"You're so annoying when you talk," Yan said, looking unhappily at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao smiled, "I'm just stating the truth."
"You..." Yan faltered, turning her back. "Since that's the case, you can rest. I'm leaving."
Mu Anxiao looked up at Yan's retreating figure and casually asked, "Did your grandmother come?"
"No, I came with them. I thought we were here to discuss matters, but who knew that those damned rabbits would lock us up? They even called me a useless creature in front of my own kin and locked me up here alone." Yan continued to speak with her back to Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao sighed, "Do you want to leave here?"
"You tricked my mother, and now you want to trick me," Yan said, turning back to Mu Anxiao. "Do you think I would believe you?"
"You are different from your mother," Mu Anxiao said.
The moment Mu Anxiao finished speaking, Yan gave a bitter smile. "I am different. I'm useless, while my mother is much more capable than I am."
"Do you want to know how your father died?" Mu Anxiao asked, looking at Yan.
Yan shook her head. "No."
"Your father..." Mu Anxiao paused, then nodded. "Alright, since you don't want to hear it, I won't say anything."
However, the moment Mu Anxiao said this, Yan's curiosity was piqued. "Did you know my father?"
"To say I knew him," Mu Anxiao took a sharp breath, "isn't quite right. We had some contact, but I really don't remember what we discussed."
"Do you remember my mother?" Yan suddenly asked again.
Mu Anxiao smiled, "Didn't you not want to hear? Why are you asking again?"
Yan averted her gaze, then returned to facing Mu Anxiao. "Was my mother good-looking?"
Mu Anxiao paused. "You little mouse, you're quite good at changing the subject."
"Was my mother good-looking?" Yan asked again.
Mu Anxiao looked at Yan's expectant expression and tried to recall her mother's appearance, but she had no impression at all.
"Well..." Seeing Yan's continued anticipation, she forced a smile. "You look very much like your mother."
The instant Mu Anxiao said this, Yan smiled. "So, that means my mother must be beautiful too." She touched her cheek.
Mu Anxiao looked at Yan's self-admiring smile and swallowed. "Um, do you think you're very beautiful?"
Hearing this, Yan's face stiffened. "What do you mean by that?"
Mu Anxiao saw Yan's expression and shook her head slightly. "It means nothing. I just think you're a bit vain. But it's good for a girl to be vain; it shows confidence. And confidence is a good thing, a very good thing." As she spoke, her mouth curved upwards stiffly.
"Although I can't tell if you're complimenting me, if you tell me what my mother looks like, I won't mention this," Yan said.
Mu Anxiao let out a couple of dry laughs.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's forced smile, Yan asked, "Why did they capture you?"
"Why?" Mu Anxiao rolled her eyes slightly. "You should know that."
"Because of your immortal aura?" Yan guessed.
Mu Anxiao nodded.
"They really have no foresight. Someone like you," Yan pouted, "I wouldn't even glance at on the street."
Mu Anxiao stopped smiling. "Even though what you said sounds unpleasant, it's actually quite accurate."
"Do you want to escape?" Yan suddenly asked.
Mu Anxiao blinked, pointing at Yan. "Didn't you not believe me earlier?"
Yan smiled, "I didn't believe you then, but I do now."
"Don't you hate me?" Mu Anxiao asked.
Yan thought for a moment. "My mother never paid attention to me. I only heard about some things from my grandmother, and even she was vague. I never knew the truth. Besides," she pointed at Mu Anxiao, "you didn't capture me, did you?"
"What do you mean by all this?" Mu Anxiao's mouth twitched.
"Grandmother said you captured Mother. At first, I really wanted revenge; I wanted to kill you no matter what. But," Yan continued, "after meeting you, I've temporarily put aside that thought."
"Why?" Mu Anxiao frowned.
"You're such a useless person, not even as good as me. Moreover, I don't even know how to get revenge. So, I need to think about this. But before I can think about it, we both need to leave. I don't want to see you die at the hands of those rabbits," Yan said logically.
Mu Anxiao was speechless, looking at Yan, who was not very old even for a rat demon.
"Don't just stare at me, think," Yan said, crossing her arms.
Mu Anxiao looked at Yan's relaxed demeanor, handing all the tasks to her. "I think you should think too. Aren't rats supposed to be very cunning? The methods I come up with probably won't be as good as yours."
"Are you complimenting me?" Yan pointed at herself foolishly.
Mu Anxiao nodded. "You can think of it that way."
"No one has ever complimented me, not even my grandmother. You're the first person to value me," Yan pointed at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao frowned. "That's not right. Aren't all those who are brought here valued? You say you weren't valued; are you joking?"
"To tell you the truth," Yan squatted in front of Mu Anxiao, "I followed them secretly."
"Followed..." Mu Anxiao had just repeated the word when she exclaimed with exaggerated surprise. "They didn't know you followed them?"
"They were all there when those damned rabbits were talking about me," Yan said, lowering her head dejectedly.
"Did they pay any attention to you?" Mu Anxiao asked.
Yan sighed. "They usually don't pay much attention to me, so of course, they wouldn't pay attention to me here either." She added, "I think, perhaps because of my mother, they deliberately kept their distance."
"Are you blaming your mother?" Mu Anxiao asked.
Yan looked up. "It's all because of you. If you hadn't captured my mother, none of this would have happened."
"I..." Mu Anxiao wanted to say more but stopped and lowered her head.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's expression, Yan said, "But Grandmother said it wasn't because of Mother, but because of Father. However, I just feel that they always avoid me because of Mother."
"What do you mean by avoiding you?" Mu Anxiao asked.
Yan pursed her lips. "As you said, I was born in human form. They all cultivated themselves. So, they always use that as an excuse to say... to say that I'm powerful without even cultivating. Then, whenever they were practicing and saw me pass by, they would all walk away. And when they walked away, they would cast those strange glances at me, mocking me. That feeling," she choked up, "I've had enough."