"Then go and get Mu Anxiao back," Shen Lu said excitedly.
Feng Qishi smiled faintly, "I want to, but... my strength doesn't permit it." He then looked down at his single hand.
Shen Lu asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
"My body, I understand it myself, because of the poisoning..."
"Senior Brother, you've been poisoned!" Shen Lu exclaimed, quickly reaching out to pull Feng Qishi's arm and feel his pulse.
Feng Qishi said, "Junior Brother, don't get agitated."
"You're fine," Shen Lu said, letting go.
"...I know," Feng Qishi replied, his mind suddenly recalling moments between Mu Anxiao and Ouyang Ye. He then became dejected again. "Junior Brother, I always feel I'm not as good as Ouyang Ye, but... I can also feel Mu Anxiao encouraging me. Yet, I also feel that if Mu Anxiao stays with me, she will become unhappy. It's very vexing."
"And for this reason, you sent Mu Anxiao into the fire pit?" Shen Lu asked in surprise.
Feng Qishi was speechless.
Shen Lu became angry, "Senior Brother, are you even a man? Do you know how difficult it is to find a woman with immortal destiny? For decades, your relationship with Mu Anxiao has been hard-won. Really, and now you've just handed her over like this."
"Mu Anxiao is not an object," Feng Qishi said indignantly.
"I know, but... you're too timid."
"Ouyang Ye always finds my weaknesses, always uses various means to threaten me, and I can't fight back. Isn't that infuriating?" Feng Qishi said helplessly.
"Then let him threaten you, can't you resist? It's not me saying this," Shen Lu said seriously. "You and Mu Anxiao are the same, always thinking of each other. In other words, this is your shared weakness, and that's why Ouyang Ye can unscrupulously exploit this weakness and bully you both relentlessly. Finally... Mu Anxiao was snatched away."
"..." Feng Qishi fell into thought.
Shen Lu glanced at the silent Feng Qishi and smiled again, "Your relationship is like Mu Anxiao's spiritual energy, which can be depleted at any time. It fluctuates. If you two could cooperate more, this probably wouldn't have happened."
"Is that so?" Feng Qishi replied softly.
"However," Shen Lu stared at Feng Qishi's face, "I think the main reason is still you."
"Me?"
"Yes, your way of doing good for others is to hurt them. Remember when we got into trouble together in the Heavenly Realm, and Master found out and was going to punish us? You didn't want me to be punished, so you deliberately gave Master a cold shoulder. Although Master eventually let me off, in essence, because of your attitude, our relationship also drifted apart. If I'm not mistaken, you treated Mu Anxiao the same way."
Feng Qishi was hit by Shen Lu's words and felt awkward.
"See, I was right," Shen Lu discerned something from Feng Qishi's expression.
Immediately, Feng Qishi recalled every word Mu Anxiao had spoken, and then... he asked softly, "You think she saw through it?"
"I can see it, and you think she can't?"
"If that's the case, she also saw my inferiority complex," Feng Qishi said, then he replayed Mu Anxiao's words before she left. "She mentioned sparrows."
"Sparrows?" Shen Lu said, and then he looked at the souls standing behind Feng Qishi, exclaiming, "What happened to them?"
"Waiting for the Yin messengers, Junior Brother, do you know what a sparrow is?" Feng Qishi felt that Mu Anxiao's last sentence... contained other meanings.
"Sparrows..."
"I know," one of the female souls suddenly said.
Hearing this, Feng Qishi immediately retracted his gaze from Shen Lu's face and turned to look at the female soul, "What is it?"
"Sparrows are birds used to send messages to various places. Many immortals who undertake missions input their consciousness into them to facilitate communication with others," the female soul said matter-of-factly.
Feng Qishi listened, utterly confused, "Can you explain it more clearly?"
"Sparrows can also send messages to the demon realm," the female soul said clearly. "I think Mu Anxiao wanted to use sparrows... to relay news from the demon realm to you."
"How do you know?" Feng Qishi understood.
The female soul smiled, "Mu Anxiao knew that you, being so straightforward, would definitely not figure it out. Indeed, you are such a big dummy," she said, glancing at the souls beside her. "I'll take these with me."
"Who are you?" Feng Qishi quickly asked again.
"A Yin messenger," the female soul replied, conjured a rope, and took them away, turning and disappearing.
After they left... the demonic energy in the dilapidated house also completely dissipated.
"So, Mu Anxiao also has grasped all of Ouyang Ye's plans," Shen Lu exclaimed. "Uh, this Mu Anxiao is truly not simple, although her spiritual energy... is really unstable."
At the same time, Feng Qishi fell into gloom again, "I really am stupid enough."
Seeing Feng Qishi like this, and then thinking of Ouyang Ye's smug demeanor, and everything Ouyang Ye had done for Mu Anxiao, Shen Lu finally understood... why Feng Qishi was like this. But even so, he couldn't stand seeing Feng Qishi in this state.
"Senior Brother, you've really had enough."
"What about me?" Feng Qishi became self-conscious again.
"What about you? You can fall into a state of inferiority over anything. No wonder Mu Anxiao doesn't tell you anything," Shen Lu deliberately provoked Feng Qishi.
Upon hearing this, Feng Qishi thought again about what Mu Anxiao had said to him before she left and said firmly, "I cannot let Ouyang Ye exploit my weaknesses anymore."
"Yes," Shen Lu liked the determined look in Feng Qishi's eyes.
Feng Qishi said, "Let's go, we'll go find the sparrows." As he was about to leave, a sparrow flew in, and upon seeing it, he immediately fixed his gaze on it.
The next second, the sparrow flew in front of Feng Qishi, "I didn't expect you to not be so stupid." It was Mu Anxiao's voice.
Feng Qishi exclaimed in surprise, "You've turned into a sparrow?"
"This is just half of my consciousness, Shen the Madman," the sparrow said, flapping its wings. "Help me investigate the identities of the imperial concubines before they entered the palace."
"For what?"
"Don't ask, this is your task, and it must be completed," the sparrow said earnestly.
Feng Qishi nodded and asked, "You... know I..."
"If I were you, I wouldn't even bother with Ouyang Ye. Also, remember this: in my eyes, you are always stronger than Ouyang Ye. I am taking Ouyang Ye away now, and will bring peace back to Jincheng. You must protect this city well for me, protect Mai Xia for me, and wait for my news." After speaking, the sparrow flew away.
Feng Qishi pursed his lips and smiled.
Shen Lu clicked his tongue, "Mu Anxiao is indeed more useful than me. Sad." He then cautiously eyed the suddenly enlightened Feng Qishi.