"I, have scared you..." The wolf demon's eyes sharpened, "My apologies."
"Are you apologizing to me?" the second villager asked in surprise.
"Not exactly, I just feel that some matters are time to be resolved." The wolf demon's lips curved, and he withdrew his gaze fixed on the second villager, turning back to the first villager. "If I recall correctly, it was you who captured me and brought me to the village."
"No, we don't know you at all." The first villager avoided his gaze.
"So soon you deny it," the wolf demon smiled.
The second villager glanced at the first, "Yes, we don't know you."
"Your faces change so quickly," the wolf demon looked up at the night sky. "It seems I need to help you recover your memories."
"What do you want to do?" the first villager mustered the courage to ask.
"Nothing much, we'll meet again." The wolf demon turned and vanished.
The second villager watched the wolf demon disappear, his legs giving out as he knelt on the ground.
The first villager breathed a sigh of relief, turned, and looked down at the second. "Remember, if you see him again, you must pretend not to know him."
"Got it," the second villager nodded slightly.
"Alright," the first villager bent down and pulled the second villager's arm. "Let's continue looking for the woman."
"Can we go to a brothel?" the second villager asked, looking up.
"We have no money, how can we go to such a place? Now, we can only search the streets." The first villager pulled the second villager along with force.
The second villager blinked slightly and steadied himself. "It can only be this way."
The first villager said nothing, released his hand, and walked ahead.
The second villager, looking around with lingering fear, turned and hurried to catch up. "Do you think he'll come to the village to find us?"
"Even if he does, we can get the villagers to help us cover it up," the first villager said as they walked.
"Mhm, he doesn't look like he'd dare do anything to mortals," the second villager kept pace with the first.
The first villager continued, "It's even better if he's a demon. If we can't find the woman, we'll frame him and let the immortal cultivators help capture him."
"You mean capture him, but with the help of the immortal cultivators this time?"
"Yes, so it's even better if he actually causes trouble in the village."
"Then we'll have the villagers hold him off while we go find the immortal cultivators," the second villager said excitedly.
"Clever. If we haven't found the woman in three days, we'll do just that," the first villager stated firmly.
"What if he's hard to catch?" the second villager asked dejectedly again.
The first villager curled his lips. "Don't worry, if necessary, we can go to the prison and pretend to rescue a ready-made woman before proceeding."
"Okay," the second villager nodded, and they quickened their pace with the first villager.
Three days later...
Mu Anxiao sat on the bedding with disheveled hair, then looked leisurely at Hei Feng who was squatting before her. "Even if you try to persuade me, I won't change my mind."
"Why?" Hei Feng asked.
Mu Anxiao rolled her eyes. "Because the wolf demon has already infiltrated the village. If you ask me to stop now, it's impossible."
"Where is the wolf demon? I want to talk to him," Hei Feng said.
"Where else, he's going to ask for medical fees like the past two days," Mu Anxiao shrugged.
Hei Feng frowned. "If I can persuade the wolf demon, will you give up?"
Mu Anxiao remained silent.
"You wait for me," Hei Feng vanished.
Mu Anxiao sighed. "The wolf demon doesn't even listen to you, yet you say this to me, it's truly laughable." She made a face.
At the village entrance, the wolf demon looked coldly at the gathered villagers before him and asked, "Oh, you're all here today. Where are those two fellows?"
"We don't know," said an elder.
"You don't know? You wouldn't not know where they went." The wolf demon said.
"We really don't know," the elder shook his head and looked up at the sky. "They went out early this morning and haven't returned."
"Haven't returned," the wolf demon's eyes narrowed. "Oh, they're hiding."
"They must have run away."
"Run away? It seems this medical fee will be difficult to collect." The wolf demon's eyes became hazy.
"We thought about it yesterday. We were also involved in beating you. If possible, we can help them pay it back," said the third villager.
"What a nice thing to say," the wolf demon sneered.
"Then what exactly do you want?" the third villager asked.
"It's very simple, tell me your purpose, and return my medical fees."
"You're clearly a demon, yet you demand these things," the third villager said directly.
"What's wrong with being a demon? Demons need to live, and demons want revenge when they're beaten," the wolf demon said angrily to the third villager.
The third villager was speechless.
Then, the elder spoke, "We were also involved in beating you. How much do you want? Tell me, and I'll give it to you tomorrow. After tomorrow, I hope you won't bother them or us anymore."
"This is my third visit here," the wolf demon said.
"Yes," the elder nodded.
"For three days, you've given me different excuses. Tomorrow, I don't know what changes you'll have. So, for now, hand over those two fellows and the reason you captured me. Afterward, I promise I will never come again," the wolf demon said.
"We have no purpose," the elder replied.
"No purpose?" the wolf demon narrowed his eyes. "No purpose, why did you capture me?"
"We captured you simply to temper you," the fourth villager said unnaturally.
"Temper?" the wolf demon repeated, sneering. "Then, from now on, I will temper you properly." He said, extending his hand and conjuring a pile of ropes.
In an instant, they were hung from trees.
The elders were tied to the base of the trees by the wolf demon.
"Perfect." The wolf demon looked up at the young men hanging from the trees, then down at the elders tied at the base. "Oh, I've noticed a problem."
"What exactly do you want to do?" the fourth villager asked, looking down at the wolf demon.
The wolf demon flew in front of the fourth villager. "The past two days I came to your village, you told me to go back and wait. The second day you asked me to hand over those two fellows, but the second day I came, there wasn't a soul to be seen. Today," he looked down at the piled axes, hoes, and other tools, "you come to meet me with these things, what do you mean?"
"We just came to hoe the land."
"You want to hit me, don't you?" the wolf demon said coldly.
The fourth villager dodged his gaze. "No."