Initially, Mu Anxiao thought Yuan Yan was a very confident person in life. Who knew that in reality, he was a self-doubting person, and now a self-doubting soul.
Moreover, from his account to his wife, she heard... most of his confidence had been shattered by his wife. She also heard that his wife had never truly valued him as a person, but rather his hidden immortal destiny.
Thinking of this, Mu Anxiao couldn't help but pity Yuan Yan, who was blinded by a false love, eventually died by her hand, and became this way.
However, now that things had come to this, what else could she say? What she was most curious about now was his wife's situation.
But before that, she still had to try to help him regain his confidence, "You are not a good-for-nothing."
"I am, they..."
"Who are these 'they' you speak of?" Mu Anxiao interrupted.
Yuan Yan: "The villagers, they all called me useless, my wife did too, and that wicked man also said it. In short, I..."
"If you know you're useless, why are you doing these overreaching things?"
"..." Yuan Yan was stunned.
Mu Anxiao knew her words were not easy to understand, so she rephrased: "If you were truly useless, you wouldn't be here now. A useless person wouldn't have so many thoughts, and even if they did, they wouldn't dare to act. But you did." She pointed at Yuan Yan.
"I..."
"Don't speak yet," Mu Anxiao interrupted, her face serious. "Yuan Yan, you have an immortal destiny. If you cultivate, you will be an immortal. With just this, you are not useless. As for your wife, she was blind. You don't need to take her words to heart."
"I don't," Yuan Yan denied, because he hated his wife.
Mu Anxiao: "You do. If you didn't, you wouldn't have spoken such unconfident words. In other words," she said, "she has become your shadow."
"Shadow?"
"Yes, a shadow rooted in your soul, an indelible shadow."
Yuan Yan hadn't thought so much about it before. Now, hearing Mu Anxiao say this, he suddenly realized... it seemed that every time he thought of his wife, he would become cowardly, and his emotions would spiral out of his control. He strongly resisted that feeling.
In the beginning, he didn't know why he felt that way. After hearing Mu Anxiao's words, he understood... that was the 'shadow'. And the shadow was also the greatest source that drove him to 'do evil'.
"How can I get rid of this shadow?" he asked.
Mu Anxiao: "Change."
"Change?" Yuan Yan frowned. "How should I change?"
"Change your perception of your wife. To put it bluntly," Mu Anxiao considered everything, "apart from your wife, it's a wish of yours. If that wish isn't fulfilled, you can't move on."
After her exchange with Yuan Yan, Mu Anxiao suddenly remembered that Shujia was the main death envoy who brought back lost souls. But yesterday... he hadn't mentioned Yuan Yan's soul at all.
And Shujia relied on the contents of the Book of Life and Death to find lost souls. Thinking about it this way, Yuan Yan's situation must be different from theirs. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been ignored by Shujia.
Thus, she recalled Yuan Yan's attempt to cast a spell just now and his words. She had an epiphany: he must be a demon soul, and the only way to help a demon soul move on was to fulfill its wish.
She didn't want to say this, but the situation was urgent, so she got straight to the point.
"My wish..." Yuan Yan repeated, lowering his eyes and thinking, "My wish is to kill her, but if I kill her, I'm finished."
"Tell me what you're thinking now," Mu Anxiao said seriously.
Yuan Yan listened to Mu Anxiao's words, thought for a moment, and said, "What I'm thinking now is to find her and ask her clearly why she treated me like that. But I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself," he lowered his head and looked at his clenched fists, "and kill her."
"Where is she now? Do you know?" Mu Anxiao knew in her heart that Yuan Yan definitely knew. She only asked this to give him a sense of accomplishment.
"She..." Yuan Yan lowered his eyes and thought, "She married that immortal cultivator back then. If nothing unexpected happened, she should have become an immortal by now."
"Become an immortal?" Mu Anxiao repeated, feeling indignant. She thought, why should those who are ruthless and have power become immortals? Why did she have to struggle so hard?
Thinking of this, she also began to dislike Yuan Yan's wife.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's agitated expression, Yuan Yan quickly said, "This is just my thought."
"..." Mu Anxiao didn't hear Yuan Yan's words at all. She asked, "Tell me, what is her name?"
"Her name is Chen Mian."
"What's that dead man's name?" Mu Anxiao asked again.
"Dead..." Yuan Yan heard Mu Anxiao's title for the man and felt a sense of relief. So, he lowered his eyes, smiled, and replied, "I think it was Guan Dan."
"Guan Dan?" Mu Anxiao repeated, recalling the quack seller Guan Mian. She asked, "Speaking of which, that guy... isn't he from the Immortal Cultivation Sect?"
"Immortal Cultivation Sect?" Yuan Yan repeated, thought for a moment, and excitedly said, "It seems he was from the Immortal Cultivation Sect."
"Immortal..." Mu Anxiao uttered a word and sneered, "Another one from the Immortal Cultivation Sect."
"You know about the Immortal Cultivation Sect?" Yuan Yan was surprised.
"Of course I do. Me and them..." Mu Anxiao clenched her fists, "have a grudge."
"Grudge..." Yuan Yan uttered the word, lowered his eyes, and thought excitedly, "I remember now. Shen Yan also mentioned people from the Immortal Cultivation Sect. He said that the people there, although they cultivate immortality, actually cultivate demonic arts, and he told me to stay away from them."
"He told you that, and you still went to provoke the Immortal Cultivation Sect?" Mu Anxiao said indifferently.
Yuan Yan sighed, "Wasn't I blinded by emotion? At that time, I had forgotten Shen Yan's instructions. After death, only hatred remained. It wasn't until now that I remembered."
"..." Mu Anxiao shook her head looking at Yuan Yan's foolish expression and said, "I can understand. Your confidence has been trampled. Truly pitiful."
"Don't call me pitiful. I want to be reincarnated now. You must help me."
"I will definitely help you. You are also a source of income for me. Now, just follow me," Mu Anxiao said. She looked up and saw Yuan Ye was gone.
Immediately, Yuan Yan followed Mu Anxiao's gaze and looked towards the city wall. His eyes widened, "He's gone."
"Don't be so surprised," Mu Anxiao glanced at Yuan Yan and then strode towards them.
Yuan Yan quickly followed.
The next moment, Mu Anxiao and Yuan Yan stopped simultaneously. Looking at Feng Qishi squatting beside Yuan Ye, healing him with magic, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Is he alright?" she asked, glancing at Zhao Meier, who stood behind Feng Qishi with her hands clasped behind her back.
"He's fine," Feng Qishi said, retracting his hand after casting the spell and standing up. He turned to look at Mu Anxiao.