At this moment, Mu Anxiao also turned her gaze to the purchasing servant. Before she could speak, the servant grew angry, "What are you doing?" He then looked down at the ropes binding him and shouted, "Untie me."
Mu Anxiao observed the purchasing servant's expression, which seemed to shift all the blame back onto her. She then glanced at the chaotic kitchen, stood up, and said, "I have a question for you."
"What do you want to ask?" the purchasing servant retorted indignantly, tilting his head up. "Untie me quickly, or I'll report you to the general and have you thrown out of the mansion."
"Have me thrown out of the mansion," Mu Anxiao echoed, a soft chuckle escaping her lips. "If you have the capability, then by all means, go ahead. Let's see if they side with you or with me then."
"You..."
"No more nonsense, look at this kitchen," Mu Anxiao interrupted, surveying the surroundings before her gaze returned to the purchasing servant.
At the same time, prompted by Mu Anxiao, the purchasing servant took a cursory look around and exclaimed in shock, "You did this." He quickly looked at Mu Anxiao, "What about the others? What have you done to them?"
Listening to the purchasing servant's agitated words, Mu Anxiao couldn't help but wonder if he had amnesia. However, when she considered what that woman had done to him, she couldn't fathom him having lost his memory. Thus, pondering his deliberate act of hiding the truth, she had a sudden realization, "You're faking it, aren't you?"
The purchasing servant avoided her gaze upon hearing this.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao frowned, "It seems you're lying."
As Mu Anxiao spoke, the purchasing servant lowered his eyes.
Mu Anxiao continued, "Tell me, did you overhear what I and that woman were talking about?" As she spoke, she crouched down again.
The purchasing servant nodded.
Mu Anxiao: "You didn't use the back door because of her, right?"
The purchasing servant nodded again.
Mu Anxiao also nodded and said, "Alright, I understand." With that, she stood up, walked behind the purchasing servant, and without hesitation, crouched down to begin untying him.
As Mu Anxiao untied him, the purchasing servant asked, looking back at her, "Aren't you curious why I pretended not to know?"
Mu Anxiao pulled the rope apart. "Even if I were curious, you wouldn't tell me the truth, would you?" she said, coiling the rope and returning to face him. "Speaking of which, you're quite a clever person, knowing what to say and what not to say."
"What do you mean by that?" the purchasing servant asked, feigning ignorance.
Mu Anxiao stood up, neatly gathering the rope, and said, "If I'm not mistaken, you were deliberately acting for me just now, making me believe you had amnesia."
"..." The purchasing servant hadn't expected Mu Anxiao to see through him so easily. He stood up and said, "To figure that out, you're terrifying."
"What's so terrifying about it? I deal with demon souls, not you. What are you afraid of?"
"That woman, she said I was a demon soul," the purchasing servant suddenly blurted out.
Mu Anxiao was taken aback. "When did she tell you that?"
"She visits me in my dreams every night. In those dreams, she always says I'm a demon soul and that if I dare to use the back door, my demon form will appear. And as it turns out," the purchasing servant paused, thinking of the woman he had seen near the back door not long ago, and shivered, "I saw it."
"Where did you see it?" Mu Anxiao's curiosity was piqued.
The purchasing servant said, "Over by the stables." He swallowed. "After you left, I happened to see it. Ever since then, I've completely changed. I don't want to do any of this, but I can't control myself." He lowered his head dejectedly.
Mu Anxiao looked calmly at the purchasing servant's despondent state and suddenly realized that he probably didn't even grasp who the woman speaking to him was. In fact, in his subconscious, that woman was himself, but he refused to admit it.
Thinking about it, Mu Anxiao decided to dispel his misconception and tentatively asked, "You think that woman is you? You think it's yourself who's stopping you from using the back door, is that what you mean?"
The purchasing servant nodded.
Mu Anxiao was surprised. "You really think that woman is you."
"If not, then it must be another me inside my body. I've done wrong things. If possible," the purchasing servant pursed his lips and continued, "Please kill me. I am a demon soul." With that, he swayed a little.
"You..." Mu Anxiao sensed something was wrong. "What's wrong with you?" She stared intently at the purchasing servant's face.
The purchasing servant remained silent.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao placed one hand behind her back and began to gather her spiritual energy, thinking, 'It must be that woman causing trouble again.' With intense concentration, she fixed her gaze on the purchasing servant's head.
Unexpectedly, just as she prepared herself mentally, the purchasing servant suddenly began to cry.
Mu Anxiao was bewildered. "What's wrong with you?" she asked again.
This time, the purchasing servant, tears streaming down his face, looked up at Mu Anxiao and said, "Can you tell me what's wrong with me? Am I really that woman? Tell me the truth." His face was covered in tears, and snot was also running down his nose. "My mind is in such a mess. I haven't had a good night's sleep in ages. As soon as I close my eyes at night, she appears before me. It's too terrifying. Please, help me." He sobbed uncontrollably.
Mu Anxiao held the rope in one hand and retracted the spiritual energy with the other. "You mean, you're not sure if it's you?" she asked, her gaze fixed on the snot that the purchasing servant was about to ingest, hesitating… should she warn him?
"Yes," the purchasing servant nodded.
Mu Anxiao looked at the purchasing servant's state, thought for a moment, and then took out a handkerchief and handed it to him. "Your snot."
Upon hearing this, the purchasing servant took the handkerchief and wiped his tears first, then his snot.
Outside the kitchen.
The burly men sat on the ground, looking up at the woman standing before them. The first burly man said, "Why haven't they come out yet? I hope nothing happened." He glanced at the second burly man, who had been nudging him with his elbow, and frowned.
The second burly man said, "You should just shut up. If something had happened, there would be sounds coming from inside. But there's absolutely no sound right now, so I say, don't worry, don't worry."
"I think you're just too optimistic," the third burly man said, displeased with the second one.
The second burly man frowned. "How am I optimistic? The facts prove it's like this."
"The facts prove that no sound is the most terrifying thing," the third burly man exclaimed excitedly.
The second burly man was speechless.
Following their back-and-forth exchange, the first burly man stood up. "How about I go in and take a look?" he said, stepping forward and standing beside the woman.
The woman hesitated at the first burly man's words. Just as she was about to speak, Feng Qishi and Zhao Xiang walked over. "What's going on?" Zhao Xiang asked.
xxsone