Gu Yan felt a sense of unease under Mu An Xiao's intense gaze. She swallowed, her eyes darting away slightly as she said, "I think that before things are confirmed, we can brainstorm more reasons. Perhaps we might hit upon the right one."
"Before I went to find Gu Yan, he was the one I met, and he was fine then." Mu An Xiao felt it necessary to share this clue.
Upon hearing this, Gu Yan frowned. "So, the last person he saw before coming here," her gaze turned cautious, "was you."
"Yes." Mu An Xiao nodded.
"Then, at that time, did he have any other reactions?" Gu Yan, worried that Mu An Xiao might not understand her meaning, paused before adding, "I mean, any unusual behavior."
"He dislikes using the back door, does that count as unusual behavior?" Mu An Xiao felt it necessary to have a proper discussion with Gu Yan.
Gu Yan: "He dislikes using the back door? Then why did you meet him at the back door?" She was confused.
Following that, Mu An Xiao recounted everything that had happened between her and the purchasing subordinate to Gu Yan. After listening, Gu Yan's expression became unusually serious. "So, he didn't ingest poison, but rather," she looked down at the purchasing subordinate's face, "he was scared."
"That's what I thought too," Mu An Xiao said, turning to fix her gaze on the purchasing subordinate.
"Then why did you ask me to control his consciousness? Didn't you already have him..." Gu Yan looked at the purchasing subordinate's quiescent state, puzzled. "Under control?"
"My magic is limited, and it's safer if you're with me." Mu An Xiao spoke as she reached out towards the purchasing subordinate's face.
Gu Yan had never been trusted by anyone in such a manner; even Ouyang Ye only thought of her when he failed. Thus, seeing Mu An Xiao trust her so implicitly, she was touched. "Thank you." As she stepped forward, the purchasing subordinate began to yell again.
Seeing this, Mu An Xiao hastily withdrew her hand, which was about to touch him, and said, "Gu Yan, don't come closer. Just start from where you are." As she spoke, she looked down at her hand, her heart sinking, then raised her hand and slapped the struggling purchasing subordinate across the face.
However, the moment the slap echoed through the entire kitchen, Gu Yan quickly unleashed her demonic arts, attempting to control the purchasing subordinate's consciousness.
In this way, Mu An Xiao and Gu Yan, working in tandem, managed to subdue the purchasing subordinate.
"Alright," Gu Yan prompted.
Mu An Xiao nodded slightly at her words, then directly placed her index finger against the purchasing subordinate's forehead. "Hold on," she said, closing her eyes.
Gu Yan responded, "Okay."
The next moment, as Mu An Xiao attempted to search for demonic energy within the purchasing subordinate's body, a wrinkled face suddenly appeared before her. Yet, she showed no intention of opening her eyes. Instead, she calmly looked at the face and asked mentally, "Who are you?"
Immediately, as Mu An Xiao uttered this question, the woman with the wrinkled face opened her maw and said, "If you keep searching for anything on him, I won't be so polite with you."
"Why did you choose him?" Mu An Xiao asked mentally, completely unfazed.
Subsequently, the woman closed her mouth, met Mu An Xiao's eyes, and sneered, "You really do like to get to the bottom of things." After saying this, she laughed inexplicably.
Listening to the woman's grating laughter, observing her suddenly opened maw, and recalling the purchasing subordinate's stubborn refusal to use the back door, Mu An Xiao had an epiphany. "You've been pestering him, haven't you."
The woman merely laughed, remaining silent.
Mu An Xiao calmly observed the woman's expression and began to speculate freely. "You've been sending him dreams, making him dream of everything related to the back door every night. This way, he developed a phobia of the back door. No wonder he refused to use it, it's all thanks to you." As she spoke, her expression became serious.
Upon hearing Mu An Xiao's words, the woman laughed. "As expected of someone who apprehends demonic souls, your perspective on things is different from ordinary people," she said, wiping away bloodstains from the corner of her mouth. She then smiled, "Speaking of which, aren't you curious why I only torment him and not others?"
"He has a grudge against you," Mu An Xiao said, still with her eyes closed, a slight frown appearing on her face.
Gu Yan looked at the changes on Mu An Xiao's face and was about to speak when the woman's voice emanated from within the purchasing subordinate's body. "That's right, he has a grudge against me. This has nothing to do with you, go away."
Gu Yan was startled by the sudden female voice from within the purchasing subordinate. Then, just as she was about to step forward to check on Mu An Xiao's situation, Mu An Xiao abruptly opened her eyes and shouted, "Stop."
Startled, Gu Yan quickly withdrew her hand and took a step back.
Mu An Xiao calmly looked at the purchasing subordinate's face, her brow furrowed slightly. "You said he has a grudge against you, what do you mean?" she asked, a premonition of something ominous dawning on her.
The woman said, "That's none of your business. Now, you get out."
"And if I say I'm not leaving, what will you do to me?" Mu An Xiao asked, deliberately fixing her gaze on the purchasing subordinate's face.
The woman: "Then don't blame me for being impolite." As she spoke, the purchasing subordinate's head suddenly lifted.
The next second, a purple beam of light instantly enveloped the purchasing subordinate, and the woman's voice also emanated from his body. "I'll give you three counts. If you don't leave, I'll truly be impolite."
"You can count," Mu An Xiao said calmly, turning to look at Gu Yan, who was startled by the scene before her. "This doesn't concern you, you can go."
"What are you going to do?" Gu Yan exclaimed.
Mu An Xiao: "You don't need to worry about that, just leave quickly." Her tone was firm.
Seeing Mu An Xiao's resolute attitude and then glancing at the purchasing subordinate glowing with purple light, Gu Yan murmured, "Be careful," and then turned and disappeared.
After Gu Yan left, Mu An Xiao sighed in relief and turned back.
The woman, seeing this, smiled. "What a disloyal demonic soul. And you too," she said. "Since you're disregarding your own safety to save a demonic soul. Speaking of which, aren't you a demonic soul apprehending officer? Are you not afraid that your superiors will find out about this and dismiss you?"
"You worry too much," Mu An Xiao said. She had asked Gu Yan to leave precisely because she wanted to have a good talk with the woman before her. "Speaking of which, why haven't you started counting yet?" she deliberately reminded the woman.
The woman laughed.
Listening to the woman's laughter, Mu An Xiao was bewildered. "You said you wouldn't be polite, so what are you laughing at?" As she spoke, she was already prepared to subdue the woman.
"Do you know what this man's name is?" the woman suddenly asked.
Upon hearing this, Mu An Xiao frowned. "I don't know, why are you asking this?"
The woman chuckled again.