The next second, the green-eyed monster suddenly froze.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao took a few breaths and, without hesitation, pulled off the vine rooted at the back of her head.
Gui Xiao looked at Mu Anxiao's savage action with surprise and exclaimed, "She has found its weakness." He then glanced at the other green-eyed monsters, who were beginning to show fear.
At the same time, after Mu Anxiao retreated a few steps with the vine, the green-eyed monster exploded on the spot, vanishing into green light spots.
"The weakness is here," she said, dropping the vine and turning to face the retreating monsters.
Gui Xiao feigned composure, "Mu Anxiao, it was just luck. All of you, attack her together." He glanced at the monsters as he spoke.
Immediately, one of the green-eyed monsters grunted a few times and charged forward.
Following closely, the other monsters swarmed towards Mu Anxiao.
"Come at me," Mu Anxiao was afraid, but to save her life, she gritted her teeth, conjured her silver rope, and lashed out at them.
Inside the house, Feng Qishi heard the commotion outside.
"No, I should go take a look!" he said, about to get up.
Piao said, "Don't go. It's just a little fight, she'll be fine."
"No, I think..."
"If she were in trouble, she would definitely call out."
"You..." Feng Qishi uttered the word, then recalled Mu Anxiao's retreating figure and conceded, "You're right. If she were in trouble, she would definitely call for help."
"Have some tea," Piao gestured to the teacup in front of Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi nodded, picked up the teacup, and suppressed his worry for Mu Anxiao, taking a sip.
A quarter of an hour later...
Mu Anxiao, covered in injuries, held the silver rope with one hand, kneeling on the ground, panting. She looked up at the exploding green-eyed monsters one by one and said, "Gui Xiao, what other tricks do you have?" She dropped the vine and slowly stood up.
"You actually killed the monsters cultivated by the boss," Gui Xiao walked forward with measured steps.
"If I didn't kill them, I would die," Mu Anxiao retracted the silver rope and looked at Gui Xiao with disdain, "Originally, I felt quite guilty towards you, but now, that's gone."
"You feel guilt?"
"Before I ascended, I was human, and naturally had a heart. I admit, that year I resorted to any means to trick you into coming down for a mission," Mu Anxiao paused, "But don't you think about why I captured you?"
Before fighting those monsters, Mu Anxiao felt she had wronged all the demon souls, believing her actions over the years were excessive.
However, after dealing with those monsters, she suddenly wondered why she felt guilty. They were all monsters who had made mistakes; if they hadn't, would she have had to capture them?
At this moment, she understood a principle: treat people with kindness, and ghosts with kindness. Whether she used sincerity depended entirely on the attitude of the demon souls towards her. If their attitude was poor, she would remain cold-blooded, because she only had one heart and couldn't solely cater to others; she had to consider herself as well.
"The mistakes I made weren't that serious, you..."
"Let's not talk about your mistakes for now," Mu Anxiao narrowed her eyes, "Where did you take those humans?"
"What humans?"
Mu Anxiao's face darkened, "You'd better not play dumb. Ever since you appeared, the people on the streets have all disappeared. Today, didn't you go to the dilapidated temple?"
"I did go."
"Tell me, where are the people?"
Gui Xiao had intended to feign innocence in front of Mu Anxiao, but she exposed him immediately.
Naturally, his true nature surfaced, "Why should I tell you?"
"You'd better let them go."
"I won't."
"If you don't let them go, I will... take you down now."
"Even if you take me down, there will still be forty-nine demon souls, and then more. You," Gui Xiao shook his head slightly, "simply aren't capable."
"What is your plan?" Mu Anxiao widened her eyes.
"A plan," Gui Xiao no longer bothered to pretend, "Our plan is to send you to hell."
"You..."
"Using your name to kill those humans, how deep will your sins be? Have you calculated it?" Gui Xiao interrupted.
Using the name of a celestial being to kill mortals, thereby blaming the celestial being for the sins, Mu Anxiao had encountered such tactics, but her memory of them was faint.
Looking at Gui Xiao's face now, she thought that such a wicked method could not have originated from him alone.
"If I'm not mistaken, this method was taught to you by the Vine Spirit!"
"It's none of your business. All I want is for you to wait to go to hell!" With that, he turned and left.
The moment he left, Mu Anxiao began to feel uneasy. She had never expected the Vine Spirit's methods to be so insidious.
Especially thinking about the number of people here and the elusive methods of those demon souls, she wasn't worried about herself, but rather about the current situation of those people!
"It seems I won't be able to..."
Mid-sentence, A Xia's voice came from behind her, "Mu Anxiao, you're here!"
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao frowned, turned around swiftly, and A Xia's soul sword pierced through her body.
In the room, Feng Qishi and Piao heard A Xia's voice.
"No, that's A Xia's voice," Feng Qishi exclaimed and shot to his feet.
Piao said, "That's strange. Didn't A Xia just come here?"
Since meeting Wan Sha, Piao knew of A Xia's existence as a demon soul. He had never met her, but he had heard her voice.
"Something's wrong," Feng Qishi quickly left the room.
Piao followed him.
A few minutes later...
Mu Anxiao lay on the ground, looking up at A Xia standing beside her, "I didn't expect you to suddenly appear."
A Xia looked down at Mu Anxiao and said, "Wan Sha and I both said your life belongs to me. It seems," she glanced at the faintly glowing blue light on the soul sword, "I have succeeded."
Mu Anxiao asked, "You still refuse to forgive me?"
A Xia replied, "I simply refuse to forgive you. Because of you, I was cast into the Nine Nether Hell. Because of you..."
"If you hadn't harmed people, I wouldn't have sought you out," Mu Anxiao felt a chill, "You only look at the problem from your perspective. Why don't you look at your own problems? A Xia, I retract my apology to you."
For ten years, Mu Anxiao had poured her sincerity into expressing her apologies.
Sometimes, when she was quiet, she would wonder what exactly she had done wrong, and why she should apologize to those demon souls who had committed mistakes. She was merely fulfilling her duty by capturing them.