At the same time, Jia emerged from behind a tree to the side of Mu Anxiao, walking to her side. He gazed in the direction Feng Qishi had gone, propping his chin on one hand and tugging at Mu Anxiao's arm with the other. "Hey, do you think there's something wrong?" he asked.
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao shifted her gaze from her hands to her arm, which Jia was tightly holding. "Can you untie this?" she asked, fixing her eyes on Jia.
Upon hearing this, Jia immediately released his grip and took half a step back. "I'm afraid I'm incapable, I can't," he said.
"You..."
"You hang in there for a bit. Speaking of which, what do you mean by 'something wrong'?" Jia interrupted. He had a general idea of what Mu Anxiao was implying, but he wanted to clarify, to ensure their thoughts were aligned. It would be awkward if he said the wrong thing and made a fool of himself.
Mu Anxiao replied, "It's the same as I said, I think that Bing'er has a problem." As she spoke, she lowered her head to stare at her hands.
Jia followed Mu Anxiao's gaze to the spell binding her hands and sighed. "I really don't know what he's thinking. He's a great immortal, yet he can't distinguish right from wrong."
"No matter what, he lacks experience. It's best not to involve him in this matter," Mu Anxiao said.
"You're right. That child is from his mansion. If he finds out later, when an investigation is conducted, he definitely won't lie. If he doesn't know, then he won't be able to say anything," Jia said, tilting his head to look at Mu Anxiao. "No wonder you refused to tell him the truth."
"I didn't tell you either," Mu Anxiao recalled telling Jia nothing.
Jia smiled. "You can tell me now, can't you?" he said expectantly.
"The female demon's goal is to save that Bing'er."
"Save... How?"
"There's medicine below to save the child. I'll need your help then," Mu Anxiao said, glancing again in the direction Feng Qishi had gone.
Jia's expression froze. "You're altering fate."
"She's still so young; her fate shouldn't be this short. Later, you can use the mission as an excuse to get that medicine."
"Don't let her trick you," Jia cautioned, being wary.
"From the looks of her, she probably wouldn't lie to me," Mu Anxiao stated, believing that women had their conscience in certain matters.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's resolute demeanor, Jia didn't know what else to say.
After a moment's thought, Jia changed the subject. "Where are we going next?"
Mu Anxiao pondered for a moment. "I don't know the specific place. I'll just follow her later," she said. She suddenly remembered she had something to say but seeing Jia's uninquiring expression, she felt as if she already had. Hesitating on the matter, she asked, "By the way, did I tell you what mistakes she made?"
Jia was just thinking about cooperating and sharing the mission rewards with Mu Anxiao. He didn't intend to inquire too deeply into the reasons. However, since Mu Anxiao had brought it up, he couldn't help but become curious about the matter.
"No."
"No?"
"Yes, you didn't say anything. You just exchanged a few words with me."
"You don't even know, and you're cooperating with me?"
"Yes, I believe in you."
Believe!
In less than a year, Mu Anxiao and Jia had spent the most time together. Jia had never asked too many questions about anything she did. It was precisely because of this that Mu Anxiao felt that although Jia was just a minor underworld envoy, he was still a child, so he wouldn't think to ask certain things.
Therefore, hearing Jia say this now, she finally realized... Jia had always been like this because he believed in her. Thinking of this, she smiled contentedly. "Thank you."
"What for? You helped Hei Feng, so I believe you can definitely help me too. Even though you didn't have any spiritual powers before, you have a brain, don't you?" Jia said excitedly.
Mu Anxiao didn't find Jia's words harsh. On the contrary, she appreciated his directness. "Alright then, just for praising me, after this mission is over, I'll speak well of you to Hei Feng."
"What good will it do if you tell him?"
"I know him." Mu Anxiao smiled.
Hearing this, Jia thought of Mu Anxiao's own cultivation path and understood. "Alright, let's hope he's a decent fellow." Saying this, he sighed and asked, "By the way, can you tell me now?"
"Okay." Mu Anxiao nodded, crouched down, and solemnly recounted her dealings with the woman to Jia.
A few minutes later.
Jia frowned. "This matter is quite serious." As he spoke, he thought of the three fairies whose whereabouts were unknown and sighed.
Mu Anxiao nodded. "It is indeed serious, so we need to use our brains to handle it."
"I believe in you," Jia said, reaching out to pat Mu Anxiao's shoulder.
Mu Anxiao looked down at Jia's hand gently patting her shoulder, back and forth, and said helplessly, "I'm saying, we need to use our brains to do this, not just me alone."
"We're partners."
"You and I are just in a relationship of mutual benefit."
"No, we are partners. Even though it's temporary, but..." Jia became serious. "I believe in your abilities. When necessary, I will help you."
"What do you mean by 'when necessary'? We need to cooperate with each other."
"I know. When the time comes, you go first, and I'll follow. Anyway," Jia squinted and smiled, "your spiritual powers are already enough to deal with her."
"Are you praising me?"
"No, this is how I see you. It's not praise, it's sincere," Jia said, gently placing his hand over his chest.
Mu Anxiao gasped. "Just based on the fact that you saved me before, I'll..." she said, "barely accept your sincerity."
"I'm sincere, sincere," Jia emphasized.
Mu Anxiao sighed softly, her gaze sharpened, and she said, "Let's not talk about this for now. Did you also sense the double demonic energy just now?"
"Yes," Jia nodded.
"Generally, demons with dual demonic energy are very powerful?"
"Dual demonic energy..." Jia, prompted by Mu Anxiao's question, pondered for a moment and said, "Having dual demonic energy means having a dual personality."
"Dual personality?"
"Yes, however, such monsters with dual demonic energy are very rare. Specifically," Jia gave a dry chuckle, "I really can't explain it."
"Can't explain..." Mu Anxiao repeated, reviewing Bing'er's actions in her mind. She asked, "Do you think monsters with dual demonic energy are good at hiding themselves?"
"Hiding... I don't know about that," Jia said with a wry smile.
"How come you don't know anything?" Mu Anxiao said, looking down at her hands, which were itching to hit Jia. She tutted. "Shen Moyun, this is too much. He treated me like that for that impostor Lin Yan, and now because..." She stopped halfway, snorted coldly, and couldn't continue.
"It was indeed a bit excessive for him to treat you like that," Jia said, glancing at Mu Anxiao's hands.
Mu Anxiao looked at Jia. "I won't give up," she said, then stood up with difficulty and walked towards Feng Qishi's room.
Seeing this, Jia called out, "Wait for me," and then followed.