"How am I supposed to go?" Hun Ling's mind was reeling from Jia's words.
Jia calmly pointed to the ground.
Upon seeing this, Hun Ling immediately revealed a troubled expression. Then, much like Jia, a sudden idea struck him. He glanced at Ouyang Ye, who was also looking at him, and smiled.
Ouyang Ye frowned at Hun Ling's gaze. "Why are you looking at me?" After asking, he lowered his head, glancing at Mu Anxiao and Jia who were both looking at him, and froze.
"You are, after all, their master, and besides," Hun Ling said, intentionally glancing at Mu Anxiao, "you could deceive such a formidable deity as Feng Qishi, so naturally, your sorcery must be extraordinary. Therefore, I believe... it would be best for you to go now."
"Best for what? I can't go." Ouyang Ye grew impatient.
"Why? You're their master, aren't you afraid of them?" Hun Ling was becoming anxious.
Ouyang Ye: "It's true that I'm their master, but I..." He stopped mid-sentence, his gaze fixed on Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao felt extremely uncomfortable under Ouyang Ye's sudden intense stare. "Why are you looking at me?"
"If I leave, what about her?" Ouyang Ye suddenly became deeply affectionate.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao and the others all felt a shiver crawl up their spines, and Hun Ling could say no more. Mu Anxiao immediately put on a disgusted expression. "Even without you, I can protect myself. Besides," she pointed to the other side, "Gu Yan wouldn't have asked you to come if they didn't hope you would save them. If you use me to escape reality, you might lose your authority."
"You..."
"Those souls are practically half your subordinates. If they were to rebel, it wouldn't benefit you at all. Of course," Mu Anxiao said seriously, "thinking the worst, if you continue to procrastinate, Yuan Xian will truly arrive."
"Don't try to scare me with him," Ouyang Ye growled.
Mu Anxiao completely disregarded Ouyang Ye's emotions and said, "I admit, at first, I was using him to scare you. But now, I'm stating a fact. If you continue to waste time, no one can help you. However, this is a good thing for me. At least," she smiled, "I won't have to marry you."
"I will never let you achieve that wish," Ouyang Ye said coldly.
Mu Anxiao let out a soft snort. "Since it's impossible, then go. It's better than..."
"You don't need to tell me," Ouyang Ye interrupted softly, stepping back and disappearing.
Instantly, Hun Ling breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Jia, who was staring at him. "Why are you looking at me?" he asked, involuntarily shifting his gaze.
Immediately, as Hun Ling asked the question, Jia's lips curved into a faint smile.
Seeing this, Hun Ling was baffled. "Are you sick?"
"I never realized before how clever you souls are. Now, I'm truly enlightened," Jia said, reaching out and patting Hun Ling's shoulder.
Hun Ling's body stiffened. He looked down at the shoulder Jia had touched, then felt the cold wind around them, and couldn't help but shiver. "..."
Jia watched Hun Ling's reaction, his smile becoming even more unrestrained.
Hun Ling ignored Jia and looked at Mu Anxiao, who had spoken up for him earlier. He smiled. "Mu Anxiao, thank you."
"Why are you thanking me?" Mu Anxiao asked, confused.
"You spoke up for me, I..."
"Stop," Mu Anxiao made a gesture to stop him and said, "I just don't want to be alone with him, and also, I really can't stand the way he looks at me. So, I'm only doing this for myself, it has nothing to do with you."
"Still, I must thank you," Hun Ling insisted.
Seeing Hun Ling's persistent expression, Mu Anxiao became curious about his thoughts and asked, "Are you afraid of them?"
Hun Ling frowned, not understanding Mu Anxiao's meaning.
Jia's lips curved deeper as he adopted the role of an observer.
Seeing Hun Ling's face full of questions, Mu Anxiao thought for a moment and rephrased, "I mean, are you unwilling to go because you're afraid of them?"
Hun Ling shook his head.
"No?" Mu Anxiao guessed based on Hun Ling's body language.
Hun Ling nodded.
Mu Anxiao looked at Hun Ling's expression, which clearly indicated he didn't want to answer, and hesitated before continuing, "No? Then why are you unwilling to go?"
Hun Ling sighed.
This time, Mu Anxiao couldn't understand Hun Ling. So, she crouched down, staring at Hun Ling's face at a closer distance. "..." She deliberately remained silent, wanting to see what Hun Ling would say.
At this, Jia couldn't stand it anymore. "Hun Ling, you're not the type to beat around the bush. Just say what you have to say. Why bother," he glanced at Mu Anxiao, who had crouched down for Hun Ling, "making us guess your body language? It's too much."
Hearing this, Hun Ling quickly turned his head and fixed his gaze on Jia's face.
Jia felt inexplicably guilty under Hun Ling's sudden stare. "Why are you looking at me? Did I say something wrong? You've been answering with body language the whole time. You... I didn't say anything wrong." After speaking, he turned his face slightly.
"You're in charge down there, you should know the most basic things," Hun Ling said in a low voice.
'The most basic things?' Hun Ling's words made Jia even more guilty. Under this emotional pressure, Jia began to strongly prove himself. "How do I not know? Those rules and regulations, I understand them better than anyone. You..."
"If you know, why do you still want me to go?" Hun Ling interrupted coldly.
Hun Ling's next sentence immediately touched upon Jia's blind spot. He then slowly turned his head to look at Mu Anxiao.
Just then, Mu Anxiao realized. "I remember. We cannot casually contact those souls who have been filled with resentment."
"Why?" Jia asked, confused.
Mu Anxiao glanced at Hun Ling, then at Jia, and said, "Souls filled with resentment are easily agitated. With the slightest carelessness, it can lead to a situation where both sides are injured. Most importantly, their soul bodies are very fragile. If we use too much force, it can cause them to dissipate completely. By then, even if we had a thousand mouths, we couldn't explain ourselves."
"They're fragile themselves, and they resent us?"
"That's reality," Mu Anxiao said, looking at Hun Ling. "This is why you won't go."
Hun Ling gave a hum and said, "We still don't know the situation over there. If we barge in blindly, not only will we both be injured, but if we accidentally use too much force and harm them, that would be a different story altogether."
"They have demonic energy on them," Jia suddenly said.
Mu Anxiao and Hun Ling listened to Jia's excited words and simultaneously turned their gaze back to his face. Seeing them, he gave an embarrassed smile.
"It's easy to say. You go then," Mu Anxiao said lightly.
Jia's eyes darted away. "I was just stating the most important point. I didn't say... to go." He said, glancing at Hun Ling again and grumbling, "You all know so much."
Hearing this, Hun Ling was speechless.
In contrast, Mu Anxiao let out a light laugh and said, "Indeed, children are always children."