"Ouyang Ye, you scoundrel, you'll get what's coming to you."
"If you know what's good for you, let us out, or we'll flatten your demon realm."
"Yeah, let us out, let us out."
Listening to these roars, Mu Anxiao became even more certain of their identities. She slightly curved her lips, thinking to herself, this is it.
At the same time, Xi'er's voice came from behind Mu Anxiao, "All of you, shut up." As she spoke, she hurled the lightning crackling between her fingers towards the tower gate.
The next second, the moment the lightning struck the tower gate, screams of agony erupted from within. Mu Anxiao shifted her feet, mustering her courage to turn and look at Xi'er. She let out a dry laugh.
Then, Xi'er turned her gaze to Mu Anxiao's face. "Who are you?" she asked.
"I'm lost," Mu Anxiao replied, walking gracefully towards Xi'er.
Xi'er didn't recognize Mu Anxiao. Instead, she raised her hand to cover her nose and mouth, looking disgusted. "Why is your clothes covered in mud? Did you fall into a mud pit?"
"Mm," Mu Anxiao nodded, turning to glance at the tall tower behind her, and continued, "I was just passing by and heard a group of people cursing the master, so I came over. Who knew they were actually monsters in this tower? If they were inside," she said, rolling up her sleeves, "I would definitely not let them off."
"You're quite loyal," Xi'er chuckled.
Mu Anxiao feigned shyness and said, "To be honest, I'm new here. I've been waiting for an assignment all day but couldn't find anyone, so I accidentally wandered into this forest. As I walked, I got lost," she said, nodding slightly, "It's quite miserable."
"Do you know who I am?" Xi'er suddenly asked.
Mu Anxiao played dumb and shook her head.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's bold demeanor, Xi'er knew she wasn't lying. She smiled faintly and said, "Come with me."
"What?" Mu Anxiao feigned deafness.
Xi'er sighed in exasperation, "I said, come with me."
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao had a sudden inspiration and knelt on the ground.
Immediately, Xi'er turned to look at Mu Anxiao, her brows furrowed. "What are you doing?"
"Are you going to take me to the master? If so," Mu Anxiao didn't want to go with Xi'er and started to pretend to cry, "I'd rather die here and not soil the master's eyes." With that, she lay down on the ground.
Xi'er had never seen anyone like this. At this sight, she was truly startled by Mu Anxiao. "I am an elder here. Don't you have nothing to do? Come with me, I'll arrange something for you..."
"You're lying. An elder wouldn't come here. You must be tricking me. I'm not getting up, and I won't get up." Mu Anxiao interrupted, wiggling her body face down on the ground.
Xi'er was utterly exasperated. "You're a strange one. I'm offering you work, and you refuse," she said, glancing towards the tower gate. "Fine, stay here if you want." As she took a step forward, she inadvertently saw a map lying next to Mu Anxiao's body. Her eyes immediately locked onto it, and she squatted down.
At the same time, Mu Anxiao turned her head and saw this. But just as she reached out to pick up the map, Xi'er grabbed it first. Her eyes widened, and she became tense.
"How did this get here?" Xi'er asked, her eyes meeting Mu Anxiao's.
Mu Anxiao blinked her eyes and continued her act of feigning ignorance. "What is that?" she asked, pointing at the map in Xi'er's hand.
"This is very important to me. Tell me," Xi'er's demeanor turned unfriendly, her gaze sharp, "where did you get this?"
"It's... toilet paper."
"Where did you get it?" Xi'er interrupted sternly.
Mu Anxiao pretended to be scared. "I... I took it from a study."
"A study?" Xi'er repeated, thinking for a moment, then asked, "How did you get in?" She remembered locking it.
Mu Anxiao blinked her eyes and said, "I climbed through the window."
"Climbed through the window? Humph, you certainly have guts," Xi'er said, grabbing Mu Anxiao's ear. "Tell me, why did you steal this?"
"I just took it from the table, I didn't steal it." Mu Anxiao winced in pain and held onto Xi'er's wrist.
Xi'er squinted her eyes. "Still saying you didn't steal it? You climbed through the window, and then..."
"I was in a hurry to use the latrine, and I didn't have any paper, so I climbed in, took this from the table, and then climbed back out to use the latrine. But it's quite strange," Mu Anxiao recalled that the map wasn't afraid of water and began to babble, "When I used this to wipe, it didn't get dirty at all..."
"Wait." Xi'er's brow furrowed, and she quickly interrupted.
Mu Anxiao looked confused. "What is it?"
"You used this to... wipe your backside?" Xi'er asked incredulously.
Mu Anxiao gave a dry laugh and nodded. "Yeah, I thought it worked quite well, so I kept it on me. Of course," she said, "if you want to report me, go ahead. Anyway, my life is cheap. You..."
"How disgusting are you?" Xi'er interrupted sternly, believing her. She tossed the map near Mu Anxiao's hand.
Mu Anxiao looked at it and deliberately asked, "Why are you giving this to me? Go report me."
"No need," Xi'er said, rubbing her hand on Mu Anxiao's clothes, and stood up. "Just stay here and lie down." With that, she stormed off.
Subsequently, Mu Anxiao breathed a sigh of relief, casually picked up the map, and smiled. "I'm a genius." Saying this, she stood up with great ease.
Just then, a voice came from the direction of the tower. "You are different from her."
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao's body stiffened. She then turned to look at the tower gate and asked, "Aren't you cursing anymore?" She walked over to the gate.
"You didn't use this map to wipe your backside." A woman's voice said.
Mu Anxiao felt awkward upon hearing this. "Can we not talk about that issue anymore?" she said, noticing that there was indeed a gap in the door. "You saw."
"Don't get so close. We can tell, you are different from them," the woman said calmly.
Mu Anxiao's lips curled. "I am different from them, but even so, I can't let you out." She said, looking down at the map in her hand, muttering, "That's not right."
"What is it?" the woman asked again.
Mu Anxiao listened, looked back at where she had been lying, and said, "How did you know I had a map? You..."
"This is made of immortal skin. In other words," the woman interrupted, becoming serious, "the maps here are all made from our spiritual energy and flesh. Naturally, we can sense them."