Ouyang Ye's words served as a reminder to Mu Anxiao. She figured if they were working together, Ouyang Ye, given his nature, wouldn't have spared the girl's life, nor would he have believed Jia and Lou Yi. It was on this basis alone that Mu Anxiao chose to trust him, for now.
"You'd better not be lying to me," she said, releasing her grip.
Ouyang Ye's lips curved into a smile. "At this point, there's no point in me lying to you, is there?" he said, turning to look over there.
However, Mu Anxiao expected Ouyang Ye to step in and help after she let go. To her surprise, he remained standing still. In that instant, her trust in him vanished.
Thus, she decided to observe him.
Over there, the girl stopped laughing and, in front of Jia and Lou Yi, suddenly lowered her head to stare at the silver rope tied around her wrists.
Jia watched this scene unfold, utterly bewildered. "What is she... doing?" He couldn't understand the girl anymore.
Conversely, Lou Yi had witnessed the girl untie the silver rope before. However, he had never seen her act like this. Watching her now, he couldn't help but show a puzzled expression. "Yes, what is she do—" he began. He stopped mid-sentence as he suddenly noticed the color of the silver rope changing. "Something's wrong."
"What is it?" Jia shifted his gaze, looking up at Lou Yi, who seemed to have sensed something.
Lou Yi frowned. "Your rope, the color... it's wrong." He then lowered his head to look at the segment of the rope in Jia's hand, his brow furrowing. "That side is black, and this side is silver. There's a problem."
"How..." Jia couldn't believe his magical artifact would malfunction and became displeased. "How is that possible? Don't talk nonsense." He refused to look over there.
Lou Yi knew Jia was a stubborn child. If he spoke to him this way, Jia would definitely retort and evade.
As expected, Jia acted precisely like that.
Therefore, before the silver rope could undergo a further transformation and before the girl was completely consumed by demonic energy, Lou Yi decided to communicate with Jia through his thoughts. "I think you should let go."
"This is my rope, and I won't let go," Jia declared, his eyes widening, becoming even more resolute.
"You..."
"I know what it is. You're just jealous that I have a magical artifact and you don't," Jia said, his demeanor turning extreme. "Don't worry, I won't give you my artifact."
However, Lou Yi never expected Jia to view him this way. Looking down at Jia, he couldn't help but display a helpless expression. "If you don't believe me, then just turn around and see for yourself." He was too weary to explain further.
Unexpectedly, Jia completely ignored Lou Yi. "Why should I listen to you? I'm your boss, you..." He paused suddenly. "I get it now." His eyes suddenly turned gloomy.
Lou Yi frowned. "Get what? You..."
"Stop talking to him," Ouyang Ye interrupted abruptly.
At the same time, Mu Anxiao, hearing Ouyang Ye, who had been silently standing there for a long time, sensed something was amiss with him. However, to ascertain his intentions, she chose to remain silent.
Over there, Lou Yi turned to look at Ouyang Ye, his expression immediately showing confusion. "Why did you interrupt me?"
Ouyang Ye looked at Lou Yi's utterly clueless expression, sighed, and was about to speak when Mu Anxiao interjected, "Yes, why did you interrupt him? That's rude." She said this, glancing at Jia, who had his back to her, and frowned.
Ouyang Ye looked down at the change in Mu Anxiao's expression. "Do you find that child... very strange?"
Strange?
Indeed, Mu Anxiao had also noticed that Jia was acting rather peculiar. She reasoned that normally, if there was any commotion, Jia would be the first to join in the fun. Yet, now he was standing there obediently. Faced with this Jia, she too couldn't help but feel perplexed.
"What's... wrong with him?" She continued to stare at Jia, inching closer to the bed.
Ouyang Ye, not wanting Mu Anxiao to suspect him further, chose to remain silent.
Conversely, Lou Yi focused on Mu Anxiao's reaction. "Did you notice something?" he asked, glancing at Jia before quickly moving to the bedside, positioning himself in front of Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao waved her hand.
Lou Yi didn't understand. "What is it? I'm asking you a question."
Mu Anxiao looked up at Lou Yi and waved her hand again.
Lou Yi still didn't understand. "You..."
"She wants you to move aside," Ouyang Ye said helplessly.
Upon hearing this, and seeing Mu Anxiao's nod of confirmation, Lou Yi naturally stepped aside. "Now, can you tell me?" he said, his gaze still fixed on Mu Anxiao's face.
Mu Anxiao frowned. "Jia isn't right." As she spoke, she swung her legs off the bed and stood up.
"What are you doing?" Ouyang Ye exclaimed in alarm.
Mu Anxiao didn't even glance at Ouyang Ye, instead focusing her attention directly on Jia's silver rope. With that one look, she discovered that the rope had indeed changed, just as Lou Yi had said. "It seems your observation was correct," she remarked, glancing at Lou Yi.
Lou Yi frowned. "You don't trust me."
"It's not that I don't trust you, but your words were too exaggerated. My silver rope has never turned black before," Mu Anxiao stated, preparing to walk over.
Seeing this, as Mu Anxiao took her first step, Ouyang Ye reached out and grabbed her arm. "What are you doing?" he asked again.
This time, Mu Anxiao turned to look at Ouyang Ye. "My actions are quite obvious, aren't they? Why ask?" she said, looking down at the arm he was tightly holding. "Let go."
"You..."
"In Jia's situation, we can only rely on magic, otherwise," Mu Anxiao said calmly, "he'll be controlled."
"How do you know?" Ouyang Ye asked, somewhat surprised by Mu Anxiao's composed demeanor.
"I've seen things like this many times," Mu Anxiao replied lightly.
Ouyang Ye frowned. "What do you mean by 'seen many times'?" He felt Mu Anxiao was too nonchalant and started to worry about her.
Mu Anxiao looked at Ouyang Ye's overly anxious expression and recalled him interrupting Lou Yi earlier. She said coldly, "If you know, then why are you asking?"
"You..."
"Mu Anxiao, what exactly is wrong with him?" Lou Yi was also becoming anxious, influenced by Mu Anxiao's calm demeanor.
Ouyang Ye glanced at Lou Yi and then spoke candidly. "Why are you so calm?"
"Do you truly not understand what that female demon spirit is doing?" Mu Anxiao countered, looking up at Ouyang Ye.
Ouyang Ye shook his head.
Lou Yi was now completely bewildered. "Mu Anxiao, what exactly are you doing? Why are you acting as strangely as Jia?"
"There are some things you don't understand," Mu Anxiao replied, glancing at Lou Yi before turning back to Ouyang Ye. "You should be clearer than I am about the demonic arts that girl is using, shouldn't you?"
Thereupon, Ouyang Ye's gaze flickered away.