"Brother has been captured, we must go save him," Xu Lanyan cried. "I'm sorry, I didn't think of it just now, not until I saw this big brother's face. I remembered." She pointed at the dog-headed demon.
"My face?" The dog-headed demon, utterly confused, pointed to himself.
"Yes, my elder brother is just like you, without a human face. He was truly pitiful. To get a human face, he made a mistake and was captured by that damned... Mu Anxiao. We want to save him, but..." Xu Lanyan broke down in tears. "Every time, she beats us black and blue."
"Your enemy is also Mu Anxiao?" the dog-headed demon asked with surprise.
"Yes," Xu Lanyan nodded, nudging the black-clothed demon hard with her elbow.
The black-clothed demon glanced at Xu Lanyan, feigning impatience, and said, "Big brother, I haven't even met him. Why don't you refuse Mother and always make me follow you?"
"Brother, he is our elder brother," Xu Lanyan sobbed. "Speaking like that is too heartless."
"Big brother has no human face, and it's not my fault," the black-clothed demon said, pretending to be ignorant.
Following this, the dog-headed demon glared fiercely at the black-clothed demon's face.
Xu Lanyan glanced at the black-clothed demon, then suddenly raised her fist and punched him hard in the face. The black-clothed demon lost his footing and fell to the ground.
"He is our elder brother. If Mother hears you speaking like this now, she'll beat you too," Xu Lanyan roared.
The black-clothed demon blinked in confusion, tilted his head back, and continued to play along, "If you want to find Mu Anxiao, go find her! If you have the guts, deal with her! You always take your anger out on me," he began to cry, "what kind of behavior is that!"
"Just because you said it has nothing to do with you, I'm going to hit you," Xu Lanyan continued to shout.
The black-clothed demon looked at Xu Lanyan's furious expression and said aggrievedly, "I was wrong, brother."
"You know you were wrong," Xu Lanyan's tone softened.
The black-clothed demon nodded.
Watching the deep brotherly affection between Xu Lanyan and the black-clothed demon, the dog-headed demon couldn't help but recall his own experiences with his elder brother, and how he had disrespected him. His heart sank. He bent down, took the black-clothed demon's arm, and looked up, saying, "Your brother might not understand now, but that doesn't mean he never will. Don't be like this." He then lowered his eyes to look at the black-clothed demon, "You haven't done anything evil?"
"You can tell he hasn't done anything evil," Xu Lanyan said.
The dog-headed demon pulled the black-clothed demon up and released his arm, saying, "Yes."
"He's just like this, always thinking of retreating when faced with difficulty. Several times, I almost defeated Mu Anxiao, but because of this brat, I always held back," Xu Lanyan complained.
"You can come in with me," the dog-headed demon suddenly said.
"No need," Xu Lanyan deliberately refused.
"Brother, I'm hungry," the black-clothed demon said, feigning grievance.
"What a burden. If Mother hadn't told me to bring you, I wouldn't have brought you out at all," Xu Lanyan said, then asked the dog-headed demon, "Um, do you have any meat here?"
"We have steamed buns," the dog-headed demon replied.
"No meat?" the black-clothed demon pouted.
"You're a male demon, pouting like that is unbecoming," Xu Lanyan said, pointing at the black-clothed demon's mouth.
Upon hearing this, the black-clothed demon pursed his lips and said, "Brother, this elder brother seems like a good demon. They've invited us, it wouldn't be right to refuse."
Xu Lanyan glanced at the dog-headed demon with feigned hesitation, then nodded, "Alright then."
"Let's go," the dog-headed demon moved aside.
"Thank you," Xu Lanyan cupped her fists.
In the room, Mu Anxiao and Yan stood by a screen. Yan stared intently at the landscape painting on the screen, unmoving. In contrast, Mu Anxiao couldn't stand still, swaying from side to side, saying, "I can't stand still anymore."
The red-clothed rabbit demon, holding a feather duster, watched Mu Anxiao's restless back and said, "If you don't stand still, I'll hit you." She pointed the feather duster at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao turned her head slightly and said, "If you dare to hit me, I promise my counter-attack will be twice as strong."
"I know demonic arts. You're useless. Twice as strong? You can't even brag properly," the red-clothed rabbit demon said, swinging the feather duster.
Mu Anxiao twisted her lips and said, "Rabbit, your weakness is on top of your head. If I hit your head, you'll immediately lose all your demonic arts. Want to try?"
"I didn't even know I had that weakness," the red-clothed rabbit demon said.
"I'm just guessing, but if you hit me, I'll have to verify it," Mu Anxiao said deliberately.
Hearing this, the red-clothed rabbit demon put down the feather duster and said, "Then stand still, alright?"
"No, my legs hurt," Mu Anxiao said, bending over even more to rub her leg.
"Great demons particularly dislike those who don't follow rules. Acting like this will enrage him," the red-clothed rabbit demon warned.
Mu Anxiao straightened up, yawned, and turned around, saying, "Enrage him? You've already enraged me. Do you know that?" She deliberately pointed at the red-clothed rabbit demon's head.
The red-clothed rabbit demon touched her head, then looked at Mu Anxiao's face and said, "Fine, do as you please. Anyway, if you die, don't implicate me."
"That... can't be said for sure," Mu Anxiao shrugged.
"What do you mean 'can't be said for sure'?" the red-clothed rabbit demon asked nervously.
"It means that if I enrage that great demon, and you are the rabbit who taught me manners, you won't be able to escape the consequences either," Mu Anxiao smiled.
"You..."
"Stop with the 'you'. Let me rest, and I'll obey your orders."
"Really?"
"Why would I lie to you? I'm exhausted," Mu Anxiao said, stepping forward to sit at the table.
Yan glanced up and said, "Master, what about me?"
"You come here too," Mu Anxiao picked up her teacup.
Yan swallowed, and just as she was about to move, the red-clothed rabbit demon suddenly exclaimed loudly, "You are not allowed to move."
Mu Anxiao raised her hand to cover her ears and said, "Keep your voice down, you've scared my timid disciple." She then turned to look at Yan, who had frozen, "Come here, don't be afraid."
Yan dared not move.
The red-clothed rabbit demon said, "You can rest, but she..."
"Be careful of your head," Mu Anxiao pointed at the red-clothed rabbit demon's head.
The red-clothed rabbit demon looked at Mu Anxiao's finger, her heart tightening. "I'm only letting you rest because you were being flippant. I don't believe your words."
"Better safe than sorry," Mu Anxiao put down her teacup, stood up, walked gracefully to the red-clothed rabbit demon, and gently patted her head. "Have you ever heard the saying 'better safe than sorry'?"
"I have," the red-clothed rabbit demon looked up at Mu Anxiao's hand and nodded.