That's when Ouyang Ye stopped as the footsteps drew near, his mind suddenly working, and he sat down on the spot.
Lin Zong, seeing Ouyang Ye still within his line of sight, let out a sigh of relief.
Shortly after Ouyang Ye sat down, several men carrying hunting tools descended. The first man, upon spotting Ouyang Ye, quickly bypassed the others and approached him, asking, "Brother, what are you doing here?"
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Ye feigned weakness and tilted his face up towards the man, saying, "Big brother, I'm looking for someone." He then coughed a couple of times, not forgetting to do so.
The first man frowned, "Who are you looking for?"
"To be frank, my sister hasn't returned since she came in here. So, I thought I'd come in and look for her. But who knew," Ouyang Ye swallowed, "I've been searching for a long time and haven't found a single soul." He shook his head, his expression matching his supposed sorrow.
The first man listened and knitted his brows thoughtfully.
At the same time, the second man's gaze immediately locked onto Lin Zong, "Isn't that your sister?"
Startled by his words, Lin Zong quickly lowered his head.
The third man chuckled, "Are you crazy? Your sister is right beside you, and you're still looking." He glanced at Lin Zong and smiled, "Speaking of which, your sister is quite a looker."
Then, as these two men spoke, their gazes simultaneously shifted to Lin Zong.
Lin Zong, frightened, buried his head even further.
However, Ouyang Ye's patience had its limits. He had only come here to glean information about Mu Anxiao from these men, but now their attention was fixed on Lin Zong. Seeing them, he instantly lost his patience and stood up.
At the same time, the first man, keeping his eyes on Lin Zong, said, "A girl came through here not long ago. She was just too wild."
"Wild?" Ouyang Ye repeated, his mind immediately going to Mu Anxiao.
Upon hearing this, the first man retracted his gaze from Lin Zong and looked at Ouyang Ye. "Yes, that girl was also asking for directions, so we thought we'd tease her a bit. Who knew, she tied us all up to trees, and we only got released after we pleaded with her."
"So this is how you tease people," Ouyang Ye said, glancing at Lin Zong.
The first man shrugged indifferently. "Yes, it was just a joke. That girl just flew off the handle. If you ask me," he sighed, "that girl was too sensitive, or perhaps..."
"Too arrogant," the second man interjected.
The first man smiled. "Right, arrogant."
Then, the third man turned to the impassive Ouyang Ye and asked, "This girl probably has nothing to do with you, right?" After asking, he looked back at Lin Zong and chuckled.
Lin Zong cowered in fear.
The fourth man laughed at Lin Zong's reaction.
Subsequently, Ouyang Ye imagined a series of actions these men might have taken against Mu Anxiao. He clenched his fists, unable to bear it any longer, and said coldly, "To be frank, she is my sister." As he spoke, a dark glint flashed in his eyes.
In the next moment, all the men were hanging from trees.
Lin Zong, seeing this, breathed a sigh of relief.
Ouyang Ye stood at the foot of the trees, looking up at the men he had suspended with his demonic arts, and said coldly, "You came here to hunt."
"Yes, what are you?" the third man asked, his voice trembling as he stared at Ouyang Ye.
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Ye slowly shifted his gaze to the third man's face and said coldly, "I hate it most when people call me 'thing.' You," his tone became chilling, "don't want to live anymore." With that, he deliberately raised his hand.
Seeing this, the third man quickly exclaimed, "I'm just kidding, great immortal..."
"What did you call me?" Ouyang Ye interrupted, his eyes filled with disgust for the term "immortal."
Hearing this, the third man quickly corrected himself, "I'm kidding, please spare us."
"Spare you? If I'm not mistaken," Ouyang Ye said, putting his hands behind his back and striking a roguish pose, "you all have wives, don't you?"
"We do," the first man shouted, his mouth contorted. "We all have wives, please spare us. What will happen to them if we die?" He then began to weep uncontrollably.
Ouyang Ye sneered at the first man's utterly terrified demeanor. "Since you have wives, why do you still provoke other girls? You," he swept his gaze across their faces, "are truly despicable."
"We spend all day in these mountains, and it gets boring, so we like to joke around. We truly have no ill intentions, please believe us."
"Believe you? Didn't you see the girl was scared? And," Ouyang Ye thought about their attitude towards him and how they had ignored him, "you all knew she was with me, yet you still bullied her. Do you not take me seriously, or do you think I'm easy to bully?"
"We didn't think you..."
"Stop making excuses for yourselves. Apologize to her, and promise not to do this again. If you do, I'll teach you a lesson on behalf of your wives." With that, Ouyang Ye waved his hand, slapping each of them a few times.
Seeing Ouyang Ye act like this, Lin Zong stifled a giggle.
In the next moment, the men dazedly came to their senses, looked at Ouyang Ye, and in unison exclaimed, "We were wrong."
"It's good that you know you were wrong," Ouyang Ye said, then looked at the first man. "Where did that girl who tied you to the trees go?"
The first man shook his head slightly and said, "To Jincheng." He then crossed his eyes.
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Ye frowned.
Conversely, Lin Zong's eyes lit up the moment the first man uttered those words.
In the next second, Ouyang Ye looked up at the first man again and asked, "Are you sure?" He hadn't sensed Mu Anxiao's presence in Jincheng, so he doubted the first man's words.
Hearing Ouyang Ye's question, the first man quickly replied, "Really, that girl left quite an impression on us. We even escorted her down the mountain, and she thanked us. If I'm lying, may lightning strike me." He then tilted his face upwards.
After the first man finished speaking, the other men echoed his words.
Ouyang Ye listened, then with a wave of his arm, he released them. "In that case, I'll trust you this time." He then turned to Lin Zong, "Let's go."
"Okay," Lin Zong nodded and stood up.
Ouyang Ye didn't say another word and walked ahead.
After they left, the men sighed in relief and collapsed.