“I know. Well then… let’s go!”
Gu An’s past was a mystery, and Xiang Nang knew little of it. Gu An had forbidden her from learning about it before his death. Now, Mu Anxiao intended to do so, and Xiang Nang saw it as an opportunity to understand her master’s past.
Even though she knew it was not right to do so!
“Let’s go!” Mu Anxiao said with determination.
In the blink of an eye.
Mu Anxiao followed Xiang Nang and stopped outside the Ghost Cave. The surrounding environment, however, startled her. Looking around, all the plants had withered. The area outside the Ghost Cave was covered in blood-red spiderwebs.
Mu Anxiao hadn’t seen these things that day, and now, she was indeed frightened.
Xiang Nang said, “What do you want to know? Ask.”
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao swallowed twice and looked back at Xiang Nang. “What do you want me to ask you?”
“Anything you want, whatever comes to mind?”
“Why is this place…” Before she could finish, a gust of wind blew. Mu Anxiao’s nerves tightened, and she quickly turned her head. Behind the withered trees, two figures appeared. “There are people there… no, monsters.”
Xiang Nang didn’t even glance that way and said, “That’s not a monster.”
Mu Anxiao continued to stare in that direction. “Then what is it?”
Xiang Nang: “…”
Following the breeze, Feng Qishi and Piao emerged from behind the withered trees and walked towards Mu Anxiao. Piao said, “It’s us.”
Feng Qishi, as he walked, added, “Mu the fool, those monsters aren’t as handsome as us.”
“Exactly.”
Mu Anxiao’s expression turned dark. If she remembered correctly, she and Xiang Nang had come out stealthily, and these two hadn’t been there at the time. So, seeing them here made her feel perplexed.
“How did you follow us?”
“Who am I? I am a demon,” Piao said confidently.
Xiang Nang turned to them. “I left them a mark.”
Feng Qishi asked, “Was the mark in the kitchen left by you?”
Xiang Nang replied, “Yes. It’s just…” She glanced at Piao. “I didn’t expect him to follow.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“What else could it mean? I didn’t want you to come to this place.”
“Then I’ll leave, alright?” Piao said. The moment he turned, everything before him suddenly blurred. “What’s going on?” He turned to look at Xiang Nang.
Xiang Nang said, “We’re still missing one. Once he arrives, we will collectively be trapped in a memory. Only after the memory is complete can we leave.”
However, Xiang Nang had not mentioned this when they arrived.
Upon hearing this, Mu Anxiao was also shocked. “Wasn’t it only me who had to recall?”
“Whoever was present in the master’s memory will be here,” Xiang Nang said, glancing at Shen Xian, who was slowly emerging from the thick fog. “You’re here.”
“Mm,” Shen Xian nodded and walked to their side.
Mu Anxiao asked, confused, “What’s going on?”
“It’s the effect of the Jie Shi Pill. It contains the master’s memories. It was also the day you fainted, when that power awakened the Blood Lantern’s memories of the master. I believe this is why you were dreaming.”
“Didn’t I enter his memories?” Mu Anxiao pointed at Shen Xian.
Shen Xian looked down at Mu Anxiao and exclaimed, “You dreamt it too?”
Initially, Mu Anxiao didn’t want to say anything, but at this point, she had no choice but to speak.
“Mm,” she nodded reluctantly.
Shen Xian asked, “Then have you remembered?”
“…” Mu Anxiao averted her gaze and asked, “Is this your master’s arrangement?”
“My master doesn’t have the ability to foresee the future. It’s just a coincidence.”
“What?” Mu Anxiao frowned, recalling the process of Yan Bian giving her the Jie Shi Pill that day. She gave a bitter laugh. “It’s certainly coincidental. If I hadn’t taken that Jie Shi Pill, perhaps this wouldn’t have happened?”
“That Jie Shi Pill was for Yan Bian to detoxify. In other words, that pill was only effective for Shen Xian and the master. Also, Yan Bian doesn’t need to recall; her heart has always been with the master. Therefore, the Jie Shi Pill only had a detoxification effect on her. But you are different.”
“Then why didn’t Yan Bian eat it?”
“After Yan Bian learned of the master’s death, she kept that Jie Shi Pill. The poison on her…” Xiang Nang’s eyes flickered. “was resolved after consuming those monster cores.”
“Monster cores?”
“Yes, monster cores indeed have that effect.”
“Then do you know… why your master went to find those monsters?”
Xiang Nang: “…” She shook her head slightly.
“Alright!” Mu Anxiao nodded.
Feng Qishi asked, “What does this have to do with me?”
Piao also said, “Exactly. It has nothing to do with me, right?”
Xiang Nang looked at Piao. “This truly has nothing to do with you. I didn’t know you were coming either, so just stay here and guard for a while.”
“Then what about him?” Piao pointed at Feng Qishi.
Xiang Nang glanced at Shen Xian and said, “Feng Qishi is involved in these matters.”
“That’s not right,” Feng Qishi pointed at himself and laughed. “How could that be? At that time, I was his enemy. If you say so, then Feng Qishi and Gu An would have had no connection.”
Xiang Nang’s gaze flickered again. “You’ll know when you go in.”
“……” Feng Qishi frowned.
Shen Xian: “……”
Following the whirlwind, as they were about to enter the Ghost Cave, Mu Anxiao asked, “Who is the owner of the Blood Lantern? Do you know?”
Xiang Nang: “…” She looked at Mu Anxiao, took a deep breath, and said, “It’s the master.”
Before coming here, Mu Anxiao had been shocked by various truths.
And this truth also stunned her, but this feeling of being stunned was much… more intense than before.
Then, she remembered the rows of Blood Lanterns calling out, and felt the eerie ghost energy outside the Ghost Cave, and thought about everything that happened to her in the Ghost Cave that day. She couldn’t believe that they were… Gu An’s creation.
Therefore, she asked with uncertainty, “Are you joking?”
“No, I am the master’s exclusive lantern. I didn’t want my body to be stained with the blood of those monsters, so I never did. As for you,” Xiang Nang said, “I can only say, it was an accident.”
“……”
Mu Anxiao thought about what happened that day; it was indeed quite accidental.
“Alright, is there anything else you want to ask?”
“Yes.” Mu Anxiao nodded and conjured the Soul Sword with her palm. “Whose is this?”
“……” Xiang Nang’s eyes widened the moment she saw the Soul Sword in Mu Anxiao’s hand. “How do you have this?”
“Don’t you know it was stolen by the Vine Demon?”
Xiang Nang shook her head. “I don’t know. But I do know that everything started because of it.”
“It?” Mu Anxiao uttered the word and lowered her gaze, focusing on the Soul Sword.
At the same time, Feng Qishi remembered what the number one monster had said that day. “I remember now. That monster said this Soul Sword was picked up by Gu An. It was because of it that Gu An was locked onto by the Yin officials. It was also because of it that Gu An lost his demonic aura and became a mortal who only knew a little bit of sorcery.”