In the wolf demon’s impression, Xie Xin was the kind of girl who would fawn over him at the mere sight of him, spending all her days in a jealous frenzy. He held no hope for any “clues” or information she might possess.
Right now, all he knew was that keeping his distance was the wisest choice.
Thus, while Xie Xin was deep in thought, he stood up.
Yuan Ye looked up at the wolf demon.
However, it was this action by Yuan Ye that caught Xie Xin’s attention. She immediately grabbed the wolf demon’s arm and said, “You’re not allowed to leave.”
The wolf demon expressed his helplessness. “Let go,” he said, looking down at Xie Xin.
Xie Xin, looking up, said unhappily, “Only when you’re by my side can I remember.”
“…” This was precisely what the wolf demon feared most. He then shifted his gaze to Mu An Xiao.
Mu An Xiao sensed the wolf demon’s stare and knew he disliked being pestered by Xie Xin. However, since Xie Xin had already said that, if she sided with the wolf demon, Xie Xin would surely be displeased. What if, because of this, Xie Xin forgot what she was going to say? That would be a loss.
With no other choice, she said, “Wolf demon, sit down.”
Upon hearing this, the wolf demon’s eyes widened. “You’re actually siding with her.”
“…” Mu An Xiao didn’t want to offend the wolf demon, so she looked back at Xie Xin. “Xie Xin, he doesn’t like women clinging to him. Let go of his arm.”
Xie Xin: “If I let go, what if he leaves?”
“He won’t leave,” Mu An Xiao said in a coaxing tone, like one would to a child.
Seeing Mu An Xiao’s confident demeanor, Xie Xin looked up at the wolf demon again. “If you’re not leaving, I’ll let go.”
The wolf demon knew Xie Xin was a persistent girl, and it was no easy feat for Mu An Xiao to persuade her this far. Thus, he abandoned the idea of distancing himself from Xie Xin and reluctantly nodded.
Seeing this, Xie Xin grinned and let go of his arm.
The wolf demon let out a sigh of relief and sat back down.
This time, Xie Xin stopped pestering the wolf demon and shifted her gaze to Mu An Xiao. “I remember now.”
Mu An Xiao’s eyes lit up. “You’ve seen evil spirits.”
“Not exactly,” Xie Xin said. “I was walking along and encountered two demon souls. Those two demon souls said something…” Her mind went blank again.
Mu An Xiao frowned. “What is it?”
Xie Xin knitted her brows. “I’m sorry, my mind is a bit jumbled. I need to think.” As she spoke, she glanced at the wolf demon.
The wolf demon avoided her gaze, intentionally refraining from any eye contact with Xie Xin.
Mu An Xiao understood Xie Xin and nodded. “Then think. I’ll wait.” She picked up her teacup.
At the same time, Piao looked at Xie Xin and the wolf demon, then fixed his gaze on Mu An Xiao and asked, “What’s the connection between evil spirits and you being a jinx?”
Mu An Xiao sighed. “It’s because of the evil spirits that they wanted to drive me away. No, wait,” she took a sip of water, looked around at them, and continued, “it should be us.”
Piao: “Evil spirits?” Having been here for so long, Piao had never heard of ‘evil spirits’ before, so he wore the same confused expression as Mu An Xiao had initially. “What is that?”
“If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking her,” Mu An Xiao said, glancing at Xie Xin, who was still deep in thought.
“That’s true,” Piao nodded.
Mu An Xiao looked at Piao’s expression and said with obvious disdain, “You’re a demon lord, yet you don’t even know about evil spirits.”
“It’s not us,” Piao retorted.
“Us?” Mu An Xiao didn’t immediately grasp Piao’s meaning. She sneered, “I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand what you mean.”
“Your underworld…”
“I am a celestial being; I don’t belong to the underworld,” Mu An Xiao interrupted.
Piao felt a bit awkward. “Alright, alright. They in the underworld… they give spirits names like this one and that one, and their situations are all different. Put yourself in my shoes. If you were me, could you honestly say your mind wouldn’t be in a mess?”
“But you’re well-traveled and knowledgeable. You don’t know these things,” Mu An Xiao said, picking up her teacup again and taking another sip of water. “This is truly quite surprising.” She then put down the cup.
“…” Piao was rendered speechless by Mu An Xiao’s words.
Seeing Piao’s silence, Mu An Xiao added, “If my master were here, he’d surely know. It’s a pity he’s not.”
However, in Piao’s mind, Mu An Xiao was already his disciple. Hearing her say this, he felt jealous. “Disciple, it’s not very good for you to be so fickle.”
“…” Mu An Xiao rolled her eyes at Piao. “I never acknowledged you as my master.”
“You…” Piao finally understood that his previous affection had been one-sided. His expression stiffened as he said, “Fine. Regardless, you are already my designated disciple.”
“Disciple…” Mu An Xiao repeated the word and suddenly remembered Chen, who wanted to follow Piao. She then glanced left and right and asked, “Hey, where did Chen go?”
Piao: “He went with Wan Sha.”
“Wan Sha?” Mu An Xiao repeated. She suddenly remembered Wan Sha and the vine spirit opening a ‘milk tea’ shop. “Where did they go?”
“What?” Piao didn’t understand Mu An Xiao’s meaning for a moment.
Mu An Xiao clicked her tongue. “What what? I’m asking, where did Wan Sha and the others go?” She had assumed that Wan Sha wouldn’t leave her side until she had gained ten years of freedom, but who knew… now Wan Sha was nowhere to be seen, which made her concerned.
“Probably went to some shop.”
“Shop…” Mu An Xiao uttered the word, and a flash of inspiration struck her. “That’s it.”
“…” Piao remained silent, observing Mu An Xiao’s anxious expression.
Just then, Yuan Ye looked at Xiao Zeng, who was stuffing his face with food, and asked, “Mu… why do they call you a jinx? Didn’t you… drive away those lone spirits who were playing those pointless games?”
Yuan Ye had been in fear all night, constantly worried that Yuan Yan would come to kill him. He had stayed tucked in his quilt, thinking a lot. It was then that he had secretly resolved that if Yuan Yan didn’t come for him, and if he survived until the next day, he would be grateful to Mu An Xiao.
Before he could even express his gratitude, this situation had arisen. Therefore, he wanted to help her.
Of course, this was his decision after preparing himself mentally.
Mu An Xiao: “My name is Mu An Xiao.”
“I know. Can you answer my question?”
Mu An Xiao didn’t know where to begin with this matter. However, if she didn’t speak, Yuan Ye would surely make wild guesses, and with his cowardly nature, he would certainly betray her.
Therefore, after thinking for a moment, she said, “They think it’s my fault. Demon souls appear, monsters appear, and now…” She sighed. “…evil spirits appear. In short, with me around, none of you will have peace.”
“Is it really you?” Yuan Ye’s eyes widened.
Mu An Xiao glanced at Yuan Ye’s fearful expression and tutted. “What do you think?”
“…” Yuan Ye gave a dry chuckle.
Piao looked at Yuan Ye’s expression and said, “As expected of mortals. Their dispositions change so quickly.”
This was exactly what Mu An Xiao had been thinking. The moment Piao shared the same thought, she suddenly felt a sense of closeness towards him. She then turned her head to look at Piao.
Piao felt Mu An Xiao’s gaze but remained silent, still looking at Yuan Ye.
Yuan Ye: “No…”
“No what? Let me tell you,” Piao said sternly. “This has nothing to do with her.”
“One person saying it might not be true, two people saying it might also not be true,” Yuan Ye said, cautiously glancing at the first man standing there and the second man lying on the ground. He cleared his throat and continued, “Now that everyone thinks this way, it’s clear that this matter…” He stopped speaking.
“Finish speaking,” Piao said coldly.
Yuan Ye’s gaze flickered as he lowered his head and said, “It’s clear that this matter is very likely related to her.”
Mu An Xiao had thought Yuan Ye would speak in her favor. Hearing him say this, her face darkened, and she felt disappointed.
Xiao Zeng: “I believe this has nothing to do with you.” He said with a determined expression.
Immediately, Xie Xin raised her head and said, “I remember now.” She was completely lost in thought and hadn’t heard them talking.
Upon hearing this, Mu An Xiao glanced at Xiao Zeng, who was the only one who believed her, and then looked at Xie Xin. “Speak.”
Xie Xin: “Evil spirits are demon souls, and demon souls are evil spirits.”
“....” Mu An Xiao didn’t quite understand and looked bewildered.
“…” Xie Xin looked at Mu An Xiao’s dazed expression, then glanced at the wolf demon, and continued, “It’s just… demon souls evolved into evil spirits, and evil spirits were previously demon souls.”
“How did demon souls… turn into evil spirits?” Mu An Xiao asked, confused.
Hearing Mu An Xiao’s question, Xie Xin gave a dry laugh. “How should I know?”
“Didn’t you just think about it?” Mu An Xiao was a bit stunned by Xie Xin’s words.
Xie Xin reached up and touched the back of her head. “I did think about it… this is what I figured out.” She tilted her head.
Mu An Xiao: “…” She pursed her lips and smiled.
Seeing Mu An Xiao’s slightly upturned lips, Xie Xin asked, “What’s wrong?”
Mu An Xiao cleared her throat. “No…” She also gave a dry laugh. “I thought you’d thought for a long time and could say something useful. I didn’t expect… this to be all you had. To be honest,” she shook her head slightly, “I’m a little disappointed.”
Xie Xin’s face turned cold.
Yuan Ye glanced at both Mu An Xiao and Xie Xin, not daring to speak.
Immediately, Xie Xin pouted her lips. “I spent quite a while thinking about this, and you saying that is too hurtful.” As she spoke, she leaned her head directly onto the wolf demon’s arm.
Xie Xin moved too quickly, and the wolf demon flinched. He then looked at Xie Xin, who was once again clinging to him, with a helpless expression and swallowed. “Mu An Xiao, can’t you just… say something nice?”
“I’m telling the truth.”
“A white lie,” the wolf demon said, pushing Xie Xin’s head away. “If you say something nice, she won’t cling to me anymore.”
Mu An Xiao glanced at Xie Xin, who was tightly gripping the wolf demon’s arm and leaning on it. She said indifferently, “Disappointed is disappointed. She’s wasting my time like this, and I’m not even angry. For you to be so picky is too much.” As she spoke, she looked towards the waiter who was walking over.
The waiter also noticed Mu An Xiao and hurried over, smiling and asking, “Customer, is there something you need?”
Mu An Xiao: “Another bowl…” She paused halfway through, then looked at Xiao Zeng. “Still want beef noodles?”
Xiao Zeng shook his head.
“Alright.” Mu An Xiao said, looking up at the waiter. “A small bowl of beef noodles.”
“Certainly!” The waiter responded with a smile and turned away.
Yuan Ye was surprised. “You’re still eating?”
“Yes, to calm my nerves,” Mu An Xiao said, looking at Xie Xin, who had moved her head from the wolf demon’s arm. “Is this all you know?”
Xie Xin nodded with an ‘mm’.
Mu An Xiao nodded. “Alright then.”
“Am I very useless?” Xie Xin asked, loosening her grip and fixing her gaze on Mu An Xiao’s face.
Mu An Xiao picked up the teapot and began refilling her teacup. “I didn’t say that. I’m just a little disappointed.”
“Then you still think I’m useless.”
“…” Mu An Xiao put down the teapot. Seeing Xie Xin like this, she sighed. “You’re just a mortal. Providing me with this kind of information is already remarkable.”
“You’re praising me.”
“It’s not exactly praise, but I just feel you didn’t need to think at all,” Mu An Xiao said, then turned her head and casually looked at a figure outside the window. A thought flashed through her mind, and she called out, “Who’s there?”
Outside the window, a man dressed in black, upon hearing Mu An Xiao’s shout, walked away.
Seeing this, Mu An Xiao quickly stood up. “Not good.” She placed her hands on the table.
Piao looked up. “What’s wrong?”
Mu An Xiao looked down. “Those people will be here soon.”
“People…” Piao realized the seriousness of the situation and said, “Then we need to leave quickly.”
Mu An Xiao’s eyes darkened as she looked towards the stairs. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Shen Fengzi is still upstairs, and we can’t leave.” She knew that Feng Qishi’s showering time usually lasted at least half an hour. If they left, Feng Qishi would surely be surrounded and attacked.
As his partner, she had a duty to protect him.
“He can take care of himself…”
“I want to wait for him,” Mu An Xiao interrupted, and sat back down.
Piao frowned and was about to persuade Mu An Xiao to leave when she said again, “He’s my partner. I can’t abandon him. Don’t try to persuade me. I want to eat noodles.”
Lin Yan was Feng Qishi’s disciple. The moment Piao spoke, he had wanted to say something, but due to his limited abilities, he had remained silent for the time being. Hearing Mu An Xiao say this now, he became bolder. “Don’t try to brainwash her and abandon my master.”
Piao had intended to continue persuading Mu An Xiao to leave first, but who knew… Lin Yan would actually speak up. He had no choice but to say nothing more.
Xie Xin cautiously glanced at Mu An Xiao, not daring to draw attention to herself anymore.
Worried that Xie Xin would grab him again, the wolf demon cautiously moved towards the edge of the long bench.
Conversely, the first man’s hope was rekindled upon hearing Mu An Xiao and Piao’s conversation.
Outside the inn, a woman dressed in a red and white dress stopped in her tracks and looked up at the window of the room where Feng Qishi was. “This must be the place,” she said, then turned to the man in black.
The man in black smiled. “Go ahead. You’ve always wanted to find him, haven’t you? This is your chance.”
“Thank you. After this is done, I will express my gratitude properly.” The woman in the red and white dress nodded slightly, then jumped upwards, transforming into a red and white beam of light that flew towards the window.
The man in black watched the beam of light ascend with an evil smile, then turned and walked away.