The lake surface remained as calm as it had been before Ouyang Ye entered the water.
Beneath the surface, the moment Ouyang Ye submerged, the monsters swiftly transformed into human form, floating in the water in rows. They watched Ouyang Ye, protected by a black light, their faces filled with terror, not daring to utter a word.
Ouyang Ye knew that these fish demons, while appearing detached from the world, were actually great gossips. Therefore, he decided to wait for their response.
Following this, a female fish demon, standing at the forefront, finally found the oppressive atmosphere unbearable. "Master," she said, bubbles escaping her lips, making her seem restrained, "we did not see the Mu Anxiao you mentioned, but... we saw Mu Anxiao fall into the water."
"How did she fall in?" Ouyang Ye asked in a low voice.
The number one female fish demon hesitated.
Seeing this, Ouyang Ye furrowed his brow deeply. "Speak. If you don't, I will capture you and hand you over to the city's demon populace to assist them in increasing their demonic energy."
"No, I'll speak," the number one female fish demon, thoroughly intimidated by Ouyang Ye, honestly replied, "It was... the sect leader who pushed her down."
"Then why did you say you didn't see her earlier?" Ouyang Ye asked.
"Because," the number one female fish demon glanced at the other fish demons, continuing, "the moment she came down, her body emitted dazzling beams of light. Moreover, this light was hot. We are afraid of heat, so we all dispersed. Naturally, we didn't know if she had come down or not."
The number two male fish demon, upon hearing the number one female fish demon's words, chimed in, "Yes, Master, we all went to take shelter, so we naturally didn't see her."
"So... she is not here," Ouyang Ye stated calmly.
Then, the number three female fish demon softly said, "After Master left, I think I saw something floating up... I didn't see clearly what it was, but I did see that a demon had fished that thing out."
"Are you sure?" Ouyang Ye asked, his heart stirring with excitement.
"Mm, I saw it too," the other fish demons, after the number three female fish demon spoke, all echoed in agreement.
"So, it seems she was rescued," Ouyang Ye mumbled, thinking of the situation on shore. He said, "I understand," and then turned to leave.
After Ouyang Ye departed, the fish demons collectively exhaled bubbles and then quickly reverted to their original forms.
A moment later.
Ouyang Ye returned to the shore. "Mu Anxiao will definitely be alright," he said, dispelling the water-stained halo around him.
At the same time, Juan'er returned. "Ye, how was it?" she asked, approaching Ouyang Ye.
The ant demoness followed behind Juan'er, her heart filled with fear...
Ouyang Ye had not expected Juan'er to return suddenly. Looking at her now, he clearly became impatient. "Why are you back again?" he asked, his gaze indifferent.
Juan'er cautiously asked, "Ye, what's wrong?" As she spoke, she reached out to touch Ouyang Ye's clothes. "Good, you're not..."
"Don't play dumb. Tell me," Ouyang Ye said with indifference, "Why did you push Mu Anxiao into the water? Don't you know how important she is to me?"
"I of course know. If I didn't know, I wouldn't have..."
"Stop trying to take credit here. Tell me, why did you push her into the water?" Ouyang Ye interrupted, not wanting to listen.
Upon hearing this, the ant demoness hurriedly knelt down.
Following this, Ouyang Ye immediately looked at the ant demoness who had suddenly knelt down and said coldly, "Why are you kneeling?"
Hearing this, the ant demoness cautiously glanced towards Juan'er and said, "Your servant... my legs are weak."
"Weak legs?" Ouyang Ye retorted, glancing at Juan'er.
Juan'er feigned a pained expression.
The ant demoness continued, "Master, your servant... your servant's legs are naturally slender. Moreover... your servant's demonic arts are still shallow. Earlier, during the journey, due to lack of stamina, I fell. If Master hadn't saved me... your servant would have truly perished."
"You're saying all this to show how kind she is," Ouyang Ye saw through her words with a single remark.
"Yes," the ant demoness nodded, cautiously observing Ouyang Ye, "Master cannot bear to kill even a small ant like me, so how could he want to... harm Mu Anxiao? Therefore, please do not force Master to say things against his will. Let her relax... and then everything will be clear."
Juan'er stared intently at the ant demoness.
At the same time, the ant demoness glanced at Juan'er and lowered her head.
Ouyang Ye sneered, "You little demon, you've learned the ways of mortals perfectly," he said, withdrawing his gaze, and looking back at Juan'er, "Since this little girl is speaking up for you, I'll give you time now to explain the whole story."
"I..."
"Don't say Mu Anxiao jumped in herself. I know her swimming skills better than you do," Ouyang Ye interrupted coldly.
Juan'er's eyes darkened. "I pushed her in," she said.
Ouyang Ye's eyes widened.
Juan'er continued, "Don't be angry first. I... I didn't intend to kill her. I just thought she was too dirty and wanted her to wash. Who knew... she sank. I looked for her too, but I couldn't find her," she cried, "I really didn't do it on purpose. You have to believe me, Ye."
"You..."
Just then, a rustling sound came from the direction of the forest.
Upon hearing it, Ouyang Ye and the others immediately turned their heads to look that way...
"Come out," Ouyang Ye commanded coldly.
Immediately after, a man dressed in hunting attire strode over, stepping over branches. "Master, why are you here?" he asked, ignoring Juan'er.
"Wang Hu, why are you here?" Ouyang Ye retorted, also ignoring Juan'er, and walked up to the man named Wang Hu.
Wang Hu smiled. "I heard you returned from the mortal realm, so I thought I'd prepare some game for you to try," he said, glancing behind Ouyang Ye. "Oh, why are there no new faces."
Juan'er glared at Wang Hu.
The ant demoness, worried about becoming the prey Wang Hu mentioned, hurriedly lowered her head.
"You want to ask about Mu Anxiao, don't you?" Ouyang Ye said calmly.
Wang Hu smiled. "You know me best. Where is she?"
"Missing," Ouyang Ye said, clenching his fist.
Wang Hu was stunned for a few seconds upon hearing this. "Just arrived and already missing, this... that's not right."
How was Juan'er? Without anyone saying it, Ouyang Ye was the one who understood her best. He also knew very well that Wang Hu had never been friendly towards Juan'er. His stating the truth now was merely to vent his own anger; he had no intention of saying anything else.
Naturally, he paid no mind to Wang Hu's doubts.
"Help me look for her," he changed the subject.