Mu Anxiao glanced at Shen Lü’s suddenly terrified expression, then at the monsters gathered inside, also displaying expressions of fear, and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Why are they all fifteen or sixteen-year-old children?" Shen Lü said, taking in their monstrous faces gradually revealing human features as he looked at each one.
Mu Anxiao: "What do you want to say?"
"What do you think I want to say?" Shen Lü asked, shifting his gaze back to Mu Anxiao's face.
Mu Anxiao met Shen Lü's eyes calmly, "They have all done evil deeds. Is there any way to save them?"
From their terrifying faces alone, Mu Anxiao could tell they must have committed many wicked acts. However, Mu Anxiao also saw that they were just children who had never experienced the world. How could they truly understand human affairs? They must have been instigated to commit evil.
And the one instigating them was certainly connected to the attacking monsters.
But she knew, while others did not. Moreover, her status was low. If she only spoke for them with her own words, it would surely be useless.
Therefore, she thought of Shen Lü.
Shen Lü's expression stiffened. He looked at Mu Anxiao, "You think I have a way?"
"Mm."
"At this time, shouldn't you be thinking of my senior brother?"
"Your senior brother," Mu Anxiao shook her head slightly, "is not suitable."
"Why? My senior brother's status is higher than mine, and I believe he certainly has more speaking power below. I..."
"You also want to save them, right?" Mu Anxiao interrupted.
Shen Lü's eyes deepened, then he swept his gaze over the monsters' faces again and said, "They are all children. If their lives are ruined like this, it would be too much of a loss."
However, Mu Anxiao wanted to hear Shen Lü say this, so she also showed a serious expression, "You know that too. Then think of a way."
"I..."
"We don't need your help, don't be so hypocritical," one of the monsters shouted.
Hearing this, Shen Lü and Mu Anxiao’s hearts sank simultaneously. They turned to look at the shouting monster, remaining silent.
The monster continued, "These are all things we wanted to do ourselves. If you don't want to see us die, then let us go."
"Yes, instead of pretending to help them here, it would be better to let them go," the attacking monster shouted.
"Let..." Shen Lü uttered the word, then turned to the attacking monster tied to the pillar, unable to move, and said coldly, "They were all turned into this by you."
"If I had that much ability, I wouldn't be tied here by you," the attacking monster said indifferently.
"Why do you have a human face, and they have monster faces?" Shen Lü was getting angry.
Upon hearing this, the attacking monster lowered his head.
Seeing this, Shen Lü roared, "Answer."
The attacking monster trembled slightly at Shen Lü's sudden shout and said, "I originally wanted to cultivate immortality. They are different; they don't want to. Their hearts are filled with hatred, so we are different."
Different?
Mu Anxiao repeated the phrase "different" to herself several times, noticing that their clothes were distinctly different from the attacking monster's.
Thinking of this, she frowned and immediately fixed her gaze on the monster who had spoken, "He isn't your boss, is he?"
The attacking monster looked at Mu Anxiao and said, "I am their boss."
"Shut up," Mu Anxiao said without turning her head, continuing to stare at the speaking monster within the net, "Speak, tell me, who is your boss."
"He is our boss."
"Is that so?" Mu Anxiao said, casually grabbing Shen Lü, who was about to go towards the attacking monster, and continued, "In that case, I'll give you a piece of information in advance."
"Don't try to scare us," the second monster growled.
Mu Anxiao glanced at the second monster, then at the speaking monster, and said, "You are monsters now, not souls. Only souls are needed below. So before you go down, you must endure torment. Of course, if you surrender voluntarily, the torment will be lighter, almost unfelt. Conversely, if your obsessions are too deep, the torment will be severe, and perhaps..." She made a few clucking sounds halfway through her sentence.
The speaking monster asked, "Perhaps what?"
"Perhaps," Mu Anxiao shook her head slightly, "your souls will be scattered to the winds."
"..." The speaking monster was stunned.
Mu Anxiao's lips curved. She looked at the other monsters whose faces were filled with fear and said, "As long as you expose your boss, you won't suffer such torment. Perhaps, you can even regain your original form and go home."
"I don't have a home," the third monster suddenly said.
Following that, the other monsters also said, "No home."
Listening to their replies one by one, Mu Anxiao frowned, and her heart suddenly felt sore.
Subsequently, the attacking monster said, "They are all children abandoned by their families. Some have illnesses, some are due to their gender, some... their families couldn't afford them, and so on. They are all children with wounded hearts. You've gone far enough in forcing them like this."
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao finally turned towards the attacking monster, "You understand them."
"I am their boss, of course I understand."
"You ordered them to do those evil deeds."
"They only burned people's houses and made people homeless. I can vouch for them," the attacking monster said, "their hands have not been stained with blood."
"Have you experienced what it feels like to lose your home?" Mu Anxiao retorted.
The attacking monster's expression froze at Mu Anxiao's words, "That place never belonged to them. They haven't lost their home..."
"That was their home," Mu Anxiao interrupted, turning back to the monsters with strange faces before her, and asked, "Are these things you genuinely wanted to do?"
"..." They lowered their heads.
Mu Anxiao glanced at each of them and said, "Since it wasn't genuine, then tell me, who is your boss?" She didn't believe the attacking monster was their boss.
The attacking monster frowned.
Then, the second monster said, "We only burned houses. We didn't harm them. Why are you doing this..."
"Only burned houses," Mu Anxiao interrupted sharply, staring at the second monster's face, "Yes, you only burned houses, but do you know how important a house is to a person? That is a house they built with a lifetime of effort. Now, you have made them displaced, lost their confidence, and some fragile individuals even think of dying. Have you ever considered these things?"
"The human heart is not as fragile as you think," the third monster said.
Mu Anxiao sneered, "Not as fragile as I think? Then why have you become this way?" She glanced at the third monster.
The third monster was speechless.
Mu Anxiao glared at the third monster, then looked at the dust on their clothes and said coldly, "If I'm not mistaken, you haven't been doing this for long, have you?" As she spoke, she fixed her gaze directly on the attacking monster's face.