Soon after, as Mu Anxiao walked halfway, the sky suddenly darkened. She slowly stopped, realizing this must be Ouyang Ye's doing. To avoid revealing herself, she deliberately feigned fear and asked, "Boss, what are you doing?" As she spoke, she was about to turn when a gust of eerie wind blew in her face. She quickly crouched down.
At that moment, Ouyang Ye, not far away, began to observe Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao trusted her intuition and remained crouched, motionless.
In an instant, Ouyang Ye found it pointless and waved his arm, dispelling the mist that had darkened the sky. He stepped forward and stood before Mu Anxiao, asking, "Scared?"
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao looked up at Ouyang Ye. Just as she was about to get up, her legs went numb, and she sat down on the ground.
Ouyang Ye looked at Mu Anxiao's disheveled state and laughed ungenerously. "It seems you were scared after all." He said, putting his hands behind his back, making no move to help Mu Anxiao up.
Similarly, Mu Anxiao had no intention of accepting Ouyang Ye's help. "I wasn't scared," she said. As she spoke, a wave of numbness surged through her. She lowered her head, falling silent.
Ouyang Ye: "What, numb?"
Mu Anxiao, enduring the sensation, raised her hand slightly.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's embarrassed appearance, Ouyang Ye laughed again, ungenerously.
Mu Anxiao couldn't be bothered to argue with Ouyang Ye and continued to endure the feeling.
Finally, after a period of relief, the numbness subsided. "Boss, why did you scare me?" she asked, standing up.
Ouyang Ye calmly looked at Mu Anxiao's puzzled expression and said lightly, "Following me, you will encounter many unexpected things. If you're afraid of this, what use are you to me?"
"Boss," Mu Anxiao said, taking a step back, "do you mean if I'm afraid of this, you'll kill me?"
"Yes," Ouyang Ye replied without hesitation.
Mu Anxiao looked at Ouyang Ye's disregard for life and couldn't help but think of the souls who had lost their consciousness. Her heart sank. "Boss, have I passed?" she asked, suppressing her disgust for him and forcing a smile.
Ouyang Ye: "Your adaptability is good," he said, pointing to Mu Anxiao's clothes. "I don't like your outfit. Change it."
"I don't like it either," Mu Anxiao said, suddenly showing a fearful expression. "Boss, I just remembered something."
"What is it?" Ouyang Ye asked calmly.
Mu Anxiao pursed her lips and said, "About me wearing the general's clothes. The general found out. He didn't say anything at the time, but," she said, "I'm afraid he'll settle accounts later. If possible, Boss, please help me."
"How can I help you?" Ouyang Ye retorted.
Mu Anxiao replied without thinking, "Just speak up for me, will you, Boss?" She looked at him expectantly.
Ouyang Ye looked down at Mu Anxiao's expectant expression, hesitated, and said, "I think he must have forgotten." He then turned away.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao asked, "Boss, what if he comes after me? Will you help me then?" After asking, she deliberately stared at the back of Ouyang Ye's head.
Ouyang Ye lowered his head, then transformed into the appearance of a coachman right before Mu Anxiao's eyes. "Look at me, who am I now?"
"A coachman," Mu Anxiao replied flatly.
"I'm just a coachman, I can't help you. As for other things, it's up to your fate. Also," Ouyang Ye turned his head slightly, "if you want me to assign you tasks, you need to resolve your own issues first. If you can manage that, I'll make arrangements for you." With that, he left.
Mu Anxiao breathed a sigh of relief.
In an instant.
Mu Anxiao returned to her room and looked at Feng Qishi, who was sitting at the table with Zhao Xiang. "Help me put on a play," she said directly.
Feng Qishi: "What play?"
"Ouyang Ye said that if I can convince you, he'll arrange tasks for me."
"Are you sure you can complete the tasks he assigns you?"
"In his eyes, I'm just a person, so he won't assign me overly difficult tasks. Anyway, find someone to beat me up now."
"Why beat you?" Feng Qishi couldn't keep up with Mu Anxiao's train of thought.
Mu Anxiao said lightly, "Only by beating me can he be convinced." She stepped forward, went around to Feng Qishi's side, patted his shoulder, and said, "Get up."
Feng Qishi was confused. "What for?" he asked, looking up to meet Mu Anxiao's eyes.
Mu Anxiao said, "Just get up when I tell you to, why so much nonsense?" She was getting a little angry.
Similarly, Zhao Xiang and the others wore expressions of disdain. Zhao Xiang added, "Is there anything we can't hear? Why the need for whispers?" He sneered.
Lou Yi agreed, "Exactly. What can't we hear? Why like this?"
Hearing their words, Zhao Xiang's eyes darkened. "Mu Xiao, you're wary of me."
However, Mu Anxiao's intention was only to create a tense atmosphere. She hadn't expected her words to cause suspicion among these three fellows before Feng Qishi could even hear them. With a sigh, she removed her hand from Feng Qishi's shoulder and stated directly, "Go find someone now to beat me with planks, preferably attracting the servants." She stared down at Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi froze.
Zhao Xiang and the other two exchanged glances. Zhao Xiang said, "That's all?"
"That's all, and you still want whispers. I've had enough," Jia said with disgust.
Lou Yi remained silent.
Then, Feng Qishi frowned. "Why do we need to do this?"
"Only this way can I gain Ouyang Ye's deeper trust," Mu Anxiao said earnestly. "In short, the reason for beating me is that I stole your clothes, and also... you'll know the rest later."
"This doesn't seem right," Feng Qishi hesitated.
Mu Anxiao said calmly, "What's not right about it? Later, just follow my lead. Remember, you must maintain a cold expression throughout." She gently patted Feng Qishi's shoulder. "Our success depends on you."
Feng Qishi blinked, then said, "Tell me, how many planks?"
"Twenty planks," Mu Anxiao replied.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's resolute expression, Feng Qishi reluctantly compromised. "Alright then. Oh, and I'll be fierce with you, don't hold it against me."
"That's best," Mu Anxiao said faintly.
Feng Qishi: "I'll go make arrangements and tell them to go easy on you." He then stood up.
Mu Anxiao was taken aback. "Make arrangements for what? Just start, otherwise it won't be real." She pointed towards the door. "I'm going."
"..." Feng Qishi was stunned.
Zhao Xiang and the others were also stunned by Mu Anxiao's words.