"It's not that I want to steal the spotlight, I just feel that you..." The wolf demon glanced at Lin Yan, who was staring in their direction, and said, "You shouldn't try to force him. As the saying goes, a melon twisted by force won't be sweet."
The Yincha replied, "When I speak to him, I doubt you'll have any room to interject."
The wolf demon smiled, "I know there's no room for me to interject, but you understand his situation. Don't you think forcing him like this is making things difficult for him?"
"I'm just letting him..."
"You just want to use him to lure out the killer behind the scenes. But finding Feng Qishi now takes too long, and you don't trust me. So, you've set your sights on him," the wolf demon smiled. "Am I right?"
The Yincha did indeed think this way, but he wouldn't admit it even so.
"Lin Yan, if you help me, I can bring you back to life."
Alive?
Lin Yan's greatest wish was to live again, but he had never dared to hope for it, knowing it was impossible.
Now, the Yincha was making such a grand promise, making Lin Yan hesitant to believe.
"..."
A Yincha could only complete the tasks assigned by higher authorities and had no actual right to make any guarantees or trade-offs for any ghost.
Therefore, Lin Yan's silence was understandable to the Yincha.
"I know you don't believe me."
"I really can't believe you," Lin Yan said.
The wolf demon calmly observed the Yincha's determined expression and then glanced at Lin Yan, who was deliberately avoiding his gaze. He said, "You can brag all you want, but can you not brag so outrageously? Even I, a demon, don't believe you can revive him."
"I have this right," the Yincha stated firmly.
The wolf demon: "...." He curled his lips in disbelief.
Lin Yan deliberately averted his gaze.
Then, the Yincha glanced at the sky, growing anxious. "If you don't believe me, look," he said, holding out his hand and conjuring a contract.
"..." Lin Yan glanced at the wolf demon, then lowered his head to look at the contract in the Yincha's hand. "What is this?"
"Once, while on a mission, I earned merits, and they signed this contract with me. The contract states that when necessary, I can revive a soul that has earned merits, provided their body is intact."
Listening to the Yincha, Lin Yan looked at the white paper with black ink and a red thumbprint and asked, "Are you telling the truth?"
"What's the point of lying to you with this?"
"You really..."
"Enough with the nonsense. As long as you agree," the Yincha retracted the contract and offered the green pill to Lin Yan again, "take this. As soon as you catch that person and the dagger, you'll have earned merits."
"But I..."
"Not everything has to be solved with force. You can use your words."
"I..."
"I'll accompany you in stealth," the Yincha interrupted.
Lin Yan was moved.
The wolf demon also felt moved for Lin Yan, "Lin Yan, I'll accompany you too."
Hearing this, Lin Yan looked at the wolf demon and asked, "But what if my master returns and sees me...?"
The Yincha heard Lin Yan's concern and, after a moment of thought, said, "Wait here, I'll tell Mu Anxiao to have your master follow her."
"What do you say?" Lin Yan asked curiously.
"You don't need to know," the Yincha said, casting a deliberate glance at the wolf demon before turning away.
The wolf demon remained indifferent. "...."
Upon hearing that the wolf demon would accompany him, Lin Yan's worries dissipated.
The forest.
Mu Anxiao looked up at the swirling red light in the sky, a smile playing on her lips. She lowered her hands, which had been performing a spell, and looked back at Feng Qishi, who was still staring at the screen. "Stop looking," she said, waving her arm, and the image vanished.
Seeing this, Feng Qishi's eyes widened, and he quickly turned to Mu Anxiao, "Are you crazy?"
Mu Anxiao replied, "Why are you scolding me?"
"I was just looking at my disciple, and you..."
"You were looking at your disciple, but I didn't see you go find him."
"...."
Feng Qishi knew that the wolf demon would surely protect Lin Yan well, so all he wanted now was to see Lin Yan one more time, nothing more.
Seeing Feng Qishi fall silent, Mu Anxiao smiled, "You just want to see him, you don't intend to help him, do you?"
"Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to get back," Feng Qishi said, though in his heart, he was consumed by thoughts of Mu Anxiao.
He was staying to protect her.
Of course, he wouldn't voice these thoughts.
Similarly, Mu Anxiao didn't perceive Feng Qishi's intention. "It's your magic that's insufficient," she said.
"It's all used up healing you," Feng Qishi replied casually.
Mu Anxiao curled her lips. Just as she was about to speak, a blue light flashed before her eyes, followed by the Yincha's voice reaching her ears. "Mu Anxiao, have Feng Qishi follow you. I've found the real killer."
Hearing the Yincha's words, Mu Anxiao slightly lowered her eyelids and cast a spell, using her mind to ask knowingly, "If he follows me, what about his disciple?" The Yincha replied, "Don't worry, I'll take good care of his disciple. Tell him not to worry."
Mu Anxiao responded, "Got it." After replying mentally, she looked up at Feng Qishi. "The Yincha said he'll take care of your disciple for you, so don't worry."
Feng Qishi said, "I saw," pointing to the tree that had already returned to its original state.
Mu Anxiao nodded, "I know. I'm just conveying his message to you, so you don't blame me later for not relaying it."
"...." Feng Qishi was speechless at Mu Anxiao.
Immediately, Mu Anxiao shifted her gaze, which had been fixed on Feng Qishi's face, and looked up at the dagger that was spinning in the vortex. "Alright, she can come down now," she said, raising her hand above her head.
The alley.
After concluding his conversation with Mu Anxiao, the Yincha turned to Lin Yan. "Alright, eat it," he said, handing the green pill to Lin Yan.
Lin Yan blinked, "Is there one with a longer duration? Twelve shichen might be a bit short."
"Only by being controlled by the shichen can your mission be completed faster. And to put it bluntly," the Yincha said sternly, "some things, if delayed until the last moment, might spoil."
"Spoil..." Lin Yan repeated the word. After contemplating the Yincha's words in his mind, he said, "Okay, twelve shichen it is." He then reached out, took the pill, and popped it into his mouth.
The next second, Lin Yan's face contorted in pain.
The wolf demon looked at Lin Yan's pained expression, swallowed, and asked, "Is it that bitter?"
"Very bitter," Lin Yan replied as he swallowed the pill.
"You, a soul, can still taste? That's truly miraculous," the wolf demon remarked.
The Yincha smiled, "This proves it's effective."
Following this, the wolf demon looked at the Yincha, hesitated, and said, "You seem quite unreliable, but I didn't expect you to have so many good things."