"If you wash yourself, those dog demons will find you immediately. Think carefully," the rabbit spirit warned.
Mu Anxiao asked, "If I bring these, I won't be found."
"In the eyes of those dog demons, all humans look the same. They rely on scent to distinguish them. If you don't believe me," the rabbit spirit slanted its eyes, "try it."
"The monsters I've encountered can distinguish faces," Mu Anxiao said weakly.
"Listening to you, it sounds like you want them to find you?" the rabbit spirit said with a smile.
Mu Anxiao’s eyes darted. "Of course not, but the ones I've met can indeed distinguish faces."
The rabbit spirit looked at Mu Anxiao's face, then thought about its own kin who were like dog demons. Considering its words, it quickly corrected itself, "I misspoke. It's... they never remember faces when it comes to prey; they only remember scent."
"That's what I thought!" Mu Anxiao smiled.
"How do you plan to get up?" the rabbit spirit asked, looking up towards the top. xxs
Mu Anxiao followed the rabbit spirit's gaze upwards to the cave entrance, squinted her eyes, thought for a moment, and then looked down, saying, "I have an idea."
"My demonic arts are limited," the rabbit spirit refused outright.
Mu Anxiao looked at the rabbit spirit's face, which was clearly refusing her request. Her eyes narrowed into a thin slit. "I haven't even said anything yet. Why are you so quick to refuse me? It's quite hurtful."
"If I use my arts, I will be injured," the rabbit spirit stated righteously.
Mu Anxiao gasped, "I understand. I won't ask you to use your demonic arts."
"Then what do you want me to do?" the rabbit spirit asked, looking at Mu Anxiao defensively.
Mu Anxiao looked up again, then said, "It's simple. You go up and let down a vine for me, and I'll climb up myself."
"I don't have the strength," the rabbit spirit said.
"You don't even have the strength to use your demonic arts to move that thing?" Mu Anxiao frowned. "Who are you trying to fool?"
"I really..."
"Fine, fine," Mu Anxiao interrupted. Ignoring the dirt, she crouched down. "If you won't help me, then I'll just die here. Afterwards, you can watch my dead face and cultivate."
The rabbit spirit looked at Mu Anxiao's face, couldn't help but imagine Mu Anxiao's appearance after death, lowered its head, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Alright, I'll help you."
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao instantly smiled. "This is much better."
"You wait here. I'll go and see," the rabbit spirit said, turning and burrowing into the rabbit hole.
Mu Anxiao peeked into the rabbit hole and sighed. "It really is small. I definitely can't fit inside." She then looked down at her hands, which were stuck deep in the mud, and muttered, "Forget it. It's already like this. No amount of germaphobia will help. Survival is the most important thing now."
A quarter of an hour later...
Mu Anxiao, in her sleep, heard the rabbit spirit's call, "Human, human, are you not dead yet?"
Upon hearing this, Mu Anxiao forgot her surroundings, wiped the drool from her mouth with her muddy hands, opened her eyes, and stammered out a sentence that even she didn't understand before opening her eyes fully.
"Where am I?" she mumbled, still groggy from sleep.
At the cave entrance, the rabbit spirit peered down with its red eyes at Mu Anxiao, who was surrounded by a yellow glow, and shouted, "Are you dead yet?"
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao looked up at the rabbit spirit at the cave entrance anxiously asking about her rabbit face. She instantly sobered up, looked at her hands, and then pouted. "Ew, I actually wiped my mouth with my hand. Ugh, how disgusting." As she spoke, she stood up.
"You're alive!" the rabbit spirit said, relieved.
Mu Anxiao looked up at the rabbit spirit and asked, "Did you find it?"
"No, there are tree roots on this muddy wall. You can climb up along them," the rabbit spirit reminded her.
Mu Anxiao frowned and slapped the muddy wall with her hand, saying unhappily, "Do you know why you didn't tell me earlier?"
"If I had told you earlier, what if you ran away?" the rabbit spirit said, having lost its bravado from within the hole.
Mu Anxiao pouted, then gripped the tree roots and climbed upwards little by little.
A quarter of an hour later, Mu Anxiao crawled out of the cave entrance, panting, and lay on the ground. Looking at the rabbit spirit, which was right in front of her face, she said, "Couldn't you have used your demonic arts to help me?"
"No, I have to save my demonic arts for when they are needed," the rabbit spirit said calmly.
Mu Anxiao snorted lightly, rolled over, and lay on her back, looking at the sky through gaps in the branches and leaves. "The air here is still good."
"When are we going to the human world?" the rabbit spirit asked, circling around to Mu Anxiao's ear.
Mu Anxiao slanted her eyes and said, "I haven't had a moment's peace since I got back. Just let me rest for a bit."
"You're going back on your word," the rabbit spirit's tone suddenly turned cold.
Mu Anxiao heard this and quickly turned to look at the rabbit spirit's almost furious rabbit face, grinning. "No, just let me rest for a bit, just a bit."
"Alright, half an hour," the rabbit spirit said, lying down by Mu Anxiao's ear.
Mu Anxiao gave a dry laugh, turned her head back, and closed her eyes.
Not long after, the voice of the dog-headed demon reached Mu Anxiao's ears.
"Hey, have you seen a running woman?" he asked, crouching down and meeting Mu Anxiao's sleeping eyes.
Mu Anxiao recognized the voice of the dog-headed demon and, not daring to open her eyes, said, "I'm blind. However, not long ago, I did feel someone step over my face."
"Over your face?" the dog-headed demon squinted at Mu Anxiao's face and asked, "Do you know which way she ran?"
"It should be behind you," Mu Anxiao said.
"Behind you," the dog-headed demon repeated, turning to look behind him, then back to ask, "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Mu Anxiao replied firmly.
"That's not right. She stepped over your face, so why would she be running behind our boss?" one of the smaller demons asked, having realized.
"Oh," Mu Anxiao's eyelids fluttered slightly. "She ran to the right."
"To the right," the dog-headed demon repeated, turning his head to look in the right direction and asking, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, hurry up and chase her. I hope you catch her soon," Mu Anxiao said with a dry smile.
"You'd better not be lying to me," the dog-headed demon said, placing his hand on Mu Anxiao's shoulder. "Otherwise, I'll come back and eat you."
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare," Mu Anxiao began to break out in a cold sweat.
The dog-headed demon snorted, stood up, and left with his subordinates.
"Did they leave?" Mu Anxiao whispered.
The rabbit spirit asked Mu Anxiao's ear, "They were looking for you, weren't they?"
"Shh, let's go," Mu Anxiao opened her eyes and quickly sat up.
The rabbit spirit was also startled by those demons, so it said nothing more.
Mu Anxiao reached out, picked up the rabbit spirit, and hugged it to her chest. "This way will be faster."
"You're right," the rabbit spirit whispered.