Mu Anxiao watched Gu Yan's solemn expression and couldn't help but frown, "What, you can't say?"
"It's not that I can't say it, it's that I don't dare to say it," Gu Yan replied, lowering her eyes.
"Don't dare to say it." Mu Anxiao repeated, her brow still furrowed. "What is there that you dare not say? I won't eat you if you do, unless..." she narrowed her eyes.
Hearing Mu Anxiao's suspicious tone, Gu Yan's heart sank. She looked up, meeting Mu Anxiao's gaze.
Mu Anxiao continued, "Unless you betrayed me."
Gu Yan feared Mu Anxiao's groundless suspicion, and became agitated. "If I betrayed you, I wouldn't dare to come find you. What you said, it really hurts me."
"Since you don't want me to suspect you, then just tell me the truth. If you keep me guessing like this, I'll naturally think the worst."
"That's true," Gu Yan felt Mu Anxiao had a point, and sighed, "He asked me to find the souls."
"And then?" Mu Anxiao remained calm.
"They were all captured by me. If I send them back now, won't I be walking into a trap?"
"Why do you say it's walking into a trap?"
"Think about it, Gu Yan searched for so long and couldn't find them, but I found them all at once. What does that make me? He'll surely suspect me, it's only natural."
"So what are you saying?"
"I dare not disobey Ouyang Ye's instructions, but," Gu Yan looked troubled, "if I don't do it, Ouyang Ye will surely suspect me. I don't know what to do."
"That's easy," Mu Anxiao blurted out.
Gu Yan frowned. "This kind of thing hasn't happened to you, so of course you think it's easy. If Ouyang Ye finds out those souls were taken by me, he'll kill me."
"..." Mu Anxiao had already anticipated Gu Yan's reaction. She didn't press further, instead, she was curious what else Gu Yan would say.
Gu Yan continued, "No, I can't appear before him again. If I continue like this, I'll expose myself without realizing it. I can't go back." She then looked at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao rested her chin on her hand. "You mean you want to evade."
"I..." Gu Yan still looked troubled. "I have no choice but to evade. If I don't, and he finds out, he'll surely kill me. Even though I'm already dead, I still don't want to turn to ashes."
"I thought you came to me for a solution. After all this," Mu Anxiao said, "you came here to spread negativity."
"I..."
"If you want to evade, then evade. In other words," Mu Anxiao interrupted, "I think you know Ouyang Ye very well."
"I know some things, but not everything," Gu Yan replied in a low voice.
"Not everything, but still something. Let me put it this way," Mu Anxiao said, "just imagine what Ouyang Ye would do after you suddenly disappeared."
"..." Gu Yan thought for a moment, then timidly said, "He'd be angry."
"Exactly. Ouyang Ye was already starting to distrust Gu Yan. Moreover, he gave you this task. If you run away now, aren't you courting death?" Mu Anxiao stated bluntly.
Gu Yan: "Then what should I do?"
"What to do?" Mu Anxiao smiled. "What else can you do? Just do what he told you to do."
"He told me to find the souls."
"Then find them."
"But if I find them, he'll surely suspect..."
"Don't mention suspicion for now. I'll ask you," Mu Anxiao said seriously, "did he personally give you this task?"
"Yes."
"Then that's it. Since he gave you this task, what are you afraid of? Just find them. As for the timing, that's up to you."
"..." Gu Yan thought about Mu Anxiao's words in her mind and asked, "Then, did I find them?"
"You found them."
"Then I'll be exposed."
"How will you be exposed? Those souls have no consciousness, they are naturally a group of souls without memories, unable to speak. You just pretend to work hard and then hand over the souls."
"Will I really be alright if I do this?" Gu Yan asked in a low voice.
Mu Anxiao shrugged. "What could happen? Just hand over the souls, and you might even be rewarded."
"But... I'm still afraid."
"What are you afraid of?"
Gu Yan pursed her lips and said, "I'm afraid this is a trap set by Ouyang Ye for me."
"What do you mean?" Mu Anxiao was surprised by Gu Yan's strong sense of vigilance.
Gu Yan: "I think he's being fake. He never gave me tasks like this before, but now suddenly...". She shook her head slightly. "I feel something is wrong, and I'm uneasy."
"Uneasy," Mu Anxiao repeated, tilting her head back to stare at the ceiling beam. "Now that you mention it, I also have doubts about his decision."
"Then what should we do?" Gu Yan stared at Mu Anxiao's face.
Mu Anxiao: "..." She continued to stare at the ceiling beam.
Suddenly, as the wind stirred, Lou Yi and Jia also tilted their heads to stare at the ceiling beam.
Gu Yan glanced at them, their actions similar to Mu Anxiao's, and remained silent.
Instead, Feng Qishi asked, "What are you looking at?" He scanned the ceiling beam but saw nothing.
Mu Anxiao: "Nothing," she said, then turned back to Gu Yan. "Tell me, where are those souls?"
"What?"
"Stop 'what.' Just tell me," Mu Anxiao said sternly.
Feng Qishi and the others heard this and turned their heads, fixing their gaze on Mu Anxiao's face.
Gu Yan was hesitant. "If I tell you, you'll know everything. I..."
"If you don't tell me, then you'll fall into the trap Ouyang Ye set for you," Mu Anxiao interrupted, her eyes full of seriousness.
Gu Yan saw this and was speechless.
Mu Anxiao continued, "Telling me won't harm you, only benefit you."
"What benefits?"
"Benefits of not being discovered by Ouyang Ye. Conversely, you'll gain Ouyang Ye's trust, and you can also keep Gu Yan away from Ouyang Ye. Of course," Mu Anxiao said, "if you don't believe what I say, then just pretend I said nothing."
"This way, you won't get involved."
"Only this way will Ouyang Ye not suspect you."
"You..."
"Your time is running out. I'll give you ten seconds to think," Mu Anxiao said, beginning to count down from ten.
Gu Yan listened to Mu Anxiao's slow countdown, her mind in turmoil.
Feng Qishi and the others knew Mu Anxiao had her own plans and remained silent.
Gu Yan listened to the numbers Mu Anxiao counted down, her heart sinking. She then thought of Gu Yan's overly aggressive behavior, clenched her fist, and said with determination, "Okay, I'll tell you."
Upon hearing this, Mu Anxiao immediately retracted the last number, smiled faintly, and said, "Alright, tell me."
"Mm," Gu Yan nodded and stood up.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao tilted her head to look at Gu Yan.
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