Ouyang Ye didn't notice Mu Anxiao's reaction behind him. He continued to glare at the grinning demons opposite him, his brow furrowed.
First Demon: "Who do you think you are, saying we don't dare eat them?"
"Exactly. You're just some creature that's neither demon nor ghost. Are we afraid of you?"
"You're worse off than we are."
Worse off than us?
Even though Mu Anxiao hadn't figured out if Ouyang Ye was their benefactor, just by his demonic nature and his ability to summon monsters anywhere, she knew... Ouyang Ye was not to be trifled with.
And now, these fearless demons had uttered such words. Mu Anxiao could only pray for them.
"..." She cautiously glanced at Ouyang Ye's clenched fists, cleared her throat.
The demons continued, "A monster worse than us, speaking such words, is utterly laughable."
"There are only two of you, and we are a group. Are you perhaps going to challenge our entire pack of demons?"
"Ridiculous, truly ridiculous, ha ha."
They all burst into laughter.
Ouyang Ye, hearing their grating laughter, immediately shifted his gaze to Wei's face.
Wei dared not avoid his gaze, gave a slight nod, and turned his back.
Immediately, the two female demons, unwilling to meet Ouyang Ye's stare alone, also turned away.
Mu Anxiao allowed Ouyang Ye to pull her arm. She peered around, taking in the faces of the demons, then tilted her head up to look at Ouyang Ye, who was staring at her. "..." Her expression was unreadable.
Ouyang Ye: "A piece of news that might disappoint you is coming shortly."
"About you," Mu Anxiao said, her heart already certain... he... was definitely connected to these demons!
Ouyang Ye ignored the demons' unrestrained mockery, his eyes meeting Mu Anxiao's for a few seconds. "You've already figured it out."
"..." Mu Anxiao hadn't expected Ouyang Ye to see through her thoughts so easily. She dodged his gaze slightly and said, "You... you are the demons' benefactor."
Ouyang Ye pursed his lips into a smile and turned back to face the demons.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao was confused. "Are you or are you not?" she dared not speak loudly.
Ouyang Ye took a deep breath and looked down at Mu Anxiao, who was looking up at him. "If I weren't, we wouldn't be able to leave here."
"You really are." Mu Anxiao had already anticipated this reality, so her tone and expression were not overly dramatic.
Ouyang Ye smiled faintly and reached out to cover Mu Anxiao's mouth.
Mu Anxiao started, and just as she was about to widen her eyes, she fainted.
The next second, Ouyang Ye smoothly scooped Mu Anxiao up into his arms. He looked at the demons, who had been called to a halt by Wei, and his face turned cold. "Wei, you didn't introduce me to them."
Wei froze, then turned his head to Ouyang Ye. "Benefactor, I... I was wrong."
"Alright, it's good you know you were wrong. Now," Ouyang Ye took a couple of steps forward with Mu Anxiao in his arms, looking at the arrogant demons. "Kill them for me, right here, in front of me."
"..." Wei was stunned.
Immediately, the arrogance radiating from the First Demon was extinguished by Ouyang Ye's words. "Benefactor, I didn't know you were the benefactor. Please spare us," he clasped his hands together and bowed slightly.
Following suit, the other three arrogant demons clasped their hands and bowed in supplication, just like the First Demon.
Ouyang Ye: "Truly a bunch of snobs who judge others by appearance. Now that you know my identity, you've changed your tune. If I hadn't said anything," he snorted coldly and glanced down at Mu Anxiao, "wouldn't you have eaten us by now?"
"We wouldn't dare, we wouldn't dare," the First Demon said with a smirk.
Ouyang Ye's face remained cold.
Then, Wei looked at Ouyang Ye and asked, "Benefactor? Shall we proceed?"
Upon hearing this, the Third Demon quickly said, "Don't you understand the Benefactor's meaning? The Benefactor said to spare us, these snobs."
"You're worse than dogs," Ouyang Ye said coldly.
The Third Demon, hearing this, lowered his head in embarrassment.
Wei glanced at the Third Demon and asked again, "Benefactor, this..."
"Spare them this once, but," Ouyang Ye swept his gaze over all the demons present, "given your lack of foresight, you are forbidden to eat for three days. Starve yourselves."
"Benefactor, no."
"No tree bark either," Ouyang Ye said, looking at the Fourth Demon who had spoken.
Upon hearing this, the Fourth Demon drooped his head in dejection.
Ouyang Ye glared at them fiercely and then turned to Wei. "Is the place I asked for ready?"
"It is. That place is very quiet, and I've prepared everything inside for you. You..." Wei glanced at Mu Anxiao and continued, "You and she will fit perfectly."
Ouyang Ye caught another meaning in Wei's words and said coldly, "Don't let your mind wander. I just don't want her to know who I am." He then looked back at the demons. "When she wakes up, you will all call me master, not benefactor. If she asks you if I am your benefactor, you will say no."
"..." The demons dared not reply.
Ouyang Ye frowned. "Why aren't you speaking?"
First Demon: "We dare not," he shook his head slightly.
Then, Ouyang Ye scanned the four demons who had been making a fuss. Remembering their habit of getting angry when hungry, he said, "If you promise to abstain from eating for three days, the punishment will be canceled."
Upon hearing this, they all smiled.
Then, the Third Demon asked, "Benefactor, really?"
Ouyang Ye: "Really. Remember what I said, if anyone dares call me benefactor, they won't get to eat." Without waiting for their reply, he fixed his gaze on Mu Anxiao's face.
Just then, Mu Anxiao slowly opened her eyes, startled. "What are you doing?" she asked, looking at Ouyang Ye's face up close.
Ouyang Ye said dismissively, "You fainted."
"And then?" Mu Anxiao glanced at the ground out of the corner of her eye, then looked back at Ouyang Ye. "Who told you to carry me? Put me down, you demon benefactor."
"I am not the demons' benefactor," Ouyang Ye said, carefully setting Mu Anxiao down.
Mu Anxiao steadied herself, then patted her forehead. She turned to Wei, who was looking in their direction, and asked, "Wei, is he your benefactor?" She pointed at Ouyang Ye.
Ouyang Ye's expression stiffened. He remained silent.
Wei shook his head.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao sneered. "You really are good at deceiving people. It was so obvious just now," she turned back to Ouyang Ye, who was feigning innocence. "And you're still acting."
"I really am not," Ouyang Ye insisted.
Then, just as Mu Anxiao was about to speak, the First Demon said, "He is our master, the benefactor's... friend."
Upon hearing this, Mu Anxiao frowned and turned to the First Demon. "Oh, that was a quick brainwashing," she said, then looked at Ouyang Ye, who was acting as if nothing had happened.
Ouyang Ye: "I..."
"What 'I'?" Mu Anxiao interrupted, grabbing Ouyang Ye's arm. "Come with me."
Ouyang Ye was taken aback. "What for?"
Mu Anxiao tightly gripped Ouyang Ye's arm, tilting her head to look at his feigned ignorance. "Ouyang Ye, the immediate priority is to save Shen Fengzi. Stop this act." She narrowed her eyes.
Ouyang Ye had expected Mu Anxiao to confirm whether he was the demons' benefactor after she woke up, or perhaps that she would believe everything he said.
To his surprise, Mu Anxiao was someone who only believed in herself, possessed a remarkable ability to adapt, and was a little immortal with a keen sense of self-interest.
He figured he might as well stop pretending. "Yes, I am the demons' benefactor, but I don't want to go right now."
The demons were stunned.
Wei couldn't keep up with Ouyang Ye's pace and rubbed the back of his head.
"Ouyang Ye, you said you would help me," Mu Anxiao said agitatedly.
Ouyang Ye: "I haven't been back here in a long time. I want to go back to my new mansion and rest."
"Who cares about you? Come with me," Mu Anxiao tugged harder on Ouyang Ye's arm.
Ouyang Ye's face turned cold.
Seeing this, the demons started to howl.
Mu Anxiao, hearing the 'wind sounds' from the demons, was scared into silence.
Ouyang Ye looked at them with satisfaction. "Scared, aren't you."
Mu Anxiao swallowed. "Who's scared? I..." Before she could finish, the wind sounds reached her ears again. She immediately shut her mouth, closed her eyes, and said, "Enough."
Ouyang Ye: "..." He was very satisfied with Mu Anxiao's reaction and smiled.
The demons paid no heed to Mu Anxiao's words and continued to make various wind sounds from their mouths.
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao immediately let go of Ouyang Ye's hand and covered her ears.
Ouyang Ye looked down at Mu Anxiao's reaction and smiled. "It's just the sound of wind, why are you so scared?"
Just the sound of wind?
However, ever since Mu Anxiao became an immortal and was driven away by Shen Yan, she had been facing various tasks. In the beginning, when she went on missions alone, it was this very sound of wind that haunted her throughout. From then on, she developed a deep-seated phobia of this 'wind sound.'
For decades, she had been trying to overcome it but couldn't find a suitable way.
In the end, all she could do was avoid the wind sounds.
Who knew... after so long, she finally discovered that the owner of this wind sound was actually a demon. She finally understood why it was so terrifying.
"..." She crouched down, covering her ears tightly.
Ouyang Ye saw her crouch down and then freed a hand to support her shoulder. "Some things need to be overcome," he said.
Mu Anxiao couldn't hear Ouyang Ye's words clearly, but she could deeply feel his demonic aura. She slowly opened her eyes, looked up to meet Ouyang Ye's gaze, and shouted, "Tell them to shut up."
"..." Ouyang Ye merely smiled and remained silent.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao became angry. "I said, tell them to shut up, you..." Before she could finish, a woman's scream suddenly echoed from a certain direction.
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao lowered her hands and stood up.
The demons also stopped their wind sounds and turned towards the source of the sound.
First Demon laughed. "Excellent, we have food."
"It's a woman," said the Second Demon, licking his lips.
"Haha, wonderful."
Their joyful exclamations reached Mu Anxiao's ears. Without regard for Ouyang Ye, she stepped forward and said, "You are not allowed to harm her."
Upon hearing this, the Fourth Demon stiffened his face and turned sideways to look at Mu Anxiao. "It's none of your business."
"What do you, an immortal, know?" the Fifth Demon growled, fearing Mu Anxiao would intervene further.
First Demon: "Who cares? Let's go." With that, he led them away.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao quickly shouted, "Stop!"
Conversely, Wei looked at Mu Anxiao calmly and said, "It's useless."
"Wei, you should know the rules best," Mu Anxiao said coolly.
Wei lowered his gaze.
The other two female demons in red also flew away.
Mu Anxiao's eyes widened. She quickly conjured her silver rope and took a step forward, but Ouyang Ye stood up. "It's no use for you to go either."
"..." Mu Anxiao frowned and turned to Ouyang Ye. "Why would it be useless for me to go? Aren't you their benefactor? They don't even listen to you. You're a complete failure."
Ouyang Ye didn't care what Mu Anxiao said about him. Instead, he glanced in the direction they had gone and said, "That woman doesn't want to live. This might be the best way for her to die."
"The best way to die?" Mu Anxiao sneered. "Fool, you're wrong."
"How am I wrong..."
"If she truly wanted to give up her life, she could find a rope at home. In other words, if she wanted to die, she wouldn't scream, you fool," Mu Anxiao interrupted. Holding her silver rope, she turned and flew away swiftly.
Ouyang Ye was stunned.
Wei: "Benefactor, you said you wouldn't get involved in these matters."
When Ouyang Ye had saved them, he had promised the demons that he would absolutely not interfere when they hunted for food. Therefore, every time he heard of such things, he told himself that the person could no longer live.
No one had ever seen through his thoughts before. Mu Anxiao was the first.
Thus, he fell silent.
Wei: "Benefactor, you..."
"Which eye of yours saw me getting involved?" Ouyang Ye interrupted, fixing his gaze on Wei's face.
Wei's eyes darted away. "If she goes, then you..."
"She and I are not married. I cannot control her actions, so don't think about dragging me into it, or else," Ouyang Ye's face turned cold, "don't expect me to show any mercy."
Wei lowered his head, intimidated.
Then, Ouyang Ye glanced at Wei and said in a low voice, "Do you think I shouldn't have intervened?"
Wei: "I... I was just worried that if you intervened, those demons might disobey, and then," he paused, continuing, "your authority might be undermined."
"..." Ouyang Ye nodded slightly. "You speak wisely." As he said this, he looked up at the darkening sky.
Wei lowered his gaze.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Mu Anxiao quickly dodged past the group of demons and flew towards the woman who was squatting in place, covering her ears just like she had been.
At the same time, as the woman looked up with curiosity, she met Mu Anxiao's gaze flying towards her. "..." Her eyes widened.
In the next instant, Mu Anxiao landed behind the woman, facing the demons, and shouted, "Don't touch her."
"..."