Mu Anqi didn't take another book. She walked out empty-handed and expressionless, and after meeting General Ji's gaze, she admitted frankly, "I thought about it. I don't like reading. I still prefer petting little foxes."
Ji Huaichu looked at her and smiled, merely waving her hand without saying anything more. With General Ji's understanding of the White Fox Demon King, she had probably long anticipated this scene.
Mu Anqi sighed, dragging her weary soul as she caught a little white fox and picked it up, stroking it from head to tail. If it weren't for the number of demons in the shop, she would have wanted to bury her face in the fox's belly.
This fox's fur was really soft and smooth! Of course, the little black one at home was nice too, but… after petting dogs for so long, occasionally switching to a little fox was also wonderful.
Holding the little fox, she sat down beside the general and ate a few bites of dessert. Stroking the fox in her arms, she couldn't help but ask, "Where's Wu Sansheng?"
She checked her friends list—Wu Sansheng wasn't in the game.
"There's a training ground in the Nirvana Space. She seems to be learning something there," Bai Yulai said with a sigh. "She's not like you and General Ji—she's not clingy with me at all."
"…" Mu Anqi's ears turned red. Was she really that clingy with General Ji? Fine, she was. Trying to cover it up, she pinched the little fox's ears and changed the subject. "Wu Sansheng seems to be reading some books on mysticism lately?"
"From another world. It's not good for ordinary people to delve too deeply into that. But since she's a player and has the Nirvana Space, the space will remind her to read in moderation." Bai Yulai clearly knew about these things and shrugged as she spoke.
"I see…" Mu Anqi thought of the discomfort she'd felt when she saw those books in the shop and couldn't help admiring Wu Sansheng a little. Maybe it had to do with Wu Sansheng's absolute rationality? "Has the White Fox Demon King not recruited any other players?"
"I've recruited plenty of players," Bai Yulai was stunned for a moment. She was a demon king who especially loved recruiting players—those good-looking ones… whenever she met one, she would generously extend an olive branch. After all, she shed plenty of fox fur; giving out more than a dozen strands to each person was no problem at all. At first, she took a liking to Wu Sansheng because of her attitude and personality, and back then, she had just recruited Wu Sansheng, so the novelty hadn't worn off yet. As for later—well, it was because Wu Sansheng was connected to Mu Anqi, and Mu Anqi was the only player Ji Huaichu had ever recruited, even the first person that old ghost Ji had feelings for. Naturally, she paid more attention to Wu Sansheng as well.
"See those novels over there about scholars and foxes? More than a dozen of them were written by players I recruited ten years ago," Bai Yulai said with a sigh. "Unfortunately, he insisted on being resurrected—no matter what, he refused to stay in the Shattered Mirror Continent."
"…" Mu Anqi couldn't help thinking that if it were her, having to write endless love stories about fox spirits and scholars for the White Fox Demon King day and night… by the eighth game she'd probably rush to resurrect herself too. Who could stand that? "So, only that one player ever wrote novels?"
"Not really. There were also some who only managed to write one or two books before running out of inspiration. It's just that particular player was especially easy to work with," Bai Yulai said. Noticing Mu Anqi's expression growing more and more peculiar, she hurried to explain, "Not every player is asked to write. For example, with Wu Sansheng, I never made such a request."
"…Mainly because Wu Sansheng doesn't look like someone who could write romance novels," Mu Anqi said helplessly. If Wu Sansheng had been born in a cultivation world, she'd probably be the kind of great figure who ascended by walking the path of emotionlessness.
Bai Yulai gave a short humph. She glanced at Ji Huaichu, who sat silently beside them, and after thinking for a moment, said, "There's a cinema nearby. Maybe you two could go watch a movie later? As for other date spots, there are plenty of shopping malls around here too."
"As for special attractions, I can't think of any right now, but since it's a date, just taking a walk together should be fine." Bai Yulai glanced again at Ji Huaichu—she really couldn't imagine what Ji Huaichu and Mu Anqi were like in private. Surely they weren't like those couples in romance stories, right? Ji Huaichu… didn't seem like the type to lose intelligence because of love.
"Any movie recommendations?" Ji Huaichu asked.
"No. You know I never like movies without a fox as the main character," Bai Yulai stretched lazily. "I'll recommend one to you after I make a movie myself someday."
"That won't be necessary," Ji Huaichu declined politely. After finishing the small cake in front of her and waiting for Mu Anqi to reluctantly give the little fox a few more strokes, she finally stood up and left with Mu Anqi.
As for Bai Yulai's dating suggestion, Ji Huaichu decided to take it. She took Mu Anqi for a walk around the mall, intending to buy her a couple of pretty dresses, but Mu Anqi firmly refused. In the end, she could only buy Mu Anqi a few sets of casual clothes—and two matching couple T-shirts.
After buying two cups of milk tea from a street stall, Ji Huaichu checked the time and headed for the cinema. Mu Anqi thought a romance movie would be more fitting for a date, but after being influenced by the White Fox Demon King, she couldn't help feeling that every romance film could now be reimagined as a story between a fox and a scholar…
On top of that, the romance movie turned out to be a youthful campus love story—with a tragedy tag attached—so Mu Anqi was even less willing to choose it. After a moment of hesitation, she opted for a crime mystery instead. Hand in hand with General Ji, she entered the cinema to watch a detective mystery film starring a black cat demon, with various ghosts playing supporting roles.
When the black cat demon solemnly performed a summoning ritual at the murder scene and actually called forth the victim's ghost, Mu Anqi was completely dazed. But then came the twist—the ghost didn't even know who had killed them! So the story went on with autopsies, recollections of enemies and past conflicts, searching for every possible clue. At the same time, there was also a serial murder case happening, so naturally the investigators began to suspect a connection.
When Mu Anqi saw the black cat relentlessly investigating and discovering that the victim had a deranged admirer who had repeatedly stalked, followed, and secretly photographed them, she thought the movie was about to end with a big arrest scene. The suspect was caught—but turned out not to be the murderer?!
By the time she reached the ending, the real killer turned out to be a complete stranger to the victim. He killed her simply because, after being dumped, he was consumed with resentment toward the world. On his way home, he happened to walk alongside the young and beautiful victim, who reminded him of the girlfriend who had abandoned him. Thinking of how his years of struggle had amounted to nothing, how his parents called him a failure, how his boss kept finding fault and was about to fire him—everything boiled over, and he killed her.
"This is supposed to be a mystery thriller?!"
The most ridiculous part was that the murderer himself didn't even want to live anymore—he just wanted to take someone down with him. He thought the young and beautiful victim would make a fine companion in death. But after killing her, he lost his nerve, became terrified, cleaned up all the evidence and the crime scene, and fled. He then hid at home, too scared to go outside. When the police finally came knocking, he broke down instantly and confessed everything in tears.
Mu Anqi had never seen such an absurd movie!
But the plot… was still strangely immersive, and the actors' performances were excellent—it all felt like something that had really happened. It was just that the murderer turned out to be so ordinary that all the intricate reasoning about grudges and revenge ended up feeling like a joke. After all those twists and turns, this was the answer? Mu Anqi felt a mix of emotions, but if she had to rate it, she'd still give it an 8 or 9 out of 10.
Holding Mu Anqi's hand as they walked out of the cinema, Ji Huaichu noticed that she looked a bit downcast and said, "That movie was adapted from a story inside a Black Mirror vortex. It really happened."
"…Huh?" Mu Anqi froze.
"It really is absurd," Ji Huaichu said. "I suppose when the real case was closed, everyone who knew about it must have thought the same." She lifted the milk tea straw to Mu Anqi's lips, letting her take a sip. "Maybe… you'd like to play the claw machine?"
The facilities in the Shattered Mirror Continent were truly impressive.
As Mu Anqi was thinking that, she saw a man insert a coin into a claw machine. When the game began, his arm transformed into octopus tentacles that reached into the bottom of the machine. The tentacles twisted and curled, hooked onto a stuffed toy, and pulled it right out.
A true hardcore claw machine.
"Hey?! How many times have I told you—the claw machine is not supposed to be played like that!!!" The act was quickly spotted by the claw machine attendant, who, in anger, sprouted long whiskers and looked just like a leopard. He waved his fist furiously, and the octopus demon's lower body instantly turned into a mass of tentacles as he fled at full speed.
The leopard attendant looked utterly done with life—he didn't even bother to chase. With a stony face, he simply paced back and forth in front of the row of claw machines, patrolling gloomily.
The claw machine, huh. Mu Anqi thought to herself—she'd played it many times when she was alive, but these machines had clearly been adjusted; it wasn't easy to grab anything now. Using her card, she bought some game tokens, inserted a few, then moved the joystick and buttons to control the claw—grab!
It caught… but during the lift, the doll, unsurprisingly, slipped and fell.
Gritting her teeth, Mu Anqi bought another pile of tokens and began her fierce battle with the claw machine. After ten failed attempts in a row, she finally handed the remaining tokens to General Ji with a blank face. "…General, you try."
"You want this white bunny?" Ji Huaichu took the coins, glanced at the white rabbit plush that had been caught and dropped several times, and when Mu Anqi nodded, she said, "Then I'll get it for you."
"Mm, it's okay even if you can't," Mu Anqi said in advance, trying to comfort her. "Just being able to play outside like this with you makes me really happy."
Ji Huaichu smiled, her eyes curved in delight. She inserted a coin into the machine, and as the music started, she moved the joystick and buttons, positioning the claw above the bunny and pressing the grab button. As expected, it caught on again—but just when Mu Anqi thought she was about to witness another tragic drop, the metal claw hooked onto the loop of the bunny's tag—got it!
Mu Anqi stared in shock. When Ji Huaichu placed the bunny plush into her arms, she hugged it tightly, unable to believe it was real!
You can always believe in General Ji! General Ji, the eternal god!