The wolf demon watched Lin Yan’s face calmly, not saying a word.
Seeing the wolf demon remain silent, Lin Yan asked again, "Don't you understand what I mean?"
The wolf demon replied, "She's a demon, and I'm a demon. Do you think...?" He smiled. "Is it appropriate for me to take her in?"
"This..." Lin Yan considered the wolf demon's status and shook his head slightly. "It's not appropriate."
"Then that's settled." As the wolf demon spoke, his expression suddenly turned cold. He sniffed the air around him, then sharply turned his gaze towards the dagger standing at the alley entrance, asking, "Why are you back again?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Yan was startled and also looked towards the dagger.
The dagger responded, "If you don't become my master, then I'll use your name to kill people. What do you think of that?"
"You're threatening me?"
"I'm just a dagger. If you want to end up like Mu Anxiao, then refuse me."
At this moment, the dagger narcissistically believed that Mu Anxiao had already lost her life because of it. Therefore, it thought that threatening the wolf demon with such words would be the most effective choice.
However, the wolf demon paid no mind to the dagger's threat. "Go ahead. I'm a demon. If news gets out that you, a demon, are killing people using my name, no yīn chā will believe it."
"You..."
"It seems you haven't interacted with yīn chā enough."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Do you know what my relationship with Mu Anxiao is?" the wolf demon asked, tilting his chin up.
"What is your relationship with her?" The dagger was not privy to the wolf demon's past. It only knew that the wolf demon was a formidable figure in the demon realm.
"She's the one who captured me. I was the one being captured. Do you understand what that means?"
"I know that."
"..." The wolf demon had assumed the dagger knew nothing. Its response caused him to deflate. "You know that, yet you still ask me. You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
"I don't understand your past. I only know that Mu Anxiao is the immortal who captured you. As for... why she's always pursuing you, honestly, I really don't know. But," the dagger said excitedly, "I'm really angry that she's relentlessly pursuing you."
"..." The wolf demon felt the dagger was overacting.
Similarly, Lin Yan thought the same.
The dagger asked, "Am I wrong?"
Hearing the dagger's words, the wolf demon lowered his gaze, thought for a moment, and continued to play along. "Give me a reason."
"What reason?"
"The reason why you want me to be your master. As long as the reason is valid and touches my heart, I will become your master."
Lin Yan was stunned by this. Thinking about the dagger and the fake Lin Yan’s relationship, he quickly nudged the wolf demon’s arm with his elbow and whispered, "Are you crazy?"
"I'm not crazy." The wolf demon continued to stare directly at the dagger.
The dagger said, "You're amazing."
"Anything else?"
"We have a common enemy."
"You mean Mu Anxiao."
"No."
"No?" The wolf demon was surprised by the dagger's reply.
The dagger turned its gaze towards Lin Yan.
Seeing this, Lin Yan quickly turned his face away. "..."
Then, the dagger turned back to look at the wolf demon. "..."
The wolf demon asked, "Why are you looking at him?" He also glanced at Lin Yan.
The dagger said, "You're lying to me."
"I don't understand what you're talking about?" The wolf demon sensed that the dagger had discovered Lin Yan's face was fake. Even so, he decided to feign ignorance.
"He is clearly Lin Yan, yet you want to change his face. I think what you're doing..."
"He's not Lin Yan. He's my companion," the wolf demon interrupted.
"He is," the dagger stated firmly and stepped forward, standing before Lin Yan.
Lin Yan's body stiffened. He kept his head turned, silently wishing, *Hurry up and leave, hurry up and leave.*
However, Lin Yan's wish did not come true.
On the contrary, the dagger continued to stare at his face. "Do you hate the person who occupied your body?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Yan's eyes widened, as he hadn't expected the dagger to ask such a direct question.
The wolf demon asked, "Why are you asking this?"
Without even looking at the wolf demon, the dagger continued, "I'm asking you. Do you hate the person who took over your body?"
"..." Lin Yan clenched his fists, then turned back to look at the dagger staring at him, his eyes darkening. "I do."
"I'm the same as you."
"What do you mean?"
"Once, he was my master. But now," the dagger glanced at the wolf demon, "he is."
"I haven't admitted anything yet," the wolf demon said quickly.
Lin Yan glanced at the wolf demon and asked, looking at the dagger, "You and I have a common enemy, don't we?"
"Yes," the dagger nodded slightly.
Lin Yan frowned, feeling half-believing and half-doubting her.
The wolf demon asked, "Is your enemy the imposter?"
"Yes. I helped him, but he handed me over to Feng Qishi. If I hadn't been lucky," the dagger paused, then continued, "I would have died long ago."
The wolf demon paused. He felt the dagger was being a bit disingenuous.
"This is my reason for acknowledging you as master."
"I don't think that's a valid reason."
"..." The dagger took a deep breath. "He badmouthed you."
"What did he say about me?"
"He said you're just a wolf cub in wolf's skin, and that you're far inferior to him. But," the dagger said seriously, "I don't think so. I think you're far superior to him."
Hearing the dagger's words, the wolf demon was secretly pleased and clapped his hands. "That's some good flattery. I like it."
"I'm not flattering you. These are my true thoughts."
"Setting that aside, we've probably met less than five times, haven't we?"
"..." The dagger hesitated and asked, "What do you mean?"
The wolf demon replied, "Judging by your clumsy attempt to frame Mu Anxiao, if I'm not mistaken, your true objective is likely not this simple, is it?"
"Objective?"
"Yes. There are some things I don't want to hide anymore," the wolf demon smiled. "Tell me, aren't you trying to kill Mu Anxiao using my hand?"
"She's already gone. Is there any need for me to do that?" The dagger narrowed its eyes and continued, "Besides, it was the imposter who wanted her dead, not me. I just want to find a reliable master. That's all."
"You think I'm reliable?" the wolf demon asked, pointing at himself.
The dagger replied, "At least you seem much more reliable than him."
"Tell me, how am I reliable?" the wolf demon asked, tilting his chin up.
Lin Yan stared at the dagger's face, his curiosity piqued about her answer.
After the wolf demon asked this, the dagger fell into thought. "..."
The wolf demon watched the dagger's slightly lowered head calmly, a smile creeping to his lips. "You can't come up with anything, can you? You don't understand me at all, yet you want me to be your master. You should go back and sleep. It's getting late."
Conversely, Lin Yan felt that the dagger might be able to articulate something. Thus, he quickly reached out and grabbed the wolf demon's arm.
The wolf demon was startled and turned to look at Lin Yan, who was still staring at the dagger. "What are you doing?"
Lin Yan glanced at the wolf demon and said, "I want to hear what she has to say."