Mu Anxiao put down her teacup and looked up at the suddenly stunned Zhao Xiang, her expression calm. She then thought about the process of Zhao Xiang betraying her, and she inexplicably let out a laugh.
Hearing this, Zhao Xiang immediately snapped back to attention. He lowered his head and stared at Mu Anxiao, asking, "What are you laughing at?"
"Actually, thinking about it, you're quite filial," Mu Anxiao said calmly.
Zhao Xiang's eyes darkened. The truth was, he had always been motivated by his parents, changing his direction whether it was by joining Ouyang Ye or betraying Mu Anxiao. For his parents, he would do anything. However, hearing Mu Anxiao say this suddenly made him feel uncomfortable.
"Are you praising me or scolding me?" Zhao Xiang asked in a low voice.
"If you think I'm scolding you, then I am. Of course," Mu Anxiao's lips curved into a smile, "if you think I'm praising you, then I am too. It all depends on how you feel."
"..." Zhao Xiang was speechless.
Then, Mu Anxiao continued to stare at Zhao Xiang and said, "You really aren't going to kill her anymore." She wanted to confirm his thoughts.
Zhao Xiang replied, "After you said that, I suddenly felt that killing her was rather meaningless."
"What about Gu Yan?" Mu Anxiao asked, thinking of how Zhao Xiang had treated Gu Yan just now.
Upon hearing Gu Yan's name, Zhao Xiang unconsciously clenched his fists. "That Gu Yan, she really went too far. I must teach her a lesson to vent my anger."
"Alright," Mu Anxiao nodded, glanced at her teacup, and stood up. "Since you've let go of your murderous intent, you can leave now."
"You're asking me to leave?" Zhao Xiang asked, his eyes darkening. "It's just the two of us left. Don't you have anything to say to me?"
"No. Also, I haven't told Shen Moyun about your situation. If you don't want Shen Moyun to be disappointed in you, then don't appear before him again," Mu Anxiao said. She picked up the teacup and poured the remaining tea onto the ground.
Zhao Xiang looked at her, puzzled. "Why are you doing this?"
"The tea in here has gone cold, why keep it?" Mu Anxiao said, waving her hand. "Alright, you can go now."
Zhao Xiang knew that Mu Anxiao was deliberately using this cup of tea to describe his relationship with Feng Qishi. Although her words were not pleasant, they made sense.
Thus, Zhao Xiang said no more, turned, and left.
Listening to the sound of the door closing behind him, Mu Anxiao's tense heart finally relaxed. She then turned and walked to the bedside, reaching out to touch Lin Zong's forehead. She murmured, "As expected, Shen Fengzi held something back." As she withdrew her hand, a blue light floated out from Lin Zong's forehead. She then lowered her gaze, waved her hand, set up another boundary here, and turned to disappear.
Soon, due to her spiritual energy, Mu Anxiao reappeared at the foot of the rockery. Just as she was about to leave, Gu Yan's voice came from behind her again, "We meet again."
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao's body stiffened. She slowly turned around and frowned, "This is truly unlucky." She then looked down at her single hand, suddenly worried if her spiritual energy was enough.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's hesitant expression, Gu Yan smiled. "What, your magic isn't enough anymore?" As she spoke, she picked up a silver needle.
At this moment, A Ju appeared behind Gu Yan. "Cao Gen, you're here!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Yan's lips curled. She turned sideways to look at A Ju and said, "A Ju, long time no see."
Hearing Gu Yan's greeting, A Ju's body stiffened. She replied, "Hello, why are you here?" Previously, her attention had been entirely on Mu Anxiao, so she hadn't noticed Gu Yan.
Gu Yan disliked this feeling of being ignored. A Ju's response only further angered her. "What do you mean by that? Don't you recognize me?" she widened her eyes.
Mu Anxiao looked at Gu Yan's angry expression and then at A Ju's flustered appearance. She said, "Threatening a mortal, you're quite something."
Hearing this, Gu Yan's eyes flared. She turned back to look at Mu Anxiao. "What business is it of yours?"
"Since it's none of my business, I'll be going now," Mu Anxiao said, pointing behind herself as if to leave.
Gu Yan angrily shouted, "Did I say you could leave?" she roared, as if she were about to go mad.
Seeing this, A Ju took a step back in fear. Then, she inadvertently glanced at Mu Anxiao, who was continuously waving her hands to signal her to leave. A heavy feeling settled in her heart. She quietly turned around, and just as she was about to leave, Gu Yan suddenly reached her hand out towards A Ju. Immediately, black threads flew from her fingertips, binding A Ju's limbs.
Mu Anxiao exclaimed, "You're not afraid of being punished for treating a mortal like this?" After shouting, her gaze sharpened. She quickly raised her right hand, attempting to cast a spell.
A Ju, with her back to them, began to cry.
Conversely, Gu Yan looked at Mu Anxiao with a calm expression and let out a cold snort. "Your magic is already insufficient, isn't it?"
"That has nothing to do with you," Mu Anxiao said. She took a deep breath and unhesitatingly aimed her right palm towards A Ju. Under her mental control, a blue light transformed into scissors and flew towards the black threads.
Gu Yan didn't believe Mu Anxiao could succeed, so she smiled provocatively. "You actually want to use magic to break my sorcery? In that case, I'll kill her right in front of you." Saying this, she pulled her hand back, and A Ju's entire body was pulled backward.
At this moment, the scissors controlled by Mu Anxiao instantly branched out into several identical pairs. Then, as if imbued with life, those scissors stopped one by one before each black thread, awaiting Mu Anxiao's command.
Mu Anxiao looked at them, a smile forming on her lips. Then, in the instant before Gu Yan could react, she shouted, "Cut."
At the sound, Gu Yan's body stiffened. She turned back, ready to 'rectify' the situation, but the threads snapped.
"How is this possible?" she stared at the disappearing black threads with disbelief, her eyes wide.
At the same time, Mu Anxiao retracted her hand and quickly ran forward, turning to shield A Ju.
A Ju felt a cool breeze behind her. While rubbing her arm, she turned to look at Mu Anxiao, exclaiming in surprise, "You saved me."
Mu Anxiao didn't want to take credit, so she shouted without looking back, "Run."
Hearing this, A Ju's nerves tightened. She said, "If I go, what about you?"
Mu Anxiao's body stiffened slightly. She turned her head to look at A Ju and said, "If you stay here, you'll only be a burden to me. If something happens to you, Shen Moyun will surely come looking for me to demand an explanation. Hurry and go." Her tone was serious.