"You speak sense," the wolf demon agreed with Mu Anxiao's words.
Under their back-and-forth, Song Xi retracted his mockery and put on a stern face, "You two walk the rest of the way yourselves; I'm not leading you anymore."
"Why not?" Mu Anxiao feigned ignorance.
Song Xi frowned, "I was ordered by the master to bring you to find Jiong Ye, but you..." He looked wronged, "You gang up to bully me like this, I..."
"You're the second master of this Demon Cultivation Land, yet you can't handle such a little setback," Mu Anxiao deliberately interrupted Song Xi, tutting, "No wonder the demons here are all so insincere towards you."
"Insincere? What do you mean by that?" Song Xi took Mu Anxiao's words to heart.
Mu Anxiao pursed her lips and smiled, "Haven't you noticed that the minor demons who greet you don't even look you in the eye?" As she spoke, she peeked towards a minor demon approaching them.
Immediately, as Song Xi slowly turned his head following Mu Anxiao's gaze, the minor demon, without even glancing at Song Xi, said, "Greetings," and then quickly departed.
Song Xi froze, watching the scene unfold.
Mu Anxiao, observing Song Xi's reaction, smiled again, "It's clear they're just giving you a perfunctory greeting."
Hearing this, Song Xi, who hadn't been too bothered before, suddenly felt a pang of distress at Mu Anxiao's reminder, "Are you saying they don't truly respect me?" He turned his side towards Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao looked at Song Xi with a composed expression and gave a fake smile, "I know now."
"What do you know?" Song Xi frowned.
All the way, Mu Anxiao had been observing Song Xi's every move. During this process, Mu Anxiao formed an idea completely opposite to the wolf demon's. Thus, she realized Song Xi was actually insecure; the reason he ignored those demons wasn't anything else, but that he didn't know how to respond. As for her cooperation with the wolf demon earlier, it was merely to understand Song Xi more deeply, to identify his weaknesses, and to pique his curiosity about her words.
Now, the time was clearly ripe. "I know you're not as powerful as others perceive you to be." She intended to provoke Song Xi.
The wolf demon hadn't expected any of this. Seeing Mu Anxiao's serious expression at this moment, he suddenly felt... nervous.
Song Xi's eyes darkened, "I never said I was powerful. You... stop making wild assumptions about me. I'm just an uncivilized demon, so what?" He wanted to use Mu Anxiao's earlier words to protect himself.
"I've seen through you. You don't need to try and hide yourself anymore," Mu Anxiao said softly.
Song Xi averted his gaze.
Mu Anxiao smiled, "You say you respect Xi'er, but in reality, you really hate it when people say you got to where you are because of her, right?"
"What exactly do you want to say?" Song Xi couldn't understand Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao smiled faintly, "To understand you."
"Why do you want to understand me?" Song Xi frowned.
Mu Anxiao maintained the smile on her face, "Only by understanding you can I understand everything about this place. Do you get what I mean?"
"You want to use me," Song Xi guessed.
Mu Anxiao shook her head.
Song Xi was bewildered, "Then what do you mean by saying all this?"
"It means," Mu Anxiao took a sharp breath, "it means I think you're very capable. If possible, would you teach me the demonic arts?"
"Me?" Song Xi pointed at himself, then shook his head, "I don't teach others these things. You... should find someone else."
"Don't you want Xi'er to look at you with new eyes?" Mu Anxiao said calmly.
Upon hearing this, Song Xi's eyes clearly lit up, but it was only for a moment... then it vanished, "I don't want to."
"Do you know what Xi'er wants?" Mu Anxiao asked pointedly.
Song Xi dodged his gaze again, saying, "She just wants a stable life and to serve the master well, nothing more."
"She also wants a man who can protect her," Mu Anxiao stated seriously.
Song Xi frowned.
Mu Anxiao watched Song Xi's slight frown with a composed expression and continued, "You are her husband; at the very least, you should give her a sense of security. Follow me... no," she cleared her throat, "be my teacher. While you teach me the demonic arts, I'll also teach you how to protect Xi'er. How about it?"
"Are you trying to strike a deal with me?" Song Xi narrowed his eyes.
Mu Anxiao's lips curved, "My hobby is changing people. Honestly, I've been observing you all this way. You... are worth changing, and even more so worth making a deal with." She intended to give Song Xi courage.
The wolf demon, listening to Mu Anxiao's words, became displeased, "Mu Anxiao, he looks down on me, and you're still helping him. Am I not your friend?" He glared at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao knew the wolf demon would butt in, so she had already prepared a placating response, "You too. Everyone's a henpecked husband, and you still have to say this about him. It evens out."
"You..."
"Be lenient when you can be lenient, Wolf Demon. Be like him and have some magnanimity," Mu Anxiao interrupted, giving the wolf demon a significant look.
"I have magnanimity," the wolf demon finally understood Mu Anxiao's signal and said in a low voice.
"Alright, shut up now," Mu Anxiao pointed at the wolf demon, then turned back to Song Xi, who was deep in thought, and said, "Think about it."
"Can you really help me?" Song Xi conceded, retracting his thoughts and looking up at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao smiled, seeing that Song Xi had been persuaded, "Of course."
"You're the first person I'm helping, but..." Song Xi said, his eyes becoming particularly cautious, "I can't guarantee... my wife and the master will agree."
"I only need your agreement, that's enough," Mu Anxiao said, then turned to glance at the obedient wolf demon beside her, "My friend here is quite concerned about how others perceive him, so..."
"I apologize, I looked down on you. That was my mistake," Song Xi knew what Mu Anxiao was about to say, so he preempted her.
The wolf demon hadn't expected Song Xi to apologize to him. Hearing it so abruptly now, he couldn't help but be... surprised, "You, the master of this Demon Cultivation Land, apologizing to me, is truly astonishing."
"Can we go now?" Mu Anxiao knew the wolf demon was deliberately trying to make things difficult for Song Xi, so she intended to resolve the situation.
Following that, Song Xi glanced at the wolf demon and turned to walk ahead.
The wolf demon blinked, about to continue the topic, but was stopped by Mu Anxiao, "You'd better say less. If you say any more, you're going back." With that, she released her hand and walked away.
Seeing this, the wolf demon curled his lips and followed Mu Anxiao, "I won't say anything, don't be angry. Anger hurts harmony."
In a blink of an eye.
Mu Anxiao and the others stopped before a small forest filled with mist. Before this, Mu Anxiao had never considered how vast the Demon Cultivation Land truly was. It was only now, after following Song Xi for so long, that she realized this place was indeed not just large, but immensely so. As far as the eye could see, Mu Anxiao was filled with astonishment...