From the first moment she saw the man, Mu Anxiao had harbored doubts about his actions and words. If he hadn't been quick to dodge, she certainly wouldn't have let him in.
As for the door, that was purely an accident.
"Parents, don't believe her words," the man said, looking at the elder and the madame.
Mu Anxiao sighed, gazing at the man's overtly innocent face. "Since that's the case, I won't take them with me."
Upon hearing this, the man's expression stiffened.
Along released her grip the instant Mu Anxiao spoke those words.
Mu Anxiao lowered her hands and glanced at Along, asking, "What do you plan to do?"
"I haven't thought that far ahead yet, but I believe," Along said, looking at the elder and the madame again, "I can definitely save them."
Mu Anxiao didn't know where Along's confidence came from, but since she had said so, Mu Anxiao couldn't say much more. She let out a dry laugh and remained silent.
Not far away.
Feng Qishi stood with the old man outside the stone archway. They exchanged a glance. The old man asked, "Why can his eldest son see them?"
"I don't know," Feng Qishi whispered, his gaze drifting to Mu Anxiao, who had fallen silent. "Mu Xiazi hasn't said anything, so she probably knows something."
"Yes, you have a point," the old man nodded, his gaze inadvertently falling on Mu Anxiao's legs. "Her legs seem fine."
"They'll be an issue after she takes a couple of steps," Feng Qishi continued to watch Mu Anxiao.
However, Mu Anxiao and her companions were completely unaware of the old man and Feng Qishi's presence.
After a unified moment of silence, Mu Anxiao finally spoke, "If I'm not mistaken, the effects of your medicine should be wearing off soon."
"..." The man frowned slightly.
"What?" the elder exclaimed in surprise.
Mu Anxiao looked at the elder. "Your son has really amounted to something. He bought medicine from a con artist, paper from a con artist, and even spells from a con artist. The only flaw with these purchased items is that they have a time limit."
The second Mu Anxiao finished speaking, the man noticed that the elder, the madame, and Along began to blur.
But he didn't want to lose sight of them so soon.
Thus, he confessed, "Parents, I did all of this."
Mu Anxiao said, "Only after losing something do we learn to cherish it. Are they starting to blur from your sight?" She tilted her chin upwards.
"..." The man nodded slightly.
"Money can buy everything, but it cannot buy regret. And you," Mu Anxiao glanced at the elder and the madame, "are also quite something. You bought your parents' lives with money. But don't worry, they are fortunate enough to have met her." As she spoke, she looked at Along.
Along, cooperating with Mu Anxiao, stepped forward and said, "I will save you."
Unexpectedly, the moment Along spoke, the man lunged forward and grabbed Along by the neck. "I won't let you succeed," he snarled at Along, glaring at her.
Just moments ago, when the man had confessed, Mu Anxiao had truly believed she had convinced him, that he now trusted his parents and would cherish them more.
Who would have thought that it was merely her own misconception?
On second thought, she suddenly realized that humans were indeed far more complicated than demons.
At this moment, she could no longer understand this man.
"What exactly do you want?" she asked, hobbling a step forward.
The man declared, "I want to see if I can kill a demon." With that, he abruptly raised his hand, which began to glow yellow.
"You truly have everything," Mu Anxiao said, enduring the pain in her legs. She pointed two fingers at the hand the man was using to cast his spell. "If you move it again, I'll chop off this hand."
"..." The man glared at Mu Anxiao and then moved his hand towards Along's head.
Along closed her eyes.
"You're courting death," Mu Anxiao stated. Blue light shot from between her fingers, striking the man's hand.
Following that, the man's hand, as if struck by lightning, began to twitch uncontrollably above Along's head. His face contorted into a grimace. "What did you do to me?"
Mu Anxiao continued to cast her spell, saying, "I told you, if you dared to lay a hand on her, I would chop off your hand. If you still want your hand, let go. If you don't, just say the word, and I'll help you saw it off." With that, she narrowed her eyes and increased the force.
Consequently, the man's hand twitched more violently.
The elder, seeing his son's pained struggle, quickly cried out, "Stop it quickly!"
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao looked at the elder. "He killed you, and you still want to cover for him?"
The elder replied, "There's been a misunderstanding between us." As he spoke, he stared at the back of the man's head. "I have something I want to say to him."
"Something to say?" Mu Anxiao said, shifting her gaze back to the man's face. "Promise me you'll let go, and I'll stop."
"..." The man couldn't speak and shook his head repeatedly.
Seeing the man's reaction, Mu Anxiao narrowed her eyes. "I've only used the beginner level. You'd best not pretend."
The lightning strike spell was something Zhang Yan had taught Mu Anxiao not long ago. Mu Anxiao hadn't fully mastered this spell yet. If her estimation was correct, based on the man's current state, he was probably at the intermediate level.
It was a pity she didn't know for sure.
Immediately after, Along said with a trembling voice, "Mu Anxiao, he's going to collapse." Having said this, she yanked away the man's now-loosened hand and retreated to Mu Anxiao's side.
Mu Anxiao looked at Along with a look of foolishness and quickly withdrew her hand.
At the same time, the man's legs gave out, and in an instant, he collapsed onto the ground.
"...." He lay motionless.
Mu Anxiao looked down at the man's limp, lifeless appearance, then glanced at a faint blue light on her fingertips. "I only used the beginner level, how could it have such great power?" As she spoke, she took a step forward and looked at the madame and the elder, who were glaring at her, asking, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
The elder said, "If anything happens to my son, I'm not done with you." With that, he and the madame stepped forward and crouched beside the man.
Mu Anxiao was dumbfounded.
Feng Qishi, seeing Mu Anxiao standing there in a daze and then looking at the backs of the madame and the elder, said, "I'll go take a look." After speaking, he glanced at the old man and walked towards them.
The old man hesitated for a moment, then followed him.
The next moment, Feng Qishi reached behind the elder and the madame. "Move aside."
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao snapped back to attention and looked up at Feng Qishi, who had adamantly refused to enter earlier, exclaiming in surprise, "Why are you here?"
Feng Qishi sighed. "The lightning strike spell you just used was too powerful."
"I only used the beginner level, how was it powerful?"
Feng Qishi was momentarily speechless. "The level you used was for dealing with demons. He's a human, of course, he can't handle it." With that, he looked at the elder and the madame, who obediently stood up.
Mu Anxiao froze on the spot after Feng Qishi finished speaking.