"Why are you looking at my hat?" the man in the bamboo hat asked, following Mu Anxiao's gaze. He reached up to touch his hat and frowned deeply.
"You ask what I'm looking at your hat for?" Mu Anxiao retorted, withdrawing her gaze. She stared unclearly at the black cloth obscuring the man's entire face, starting to suspect... could this man be related to the cultivation sects? But lacking any evidence, she didn't press the matter directly.
The man in the bamboo hat: "You said you encountered monsters?" He suddenly changed the subject.
Hearing the man in the hat speak, Mu Anxiao became even more suspicious of his identity. She deliberately stared at his face for a few seconds before saying, "Why are you wearing a hat? It's the middle of the night, why are you here? Have you seen any monsters?"
"..." The man in the hat, seeing this, immediately put the arrow in his hand back behind him. He stared intently at Mu Anxiao, who was now suspicious of him, deliberately remaining silent.
Under the cover of night and the black cloth, Mu Anxiao couldn't see the man in the hat's expression at all. However, judging from his actions alone, she guessed... he was waiting for her to reply.
However, she was also a stubborn person, so she didn't give any reaction to his waiting.
She Ning and Zhao Xiang, following Mu Anxiao's lead, also fell silent.
Finally, after a period of waiting, the man in the hat couldn't hold back any longer. "You said you encountered monsters?" he asked again.
This time, Mu Anxiao continued to remain silent.
Seeing this, the man in the hat's tone became impatient. "I'm talking to you, can you at least give me a response?"
"You're anxious," Mu Anxiao said calmly.
"I'm not anxious, I just don't like seeing you silent," he said, glancing at She Ning and Zhao Xiang, "and the way they're silent too. It makes me unhappy." "What makes you unhappy?" Mu Anxiao knew that feeling, but she didn't want to think from the man's perspective, so she deliberately tried to provoke him.
"You..." The man in the hat watched Mu Anxiao's indifferent expression clearly, then glanced at Zhao Xiang and She Ning who were staring at him. He took a sharp breath. "You're asking me why I'm here in the middle of the night?"
"Mm," Mu Anxiao nodded.
"I can tell you, but," the man in the hat scrutinized Mu Anxiao from head to toe, continuing, "you have to tell me why you are here."
Mu Anxiao's lips curled into a smile, but she didn't reply.
Seeing this, the man in the hat became a little angry. "I'm talking to you, you should reply to me. The way you are," he frowned slightly, "is probably very impolite."
"I don't think you're very polite either," Mu Anxiao stated directly.
After Mu Anxiao's words, the man in the hat fell silent for a few seconds before saying, "I'm here to hunt monsters."
"Hunt monsters?" Mu Anxiao was startled, and only then did she truly notice the bow and arrows in the man's hand. "Are you going to hunt monsters with that thing?" she asked, pointing to the bow in his hand to clarify her target.
The man in the hat nodded. "Yes, that's the idea."
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao laughed.
The man in the hat looked confused. "What are you laughing at?"
"I'm laughing at how stupid you are," Mu Anxiao said. She stopped mocking him and became serious. "Those monsters are not to be trifled with. With just your bow and arrows, you probably can't even hit their fur. I advise you to turn back the way you came and don't put yourself in danger."
"You're concerned about me," the man in the hat suddenly said.
Mu Anxiao placed a hand on her hip. "We're not related, why would I care about you? You kid, you're really quite narcissistic," she said, glancing at the black cloth on his face again and smiling. "Speaking of which, you don't think that wearing a layer of black cloth on your face will make those monsters unable to smell you, do you?" She thought of the zombie movies she had watched in the real world. Borrowing from those scenes, seeing the spirited and arrogant demeanor of the man in the hat before her, she guessed he must have been thinking exactly this, undoubtedly.
Of course, those people from the cultivation sects were also arrogant. She wouldn't be surprised if they did something so foolish.
"..." The man in the hat suddenly laughed.
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao couldn't help but frown. "What are you laughing at?" She was somewhat bewildered by his laughter.
The man in the hat withdrew his smile and said coldly, "I just don't like the smell of blood. What kind of logic is that?"
"I..." Mu Anxiao started to speak but stopped.
Conversely, after Mu Anxiao's words, the man in the hat became unexpectedly serious. "You mean those monsters track people by scent. It seems," he said, his gaze inadvertently falling on the bloodstains on Zhao Xiang, "you really have encountered monsters."
"..." The three of them exchanged glances, then turned their gazes back to the man in the hat's hat.
The man in the hat calmly watched their reactions and continued, "You're unharmed." As he spoke, his guard rose, and he took half a step back.
Mu Anxiao sighed helplessly. "We're not monsters, we're just people passing by. Just now, I also said that we did encounter monsters, but," she said, glancing at the bow in the man in the hat's hand, continuing, "I'm curious about something now." She didn't want to waste time and decided to ask clearly before the man in the hat fell into fear... whether he was a 'scum' of the cultivation sects.
"You're still curious? Alright, tell me, what is it?" The man in the hat was curious.
"Are you human?" Mu Anxiao asked, intentionally stepping back half a pace.
Seeing this, the man in the hat smiled. "What, are you afraid of me?" he said, lightly touching his bowstring. "In that case, I'll tell you the truth."
Tell the truth?
After the man in the hat said this, Mu Anxiao's entire nerve suddenly tensed. She looked at him, her eyes full of caution. "What truth can you tell? You are from the cultivation sects." She too decided to be open and honest.
Unexpectedly, the man in the hat froze at the moment he heard those words.
Mu Anxiao was puzzled. "What, was I right? You're surprised I guessed correctly."
"You are mistaken."
"I'm mistaken? How am I mistaken?" Mu Anxiao was completely confused.
Zhao Xiang and She Ning remained silent, feeling nervous for Mu Anxiao.
"Why did you mention people from the cultivation sects? I have nothing to do with them," the man in the hat's tone was filled with excitement.
"You're not one of them?" Mu Anxiao confirmed again and again.
"No."
"No," Mu Anxiao repeated, becoming serious. "If you're not one of them, then who are you..."
"This place is not safe. I advise you to leave quickly," the man in the hat interrupted suddenly.