"This is a mortal girl who attained immortality by consuming an immortal elixir. From today onwards," her master's voice was gentle, "you are the next him."
"Does Master mean I'm to consume an immortal elixir?"
"Yes, after consuming the immortal elixir, you will be the second person to achieve immortality in our cultivation sect."
"That's wonderful, thank you, Master."
At that time, Mo Chu was overjoyed after hearing his master's words. From then on, he tried various immortal elixirs every day, but none worked. His body underwent tremendous changes, and he gradually realized something was amiss. It wasn't until one day he overheard his masters' discussion that he understood… he was merely being used.
That day, he tore down the portrait and, using his remaining strength, defeated all the disciples who stood in his way before leaving.
Returning to the village, to prevent Mo Bi from worrying, he disguised himself as a simpleton. He declared the woman in the portrait to be his beloved, feigning heartbreak and idiocy.
Mo Bi looked at the portrait and then at the story Mo Chu had meticulously written on the paper. He truly believed the woman in the portrait was his brother's love. To help his brother regain his senses, he began searching for a woman who looked identical to the one in the portrait.
Thus, Mo Bi found Mu Anxiao, the true woman in the portrait, Mo Chu's beloved.
Mo Chu had never told anyone about this painful experience, but he told Mu Anxiao.
"What do you want now?" Mu Anxiao asked.
Mo Chu smiled, "I used your money pouch. From now on, it depends mainly on whether they let you go."
"You are truly insidious."
Mo Chu smiled, then deliberately put on a foolish act and ran away.
Mu Anxiao watched Mo Chu run off, her eyes darting. She looked down at her still-bound feet, thinking about Mo Bi's purpose in bringing Ma Yuan back, and recalling the words she'd overheard in the cellar not long ago. She thought: the people from the cultivation sect have already arrived, Ma Yuan must be fine now. But me… she remembered the sinister look in the first white-clothed man's eyes just moments ago. Shaking her head, she thought: No, I can't stay here. I must go back and find Hei Feng and the others. With that thought, she glanced cautiously at the courtyard where she was now alone, took a deep breath, and with a glimmer of hope, dragging the jingling chains, walked towards the main gate.
Unexpectedly, before Mu Anxiao had taken a few steps, Ma Yuan's voice reached her ears: "Mu Anxiao, where are you going?"
Mu Anxiao froze.
Ma Yuan, his face alight with excitement, ran up behind Mu Anxiao and said, "Look, Mo Bi has removed the chains from me. Do you know," he reached out and patted Mu Anxiao's shoulder, "he apologized to me. I'm feeling so happy right now."
Happy? Mu Anxiao couldn't feel happy at all at this moment, especially thinking of her impending return to the wolf's den. She felt like crying.
"..."
"Why aren't you talking to me?" Ma Yuan said, walking around to face Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao didn't want Ma Yuan to see her face, so she lowered her head.
"What's wrong?" Ma Yuan said, looking down at the chains on Mu Anxiao's feet, and then he laughed. "Oh, I see. Are you perhaps envious of me?"
Envious of your head! She truly wished she could raise her fist and land a couple of blows on Ma Yuan's face to knock him unconscious, then escape. But… that was unrealistic.
"Yes, I envy you," she said.
Ma Yuan said, "It's okay, my junior brother said that as long as you cooperate with us, he'll let you go."
Hearing this, a wave of joy surged within Mu Anxiao. She then raised her head, a brilliant smile appearing on her face. "Really?"
"Really. My junior brother just told Mo Bi that if he bullies you again, my junior brother will deal with him."
"That good?"
"I didn't expect it either. Why is my junior brother so kind?"
Mu Anxiao, seeing Ma Yuan's slightly confused expression, asked, "Is your junior brother sincere?"
"He seemed quite respectful towards you," Ma Yuan said.
Mu Anxiao let out a cold laugh. "..."
"My junior brother wants you to come inside."
"You're not… going to specifically look for me in the outhouse, are you?" Mu Anxiao guessed, taking half a step back with evident disdain for Ma Yuan.
Ma Yuan, fearing Mu Anxiao might misunderstand, hastily waved his hand. "No, I just wanted to come out for some fresh air and, incidentally, look for you on behalf of my junior brother."
"Fresh air?"
Ma Yuan leaned in and whispered, "Let me tell you, it's too smelly in there. Earthy smell, very earthy."
"Is it as smelly as the cellar?" Mu Anxiao raised her chin.
Ma Yuan, recalling the smell from beneath the cellar at Mu Anxiao's words, couldn't help but gag. He said, "Don't say it. If I go in there again soon, I won't be able to eat."
Mu Anxiao asked, "Is it smelly in your cultivation sect?"
"No."
"Is it fragrant?"
However, Ma Yuan was rendered speechless by Mu Anxiao's sarcastic question. But thinking of the earthy smell in the room, he still felt compelled to ask, "Didn't you smell it just now?"
"Earthy smell?"
Ma Yuan nodded.
Perhaps because Mu Anxiao had been to too many places and smelled too much earth, she couldn't quite fathom what "earthy smell" Ma Yuan was so diligently trying to describe.
"Earthy smell… can you describe it?" she said.
The moment Mu Anxiao asked this question, Ma Yuan's expression suddenly became cautious. He then reached out and took Mu Anxiao's arm, saying, "Come closer."
Mu Anxiao complied, moving closer to him.
Ma Yuan leaned his face towards Mu Anxiao and said, "I think there's something wrong here. You know, that earthy smell is very strange, really smelly."
"Do you know why it's smelly?" Mu Anxiao mimicked Ma Yuan's expression, asking softly.
"Why?" Ma Yuan asked curiously.
Mu Anxiao curved her lips upward, straightened up, and pushed Ma Yuan's head lightly. She whispered, "Because next to this house, there's a cesspool. Some of the excrement has been watered onto the soil, naturally, it has that earthy, smelly odor."
Before Ma Yuan could speak mysteriously, Mu Anxiao hadn't thought of a cesspool. But for some reason, as soon as she saw Ma Yuan, who seemed ignorant and always talking nonsense, her memory was instantly awakened. In her opinion, Ma Yuan's words… were as worthless as discarded dung.
"So that's how it is," Ma Yuan said, not feeling embarrassed, but rather relieved.
"..."
"I thought the Mo family had a habit of burying people. If not, I'm relieved," Ma Yuan said, patting his chest.
Relieved, yes, Ma Yuan was relieved, but the weight in Mu Anxiao's heart had only grown heavier.
Especially thinking about her situation after entering the house with Ma Yuan, and recalling what the first white-clothed man had said to her, as well as their desire to achieve immortality through shortcuts, she felt stifled and heavy-hearted!
Ma Yuan removed his hand from his chest and looked at Mu Anxiao's pensive expression, asking, "What's wrong?"