Lu Hua shook her head and returned to Xu Lan's side.
The Cook looked at Er and said, "Boss, I find this a bit surprising."
"I do too," Er said, weighing the money pouch in his hand. He then looked towards Lu Hua again. "I'm still more used to her green light form. Seeing her as a human now, I'm a bit unaccustomed to it."
The Cook: "I actually find her more approachable like this."
"..." Er glanced at the Cook, put the money pouch into his clothes, and said, "When we reach Lin Fang, I'll share it with you."
"No need."
"Why?"
"Mu Anxiao. It won't be easy for you to get there, but it's different for me. I'm the Cook, I can earn inner cores easily. So," the Cook smiled, "you should keep it."
Er smiled, "You're sensible."
Mu Anxiao continued to watch the Cook and Er. "Shen Fengzi, escort them."
Hearing this, Feng Qishi was taken aback. "You're not coming?"
Mu Anxiao: "No. I'm going to the underworld with Xu Lan and the others. You..."
"Can you manage by yourself?" Feng Qishi, thinking of the monsters along the way, couldn't help but worry about Mu Anxiao's safety.
Mu Anxiao: "I can. I've thought about it. If you came with me, you'd only be a burden. They would also discover that I'm not a soul envoy. So, for everything to go smoothly, it's better if you don't come."
These were the thoughts Mu Anxiao had had last night.
Although she didn't want to act alone, when she thought about the future, she realized that some things had to be faced alone.
She and Feng Qishi couldn't be partners forever.
Thinking of this, she had to steel herself to say these words.
Feng Qishi: "You want to leave me again?"
Mu Anxiao: "No. Wait for me at the Magic Tower. Once everything is over, I'll come to find you."
"Monsters..."
"Xu Lan and the others will definitely take me through a passage then."
Hearing Mu Anxiao's words, Feng Qishi could only compromise. "Alright then. Take care of yourself."
Mu Anxiao nodded.
The plan changed. Mu Anxiao followed Xu Lan and the others onto the road leading to the underworld.
Feng Qishi, with the Cook and Er, headed towards the Magic Tower.
A few days later.
Feng Qishi and the others returned to the Magic Tower.
Because Yan Bian knew Feng Qishi, she quickly arranged work for them.
Meanwhile, Feng Qishi began to wait for Mu Anxiao's return.
Underworld.
Five women and Lu Hua were locked up.
This time, with Mu Anxiao's help, Lu Hua was finally separated from the five women.
Mu Anxiao, as Hei Feng had instructed, spent several days apologizing.
Over these past few days, due to her constant apologies, she had, without realizing it, accumulated a sense of guilt that did not truly belong to her.
Walking in the darkness, she looked dejected and even yawned.
With Mu Anxiao's help, Xu Lan and Xu Lan did not become soul spirits and remained partners.
Recently, Xu Lan, having nothing to do, had been staying with Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao asked, "Who else is there tomorrow?"
Xu Lan, holding a lantern that emitted a green light, replied, "No one."
"..." Mu Anxiao's eyes lit up, and she smiled. "Really?"
"Yes, tomorrow you can leave."
"That's great," Mu Anxiao smiled, then suddenly remembered Yang Tai's matter. "By the way, what about the demon soul they harmed?"
"I don't know." Xu Lan shook her head.
For the past few days, Mu Anxiao had been apologizing to the underworld envoys here. As for the matter of the five women, Xu Lan wouldn't let her get involved. So, she had planned to wait until her apologies were resolved.
Unexpectedly, she received this reply from Xu Lan.
She felt exasperated.
"How can you not know?"
"I've been with you the whole time. How could I know?"
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao thought Xu Lan's words made sense. "That's true, you've been with me the whole time." Saying this, she changed direction.
Xu Lan was startled. "What are you doing?" She turned sideways and grabbed Mu Anxiao's arm.
Mu Anxiao: "I'm going to ask."
"You..."
"I can't waste any more time." With that, Mu Anxiao shook off Xu Lan's hand and quickly snatched the green-glowing lantern from her, running off in a direction.
Xu Lan: "..." Her eyes sank, and she quickly chased after Mu Anxiao.
Magic Tower.
Feng Qishi sat by the window, tilting his head back to gaze at the pitch-black sky, wondering if Mu Anxiao, the silly girl, was alright.
At the same time, his door was knocked upon.
"Come in," he said.
Immediately after, Er, who had changed his clothes, pushed open the door and walked in. "Great."
Hearing this, Feng Qishi stood up and turned to Er, asking, "What good news do you have now?"
Er, closing the door, said with a grin, "After these few days, I've finally dealt with a monster and obtained another inner core. Although..." he sighed, "they made me hand it over, I'm still very happy."