"Are you still going to talk?" Mu Anxiao moved her hand away and asked.
"No more," the red-clothed rabbit spirit breathed a sigh of relief.
"Can my disciple rest now?" Mu Anxiao smiled.
The red-clothed rabbit spirit glanced at Yan's retreating back and said with a trembling voice, "You rest!"
"That's more like it." Mu Anxiao reached out and patted the red-clothed rabbit spirit's shoulder, then looked at Yan, "What are you still standing there for? Go rest."
"Okay." Yan nodded and hurried to Mu Anxiao's side.
Mu Anxiao glanced at Yan, then back at the red-clothed rabbit spirit, "Alright, you can rest now too."
"I'll give you a quarter of an hour to rest, and we'll continue later," the red-clothed rabbit spirit said, deliberately putting on a dignified demeanor.
Mu Anxiao snorted, "Is this your rabbit etiquette?"
"Yes." The red-clothed rabbit spirit nodded slightly.
Mu Anxiao turned her head and smiled, "You really are a bunch of disingenuous rabbits."
"What do you mean by that?" the red-clothed rabbit spirit expressed displeasure.
Mu Anxiao met the red-clothed rabbit spirit's gaze and said, "You say you hate humans, yet everything here is done in imitation of humans. If you have the ability, invent your own rules, your own etiquette."
"This is called borrowing," the red-clothed rabbit spirit said righteously.
Mu Anxiao sneered, "Borrowing? This is plagiarism. If you have the ability, survive in this world with your true form. Why do you bother transforming into humans?"
"We like it, what business is it of yours?" the red-clothed rabbit spirit glared at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao shrugged, "I didn't say I was going to meddle. I'm just stating my opinion. Unless," her face turned cold, "you intend to deprive me of that right."
"In a quarter of an hour, I..."
"I've met great yokai, and they know my character. If I were to deliberately change, the great yokai might be displeased," Mu Anxiao interrupted.
The red-clothed rabbit spirit was startled.
Yan tightened her grip on Mu Anxiao's arm and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao turned her head to look at Yan and asked, "Didn't I tell you?"
Yan shook her head.
Seeing Yan's growing panic, Mu Anxiao said, "Well, I did tell you. Don't overreact."
Yan nodded.
"The specter we ate with earlier... is a great yokai," Mu Anxiao said, her tone serious rather than flippant.
The next second, Yan let go, stumbled back a step, and said, "We're doomed."
"How are we doomed?" Mu Anxiao asked.
Yan looked up at Mu Anxiao and said, "They said..." She deliberately glanced at the red-clothed rabbit spirit, then continued, "...that the great yokai has no face, but we saw his true form. Do you think we can still live?"
"Perhaps it was fake?" Mu Anxiao felt a surge of nervousness upon hearing Yan's words.
"I think it was real," Yan said earnestly.
Mu Anxiao was speechless.
"Everyone only casually said he had no face; only the Rabbit Queen has seen his true form," the red-clothed rabbit spirit added.
Mu Anxiao's heart sank, "Then that means we're truly doomed."
Yan pouted and said, "Yeah, we saw his face, and we talked to him for so long. Our backgrounds are basically all exposed. We're doomed, we're doomed."
"You didn't say you weren't rabbits, did you?" the red-clothed rabbit spirit asked nervously.
"If we had, we would have died on the spot," Mu Anxiao said, trying to suppress the fear that was gradually rising within her.
"That's good then," the red-clothed rabbit spirit breathed a sigh of relief.
Mu Anxiao said, "It seems we must think of a way."
Seeing the fear on Mu Anxiao's face, the red-clothed rabbit spirit rolled her eyes and said, "Alright then, you wait."
"No need to learn etiquette anymore?" Mu Anxiao asked.
"The great yokai knows your conduct. If I correct you, you might die even faster. So, I'm leaving first." With that, the red-clothed rabbit spirit turned and hurried away.
Mu Anxiao glanced at the departing figure of the red-clothed rabbit spirit and said, "This guy is trying to distance himself."
"What do you mean?" Yan was confused.
Mu Anxiao said, "The great yokai already knows our personalities. When the great yokai talks about it, she'll say I'm undisciplined, thus distancing herself from it."
"Why do you only implicate yourself?" Yan frowned and asked.
Mu Anxiao smiled at Yan and said, "You're already very excellent, and I've noticed that the specter has a pretty good impression of you. So, don't worry, you'll be fine."
"What about you then?" Yan became worried.
Mu Anxiao lowered her eyes, thought for a moment, and sighed, "What else can I do? I can only let nature take its course."
"You're not going to die, are you?" Yan asked again.
Mu Anxiao smiled, "Don't ask. I know how to protect my own life. The urgent matter now is to figure out how to leave here."
"You're right," Yan agreed.
Mu Anxiao turned and walked to the table, sat down, and asked, "Can you sense the demonic barrier?"
"Yes," Yan turned and said from behind Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao glanced towards the window and asked, "Is the demonic barrier still there?" She calculated the time, estimating that Xu Lanyan should have succeeded by now!
Yan followed Mu Anxiao's gaze towards the window and said, "No, the demonic barrier is still there."
Upon hearing this, Mu Anxiao was taken aback. She turned to Yan and asked, "Can immortal fire remove demonic barriers?"
"Immortal fire," Yan repeated, consciously sitting beside Mu Anxiao, and thought for a moment before saying, "Grandma said that immortal fire can remove demonic barriers, but in this situation, if that method is used, it will cause a forest fire, and then not only this place but also the townspeople will suffer."
"Ah?" Mu Anxiao hadn't expected the consequences to be so severe. She reached out and touched her teacup, thinking: So, Xu Lanyan must have also considered this.
"Why do you suddenly ask about this?" Yan asked with a puzzled expression.
Mu Anxiao couldn't help but avert her gaze and said, "I have a friend who can use immortal fire. I was originally planning to send a signal for him to come, but hearing what you said, I think it's best to forget it."
"If it were possible, how would you send a signal?" Yan leaned forward and asked Mu Anxiao curiously.
Mu Anxiao glanced at Yan and gave a dry chuckle, "Although I'm a good-for-nothing, I do know a little bit of signaling magic. However," she looked at her index finger, "it seems I can't use it now."
Yan stared at Mu Anxiao for a few seconds and said, "Even if the demonic barrier is removed, we still can't get out, right?"
"You're right." Mu Anxiao, seeing that the situation was not easily resolved, decided not to tell Yan her plan.
Yan sighed and picked up her teacup, saying, "I really didn't expect the specter to be a great yokai."
Mu Anxiao shrugged, "You know, I didn't expect it either."