Mu Anxiao never expected that the person she disliked the most at the beginning would become the only one to help her. Looking at Mo Juan, she didn't know what to say. However, thinking of Ouyang Ye's treacherous nature, she felt a hint of worry, "If Ouyang Ye finds out that you..."
"Even if I die by his hand, it would be worth it."
However, Mu Anxiao could never have imagined that Mo Juan had already prepared herself to 'die'. Frowning slightly, she felt everything becoming unrealistic. "Is that so?" She lowered her voice, suddenly deciding not to trust Mo Juan, as Mo Juan's words gave her an ominous premonition.
"Mhm, you should hurry..."
"Forget it, I won't save him." Mu Anxiao said, lowering her head.
Mo Juan frowned, "Why?"
"Saving him would be harming myself. Forget it, I won't take the risk. If you die because of me, my sin will be too great. If there's nothing else, you may leave." Mu Anxiao picked up her teacup without looking up and took a sip.
Mo Juan responded with an "Alright," stood up, and left.
Mu Anxiao had completely lost count of who she could trust. Putting down her teacup, she suddenly felt that everything had become complicated. Saving the immortal, saving Feng Qishi, saving the wolf demon and the others—what seemed like simple tasks had all become Mu Anxiao's troubles. She turned her head slightly towards the door behind her, wracked with worry. Just then, Mo Juan reappeared before Mu Anxiao. Mu Anxiao was startled, "Why are you back again?" she asked in surprise.
Mo Juan: "I know about Feng Qishi. I also know you can't easily trust me. After all, I've harmed you before. But even so," her gaze was firm, "I still want to help you, because only then will Ye and you have nothing to do with each other."
"What exactly is your purpose?" Mu Anxiao didn't want to speak so directly, but since Mo Juan was here, she decided to get straight to the point.
Mo Juan: "My purpose is to prevent you and Ye from getting married."
"What if it were another woman?"
"Do you think I would let another woman take advantage of the situation?" Mo Juan said, gesturing with her hand to conjure a mass of red and blue ghost fire. "Look."
Listening, Mu Anxiao lowered her head to look at the faint red and blue ghost fire and discovered... that within the weak light were the struggling and screaming figures of women. Frowning slightly, she couldn't help but ask, "Are these women all related to Ouyang Ye?"
"Yes, but Ye didn't fancy any of them. However," Mo Juan clenched the ghost fire in her hand, "just in case, I dealt with them all."
"..." Mu Anxiao gave a dry laugh. She had truly seen Mo Juan's even more sinister side.
Mo Juan: "If it weren't for Feng Qishi, I would have done this to you at some point too."
"Do you think you can succeed?" Mu Anxiao retorted confidently.
Mo Juan smiled, looking down. "Ye must not have told you that if you marry him, your spiritual energy, including all your spells, will disappear. From then on, you will have to completely re-cultivate demonic arts. At that time," she said, "do you think you'll still be able to deal with me?"
Mu Anxiao's heart sank.
"So, you should be grateful to Feng Qishi," Mo Juan said indifferently.
"...Then" Mu Anxiao's eyes flickered. "If I can't save Feng Qishi, will you kill me then too?"
"Yes, as long as you marry Ye, I will kill you. Similarly, once Ye knows all this, he will surely get rid of me. Anyway," Mo Juan gave a wry smile, "the outcome is the same. Which do you think is a better deal for you?"
"..." Mu Anxiao suddenly found Mo Juan terrifying.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's expression of being cornered by her words, Mo Juan continued, "By the way, there is no trust between us, only mutual benefit. I don't expect you to trust me, and similarly," she said, a smirk forming on her lips, "I don't intend to trust you either."
"What do you want me to do now?"
"Transform into your appearance. I know you can pass through walls. This wall," Mo Juan said, pointing towards the wall behind the table, "has not been enchanted by Ye. You can just go through it."
"Aren't you afraid Ouyang Ye will suddenly return?" Mu Anxiao was curious about Mo Juan's state of mind.
Mo Juan: "When it gets dark, Ye will be busy with official duties. If I'm not mistaken, he won't be around these days. As long as you do your part properly, you don't need to worry about anything else."
"So confident."
"Go," Mo Juan uttered the word.
Mu Anxiao pursed her lips and walked towards the wall.
A quarter of an hour later.
Under various evasions, Mu Anxiao, holding a ball of light, entered the forbidden forest. Simultaneously, following the wolf demon's instructions, Mu Anxiao arrived at the location of the demon-eating beast and called out softly, "Demon-eating beast, are you there?" As she asked, she couldn't help but glance behind her.
The next second, the water surface rippled, and the demon-eating beast emerged, "Why have you come?"
"The immortal who was supposed to take you away is in trouble," Mu Anxiao said deliberately, crouching down.
"...I knew Ouyang Ye wouldn't be that easy to deal with."
"Let's not talk about that. I... I want to save him, but..." Mu Anxiao became hesitant, "I don't know the spell to extract immortal blood. You..."
"Where did you learn that I know this spell?" the demon-eating beast interrupted, and blue beams of light suddenly radiated from its body.
At the same time, the dazzling light forced Mu Anxiao to close her eyes.
In the next instant, the demon-eating beast transformed into a young man dressed in green, standing steadily beside Mu Anxiao. He said, "You can open your eyes now."
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao slowly opened her eyes and looked into the water, confused. "Huh? Demon-eating beast, did you go..." She trailed off, then accidentally glanced at the demon-eating beast's feet and exclaimed in shock, "You've transformed into human form?" As she asked, she suddenly looked up at the demon-eating beast with green hair, her mouth twitching.
"Don't look at me like that," the demon-eating beast said, turning its back.
Then, Mu Anxiao quickly stood up and asked, "Why don't you usually transform into human form?"
"If I transform into human form, Ouyang Ye will capture me. Don't you understand this?" the demon-eating beast glanced back at Mu Anxiao, "Follow me."
"Where to?"
"Upstairs," the demon-eating beast said, flying upwards.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao sighed softly and followed the demon-eating beast.
In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the cave entrance leading to the mortal realm. Looking around, Mu Anxiao found... it was indeed not as terrifying as that time. However, the pitch-black cave entrance was still as eerie. "Shall we go in?" she asked, looking at the surroundings shrouded in darkness.