Mu Anxiao watched Ouyang Ye's mocking expression and recalled his usual habit of bullying people. She suddenly realized that Ouyang Ye's sense of superiority likely stemmed from tormenting others. Thinking this, she feigned fear and asked, "Do you want to kill me now?"
Hearing this, Ouyang Ye immediately stopped his unrestrained mockery and retorted, "Can't you understand plain speech?"
"You are..."
Ouyang Ye's eyes widened.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao immediately retracted her words, which were intended as a counter-attack, and said, "I understand."
"Good that you have some sense," Ouyang Ye said. He deliberately turned his head to glance at A Ju, who stood by his side, paused for a few seconds, and then asked, "Cao Gen, I have a question for you, and I hope you'll answer truthfully." He didn't look at Mu Anxiao.
"You may ask." Mu Anxiao put on a cautious expression. To further emphasize her fear, her gaze darted around, unsure where to settle. However, maintaining this would surely arouse Ouyang Ye's suspicion. So, she fixed her eyes squarely on A Ju's face.
Caught between their gazes, A Ju buried her head deeply.
Subsequently, Ouyang Ye turned back to Mu Anxiao. "Then I'll ask," he said, following Mu Anxiao's gaze to look at A Ju again. He smiled, "It seems you like her quite a lot."
"No, I don't." Mu Anxiao continued to stare at A Ju.
Seeing Mu Anxiao like this, Ouyang Ye couldn't help but laugh. "You say you don't, yet your eyes are glued to her."
A Ju dared not look up, afraid of meeting Mu Anxiao's gaze.
At the same time, Mu Anxiao realized that her method of evasion had indeed caused A Ju considerable trouble. She braced herself and looked at Ouyang Ye, saying, "Boss, I was just looking at her, just looking." As she spoke, she slightly hunched her back, rubbed her hands together, and feigned nervousness.
Ouyang Ye laughed, "You still won't admit it."
"There really isn't, I just feel," Mu Anxiao said, deliberately sniffing the air in the room, "this room smells so fragrant. Not only that, there's also a medicinal aroma mixed in. Boss, you know, I love the scent of medicine the most. Since I was a child, I..."
"Is that so?"
Outside in the courtyard, Ouyang Ye had already witnessed Mu Anxiao's garrulous nature. Now, hearing her again, his head began to ache.
Mu Anxiao smiled, "It's true," she said, sniffing the air again. "It smells wonderful. Boss, I miss my family." As she spoke, her lips turned down.
Ouyang Ye showed a look of disgust.
A Ju was already growing weary of Mu Anxiao and looked at Ouyang Ye, reminding him, "Master, the silver needle."
Upon hearing A Ju's reminder, Mu Anxiao's scalp tightened.
Then, as if a memory had been triggered, Ouyang Ye walked around the table and immediately approached Mu Anxiao. "You can give me the silver needle now," he said, fixing his gaze on Mu Anxiao.
"Silver needle..." Mu Anxiao repeated, then smiled. "Boss, I think you don't need the General's trust, you're already so powerful." As she spoke, she turned to face Ouyang Ye and took three or four steps back.
Ouyang Ye frowned at the distance between them. "Why are you moving away from me?"
Upon hearing this, Mu Anxiao assumed a sad expression. "To be frank, I have an elder brother. Whenever I see my elder brother, I want to talk and pour out my heartaches. Seeing you, I can't help but think of my brother."
"Get to the point," Ouyang Ye said coldly.
Mu Anxiao replied, "The point is, when I see you, I have endless words to say. However, I can tell you don't really want to listen."
"I really don't want to listen," Ouyang Ye stated bluntly.
Mu Anxiao sighed, "Alas, young people these days have to swallow their bitterness alone when they're out in the world. It's better to be at home, at least I have an elder brother who's willing to listen to me, and my parents too."
"If you love home so much, why did you leave?"
"I want to achieve great things," Mu Anxiao declared firmly.
Ouyang Ye was speechless at Mu Anxiao's contradictory statements.
"Boss," Mu Anxiao said, suddenly fixing her gaze on Ouyang Ye, "are you willing to listen to me pour out my woes? Actually, my past was also quite exciting."
"Stop with the nonsense and hand over the silver needle," Ouyang Ye said, unable to tolerate Mu Anxiao any longer.
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao pouted. "You dislike me."
"Hurry up."
"You dislike me," Mu Anxiao insisted, deliberately emphasizing it to cultivate an image of timidity and obedience.
Ouyang Ye knitted his brows deeply.
Mu Anxiao feigned tears. "Mom, Dad, relatives, I, Cao Gen," she lowered her head and deliberately began to move herself with her words, "I will definitely learn more in the General's mansion. I will definitely curry favor with the General for a chance to enter the palace, then find a powerful master, and I will also," she said, turning to look at A Ju, "bring back a daughter-in-law for you."
A Ju was startled and quickly lowered her head.
Ouyang Ye looked at Mu Anxiao's self-indulgent performance and said coldly, "Are you done talking?"
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao turned back to look at Ouyang Ye and said, "Boss, my past was truly exciting. Actually, my literary talent is not bad either. In fact, I've thought about writing a book," she said, deliberately portraying herself as a verbose person. "Tell me, do you know any other monsters?"
"..." Ouyang Ye sighed softly.
Mu Anxiao, completely disregarding Ouyang Ye's feelings, continued, "Actually, I want to write a book about monsters. Of course, this is just a recent idea. Before," she smiled, "I thought monsters were all terrifying. But after seeing you, I realized that's not the case. Really, I think you're quite amiable."
Ouyang Ye clenched his fists, suppressing his irritation with Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao sensed Ouyang Ye's change and deliberately intensified her words, "If I could write your story, it would be incredibly good. Then, you would be the male lead, and I would be your little demon fairy companion. Oh, no, the story should be like this: I was originally an immortal who descended to the mortal realm to complete a mission, met you, then was bought over by you and became your subordinate. After that, we would conquer the world, and finally, the three realms..."
"You're quite talkative," Ouyang Ye interrupted, his face etched with impatience towards Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao smiled, "This is the plot, I'm telling it to you first."
"What was I telling you?" Ouyang Ye said through gritted teeth.
Mu Anxiao blinked and gave a dry laugh.
Meanwhile, A Ju watched Mu Anxiao's antics.
Ouyang Ye looked at Mu Anxiao's unrepentant expression and snorted. "It seems you've taken my words as mere trifles." As he spoke, he glanced down at his palm.
Mu Anxiao continued to smile, "Boss, have I offended you?" she feigned ignorance.
Ouyang Ye curled his lips and looked up at Mu Anxiao. "What do you think?"
"I think I've said much less today than usual," Mu Anxiao said deliberately. On one hand, it was to infiltrate this place, and on the other, it was to prevent Ouyang Ye from discovering her true identity. Clearly, it was working well.