Mu Anxiao instantly sensed She Ning's awkwardness and asked coldly, "It's just a name. You ask me, I'll introduce you. You don't need to be too surprised." He narrowed his eyes. "Now, you can tell me your name."
"I don't have a name." Mu Anxiao insisted.
She Ning snorted coldly, "Don't lie to me, or I'll eat you, regardless of whether you're human or an immortal." He widened his eyes.
A man's voice, a woman's appearance.
Faced with such a mysterious fellow, Mu Anxiao truly dared not act rashly.
Then, she swallowed and began to grin foolishly again, "Don't, my name isn't pleasant. If you hear it, I'm afraid it will affect your mood, so..."
"Speak." She Ning interrupted.
Mu Anxiao's expression stiffened, and she blurted out, "Cao Gen." She still didn't want to reveal her real name to She Ning.
She Ning fell silent upon hearing this.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao grew suspicious. "What? I've introduced myself. Could it be," she took half a step back, "you still want to eat me."
"You think I have a cannibalistic habit?" She Ning suddenly said.
Mu Anxiao couldn't help but avert her gaze. "I don't know about that, but you yourself said you eat people, so..." She dared not offend She Ning easily and began to use a flattering tone. "So, whatever you say, I believe."
"..." She Ning's face turned cold again.
Seeing She Ning's face suddenly darken, Mu Anxiao flinched. "I misspoke."
"You didn't misspeak. You came here," She Ning narrowed his eyes, "to look for someone."
Mu Anxiao didn't expect She Ning to be so direct and nodded slightly. "Yes, I'm looking for someone." As she spoke, she cautiously observed She Ning's expression.
She Ning sensed Mu Anxiao's gaze and said, "That person is very important to you."
"It's not important to me, but," Mu Anxiao hesitated, thinking of Bing'er, whose situation she didn't know. Her eyes darkened. "He is very important to his child."
"You're looking for him on behalf of someone else," She Ning added.
Mu Anxiao nodded. She could tell the person before her wasn't stupid. If she lied, she would only harm herself. So, rather than lying, it was better to tell the truth.
She Ning: "Is he your mission."
"He's a bargaining chip," Mu Anxiao replied honestly.
"A bargaining chip," She Ning said, his lips curving up. "Since he's a bargaining chip, then the person you're looking for must still be very important to you."
"I..."
"You need to find him to save the person you want to save, right?" She Ning interrupted Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao had said that to see if he could discern any other meaning from her words. Unexpectedly, things were going so smoothly.
Facing him, she suddenly had a strange illusion... that he was one of her own kind.
"You're not a monster," she said casually.
She Ning frowned.
Seeing She Ning frown, Mu Anxiao was startled. "I didn't mean anything else. I just felt..." She switched to flattery. "You seem extraordinary. Ordinary monsters can't see through my identity, but you recognized it at a glance. So I thought, are you an immortal?" She began to consider borrowing his help.
Although Zhao Xiang couldn't understand Mu Anxiao's meaning, listening to their conversation now, he couldn't help but feel nervous.
"You can't tell," She Ning said faintly.
Mu Anxiao's gaze flickered, and she smiled. "I'm just an immortal. I don't have that kind of ability."
"Is that so," She Ning said, a smile playing on his lips. "Since you're being so direct, it wouldn't be right for me to keep pretending, would it."
"Huh?" Mu Anxiao was stunned.
She Ning, completely disregarding Mu Anxiao's feelings, took a step forward and whispered, "You were holding someone's hand just now. Tell me," he lowered his head to meet Mu Anxiao's eyes, "where is that person." His gaze swept across Mu Anxiao's face.
Originally, Mu Anxiao had been guessing whether this She Ning was male or female.
At this moment, as She Ning drew closer and she tilted her head to look at his Adam's apple, she finally clarified his gender.
And just like that, she became afraid.
"...." She clenched her fists, not daring to move.
She Ning looked down at the silent Mu Anxiao and frowned. "You're not going to speak." With that, he reached out and grabbed Mu Anxiao by the neck.
Mu Anxiao's body stiffened, and with the force of his hand, she lifted her head.
At that very moment, She Ning's eyes widened. "You're a woman."
Similarly, he had been guessing Mu Anxiao's gender all along. This move startled him.
Simultaneously, Mu Anxiao sensed the spiritual energy emanating from him. "You're an immortal." she said calmly.
She Ning let go upon hearing this.
Zhao Xiang was stunned. He had been thinking that if She Ning was a monster, he would definitely know Ouyang Ye. Then, all he needed to do was mention Ouyang Ye, and he would be safe.
He never expected She Ning to be an immortal as well.
Hearing this, he leaned against the large tree, feeling a sense of disappointment. It was then... he pinned all his hopes on Mu Anxiao. Clenching his fists, he remained motionless.
Mu Anxiao breathed a sigh of relief and raised her hand to caress her neck, which She Ning had just squeezed. "You've eaten people, so you're a sinful immortal."
"You want to report me." She Ning no longer sounded as agitated as before, settling down.
"I don't have that kind of habit," Mu Anxiao said, still cautiously. "How many people have you killed?"
"A village," She Ning replied softly.
A village?
Clearly, Mu Anxiao was startled by She Ning's reply. "You ate an entire village." Her voice trembled.
She Ning nodded, then shook his head.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao grew confused. "What do you mean by nodding and then shaking your head?"
"I don't want to tell the truth. It's not safe here. You should go." She Ning stepped back.
Go?
However, Mu Anxiao detested immortals, demons, and devils who harmed people. She Ning's single sentence was enough to make her refuse to back down.
"If you say it's unsafe, then you're the one creating the insecurity here." Her attitude underwent a complete 180-degree turn.
She Ning frowned. "You don't believe me."
"I don't believe you. Those people, they all went into your stomach." Mu Anxiao said intentionally, aiming to provoke She Ning into telling the truth.
"Those people..."
Before She Ning could finish speaking, howls suddenly echoed from the surroundings.
Listening to the chilling howls, Mu Anxiao frowned. "This is what you meant by unsafe." She glanced at She Ning, then at the sides.
She Ning didn't reply much, merely stating coldly, "It's too late."