"You'd best remember your words," Mu Xi said, bending to extend his hand to Mu Long.
Seeing Mu Xi reach out, Mu Long hesitated before grasping his hand. "I remember," he said, and was pulled to his feet by Mu Xi.
Mu Xi then released his hand. "If you don't treat her well, I will definitely come back for you."
"I'm not treating my daughter well because of you; I'm doing it for myself," Mu Long recalled the old man's words.
Mu Xi didn't know why Mu Long had come to this realization, but hearing him say it, Mu Xi felt relieved.
"..." He nodded.
Mu Long: "You're not going to do anything to me, are you?" He cautiously glanced at Mu Xi's now cold expression, touching his slightly sore neck, still filled with fear.
Mu Xi: "Let's go."
"Go?"
"Yes, let's go out. I want to be alone here for a while," Mu Xi said, turning his back.
Mu Long grunted, cast a wary glance at Mu Xi, and turned to leave.
Momentarily. Mu Long left the reception room and ran breathlessly to the old man. Seeing that Mu Long was unharmed, the old man smiled. "That's great, he wasn't lying."
Mu Long: "Yes, he..." he began, glancing sideways at the door that Mu Xi had magically closed, then turned back to the old man. "He's actually not bad."
The old man chuckled.
Feng Qishi: "Are you alright?" He looked at Mu Long's slightly bruised neck.
Mu Long shook his head. "I'm fine." As he spoke, he deliberately covered his neck with his hand.
Feng Qishi said nothing, then turned to Piao, who was holding his hand. "Uh, could you let go?"
"No," Piao shook his head.
"Stubborn," Feng Qishi said helplessly.
Gu Xiao asked, "Are we still staying here?" He cautiously glanced at Mu Long, thinking about his imminent departure, and suddenly felt a sense of reluctance towards this human world.
Hei Feng: "Who knows where Mu An Xiao went. You two," he looked at A Xia, saying dryly, "Come with me now."
A Xia: "Didn't Mu An Xiao arrest us? Why are you taking us?"
Gu Xiao: "Exactly, it wasn't Mu An Xiao..."
"I'm her superior. She has to listen to me no matter what. Besides, even if she took you down, I'm the one who'd take you away. The more you babble, the more it's the same outcome," Hei Feng interrupted.
A Xia and Gu Xiao were speechless upon hearing this.
Feng Qishi looked at Gu Xiao and A Xia, then thought about his recent interactions with them. He said softly, "Let go."
Piao: "I won't let go. Don't you understand me?"
Feng Qishi looked up at Piao, his eyes filled with reluctance towards Gu Xiao and A Xia. "I need to talk to them. Let go." His tone was stiff.
Upon hearing this, and seeing Gu Xiao and A Xia looking in their direction, Piao said, "You're not allowed to approach my disciple." With that, he released his grip.
Feng Qishi said nothing and walked up to A Xia and Gu Xiao. "You two haven't done much evil. I believe you'll be fine."
A Xia: "I can see that you like Mu An Xiao a lot. Before I leave, I wish you success."
Feng Qishi liked hearing A Xia say this and smiled. "Thank you." He then looked at Gu Xiao. "You idiot."
Gu Xiao said indignantly, "Why are you talking about me? I'm leaving too."
"You helped Mu Shazi quite a bit. You'll definitely be alright, don't be afraid," Feng Qishi said calmly.
Gu Xiao: "I'm not afraid because I'm a man, but," he sighed, "to be honest, I'm quite worried about Mu An Xiao. That Ouyang Ye doesn't look like a good demon at all. You must protect her."
"Don't worry, I will."
"That's good." Gu Xiao nodded, then suddenly looked up at the sky. "In another hour, it will be dawn. Why must all goodbyes happen at sunrise? It's too sad." He sighed.
Hei Feng: "The weather is bad today. There's no sunrise."
Hei Feng knew that Gu Xiao and A Xia had been with Mu An Xiao for some time. Although he didn't know what had happened between them, from just those two sentences from Feng Qishi, he could tell their feelings had already formed a foundation. If he notified Mu An Xiao directly and took them away, Mu An Xiao would surely be angry.
However, these two little demon souls were only worth a bit of silver. He was relying on silver to return to his original post. If he shared the money from every task with Mu An Xiao, his chances of returning would become increasingly slim.
Thinking this, he fell into distress.
At the same time, Feng Qishi noticed something was amiss with Hei Feng. "What's wrong?"
Hei Feng was startled by the question. He came back to himself, looked at Feng Qishi, and gave a silly laugh without speaking.
Seeing this, Feng Qishi frowned. "What's with that silly laughter of yours?" he asked, glancing at Gu Xiao and A Xia, who were also looking at Hei Feng.
Hei Feng: "I don't mean anything by it. I just feel like laughing." As he spoke, he looked at A Xia and Gu Xiao.
Just then, A Xia saw something in Hei Feng's eyes and figured it out. "Mu An Xiao doesn't know, does she?"
Hei Feng froze.
Seeing Hei Feng's reaction, A Xia smirked. "It seems I guessed correctly."
Hei Feng's eyes darted away.
Feng Qishi looked at A Xia, then back at Hei Feng. "Hei Feng, what exactly is going on with you?"
"I have my difficulties," Hei Feng said softly.
"Difficulties?" A Xia repeated, chuckling lightly. "With difficulties, you can deceive Mu An Xiao? You really take Mu An Xiao for a fool." She felt something was wrong with Hei Feng.
Hei Feng: "I didn't." He said agitatedly.
Yue Ci put his arms behind his back. "I get it now," he said, smiling.
Hei Feng looked at Yue Ci and scoffed. "What business is it of yours? You should go catch demons. Why are you hanging around here?"
"I don't catch demons. I catch monsters," Yue Ci countered.
Hei Feng was briefly speechless. "Then go catch monsters. This place has nothing to do with you." Yue Ci catching monsters was essentially the same as them catching demon souls, so Hei Feng was worried Yue Ci would expose him and wanted to send him away.
However, Hei Feng's plan seemed to be of no use. "I want to say goodbye to Mu Chounü, so I'm not leaving," he said, shaking his head. "What can you do about it?"
"You..."
"What about me? You clearly have something going on," Yue Ci said. He hadn't intended to expose him so directly, but hearing Hei Feng say that, he felt there was no need to keep it a secret anymore.
"..." Hei Feng frowned.
A Xia: "Go on, what's your motive?"
Gu Xiao: "You want to deceive Mu An Xiao." He thought for a moment and then realized. "I get it. You don't want to share the silver with Mu An Xiao, so you want to take us away privately, so Mu An Xiao doesn't earn any money."
"You're quite clever," Hei Feng admitted defeat.
As far as Feng Qishi understood, the tasks Hei Feng assigned to Mu An Xiao were hers. He never thought about taking them back, and even if he wanted to, he would definitely seek Mu An Xiao's consent or discuss it with her.
Now, with him acting like this, Feng Qishi couldn't help but feel confused. "Why are you doing this?"
Hei Feng: "Only this way can I shed my soul spirit identity."
"Why not tell Mu An Xiao? Mu An Xiao isn't unreasonable."
"It's not that I don't want to tell her, it's just..." Hei Feng hesitated, because he knew Mu An Xiao was greedy, and it would be incredibly difficult to take even a bite from her. So he thought he'd act first and report later, but who knew... he hadn't even started before being exposed. His reputation was ruined.
Feng Qishi: "You're afraid she won't agree."
Hearing Feng Qishi's words, Hei Feng's eyes lit up, and he nodded.
"You're afraid of her."
"She's so greedy, she definitely won't share it with me," Hei Feng said softly.
Feng Qishi knew that Mu An Xiao was short on money recently. She had spent a large sum on this task, so she was also in need of money. If she found out Hei Feng was doing this, she would surely turn hostile in an instant.
Therefore, for safety's sake, he said, "Uh, I advise you..."
"..." Hei Feng frowned.
Feng Qishi cleared his throat. "You'd better explain it to her clearly, otherwise, she'll definitely be furious. To put it bluntly," he said, "you won't even be friends in the future."
"..." Hei Feng fell into thought, prompted by Feng Qishi's words.
Feng Qishi watched Hei Feng's face and said, "I was wondering why you were taking them away. So there's a reason."
"Only this way can I return to my original post. To be honest," Hei Feng said with a distressed look, "I have fewer and fewer tasks, and most of them are found by my junior boss. I also have to support my junior boss and that guy. If I really share all the silver with Mu An Xiao, it's really hard."
"Mu An Xiao is just helping you."
"I know, but... her task completion ability is too strong, so strong that she can't earn much silver."
"What do you mean?" Feng Qishi was a bit confused.
"A task has a deadline. The earlier the deadline, the more silver you get, because it shows that the task is challenging. But," Hei Feng sighed, "Mu An Xiao is impatient and always completes a task in the shortest possible time. In the end, she only gets a little. I'm too embarrassed to say anything, afraid it would discourage her." He sighed, feeling it was difficult.
Feng Qishi: "You mean, Yin Cha's work can't be rushed, nor can it be too efficient."
"..." Hei Feng's eyes darted away. "It's not Yin Cha, it's soul spirits. Because soul spirits originally don't manage this kind of thing. What I need to do now is get my superior to notice me. Her precision only makes me miss the opportunity to be appreciated. All the credit goes to my junior boss."
"Where is your junior boss?"
"He's traveling."
"Traveling?" Feng Qishi didn't understand.
Hei Feng: "That is, what you in the mortal world call tourism. He said he wants to understand this place. If my tasks are done well, I can get promoted."
"Promoted," Feng Qishi repeated casually.
Hei Feng nodded. "Yes, but my junior boss's words don't attract me. What I want now is," he gave a wry smile, "just to be appreciated. They've been here for quite some time." As he spoke, he looked at Gu Xiao and A Xia.
Gu Xiao said, "Then, if you put it that way, I think," he smiled, "capturing Mu Xi is more reliable."
"Mu Xi is Mu An Xiao's task, and his soul count is very valuable. If I snatch him from Mu An Xiao, it would be too obvious," Hei Feng said calmly.
Gu Xiao: "You mean, we're not as valuable as Mu Xi."
Hei Feng nodded.
Gu Xiao was speechless.
Yue Ci: "If you ask me, Yin Cha should do something exciting. That way," he glanced towards the reception room, "maybe you can return to your original post immediately."
"As if you know everything," Hei Feng said dismissively.
Yue Ci smiled. "Don't say it, but that's how I became an immortal."
Hearing Yue Ci say this, Hei Feng's eyes lit up. "Tell me," he grinned, smiling at Yue Ci.
Yue Ci glanced at the now submissive Hei Feng, who had previously looked down on him, and said, "The importance of a task lies in how powerful the person you capture is. If I'm not mistaken, that Mu Xi has also been on the run for quite some time, hasn't he?"
"Yes," Hei Feng nodded. "That's right."
"See, he..." Yue Ci said, glancing at someone hiding behind a tree not far away, and then growled, "Over there, who is it?"
Hearing Yue Ci's voice, Hei Feng and the others temporarily put aside their other matters and turned their gaze to the tree.
The next second, Lin Yan emerged from behind the tree. "..." He sheepishly touched the back of his head.
The moment Feng Qishi saw Lin Yan, he suddenly remembered that his disciple was missing. He walked forward and asked, "Why are you hiding here?" He stopped in front of Lin Yan.
Lin Yan: "Master, I was sleepy and wanted to take a nap, so I came here."
"Is that so? Go to sleep."
"Can I?" Lin Yan was truly startled by Yue Ci's shout just now.
Feng Qishi reached out and patted Lin Yan's shoulder. "Go ahead."
Lin Yan nodded and circled back behind the tree.
Feng Qishi sighed, then turned to the people staring in their direction. "Yue Ci, don't be so jumpy," he said, pointing at Yue Ci.
Yue Ci smiled and turned back to continue. "See, he's hard to catch, isn't he? He's occupied so many bodies, not only that, but he also killed beggars. He's done all sorts of evil deeds. And the time factor is there too. If you catch him, it's considered meritorious."
Hei Feng: "You're right, but this is Mu An Xiao's task. I... it might not be good."
"Just give her the two of them," Yue Ci said, shifting his gaze to A Xia's face.
That's right, Yue Ci had a motive, and it was simple: he wanted to keep A Xia around for a couple more days. He didn't want Hei Feng to take A Xia away so easily.
Seeing this, Hei Feng followed Yue Ci's gaze to A Xia's face and said, "Do you like girls that much?" he asked, looking at Yue Ci.
Hearing this, Yue Ci turned back and said with mock seriousness, "No."
"Not yet? You just want A Xia to stay here longer. Since that's the case," Hei Feng said, "I'll just wait for Mu An Xiao, so as not to give you a chance."
"I'll think of a way for you, and you give me..."
"I don't want Mu Xi," Hei Feng interrupted.
Hearing this, Yue Ci was speechless.
A Xia glared at Yue Ci and looked at Chen. "Why are you looking at me?"
"If I were you, I'd definitely smack him," Chen said calmly.
A Xia's expression stiffened upon hearing Chen's words, and she was speechless.
(