Hearing this, the man called out to Hu Yuan, "Yuan Yuan."
"Don't call me, I'm not your son," Hu Yuan replied without looking back. He looked up at his mother, "Mom, don't be angry. You will always be the most important person in my heart. You raised me, you endured my bad temper. So, in this life, you are the only person I truly care about."
The man lowered his head in shame.
"Yuan Yuan," Hu Yuan's mother shed tears.
Hu Yuan reached out and wiped the tears from his mother's face, saying, "Alright, this life within you, you must protect it. Absolutely."
The man dared not speak.
"Mm, Mom will listen to you," Hu Yuan's mother bent down and hugged Hu Yuan.
Thus, with the design of the small imp, Hu Yuan saved a life.
Outside the pavilion, the big-headed fat imp sobbed and asked the small imp, "Are you hiding something from me?"
"Big brother," the small imp glanced at Hu Yuan's retreating back, then pulled the big-headed fat imp away and said, "Let's confess."
Mu Anxiao followed.
"What do you mean?" the big-headed fat imp asked.
The small imp glanced at Mu Anxiao, who then said, "This was his design." xxs one
"What do you mean?" The big-headed fat imp found the turn of events sudden and couldn't accept it immediately.
"I asked Mu Anxiao to lead that man to our master. I guessed that there were always grim reapers recording the master's every word and deed. I thought if our master sincerely saved that child, perhaps it would move them. Once they arrived, we would confess, and then our master would be safe," the small imp explained in detail.
The big-headed fat imp was silent for a moment and said, "You mean, master is leaving?" He glanced sideways at Hu Yuan, who was talking harmoniously with his mother.
"Mm," the small imp nodded.
"Is there any way to let master live?" the big-headed fat imp asked, looking at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao took a deep breath and said, "There's no way. Your master's soul energy is very weak, and that body is failing too." She then spread her hands, conjured a celestial book, and flipped through it. "However, I do have a way to prevent your master from being annihilated."
"What way?" the big-headed fat imp asked excitedly.
"After you confess, return the... spiritual energy to your master. I'll put in a good word, and then your master can be reincarnated," Mu Anxiao made her final move, temporarily retracting the celestial book.
"Everything happened so suddenly," the big-headed fat imp said, looking up at the gradually darkening sky. "They're here."
"Mm," Mu Anxiao nodded, turning her head to look at the emerging grim reapers in suits. "It's you."
"Work calls," the grim reaper in a suit waved at Mu Anxiao and then sneered at the big-headed fat imp and the small imp, "You are truly bold."
"Were you monitoring him the whole time?" the small imp asked, his voice trembling.
The grim reaper in a suit smiled, "Aren't you supposed to be afraid of me?"
The small imp continued with a trembling voice, "I am afraid of you. May I ask if you have been monitoring our master?"
"Hu Yuan?" the grim reaper in a suit asked.
"Mm," the small imp nodded hastily.
"Yes, however, your master just saved a new life. That's good, it can be counted as merit." the grim reaper in a suit said.
Joy appeared on the faces of the big-headed fat imp and the small imp. The big-headed fat imp excitedly said, "So, if merit is recorded, can our master's past mistakes be offset?"
"You're foolish. He harmed so many lives. If it could truly be offset so easily," the grim reaper in a suit sneered, "then what would be the point of hell?"
"Our master has already been punished for a hundred years, and this life has been tormented by illness. Why is it still not over?"
"He cultivated demonic arts," the grim reaper in a suit said seriously. "For this alone, he has broken the rules. However, given his many meritorious deeds, this offense is waived. But the crime of taking lives cannot be offset, no matter how much merit is earned."
"You are truly foolish," the small imp suddenly said.
Hearing the small imp's resolute voice, the grim reaper in a suit chuckled, "Oh, little guy, Chihuahua, weren't you afraid of me? How did you change so quickly?"
"I... I am the demon who killed the villagers. You can't even see that." The small imp straightened his back and said.
"What do you mean?" the grim reaper in a suit asked, frowning.
The big-headed fat imp glanced at the small imp admitting his guilt and said, "Yes, it was him and me. Our master took the blame for us. You subordinates didn't investigate this."
"He himself admitted it," the grim reaper in a suit said.
"He did it to save us. You know, ordinary minor demonic arts can't harm people. Only true demons like us can," the big-headed fat imp said, having overcome all his psychological barriers.
"Wait, this matter is quite complicated. I need to sort it out," the grim reaper in a suit said, turning his back.
"It's very simple. Our master had no idea how those villagers died. After it happened, we went to him. When he learned about it, without asking any questions, he took the blame. In reality, he knew nothing," the small imp said.
Immediately, the grim reaper in a suit recalled the process of interrogating Hu Yuan in her previous life, over a hundred years ago.
At that time, Hu Yuan was still a little girl, and the grim reaper in a suit stood before her.
"Did you kill those people with demonic arts?" he asked.
The girl looked up at the grim reaper in a suit and firmly confessed, "I killed them."
Subsequently, he asked many questions, and the girl admitted to everything without complaint, nor did she provide detailed descriptions of the events. He found it strange at the time, but considering her status as a loose immortal, he thought nothing more of it and sent her to hell.
Thinking of that easy interrogation process, the grim reaper in a suit's face turned green.
"Why didn't you come out then?" he turned around and asked.
The small imp looked at the big-headed fat imp and said, "We were confined by a demon. He said, 'Master is fine.' We believed him. However, by the time we learned the truth, decades had passed since the incident. Since then, we have diligently cultivated demonic arts, hoping to save our master, but... our master doesn't seem to want to see us."
Seeing that the small imp was emotionally unstable, the big-headed fat imp continued, "For him to live his next life peacefully, we are willing to pay any price. Please arrest us!"
"This matter is really troublesome," the grim reaper in a suit held his head.
"Sorry, we've troubled you," the small imp said softly.
"We didn't want to either. We apologize," the big-headed fat imp admitted their mistakes.
"You two loyal demons are truly rare," the grim reaper in a suit said with a dejected face.