Immediately, Feng Qishi hastily used the healing technique to staunch Mu Anxiao's bleeding.
Mu Anxiao gazed down at her wound and asked calmly, "What do you mean by supporting me?" Her emotions had stabilized considerably since the previous moment.
As Feng Qishi continued to apply the healing technique, he replied, "I support you in doing what you want to do. If you want to seek revenge on Ouyang Ye, that's fine, but," he looked up and met Mu Anxiao's eyes, "can you really go through with it?"
"I..." Mu Anxiao hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.
Feng Qishi continued, "It seems you dare not." With that, he withdrew his hands and began to peel off the blood-soaked gauze from Mu Anxiao's arm, layer by layer.
Mu Anxiao winced in pain.
"It hurts, doesn't it," Feng Qishi murmured softly.
Mu Anxiao let out a soft "Mm," and added, "Since that's the case, you might as well just heal my wound with the healing technique." As she spoke, she took a sharp breath.
"I know," Feng Qishi replied, beginning the healing process.
Mu Anxiao closed her eyes in pain.
In the blink of an eye, Mu Anxiao's wound had healed.
Then, Feng Qishi released his grip and said, "It's done."
Mu Anxiao shook her hand, then looked down at the gauze on the ground. "It's all Ouyang Ye's fault that my wound tore open," she said, taking a deep breath.
Feng Qishi asked, "Do you still hate him now?"
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao looked at Feng Qishi with a bewildered expression and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"I'm just asking if you hate him."
"I... hate him, but," Mu Anxiao said, shaking her head slightly, "I can't hate him, because if I hate him, he'll have won. That's right, I don't hate him anymore."
Lou Yi and Jia exchanged expressions of speechless exasperation at Mu Anxiao's contradictory statements.
Conversely, Feng Qishi smiled. "Yes, that's exactly right."
"You dislike me hating him?" Mu Anxiao inquired.
Feng Qishi replied, "Only when you have hope for someone will you be disappointed. If you hate him, it proves you had expectations of him, but in the end, he..." He couldn't finish his sentence.
Lou Yi chimed in, "Only love gives rise to hate. Shen Moyun," he chuckled, "you're jealous, aren't you."
Feng Qishi averted his gaze.
Upon hearing this, Mu Anxiao immediately frowned. "Lou Yi, what you're saying is incorrect."
"How is it incorrect? It's a plain fact," Lou Yi stated, thinking himself clever.
Mu Anxiao retorted, "Who says hate only comes from love? Truly," she said, glancing at Feng Qishi, "you don't understand what I mean at all."
As Lou Yi had surmised, this was precisely what Feng Qishi was thinking. The reason he had asked the question was to ascertain whether Mu Anxiao harbored any feelings for Ouyang Ye.
Of course, he had no intention of voicing this thought.
Unexpectedly, Lou Yi had exposed it all. He found himself rendered speechless.
"..." He lost the courage to look at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao snorted coldly and sat down.
Taking advantage of the silence, Gu Yan asked, "Mu Xiao, do you really like Ouyang Ye?"
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao turned her gaze towards Gu Yan and asked, "What do you think?"
"I don't know."
"I don't like him."
"But," Gu Yan glanced at Lou Yi, "what he said isn't wrong. Only when such feelings arise can there be this hatred. You clearly like Ouyang Ye, so why won't you admit it."
"..." Mu Anxiao was left speechless.
Feng Qishi's eyes darkened. "Mute fool, do you really like Ouyang Ye?"
Mu Anxiao had merely been expressing her inner thoughts, and her intention was to summarize all she had considered into the single word of "hate."
Who would have thought that her impassioned words would lead to such a misunderstanding among Feng Qishi and the others.
She took a deep breath, glanced at each of them, and was utterly at a loss for words.
"...."
Feng Qishi pressed, "Why aren't you speaking anymore? Do you really like him?" His tone was exceedingly cautious.
Mu Anxiao rolled her eyes and tilted her head back to look at Feng Qishi. "They're being ridiculous, and you're joining in. Shen the crazy, have you been kicked in the head by a donkey or something?"
"You..."
"There are many kinds of hate, you know," Mu Anxiao interrupted. She knew they were all single-minded, and if she didn't explain, they would continue to overthink. Helplessly, she took a breath and patiently said, "For example, if your mother were killed, would you hate the person who killed her?" She fixed her gaze on Lou Yi.
Lou Yi replied, "I don't have a mother."
"Your master," Mu Anxiao said with a hint of exasperation.
Upon hearing this, Lou Yi's eyes turned cold. "I would hate them," he ground out, as if it were true.
Mu Anxiao smiled and looked at Feng Qishi. "If your master were killed, would you hate the person who killed him?"
"I would," Feng Qishi nodded.
Mu Anxiao spread her hands. "I'm asking you two, did you ever love the person who killed your masters?"
They both shook their heads.
This was the response Mu Anxiao had been seeking. She curled her lips and declared, "Then that's settled. My hate for him is the same as your hate."
"But he didn't kill your master," Lou Yi interjected.
Mu Anxiao's expression turned stern. "He didn't kill my master, but he hurt me, twice. If I hadn't been lucky, I wouldn't be here now. Most importantly," her gaze was firm, "he caused me to lose my spiritual artifact, forcing me to cultivate my spiritual energy anew, and making me... someone who has to be humble, someone who can be framed by anyone, Mu Xiao. Now, do you understand why I hate him?"
Listening to Mu Anxiao's calmly delivered explanation, they all nodded in unison.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao breathed a sigh of relief and then looked at Feng Qishi. "You're quite foolish."
Feng Qishi avoided her gaze. "I was influenced by them. You..."
"Don't deny your foolishness. You must have thought the same, otherwise, you wouldn't have gone along with this fellow," Mu Anxiao glanced at Lou Yi.
Feng Qishi's thoughts had been exposed by Mu Anxiao, and he lowered his head.
Mu Anxiao shot a fierce glare at Feng Qishi but said nothing.
Just then, Gu Yan calmly stated, "I hate him too."
Hearing Gu Yan's words, they all shifted their focus from their previous conversation to Gu Yan's face.
Subsequently, Mu Anxiao stood up and said, "If you hate him, then why are you still covering for him?" She said this intentionally, aiming to elicit a further response from Gu Yan.
Gu Yan replied, "I'm not covering for him, I'm just afraid of him."
The topic had circled back.
Mu Anxiao looked at Gu Yan's timid expression and said, "You've already stolen his soul, and you claim to be afraid of him. I truly don't believe it." After saying this, she couldn't resist smiling at Gu Yan.
Gu Yan lowered his gaze.