"Tell me, what is Jiong Ye's current objective, and," Mu An Xiao said, scanning her surroundings, "how many people does he have under him?"
"..." You Xian suddenly fell silent again.
Mu An Xiao, seeing You Xian's sudden silence, frowned, "This is about your future. If you're spouting nonsense, I can't guarantee if I can save you."
"You need to let me think," You Xian said aggrievedly.
Mu An Xiao replied, "Alright, you think." She pointed at You Xian.
You Xian glanced at Mu An Xiao's pointing finger, then lowered her head.
Ouyang Ye turned to look at the ghostly spirits who had retreated several steps, startled by You Xian's words, then looked back at Mu An Xiao and You Xian, and sighed.
At the same time, Xi Er, following Ouyang Ye's prior arrangement, found Zhao Mei Er and the others. "It's them," she said. Perched on a tree, she observed the six figures in black, including Zhao Mei Er who was leading them, stopping at the entrance of the forbidden forest. After a moment's thought, she raised two fingers and gently waved, casting layers of dense fog around the area.
Below.
Zhao Mei Er stood still, completely unaware of Xi Er's presence. Instead, she was astonished to see the dense fog appearing bit by bit, muttering, "What's going on?"
The six figures in black heard Zhao Mei Er's words and frowned simultaneously. They paid no attention to the surrounding mist.
On the contrary, Xi Er, clearly seeing Zhao Mei Er and the others enveloped by the fog below, let out a cold laugh, turned, leaped from the tall tree, and disappeared.
Meanwhile, Zhao Mei Er became troubled. "This dense fog is coming at the worst possible time." As she spoke, she suddenly turned her head to look at the six figures in black.
The figures in black knew Zhao Mei Er's temper. So, as she looked at them, their confused expressions froze on their faces.
Zhao Mei Er looked speechlessly at the six figures in black, who only knew how to fight and not think. She sighed, then looked forward again, saying, "Then tell me, how long will this dense fog last?"
Immediately, after the six figures in black looked at each other, the fifth figure in black mustered up the courage to say, "Should be soon."
"Should be?" Zhao Mei Er's brow furrowed as she looked at the fifth figure in black who had volunteered.
The fifth figure in black, seeing Zhao Mei Er's disdainful expression and the mist that was gradually thickening, said, "I don't analyze these things either. This is just a feeling of mine."
"A feeling."
"Yes," the fifth figure in black nodded. "My feelings have always been accurate. Besides, think about it... we have dense fog here, so they must have it there too, don't you think?"
"You mean... wait?" Zhao Mei Er raised her chin.
The fifth figure in black nodded. "Yes, wait a bit longer." His tone was firm.
Hearing the fifth figure in black's words, and looking at the surrounding dense fog, Zhao Mei Er said, "That's fine, this troublesome forest. It's just bothersome." With that, she sat down on the ground.
Because the fog was too dense, if one wasn't careful, they wouldn't be able to see each other. Moreover, Zhao Mei Er was a demon soul. The moment she crouched down, the fifth figure in black showed a panicked expression. "Huh, she's gone." He looked to both sides, only able to see the black clothes of the other figures in black. Their faces were completely obscured by the fog.
He had never encountered such a situation before. As a mortal, his heart began to panic. "Boss, where are you?" he said, taking a step forward.
Below.
Zhao Mei Er sat cross-legged, looking up at the fifth figure in black constantly moving. She then looked down at his single foot pressed tightly against her calf, cleared her throat, and said, "Squat down."
Hearing this, the fifth figure in black was stunned. He quickly obeyed and squatted down, his gaze meeting Zhao Mei Er's.
Zhao Mei Er said, "Can you stop being so jumpy?" As she spoke, she reached out and grabbed the fifth figure in black's ear.
This fifth figure in black was named Hai. Jiong Ye had given him this name. He had a life experience almost similar to You Xian's. But unlike You Xian, he was timid and talkative.
Every time they went on a mission, he would follow Zhao Mei Er. If anything happened to Zhao Mei Er, he would be the first to speak. In his heart, Zhao Mei Er was not only the demon soul who led them, but also the demon soul who protected them.
Therefore, whenever Zhao Mei Er disappeared, he was always the most worried.
Zhao Mei Er was already accustomed to Hai's habit. So, looking at him now, she controlled her temper a little more.
Hai looked at Zhao Mei Er's speechless expression and, as usual, let out a laugh.
Zhao Mei Er sighed.
The other five figures in black remained standing in place, futilely observing their surroundings.
On the other side.
Xi Er quickly returned to Ouyang Ye and the others. However, because Ouyang Ye was observing You Xian, he waved at Xi Er, signaling her to not speak for now.
Seeing Ouyang Ye stop her, Xi Er dared not say anything more and closed her mouth.
Mu An Xiao continued to wait for You Xian's reply, her gaze fixed on You Xian's face.
The next second, You Xian counted on her fingers and said, "There are thirty people in total."
"Thirty..." Mu An Xiao was surprised. "Are they all human?"
You Xian nodded. "Yes, they are all human. Like me, they all have different pasts, and even more..." She paused, thinking about her own long-held thoughts, her eyes sinking. "And even more, selfish thoughts."
"If I'm not mistaken, their selfish thoughts are all related to catching demons."
"Yes, most of the demons here were caught by them."
"..." Mu An Xiao's brow furrowed. "What does 'demons' mean?" She suddenly realized she hadn't seen most of the evil spirits here before.
You Xian explained, "It means that many evil spirits did not commit evil before becoming demon souls."
"Did not commit evil."
All along, Hei Feng had told Mu An Xiao that they could not arrest demons indiscriminately, and that demons, like humans, could be good or bad. As for the bad ones, they had to arrest them, but the good ones... they must not arrest them.
Because many good demons had the potential to become useful immortals in the future, like Shi Yi and Ye Yin.
Therefore, she would protect them on many occasions.
However, before hearing You Xian say this, she thought that these evil spirits must have been wicked demons when they were demons. Now, hearing You Xian say this, she couldn't help but feel a strange feeling in her heart.
"What's wrong?" You Xian saw that Mu An Xiao was not right.
Mu An Xiao swallowed and, after pondering for a few seconds, said, "This is Jiong Ye's arrangement."
"Yes," You Xian nodded.
"Alright, I understand," Mu An Xiao said, suppressing her hatred for Jiong Ye. She turned to the evil spirits and asked, "Which of you were wrongfully killed?"
"..." No evil spirits responded.
Seeing this, Mu An Xiao frowned. "I'm asking you a question, why aren't you answering?"
Ouyang Ye chimed in, leaning to the side and looking at the silent evil spirits, "Answer what she asks you. Why have you all become mute?"
"..." They continued to remain silent.
Then, Ouyang Ye looked at Wei helplessly and said, "Wei, you say."
Wei had made mistakes as a demon before, so he felt he was not qualified to speak on this issue and remained silent. Who would have thought that Ouyang Ye would ask him.
Hearing this, he glanced at the silent evil spirits, then turned back to Mu An Xiao and said, "They have no memories of their past lives."
"What?" Mu An Xiao was surprised again and looked at You Xian, "What's going on?"
"To avoid accumulating sins for himself, Jiong Ye erased all their memories, and then made them commit evil. This way, their memories would only contain images of themselves committing evil. However," You Xian said, "don't worry, this objective of his has not yet been achieved." As she spoke, she looked at Ouyang Ye.
Ouyang Ye said nothing.
Mu An Xiao did not look at Ouyang Ye either and said, "So, Jiong Ye's aim is really quite strong."
"Mm."
"Then do you know where he is now?" Mu An Xiao asked again.
You Xian thought for a moment and said, "I don't know. I just passed on to them..." She cautiously glanced at Ouyang Ye. "I know he is the benefactor of the evil spirits. I don't know anything else."
"Then, tell me, will they come?" Mu An Xiao asked back.
You Xian replied, "Yes."
"Yes..." Mu An Xiao repeated, her eyes sinking. "So, it's highly possible they have already arrived."
You Xian said, "Yes. Otherwise," she glanced at Yin Ye among the group of evil spirits, "she wouldn't be injured."
Yin Ye's eyes sank. "That demon art is very powerful."
Ouyang Ye heard this and turned to look at Yin Ye. "Very powerful? As powerful as me." He insisted on comparing them.
Yin Ye was speechless.
Mu An Xiao was also speechless with Ouyang Ye. So, she thought for a moment and said, "Ouyang Ye, it's better for you to not speak." As she spoke, she noticed Xi Er.
Seeing Mu An Xiao looking at her, Xi Er showed a disdainful expression. "Why are you looking at me?"
Mu An Xiao guessed, "You must have news to report since you're back."
"Mind your own business." Xi Er gave Mu An Xiao no face at all and looked at Ouyang Ye. "I found them."
Mu An Xiao rolled her eyes.
Ouyang Ye asked, "Where?" He became unexpectedly serious.
Xi Er replied, "At the entrance."
"Still at the entrance?" Ouyang Ye asked, deliberately glancing at Yin Ye again, and suddenly felt something was wrong?
Xi Er said, "Yes, I saw a group of people."
"How many people?" Mu An Xiao spoke quickly.
This time, Xi Er knew the importance of the matter and did not intend to brush off Mu An Xiao. Instead, she honestly replied, "Seven in total."
"Seven." Mu An Xiao repeated.
Xi Er nodded. "Yes, seven. One of the leaders is a demon soul."
"Demon soul..." Mu An Xiao repeated again, suddenly recalling everything she had seen through Feng Qi Shi's eyes. She said, "That demon soul is a woman."
"Yes."
Immediately, Mu An Xiao blurted out three words without thinking: "Zhao Mei Er."
"You know Zhao Mei Er?" You Xian was equally surprised.
Mu An Xiao looked at You Xian. "I do. What's wrong?"
"She is the demon soul Jiong Ye values most. I gave my message to her."
"Is that so?" Mu An Xiao knew about this, but to boost You Xian's confidence, she pretended not to know.
"Yes," You Xian said firmly.
Mu An Xiao thought for a moment and asked, "Is she powerful?"
Know yourself and your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles.
Although she had interacted with Zhao Mei Er, she was not yet familiar with Zhao Mei Er's current true strength. Therefore, from the missions You Xian had received, she understood that You Xian must have considerable abilities among them, so she believed that You Xian must have a deep understanding of Zhao Mei Er.
Asking You Xian was bound to be accurate.
Conversely, after Mu An Xiao said this, You Xian was silent for a few seconds before saying, "She's alright."
"What does 'alright' mean?" Mu An Xiao frowned.
You Xian explained, "That is, in terms of ability, she is not as powerful as Jiong Ye, because she is a demon soul."
"I know that her abilities are certainly not as powerful as Jiong Ye's. Then, how well do you know her?" Mu An Xiao tested.
You Xian thought for a moment again and said, "She is accustomed to lying. As long as you don't believe her words, you can basically win."
"Is that so..."
"However, she likes to use a kind of incense poison. Anyone who is poisoned by it will fall into a coma, then go mad, and then die."
"Die..." Mu An Xiao repeated, suddenly remembering Feng Qi Shi, her eyes sinking. "Does she have any other moves?"
"Other..." You Xian took a deep breath. "As for other things, I don't know much."
"Don't know much."
"Yes, I haven't had too much contact with her."
"Alright, I understand." Mu An Xiao's incense poison had already been resolved, so she was not worried about this. Instead, she became increasingly worried about Feng Qi Shi's safety.
Ouyang Ye stated, "There must be more than just that one group."
Hearing this, Mu An Xiao looked at Ouyang Ye. "Definitely. Jiong Ye must have come too." As she spoke, she looked at Yin Ye.
Yin Ye was startled. "Why are you looking at me? I have nothing to do with them." She waved her hand, afraid of being misunderstood.
Mu An Xiao asked, "Tell me, how did you get in?"