After finishing his words, Feng Qishi slightly lowered his head.
Mu Anxiao understood that such matters required thought, so she did not disturb Feng Qishi. She put away the celestial book in her hands, turned around, and looked up at him, waiting for his next reply.
Then, as Mu Anxiao had expected, Feng Qishi looked up at her and said, "You're saying there have always been soul phantoms around me, but I just didn't notice them?"
Mu Anxiao nodded.
"But why can't I sense them? That doesn't make sense."
"In the beginning, could you sense soul phantoms?" Mu Anxiao asked.
"What do you mean by that?"
"It means," Mu Anxiao patiently explained, "before you truly identified yourself as Shen Moyun, could you sense soul phantoms?" She wanted to verify her guess from Feng Qishi's reply.
Feng Qishi thought for a moment and said, "At that time, there were no soul phantoms here."
"None..."
"Yes, because my identity was that of a general, and I naturally had to protect the lives of the mortals here. So, to ensure no mistakes, I investigated this entire Jin City as soon as I arrived. Back then, there were indeed no soul phantoms."
"Then I was right. Those soul phantoms were brought by you," Mu Anxiao stated with conviction.
Feng Qishi's eyes glazed over. "If that's the case," he said, "then I've harmed them."
"It's not you," Mu Anxiao said with firm eyes, "it's your cowardice that harmed them."
"This..." Feng Qishi hesitated.
Mu Anxiao calmly looked at Feng Qishi's face and asked, "Can I ask you a question?"
"Ask away," Feng Qishi replied, fully cooperative.
Seeing Feng Qishi's cooperation, Mu Anxiao breathed a sigh of relief. "When did you start to resist using the healing術? I hope you can tell me, because only then can we solve the root problem."
"Can I..."
"Some things you have to face. Please tell me," Mu Anxiao said softly.
"..." Feng Qishi fell silent.
Mu Anxiao did not want to force Feng Qishi. Seeing his hesitant expression, she also hesitated for a moment and said, "If you don't want to talk about it, then forget it. This will be my last conversation with you."
Hearing this, Feng Qishi's body stiffened, and he immediately looked up to meet Mu Anxiao's eyes. "What do you mean by that?"
Mu Anxiao pursed her lips and smiled. "As the saying goes, everyone needs to keep a fallback plan for themselves, and I'm no exception. Speaking of which," she glanced at Amei, "although she's annoying, she's a life, and I naturally won't give up. I've already found a way."
"You..."
"Listen to me first," Mu Anxiao interrupted, her expression serious. "I don't want to force you. If you really don't want to say it, then fine. I've at least..."
"I'll tell you."
Feng Qishi's ability to become Shen Moyun and attain his current status was all for Mu Anxiao. Yet now, Mu Anxiao was going to abandon herself for Amei.
If she really did that, what would Feng Qishi's long wait mean?
Most importantly, Mu Anxiao held a significant place in his heart. He also knew that Mu Anxiao was a persistent person, so he was willing to compromise and bow his head before her.
"Really," Mu Anxiao's eyes lit up.
"This matter is very long, and I'm afraid you'll get impatient," Feng Qishi said calmly.
Mu Anxiao shook her head slightly. "I won't be impatient. As long as I can understand your situation over the past year, that's enough." She then smiled.
Feng Qishi narrowed his eyes and looked at Mu Anxiao. "You want to know so much about this? Why are you so nosy?" he asked with a helpless smile.
Thus, the awkward atmosphere between them was dispelled by Feng Qishi's remark. "I am nosy. Go ahead and tell me," she said, tilting her chin up.
Feng Qishi nodded and pointed to the bed.
"What are you doing?" Mu Anxiao asked, confused.
"Sit down."
"Sit... Then what about you?"
Feng Qishi... He intentionally did not answer Mu Anxiao's question and turned to the table, bending down to pick up a chair.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao sat down on the edge of the bed.
Amei was still lying there, motionless.
In the next moment, Feng Qishi sat opposite Mu Anxiao and asked, looking at Amei, "If I tell you all this, will the healing术 come back?"
"I don't know. Just... tell me." Mu Anxiao tried to appear calm, but her heart had already begun to race the moment Feng Qishi spoke.
Feng Qishi's eyes darkened. "If it doesn't work, will you still do that?"
"You don't want me to die."
"Of course not. You said you wanted to marry me. If you die, I..."
"What did you say?" Mu Anxiao interrupted, genuinely startled by Feng Qishi's words.
Feng Qishi hadn't expected himself to say that, so he averted his gaze and changed the subject. "It's nothing. I'm starting."
"You..."
"I'm starting," Feng Qishi said with a firm tone.
Upon hearing this, Mu Anxiao resigned herself. "Tell me."
"My purpose in coming here was very simple: to find you. And this name was given to me by my master. My master said he hoped I could start over, live anew, just like you. But I didn't want to start over; I only wanted to find you," he said, looking up at Mu Anxiao. "These were my thoughts at the time."
"Don't be shy, continue," Mu Anxiao said calmly.
With Mu Anxiao seeing through him, Feng Qishi continued, "From then on, I muddled my way to Jin City and inexplicably became my own descendant. But at first, I was just a small soldier."
"You became a general in a year?" Mu Anxiao asked, surprised.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's surprised expression, Feng Qishi narrowed his eyes. "What, do you have an opinion?"
"No opinion, just… surprised," Mu Anxiao replied, thinking to herself with a dry laugh, this King of Jin is too casual!
Feng Qishi knew what Mu Anxiao was thinking but couldn't be bothered to argue with her. He continued, "After that, I went to the battlefield. I initially thought that everything here was a game, but who knew," he said with a bitter smile, "it was all real, terrifyingly real..."
The sword had no eyes. As Feng Qishi uttered these words, images of brothers falling beside him and losing their lives flashed through his mind.
Feng Qishi still did not wish to recall that scene, and it was at that moment he knew everything was real.
Before that, he had never imagined he would experience such things. He had even foolishly told them that he was content to be just a small fry, a minor general, just getting by day by day.
Life was unpredictable. Because they were short of men, he became the one to fill the gap. However, as an immortal, he could not kill.
So, he thought he had a clever idea. And that idea was to not face it.
Everything unfolded like this. Because of his evasion, his brothers fell one by one. The sight of fallen men everywhere made him finally realize the cruelty of war and that he had to act.
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