Gu Xiao dared not question Feng Qishi's decision too much, so he remained silent.
Over there, Gui Xiao had made his preparations.
Mu An Xiao retracted her silver rope, preparing to duel Gui Xiao.
A gust of wind stirred, and Mu An Xiao pulled hard on the silver rope. Gui Xiao’s lips curled, and he swiftly dodged.
Seeing this, Feng Qishi was also surprised.
Gui Xiao saw at a glance that Mu An Xiao's body could no longer hold on, so he deliberately engaged her in a fierce fight.
In no time, Gui Xiao grabbed the silver rope. "Mu An Xiao, you're not up to it."
Mu An Xiao tugged hard on the other end, replying angrily, "Who says I'm not up to it."
As she spoke, her vision began to blur, but to find out the whereabouts of those mortals, she knew she could not fall.
Gui Xiao did not want to show any leniency towards Mu An Xiao. The moment Mu An Xiao spoke, he yanked the silver rope with all his might, sending Mu An Xiao crashing to the ground.
Dust billowed. Mu An Xiao lay on the ground in embarrassment, then tilted her head up to look at Gui Xiao, who held the silver rope, and shouted, "Give it back to me."
"You lost," Gui Xiao said. He walked to Mu An Xiao's side and threw the silver rope onto her back. xxs壹贰
She had indeed lost. Hanging her head, she punched the ground twice with force and said, "Take them away!"
Gui Xiao's lips curled. "Next time we meet, I won't let you off." With that, he deliberately stepped on Mu An Xiao's hand before turning to the demon souls and saying, "A bunch of useless things, let's go!"
Zhu Yang said, "We're not going."
Whether they went down now or later, they would still go down. This was something all the demon souls understood.
Moreover, they understood even better that Gui Xiao's bringing them back was purely to make up numbers, because the Vine Demon feared losing demon souls the most.
If they didn't go back, Gui Xiao would surely be in trouble. The thought of that scene made them feel exhilarated.
Gui Xiao had expected these nine demon souls to obey him, but unexpectedly, they had developed backbone.
He immediately extinguished his arrogant demeanor that was emanating from his head, bared his teeth in a smile, and said, attempting to appease them, "Going down means you won't have the freedom you have here."
"We want true freedom, not this kind of freedom where we're caught wherever we go," Ma Kai said.
"Yes, we're not going."
"If you want to go, then go!"
"Yes, you go, we're not going."
Mu An Xiao, lying on the ground, listened to the voices from behind her and felt warmth in her heart.
The next second, she cried. As her tears merged with the dust, she knew... her spiritual energy had not been wasted, because none of them were leaving.
At the same time, Feng Qishi walked to Mu An Xiao's front. "Get up," he said, squatting down.
Mu An Xiao was crying.
Feng Qishi gently patted the back of Mu An Xiao's head and said, "You've already tried your best."
"I'm not crying about that, I'm touched by them," Mu An Xiao said, lifting her face.
The moment Mu An Xiao raised her face to look at Feng Qishi, he was startled. "Yes, it is quite touching." He said, glancing at Mu An Xiao's dirt-smeared face, and swallowed.
Mu An Xiao asked, "What's with that expression?"
"Nothing," Feng Qishi replied. He took Mu An Xiao's arm with one hand and picked up the silver rope from her back with the other.
Then, Feng Qishi helped Mu An Xiao to her feet.
Gui Xiao, having been refused, slumped in dejection.
"How will I explain this when I go back?" Gui Xiao spoke the truth.
Immediately, Mu An Xiao bent down, brushed off her clothes, and turned to look at the back of Gui Xiao's head, saying, "If possible, I can take you in."
Hearing this, Gui Xiao turned sideways to look at Mu An Xiao and said, "You liar."
Mu An Xiao: "..."
Feng Qishi said, "Silly Mu, your words are truly provoking."
Gu Xiao looked at Gui Xiao's profile and sighed, "It won't be easy for him to explain back there."
"What do you mean?" Feng Qishi turned his head to look at Gu Xiao.
Gu Xiao explained, "Since coming out ten years ago, Gui Xiao has been favored by the Vine Demon. His task is to train us and bring back an exact number of demon souls. Otherwise, he will be punished. Now that they have all rebelled, naturally, he has collapsed."
"Is that so?" Feng Qishi said. "But speaking of which, Mu An Xiao didn't really communicate much with those demon souls just now, she just went straight to fighting. In the end, why did they still listen to Mu An Xiao?"
"Zhu Yang, Ma Kai, and Yang Tai – three demon souls – they were their representatives. Since the three of them submitted, naturally, the other demon souls saw the reality." Gu Xiao explained.
Feng Qishi nodded.
Mu An Xiao also clearly heard Gu Xiao's words.
Now, she understood. They hadn't given up because of her; the main reason was Yang Tai and the others.
She was merely a minor immortal who had led them down.
Then, Mu An Xiao shifted her attention back to Gui Xiao. "Why have I become a liar again?"
Gui Xiao said, "Tell me, how did you brainwash them?"
Following that, Zhu Yang stepped forward and said, "It was our own decision, it has nothing to do with her."
Hearing this, Gui Xiao looked at Zhu Yang incredulously and asked, "Haven't I treated you three well?" He glanced at Ma Kai and Yang Tai, who had been injured by Mu An Xiao.
"You have treated us well, but we want to go down. In these past years, we haven't lived as well as we would have lived down there."
"Do you have a masochistic tendency?" Gui Xiao asked, looking at Ma Kai, who had spoken this, with utter astonishment.
Ma Kai: "..."
Seeing Ma Kai remain silent, Gui Xiao snorted and looked at the other demon souls, asking, "What do you all think?"
The second demon soul said, "You always yell at us, you only treat those you like well. We don't want to be punching bags under you anymore."
"This... is this a reason?" Gui Xiao said with a wry smile.
"Yes," the second demon soul affirmed resolutely.
The other demon souls also shouted, "Yes!"
Listening to their responses, Gui Xiao truly regretted not treating them all equally in the past. Thinking back, all the things he had done to them, he suddenly felt they had been excessive.
Finally, he shifted his gaze to Yang Tai's face.
Yang Tai said, "You always called me ugly, you never said I looked good. Mu An Xiao said it, so I listen to her, not you."
"You..." Gui Xiao was speechless.
After hearing Yang Tai's words, Mu An Xiao suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
"Gui Xiao, whether you stay or go, you choose," she suppressed that feeling and asked.
"I'm not staying," Gui Xiao said, looking at Mu An Xiao again. "I won't take these guys with me. Mu An Xiao, the next time we meet will be your death day." With that, he left.
Afterwards, Mu An Xiao stepped forward and looked at them, asking, "What will happen to him when he goes back?"
Yang Tai said, "The Vine Demon has thousands of methods, but I think... Gui Xiao won't be punished severely, because he will protect himself!"
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A