Mu Anxiao smiled wryly. "..."
The first villager looked at Mu Anxiao's fearful expression and her small steps backward with a cold smile. "It seems I hit the mark."
Hit the mark about what? Mu Anxiao didn't know. All she knew now was that if she spoke a single word in this perilous situation, the next word would likely be something he disliked. It was better to maintain a golden silence with him.
"..."
"It seems you really do like good-looking people," the first villager said, as if talking to himself.
Who didn't like good-looking people? Did he, for instance, not like beautiful girls?
Mu Anxiao was speechless at his words.
At this point, the first villager was exasperated by Mu Anxiao's silent treatment. With a sigh, he pushed the water vat again. "If he dies down there, I'll say you did it." With that, he began to move the vat.
Mu Anxiao had encountered such blatant shifting of blame before, but it was rare to see it right before her eyes.
Precisely because it was rare, she felt compelled to resist.
"You can't do that," she broke her golden silence, shouting in a low voice.
Hearing this, the first villager stopped and sneered, "You truly are deeply devoted."
Deeply devoted? Mu Anxiao had never considered herself devoted to anyone. Hearing the first villager say this only increased her dislike for him.
"I just don't want to shoulder your sins for no reason," Mu Anxiao said.
"You want to save him?"
"Any normal person in this situation would want to save him. Of course," Mu Anxiao pursed her lips, "I'm also afraid of you."
"Then why are you saying all this to me? Aren't you asking for death?"
"If I die, what about your brother?" Mu Anxiao asked with a cold smile.
"You... heard that."
"The sound was so loud, it was hard not to hear," Mu Anxiao said. She glanced down at the cellar. "If he dies down there, the cultivators will never let you off."
"He's just a good-for-nothing. The cultivators won't care about him."
"A good-for-nothing is still a person. In other words, even if he's a good-for-nothing, he's still a good-for-nothing raised by the cultivators. If you kill him, the cultivators won't work for you. At that time," Mu Anxiao deliberately glanced around, "you won't even know where to cry."
"At that time, you'll be one of us in the village too," the first villager emphasized intentionally.
"Not necessarily," Mu Anxiao spat out the three words coldly.
Before she uttered "not necessarily," the first villager hadn't thought much of it. Now, hearing her say that, he remembered his brother's temper and the purpose of their visit.
"Let's go," he said, walking around the water vat and in front of Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao breathed a sigh of relief.
A short while later, the first villager brought Mu Anxiao to the front of his house.
Following him, Mu Anxiao looked at the harsh environment surrounding them and then at the dilapidated wooden door before her. A desire to quickly resolve the matter and escape welled up in her heart.
However, in this reality, she could only indulge in such unrealistic fantasies. Looking down at the chains around her ankles that clinked with every step, and clenching her hands still bound by chains, the despair within her surged once more.
"Brother, we're back. Open the door," the first villager said, gently patting the door.
The force of his knocking pulled Mu Anxiao out of her despair. Instead, she sank into infinite tension.
"Your brother, will he hit me?" Mu Anxiao asked without thinking.
The first villager replied without turning his head, "You're my brother's future wife. What's wrong with him hitting you?"
Hearing the first villager's utterly irresponsible answer, Mu Anxiao regretted asking the question.
"Brother."
At the sound, Mu Anxiao involuntarily took a step back.
Facing the wooden door, the first villager revealed a kind and gentle smile.
The next second, the simpleton opened the door, chuckled foolishly at the first villager, and then shifted his gaze to Mu Anxiao.
"It's you."
Mu Anxiao slowly raised her eyes to look at the simpleton, whom she had never met before. Swallowing, she asked, "Do you know me?"
The simpleton stared fixedly at Mu Anxiao, pushed the first villager aside, staggered in front of her, and then looked down at the chains binding her feet, chuckling.
"Haha, you are, it's you."
Seeing his brother's happy back, the first villager also smiled. "Brother, is she the woman you were looking for?"
The moment the first villager said this, Mu Anxiao cried inwardly, "It's over."
The simpleton turned to look at the first villager and nodded.
Mu Anxiao tilted her head back, staring at the back of the simpleton's head, her lips puckered as if she wanted to cry but dared not.
Puckering her lips was a sign of her fear. She used to do it often in front of Shen Yan, who always found it annoying. But time flew by, and Shen Yan was no longer here. Now, only Feng Qi Shi was here. So, she thought if Feng Qi Shi saw her like this, he wouldn't be annoyed, but would mock her.
"What's wrong?" the simpleton asked, turning to look at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao shook her head.
Seeing Mu Anxiao like this, the first villager became angry, but with his brother present, he dared not say anything. Thus, he could only give Mu Anxiao a displeased look.
Who knew that Mu Anxiao wouldn't even glance at him?
"Let's go inside," the simpleton said gently.
Mu Anxiao hadn't expected the simpleton before her to be so much better than his elder brother. Especially looking at the gentle expression on the simpleton's face and his much cleaner clothes compared to his brother's, she thought: the simpleton must not have always been simpleminded.
"Come on," the simpleton repeated.
Although the simpleton was gentle, Mu Anxiao still couldn't control his temper. So, she cooperated with him, walking into the door with the clinking sound.
Seeing Mu Anxiao move, the simpleton laughed.
When the simpleton turned around, the first villager quickly put on his hypocritical smile again.
Mu Anxiao still didn't look at the first villager.
The second villager, due to the earlier incident, hid in a corner under his bed, curling himself up and trembling all over as he thought of the simpleton's earlier display of power.
His plump wife also looked at him, perplexed, standing by the bed with a frown.
"Monster."
"The monster is gone," his wife said.
"Gone?" the second villager repeated, looking up at his wife.
His wife nodded. "Yes, when you went out, our entire village was hung on trees by that monster. Do you know who that monster was?"
"Who?"
His wife glanced mysteriously behind her, then sat by the bed, leaned towards the second villager, and whispered, "It was that young man you beat up a few days ago. He's a monster."