"I don't believe it."
"I really have that ability."
"Alright, then let me see, and I'll believe you."
"No, it's from you," Mu Anxiao pointed at Yang Tai's chest, "that I can see. You can't see it yourself."
However, Mu Anxiao's words were nothing more than a scare tactic for Yang Tai.
Immediately, he quickly covered his chest and exclaimed, "You can see my past from me."
Mu Anxiao looked at Yang Tai's frightened expression and smiled, "Mm, if you don't believe me, I'll just look myself. This place holds your memories."
"It's too terrifying," Yang Tai couldn't help but shake his head in amazement.
Mu Anxiao blinked her eyes, "What's so terrifying about that? I'll ask you now, can you tell me the crimes of those five women?"
"They..." Yang Tai hesitated, then shook his head, "I don't want to talk about it."
"Why?"
"Those things, I don't want to mention them, so don't ask me."
"I can really help you."
"My past has all been seen by you, your curiosity has been satisfied, and those five women have all been killed by me. What else is there to help with? Could it be," Yang Tai's eyes flickered, "I can be reincarnated?"
"If this matter really works out, I might be able to help you reincarnate."
Initially, Mu Anxiao had decided not to help the demon souls. But after hearing Yang Tai's past, Mu Anxiao realized that things were not as they seemed. Most of the demon souls she caught were actually victims.
There are good people, bad people, and heartless people among humans. Humans have their limits, and so do monsters. Based on her experience over the past decade, she found that these demon souls all had grievances.
Just like Yang Tai, if Yang Tai hadn't intervened, more innocent women would have died in that town in the future.
In fact, if it weren't for those five women, she wouldn't have earned the bad reputation of being a meddler in romance.
In her opinion, Yang Tai was not the one who deserved punishment the most, but those five women. Although she didn't know if they had reincarnated yet, she wanted to clarify the matter.
Incidentally, in this matter, she wanted to earn some more money.
"..." Yang Tai.
"Why aren't you talking anymore?"
Yang Tai: "I see it now."
"What?" Mu Anxiao's eyes flickered.
Yang Tai sneered, "You're pretending to help me, but in reality, you want to earn more money from me, right?"
Over the past few decades, Mu Anxiao's reputation for being greedy for money had spread quite widely. Seeing Mu Anxiao's proactive attitude now, he was sure that this was one of the reasons.
Mu Anxiao did have that thought, but whether it would be realized or not was another matter. However, being pointed out by Yang Tai, she suddenly felt awkward.
Then, she gave Yang Tai an awkward laugh, "You've seen through me."
"If my crimes are cleared, I can give you the money you'll be compensated with later."
"Really?"
"Mm."
Mu Anxiao smiled, "It's a deal."
"However, I think the possibility of this matter succeeding is very slim. I am a sinful demon, after all. It's not realistic to clear my name."
"I know everything, you don't need to worry."
Mu Anxiao came to negotiate with Yang Tai with the purpose of getting Yang Tai's cooperation. Now, her goal had been achieved.
Yang Tai: "..."
"Alright, now you can tell me about the specific crimes of those five women."
"Yes, but I think, in your opinion, that wouldn't be considered a crime."
"How is it not a crime? Harming others is considered a crime."
"Harming others?" Yang Tai vaguely recalled the past, "Thinking about it this way, they weren't directly harming others."
"Then it's indirect."
Following Mu Anxiao's words, Yang Tai couldn't help but recall the methods those five women used to brainwash married women and lure them into brothels. Thinking about the state of collapse of those women after just one night, he said, "Those women all committed suicide."
"Did they put some kind of drug in their cups?"
"This..." Yang Tai narrowed his eyes, "It seems so, but I don't know what specific drug it was."
"You don't know," Mu Anxiao squinted her eyes, "That's not right, weren't you sold into that place? Didn't they make you... take clients?"
Yang Tai immediately understood Mu Anxiao's words, "The men they wanted had to be good-looking and eloquent. I was dull-witted, so I was never appreciated. During that time, I saw many women break down and commit suicide. Honestly, I really couldn't understand why they did that? Could they not live without a man?"
"If their spiritual pillar collapses, can they live?"
Although Mu Anxiao didn't understand their feelings, she thought about how, when she got lost and started wandering alone, there were many times she had thought of ending her own life.
In the end, she turned money into her spiritual pillar, and slowly, those terrifying thoughts disappeared.
"..." Yang Tai pondered for a moment, "In that case, what you said makes sense, but I still think they were too foolish."
"Did you try to persuade them?"
"I persuaded every single one of them, but it was useless."
"If you weren't from that place, it might have worked."
According to Gu Xiao, the men from that place were all very eloquent. Coincidentally, those women were also hurt by the men from there, so naturally, they would be on guard against men from there.
Even if Yang Tai's words were more pleasant, they probably wouldn't have worked.
Of course, this was just Mu Anxiao's thought.
Yang Tai was silent for a moment, "Actually, I realized that too, so I chose to leave. Then, that night, I was given a迷魂药 (míhún yào - a powerful aphrodisiac/intoxicating drug) and my face was disfigured."
"Why didn't they let you go?"
"At that time, I was driven away by all sorts of people. After I came to that place, they took me in. Although I was slow-witted, I liked to work. I knew many of their accounts, so naturally," Yang Tai sighed lightly, "they wouldn't let me go."
"Didn't you think of this before?"
"No, their expressions changed so quickly. When I didn't want to leave, they would smile at me every day, so I thought they would understand me and let me go. Who would have thought that, just as those women who committed suicide said, those five women were smiling tigers."
"So, before that, you didn't see their true faces clearly?"
"Mm, I only thought about persuading them, but I didn't expect them to be such cruel women."
When Yang Tai first entered the human world, he thought mortals were simple and pure, so he treated people with sincerity. He even thought for those who drove him away instead of for himself.
It wasn't until he went to that town and met those five women that he realized that, in many cases, he should have put himself first, because only oneself would not hurt oneself.