"Then I'll trouble you to wait for me here," Mu Anxiao said sheepishly.
The red-clothed rabbit spirit shook her head slightly and said, "You two continue."
"Mhm," Mu Anxiao nodded and gently closed the door.
Following that, Hun Ling walked to the table and looked at the food on it, asking, "Why did you suddenly think of finding me?"
A smile played on Mu Anxiao's lips as he walked behind Hun Ling. "Firstly, there was no food in the kitchen, and I figured you might have some. Secondly, I'd completely forgotten about you, and then I suddenly wanted to come and see where you lived."
"You forgot about me first, didn't you?" Hun Ling said, turning to Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao chuckled, "You could say that."
"That I am such an important existence, and you could still forget me. You're something else," Hun Ling pointed at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao smiled again and said, "Feng Qi Shi has arrived. Do you know?"
"I know," Hun Ling nodded.
"Are you interested in returning below?" Mu Anxiao asked.
Hun Ling gave a bitter smile, "I'm afraid I can't go back."
"I've thought about it. You can," Mu Anxiao said confidently, pointing at Hun Ling.
Hun Ling frowned, "What absurd idea have you cooked up now?"
"What do you mean absurd idea? What I think of can all be realized," Mu Anxiao said seriously.
"Alright, tell me," Hun Ling smiled.
Mu Anxiao looked at Hun Ling's smile and said, "It's so fake."
"How is it fake?" Hun Ling frowned.
"Your smile reveals a lack of trust in me," Mu Anxiao stated directly.
Hun Ling sighed and said, "I'm really troubled right now."
"What are you troubled about?" Mu Anxiao feigned ignorance.
"Last night, it nearly killed me," Hun Ling shook his head slightly.
"What happened last night?" Mu Anxiao asked, knowing the answer.
Hun Ling, surprised that Mu Anxiao didn't know about last night, asked patiently, "Don't you know about the Rabbit Queen's actions today?"
"How could I possibly know?" Mu Anxiao said deliberately.
"The Rabbit Queen is going to take action at noon today to deal with the humans in the town. She said I should follow along," Hun Ling said, becoming listless.
"Does Piao know?" Mu Anxiao asked again.
"No," Hun Ling shook his head.
Seeing Hun Ling's demeanor, Mu Anxiao couldn't help but frown and say, "You're being unfair."
"What about me?" Hun Ling pointed at himself.
"How can you ask that? We're in the same boat, and you didn't even bother to inform me about such a big mission. What are your intentions?" Mu Anxiao feigned anger.
Hun Ling said, "Didn't you forget about me?"
"It's fine if I forget you, but you shouldn't forget me," Mu Anxiao said angrily.
"You..." Hun Ling was momentarily speechless, then said, "Alright, alright, I was wrong."
"What do you mean 'alright, alright, I was wrong'? You were wrong in the first place," Mu Anxiao poked Hun Ling.
Hun Ling lowered his head, "I couldn't help it. That rabbit kept a close eye on my every move last night. She even had me distribute radishes and cabbage to the rabbit spirits willing to fight the humans with her. I only managed to gulp down a bowl of hot soup right before you arrived. I was swamped."
"What were you busy with?" Mu Anxiao asked, pretending not to understand.
"I spent the entire night casting spells. Do you know how tiring that feels?" Hun Ling said agitatedly.
"How tiring?" Mu Anxiao retorted.
Hun Ling tilted his head back and took a breath, "Mentally and physically exhausted, my whole body weak. I'm seeing stars right now," he pointed at his bulging eyes.
Mu Anxiao swallowed and said, "Fine, I'll believe you this once."
"I was planning to come find you after I finished eating," Hun Ling said, sitting down in a chair. "Who knew you'd be here."
"I'm hungry too," Mu Anxiao said.
"I thought you guys had provisions!" Hun Ling said, pointing at the stir-fried dishes on the table. "Take everything except the casserole dish."
"Did you make all of these?" Mu Anxiao asked.
Hun Ling smiled, "Of course. Don't worry, they're all proper spells, not demonic arts."
"You use spells even for cooking?" Mu Anxiao exclaimed in surprise.
"I can't help it. I'm a soul spirit. There are many things I can't touch. This ladle was something I brought up from below back then," Hun Ling explained.
"You've worked hard," Mu Anxiao pursed his lips.
"I'll take a nap and then come find you," Hun Ling said, yawning.
"Soul spirits get sleepy too?" Mu Anxiao feigned surprise.
"I didn't used to, but ever since I started associating with those rabbits, I have. To be honest," Hun Ling exhaled, "ever since I started following them, I finally know what it means to be weary of heart."
"You are indeed quite pitiful. Even a low-level spellcaster like that could get to you," Mu Anxiao said casually.
Hun Ling gave a wry smile.
Mu Anxiao, following Hun Ling's lead, also gave a wry smile and said, "Come and eat with me."
"You really want me to go?" Hun Ling asked helplessly.
Mu Anxiao nodded.
Hun Ling hesitated for a moment and said, "Alright then. That rabbit is probably asleep by now." As he spoke, he stood up, placed the dishes onto a tray, and then used magic to lift the tray.
Mu Anxiao watched the tray float steadily with surprise and said, "Impressive. It's a shame my sentence wasn't finished. What's the hurry?"
"Didn't you say you wanted me to go with you now?" Hun Ling retracted his magic and put the tray down.
Mu Anxiao chuckled, "I was just saying it casually. Now, let's get back to the main topic. Do you want to go back below?"
"I..."
"Just answer yes or no," Mu Anxiao interrupted.
Immediately, Hun Ling said a single word without hesitation: "Yes."
"That's all I need to know," Mu Anxiao smiled.
"Can you really help me?" Hun Ling asked.
Mu Anxiao shook his head slightly, "I can't help you, but you can help yourself."
"Myself?" Hun Ling pointed at himself and sneered, "If I could, I would have already. Why wait until now?"
"There are no soul spirits around here, do you know why?" Mu Anxiao asked.
Hun Ling said, "Because soul spirits' spells can't deal with those monsters."
"But what if there were soul spirits with demonic arts, wouldn't that work?" Mu Anxiao said.
Hun Ling frowned, "What do you mean?"
"Do what you're good at. This is what you're good at," Mu Anxiao said seriously.
"They certainly won't accept me," Hun Ling said, lowering his eyes slightly.
"Whether they accept you or not is their business. As long as you accept yourself," Mu Anxiao spread his hands.
"I want..." Hun Ling pursed his lips. "Honestly, I sometimes can't accept myself like this. If possible, I'd rather not have demonic arts."
"Hong Yan, without you, it would be very difficult to achieve human form. This goes to show," Mu Anxiao said, "that nothing is absolutely good or absolutely bad. Just like those monsters who never committed evil, they eventually achieved immortality. They also used demonic arts, but they simply chose not to use them anymore."