Mu Anxiao also watched Feng Qishi, not saying a word.
Seeing Mu Anxiao’s reluctance to speak, Feng Qishi shifted his gaze and asked, "You haven't thought about it, have you?"
"Thought about what? I'm a mess right now." Mu Anxiao lowered her head.
"Then rest..."
"Shen Fengzi," Mu Anxiao interrupted suddenly, recalling every word Jiong Ye had said to her, her heart in a turmoil. "Why do I always feel like he's actually hidden some evil spirits in the city?" She didn't look up.
Feng Qishi thought for a moment and said, "It's probably impossible."
"Impossible..." Mu Anxiao took a deep breath, then raised her face to look at Feng Qishi again. "Shen Fengzi, how about... you go back to the city and check?"
"I go back to the city? What about you?" Feng Qishi looked surprised. He hadn't expected Mu Anxiao to actually believe Jiong Ye's words.
"I... I'll act on my own, to find... the benefactor of the evil spirits."
"The evil spirits are so brutal, do you think their benefactor would be any good?"
"I'll go find them, perhaps... their benefactor is a good person." Mu Anxiao held onto the best possible hope.
Feng Qishi looked at Mu Anxiao's serious expression and thought about Jiong Ye's words. He said earnestly, "I don't think there can be evil spirits in the city. Didn't you hear him say they all acted according to their benefactor's instructions? You..."
"Some evil spirits don't listen to their benefactors either." Another voice interrupted.
Hearing this, Feng Qishi swallowed his next words and turned to look, spitting out three words: "Zhao Meier?"
Zhao Meier smiled, "Jiong Ye is particularly fond of lying, but," she looked at Mu Anxiao, who had turned with Feng Qishi to face her, "his words are neither entirely believable nor entirely unbelievable."
"What exactly do you want to say?" Mu Anxiao frowned.
The smile on Zhao Meier's face did not disappear. "I want to say that your guess might be right."
Mu Anxiao: "..." She stared at Zhao Meier expressionlessly.
"Why don't you believe me?" Zhao Meier felt uncomfortable under Mu Anxiao's gaze.
Mu Anxiao then smiled faintly, "Alright, Shen Fengzi, you don't need to go to the city anymore." She looked at Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi was stunned. He looked down at Mu Anxiao, about to speak, when Zhao Meier said, "You don't believe me."
"You and that Jiong Ye are in league, I admit," Mu Anxiao said. "A moment ago, I truly thought Jiong Ye's words were true, but now, I don't."
"The evil spirits are all in the city," Zhao Meier added.
"You can continue your act," Mu Anxiao glared at Zhao Meier and turned to Yuan Yan, "Let's go."
Yuan Yan nodded.
Then, Zhao Meier became angry, "There really are evil spirits in the city."
Mu Anxiao heard the unexpectedly excited tone in Zhao Meier's voice and turned back to look at her. "Why are you in such a hurry? What if I just don't believe you?"
"You..."
"Stop with the 'you.' You're in league with that Jiong Ye. I can't see how much malice you harbor, but I can be certain of one thing: that Jiong Ye doesn't have the guts to capture evil spirits into the city, because," Mu Anxiao interrupted, her eyes sharp, "he doesn't want to become a demon soul."
"Mu Anxiao, you're quite contradictory. Your thoughts change so quickly. This is not good for you, you know?"
"I don't know. You," Mu Anxiao pointed at Zhao Meier, "hurry up and leave. I don't have time for you right now."
"You... will regret this." Zhao Meier said seriously.
"Whether I regret it or not has nothing to do with you. You..."
"She's telling the truth." Feng Qishi suddenly interrupted.
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao's face stiffened. She turned to look at Feng Qishi and asked, "You believe her?"
"..." Feng Qishi looked down at Mu Anxiao and nodded slightly.
In the past, when Zhao Meier fled to Shen Yan, she had told Shen Yan that she would lose her temper whenever she got anxious. In other words, what she said when she was angry was the truth.
Conversely, what she said when she was calm might not be true.
Based on those impressions, he believed her.
Mu Anxiao hadn't expected Feng Qishi to change his mind so suddenly. Seeing him believe Zhao Meier now, Mu Anxiao became displeased. "Shen Fengzi, your thoughts change quite quickly too."
"I'm telling the truth." Zhao Meier said seriously.
Mu Anxiao, upon hearing this, turned back to Zhao Meier and asked, "Did Jiong Ye send you?"
"No."
"No?"
"Yes," Zhao Meier nodded. "In my previous life, I went to Shen Yan, and Shen Yan helped me. I want to help him now, it's as simple as that."
"Repaying a favor."
"That's right, I just want to repay a favor. As for Jiong Ye," Zhao Meier’s eyes flickered slightly, "I don't want to say more. In short, everything I'm saying is the truth. There are indeed evil spirits in the city."
"...." Mu Anxiao looked at Zhao Meier's serious expression, then at Feng Qishi, who believed Zhao Meier. She said, "Shen Fengzi, come..." Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly sensed a demonic aura.
"What's wrong?" Feng Qishi looked at Mu Anxiao, who had suddenly stopped speaking, with confusion and asked.
Mu Anxiao sniffed the air and glanced at Zhao Meier. "You're lying."
"I..."
"There are no evil spirits in the city," Mu Anxiao interrupted, and once again looked towards the river. "Jiong Ye, what exactly do you want to do?"
Just now, Feng Qishi had also started to believe Zhao Meier. But, hearing Mu Anxiao's question, he naturally shifted his gaze to Zhao Meier's face. "..."
Zhao Meier thought her scheme had succeeded, even believing she would soon be alone with Feng Qishi. Who would have thought... Mu Anxiao had seen through her lie.
So, she put on an innocent look, glanced at Feng Qishi, and lowered her head.
Yuan Yan glanced at Zhao Meier, not daring to speak.
Then, Jiong Ye appeared by the river and smiled, "Mu Anxiao, quite smart."
"If you can't deceive people yourself, you send someone else to do it," Mu Anxiao sneered. "You're really something."
Jiong Ye said, "I think... it's better for you to act alone." As he spoke, he looked at Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi glared at Jiong Ye and said coldly, "You've gone too far." With that, he summoned his long sword.
Jiong Ye calmly swept his gaze over the long sword in Feng Qishi's hand and smiled, "Zhao Meier, didn't you say you had a second plan?"
Upon hearing this, Mu Anxiao's brows furrowed, and she immediately shifted her gaze to Zhao Meier's face.
Zhao Meier stopped pretending to be innocent. Instead, she let out a light laugh towards Mu Anxiao and said, "Alright, if people don't believe us, then we have to implement the second plan." As she spoke, she raised her hand.
"What are you doing?" Mu Anxiao sensed something was wrong and felt anxious.
This time, Zhao Meier merely smiled at Mu Anxiao. Then, as she waved her arm, a fragrance gradually spread with a beam of red light.
The moment the fragrance spread, Mu Anxiao hurriedly raised her hand to cover her mouth and nose, looking at Feng Qishi. Just as she was about to warn him not to inhale, he fainted.
Before Yuan Yan could speak, he too collapsed.