"I really can't tell," the little girl said, looking at Xu Lan, who was staring at the black rope.
"I remember now," Xu Lan replied, "Besides soul of demon, soul of human can also touch this."
The little girl pushed the bowl blocking her hand away and propped her chin with one hand. "Continue."
"Her accomplice, not a soul of demon?" Xu Lan looked at the little girl.
The little girl blinked her eyes. "As I said before, some things you still have to explore yourselves." With that, she stood up. Xu Lan asked, "Where are you going?"
"I'm full. Time to sleep."
"But…"
"Tell her for me, the noodles she made are quite good," the little girl interrupted, glancing at Xu Lan, and walked around the table towards the upstairs.
Xu Lan: "..." A twitch pulled at the corner of her mouth.
Xu Lan stared at the black rope, her eyes widening. "Not good!"
"Master, what's wrong?"
"If that's the case," Xu Lan said, "then it's not just her alone."
"What do you mean?" Xu Lan was a bit confused.
"Feng Qi Shi and Mu An Xiao were dealing with..." Xu Lan said solemnly, "not just one soul of demon, but also a soul of human."
"Then we..."
"Only two people can enter that place. We can't," Xu Lan interrupted.
Xu Lan: "Then..." She pursed her lips. "We can only pray for them."
"..." Xu Lan sighed.
At the same time, the little cook walked to the table with a tray, asking, "Where's that girl?" She looked around.
"She went to sleep."
"Sleep after eating?" the little cook was surprised.
Xu Lan: "Maybe she's growing."
The little cook: "..." She was speechless for a few seconds at Xu Lan's response, then asked, "What about this bowl of noodles?" She placed the tray with the noodle bowl on the table.
Then, Xu Lan remembered what the little girl had said before leaving, swallowed, and said, "If you don't take my inner core, I'll eat it."
"You want to eat it?"
Xu Lan nodded. "Yes, I'll eat it, but the condition is that you can't take my inner core. If you ask me for my inner core," she shrugged, "then I won't eat it. I don't owe you a meal anyway."
However, these noodles were also eaten by the young girl at the request of the waiter.
Naturally, the little cook didn't care about these things. "As long as you finish it, that's all that matters." She personally took the noodles out of the tray and placed them in front of Xu Lan.
Xu Lan smiled. "Alright!" After agreeing, she picked up her chopsticks and started eating ravenously.
Seeing Xu Lan's demeanor, the little cook's lips couldn't help but turn upwards. "Is it delicious?"
Xu Lan: "Just as that little girl said," she gave a thumbs-up, "Delicious!"
In the eyes of the little cook, the little girl had no sense of taste, so her words had no credibility.
But Xu Lan was different.
Hearing Xu Lan's words now, and seeing her thumbs-up, the little cook smiled. "That's good then."
Xu Lan calmly watched the little cook's expression, which was on the verge of tears from smiling, and asked, "Do you know much about the Demon Realm?"
Upon hearing this, the little cook looked at Xu Lan. "Reasonably well. What's wrong?"
Xu Lan: "Then do you know... where the souls of humans usually go when they enter the Demon Realm?"
This was a topic Xu Lan never wanted to bring up, because the escape of a soul of human was a failure for them!
But to know the safety of Mu An Xiao and Feng Qi Shi, he had to ask, there was no other way.
"Master?" Xu Lan was surprised.
The little cook said, "I haven't seen the soul of human you're talking about."
Xu Lan: "..."
Then, the little cook looked down at the black rope in Xu Lan's hand, and said excitedly, "I remember now."
"What do you remember?"
"Deep in the demon forest, there is a place that is very mysterious. I heard that it is one of the places demons are most unwilling to approach."
"Why?"
"Because," the little cook said hesitantly, "that place is full of demonic energy. We don't like demonic energy."
"Demonic energy?"
"Yes, I heard there are many souls of demon there, all of whom have escaped from your side. Of course," the little cook emphasized, "we are not afraid of them, it's just... they are a bit strange."
If it were any other demon saying this, Xu Lan could understand.
But for a demon like the little cook, who was easily swayed by souls of demon and had become a slave to them, to say this, she found it strange. "I think you're quite afraid of souls of demon."
The little cook: "..."
Xu Lan continued, "Why aren't you talking anymore?"
The little cook: "That's just a matter of benefit. If it weren't for the future of the inn, I wouldn't pay attention to her. Besides," she frowned, "I'm not afraid of her, I just treat her as a partner."
"..." Xu Lan smiled at the little cook. "In my opinion, you and your boss are the most cowardly demons I've ever seen."
"You two are the same," the little cook glanced at Xu Lan and Xu Lan.
Xu Lan: "..."
Xu Lan said, "You explain yourself clearly."
"This mission was yours, yet you pushed all this onto Feng Qi Shi and Mu An Xiao, who were completely unrelated to this matter," the little cook chuckled with her eyes lowered. "Thinking about it, it's really laughable."
"You..."
"I'm only saying this because you said that about me."
Xu Lan's eyes widened, then she pondered the little cook's words, and said in a low voice, "What you're saying is not without reason."
"You admit it?"
"That soul of demon is indeed difficult to deal with."
"You... admit you're cowardly?" the little cook was still surprised.
Xu Lan sighed. "..."
Xu Lan, however, paid no mind to the little cook's every word. Instead, he cared more about the place the little cook had mentioned.
So, he asked, "That place is full of demonic energy. Then... where is the end of the demon forest?"
"You don't know?" the little cook was astonished.
Xu Lan asked, "What should I know?"
"The end of the demon forest is there. But... as long as you pass through that place filled with demonic energy, it's your territory."
"Our?" Xu Lan repeated calmly. "I really didn't know about this."
"You..." the little cook uttered a word, then thought again, "That's right. You have your own special path, so you surely wouldn't have come into contact with that place."
"..." Xu Lan thought based on the little cook's words. "By the way, that little girl said that only two people can enter that place at a time. What did she mean?"
The little cook shook her head. "I don't know. I only know that normal demons generally don't go there, because if they go there," she took a deep breath, "they never return."
"Never return?" Xu Lan repeated, starting to worry about their safety.
Xu Lan no longer wanted to tease the little cook.
Immediately, she looked at Xu Lan and asked, "Master, what do we do next?"
Xu Lan glanced at Xu Lan and said, "You stay here. I'll go." He stood up.
"Master?" Xu Lan also stood up.
Seeing Xu Lan's resolute side, the little cook said, "In such dark weather, if you go out, you'll only get lost."