"..."
If Yu Xiaosheng had merely spoken her mind, Mu Anxiao wouldn't have felt anything, even thinking she was overthinking things.
However, Yu Xiaosheng had brought her father into this, indicating the matter was no trivial affair.
Mu Anxiao also knew that Yu Xiaosheng's father was indeed quite capable; that short dagger was precisely a weapon her father had gifted her.
Following Yu Xiaosheng's words, Mu Anxiao fell into deep thought and rose to sit beside Yu Xiaosheng.
Yu Xiaosheng calmly observed Mu Anxiao's pensive expression and asked, "You don't believe what I'm saying?"
"No, if it comes to this, wouldn't it be difficult for me to leave the palace once I'm inside?" Mu Anxiao said, taking a deep breath and turning to look at Yu Xiaosheng. "It seems we need to figure something out."
Yu Xiaosheng hummed in agreement. Just as she was about to speak, Feng Qishi tapped twice on the carriage. "It's time. If we don't go, that person will grow impatient," he said calmly.
Immediately, Mu Anxiao and Yu Xiaosheng exchanged glances. Yu Xiaosheng asked, "What should we do?"
"I'll tell you after we get into the palace."
"Aren't you going to tell me now?" Yu Xiaosheng grew anxious.
Mu Anxiao frowned slightly. "There's no time. If I tell you, they'll get anxious. Once they're anxious, they'll come looking for us, and if they find us, neither of us will survive."
"How about we run?" Yu Xiaosheng suggested lightly.
Mu Anxiao's expression stiffened. "If we run, they'll find you quickly. Not only that, but I'll die before you do. Are you sure you want to do this?" She deliberately exaggerated the severity of the situation.
Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaosheng lowered her gaze. "But I still need to find someone."
"Find someone..." Mu Anxiao said, suddenly curious about the person Yu Xiaosheng mentioned. But then she considered their stranger relationship and thought it would be improper to ask directly. Thus, she stopped short of asking.
Conversely, Yu Xiaosheng looked at Mu Anxiao's sudden silence and became curious. "Why did you stop talking?"
"..." Mu Anxiao glanced at Yu Xiaosheng cautiously. "There are some things I find it difficult to ask," she said frankly.
Yu Xiaosheng smiled. "What's so difficult to ask? We're both adrift in the same sea of troubles. Go ahead and ask. I'm not afraid to tell you." She thought that perhaps Mu Anxiao could help her find Yue Ci.
Hearing Yu Xiaosheng's words, Mu Anxiao's tense heart finally relaxed. She then directly asked, "Who are you looking for? It seems that person is very important to you?" Although her question was direct, her tone was filled with caution.
Yu Xiaosheng sighed. "That person stole something very important from me."
"Something very important? What is it?" Mu Anxiao was surprised. She had largely guessed who Yu Xiaosheng was referring to. However, due to her forgetting some matters, she couldn't be entirely certain.
"My short dagger."
"Short dagger..." Mu Anxiao didn't recall anyone taking her short dagger and retorted, "As a young girl, why would you carry a short dagger?"
"My father gave it to me. The person who took my short dagger is called Yue Ci."
"Yue Ci?" Mu Anxiao remembered Yue Ci, but she hadn't expected that Yue Ci, a dignified immortal, would have the habit of borrowing things and not returning them.
"Do you know him?" Yu Xiaosheng saw a story unfolding in Mu Anxiao's eyes.
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao came to her senses. She then thought about Yue Ci's penchant for adventure. Considering that Yu Xiaosheng had managed to find her here, Yu Xiaosheng must have investigated something.
Therefore, she used Yu Xiaosheng's words to think for a moment before saying, "I don't know him, but I think he might be in the palace?" Although she didn't know Yue Ci's whereabouts, she thought that if she agreed to help Yu Xiaosheng, Yu Xiaosheng would definitely help her in return.
As for finding Yue Ci, she could leave that to Jia.
"The palace?" Yu Xiaosheng was surprised and asked, "How do you know he's in the palace?"
"I guessed."
"Guessed?" Yu Xiaosheng echoed the word, suddenly disbelieving Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao looked at Yu Xiaosheng's hesitant expression and thought again. "To be honest, there is an immortal in this palace, so I thought... the person you mentioned might indeed be in the palace."
"How are you so sure?"
"From what I understand, people who come from outside are usually specifically entering the palace."
"Really?"
"Yes, why would I lie to you?" Mu Anxiao said, feeling a bit guilty.
Conversely, Yu Xiaosheng had completely believed Mu Anxiao's words. "Then I'll go into the palace first, and then you can accompany me to find him?"
"Okay, but," Mu Anxiao smiled faintly, "the condition is that I have to find you first."
"Find me?" Yu Xiaosheng pointed at herself and, after thinking for a moment, asked, "By the way, when are you entering the palace?"
"Once you enter the palace, I will too."
"Why don't you go with me?"
"You're being sold in, which is different from me. In short... once we're in the palace, you must pretend not to know me, understand?" Mu Anxiao said with a serious expression. "Otherwise, both of us will be finished."
"I understand the rules. When the time comes, I'll help you, and you'll help me. Then we'll leave together." Yu Xiaosheng completely trusted Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao wanted exactly this attitude from Yu Xiaosheng. Looking at her, Mu Anxiao nodded firmly. "Let's do as you say."
"Alright, let's go."
"Let's go," Mu Anxiao agreed, turning sideways to lift the curtain and shouting to Feng Qishi, "Depart."
Immediately, Feng Qishi glanced at Mu Anxiao, who seemed to be commanding him, and instructed the coachman, "Go."
Thus, Mu Anxiao and Yu Xiaosheng reached an understanding.
A quarter of an hour later.
Mu Anxiao jumped off the carriage first, dismissed the coachman, and stood before the palace gates in the biting wind, looking around and searching for the voice they had heard. "Where are you?" she asked.
At the same time, Yu Xiaosheng crouched inside the carriage, lifted a side curtain, and cautiously peered at Mu Anxiao's retreating back through the gap, daring not to speak.
Next, Yao Hun's voice reached Mu Anxiao's ears. "Who are you? Where are they?"
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao slanted her eyes and chuckled dryly. "They've been captured."
"Captured..." Yao Hun said, transforming into a red light and floating before Mu Anxiao. "They told you."
"No," Mu Anxiao lowered her head, pretending not to see anything.
Yao Hun snorted and said, "No? Then how do you know? Also, how can you hear my voice? I didn't allow you to hear me speak."
"To be honest, I was an apprentice in a cultivation sect. You are an immortal, aren't you?" Mu Anxiao said, cupping her hands. "This humble one greets the immortal."
"You're quite perceptive. You overheard my conversation with those two fellows and reported them to the authorities, didn't you?" Yao Hun surmised.
Mu Anxiao laughed heartily twice. "Immortal, you are truly exceptionally intelligent. In fact, from the moment you entered, I sensed your immortal aura." As she spoke, she tilted her head to look up at the night sky.