Chapter 22: Is Mu Mu connected with that fox demon?

The alchemy shop was quite crowded at this time of day.

Perhaps it was because Su Mumu’s appearance was so striking, but she was greeted almost as soon as she entered the shop.

“Hello there! Would you like to buy something?” the shop assistant asked.

“Oh, hello. I need some Yaoshen powder,” Su Mumu said.

“How much would you like?”

“Um…” Su Mumu thought for a moment. “I’ll take a large bag!”

“Certainly, please wait a moment.” The assistant walked away and began busying herself by the medicine cabinet.

It was getting colder and colder…

Su Mumu wrapped her arms around herself. She could even feel herself breaking out in a cold sweat.

‘Relax, relax.’

‘Don’t be so nervous. The more nervous I am, the more likely I am to fail…’

‘Right, deep breath, relax.’

‘I’ll be home soon. The way back is short, it won’t take long…’

Su Mumu took five deep breaths, which finally calmed her down a little.

“Here you go!” The shop assistant carried over a large bag and handed it to Su Li’er. “That will be 526 yuan in total.”

“…Alright.” Su Mumu took out her phone and transferred the payment.

Suddenly, a chill ran down her spine.

It felt as if someone was staring at her.

‘Who?!’

Su Mumu whirled around.

But there were only tourists passing by and a few customers inside the shop.

“Is something wrong?” the assistant asked.

“It’s nothing.” Su Mumu shook her head, took the bag, and turned to leave. ‘Seriously… are my nerves just too frayed?’

‘Alright, time to go home!’

In the slow and loose flow of people, Su Mumu’s departure seemed particularly hurried. She was like a fish swimming against the current, heading straight for the abyss at the bottom of a lake.

The moment she left —

Jiang Mengxin entered the alchemy shop, her gaze scanning the room.

‘That’s strange.’

‘Mumu was fine, so why did she come to an alchemy shop?’

‘Is she buying something?’

Jiang Mengxin was deeply puzzled.

A moment later, the shop assistant came over to greet her. “Hello there, miss.”

Jiang Mengxin smiled. “Hello.”

“Are you looking for any specific medicinal ingredients?” the assistant asked.

“…No, I actually wanted to see what my friend just bought,” Jiang Mengxin explained somewhat awkwardly.

“You mean the customer just now? She bought Yaoshen powder,” the assistant said.

“It was actually quite strange. It was her first time here, yet she bought such a large portion…”

“This ingredient is usually quite hard to sell, so I have no idea what she plans to use it for… I was a bit worried, but I’m glad to hear you’re friends.”

Jiang Mengxin suddenly dazed out.

“Miss?” the assistant called out softly.

Jiang Mengxin snapped back to reality. “We’re good friends. We’re both students of the Xianzong, so she won’t use it for anything bad.”

“I see. That’s a relief then,” the assistant said.

“…Um.” Jiang Mengxin felt that something was off. “May I ask, was it really her first time buying it?”

“Mm-hmm.” The assistant smiled. “It was her first time.”

“…How can that be?” Jiang Mengxin was in disbelief. ‘She must have been here two days ago? Or maybe not long ago…’

“I wouldn’t forget a girl as beautiful as her… It was definitely her first time.” The assistant looked confused.

“If you mean two days ago, another girl did come to buy some. However, she was wearing a black robe. Although I couldn’t see her face clearly, she must have been a beauty too. I think she even had white hair…”

“What!!?” Jiang Mengxin’s mind suddenly exploded into chaos.

‘A black robe, white hair…’

‘It was that fox demon…!’

“Miss, are you alright? You look very pale,” the assistant asked.

“I’m fine.” Jiang Mengxin’s heart rate suddenly accelerated, but she tried her best to steady her breathing. “Then, has anyone else bought Yaoshen powder recently?”

“You’re certainly asking in great detail…” the assistant said, perplexed.

“I recently took on a Xianzong mission, and Yaoshen powder might be a clue. That’s why I’m asking. Sorry for the trouble, Sister,” Jiang Mengxin said.

“Oh, it’s for a mission… No trouble at all!” The assistant immediately began to think hard.

“I remember now. Business has been average this month, and Yaoshen powder isn’t something people buy often. I think only three or four people have bought it in total this month.”

“Alright, thank you, Sister. I’ll take my leave now.” Jiang Mengxin nodded slightly in thanks.

She then left the alchemy shop.

The evening wind was a bit cold, blowing through the ends of her hair. Jiang Mengxin walked through the crowd with a lost expression.

Her heart, which she had been trying to suppress, finally went into a full-blown riot.

Even her breathing became uncontrollably rapid.

The hair at her temples blew across her eyes, yet she kept walking forward like a kite with a broken string, aimless and drifting.

‘Something’s not right…’

‘This is strange…’

‘The fox demon came to buy Yaoshen powder two days ago…’

‘But Mumu didn’t come to buy any two days ago…’

‘Then how exactly were these two pills made?’

Jiang Mengxin moved her arm mechanically, fumbling in her skirt pocket until she found a small paper packet containing those two dark monster-suppressing pills.

She stared blankly at the pills in her palm.

‘Is there a connection between Mumu and that fox demon?’

‘Could they know each other?’

‘Did the fox demon buy it for Mumu?’

The moment that thought surfaced, Jiang Mengxin ruthlessly crushed it.

She clenched her hand tight.

‘No.’

‘What am I thinking!’

‘How could something like that be possible?’

Jiang Mengxin tucked the paper packet back into her pocket.

Then, she slapped her cheeks hard, whispering to herself as if to cheer herself up, “Alright, Jiang Mengxin, you must be under too much stress.”

“Why are you letting your imagination run wild? Mumu is your best friend; you can’t suspect her like this! If there’s something wrong, we can just talk it out!”

Having reached that conclusion, Jiang Mengxin relaxed slightly.

However, after this little interlude, she had completely lost track of Su Mumu.

“Oh well… forget it, forget it.”

“Let’s go home.”

“I’ll talk Mumu’s ear off on the phone once I’m back!”

***

On the other side.

Su Mumu returned to her house as fast as she could.

She lit a candle, but it still couldn’t drive away the cold pervading her body. It was a cold that felt as if she had fallen to the bottom of a frozen lake, her body soaked through before being blasted by a freezing wind.

The chill went straight to her bones…

It was so cold, so cold, so cold.

Su Mumu stood before the stove. After a series of *clatter, clatter* movements, she finally finished processing the Yaoshen powder, mixed it with the other ingredients, and stuffed it into the pill furnace.

Then, she lit the firewood to raise the temperature.

At this critical juncture, Su Mumu didn’t stay idle. She immediately crawled into her blankets, trying her best to dispel the cold.

However, the method was ineffective.

‘Su Mumu, hang on…’

‘It will only take ten or twenty minutes for the pill to be ready.’

‘Once I take it, everything will be fine, right?’

‘Victory is right in front of me!’

Just then, her phone on the bedside table abruptly began to ring.

‘Huh?’

‘Is Xin Xin calling?’

‘At a time like this…’

‘I’m so cold I can’t even speak…’

‘At the very least, I should let her know I’m safe.’

Su Mumu grit her teeth and reached out with a hand that was shaking violently from the cold. After missing a few times, she finally grabbed the phone and quickly pulled herself entirely under the blankets.

In that small, dark space, the phone screen was the only source of light.

Su Mumu squinted and pressed the answer button —

“Hello? Mumu, are you home?” Jiang Mengxin’s voice was very gentle and pleasant, sounding as melodious as jade beads falling onto a plate.

“I’m home…” Su Mumu said in a low voice.

“Mumu, is your voice shaking?” On the other end of the line, Jiang Mengxin sounded confused.