"Split up?" Wang Hu said, his eyes darkening. "You're not lying to me, are you?"
"What would I lie to you about? I'm not that ant spirit."
"It's a demon," Wang Hu corrected.
Mu Anxiao clicked her tongue. "In my eyes, she'll always be an ant spirit," she said, becoming serious. "The three of us will search over there." She pointed towards the palace.
"And what about me?" Wang Hu followed Mu Anxiao's gaze to the direction she pointed and asked.
Mu Anxiao smiled. "You go search over there." She pointed into the depths of the forest.
Immediately, Wang Hu glanced over and his expression froze. "Why should it be just me, and the three of you..."
"I'm helping you. Besides," Mu Anxiao said, pointing to the Vine Spirit and the Wolf Demon, "we came out here to hunt and earn coins. It's good enough that we're helping you with this, don't get greedy."
"Don't lie to me."
"Why would I lie to you?" Mu Anxiao pursed her lips and looked at the Vine Spirit. "Is the drawing done?"
"It's done," the Vine Spirit nodded and stepped forward, handing the drawing directly to Wang Hu.
As Wang Hu took the drawing and looked at it, his expression froze again. "It has a nose, eyes, and a mouth. It looks like a portrait, but it has nothing to do with a portrait," he muttered, then looked up at the Vine Spirit, his brow furrowed. "Are you sure you were serious?"
"There aren't many demons in this forest. We found her just by looking around," Mu Anxiao defended the Vine Spirit.
The Vine Spirit glanced at Mu Anxiao.
Prompted by Mu Anxiao, Wang Hu shifted his gaze back to her face. "You say it so easily, but how am I supposed to find her with this? This... this drawing is worse than the one my master drew."
"Then go search according to your master's drawing," Mu Anxiao said deliberately.
Wang Hu's eyes darkened. "You mean..."
"Mu Anxiao is an immortal, but she is also human. Naturally, she won't be covered in demonic energy. Once you find her, just sense if there's any demonic energy present, won't that do?" Mu Anxiao offered her serious advice.
Upon hearing this, Wang Hu thought about it and smiled. "You make sense."
"Besides, we're all helping you. Why are you thinking so much?" Mu Anxiao deliberately gave Wang Hu a hundred percent sense of security, all to get rid of him.
Wang Hu smiled. "Thank you."
"Alright, we're going to search over there. We'll meet at the city gate after an hour," Mu Anxiao said, beckoning to the Vine Spirit, and turned to leave.
The Vine Spirit and the Wolf Demon cast one last glance at Wang Hu before leaving.
Then, Wang Hu was left alone. At the same time, encouraged by Mu Anxiao, he felt motivated. "An is right, I'll definitely find Mu Anxiao faster than that ant spirit." Saying this, he glanced at the departing figures of Mu Anxiao and the others and headed down another path.
Ahead.
Mu Anxiao walked side-by-side with the Wolf Demon and the Vine Spirit, asking, "Did he leave?"
The Wolf Demon twisted his head slightly to look behind them and said softly, "He left." He looked at Mu Anxiao.
"That guy is really naive," Mu Anxiao said, slowing down with the Vine Spirit and the Wolf Demon.
The Vine Spirit chuckled. "I knew that ant spirit wasn't right."
"You didn't say anything, but I forgot to ask you, were you trying to claim credit just now?" Mu Anxiao asked accusingly.
The Vine Spirit said as they walked, "I thought about it at first, but... I'm not stupid. I also felt that doing so was inappropriate, so just as I was about to speak, he interrupted." He glanced at the Wolf Demon beside him.
The Wolf Demon snorted. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have discovered that ant spirit had a problem at all."
"Hey, Mu Anxiao..." the Vine Spirit said, looking at Mu Anxiao. "She keeps looking at you, don't you find it creepy?"
"Don't I have the two of you? I didn't think much of it," Mu Anxiao said with a relieved expression.
The Wolf Demon chuckled. "Oh, you trust me now."
"Of course. Speaking of which," Mu Anxiao pursed her lips, "that ant spirit is indeed annoying."
"I think so too. The speed at which she changes her face is truly remarkable," the Wolf Demon shook his head. "As expected of someone who grew up in this place; their demonic hearts are truly sinister."
"I don't think so," Mu Anxiao said faintly.
"What, are you going to defend her?" The Vine Spirit heard a different meaning from Mu Anxiao's tone.
Mu Anxiao shook her head. "Not really. I just think... she's quite mysterious. She hasn't done anything evil, yet she presents herself as so wicked," she clicked her tongue. "It shows that living here isn't easy for her either."
"How do you know she hasn't done anything evil?" the Wolf Demon asked in surprise.
Mu Anxiao smiled. "Those who have done evil have their own scent, like the smell of blood, but she doesn't." She said, looking at the Vine Spirit. "Speaking of which, that tiger is no good."
"How so?" the Wolf Demon asked curiously.
The Vine Spirit glanced at the Wolf Demon's curious expression, chuckled, and said, "Let's just say, he's a demon who commits evil without blinking an eye."
"I can't tell," the Wolf Demon said naively.
"The more ruthless and wicked a demon is, the harder they are to see through. If my guess is correct," Mu Anxiao said calmly, "he'll soon realize I lied to him."
"Then what should we do?" the Wolf Demon's eyes darkened.
Mu Anxiao smiled. "It's fine if he realizes it." She stopped with the Vine Spirit and the Wolf Demon. "He's Ouyang Ye's subordinate, so he must know Ouyang Ye very well, right?" She then turned around.
The Wolf Demon didn't understand. "If that's the case, why didn't you just tell him earlier? Why go through all this trouble?"
"If he comes back, it means he's Ouyang Ye's subordinate. If he doesn't come back," the Vine Spirit, influenced by Mu Anxiao, became clear-headed, "he's Mo Juan's subordinate. That's your idea, isn't it?" He then looked at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao's lips curved. "You're getting smart, Little Vine."
"Actually, you didn't need to test him specifically," the Vine Spirit suddenly said.
Mu Anxiao asked, "Why?"
"He's already Ouyang Ye's subordinate. Do you know what his nickname is?" the Vine Spirit retorted.
Mu Anxiao's face stiffened, thinking the Vine Spirit had said something pointless.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's reaction, the Vine Spirit instantly realized he had indeed said something pointless and chuckled innocently. "Alright... his nickname is Da Tie Han."
"..." Mu Anxiao deeply suspected that the Vine Spirit had made this up. So, she stopped talking.
Seeing this, the Vine Spirit understood Mu Anxiao's thoughts in an instant and said, "I'm telling the truth." He held up three fingers. "I swear."
"Da Tie Han..." the Wolf Demon repeated, and couldn't help but laugh.
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao and the Vine Spirit both looked at the Wolf Demon, who was inexplicably laughing at a mere nickname. "What are you laughing at?" Mu Anxiao asked.