"I'll go take a look too," Mu Anxiao said, stepping over the threshold. Just as she was about to move forward, Ouyang Ye shifted to block her path. Seeing this, she grew impatient. "What are you trying to do?" she asked, fixing her gaze on Ouyang Ye's face.
"Nothing much," Ouyang Ye replied, reaching out to gently pat Mu Anxiao's head. "I just want to tell you, stay away from him."
"Don't you have confidence in yourself?" Mu Anxiao suddenly said.
"What do you mean by that?" Ouyang Ye asked.
Mu Anxiao curled her lips. "I mean nothing by it, those..."
"Why do you have demonic energy on you?" Ouyang Ye interrupted abruptly.
Mu Anxiao, caught off guard by Ouyang Ye's interruption, faltered. "No, can you not interrupt? I was saying something. And besides," she recalled using demonic arts on Hong'er earlier and paused, then continued, "the outside is full of demonic energy, so naturally some of it would rub off on me. Why are you making such a fuss?"
"The demonic energy on you..."
"You don't trust me," Mu Anxiao interrupted coldly, afraid Ouyang Ye would see through her.
Sensing Mu Anxiao's impatience, Ouyang Ye retracted his words, smiled, and said, "Let's go in."
"Let them go," Mu Anxiao said, peering at the people still controlled by the shadowy figures.
Song Xu had already stood up.
Ouyang Ye smiled faintly. "I was going to let them go anyway," he said, turning to the masked shadowy figures and commanding, "Release them and vanish."
"Yes, Master," they replied in unison, then turned into black light and disappeared.
Mu Anxiao suddenly remembered the 'Vengeful Souls' in the sack. She then thought about Feng Qishi, who was unaware of the situation. "Ouyang Ye, Feng Qishi doesn't know about the Vengeful Souls," she said, wanting to prevent Ouyang Ye from turning his attention to Feng Qishi. She got straight to the point.
Hearing this, Ouyang Ye turned to look at Mu Anxiao. "What do you mean by that?"
"If the Vengeful Souls enter the body... things could get very messy. I think you should handle this..."
"You go," Ouyang Ye interrupted, reaching out to steady Mu Anxiao's shoulders. "One last time." After saying this, he removed his hand.
"You don't need to tell me," Mu Anxiao said, bypassing Ouyang Ye and running in the direction Feng Qishi had gone.
Following her, Ouyang Ye's lips curved into a smile. He looked back at the dispersing crowd and said calmly, "They're here." He tilted his head.
"Master, Xie Shou is also here," Gu Yan appeared behind Ouyang Ye.
"What is he doing here?" Ouyang Ye asked, turning to fix his gaze on Gu Yan.
Gu Yan replied, "To help as much as possible."
"Him?" Ouyang Ye said, glancing around. "Where is he?"
"In front of the city gate."
"Why didn't he come with you?" Ouyang Ye asked again. He was too lazy to think too much about Gu Yan.
Gu Yan stammered, "Master, there are some things I don't know if I should say or not."
"You've never been so reserved around me before. Why... are you like this now?" Ouyang Ye stared intently at Gu Yan's face.
Gu Yan, intimidated by Ouyang Ye's gaze, became fearful. "Master, this matter concerns Mu Anxiao."
"About her?" Ouyang Ye said, his brow furrowing slightly. "She's already back, don't tell me... you're telling me Mu Anxiao is preventing Xie Shou?"
"No," Gu Yan shook her head.
Ouyang Ye frowned. "Speak. You know I don't like my subordinates being indirect with me."
"This matter is related to Mu Anxiao. If anything I say is not appropriate, I beg..." Gu Yan bowed slightly. "Master, please forgive me."
"Speak," Ouyang Ye uttered the word coldly.
Gu Yan took a deep breath and said, "Mu Anxiao had that spirit standing at the city gate... blocking us."
"You mean Xie Shou is being blocked outside the city gate by the spirit?"
"Yes," Gu Yan said, afraid of angering Ouyang Ye, she became exceptionally cautious. "Master, I had a difficult time escaping. Please go and save Xie Shou now."
"You can't even deal with a spirit, what good are you?"
"Master, if the spirit had nothing to do with Mu Anxiao, it would be easier to handle. The problem is..." Gu Yan was troubled. "He was sent by Mu Anxiao. If we really act against him and something happens to him, it will be difficult to resolve, and your marriage with Mu Anxiao... might be called off."
"Since you've thought it through so carefully, why are you coming to me?"
"No matter what, Xie Shou was brought here by me, and he is the pillar of those monsters. If something really happens to him, it will be difficult for me to explain when I return. Therefore," Gu Yan hesitated for a moment, then continued, "I think it would be best to have Mu Anxiao go."
"You want her to go, hmm..." Ouyang Ye said, considering his promise to Mu Anxiao. "It's not possible right now."
"Why? If this continues, Xie Shou will be in danger," Gu Yan said agitatedly.
Ouyang Ye calmly replied, "Spirits don't kill people."
"But..."
"If you are still afraid, then you can go find Mu Anxiao yourself. However," Ouyang Ye said, seeing Gu Yan's anxious expression, he relented slightly. "Do not mention that you saw me."
"Where is she?" Gu Yan asked cautiously.
"Where you once hid your soul."
"What? Master, what is she going to do?"
"Return the soul to consciousness. If you can stop her, I will reward you," Ouyang Ye said, then turned into black light and vanished.
Gu Yan thought for a moment, then hurried down the steps towards where Ouyang Ye had indicated.
Outside the city.
After a dozen rounds with the spirit, Xie Shou finally couldn't take it anymore and 'surrendered'.
"I'm not fighting anymore, I'm not fighting," he said, waving his hands and leaning unsteadily against the large locust tree.
At the same time, the spirit withdrew its hand, smiled at Xie Shou's exhausted appearance, and said, "That Gu Yan probably won't come to save you."
Xie Shou, hearing that something was amiss, quickly locked his gaze onto the spirit's face. "What do you mean by that? Or are you saying... you let her go intentionally just now."
"Intentionally, yes, but I still want you to face reality," the spirit said calmly.
Xie Shou was confused. "What exactly do you mean?"
"I heard you cursing Mu Anxiao the whole time, so I guessed," the spirit tilted its head back, looking at Xie Shou's scarred face, and a smile played on its lips. "Gu Yan must have said something to you."
"Mu Anxiao is not a good person to begin with," Xie Shou said excitedly. "No matter how many good things you say about her, it's useless."
"I'm not trying to say good things about her," the spirit said, leaning against the city wall. "It's quite cool here."
"You were sent by Mu Anxiao, so it's normal for you to say good things about her. But your denial like this makes me... curious," Xie Shou said, taking a breath.
Seeing Xie Shou's demeanor, the spirit couldn't help but smile faintly. "The pure will remain pure. I don't need to defend her. Tell me," it gestured with its chin, "how did she offend you."
"She deceived me," Xie Shou gritted his teeth.