Bai Liu turned his head and looked down to avoid Xie Ta's sight. He stood up quickly and said in a calm tone: "It's getting light. I have to go back."

"Then..." Xieta looked up quietly. His silver-blue eyes reflected the dim moon in the sky and Bai Liu standing at the edge of the corridor. He asked softly, "Will you come back tomorrow?"

Bai Liu was silent. He did not ask like he did yesterday, "Do you want me to come?" But Xie Ta seemed to know that Bai Liu wanted to ask this question, and answered naturally, "I hope you will come tomorrow."

The light in his eyes flickered, reflecting the dawning clouds: "I hope you come every day."

"That way I can see you every day."

Bai Liu's breathing hitched for a beat, and his fingers hanging at his sides curled up. When he spoke again, his tone was so calm that it sounded like a stranger's: "Why do you have to see me every day?"

"I'm just an ordinary sacrifice."

"There is no need for the high and mighty evil god to see me every day and waste so much emotion and curiosity on an ordinary sacrifice like me."

Xie Ta looked at Bai Liu intently: "What if you are just an ordinary sacrifice?"

"Then why did you steal the key and come up to see me the night before?"

"We can see it at the evil god festival in a few months, right?"

Bai Liu paused.

Xie Ta suddenly laughed. He lowered his trembling eyelashes and looked at Bai Liu's right hand which was slightly curled up behind his back. Then Xie Ta raised his left hand and slid his slender fingers into the gap between Bai Liu's clasped fingers. Then he slowly held Bai Liu's hand with his ten fingers interlaced.

"You were the one who woke me up with pain and asked me to come see you, but in the end you asked me, an evil god who knows nothing, to tell you why I wanted to see you every day."

"I'm just an inferior, unqualified mirror."

Xie Ta raised his eyes and looked at Bai Liu without blinking, "Of course, that's why Bai Liu wanted to see me, and that's why I wanted to see Bai Liu."

"Can I wait for you tomorrow night?"

Bai Liu pursed his lips into a straight line. He clenched Xie Ta's cold fingers in his palm for a second, but soon released them. He lowered his head and walked quickly towards the exit of the shrine, leaving behind only a few words without any emotion:

"I won't be here tomorrow night, so you don't have to wait."

Shetta's hand was released and he fell onto the corridor.

The wind blew up the big tree in the middle of the courtyard, and the fallen leaves fluttered and fell, creating ripples on the pond. Xie Ta stood up, his whole body was wrapped in a thin and wide coat that was as light as a cicada's wings. His eyes were so hazy through the gauze, the fallen leaves, the wind, and the morning light that they were completely blurred. All that could be seen was the gradually fading smile on Xie Ta's face and his pale lips that seemed as lonely as a tree.

Bai Liu heard the sound of chains moving behind him. He heard the chains on Xie Ta's feet dragging on the ground, then straightening up, making a resonant sound as if they were being pulled.

Shetta followed him without making any sound.

Bai Liu did not turn around, but just stopped walking. In his palms, he still felt the cold temperature left by Xie Ta's fingertips. He closed his eyes, took two deep breaths, and asked, "What did you want to say to me when you caught up with me?"

"I don't understand," Shetta whispered. "I got the feeling you wanted to see me."

"But why not come?"

Shetta paused, "Are you angry?"

"I'm not angry." Bai Liu was silent for a few seconds after he finished speaking, "But I'm definitely not very happy."

"It's true that I will do whatever it takes to meet someone because I want to meet him, but if that person is only willing to meet me because I want to meet him, I will feel that my efforts are not being rewarded equally."

“Because it’s not an equal trade.”

Bai Liu lowered his eyes: "You are just reflecting my feelings for you."

Sheta asked softly, "What is an equal transaction?"

Bai Liu finally turned around slowly. He stared into Xie Ta's pure eyes, with no emotion on his face:

"I need you to want to see me."

"If one day, Lord Evil God himself wants to see me, I will naturally come to see you."

After saying that, Bai Liu picked up the lantern placed at the door, bowed slightly and saluted Xie Ta who was standing still: "Good morning, Master Evil God, I still have to practice the sacrifice course, so I will leave first."

Xiao Kui, who was leaning against the attic window and yawning, looked at Bai Liu who was coming down the mountain road with a lantern and raised her eyebrows slightly: "It's so early today."

Bai Liu returned to the attic where he lived. He quietly put down the lantern, undressed and lay down on the tatami.

Although the movement was very gentle, it still woke up Souta who was standing next to him. He looked at Bai Liu in horror as he stared at the ceiling with a pair of emotionless dark eyes. He rubbed his arms and called out cautiously, "...Master Bai Liu?"

"Are you in a bad mood?"

Bai Liu hummed calmly: "I guess so."

Sota approached curiously: "Why? Didn't you just meet the Evil God?"

But it was obvious that Lord Bai Liu was in a very good mood after he came back from seeing Lord Evil God yesterday.

"Because I hate it when people like me because I like them." Bai Liu said calmly, "That kind of affection is very cheap, and it's not as stable as a transaction. It's like the affection you give to a dog."

Sota was shocked: "What do you mean by giving the same feelings to dogs? Dogs are cute! I really like dogs!"

Bai Liu, who was lying on the tatami, glanced at Sota and asked, "Why do you like dogs?"

Sota was very confused: "Of course it's because dogs are cute!"

"No." Bai Liu retracted his gaze. "People like animals because they assume that animals love them, so they will choose animals that they can easily deal with even if they don't love them, such as dogs, cats, and rabbits."

"Because these animals have no ability to resist humans, they have only two options when facing humans: being domesticated or being abandoned."

Sota's pupils trembled, and he even stuttered: "No, it's not like that!?"

"What if you get a dog that doesn't love you?" Bai Liu continued calmly, "It bites you every day, snarls at you, and causes you and your family to suffer many serious injuries. What will you do?"

Sota began to shake. He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, no words came out.

...He would probably really send the dog away or even kill it.

"This is why humans choose safe pets to love. It is essentially a pursuit of low risk and high returns," Bai Liu said softly.

"But that's not entirely true!" Cang Tai tried hard to refute, "My love for dogs is also a natural liking for their personalities!"

Bai Liu glanced at Sou Tai and said, "In the same situation, there are two pets, a dog with the temperament of a snake and a venomous lizard with the personality of a dog. Who would you choose?"

Sota stuttered: "...Dog."

Bai Liu asked calmly, "What if I can choose neither?"

Sota immediately answered: "I will choose neither!"

Bai Liu looked at the ceiling: "But I chose the poisonous lizard."

Sota was shocked: "?! Why, can't we choose neither?!"

"Yes, I didn't want to choose either of them at first." Bai Liu slowly put his scarred arm over his eyes, then slowly exhaled, and spoke in a very calm tone, "But I fell in love with that lizard, so I really want to raise him."

Sou Tai's pupils continued to tremble. He took a few steps back in panic, then swallowed nervously: "Master Bai Liu, have you fallen in love with a lizard?!"

Bai Liu ignored Sota's reaction and continued, "But this lizard doesn't know that he is a human, so he can't give me the same amount of human feelings."

"I'm probably the only person in the world who keeps a lizard that can poison anyone with just one look."

"He just knows that I'm the only human who will actively approach him, touch him, and stay with him forever, so he will actively touch me, hug me, and be nice to me, just like a person will feel pity and love for a dog that comes to lick his hand."

"God should also have this kind of emotion towards weaker people."

Bai Liu's breathing became extremely slow: "But he still doesn't understand what this means to me."

“It’s really hard for me to admit… that I love…”

When Bai Liu said this, his chest suddenly heaved. He clenched his hands that were covering his eyes into a fist, squeezing so hard that his fingertips turned white. He took two deep breaths and then calmed down.

After a long time, Bai Liu did not speak. When Cang Tai thought that Bai Liu had covered his eyes with his arms and fell asleep, he suddenly heard a hoarse voice from Bai Liu:

“This is the most unfair deal I have ever made.”

Bai Liu smiled lightly: "I actually love God like a dog."