"No..."
"You still say no? Your actions and expression have already betrayed you." Mu Anxiao lowered her hand from her face and asked, "Do you have a way to let me out?"
"There is a way, but you cannot use your magic. If you do, we really won't be able to get out." the wolf demon said.
Mu Anxiao smiled. "Weren't you quite resolute before you came in with me? Why," she tilted her chin, "do you feel I've implicated you now, worried that I'll make a mistake and continue to implicate you?"
"I didn't mean that," the wolf demon said, his eyes clearly darting away as he spoke.
"Your eyes have betrayed you," Mu Anxiao said, then turned to look behind her and smiled. "Do you believe I used magic just because I said so?"
"You didn't use magic?" the wolf demon exclaimed, startled.
Mu Anxiao knew the wolf demon was someone who avoided romantic entanglements. The reason he had obediently been locked up with her was to hide from Rose. However, reality proved that everything he had 'meticulously' planned was still destroyed by Rose's own hands. She mused that if he hadn't entered here, perhaps he wouldn't have been 'played like a fiddle' by Rose. Therefore, she understood the wolf demon's sudden change of heart.
However, before that, she decided to tease him a little. "What do you think?" she smiled.
The wolf demon's brows furrowed. "I don't know, you..."
"What 'you' are you talking about, wolf demon? You've become this weak?" Mu Anxiao deliberately provoked the wolf demon.
As expected, the wolf demon got angry at Mu Anxiao's provocation. "How am I weak? Did you or did you not use magic?"
"I did."
"You..."
"But I didn't," Mu Anxiao dangled the wolf demon's curiosity.
The wolf demon's expression froze. "Just say whether you used magic or not. There's no need to play coy like this."
"Tell me the way out, and I won't use it," Mu Anxiao said intentionally, enjoying the wolf demon's anxious state.
Hearing this, the wolf demon became agitated. "Mu Anxiao, this is the demon realm. Is it appropriate for you to use magic?"
"Appropriate or not, I don't care. I like to use what's convenient for me, unless," Mu Anxiao raised an eyebrow, "you teach me the art of phasing through walls with your demonic arts."
"I can't..."
"You're afraid of being implicated by me, so you don't want to teach me," Mu Anxiao saw right through him.
The wolf demon was embarrassed. "I didn't. Can you..." He lost the courage to meet Mu Anxiao's gaze. "Please don't make things so difficult for me."
"You say I'm making things difficult for you?" Mu Anxiao said, snorting softly. "Fine, fine. Since you won't teach me, I'll find a way myself. Don't regret it." With that, she turned to face the wall.
The wolf demon had nothing more to say.
Outside the prison cell.
After the man and the bee had been facing each other in silence for a while, the bee finally couldn't stand it. "Why aren't you speaking?" he asked cautiously, afraid of offending the man.
The man sighed.
The bee was puzzled. "Why are you sighing? Could it be," he looked down at the man's hand, "that you didn't kill the wolf demon completely?"
"You think I've killed the wolf demon," the man said, staring intently at the bee.
The bee had always believed in the man's abilities. From the moment the man emerged, he was convinced that the man had succeeded. However, seeing the man's silence, he hadn't dared to ask too many questions. Now, hearing the man's words, he felt somewhat reassured.
"Yes, you killed him." his excited voice trembled slightly.
The man shook his head.
Seeing this, the smile on the bee's face vanished instantly. "What do you mean by that?"
"Mu Anxiao is in the cell," the man said deeply.
The bee dared not offend the man and mumbled very cautiously, "Are you afraid of Mu Anxiao?"
"I am not afraid of her," the man said coldly.
The bee: "If you're not afraid of her, why mention her? Why..." He clenched his fist and blurted out, "Why haven't you killed the wolf demon yet?"
"Because I cannot trust you 100%. What if you go back on your word after I kill the wolf demon?" the man said very indifferently.
Indeed, the moment the bee heard these words, he felt a wave of fear towards the man again. "You distrust me that much?"
"Mu Anxiao reminded me," the man said.
In contrast, the bee smiled.
Seeing this, the man couldn't help but frown. "What are you smiling about?"
"I'm smiling because you've actually been brainwashed by Mu Anxiao. That's truly laughable," the bee said, continuing to laugh.
"So, you've also been brainwashed by Mu Anxiao."
At this, the bee's face immediately turned serious. "I would never be brainwashed by Mu Anxiao because I know most of her words are just to scare people. If you're scared by her, it means," he narrowed his eyes, "you're already being played like a fiddle by her."
"..." The man remained silent.
The bee hadn't expected such a reaction from the man. Looking at his speechless state, the bee began to feel a sense of dread. "Why aren't you speaking? Do you think I'm wrong?"
"As the saying goes, convince people with reason. It's just as Mu Anxiao said," the man said, suddenly reaching out and grabbing the bee by the throat. "You are an utterly treacherous fellow. It's fortunate I didn't act. If I had, you would surely have killed me."
"You'd rather..." The bee felt that the man wasn't using his full strength yet, so he became much more compliant. "You'd rather believe her than me?"
"I'll listen to whoever makes sense. Unless you draw me the topographic map of the demon cultivation land right now, I'll kill you first," the man said, applying more pressure.
Subsequently, under the man's 'coercion,' the bee struggled to breathe. Under the threat of suffocation, he agreed, "I'll draw it."
"That's more like it," the man said, releasing his grip.
Immediately, the bee stumbled back a step, covering his neck and coughing twice. He said, "Although I am familiar with this place, there are some areas I cannot draw immediately. If possible, I'd like to draw as I go, so there won't be any mistakes."
"I told you to go long ago," the man said coldly.
The bee cleared his throat, his voice hoarse, and said, "I'll go now, but..." Just as he was about to turn, he remembered something. "I have a favor to ask of you as well..."
"As long as you finish it within an hour, I'll kill the wolf demon after an hour," the man said, understanding the bee's intentions.
Upon hearing this, the bee's nerves buzzed with excitement. "Alright, I'll go right away." With that, he 'removed' his mask of pain and left the place with a cheerful expression.
The man stood in place, his hand behind his back, watching the bee's departing figure. A smile played on his lips.