Upon hearing this, Ye Yin's eyes widened considerably. "You mean, she's a woman?"
"Otherwise?" the man said, meeting Mu Anxiao's eyes.
Mu Anxiao subconsciously felt the man's chilling presence.
Shen Yan emerged from behind the tree, watching the man's hand tightening around Mu Anxiao's neck. He clenched his fists and began to communicate with Mu Anxiao mentally: "Say sorry, and I'll save you."
"No," Mu Anxiao replied with his last bit of consciousness.
Shen Yan, helpless against Mu Anxiao's stubbornness, looked up at the darkening sky. He thought, "The Yin soldiers are already rushing this way. If you don't apologize sincerely, you'll really die."
"No," Mu Manxiao frowned, replying mentally.
Shen Yan sighed softly and glanced at the Yin soldiers who had already appeared beside Mu Anxiao. Seeing this, Ye Yin quickly retreated a few steps.
"Mu Manxiao, you idiot," Shen Yan finished his final thought mentally and quickly rushed forward.
The moment the man slightly furrowed his brow, Shen Yan pulled Mu Anxiao away and struck the man in the chest.
The next second, the Yin soldiers vanished, and the sky returned to normal.
Shen Yan pulled Mu Anxiao by the arm and, with his other hand clenched, looked at the man who had fallen to the ground and said, "If I'm not mistaken, you had a relationship with that vine spirit when you were still mortal."
"You are indeed smart," the man said, clutching his chest and standing up with a wicked grin. "But your cleverness has led you astray."
"You..." Shen Yan uttered a single syllable before his brow furrowed, and he turned to look at Mu Anxiao, who was inexplicably smiling sinisterly at him. "Mu Anxiao, what's wrong with you?"
"He transferred his resentment to Mu Anxiao. Let go quickly," Ye Yin said nervously.
The next second, Shen Yan instinctively released his hand.
"You bastard, I'll kill you," Mu Anxiao said coldly, his legs stiff as if controlled, and he stepped forward.
Shen Yan looked at his own palm emitting an icy aura and shouted, "Mu Anxiao, wake up."
However, Mu Anxiao paid no heed to Shen Yan's words, raising his fist and swinging it directly at him.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's powerful punch, Ye Yin quickly shouted, "Quick, dodge!"
This time, Shen Yan did not listen to Ye Yin. Instead, he took Mu Anxiao's punch with his face.
Ye Yin, as if feeling the pain himself, watched Shen Yan's body being violently thrown aside. His shoulders trembled, and he said, "I told you to dodge, but you didn't. It hurts just looking at it."
"You?" Mu Anxiao instantly regained consciousness.
Shen Yan got up and looked at Mu Anxiao. "Alright, apologize to me," he said, wiping the blood from his lip with his thumb.
Mu Anxiao looked at his increasingly stiff fist with a look of panic and unsteadily mumbled an apology. He then peeked at the bloodstain on Shen Yan's lip and asked, "I only threw one punch, it shouldn't have caused bleeding, right?"
Shen Yan was surprised by Mu Anxiao's swift apology. He reached out and gently placed two fingers on her forehead. "Don't speak."
Mu Anxiao tightened his lips.
Shen Yan closed his eyes slightly, muttering words that were unclear, and his fingers gradually emitted a faint blue light. Mu Anxiao's eyes widened, and a warm current entered her body.
"You..."
"Silence," Shen Yan said, frowning slightly to stop Mu Anxiao's question.
Mu Anxiao complied.
A few seconds later, Shen Yan took a deep breath and removed his hand. "Alright, you can speak now."
"Oh," Mu Anxiao nodded dazedly and glanced at the bloodstain on Shen Yan's lip again, asking, "I only threw one punch, it shouldn't have caused you to bleed, right?"