Zhang Yan said, "What business is it of yours who I'm talking to, you brat?" With that, he glared at Shen Xian and walked away.
Shen Xian was speechless. He glanced at Zhang Yan's retreating back, then turned to begin casting spells to clear the lake.
The mortal realm.
Mu Anxiao chased after a patch of black mist.
"What is this?" she eyed the mass of black mist, then turned around. There was nothing behind her.
At the same time, a voice came from directly in front of her, "Mu Anxiao, you've arrived."
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao's eyes widened. "Gui Xiao?"
The next second, Gui Xiao emerged from the black mist, smiling at Mu Anxiao. "You still remember me?" As he spoke, he stopped and stepped aside.
Mu Anxiao followed Gui Xiao's gaze to Gu Xiao, who was being pushed out of the black mist by some force. She exclaimed, "It's Gu Xiao!"
Gu Xiao was momentarily stunned. He stumbled forward and looked up at Mu Anxiao, "Leave quickly!"
Mu Anxiao asked, "Are you alright?"
Gu Xiao replied, "I'm fine. You leave quickly, this is..."
Unexpectedly, before he could finish speaking, Gui Xiao raised his hand and waved towards him. Gu Xiao instantly vanished.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao was startled. "Gui Xiao, what did you do?"
Gui Xiao turned back to Mu Anxiao and said, "He's dead."
Mu Anxiao was speechless. Her face was filled with apprehension, unsure if it was true or false.
Gui Xiao chuckled a few times, then turned and walked back into the black mist.
Immediately, Mu Anxiao snapped back to reality. Just as she was about to chase into the black mist, her arm was grabbed.
"Don't go."
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao frowned, turned her head, and asked, "Why are you here?"
"What I set out to do, I must succeed. Failure is not an option."
"Piao, what are you talking about?"
That's right, Piao had indeed gone to the latrine. It was only when he came out that he realized they hadn't waited for him.
So, like Mu Anxiao, he had followed a dark shadow, and without realizing it, he had arrived here.
He was just a step behind Mu Anxiao.
"You are my disciple."
Mu Anxiao was speechless.
Piao released his hand. "I protected you."
"Why didn't you let me go in?" Mu Anxiao deliberately changed the subject.
Piao replied, "Can't you see it's a trap?"
A trap?
The scene just now had indeed felt fake.
But thinking of Gu Xiao's anxious expression, she felt it was real.
At this moment, she fell into contemplation.
"..."
"Are you thinking about Gu Xiao?"
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao looked up at Piao. "Is Gu Xiao really dead?"
"He's dead."
"What?"
Piao laughed. "He's not dead."
"Not dead?" Mu Anxiao said, turning around, the black mist had disappeared. "What's going on?"
Piao looked down at the back of Mu Anxiao's head and said, "No wonder Brother Shen calls you Mu the Fool. You are indeed quite foolish."
Mu Anxiao cast a sidelong glance at Piao.
Piao continued, "If you had entered that trap, you would have lost."
Mu Anxiao was speechless. She turned back to Piao.
Piao looked down at Mu Anxiao's confused expression and smiled. "You didn't see it?"
"No, I don't understand what you're saying."
"This is a game from the demon realm. They won't let you reach your destination smoothly. During this time, they will use these black mists to test you. If you fall into a trap, you will never see them again."
Mu Anxiao swallowed.
Piao asked, "What's wrong?"
Mu Anxiao queried, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"I..."
"No," Mu Anxiao said, her expression turning wary as she took two steps back. "You're not Piao."
Piao smiled helplessly. "They are demon souls. I didn't expect them to use this trick. Anyway, I can only say that you're lucky I met you."
If she thought about it that way, Mu Anxiao really had to thank Piao for going to the latrine at such a crucial moment.
However, Piao would never tell Mu Anxiao this.
Because he thought that if Mu Anxiao knew, she would surely mock him, and then he would truly have no chance of taking her as a disciple.
Mu Anxiao said, "Really."
Piao explained, "You touched my face. If I were a trap, you wouldn't have been able to touch me at all."
Mu Anxiao blinked, returned to face Piao, and extended her hand.
Piao instinctively bowed his head.
Then, Mu Anxiao grabbed Piao's cheek and said, "I can touch it." She pulled hard.
Piao gasped and bore Mu Anxiao's actions with patience. "Let go."
Immediately, Mu Anxiao released her grip.
Piao rubbed his face and said, "The first round is over."
"First round?"
"Yes, there's one more round."
"Still..."
"Hush!" Piao interrupted, reaching out to grab Mu Anxiao's arm, then looking around the surroundings. "It has already begun."
"What?"
Piao said, "Follow me." As he spoke, he still held Mu Anxiao's arm and turned to walk in a certain direction.
Mu Anxiao was bewildered but followed Piao's steps.
Shopping street.
Feng Qishi knocked on all the shop doors, and finally, they focused on the last green door shop at the end of the street.
Chen said, "This is the last one. If no one's here, then the information was wrong." She glanced at Feng Qishi.
After the incident at the dilapidated temple, Feng Qishi was clearly filled with a sense of half-belief and apprehension about everything before him.
He then took a deep breath and said, "I'll continue. I'll go." As he spoke, he stepped forward.
Lin Yan said, "Master, be careful."
Feng Qishi stopped, turned his head to look at Lin Yan, and nodded slightly.
Chen said, "You must not die, Piao..."
"Can you stop cursing me?" Feng Qishi interrupted, turning back around.
Chen clasped her hands together and held them at her chest, her face full of tension.
Lin Yan was also nervous but did not make the same gesture as her.
The next moment.
Feng Qishi stood in front of the door, leaning forward slightly, pressing his ear against the door to listen intently for any movement or sounds inside.
Lin Yan frowned deeply.
Chen asked, "Are there any sounds?"
Feng Qishi did not respond to Chen, listening intently.
Before this, whenever Chen spoke, Feng Qishi would stand up and shake his head.
Now, seeing that Feng Qishi ignored her, Chen's lips curved into a slight smile as if she had seen hope.
Inside the shop, it was pitch dark.
A group of people stood by the wall, looking out at Feng Qishi's figure through the cracks in the door, not daring to speak a word.
At this moment, the adults held their breath.
But the children couldn't help but gasp for air.
The adults, worried that there might be demon souls outside, quickly covered the children's mouths one by one.
Outside.
Feng Qishi heard the children's breathing, a smile played on his lips, and he asked, "Is anyone there?"
Xiao Zeng heard Feng Qishi's voice immediately, but because his mouth was covered by an adult, he couldn't speak.
Feng Qishi frowned tightly and, disregarding everything, knocked forcefully on the door. "Is there anyone in there? Can you answer me?"
Xiao Zeng tightly held the adult's hand and kept nodding.
"Shh," the adult said, looking down at Xiao Zeng.
Xiao Zeng shook his head.