After a series of screams and footsteps, the scene seemed to fall silent again.
The four people hiding exchanged glances, then walked out. They didn't see Liang Mu, only Banxia standing there in a daze.
Hearing the footsteps, Banxia turned around and said, "Lord Nero, I… I think I scared him…"
"Mm. You did." Nero nodded.
"So, Lord Nero, why do something like this?" Banxia asked. "Why make me pretend to be a mara-struck body to…"
"Because those letters he wrote felt strange to me," Nero said.
"So I wanted to see how your beloved would react if he knew you had fallen into the mara-struck condition."
"Even though I've never been in a relationship, this kind of thing is usually mutual, right?"
"Since you can betray the Medicine King's Secret for him and endure the mara-struck condition, then when facing you after you've fallen into it, he should love you just as deeply."
"Mm, he definitely will." Banxia froze for a moment, then smiled softly.
Seeing her reaction, Nero shrugged. "Alright, now just pretend to be a defeated mara-struck body."
After saying that, he turned to Stelle, March, and Bailu. "Let's go take a look at that Liang Mu."
Then the group followed Nero forward. As they walked, Bailu asked, "Nero, why did you suddenly think of testing Liang Mu's feelings for Sister Banxia?
"Even though I don't really understand, what we're doing doesn't seem very good, right? Even though those letters did feel strange. He said immortality wasn't the goal, but almost every line showed his desire for it."
"Because I want to," Nero replied simply.
Hearing that, Bailu twitched her mouth but didn't say anything more.
Because that answer was very Nero.
After walking for a while, they quickly found Liang Mu, who was trembling with fear. Banxia stayed hidden, following from the shadows, thinking to herself, "When Lord Nero tells Liang Mu that the mara-struck body just now was me, he'll definitely rush back to find me, right?"
Over here, after seeing Nero and the other four approaching aggressively, Liang Mu, already frightened, became even more timid.
He grabbed the railing tightly, crouched down, and said shakily, "Are you from the Medicine King's Secret or the Ten Lords Commission? I didn't do anything, don't touch me!"
Seeing his reaction, Bailu put her hands on her hips and said, "This young lady was invited by Banxia to treat your illness!"
After Bailu spoke, Liang Mu froze for a moment, then relaxed. He immediately changed to a tone that was both familiar and complaining.
"You finally came. Just now I was being chased by the Medicine King's Secret, then I ran into the Cloud Knights. I thought I heard Banxia's voice, but I ran into a monster instead. What bad luck!"
After complaining, he craned his neck and looked around behind them, asking, "Since you were sent by Banxia, then… where is she? Didn't she come with you?"
"The mara-struck monster you just encountered is Banxia," Nero said.
"What?! You're saying that fully armored monster is Banxia? Stop lying," Liang Mu shouted.
"It's true. She had to disguise herself just to come see you," Nero said with narrowed eyes. It wasn't really a lie, since he was the one who asked her to do it.
Liang Mu blinked, his voice trembling. "How could this be… can you take me back to… confirm it?"
Hearing this, Banxia hiding in the shadows felt a burst of joy. "Just as I thought!"
She quickly moved quietly back to the previous spot and lay down on the ground.
The group didn't refuse. They led Liang Mu back and returned to the place where he had called Banxia a monster.
Then Liang Mu looked down at Banxia lying on the ground and muttered with confusion and faint disgust, "Banxia… how did this woman become so ugly?"
Bailu blinked at Banxia on the ground. "Ugly?"
She looked up at Liang Mu. "Are you too shocked to accept it for a moment?"
After Bailu, Nero's voice sounded calmly as he described what had happened, recounting Banxia's actions based on his memory of doing this quest.
"So he changed his clothes. Then there's nothing to search on this mara-struck monster's body," Liang Mu said, frowning, his tone carrying a trace of regret.
Everyone except Nero was stunned, as if they hadn't expected this kind of reaction from Liang Mu.
Banxia, lying on the ground, also froze. It felt like her heart skipped a beat, then turned heavy, painfully dragging downward, as if it might sink all the way to her back.
But what happened next made that heavy heart grow even colder.
Liang Mu didn't linger on Banxia. Instead, he raised his head and looked at Nero and the others with hope. "Hey, did she leave you any secret box or letters or something?"
"Se-search for what?" Bailu looked at Banxia in shock.
Hearing this response, Liang Mu frowned, glanced at Banxia with disgust, then said angrily, "You don't know either? Damn it, she didn't leave anything behind. That damn woman tricked me!"
Liang Mu's reaction made everyone frown, but he kept muttering to himself, "Damn it, where's the list? The organizational list of the Medicine King's Secret?"
"With that, I can threaten them to get the elixir of immortality, and I can hand it over to the Cloud Knights to atone for my crimes. I won't have to be expelled from the Xianzhou…"
"What are you saying!" March shouted angrily, almost rushing forward to hit him, but Stelle, still holding back her anger, stopped her.
Without Nero, the outcome of this journey would have been obvious. And in the end, this was Liang Mu's reaction…
Banxia's body trembled slightly on the ground. Beneath the helmet, she bit her lip, using all her strength to keep herself from making a sound.
Liang Mu seemed not to notice the reactions around him, or maybe he didn't care. He just clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and spoke with resentment, as if he wanted to kick Banxia a few times.
"That damn woman promised me so many times. I finally believed her, believed she could bring me change!"
"In the end, the most important thing, she still didn't do it… no, actually she never could from the beginning. That must be it. You were all deceived too!"
"So what is the most important thing to you? Immortality?" Nero asked calmly.
"Of course not," Liang Mu said. "I have more important things elsewhere, not on the Xianzhou. Seeking medicine or longevity is just a means. I won't stay on the Luofu."
Bailu gritted her teeth, clenching her fists. The dragon aura behind her swayed, as if she could no longer suppress her anger.
"Isn't she your lover?" March asked.
But she received a dismissive reply from Liang Mu. "Lover? That was just her wishful thinking. I never considered something like that. Don't tell me you also thought I was her lover?"
Bailu took a deep breath. "Treatment… let me finish treating you quickly, then get out!"
"Huh?" Liang Mu froze.
At that moment, a hand suddenly grabbed his leg.
Then a huge force pulled, and Liang Mu fell straight to the ground. He then saw the mara-struck Banxia, who had been lying there, stand up.
"Liang Mu…"
A suppressed, painful voice came from beneath the helmet. Banxia took off her helmet. Her eyes were red, tears still swirling inside them.
"Do it. At this point, stop holding back!" Nero's voice came from behind.
Then everyone surrounded Liang Mu.
"Banxia! You actually dared to deceive me!?" Liang Mu originally shouted angrily, but the moment he was surrounded, he panicked. "Wait, what are you doing... ah!!!"
Before he could finish speaking, Nero launched the first attack, using the kicking technique he had learned from Seele in Belobog, and stomped Liang Mu into a curled-up shrimp in one strike…u