"..." Mu Anxiao looked at Jia's smiling face and deliberately closed her mouth.
After staring at each other for a while, Jia couldn't help but say, "Why are you just staring at me? Say something."
"You were the one who stopped talking first. I was waiting for you to speak," Mu Anxiao retorted.
Jia's expression stiffened. He looked around and said, "Even if I heal your wounds, what's the point? I'd say, just give in and give up."
"Why should I give up?"
"You tell me why you should give up. Only if you give up can we both get out. Don't you understand this?" Jia asked.
Mu Anxiao snorted, "I've made myself perfectly clear."
"What did you say?" Jia asked, confused.
Mu Anxiao looked at Jia's bewildered expression and wondered about the brain capacity beneath his small frame. She said again, "I've said it all. He must have been moved, it's just not the right time yet."
"But the facts prove that he is no longer the Feng Qishi of the past."
"It's easier to change mountains and rivers than a person's nature. Even if he becomes a ghost, I will still believe," Mu Anxiao said, "that he will still be moved."
"You..."
"Don't you," Mu Anxiao interrupted, glancing at Jia's small hands. "Heal me."
"Heal me..." Jia grinned. "I won't."
"What benefit do I get from you being injured?"
"It's no benefit to me, but I just don't want to heal you right now, unless," Jia smiled, "you give up."
"You're threatening me." Mu Anxiao's eyes widened.
Jia curled his lips. "I wouldn't dare threaten you, but I just don't think Feng Qishi will come back, because he is Shen Moyun now."
"Shen Moyun is just his current name. It decides nothing."
"Sometimes, a person's experiences can also change their personality," Jia said seriously.
"You mean... he changed because of his experiences?" Mu Anxiao said lazily.
"Yes, I think those experiences made him see some things clearly, and it was from those experiences that he became this way. Anyway, I don't think he will come."
"..." Mu Anxiao looked at Jia's serious little expression, took a deep breath, and said, "Since that's the case, let's make a bet."
"A bet? What's the bet?" Jia was confused again.
Mu Anxiao: "If Feng Qishi comes, you'll have to wash my feet for a month. If he doesn't come, you don't have to heal me, and I'll just let the wound torment me." She raised an eyebrow. "How about it?"
"Why do you get to say everything?" Jia said, displeased.
Mu Anxiao was unfazed and shrugged. "I don't care about you. Just tell me if you agree or disagree."
"Can I not speak?"
"No."
"You..." Jia looked at Mu Anxiao's determined expression and thought about Mu Anxiao's usual tricks for tormenting him. He compromised. "Fine."
"That's more like it. Then we'll wait," Mu Anxiao said. She looked ahead, starting to wonder... how did Feng Qishi conjure puppets?
Jia glanced at Mu Anxiao's thoughtful expression and asked, "What's wrong?"
Mu Anxiao: "Feng Qishi's puppet was a person before."
"That's a human soul," Jia said faintly.
"Human soul..." Mu Anxiao repeated, taking a deep breath. "It seems they haven't been dead long."
"Not long," Jia also said.
Mu Anxiao nodded slightly. "Not long. How long do you think they've been dead?"
"Probably less than four months."
"Less than four months..." Mu Anxiao shook her head slightly. "What a shame. That man looked very young."
Hearing this, Jia frowned and turned his gaze to Mu Anxiao's face. "How could you tell he was young?"
"How could I..." Mu Anxiao repeated, turning her head slightly to look at the curious Jia, and uttered two words: "Hair volume." She pointed to her hair.
Jia froze.
Mu Anxiao said nothing, slowly turning her head to look ahead.
The next second, Jia laughed. "You know, that actually makes some sense."
"I think so too," Mu Anxiao said. As she opened her mouth to yawn, the wound on the corner of her mouth tore open. She quickly raised her hand to cover her mouth and said, "Young people nowadays are really ruthless. It hurts so much."
Jia: "Even if you say that, I still won't heal you." He thought Mu Anxiao was acting for his benefit.
Mu Anxiao glared at Jia upon hearing this. "You're so narcissistic at such a young age. What will you be like when you grow up?"
"Facts prove that I won't grow up," Jia said, sounding mature.
Mu Anxiao remained silent and took out the veil Feng Qishi had given her from her sleeve, gently wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth.
Jia glanced at Mu Anxiao again and said nothing.
At the same time, Piao stopped the carriage at the entrance of a small village not far from Jincheng. After confirming that there weren't many people around, he turned to Yin Ye and the others in the carriage and said, "Come down."
"Master, do you think Mu Anxiao is really not dead?" Chen asked, stepping forward first.
"For over half a year, you never mentioned Mu Anxiao. Now you're asking so diligently," Piao said, jumping off the carriage first.
Chen followed suit and jumped off the carriage. "Master, what you're saying is wrong. How could I not mention Mu Anxiao?"
"You say you haven't mentioned her, but as soon as money is mentioned, you bring her up."
"That's just because you see her as a role model for being greedy, so it doesn't count," Piao said.
Piao and Chen were so bored that they were always arguing about this issue.
Yin Ye and Lin Yan had long been accustomed to their arguments.
At this moment, Lin Yan jumped off the carriage with Chen and looked at the surrounding environment. "Are we going to stay here for more than half a year?"
Upon hearing this, Piao stopped arguing with Chen and looked at Lin Yan. "Yes."
"This place seems quite remote. There probably aren't any inns."
"Follow me," Piao said, looking at Chen. "Lead the horse."
Chen was annoyed. "Lead the horse? Master, is there still a journey ahead?"
Piao grunted and walked ahead.
Chen: "Master, you can just..."
"The villagers here are all elderly. It's better to keep your voice down," Piao interrupted, continuing to walk forward.
Yin Ye jumped off the carriage and stood beside Lin Yan. "Let's go."
Lin Yan hesitated, then glanced back in the direction they came from. "Do you think Youxian is okay?"
Yin Ye shook her head.
Chen said, "What could happen to her? Let's go." As she said this, she took the horse's reins, pulled the carriage, and walked ahead.
Yin Ye glanced at Lin Yan. "She's right. Let's go." After saying this, she followed the carriage with Lin Yan.
Mu Residence.
Feng Qishi stopped in the back garden, looking down and thinking about Mu Anxiao's words, then about the demon souls in the palace. He began to be moved and hesitated.
Just then, a maid serving Mu Hua happened to see Feng Qishi. Her eyes lit up, and she quickly turned and ran back.
A moment later.
The maid rushed into the madam's room, forgetting all etiquette, and excitedly said, "Fourth Miss, Young Master Shen is back."
The madam was startled and looked up at the radiant maid. "You foolish girl, don't you know the rules?"
Upon hearing this, the maid quickly knelt. "Your servant knows her mistake."
Conversely, Mu Hua's face was beaming. She stood up and said, "Mother, she's just here to bring me news." She then looked back at the maid and asked, "Where did you see him?"
The maid dared not look up. "In the back garden."
"The back garden," Mu Hua said, smiling. "Was he alone?"
"Yes, the... she wasn't there." The maid dared not call Mu Anxiao by name, so she said it like this.
Mu Hua understood the maid's words and smiled. "It seems she's already dead."
"..." The maid dared not speak.
Mu Hua didn't expect a reply from the maid. Instead, she chuckled to herself and said, "In that case, lead the way." She looked down at the maid.
Because of the madam, the maid stood still, afraid to move. "Your servant has made a mistake. Your servant dares not."
The madam heard the maid's words and said coldly, "Since Hua'er is happy, I won't punish you. Get up and lead the way."
The maid breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, Madam." After responding, she stood up, stepped aside, and said, "Miss, please go ahead."
Mu Hua: "You lead the way."
The maid stiffened slightly and nodded. "Yes, Miss." After saying this, she turned and led the way.
Mu Hua smiled at the madam and turned to follow the maid.
The madam looked at Mu Hua's infatuated side and couldn't help but smile. "A daughter grown up is no longer hers to keep," she said, shaking her head, picking up her teacup, and taking a sip of tea.
In a blink of an eye.
The maid led Mu Hua to the back garden, but just as she was about to approach Feng Qishi, Mu Hua suddenly grabbed the maid by the collar of her back and pulled the maid behind a row of potted plants.
The maid dared not speak and squatted behind Mu Hua.
Mu Hua peered out and saw Feng Qishi standing there looking dejected. She thought for a moment and muttered, "Strange, why does Brother Shen look so weird?" Then she turned to look at the maid.
Seeing Mu Hua looking at her, the maid was startled and then softly called out, "Miss."
"Was he like this just now?" Mu Hua asked in a low voice.
The maid nodded.
Mu Hua frowned, turned her head, and was about to observe further when Feng Qishi looked over. "Who is it?" he asked.
"..." Mu Hua shivered in fear, then looked at the maid with a distressed expression before slowly straightening up. "It's me."
Feng Qishi's expression was blank. "Why is it you?"
Mu Hua chuckled dryly, walked around the potted plants, and stood opposite Feng Qishi. "Brother Shen, why do you look unhappy? Did Mu Xiao offend you?"
"Who is Mu Xiao?"
Feng Qishi knew that if he responded directly to Mu Hua's words, Mu Hua would surely overthink things and even bully Mu Anxiao more excessively.
If that happened, he would be harming Mu Anxiao. Therefore, he chose to play dumb.
"She's that dead girl you carried away and gave to the coroner," Mu Hua said softly, afraid of offending Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi: "She offended me."
"That wild girl is like that. But it's better now," Mu Hua smiled. "She's dead anyway."
"...." Feng Qishi was stunned.
Seeing Feng Qishi's displeased expression, Mu Hua said, "Brother Shen, am I wrong?"
"Who said she's dead."
"I..." Mu Hua felt something was wrong and gave an awkward smile. "You sent her to the coroner. If she's not dead, what else could she be?"
"Do you want her dead so badly?" Feng Qishi said coldly.
Hearing Feng Qishi's words, Mu Hua became tense all over. In order to maintain her image of being a lady and gentle, she began to fake cry. "Brother Shen, how can you say that about me?" She dabbed her dry eyes with a handkerchief.
Feng Qishi looked at Mu Hua's sudden fake crying calmly and said coldly, "You're too fake."
"I'm sincere," Mu Hua said. "Everyone says Mu Xiao is a wild girl, but I don't think so. I actually think she's quite good. However, Mother dislikes her, so I can only pretend to dislike her. Now that she's dead, Brother Shen, if it's possible, can you help bury her?"
"..."
"Brother Shen," Mu Hua looked at Feng Qishi's blank stare and felt uncomfortable. "Can you stop looking at me like that? It's a bit embarrassing."
"I said, do you want her dead so badly?" Feng Qishi's expression was blank.
Hearing Feng Qishi's words, Mu Hua tried hard to suppress her nervousness and asked, "Brother, what do you mean by that? Did she... is she not dead?"
"I asked the coroner to examine her wounds. When did I say I wanted to kill her? Besides, if I killed her, the authorities would investigate me, and I would be punished because of her. You," Feng Qishi said, "are cursing me."
"No," Mu Hua said firmly.
"Then what do you mean? You want to use my hand to kill Mu Xiao and then watch me get caught so your father can take my place?" Feng Qishi deliberately provoked.
Mu Hua shook her head vigorously.
Feng Qishi then said, "Then what do you mean? I see, you just want to see me ruined. I know," he sneered, "everyone wants to see me dead. You do too, right?"
"Brother Shen, how can you say that about me?" Mu Hua looked wronged.
"Then why are you saying these things? Don't you just want to report me, order the coroner to kill Mu Xiao, and then watch me get ruined?" Feng Qishi deliberately argued illogically.
Mu Hua shook her head. "I didn't. I just..." Her heart raced, and she reached out and grabbed Feng Qishi's arm. "I heard that anyone who offends you dies, so I thought Mu Xiao was dead."
"..." Feng Qishi remained silent, looking down at Mu Hua's hand.
Seeing this, Mu Hua quickly withdrew her hand, looked up at Feng Qishi, and said earnestly, "Brother, no one in our family has ever thought that, really."
"Then why do you want Mu Xiao dead?" Feng Qishi spoke frankly.
Mu Hua's eyes darted away. "I didn't..."
"Don't say you didn't. I can see it," Feng Qishi interrupted.
Being interrupted by Feng Qishi like this, Mu Hua fell into nervousness again. "..."
"I heard Mu Xiao complaining to your father. Why were you treating her like that?" Feng Qishi continued.
Mu Hua: "She's too bad." She decided to talk nonsense.
"Bad." Feng Qishi uttered the word and asked again, "How is she bad?"