The man in green looked at the stone lion in surprise. "You're joking, right? A carrot to get rid of a rabbit demon? This is ridiculous."
"If I'm not mistaken, the rabbit demons here have their food sorted by rank. The lower the rank, the worse the food. It just so happens that Shi Yi encountered a low-ranking one. A hungry rabbit demon would find it hard to resist food when they see it," Mu Anxiao said with his eyes closed.
The man in green looked at Mu Anxiao's tightly shut eyes and said, "Don't you have eyes on your forehead? How do you know?"
"Just because I don't have eyes on my head doesn't mean I don't have ears, you idiot," Mu Anxiao retorted, turning his face towards the wall.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's demeanor, the man in green couldn't help but chuckle. "I didn't expect you to be quite so clever."
"Take out the 'quite,' I'm inherently clever," Mu Anxiao added.
This time, the man in green simply smiled and said nothing.
Meanwhile, Feng Qishi had followed Shi Yi to the backyard of the cultivation sect. "Are you familiar with this place?" Feng Qishi asked.
Shi Yi scanned the surroundings. "Of course I am. I used to come here to find food when I had nothing better to do. Those rabbit demons usually hide their food here."
"As expected of a rat," Feng Qishi muttered.
Shi Yi's eyebrows shot up. "I'm a person now, a human!" he said, displeased.
"Alright, alright, a person, you're a person," Feng Qishi conceded, beginning to survey the area.
Shi Yi looked around, then pondered. "Wait a minute, wasn't the one called Hong Yan a rabbit?"
"Yes," Feng Qishi nodded with his back to Shi Yi.
Shi Yi lowered his gaze and thought again. "Then, she's one of their own. She wouldn't have been captured."
Upon hearing this, Feng Qishi froze. He slowly turned to face Shi Yi and blinked. "You say that, and it does make sense."
"We're not going to look for her out front, are we?" Shi Yi asked, still worried about being discovered by the rat demons.
"Otherwise? Should we just wait here?" Feng Qishi asked, not noticing Shi Yi's nervousness.
"No..." Shi Yi gave a sheepish grin. "Wouldn't it be too risky to go look directly?"
"They can't see me," Feng Qishi shrugged.
Shi Yi forced a bitter smile. "You're being very irresponsible saying that."
"I'm telling the truth," Feng Qishi said calmly.
"But..."
"No more 'buts.' Think about what you just told that gluttonous fellow," Feng Qishi interrupted.
Shi Yi thought for a moment. "I said I was a helper."
"Exactly! You're a helper, so what are you afraid of?" Feng Qishi pointed at Shi Yi's face. "Besides, you have your coin purse and your face covered. What's there to fear?"
Shi Yi chuckled. "Oh, you're right about that."
"If it makes sense, let's go," Feng Qishi smiled.
Shi Yi also let out a laugh. Just as he was about to take a step, a male rabbit demon dressed in grey saw him. "Who are you?"
Hearing this, Shi Yi glanced at Feng Qishi, who was encouraging him, swallowed, turned to the grey-clothed rabbit demon, and smiled. "I'm here to help. Uh... I got lost."
"You're a helper." The grey-clothed rabbit demon was skeptical. He walked up to Shi Yi and sniffed him. "Hmm, I believe you."
Shi Yi breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Why are you smelling me?"
"Recently, some demons have been sneaking in here. I've discovered quite a few. Hmm," the grey-clothed rabbit demon said, glancing behind him before returning his gaze. "Especially rat demons. They've set their sights on this place. And look, they've come again today."
"Is that so?" Shi Yi smiled, cold sweat soaking his back.
"You be careful too, understand?" the grey-clothed rabbit demon said, pointing at Shi Yi.
Feng Qishi watched the grey-clothed rabbit demon give Shi Yi a warning look and chuckled. "He thinks you're one of them."
Shi Yi gave a dry laugh and nodded.
"Alright, I'll take you to the front!" the grey-clothed rabbit demon said enthusiastically.
Shi Yi smiled. "Thank you so much."
"Why are you covering your face?" the grey-clothed rabbit demon asked, pointing at the blue cloth concealing Shi Yi's face.
"Oh, I'm feeling a bit unwell, but I'm supposed to help today, so I was worried about infecting everyone. It's better to keep my face covered," Shi Yi explained naturally.
Feng Qishi curled his lip. "Rats really do love to lie. Look at how smoothly that lie comes out."
Shi Yi glared at Feng Qishi and continued to smile at the grey-clothed rabbit demon before him.
The grey-clothed rabbit demon smiled. "There's a lot going on lately. Once we're done, I'll give you an extra carrot."
"Okay, thank you," Shi Yi feigned happiness.
Feng Qishi sneered. "Just one carrot? Rabbits are really stingy." With that, he followed Shi Yi.
In a blink, they arrived at the front hall. Feng Qishi looked at the scene before him and thought back to that year. He mused, "As expected of rabbits, they haven't even bothered to improve things." He then looked at Shi Yi, who was staring at him, and asked, "Why are you looking at me?"
"It's all your fault," Shi Yi gritted out, the three words complete between his teeth.
Feng Qishi frowned and looked back at the grey-clothed rabbit demon approaching with a broom. "What does he want?"
"I'm a helper," Shi Yi said, turning back to the grey-clothed rabbit demon with a smile. "This is the work I'm supposed to do."
"Yes," the grey-clothed rabbit demon said, handing the broom to Shi Yi.
Shi Yi deliberately concealed his reluctance and reached out to take the broom. Before he could speak, Feng Qishi reminded him, "Ask about Hong Yan, Hong Yan."
Shi Yi cautiously glanced at Feng Qishi. The corners of his mouth still curved upwards behind the blue cloth as he asked, "Um, do we have any new rabbit members here?"
"Your phrasing is quite roundabout," Feng Qishi commented.
Shi Yi ignored Feng Qishi and continued to smile at the grey-clothed rabbit demon, who was now thinking.
After a dozen seconds... the grey-clothed rabbit demon suddenly reacted. "Oh, yes, there seems to be a rabbit named Hong Yan. She hasn't taken human form." He furrowed his brow. "Why are you asking about this?"
"Oh, I just saw her and was curious, so I asked," Shi Yi said, his eyes crinkling with a smile.
The grey-clothed rabbit demon chuckled. "I heard she's a female rabbit."
"Really? Why are you telling me this?" Shi Yi asked, feigning ignorance.
"You clearly look like a lonely rabbit, and besides," the grey-clothed rabbit demon pointed at Shi Yi's attire, "your aura is the same as hers. I think you two might be a good match."
"You're being too direct," Shi Yi said, feigning shyness.
The grey-clothed rabbit demon laughed. "You work hard, and I..."
"Where is she?" Shi Yi asked eagerly.
The grey-clothed rabbit demon grinned. "You are indeed curious."
Shi Yi nodded.
"Her," the grey-clothed rabbit demon said, glancing at a row of houses behind him before turning back, "I've forgotten. But she's in one of these rooms. Anyway, just remember not to say I told you."