"There's always a master to be found," the old man said indifferently.
"I can help her," Shi Yi said, looking down at his right hand still bound by the immortal rope.
"You help her," the old man snorted. "I advise you to stop having any ideas about Mu Anxiao. She won't fall for you. In other words, the better you are to her, the more she'll reject you. That's just the kind of person she is."
"I know," Shi Yi replied in a low voice.
"You know, and yet you persist," the old man said, turning a page. "You really have a thick skin."
Shi Yi said, "I want to protect her."
"You really don't want to stay here?" the old man suddenly asked.
Shi Yi grunted, "I don't."
The old man's lips curved into a smile. He tilted his head back to look at Shi Yi and said, "Haha, the more you don't want to, the more I won't let you leave. I'll drive you crazy."
Shi Yi was speechless.
The old man pointed to the teapot. "I'm thirsty."
"Understood," Shi Yi replied listlessly. He bent over, picked up the teapot, and refilled the old man's cup. "I have a perplexing matter now."
"Tell me, let me hear it," the old man said, picking up his cup.
Shi Yi put down the teapot and straightened up. "I am a rat demon, and this is the immortal realm. If you don't let me cultivate immortality, why did you bring me here?"
"I've already made that very clear," the old man said.
"You just said to follow Feng Qishi, which isn't clear at all," Shi Yi said.
The old man took a sip of water and said, "From today onwards, you are my disciple. In the future, you will be Feng Qishi's junior brother. However, you cannot follow him down to the mortal realm."
"I never agreed to be your disciple," Shi Yi mumbled.
"I never save demons. Today I saved you, which means I have taken a liking to you. This is the good fortune you have cultivated, and it is also an opportunity for you. Of course, this opportunity, you cannot let go of," the old man said, putting down his cup.
"You're forcing me into this," Shi Yi said angrily.
The old man smiled. "Mu Anxiao will surely become an immortal in the future. By following me, you have one benefit."
"The benefit is certainly not a good one," Shi Yi muttered, turning his face away.
The old man smiled down and asked, "Do you know Shen Yan?"
"I don't know, and yet I do. It has nothing to do with me anyway," Shi Yi said, completely unwilling to converse with the old man.
"Shen Yan is Feng Qishi," the old man said, being completely straightforward.
"Oh." Shi Yi remained uninterested.
"You seem very uninterested in this matter?" the old man asked.
Shi Yi nodded. "Yes, I am indeed not interested. I just want to see Mu Anxiao right now, I just want to see her..." He remembered the scene of Mu Anxiao being surrounded by black energy and immediately became agitated. "No, I have to go and see. What if she..."
"She's fine now. The matter of the immortal sect has been resolved. Don't worry, calm down," the old man interrupted.
"Really?" Shi Yi asked.
The old man glanced at Shi Yi and said, "Why would I lie to you? Xu Lanyan just returned and went to find his master. This means the matter is over."
"Then where is Mu Anxiao now?" Shi Yi asked.
The old man's lips curved. "In a place you don't know."
"You..."
"Enough with your 'you.' Let's continue our previous topic. Do you still want to listen?" the old man asked.
"I've heard of it, but I'm not interested in their affairs," Shi Yi said, averting his gaze.
"..." The old man suddenly fell silent.
Seeing the old man motionless, Shi Yi's heart sank. He said, "Why did you take me as a disciple?"
"I took a liking to you. No reason," the old man said coldly.
"You... you said there was a benefit to following you. What is it?" Shi Yi asked again.
The old man's lips curved, and he turned to the green-clothed man approaching them. "Go ask your senior brother."
"Junior brother?" Shi Yi repeated, looking up at the green-clothed man who had stopped and was looking at him unamicably. He exclaimed, "Wasn't I just Feng Qishi's junior brother? How come... I have another junior brother?"
"First come, first served. Go on," the old man said, untying the immortal rope binding Shi Yi's right hand. "With your current cultivation, you can't escape."
"I never said I was going to escape," Shi Yi rolled his eyes.
The old man pursed his lips and smiled, saying nothing.
Shi Yi cautiously glanced at the old man, then looked at the green-clothed man. Just as he was about to speak, the green-clothed man said, "Rat demon, it's quite something that my master has taken a liking to you."
"Explain it to him clearly," the old man suddenly said.
The green-clothed man cupped his hands. "Understood, Master."
Hearing the green-clothed man's suddenly serious reply, Shi Yi swallowed his throat, feeling a sense of foreboding.
"Go outside. Don't disturb your senior brother," the old man said again.
Shi Yi thought: When he was talking to me just now, why didn't he consider affecting Feng Qishi? After thinking, he shook his head slightly.
At the same time, the green-clothed man saw through Shi Yi's thoughts at a glance and said, "Don't think about it. Master can speak wherever he is, but we can't. Let's go." After saying that, he turned and walked ahead.
Shi Yi was surprised that the green-clothed man could see through his thoughts, and his face showed a fearful expression. He said, "I'm leaving," and followed.
In the mortal realm, Mu Anxiao turned to look at Tian Jiang, who walked into the room, and smiled. "You've arrived."
Tian Jiang closed the door and turned to look at Mu Anxiao. "I will not take you as a disciple."
"I knew you would say that," Mu Anxiao said with a slight smile, stepping forward to the table.
Tian Jiang walked to the opposite side of Mu Anxiao and asked, "Where are Feng Qishi and the others?"
"After such a major incident at the immortal sect, naturally, they were all injured," Mu Anxiao said indifferently.
Tian Jiang frowned. "Yet you are unharmed."
"I am blessed with good fortune and long life, and I will have future blessings," Mu Anxiao said deliberately.
"You are from the immortal sect, aren't you?" Tian Jiang said, looking at Mu Anxiao's face.
"Why do you think so?" Mu Anxiao asked with feigned composure, guessing that the young man must have gossiped about her to Tian Jiang.
"They all know," Tian Jiang said.
"What are you saying?" Mu Anxiao feigned ignorance.
"Xiao Er said that half an hour ago, you stood in the hall for a long time, acting suspiciously. That guy also said I was a demon, so," Tian Jiang narrowed his eyes. "You are from the immortal sect, aren't you."
Mu Anxiao calmly looked at Tian Jiang, who was suspicious of her identity. She said, "If I were from the immortal sect, would I know Lv Yi?"
"You are definitely from the immortal sect," Tian Jiang said firmly.
Mu Anxiao took a deep breath. "I am not. Even if I were, I wouldn't recognize you as my master." Her lips twisted. "I really don't know what you're thinking?"
Hearing Mu Anxiao's words, Tian Jiang fell silent.