Villager Number One, seeing his foolish brother in such a state, found himself at a loss.
"Alright, you wait here. I'll bring her." Villager Number One gently patted his brother's shoulder.
The fool grinned foolishly, saying nothing.
Villager Number One had long grown accustomed to his brother's erratic shifts between madness and lucidity. However, to the young man's eyes, his brother's behavior was undeniably unnerving.
"You'll come with me," Villager Number One said, looking at the young man.
The young man knew Villager Number One wouldn't let him go, especially considering his previous attitude. A sense of fear began to creep into his heart.
"Can't I just wait here for you?" he asked, glancing at the fool.
Villager Number One: "My brother's temperament is not something just anyone can control. Are you sure you want to stay here?"
"I..." The young man hesitated, recalling the fool's recent outburst. "I'll go with you, but please don't kill me."
"You are a waste, but you are still from a cultivation sect. Therefore, there is no need for me to kill you."
As Villager Number One spoke, the fool turned and bounced back into the courtyard.
Seeing the fool leave, the young man couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Yet, another worry surged into his heart.
"Then can you let me go?" he said, seeking an opportunity to escape.
"No." Villager Number One refused flatly, then turned to close the door, saying, "Follow me."
Stimulated by Villager Number One's cold refusal, the young man clenched his fists. He glanced around, thinking, It's just him and me here. If...
At the same moment, Villager Number One turned back and looked down at the young man's clasped hands. He chuckled lightly, "My brother may be a fool, but he is also extremely sensitive. If you dare to make a move, he will know instantly. So," he pointed to the young man's hands, "relax. You can save your life."
The young man told himself to believe it, better safe than sorry. Thus, his hands slowly relaxed.
"Are you going to lock me up?" He had a rough idea of his impending fate.
Villager Number One did not answer the young man's question. He walked past him and left.
With lingering fear, the young man glanced at the wooden door, which closed softly. He dared not think too much and hurried to follow Villager Number One.
In the cellar, Mu Anxiao gradually adjusted to the dim light. She had fully adapted to the smell of the place, but the despair in her heart remained unyielding.
"Mu Anxiao, we meet again."
Hearing the familiar female voice from in front of her, Mu Anxiao rubbed her face vigorously against the dry straw before slowly lifting her head to look at the woman before her, who seemed to emit a faint light. She was speechless.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's disheveled state, the woman couldn't help but smile. "This feeling, is it satisfying?"
Mu Anxiao frowned deeply as she looked at the woman's demeanor.
The woman had long anticipated Mu Anxiao's surprised reaction upon seeing her. However, she hadn't expected Mu Anxiao to be so utterly wretched at the hands of the villagers. She then smiled faintly, recalling how she herself had once bound someone in such a manner – her husband, Yan's father.
"Mmm, mmm, mmm..."
The woman watched Mu Anxiao with a calm gaze, then looked at her hands, bound behind her back. "Chained up. Haven't you always wanted to experience this feeling?"
This was a feeling Mu Anxiao had never wanted to experience. At the time, she had only wanted to understand why the woman could be so ruthless towards the man she supposedly loved.
"Do you remember this place?" the woman suddenly asked.
The woman hadn't spoken, and Mu Anxiao hadn't recalled it yet. Hearing her now, Mu Anxiao, illuminated by the faint light from the woman, could see everything clearly. This... was the place where she had killed her husband twenty years ago. Back then, it was filled with wine, and Mu Anxiao had been overcome by the fumes as soon as she entered. Here, Mu Anxiao had struggled with her for three days, but ultimately, she had killed the man who couldn't hold on any longer.
"Do you remember?" the woman asked again.
Mu Anxiao nodded slightly.
"You remember," the woman said with a wry smile. "I thought you had forgotten everything."
"Mmm, mmm, mmm..."
Seeing Mu Anxiao's contorted expression, the woman smiled and crouched down, removing the rag from Mu Anxiao's mouth and tossing it onto the ground. "You know now."
Covered in sweat, her throat dry, Mu Anxiao gasped, "You... you cursed me."
"I see," the woman replied, reaching out to gently stroke Mu Anxiao's head. "You, with your heartless nature, how could you understand the feelings of a devoted demon? Back then, if it weren't for you, he... would not have died."
In the woman's heart, it was Mu Anxiao who had caused her husband's death.
In Mu Anxiao's eyes, it was this woman who had cruelly murdered her husband. Yet, even with this thought, Mu Anxiao did not wish for Yan to harbor any dislike for this woman, because... she still remembered the woman's words on that day, just before the man died.
"In this life, I loved you without regret, and killed you without regret." After saying these words, the woman killed the man.
The scene from that day was vividly imprinted in Mu Anxiao's mind. Looking as far as she could see, she let out a bitter laugh.
"It's all your fault. If it weren't for you... I would never have been able to strike. If it weren't for you..."
"It was the Willow Demon who sent you. The Willow Demon told you to torment me, to kill me, wasn't it?"
"I will not kill you."
"..."
"I want to torment you, torment your heart. I want to make you endlessly recall your past mistakes, and thus... apologize to me, confess your guilt."
"..."
"This is the consequence of you indiscriminately arresting demon souls. Mu Anxiao, think carefully about Shen Yan. That man who... hated you to his core. The man who made you feel guilty." After speaking, the woman burst into laughter.
Mu Anxiao gazed up at the woman's face in silence. However, she couldn't discern if the woman was truly laughing; she felt it was a fake smile, a very frightening fake smile.
Because that day, after killing her husband, the woman had looked like this. Then, the woman cried, sobbing hysterically, yet she felt nothing, merely stating coldly, "Go to hell."
Recalling those words she had spoken, Mu Anxiao regretted it.
Of course, if this event had happened before she met Nian, she would not have regretted it, because... she believed that a wicked demon had only one fate: to go to hell. But after meeting Nian, she understood that behind every demon soul she captured, there was its own past. That past... was like her past with Shen Yan, filled with laughter, tears, and hatred.
"Go to hell," the woman stopped her laughter and lowered her eyes to meet Mu Anxiao's. "That day, because of your words, I became a sinner demon. All my love for him, after your words, turned into ashes. Ashes I couldn't grasp. Mu Anxiao, it was you... who made me lose my husband, lose my daughter. All of this is your fault."