“You don’t want to die,” Mu Anxiao said, glancing at the short knife casually held at her throat. “Then why are you still holding that short knife? Put it down.”
“You’re not protecting me anymore,” You Xian suddenly said.
Mu Anxiao didn’t expect You Xian to react this way after a period of silence. Looking at her, Mu Anxiao couldn’t help but smile. “No, don’t you have confidence? Also,” she said, “to be honest, I really don’t know which of your words are true and which are false right now.”
“What I said is true,” You Xian said in a low voice.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao turned her head to look at the relatively calm evil spirits behind her, then took a step forward and squatted in front of You Xian, extending her hand. “If you’re telling the truth, give me the short knife.” She glanced at the short knife.
You Xian pouted. “My father gave this to me.”
“I know your father gave it to you, but reality proves that you’ve already decided to use it for evil.”
“I…”
“Do you think those evil spirits were born evil?” Mu An interrupted.
You Xian: “Aren’t they?” Her eyes darted away, though she knew they weren't.
“…” Mu Anxiao looked at You Xian’s deliberately feigned ignorance and thought of Jiong Ye’s lying mouth. She inexplicably began to laugh.
You Xian was bewildered. “What are you laughing at?”
Mu Anxiao: “I’m laughing at your act. Tell me, what’s your psychology for coming here? Don’t say he’ll help you. Tell me your own inner thoughts.” She pointed to her own chest.
Listening to Mu Anxiao, You Xian lowered her head and said, “My father is a demon slayer, but he only values my older brothers and sisters. No one is sincere with me…” She fell silent halfway through.
You Xian was the daughter of a demon catcher. Her given name was You Xian. She had four older brothers and two older sisters. She was the youngest and least favored in the family.
However, even so, she was the most doted-upon in the family. All her elders praised her wherever they saw her.
But those praises were always about her appearance and demeanor. Back then, she would boast and laugh heartily because of their compliments.
Until one day, her sister argued with her over rouge and powder. In the end, her sister revealed all her shortcomings.
It was also that day she learned that she was nothing but a waste.
From then on, she began to hate those flattering praises, deliberately made herself look ugly, and used various means to let others discover her abilities.
Unexpectedly, the previous praises made her path much more difficult.
Gradually, because she was ordinary, she was forgotten. Because she was ordinary, she was looked down upon by her brothers and sisters, and disliked by her parents. It was also out of this ordinariness that she vowed to become a more powerful demon catcher than them.
From then on, she diligently practiced her demon-catching skills. In order to become superior, she hid all her secrets in her heart.
Originally, she was going to leave home secretly, but who would have thought… as soon as she reached her doorstep, she ran into her father. Her father asked her what she was going to do.
In front of her father, she couldn’t lie, so she revealed all her thoughts. To her surprise, her father actually agreed. Not only that, but he also gave her this short knife.
At that moment, she vowed… no success, no return home.
Mu Anxiao looked at the again-silent You Xian and didn’t speak, because she knew everyone had their past, and You Xian must have been contemplating something.
Therefore, she respected You Xian.
After You Xian recalled all those experiences in her mind, she looked up at Mu Anxiao and narrated what she remembered.
Ouyang Ye and the others also listened. xxs壹贰
Minutes later…
Mu Anxiao sat on the ground, looking calmly at You Xian, who was also sitting opposite her. “Your father is a professional demon catcher, so that means you’re from a celestial family?”
You Xian shook her head.
“No?”
You Xian grunted and said, “My father said we were chosen by celestial beings to protect the village. Because our village is surrounded by demons, my father became a demon catcher.”
“Everyone in your village believes in demons?” Mu Anxiao was surprised.
You Xian: “Yes. But my father said that since I was born, he hasn’t seen many. Perhaps for this reason, they started to favor my looks unilaterally.”
“Haven’t seen many, which means there are no demons.” Mu Anxiao said.
“Yes, you could say that. To be honest, my so-called capable brothers and sisters haven’t actually seen real demons either. Only my father thinks their abilities are amazing. Of course, before I came out, I also thought they were incredibly capable. But after I came into contact with the outside world, I found…” You Xian shrugged. “They aren’t that capable either.”
“Then who taught you these abilities?”
“It was Jiong Ye,” You Xian told the truth.
“You know his name now?” Mu Anxiao feigned composure.
“Didn’t you want me to tell the truth? I can tell you, every word I’m saying now is the truth,” You Xian said, her gaze firm. “So, please believe me.”
At first, Mu Anxiao was indeed half-believing, half-doubting You Xian. But after hearing her say this, Mu Anxiao began to trust her a little. “Alright, I believe you.”
“Thank you.”
“There’s nothing to thank for in this kind of thing,” Mu Anxiao said, putting on a serious expression. “If you dare to lie to me, I won’t be able to save your life.”
“I definitely won’t lie to you.”
“See him clearly,” Mu Anxiao said indifferently.
You Xian nodded.
“Your name was also changed by him, wasn’t it?” Mu Anxiao said, recalling that Jiong Ye’s name had no surname.
You Xian nodded again.
“Very good,” Mu Anxiao was satisfied and thought for a moment. “I have a question for you, where is he now?”
“…” You Xian’s eyes flickered.
Mu Anxiao looked down at You Xian’s hesitant expression and ventured, “You’re afraid of him.”
“Mm,” You Xian nodded.
“You’re afraid of him, so why are you still working with him?”
“Because…” You Xian said, hesitating, and continued, “Because only he allows me to truly interact with demons. I also learned from him that besides demons, there are also demon souls.”
“Have you interacted with those demon souls?” Mu Anxiao asked, suddenly standing up.
Immediately, You Xian looked up at Mu Anxiao and also stood up, saying, “Yes.”
“Yes?” Mu Anxiao spat out the word, then turned to look at the evil spirits calmly watching them, and said, “Then that means you know what they were before.” She then looked back at You Xian.
“Yes,” You Xian replied truthfully, with a hint of guilt on her face.
Upon hearing this, Mu Anxiao said again, “Don’t tell me you have another relationship with them.”
“I’m the one responsible for catching them,” You Xian said in a low voice.
“So you were faking it,” Mu Anxiao said. “This means you volunteered for this mission.”