Feng Qishi originally intended to stand there without speaking, waiting for Mu Anxiao to need help before stepping forward to say a few words. He didn't expect Mu Anxiao to fix her gaze directly on his face.
This made him feel uncomfortable. "Why are you looking at me?" His gaze flickered away.
"What do you think of this matter?"
"I..." Feng Qishi thought that Mu Anxiao was seeking his help. He then adopted a serious expression. "I feel that everything is Mu Xi's conspiracy."
"I think so too." Mu Anxiao felt the awkwardness subside.
Feng Qishi nodded solemnly.
The female ghost looked at Mu Anxiao's self-directed questions, then glanced at the old woman. She said, "She pretended to be a good person and bought a dog from me. Afterwards, her husband was bitten and killed by the dog I sold her. I didn't know about this until yesterday, and she didn't mention it before she killed me. I always thought her husband died of illness, and I didn't think we had any grievances."
"Are you stupid?" Mu Anxiao asked casually.
The female ghost frowned. "Why do you ask me that?"
"She killed you, and you're still like this. You..." Mu Anxiao shook her head slightly. "If you're not stupid, I won't believe it."
"It wasn't me. I wouldn't have had that much strength alone," the old woman quickly defended.
"..." Mu Anxiao shifted her gaze to the old woman's face. "How dare you say that."
"I really didn't," the old woman said softly, her eyes involuntarily darting away.
"Don't say you didn't. Just tell me who came up with this plan?" Mu Anxiao asked, pointing at the old woman. "Don't bring up your husband. She is already dead." She tilted her head towards the female ghost.
The old woman said, "It was him."
"Really?"
"Yes," the old woman said with a firm expression. "He said she was very rich because the dogs she raised were considered valuable, even the ones she rescued from the streets were noble breeds and could fetch a good price. He said this way I could also get revenge, so I was easily deceived."
"After getting revenge, do you feel better?"
"I also..." The old woman lowered her head. "I was blinded by foolishness. After she died, I had nightmares constantly. Because of her, I stopped killing dogs and sold all those dogs to good homes, finally giving the money to that man. That man had fancied that dog earlier, so I gave it to him. Not long after, he was away on business and entrusted the dog to me. I never mistreated it."
"You indeed didn't mistreat it, but you hit it whenever you got angry," the female ghost exposed.
Everyone has the habit of beautifying themselves, and the old woman was no exception. If the female ghost hadn't said anything, Mu Anxiao would have truly believed the old woman was a good person. Now that she was exposed, Mu Anxiao no longer had a good impression of the old woman. "One for profit and murder, the other for selfish revenge, neither of you are good people." Her gaze was cold.
The old woman lowered her head.
"..." Mu Anxiao indifferently glanced at the old woman, then finally shifted her gaze back to the female ghost. "What do you think?"
The female ghost's eyes sank. "If I killed her," she glanced coldly at the old woman, "what would happen to me?"
"You would go to hell, but since you are a lone soul, you might directly..." Mu Anxiao said, "...be reduced to ashes."
"..." The female ghost hesitated.
"Speaking of which," Mu Anxiao suddenly thought of a question, "why did you honestly hand over those dogs to them?"
"During that period, few people were willing to adopt dogs from me. Dogs need to eat, but I didn't have enough money. Each time, I could only reduce their rations, and some dogs became skin and bones. As I was in distress, they came. Initially, that man wanted to snatch the dogs around me, saying my dogs were valuable. It was this dog," the female ghost looked down at the dog's soul, "that stayed with me the longest. I refused, and they resorted to grabbing. Finally, I yielded." She gave a bitter smile.
"What about the other dogs?"
"After they took that one, they wanted other dogs. I refused, but..." The female ghost looked at the old woman. "She said I couldn't afford to keep them, but she could. So, for their own good, I sold all the dogs to them. That day, I cried the entire time." She bit her numb lip and continued, "I don't remember exactly when they made their move, but I remember that when I woke up, I was placed in a secluded spot with a hemp rope around my neck. I struggled desperately, but they wouldn't let go. I was choked to death like that. Before I died, I unconsciously shouted, 'Don't kill the dogs.'"
She recounted all the events based on her memory.
Recounting such a past was a painful experience. It was precisely because of this pain that Mu Anxiao had always habitually chosen to avoid such issues. Now that the female ghost had recounted the entire process so fluently,
Mu Anxiao felt a sense of admiration for her.
"You have suffered," she said.
The female ghost gave a bitter smile and looked down at the dog's soul that had just been killed. "The most painful one is it." She crouched down and cupped the dog's soul's head.
The old woman couldn't see the dog's soul, but seeing the female ghost like this, she became frightened.
Mu Anxiao looked at the old woman's fearful face and asked, "What do you plan to do now?"
The old woman replied, "I... I am willing to atone, as long as you don't kill me." She fixed her gaze on the female ghost.
The female ghost was focused on the dog and did not speak.
Mu Anxiao followed the old woman's gaze down to the female ghost and thought of another question. "By the way, why did you become a lone soul?"
"..." The female ghost stopped her hand on the dog's head and looked up at Mu Anxiao. "Because of her." She pointed at the old woman with her other finger.
The old woman jumped in fright and took half a step back.
"Her?" Mu Anxiao glanced at the old woman, then turned back to the female ghost. "What happened?"
"I was afraid she would kill my dogs, so... I forcibly stayed," the female ghost said. "Gradually, I became a lone soul."
"You..." Mu Anxiao said, "did you escape the eyes of the underworld officials?"
"Yes."
"You haven't been dead for many years, have you?"
"Mm."
"Then... have you seen the underworld official who captured you?" Mu Anxiao felt that the underworld official who captured her was someone she knew.
"I have," the female ghost truthfully replied, standing up.
Mu Anxiao gasped and once again shifted her gaze to Feng Qishi's face.
Startled by Mu Anxiao's sudden stare, Feng Qishi said, "You... why are you looking at me again?"
"..." Mu Anxiao stared intently at Feng Qishi, the face of the underworld official appearing in her mind. She then swallowed and muttered, "Could it be him."
Feng Qishi looked at Mu Anxiao's self-muttering expression, completely bewildered. He pursed his lips and turned his face away.
After that, Mu Anxiao clicked her tongue twice and shook her head.
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