The dilapidated shop was shrouded in darkness. The damp, pervasive miasma within had no effect on Gu Yan. She had scoured every corner of the place but had ultimately failed to find the soul of Gu Tie. This unsatisfactory outcome made her anxious.
"Strange, where on earth is she?" she muttered. After surveying her surroundings once more, her gaze inadvertently fell upon a wooden plank not far away. Thinking it might be there, she walked towards it.
Outside, Mu An Xiao stood by a tree, ignoring Ouyang Ye. Her eyes were fixed on the shop. *Clearly, these souls harbor resentment, suggesting they must have endured various hardships and stimuli in life. Gu Tie, however, is different. The very fact that she refuses to submit to Ouyang Ye indicates she still possesses her own will. Since Ouyang Ye said she is here, things should proceed twice as fast.* With that thought, she waved a hand, intentionally dispelling the enchantment placed on Gu Yan's mouth.
Just then, Jia, seizing the opportunity to slack off, looked up at Mu An Xiao who was deep in thought. After a moment, he deliberately called out, "Mu An Xiao, come here."
At the summons, Mu An Xiao snapped back to attention. She turned her head to glare at Jia, who was looking rather arrogant, and asked, "What is it?"
"What do you mean, 'what is it'? This task is supposed to be for the three of us, and you're standing there resting. What's that about?" Jia shouted, his voice filled with indignation.
"You little brat, can't you see I'm busy?" Mu An Xiao retorted, fixing Jia with a furious stare.
Jia remained unfazed by Mu An Xiao's glare and continued, "Busy with what? You're just standing there spacing out. We still have so many resentful souls to collect, so hurry up and help."
"You..."
"Hurry up, come here," Jia urged loudly.
"Annoying," Mu An Xiao growled, but she still went over.
Over there, Gu Yan watched Mu An Xiao, who was completely 'controlled' by Jia, revel in schadenfreude. "Mu An Xiao, if you're so capable, then find Gu Tie in that sack!" she exclaimed. Her expression froze, and she raised a hand to her mouth, stunned.
"Shut up," Mu An Xiao said, glancing sideways at Gu Yan before stopping in front of Jia.
"I won't shut up. What can you do to me?" Gu Yan, far from being grateful, became even more audacious.
Gu Yan dared to be so gleeful and arrogant because she wanted to use this method to tell Ouyang Ye that she was innocent. Furthermore, she wanted Ouyang Ye to know that even though Mu An Xiao was his fiancée, she was still a Xian. Being a Xian, Mu An Xiao would only ever act in favor of the Xian.
Therefore, she wanted to prove that Ouyang Ye should trust her the most.
Thus, deliberately ignoring Mu An Xiao's demand to shut up, she looked up at the back of Ouyang Ye's head and said, "Master, she is still siding with the Xian."
Hearing this, Ouyang Ye turned and fixed his gaze on Gu Yan, who had inexplicably uttered these words. "What are you trying to say?" Knowing Gu Yan well, he knew she wouldn't say something like this without reason.
Gu Yan: "I want to say that you still need to trust me."
"..." Ouyang Ye narrowed his eyes.
Gu Yan continued, "Master, Gu Yan and them are definitely in league with each other."
"How do you prove Gu Yan is in league with them?" Ouyang Ye asked in a low voice, fearing Mu An Xiao might overhear.
"The reason these souls can be influenced by my demonic arts is because they truly trust you and are willing to be your consciousness. However," Gu Yan lowered her voice, afraid Mu An Xiao might interfere, "Conversely, if the consciousness does not trust you, then the souls will not be affected by the deepest resentment within their soul bodies."
"Continue."
"As far as I know, if Gu Yan has betrayed you, she can find Gu Tie who has also betrayed you," Gu Yan said softly.
Ouyang Ye hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Didn't you say Gu Tie no longer exists? Why... this conclusion?"
"I just remembered, at that time, I set up that demonic enchantment to prevent those souls from rebelling. I didn't expect," Gu Yan stared intently at Ouyang Ye's face, "that it would be useful now."
"You're saying Gu Yan has truly betrayed me." Ouyang Ye still believed Gu Yan's words.
Gu Yan nodded.
Ouyang Ye also nodded. "Fine, I understand."
"Master," Gu Yan called out deliberately, speaking in a low voice, "I was forced."
"Tell me about it," Ouyang Ye said, tilting his chin slightly.
Gu Yan's eyes welled up with tears, and she said in a low voice, "I saw them coming out of the General's mansion and followed them. Little did I know, shortly after arriving here, Gu Yan suddenly reappeared. She insisted that I killed Gu Yuan. You just heard it yourself, that little thing has already admitted to hurting Gu Yuan." Her voice choked with sobs. "Of course, I can testify that it wasn't him who caused Gu Yuan to be utterly annihilated. But he did indeed win Gu Yuan over. It was also them who threatened me into manipulating Gu Yuan back into his soul body. It was during that process that I made a mistake and activated the resentment of these souls. Master, I was wrong."
"Then how did Gu Yuan get utterly annihilated?" Ouyang Ye asked again.
Gu Yan began to wail.
Seeing this, Ouyang Ye frowned. "What are you wailing about?"
"It's such a shame," Gu Yan cried, though without tears.
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Ye frowned slightly.
Over there, Mu An Xiao glanced sideways at Gu Yan, who was conversing with Ouyang Ye, and a premonition of ill omen arose in her heart. Jia also looked over there and asked in a low voice, "Mu An Xiao, what did they say? Could you hear?" He tugged at Mu An Xiao's sleeve.
Mu An Xiao snapped back to attention and shook her head slightly. "Gu Yan used demonic arts to isolate their voices, so I couldn't hear anything," she said, lowering her head to stare at Jia. "But I'm sure she wasn't saying anything good."
"She wouldn't..." Jia uttered, then whispered in alarm, "She wouldn't say it was the soul spirits, would she?" He was nervous.
Upon hearing this, the Soul Spirit stopped what he was doing, stood up, and looked at Mu An Xiao and Jia. "What's wrong?" he asked softly, walking over.
Mu An Xiao: "..." She sighed softly.
Seeing this, Jia's eyes widened. "You're finished," he said to the Soul Spirit, speaking without hesitation.
The Soul Spirit faltered, tilting his head to stare at Mu An Xiao.
Hearing this, Mu An Xiao quickly looked at Jia and said in a low voice, "Can you stop talking nonsense?" She reached out and patted Jia's head, then looked at the Soul Spirit. "Don't listen to him."
"What's going on?" the Soul Spirit asked softly. He too had become curious about the conversation between Ouyang Ye and Gu Yan.
"Gu Yan truly made a mistake this time," Mu An Xiao said in a low voice, her gaze cast downwards.
Immediately after Mu An Xiao said this, the Soul Spirit and Jia simultaneously recalled Gu Yan's actions towards Gu Yan not long ago. Then... they both sensed trouble and grabbed Mu An Xiao's sleeves in unison.
"..." Mu An Xiao thought for a moment, then looked down at them and whispered, "You two just focus on collecting resentful souls. Whatever else happens, absolutely do not get involved."
"Okay." "Okay." They trusted Mu An Xiao, released their grip, and busied themselves.