A single typo had condemned Mu Anxiao for all her misdeeds. Seeing the woman’s exhilarated expression, Mu Anxiao found herself with no words to retort. In the beginning, she had truly believed everything she had done was right. She had even told Yan that her mother had killed her father for her sake. But now, it seemed all her past beliefs were nothing but a farce, a charade to mask herself in a guise of righteousness.
“Why aren’t you speaking anymore?” the woman asked.
Mu Anxiao was speechless. She lowered her gaze slightly, her hands clenched into fists behind her back.
“You…”
“You go down.”
Hearing the voice from above, the woman ceased her questioning and disappeared.
Mu Anxiao’s vision was once again plunged into darkness.
From above the cellar, a young man looked down at the wooden planks with a contorted expression. “Fine, I’ll go down.” Saying this, he crouched, lifted the wooden planks, and without daring to raise his head, turned and descended the ladder.
Mu Anxiao lay quietly on the ground, listening to the creaking of the wood behind her. She took a deep breath and murmured, “Coward.”
Startled by the remark, the young man quickly steadied himself and glanced upward before turning to Mu Anxiao’s side. “Weren’t your mouth gagged?”
“Mind your own business.”
On the way here, Mu Anxiao had harbored a sliver of trust for the young man. She had foolishly told herself that he was a thoughtful individual, different from the cultivators she had encountered before. But it turned out, these were merely her own unrealistic fantasies.
There was nothing to be done. Mu Anxiao could only blame herself for being too naive, too foolish to have not sought help directly at the inn!
The young man said, “The fool wants to see you.”
Mu Anxiao kept her head down. “What does that have to do with me?”
“Just now, you heard our conversation upstairs, didn’t you?” The young man bent down and grabbed Mu Anxiao’s arm.
Mu Anxiao inwardly loathed the young man’s fickle attitude towards her. Intent on provoking him, she said, “Don’t touch me.” She tightly grasped the dry hay on the ground.
The young man knew that Mu Anxiao was upset with him for not cooperating. But reflecting on the situation from before, he said, “The proprietress asked me to protect you before we were brought here, but I truly was powerless.”
On their way, there had been numerous opportunities to escape. Each time Mu Anxiao tried to seize an opportunity, the young man would report her. That was not all; when they beat her, he not only failed to help but also added fuel to the fire. Helpless, Mu Anxiao could only resort to harsh words to assert her defiance, making them frustrated with her and consequently, they ignored her.
She had thought the young man saw her pitiful state, but who knew, after she was pushed down here, he had even proactively covered the wooden planks, which only angered her further.
However, the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Then, she felt stifled and asked stiffly, “Are you a man?”
“I…”
“What do you mean ‘I’? Are you a man or not?”
“I… am.”
“Yes,” Mu Anxiao drawled, relaxing her body and turning to face the young man. “What’s your name? Can you tell me now?”
“At this critical juncture, why are you asking this?” The young man refused to tell Mu Anxiao his name.
Mu Anxiao retorted, “If it weren’t for you, they wouldn’t have known my name.”
“Then you’ll have to know mine.”
“Lü Bingdu already told me.”
“I…” The young man hesitated, then said, “My name is Ma Yuan.”
“Ma as in ‘horse,’ Yuan as in ‘original’?” Mu Anxiao casually asked.
Ma Yuan grunted in affirmation.
Since childhood, Ma Yuan had disliked introducing himself outside, because everyone would say something that infuriated him upon hearing his name. Whenever he recalled those words, he felt an urge to lash out.
To his surprise, Mu Anxiao did not laugh this time.
“Ma Yuan,” Mu Anxiao repeated calmly. “You can let go of me now.”
“He told me to bring you up,” Ma Yuan said, afraid to offend the person above. Of course, there was only one reason for this: he didn’t want to die.
Having walked this path, Mu Anxiao had already understood the temperaments of the villagers. Seeing Ma Yuan’s cowardly expression now, she could understand.
“I won’t let go,” Ma Yuan replied, shaking his head.
Mu Anxiao hesitated for a moment, then said, “If you bring me up, I guarantee he will kick you down again.”
“I am from a cultivation sect; he can’t do anything to me,” Ma Yuan stated.
“I can,” Mu Anxiao said softly.
“You… come up with me.” Ma Yuan was skeptical.
Mu Anxiao knew Ma Yuan wouldn’t believe her, so she stood up wordlessly with him.
“Let’s go,” Ma Yuan uttered.
Instantly, just as Mu Anxiao had predicted, the first villager, the moment Ma Yuan brought her up, knocked Ma Yuan unconscious with a stick. She silently watched Ma Yuan lying on the ground and sighed.
The first villager then bent down and took out two more rusty chains, locking the young man’s hands and feet just as Mu Anxiao had been restrained.
“You people certainly have a lot of leisure time,” the first villager suddenly said.
Mu Anxiao took a step back.
The first villager glanced at the jingling chains on Mu Anxiao’s ankles. “It seems you don’t wish to speak with me.” With that, he pulled Ma Yuan up and threw him into the cellar.
Mu Anxiao dared not utter a single word.
The first villager, without even looking at Mu Anxiao, covered the wooden planks, straightened up, and walked to the water vat. “You have nothing to say?”
“You…” Mu Anxiao blinked her eyelids slightly, glancing at the water vat. “Are you going to put this on top?”
“Yes,” the first villager nodded and began to push the water vat.
Mu Anxiao watched the first villager’s actions fearfully, swallowing her throat. She finally spoke, “There’s already insufficient oxygen down there. If you do this, he…” She frowned. “He will die.”
Mu Anxiao hadn’t intended to say these words, but thinking of Ma Yuan’s timid nature and his words to her earlier, she couldn’t bear it.
“That lad is quite good-looking,” the first villager said, placing the water vat upright and staring coldly at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao didn’t understand what the first villager meant and remained silent.
“You don’t want to see him die?” the first villager asked again.
“…”
“Speak,” the first villager roared.
Mu Anxiao flinched, trembling. “He’s a life.”
“Before, I also locked people in here, and none of them died,” the first villager said sarcastically.
The people he was referring to were those who couldn't bear it and had tried to escape.
“They are them,” Mu Anxiao deliberately took a half-step back.
“They are also men,” the first villager asserted.
Men. Mu Anxiao truly couldn’t comprehend what the first villager was trying to imply. At this moment, all she understood was that the first villager was someone not to be trifled with.