Looking at Muxi's current state, Xia Yi sighed softly and said, "You know, in my whole life, there's only one thing I truly regret—and that was saving you in Eastsea City. During that time, I felt incredibly guilty."
Lifting his eyes to the photo on Muxi's bedside, Xia Yi's heart was unbearably heavy. If he didn't explain everything clearly to Muxi today, she might spend the rest of her life consumed by guilt because of him.
To say he didn't feel guilty toward Muxi would be a lie.
No matter what the Blacksmith Association did to him, it had nothing to do with Muxi.
On the contrary, she was the one caught in the middle—she was the biggest victim.
"Wh-why?" As expected, upon hearing Xia Yi's words, Muxi's voice trembled. The two had met because Xia Yi had happened to save her, and all their memories started from that moment.
But she never imagined that their first meeting was actually something Xia Yi regretted the most.
How was she supposed to accept that?
"Because of myself," Xia Yi let out a bitter laugh. "Because of my identity—because of Guxue."
"So you liked Guxue even back then?" Muxi suddenly looked up, then shook her head frantically. "Don't lie to me. Don't think I didn't notice back then. Even though you looked close to Guxue at the time, she always had this guarded look in her eyes whenever she looked at you. Your relationship with her was tense and complicated. I could see it—you couldn't relax around her. In fact…"
Her beautiful eyes began to redden as she stared at Xia Yi and said bitterly, "Even when you were with Guxue, you weren't as relaxed and at ease as you were when you were with me."
Tears welled up again. The more she recalled, the more unwilling she felt.
"You're right," Xia Yi nodded. He hadn't expected Muxi to be so observant even back then.
Maybe at that time, she had already seen Guxue as a rival.
And that's exactly why Muxi felt so bitter. She didn't know what she had lost to Guxue.
She admitted that in terms of beauty, she couldn't compare to Guxue now—but back then, Guxue hadn't regained her true appearance. At that time, Muxi's beauty was on par with hers.
In fact, since she was a few years older than Guxue, she was more developed physically.
Was it really just because Guxue had better temperament and talent?
"Back then, I stayed close to Guxue mainly because of duty. And Guxue let me follow her because she saw potential in me—saying she was using me wouldn't be wrong either," Xia Yi looked at Muxi and said. "But you—you genuinely helped me. From teaching me forging, to introducing me to your father and your grandmaster—it was all for my sake."
"If you knew all this, then why did you still…" Muxi bit her lip and didn't finish the sentence.
"Because of duty," Xia Yi sighed. "Didn't I say it already? Back then, I stayed with Guxue because of duty. What if I told you I'm a transformed soul beast—would you believe it?"
"A transformed soul beast?" Muxi's beautiful eyes widened in shock, staring blankly at Xia Yi, full of disbelief.
"He's not lying to you. I'm one too," Lan Fozi said quietly, casting Xia Yi a very resentful glance.
If she had the strength, she'd definitely squeeze Xia Yi dry.
Even Guxue had once dreamed of doing that—but sadly, she couldn't make it happen.
Xia Yi took a deep breath. "I'm from the Star Dou Forest. Over the years, humans have nearly driven soul beasts to extinction. I transformed into human form to grow stronger and save soul beasts. At that time, all humans were my enemies."
"Guxue is also a transformed soul beast. So that's why you were with her?" Muxi asked.
"Let me finish," Xia Yi shook his head and continued, "To save the soul beasts, to take revenge on humans, I was willing to do anything back then—use any underhanded or despicable method. If saving you in Eastsea City had been a calculated move—knowing you were the daughter of Mu Chen, the Blacksmith Association president—then even if I used you, I wouldn't have felt guilty. But that day, I saved you purely on instinct."
Xia Yi gave a bitter smile. "Isn't it laughable? A soul beast bent on revenge ends up instinctively saving a human girl. How could I not feel guilty?"
Back then, he really did feel guilty—especially since he had just scolded Guxue for something similar.
Yet not long after, he made the same mistake.
During that time, every time he looked at Guxue or Ziji and the others, he felt overwhelmed with guilt.
Later, Xia Yi finally understood—although he was from the Star Dou Forest, he wasn't purely a soul beast. In fact, he had a portion of human blood in him.
It was that human bloodline that allowed him to cultivate the Huangdi Neijing (The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine), and it was also what prevented him from watching an innocent girl die in front of him—it made him instinctively save Muxi.
"So after that, you started using me like crazy—to collect all sorts of books about humans, soul tools, mechas, battle armor—for the soul beasts to study. One, to make yourself feel less guilty. Two, to make sure you were getting the most out of me, right? You bastard. Shameless bastard." Muxi gnashed her teeth, staring at Xia Yi with a look that said she wanted to skin him alive.
She wasn't dumb. After Xia Yi's explanation, everything clicked.
No wonder soul beasts had battle armor now.
Crafting battle armor requires personal involvement in every stage. Even if Xia Yi was a blacksmith, if the other soul beasts didn't understand mecha design, repair, or manufacturing—those secondary professions—there's no way they could've worn battle armor relying on him alone.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Xia Yi not only rejected her, he had been using her all along.
If it weren't for Lan Fozi being right there, she would've jumped up and bitten him already.
"That's why I said—I owe you an apology," Xia Yi shrank back a little.
Why do all these women turn scary so fast?
Lan Fozi was still the best. Sure, she got a little jealous, but her temper was way better.
"My grandmaster's caution was right. He didn't misjudge you. If he had passed the Heavenforge Method down to you, he would've been a traitor to all of humanity," Muxi said through gritted teeth. The guilt she felt earlier vanished in an instant, and she glared at Xia Yi coldly. "No wonder you weren't mad earlier. Hmph!"
Damn Xia Yi. Not only had he used her in the past, he even made her sad just now.
"Ahem," Xia Yi chuckled awkwardly, not denying it.
Looking at his expression, Muxi grew angrier and said menacingly, "You're telling me all this and you're not afraid I'll expose you? You're not afraid that Tianfeng Douluo will find out and cut ties with you?"
Her eyes sparkled with mischief, as if she'd finally found a way to get back at him. "No matter how deep her feelings are for you, I don't believe Tianfeng Douluo would turn her back on her race's future just for love."
"Ahem, times have changed," Xia Yi said proudly. "Soul beasts already have a brand-new path forward now. And besides—I already told Juer about my identity. I'm not afraid of your tattling."
He had his reasons for going public with his identity.
Even if all of humanity knew who he was, it didn't matter to him anymore.
It wouldn't affect him in the slightest.
"In that case…" Muxi gave him a long look, waving her dainty fist in front of him threateningly. "You used me in the past, then made me sad for so long, and today I cried so many times because of you—how are you going to make it up to me?"
She didn't ask about this "new path" for soul beasts—that wasn't her concern.
She trusted Leng Yaozhu. If Leng Yaozhu could follow Xia Yi without worrying about him harming humanity, then what did she have to worry about?
"What kind of compensation do you want?" Seeing Muxi wasn't truly angry, Xia Yi let out a breath of relief and smirked. "I remember you said your mom wouldn't allow you to be someone's mistress."
"I've been rebellious since I was a kid. I've never listened to my mom," Muxi replied proudly, eyeing Xia Yi up and down like a hungry wolf. "Anyway, since you've entered my room today, don't even think about leaving easily."
Xia Yi smiled at her. Though she spoke boldly, her body trembled slightly.
She was obviously nervous.
Muxi was indeed daring. She knew she couldn't back down now—she had to seize the moment. If she let Xia Yi leave, all sorts of obstacles would come between them again. They might never get a chance like this again.
From the moment she met Xia Yi, this was the first time he had truly accepted her. She wasn't going to miss this opportunity.
As for Xia Yi's identity—if even Leng Yaozhu didn't care, then why should she?
But the nervousness was real too. Any girl would be nervous in this kind of situation.
After all, she had been heartbroken for years. Just moments ago, she thought she and Xia Yi were going to drift apart forever. And now, they were about to come together.
How could she not be nervous?
"I've got something to take care of—I'll come back later," Lan Fozi said sourly from the side. She was clearly unhappy—her least favorite outcome had come true.
She glanced at Muxi. Honestly, she was worried for her.
With Xia Yi's strength and this being Muxi's first time, it might just kill her.
Still, she walked away without looking back.
This was Muxi's first time.
They weren't close enough for her to stay in the room. With her there, Muxi wouldn't be able to let go.
She was also genuinely curious. Xia Yi had said all that, and Muxi hadn't truly gotten angry?
Though she had acted furious, her eyes had held more amusement than rage.
"Take care of your little lover first. I'll come back later," Lan Fozi secretly sent Xia Yi a voice transmission as she slipped out the door, wanting to give him a better time.
Even if the two of them together couldn't handle Xia Yi, it was still better than just the fresh-faced Muxi alone.
(End of Chapter)