Ouyang Ye listened to Mu Anxiao's words, retracting his handkerchief as he spoke, "Don't worry, my scheme will surely succeed, and you won't be able to..." He trailed off, his eyes suddenly flicking sideways. He then quickly stepped forward and grabbed Mu Anxiao's arm.
The suddenness of the event made Mu Anxiao stiffen. Before she could speak, he reached out and covered her mouth, then quickly retreated with her until her back hit the tree with a thud.
The pain was indescribable. In the instant of impact, she let out an involuntary gasp.
Ouyang Ye, oblivious, still had one hand on her shoulder and the other covering her mouth. After glancing left and right, he looked at Mu Anxiao's furrowed brow and asked softly, "What's wrong?"
Mu Anxiao, enduring the pain, had no desire to speak, nor could she.
Behind them, several dark figures whizzed away in an instant.
Immediately after, Ouyang Ye shifted his face slightly and let out a breath of relief, saying, "They're gone." He released his hands.
In contrast, Mu Anxiao remained leaning against the tree. After taking a few gasping breaths, she straightened up, took two steps forward, placed her hands behind her back, and touched her own back. Glancing at Ouyang Ye, who was wiping his palm with a handkerchief, she said, "I think you just wanted to knock me dead." As she spoke, she looked at Ouyang Ye with an expression of pain.
Seeing this, Ouyang Ye hastily put away the handkerchief, stepped forward, and asked, "Are you alright?" His face was filled with feigned concern.
Mu Anxiao, seeing Ouyang Ye's expression, quickly took half a step back and said, "Don't come over, I need a moment to myself." Her hands remained on her back.
Ouyang Ye: "You're not letting me help you."
"Help with what? What can you possibly help me with? You're so strange, suddenly covering my mouth and then forcefully shoving me into a tree. You say it wasn't intentional, but I..." Mu Anxiao took another gasp. "I don't believe you."
"You say one sentence and think it's over, but you're still going on about it," Ouyang Ye said impatiently.
Mu Anxiao glared fiercely at Ouyang Ye and said, "None of your business, I'm blaming you, who else but you pushed me." As she spoke, she slightly hunched over.
Ouyang Ye crossed his arms. "I was saving you, can't you even see that? No wonder Feng Qishi calls you Mu Shazi."
"..." Mu Anxiao, hearing this, tilted her head slightly and looked up at Ouyang Ye, saying, "You saved me, yes, I should thank you for saving me, but you didn't have to be so rough. You're a demon, aren't you? Can't you be a little gentler? It hurts so much, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts." She emphasized this deliberately.
Ouyang Ye sneered. "You're truly laughable."
"I..." Before she could finish her sentence, Mu Anxiao suddenly sensed a demonic aura. She straightened up slightly, tilting her head to scan the surroundings.
Ouyang Ye, seeing Mu Anxiao suddenly become defensive, frowned. "Hey, what's gotten into you?"
"Shut up," Mu Anxiao said, slowly removing her hands from her back. She took a step forward, peeked behind Ouyang Ye, and then turned back to him, asking, "Was that an evil spirit just now?"
"..." Ouyang Ye's expression was blank.
Mu Anxiao frowned. "I'm asking you, was there an evil spirit just now."
"No," Ouyang Ye lied.
Upon hearing this, Mu Anxiao lowered her gaze, then looked up at Ouyang Ye again, narrowing her eyes. "You're lying."
"I didn't..."
"This place is only inhabited by evil spirits, if it wasn't an evil spirit, then what was it? Tell me? Could it be... that you made Xi'er conjure a monster, just to," Mu Anxiao interrupted, her tone laced with suspicion, "mess with me."
"What is wrong with you?"
"Then tell me, what did you just notice?" Mu Anxiao felt that the demonic aura was from an evil spirit, but Ouyang Ye said it wasn't. This made her suddenly uneasy.
"A demon," Ouyang Ye said without hesitation.
Mu Anxiao: "..." She felt Ouyang Ye was deceiving her and began to carefully observe his face.
Ouyang Ye's expression remained unchanged. "It was a demon, there are demons in this place too..."
Unexpectedly, as he was speaking, a male voice suddenly came from behind him. "Benefactor."
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao's eyes lit up. She immediately pushed Ouyang Ye aside and looked forward. She saw a man in pink, and beside him stood the two red-clothed female evil spirits she had met not long ago.
"..." She remained silent, staring at them fixedly.
Ouyang Ye frowned, cautiously glanced at Mu Anxiao, then turned his body forward and looked coldly at the man in pink, saying, "Don't talk nonsense, I am not your benefactor."
The man in pink: "I thought you looked familiar just now. It turns out it's you." He completely ignored Ouyang Ye and spoke to himself.
Listening to the man in pink, Mu Anxiao thought about the evil spirits mentioning a benefactor and Feng Qishi's words. Her eyes sank, and she said, "The benefactor of the evil spirits is a man." She turned to look at Ouyang Ye, "You are also a man."
"I am naturally a man," Ouyang Ye said angrily.
Mu Anxiao could not yet confirm whether her thoughts were true. She looked again at the man in pink opposite her and said, "He just called you benefactor."
"..." Ouyang Ye frowned. He wanted to see what else Mu Anxiao could say.
The evil spirits opposite them also remained silent, waiting to see what Mu Anxiao would say.
At the same time, Mu Anxiao lowered her eyelids, thought for a moment, and then focused her gaze on the face of the man in pink opposite her, saying, "You look familiar."
The man in pink remained expressionless, calmly watching Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao, feeling nothing, also looked at the man in pink, her eyes widening in excitement. "It's you."
The man in pink: "You know who I am?"
"You are..." Mu Anxiao took a step forward, looking closely at the man in pink's face, and said, "Your name is Wei."
Upon hearing this, Wei smiled.
Seeing this, Ouyang Ye narrowed his eyes and said, "Mu Anxiao, you really know everyone." He glanced at Wei.
Wei, hearing Ouyang Ye's cold tone, was startled, took half a step back, and his smile disappeared.
Conversely, Mu Anxiao completely ignored Ouyang Ye and continued to stare at Wei, saying, "How did you become like this? Aren't you a soul spirit?"
"..." Wei cautiously glanced at Ouyang Ye, afraid to speak.
Following Wei's gaze, Mu Anxiao also turned her head to look at Ouyang Ye, then asked again, "Is he your benefactor?"
Wei's eyes darted away.
Immediately, Ouyang Ye said, "I am not their benefactor."
The other evil spirits had not seen Ouyang Ye before. After Ouyang Ye uttered these words, their expectant gazes faded.
Wei, hearing Ouyang Ye's words, thought of his earlier address and Mu Anxiao's suspicious gaze towards Ouyang Ye. He quickly said, "I mistook you."
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao turned to look at Wei. "He's not your benefactor, why are you so afraid of him?"
Wei: "He is the master of this territory, so of course, we must respect him. By the way," he said, "why are you here? Why are you with... the master?" He was afraid Mu Anxiao would discover something and avoided her gaze.
Hearing Wei's words, Ouyang Ye couldn't help but chuckle.
Mu Anxiao did not see Ouyang Ye's smile, but the two female evil spirits standing beside Wei saw it clearly. Wei had already explained Ouyang Ye's identity to them before they came.
Therefore, hearing Wei's words, they also remained silent.
The other evil spirits who followed them also made no sound.
Mu Anxiao did not have any further thoughts about this, as in her understanding, Ouyang Ye was a selfish demon. She couldn't imagine him being anyone's benefactor.
Thus, she did not pursue the topic further and asked, "Then where is your benefactor?"
Wei did not expect Mu Anxiao to continue asking and gave a dry laugh, saying, "He has gone on a long journey."
"A long journey..." Mu Anxiao's heart grew anxious as she thought of Feng Qishi's safety. "When will he return?"
"Why are you looking for him?" Wei asked cautiously.
Mu Anxiao could not possibly reveal her purpose to the evil spirits. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I have something to discuss with him. We know each other."
"You know him..." Wei chuckled dryly. "Then shouldn't you know where he is better than us?"
Hearing Wei's retort, Mu Anxiao gave an embarrassed smile. "We were even playing together a while ago. I suddenly needed to find him, so I came. But," she glanced at Ouyang Ye, continuing, "I'm not familiar with this area, so I asked him to lead the way."
This time, Wei did not dare to look at Ouyang Ye and said, "Then we truly cannot help you."
"Yes, you..." Mu Anxiao said, glancing at the other evil spirits who were gradually arriving behind them. "You've all arrived."
Hearing this, Wei quickly turned to look at the growing crowd of evil spirits behind him, then turned back to Mu Anxiao and said, "We like to act as a group. We thought someone had entered here just now, so we came." xxs1
"You eat people," Mu Anxiao said deliberately.
Wei chuckled dryly.
Mu Anxiao looked at Wei's embarrassed expression and then at the other evil spirits. "Wei, you've been to the underworld. You should know the rules there."
Wei's eyes sank. "Do you think... I still have a chance to go back?"
Mu Anxiao had never actually captured an evil spirit, so when Wei's question came, she didn't know what to say. However, she believed that there would always be a way, and they would always become her tasks.
With this thought, she dismissed all other thoughts and said, "If you are willing, I can help you." Her expression was sincere.
Wei had been captured by Mu Anxiao before and naturally understood her methods. Previously, he had cooperated and believed in her because he had not committed great evils.
However, after spending so long in the underworld, he had heard that Mu Anxiao was an immortal who showed no mercy to soul spirits. She had one attitude towards soul spirits who had not committed great evils, and another towards those who had.
And he, from the day he became an evil spirit, had been accustomed to doing evil. He knew he couldn't go back.
Now, he believed Mu Anxiao's kindness towards him was purely because she didn't know he had committed evil. If she knew... his fate would be dire. For his own sake, he had no intention of cooperating with her.
"I don't believe you," he said.
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao's eyes sank. She looked at Wei, who had once believed in her, and asked, "Why?" She knew there must be another reason for him to say this.
Wei: "We have all committed evil."
"And then?" Mu Anxiao remained calm, her attitude unchanged, still as kind as ever.
Wei, seeing Mu Anxiao's gentle expression, frowned. "Aren't you angry?"
"Why should I be angry?" Mu Anxiao said calmly.
Wei: "I have committed evil. Don't you always have a stern face towards soul spirits who have committed evil? You don't even listen to them. Why have you... changed?" He frowned, beginning to doubt if he had misheard things before.
"I haven't treated you badly, have I?" Mu Anxiao retorted.
Wei, hearing this, glanced at the female evil spirits on both sides and shook his head.
"Then that's it. I haven't treated you badly, so why are you afraid of me? Besides," Mu Anxiao said, "I don't blame you. You were just a pitiable soul released by the Vine Spirit."
"Pitiable?"
"Yes, to be honest, you should have been released the next day." Mu Anxiao vividly remembered the release times of those soul spirits, and Wei's time was the one she remembered most clearly. Because he was the most obedient back then.
"..." Wei's eyes widened.
"What is it?" Mu Anxiao asked tentatively.
Wei: "Are you telling the truth?"
"Of course, it's the truth. Didn't I give you the best private room when I brought you down? Weren't you bullied inside?" Mu Anxiao's expression was earnest. "Just say yes or no."
Wei nodded. "Yes."
"Then that's it. If you don't believe me now, then you'll really disappoint me."
"..." Wei lowered his head.
Suddenly, the four evil spirits behind Wei began to howl, "So hungry, so hungry."
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao frowned. Just as she was about to look at the four evil spirits, Ouyang Ye suddenly stepped forward, grabbed her arm, and glanced at the four evil spirits, his brow furrowed.
Wei fell into thought.
Mu Anxiao was startled. Just as she was about to shake off Ouyang Ye's hand, Ouyang Ye pulled her behind him, continued to glare at the four extremely hungry evil spirits, and shouted, "Shut up."
Evil Spirit No. 1: "Mind your own business."
"Exactly. If we eat you guys," Evil Spirit No. 2 grinned, "then we'll be full." He licked his lips.
Evil Spirit No. 3 swallowed. "A demon and an immortal are very nourishing," he said, looking at the evil spirits on both sides.
Evil Spirit No. 4 laughed. "Then we won't have to gnaw on tree bark today."
"Yes," Evil Spirit No. 1 shouted.
The other evil spirits also stirred upon hearing this.
Mu Anxiao, who had intended to break free from Ouyang Ye and reason with them, felt her heart sink upon hearing the evil spirits' words. She muttered softly, "Evil spirits? I think hungry spirits would be more like it." As she spoke, she allowed Ouyang Ye to pull her along.
Ouyang Ye turned his face slightly and said, "You'd better say less. The more you speak, the more they'll like your spiritual energy."
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao pursed her lips.
Wei looked at Ouyang Ye and frowned.
The two female evil spirits knew the consequences of eating immortals, so they did not join in the clamor of the group of evil spirits.
Ouyang Ye did not shift his gaze to Wei's face. Instead, he swept his gaze over the evil spirits and said, "You dare to eat me? Truly a bunch of death-seeking ghosts."
Wei looked at Ouyang Ye's fierce expression and thought, is he about to reveal his true identity?
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao was stunned. She tilted her head back to look at the back of Ouyang Ye's head, her eyes widening.