Mù Ànxiào followed them into Piāo's residence.
Piāo walked beside Fēng Qǐshí, boastfully explaining the reasons behind the courtyard's layout.
Mù Ànxiào stood still, surveying the small courtyard filled with various exotic flowers and plants. Her gaze eventually settled on a peculiar bloom.
Mù Ànxiào had never seen this flower before, yet it felt strangely familiar. It was white and resembled dragon claws in its shape—exceedingly beautiful.
"What is that flower?" she blurted out involuntarily.
Upon hearing this, Piāo stopped his explanation to Fēng Qǐshí and turned to look at Mù Ànxiào, who was fixated on the flower. He asked, "Do you really want to know?"
At that moment, Mù Ànxiào couldn't tear her eyes away from the flower. It evoked a peculiar feeling within her, one she couldn't quite describe.
"..."
Piāo, impatient, said, "I'm talking to you, didn't you hear me?"
Fēng Qǐshí's voice drew Mù Ànxiào back to the present.
"I want to know," she said, shifting her gaze to Piāo.
Piāo smiled. "This kind of flower, by rights, you should have seen it before, Boss."
"Tell me, please."
Mù Ànxiào didn't know what was happening to her, but she desperately wanted to know what that flower was. She felt deeply drawn to it.
Watching Mù Ànxiào eagerly implore Piāo, Fēng Qǐshí felt an inexplicable sense of crisis.
He then turned his attention to the white, claw-like flower.
After a moment's hesitation, Fēng Qǐshí spoke before Piāo could. "This is a Datura flower."
Upon hearing this, Piāo turned to Fēng Qǐshí. "Isn't that a Lycoris radiata?"
"Lycoris radiata are red, Datura flowers are white," Fēng Qǐshí explained.
Mù Ànxiào asked, "Is it a Hellflower?"
"Yes," Fēng Qǐshí nodded and then looked at Piāo. "Why do you have this flower planted here?"
"The tavern owner gave me all these flowers, including this one," Piāo said, pointing to the Datura.
Mù Ànxiào asked, "Is it a newly opened tavern?"
Piāo nodded.
Mù Ànxiào was stunned.
Fēng Qǐshí calmly observed Mù Ànxiào's stunned expression and thought about the owner of the new tavern. "It seems we'll have to pay that tavern a visit."
"We can't go," Mù Ànxiào said suddenly.
Mù Ànxiào's insistence stemmed from this flower. Since entering, she had surveyed the surroundings, and only this flower had captured her attention, which she found peculiar.
Piāo smiled at Mù Ànxiào's cautious demeanor. "As expected, Boss. After seeing this flower, you would be curious, and you are."
Indeed, everything was the tavern owner's arrangement.
Fēng Qǐshí, preoccupied with helping Mù Ànxiào, hadn't considered this possibility. Hearing Piāo's words, he suddenly felt deceived. Clenching his fists, he walked directly in front of Piāo. "You did this on purpose."
"There is that intention, however," Piāo glanced at Mù Ànxiào. "You let her in, not me."
"What... what do you mean by that?" Fēng Qǐshí felt a sudden sense of foreboding.
Piāo's lips curled. "Fellow cultivator, that owner does not want you to interfere in this matter." With that, he grabbed Fēng Qǐshí's arm and vanished from Mù Ànxiào's sight with him.
The moment Piāo and Fēng Qǐshí disappeared, the surroundings suddenly darkened, consumed by blackness. Only the white flower remained untouched by the darkness.
Mù Ànxiào stared at the flower in disbelief, her nerves taut.
At that moment, she felt as if she were dreaming, a sensation that filled her with fear. However, the reality of the situation compelled her to rely on herself, not to fear!
"Who are you?" she asked, staring at the glowing white flower.
"Hellflower. You don't recognize it anymore."
Hellflower... Mù Ànxiào didn't recall ever capturing such a demonic soul. Hearing the voice, she felt bewildered.
"I don't know you."
"You don't know me, but I know you."
"You..."
Before Mù Ànxiào could utter another word, the flower before her suddenly turned red.
A blood-red bloom stood out strikingly, and Mù Ànxiào's memories were reawakened by the change in color.
She closed her eyes slightly, and the memories of that year gradually returned.
That year, she had accepted a mission to apprehend a malevolent demonic soul. The soul had hidden in a place where Hellflowers bloomed.
Mù Ànxiào had come to the underworld because of this.
At that time, Hellflowers lined both sides of the long path. Mù Ànxiào stood on the stone path, calmly looking at the blood-red Lycoris sanguinea on either side. Her heart remained unmoved.
"Come out," she said coldly, uttering two words.
Mù Ànxiào recalled her attitude back then, and her heart stirred.
Then, a voice entered her ears.
"Do you recognize who I am?"
Hearing the female voice, Mù Ànxiào slowly opened her eyes.
At the same moment, a woman in a blood-red ruqun (a type of ancient Chinese dress) entered her sight. She feigned composure as she looked at the woman's face, only to be stunned.
"...."
"Why aren't you speaking?"
The woman before her was named Wǎn Shā. If Mù Ànxiào remembered correctly, Wǎn Shā had no connection to the Hellflower in her lifetime. Why had she chosen to hide amidst the Lycoris sanguinea? Mù Ànxiào couldn't recall how she had found her then.
Now, all Mù Ànxiào remembered was that the demonic soul before her seemed rather pathetic.
"You are Wǎn Shā," Mù Ànxiào said.
The moment Mù Ànxiào spoke her name, Wǎn Shā exclaimed in surprise, "You remember me."
"I only remember your name," Mù Ànxiào replied.
However, this was not what Wǎn Shā wanted to hear.
"....."
Seeing Wǎn Shā's speechlessness, Mù Ànxiào lowered her head without knowing what else to say.
Wǎn Shā stared coldly at Mù Ànxiào's face, still not uttering a single word.
Meanwhile, Fēng Qǐshí and Piāo stood outside the residence.
Fēng Qǐshí frowned, looking at the black barrier surrounding the residence, his heart filled only with worry for Mù Ànxiào.
Piāo followed Fēng Qǐshí's gaze to the black barrier and asked, "Don't you want to know why I did this?"
"Even if I asked, you wouldn't tell me, would you?" Fēng Qǐshí said coldly.
Piāo looked at Fēng Qǐshí's aloof profile and said calmly, "The young lady inside is named Wǎn Shā, and she considers Mù Ànxiào her enemy."
"Is she really the tavern owner?" Fēng Qǐshí asked.
"Yes, and she's the one who told me you were in that alley," Piāo replied.
After hearing Piāo's words, Fēng Qǐshí gained some understanding of Wǎn Shā inside.
Recalling their journey from the dilapidated temple, Fēng Qǐshí had felt as if a pair of eyes were watching Mù Ànxiào, but he had dismissed it, thinking it was merely his imagination in ancient times.