"Eh?" Yang Tai's words left Mu Anxiao in an awkward position. "You... you're not a woman? Did I say something wrong?"
Yang Tai looked at Mu Anxiao with helplessness, spitting out three words coldly, "What do you think?"
"I say, you..." Mu Anxiao scratched the back of her head. "You must be a woman, because only women care about their faces, and only women are so insecure that they'd consider murder. So... I think you're a woman."
"..." Yang Tai.
Mu Anxiao chuckled dryly, "Did I say anything wrong?"
"Do you think you didn't say anything wrong?" Yang Tai retorted.
Mu Anxiao blinked her eyes. "I think my guess is probably correct."
"You mean, you understand my gender better than I do?"
"Uh, well, you can't say that. It's just, I don't know what happened to you in the meantime. Maybe you have amnesia." "Mu Anxiao, I'm starting to dislike you more and more," Yang Tai said seriously.
With dislike came the inevitable urge to flee.
This worried Mu Anxiao. "Don't, I really..."
"I am a man," Yang Tai declared, agitated.
Mu Anxiao glanced at him, her suspicion about Yang Tai's gender growing. However, seeing his serious demeanor, she decided to... believe him for now!
"I believe you," she mumbled.
"....."
"I really believe you," Mu Anxiao emphasized.
Yang Tai sighed. "Do you really want to know my past?"
Mu Anxiao nodded.
"There's not much to tell about my past."
"I'm listening."
"Alright, I'll tell you."
Previously, Yang Tai had stated he wouldn't easily reveal his past. Among all the soul essences, only Gu Xiao knew his past. Gu Xiao thought Yang Tai wouldn't speak, wouldn't yield.
Who would have thought he would actually cooperate? This surprised Gu Xiao.
"Why are you dealing with those humans?" Mu Anxiao prompted.
Upon hearing this, Yang Tai frowned and said, "What do you mean, 'dealing with humans'? You mean 'interacting,' right?"
Mu Anxiao usually made such verbal slips when nervous. Reminded by Yang Tai, she gave an awkward smile. "Right, 'interacting.' You're so cultured." She pointed at Yang Tai.
Yang Tai didn't follow up on Mu Anxiao's remark. Instead, he paused and asked, "Do you remember where we first met?"
"This..."
Mu Anxiao had collected quite a number of soul essences over the decades. If everyone she met asked her where they first met, she would genuinely find it hard to recall. However, due to Yang Tai's special circumstances, she had a relatively clear memory of their first encounter.
But she just couldn't pinpoint it.
"This... that, I don't quite remember."
Yang Tai said, "Don't quite remember, means you don't remember."
Mu Anxiao dared not deny it and nodded. "I don't remember."
"I knew it."
Seeing Yang Tai's cold smile, Mu Anxiao felt increasingly awkward. "You tell me then." xxs壹贰
"If you don't remember, why would I?"
Just as Gu Xiao had predicted, Yang Tai was toying with Mu Anxiao. He wouldn't easily reveal his past.
Sighing softly, Gu Xiao looked towards Feng Qishi, who was still casting spells with his back turned, as if to avoid the situation.
Mu Anxiao: "....." Her face froze.
"How much longer do we have to wait?" Yang Tai tried to change the subject.
Mu Anxiao blinked, recalling the shift in Yang Tai's attitude towards her just moments ago, and then her own eagerness and how she was played. Suddenly, she started to laugh.
Seeing this, Yang Tai was startled.
Zhu Yang asked, "What's wrong?"
Ma Kai peered at Mu Anxiao and shook his head slightly, "She's probably gone mad."
Mu Anxiao laughed. "I can't believe it. Usually, I'm the one tricking others, but today, you tricked me, Yang Tai. You're something else." She wagged a finger at Yang Tai.
Yang Tai said, "I just didn't want to talk about my past. I didn't trick you."
Mu Anxiao sneered, "You didn't? You said you'd tell me, deliberately piqued my interest, and then suddenly said you wouldn't. Isn't that clearly messing with me?"
"Why do you want to know my past so badly?"
Ever since Gui Xiao left, Mu Anxiao had been inquiring about Yang Tai's past, which had made both Gu Xiao and Yang Tai suspicious.
Especially Gu Xiao: "Why are you so fixated on knowing his past?"
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao glanced at Gu Xiao, then at Yang Tai and said, "That year, I hadn't had time to understand you before you attacked me. Now that I have some free time, I want to ask."
"Even if you know my past, what does it matter?"
"It doesn't matter. It's just... I've understood another soul essence."
"Understand soul essences?"
"Yes. To be honest, ever since you escaped, I've been having trouble sleeping and eating. So, I told myself that the next time I capture you, I must understand your past. That way, it's better for both of us."
"You're just satisfying yourself."
"You could say that."
"Truly selfish," Yang Tai snorted coldly.
"....."
After all this, what Mu Anxiao truly wanted to know was Yang Tai's gender. She wanted Yang Tai to clarify it, so that when he reincarnated, he wouldn't choose the wrong gender.
"Are you a man or a woman?" she blurted out.
Yang Tai blinked, "... " Then he blinked again and asked, "Mu Anxiao, I've already told you I'm a man. Why don't you believe me?"
"I'm just curious why you're happy when I call you beautiful?"
After going in circles, Mu Anxiao was tired of beating around the bush. So, she said it directly.
"I am a man, genuine and true. Furthermore, I like hearing you praise me, so what? Does only a woman get to be called beautiful? Can't a man be?"
"You have a point there," Mu Anxiao conceded, deliberately changing the subject. "So... what kind of demon are you?"
Because they were all in human form, she couldn't discern the true forms of many soul essences. For example, among those present, she couldn't tell the true forms of several of them.
"I am an animal. As for what kind of animal, I won't say. But I am truly a man." Yang Tai was almost driven crazy by Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao said, "Okay, I get it. Then can you tell me..."
"Why are you so annoying?" Yang Tai interrupted.
Zhu Yang said, "Mu Anxiao, it's not good to pry into people's privacy like this."
"Why don't you ask about our past?" Ma Kai asked.
Mu Anxiao could see their weaknesses at a glance, but Yang Tai's weakness was incredibly difficult to find. What she couldn't understand was why Yang Tai's weakness was inside his eyes, and why his demonic power was so strong.