At the next moment, the black mist exuding a foul stench suddenly took on a human form. Mu Anxiao couldn't tell if it was male or female, but its appearance was truly terrifying. "Who are you?" she tried to ask, her gaze inadvertently falling upon the eyes within the black mist.
Just then, the black mist spoke, "You are Mu Anxiao."
However, Mu Anxiao never expected that her casual probing would actually elicit a response from the black mist. Moreover, the dark, shadowy figure before her instilled a sense of fear, but thinking of Feng Qishi's safety, she could only grit her teeth and swallow that feeling down.
With no other choice, she continued to probe, "How do you know my name?" She swallowed, afraid that this strange entity might suddenly make a move.
"You are the master..."
"Is your master Ouyang Ye?" Mu Anxiao intentionally interrupted the black mist.
Immediately after Mu Anxiao's question, the black mist chuckled and said, "I knew you'd guess who my master is right away."
"You are..." Mu Anxiao stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing the shadowy black figure before her was rather peculiar. Then, enduring the foul stench, she deliberately took a step forward, meeting its dark eyes, and thought, "I know, you're the prototype of the toxic gas."
"Prototype? Your imagination is truly quite rich, you..."
"You're a monster." Mu Anxiao, sensing a flaw in her previous explanation, rephrased.
The black mist listened to Mu Anxiao's words and laughed, "Is that explanation more normal?"
"Ouyang Ye sent you here, didn't he?" Mu Anxiao said coldly.
The black mist smiled faintly, "Master indeed has foresight. He knew you would come, and he didn't expect you really did."
"Your master... knew I would come long ago." Mu Anxiao was astonished. She hadn't expected Ouyang Ye to plan this far ahead.
"Yes, that's why he had me enter Feng Qishi's body along with the toxic gas," the black mist confessed truthfully.
Listening to the black mist's honest confession, Mu Anxiao finally understood that everything had been arranged by Ouyang Ye, and all her current actions were in vain.
Thinking of the eerie surroundings and the foul-smelling black mist before her, she couldn't help but ask again, "According to you, your master knew about this long ago?"
"He did."
"He told you to wait for me here," Mu Anxiao asked knowingly.
"This..." The black mist suddenly paused as Mu Anxiao uttered those words.
Seeing the black mist's reaction, Mu Anxiao grew confused. "What, your master didn't tell you this?"
"He did, but..." The black mist's voice diminished considerably, its attitude no longer as arrogant. "But Master said you wouldn't possibly come."
"He thinks I won't save Feng Qishi," Mu Anxiao said calmly.
The black mist nodded slightly. It suddenly lost the courage to argue, not for any other reason than remembering Ouyang Ye's instructions. Ouyang Ye had only told it one thing: 'If Mu Anxiao comes, you must immediately, using Feng Qishi's body, stop Mu Anxiao at the entrance.' Of course, Ouyang Ye had only said 'if,' and before leaving, he had even emphatically told the black mist that Mu Anxiao would definitely not come, advising it to relax its guard and not be nervous. He instructed it to expel the toxic gas from Feng Qishi's body after three days.
Who would have thought that it remembered all these words, but... plans can't keep up with changes. It truly hadn't expected Mu Anxiao to enter here using spiritual energy linkage. Looking at the determined Mu Anxiao before it, it suddenly didn't know what to do.
Driven by this emotion, it was completely at a loss for words.
Mu Anxiao, seeing the black mist suddenly fall silent, sneered, "What, is everything beyond your expectations, so you don't know what to do?"
Upon hearing Mu Anxiao's words, the black mist slightly lowered its head.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao's lips curved. "Since you don't know what to do, perhaps I can help you think of a solution?"
At this, the black mist seemed to find a pillar of support. It raised its head and looked at Mu Anxiao, "You're really going to help me?"
"Are you afraid of your master?" Mu Anxiao asked intentionally.
The black mist paused for a few seconds upon hearing Mu Anxiao's words and nodded.
Mu Anxiao knew that any monster associated with Ouyang Ye would fear him. Furthermore, it had just said that Ouyang Ye didn't think she would come to save Feng Qishi. With this in mind, her current actions were definitely beyond the black mist's expectations.
Thinking this, it must now lack the courage to report back to Ouyang Ye. Therefore, with its clear train of thought, Mu Anxiao believed it would definitely choose to cooperate with her.
Thus, she deliberately said, "I knew it."
"Knew what?" The black mist was confused.
Mu Anxiao's lips curved, "What else could I know? I just know you're afraid of your master." As she said this, she fixed her gaze on the black mist's dark face.
Stared at by Mu Anxiao, the black mist felt shy. "Can you stop looking at me like that? It's quite awkward, you..."
"Are you a male or female monster? Why can you reside within this toxic gas? Aren't you afraid of dying from poisoning yourself? Or did you sign a life-and-death contract with Ouyang Ye, willing to sacrifice everything for him? You're truly foolish, gambling with your own life." Mu Anxiao interrupted, deliberately uttering words that would trouble it.
At the same time, after Mu Anxiao finished speaking, the black mist indeed felt troubled. Yet, despite this, it still listened to her words. "My voice is male, and you ask if I'm male or female? You're quite ridiculous."
A male voice?
However, after a long and awkward conversation, Mu Anxiao had failed to determine whether its voice was male or female. She only felt that the monster's voice was somewhat effeminate. But out of politeness, she hadn't directly pointed out its gender.
Who knew... that its current reply directly contradicted her conjecture. Looking at it, she couldn't help but frown.
"Are you really male?" she inquired tentatively.
The black mist sighed, "I am male, don't believe me..."
"If you are male, then show yourself." Mu Anxiao intentionally tried to make things difficult for the black mist.
"No." The black mist refused outright.
Mu Anxiao was confused, "Why?"
"Master forbids it."
"You truly listen to your master," Mu Anxiao remarked, finding this black mist surprisingly easy to talk to.
The next second, the black mist became serious. "Of course. Master saved my life, so I must obey him."
"Then if I save your life, will you listen to me?" Mu Anxiao suddenly asked.
Subsequently, the black mist froze for a moment when Mu Anxiao uttered those words.