"You may speak," Mu Anxiao said, lowering the dagger. Her expression remained stern, her gaze fixed intently on the older woman.
The female ghost, eager to hear what the older woman would say, remained silent.
Under Mu Anxiao's scrutinizing gaze, the older woman grew uneasy. "Well..." she stammered, her eyes darting away. "What do you want me to say?"
"The hoe. Who gave it to you?" Mu Anxiao repeated her earlier question.
"I told you, it was that man. I..." She shook her head. "I don't know anything else."
"You don't know," Mu Anxiao deliberately glanced at the dagger again. She stepped forward, her eyes meeting the older woman's up close. "If I recall correctly, you saw her yesterday."
"...." The older woman's eyes flickered.
"Those people only saw the ghost today. Could it be," Mu Anxiao used one hand to grip the older woman's shoulder tightly, "that you are different from them?"
The older woman stiffened.
"If that man gave it to you, he," Mu Anxiao continued, "was likely present yesterday as well."
Mu Anxiao had initially hesitated to bring this up, as it was a point she had already discussed with the others outside the tavern. However, the older woman's reticence had made her suspect that her earlier, practice analyses might be flawed. Perhaps the older woman had already established a connection with the fake Lin Yan impersonated by Mu Xi.
"...." The older woman remained silent.
"You had better tell the truth quickly, because this matter..." Mu Anxiao deliberately emphasized her words, "could very well cost you your life."
Her life?
Ever since she and her husband were separated by death, the older woman had become extremely protective of her own life. In her eyes, her own life was as valuable as money, while the lives of others were as worthless as dirt.
With such selfish thoughts, she grew fearful. "If I speak, will my life be spared?"
"Yes," Mu Anxiao replied. She didn't know how long the older woman could live, but for now, she could guarantee that the female ghost would not take her life.
"I'll speak," the older woman said, suddenly agitated.
Mu Anxiao was pleased with the older woman's enthusiastic response and a hint of a kind smile touched her lips. "Please, speak." She stepped back, creating distance between them.
However, to the older woman, Mu Anxiao's smile appeared chilling. "He came to find me," she whispered, her voice trembling.
"...." Mu Anxiao refrained from interrupting, not wanting to break the older woman's train of thought.
The moment the older woman uttered these words, the female ghost frowned.
The older woman cautiously glanced at the female ghost. "I've always wanted to tidy up the empty plot of land at my house and plant some vegetables," she began. "So I went to buy a hoe. After buying it, I was walking home with it when... on the way, I met that man..." she said, referring to the villain who had taken over Lin Yan's body. "He said she had actually been by my side all along and asked if I wanted to get rid of her." She looked cautiously at the female ghost.
The female ghost: "...."
The older woman shifted her gaze back and continued, "Because I've been having nightmares lately, always dreaming of my... husband, I became very angry and agreed..." She started to cry.
Mu Anxiao sensed the older woman's deep longing for her husband and decided not to disturb her.
"...." After crying for a few moments, the older woman wiped the tears from her eyes with a handkerchief and continued, "He said that if I hit her with this hoe when I saw her, she would be scattered into ashes. For my husband, I agreed. I truly never expected that her dog could also see her."
The dog could see her too? Nuan Cai Literature Network.
Mu Anxiao mulled over the older woman's words and then asked the female ghost, "Before that, could the village dog see you?"
The female ghost, prompted by Mu Anxiao's question, thought for a moment and replied, "No."
During the time she spent by the dog's soul, she had always hoped the dog's soul could see her. But the results were always disappointing. Helplessly, she could only silently guard the dog's soul. Therefore, she was certain that dogs could not see her.
"No..." Mu Anxiao repeated, recalling the scene yesterday where the older woman, armed with a hoe, had chased the dog's soul and the female ghost, and then the older woman had killed the dog. A realization dawned upon her. "I understand now."
"Understand what?" the older woman and the female ghost asked in unison.
Immediately after, the female ghost, disdaining such a coincidence with the older woman, shot her a fierce glare.
The older woman dared not look at the female ghost and lowered her head.
"...." Mu Anxiao pondered for a moment and then said, "You were both manipulated by him."
"Manipulated?" the female ghost spoke first.
Mu Anxiao looked at the female ghost and nodded slightly. "Yes, both of you. Did he approach you before the older woman saw you?"
"He did."
"Did he say he could help you?"
From this interaction, Mu Anxiao understood that the female ghost was an understanding woman. Furthermore, observing her silent protection of the dog's soul and her calm demeanor when speaking to the older woman yesterday, Mu Anxiao inferred that she held no significant animosity towards the older woman.
Therefore, the possibility of Mu Xi, impersonating Lin Yan, brainwashing her was unlikely.
Conversely, if the dog had been harmed, her attitude would likely have been different.
Mu Xi had precisely exploited this psychological trait of the female ghost. Although he had only achieved partial success, he had succeeded nonetheless.
"Yes, at the time I didn't understand how he could help me," the female ghost truthfully replied. "It wasn't until I was splashed with dog's blood and watched him strike down the puppy that I understood, because he saved me."
"This staged performance is quite something," Mu Anxiao shook her head in admiration, suddenly finding Mu Xi's mind to be quite capable.
"What do you mean by that?" the female ghost asked, confused.
"Mu Xi first angered the older woman, and then, using the older woman, he provoked you. To put it simply," Mu Anxiao looked at both the older woman and the female ghost, "you two were merely puppets in his hands, completely unaware that you were being manipulated."
"I was used?" the older woman realized.
Mu Anxiao nodded. "Yes, he used your longing for your husband, and her," she looked at the female ghost again, "love for the dog, to make the two of you... kill each other."
"...." The two of them were stunned into silence.
"Speaking of which," Mu Anxiao said, looking at each of them, "can you two explain what exactly happened between you?"
"...." They remained silent.
Feng Qishi stood in place, utterly speechless at Mu Anxiao's curious expression.
Seeing their silence, Mu Anxiao realized she might have asked a question she shouldn't have.
To alleviate her own awkwardness, she said, "Never mind. If you don't want to talk, you don't have to. I won't ask anymore." After saying this, she deliberately fixed her gaze on Feng Qishi's face.
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