"Why would you be disappointed? That," Ouyang Ye continued to stare directly at Mu Anxiao's face, a smile playing on his lips, "I think only you know."
"I'm not disappointed, I'm not disappointed. You fellow, when did you become so pushy?" Mu Anxiao said, her gaze becoming unusually firm to avoid revealing any further weakness.
Seeing this, Ouyang Ye didn't get angry, but instead smiled. "Mu Anxiao, every word you speak, it's as if you understand me very well. But," he said, "I don't like it when you understand me so well."
"Who understands you? I'm just..." Mu Anxiao said, still meeting Ouyang Ye's eyes steadfastly. "I'm just speaking from the heart."
"You cannot like me," Ouyang Ye suddenly stated.
"..." Mu Anxiao didn't know where Ouyang Ye got the courage from, so hearing his words now, she could only feel speechless, nothing more.
Immediately, under Mu Anxiao's silence, Ouyang Ye became more profound. "You were abandoned as a child, wounded by Shen Yan decades ago, and now he doesn't trust you. You," he reached out to touch Mu Anxiao's head, but to his surprise, Mu Anxiao dodged. Seeing this, he smiled faintly. "Don't you feel a great need for support?" After saying that, he lowered his hand again.
All along, Mu Anxiao had considered Ouyang Ye to be a narcissistic fellow. However, she thought... if he wasn't narcissistic, he wouldn't be so persistent in pestering her. But she hadn't expected... that he would understand her past so well, and not only that... summarize it so accurately.
She didn't feel moved by his words. On the contrary, she suddenly found the Ouyang Ye before her truly terrifying. With this thought, she hastily lowered her head, searching for something on herself.
At this moment, Mu Anxiao's series of actions seemed utterly ridiculous to Ouyang Ye. "What are you doing?" he asked.
Mu Anxiao, fumbling with her sleeve, said, "Did you cast some sorcery on me?" After finishing, she stopped her movements, raised her head, and fixed her gaze on Ouyang Ye.
"Why are you suddenly talking about this?"
"How do you know... my past? Or perhaps," Mu Anxiao became suspicious, "you were already there when I started following Shen Yan decades ago, or perhaps, you've always been there." As she spoke, she recalled the earliest period when she was manipulated by a demon, and her heart became uneasy.
Seeing this, Ouyang Ye remained silent. Instead, Mu Anxiao's reaction amused him.
"What are you laughing at?" Mu Anxiao was completely baffled.
"I knew you wouldn't remember me. However," Ouyang Ye liked this distance between him and Mu Anxiao, still smiling, "you just need to remember that I know you."
"You've been stalking me." Mu Anxiao's eyes widened.
"Ye Yin was drawn to the heavens by you. I know that." Ouyang Ye couldn't recall if he had mentioned Ye Yin to Mu Anxiao before, but in any case... he wanted to bring it up now.
At this moment, Mu Anxiao also couldn't remember if Ouyang Ye had mentioned Ye Yin to her. Anyway... she knew that Ye Yin was also Yuan Xian's subordinate. If she thought about it according to this pattern, it would be strange if Ouyang Ye didn't know Ye Yin. But the fact was that Shen Yan had helped, and it wasn't realistic to say that she had done these things.
However, Ouyang Ye already had a prejudice against Feng Qi Shi at this time. If she revealed the truth, Ouyang Ye would definitely retaliate against Feng Qi Shi even more unscrupulously.
Therefore, for Feng Qi Shi's sake, Mu Anxiao decided to take all the blame. "What, they have immortal destiny, I..."
"She is a demon." Ouyang Ye's face darkened.
Seeing Ouyang Ye's sinister gaze, Mu Anxiao was truly frightened. She took a deep breath and continued to brace herself. "So what if she's a demon? Even if she's a demon, she's never done anything evil. A..." She felt uncomfortable under Ouyang Ye's stare, her eyes darted away, and she continued, "Her dream is to become an immortal, and she helped me, so I will help her. What, it's none of your business." After saying that, she more accurately realized... Ouyang Ye was indeed unaware of the matter between her and Shen Yan that year.
Regarding this, she felt relieved.
"You are indeed kind."
"Oh, I am indeed kind. Speaking of which, if Yuan Xian didn't value you so highly, it shows," Mu Anxiao curled her lips, "that you're quite fond of being lazy, you..."
"So, I have you to thank." Ouyang Ye interrupted her.
Mu Anxiao was stunned. "What do I have to thank you for? I haven't done anything to you, have I?"
"If it weren't for your righteous intervention, I wouldn't be who I am today, nor would I possess such powerful demonic arts. To be honest," Ouyang Ye's lips curved, "I've long been tired of life in the Heavenly Court. Being able to come down is quite good."
However, in Mu Anxiao's eyes, the Heavenly Realm was always a kind of 'yearning.' During the process of capturing demon souls, she had met many deities and heard many evaluations and introductions to the Heavenly Realm from them. Even every time Zhang Yan appeared, she would ask Zhang Yan when she could go up to take a look. But... Zhang Yan would always reply like this: 'As long as you cultivate your spiritual energy and master your magic, going to the Heavenly Realm... is only a matter of time.' Every time, after hearing Zhang Yan say this, she would be disappointed for a long time.
Now, Ouyang Ye said he was 'tired of it.' Hearing his words of 'not appreciating what one has,' Mu Anxiao couldn't help but show a look of disdain. "..."
"What's with that expression?"
"Is it interesting for you to show off like this?" Mu Anxiao glanced sideways at Ouyang Ye.
Ouyang Ye chuckled softly. "What do you mean showing off? I'm just stating facts. What's your mindset?"
"I want to go, but I can't. And you..." Mu Anxiao snorted, "you're showing off to me. That's enough."
"You want to go and see?" Ouyang Ye asked softly.
Mu Anxiao sighed. "Of course. I've cultivated for so many years. Even if I don't have merit, I have hard work. Why is it that I can never succeed? It's really..." She curled her lips. "Uncanny."
"Perhaps there are immortals obstructing you." Ouyang Ye said intentionally. He felt this was an excellent opportunity to provoke Mu Anxiao's relationship with the immortal realm.
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao stared at Ouyang Ye's face. "..." She deliberately remained silent.
Then, Ouyang Ye smiled faintly. "Really, the immortals in the Heavenly Realm love to do things like this. Besides," he pursed his lips and continued, "your path to becoming an immortal is not a righteous one."
"How is mine not righteous?" Mu Anxiao hated it most when people spoke about her like this, and she got angry.
"Yours is called righteous," Ouyang Ye said, glancing behind him, then turning back to look at Mu Anxiao, continuing, "Who in this world doesn't know that you, Mu Anxiao, stole and drank Shen Yan's immortal blood? Without Shen Yan, you probably... would have been buried, wouldn't you?"