"You're the one who's sick!" Mu Anxiao shouted.
The rattan spirit listened to Mu Anxiao's yelling and deliberately quickened its pace.
Mu Anxiao watched the rattan spirit's figure quietly, then thought of the lantern that had vanished in an instant, and the smell on its body that was the same as the monster boss. She thought, that guy really is suspicious.
After thinking this, she walked away.
The courtyard.
The rattan spirit ran into the kitchen and looked at Feng Qishi, grinning, "I'm back." It walked up to Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi sat on a stool, looking up at the happy-looking rattan spirit. He thought about what Gu Xiaoxiao had just said to him and asked, "Did you fall into a cesspit?"
"No," the rattan spirit dodged its gaze.
Gu Xiaoxiao watched the rattan spirit's retreating back and couldn't help but smile.
Piao nudged Gu Xiaoxiao's arm with her elbow, implying he should restrain himself.
Gu Xiaoxiao glanced at Piao and held back a smile.
The rattan spirit didn't notice Gu Xiaoxiao, continued to smile, and asked the suddenly silent Feng Qishi, "Uh, who said I fell into a cesspit?"
Feng Qishi: "Nobody, you can go out now."
"I won't," the rattan spirit squatted in front of Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi looked directly into the rattan spirit's eyes, then leaned in and sniffed the air around it, "The smell on you is so familiar."
"..." The rattan spirit's heart skipped a beat. "Of course it's familiar, I'm your friend."
"....."
The rattan spirit forced a smile, "Even if you don't admit it, I'm still your friend. That's a concrete fact."
"Did you know those monsters are here?"
Feng Qishi felt that the rattan spirit in front of him was very strange.
"...." The rattan spirit gave a dry laugh.
Feng Qishi asked, "Where did you go just now?"
"I..."
Just as the rattan spirit uttered the first word, Mu Anxiao walked gracefully into the kitchen and looked at the back of the rattan spirit's head, "He went to the privy."
Upon hearing this, Feng Qishi and the others turned their gaze to Mu Anxiao.
Chen asked, "How do you know?"
Mu Anxiao glanced at Chen, "I just went to the privy, and I happened to run into him as I was coming out."
Immediately, Feng Qishi's gaze sharpened as he looked at the rattan spirit, "Why were you there?"
The rattan spirit: "....."
From the moment she encountered the rattan spirit, Mu Anxiao had been convinced that its words were not to be trusted. Therefore, Mu Anxiao deliberately said this to prevent it from deceiving others further.
Clearly, Mu Anxiao's method had worked.
"Why aren't you talking?" Feng Qishi stared at the rattan spirit and asked.
The rattan spirit glanced at Feng Qishi, "Forget it, I'll tell you the truth. I fell into a cesspit."
"The whole of Ruo fell in?"
"Yes."
However, the moment the rattan spirit answered "yes," everyone's expressions froze.
Even Gu Xiaoxiao froze.
"You fell into a cesspit," Mu Anxiao looked at their stunned expressions, "You're so big, how did you fall in completely?" she walked behind the rattan spirit.
Hearing this, the rattan spirit's eyes darted away. It stood up, turned to Mu Anxiao, and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Nothing much, I just think you're suspicious."
"Mu Anxiao," the rattan spirit feigned a sad expression, "Gu An is so much better. She never suspects me." Saying this, it pouted and started to cry.
"....."
Seeing the rattan spirit cry, Xiang Nang also felt a surge of sadness and began to cry quietly with her head down.
Feng Qishi saw the rattan spirit like this and quickly stood up, "That cesspit wasn't that deep, how did you fall in? If you're going to lie, at least make it believable."
Hearing this, the rattan spirit, sobbing, turned to look at Feng Qishi, "Those monsters threw me into a cesspit, and then... When I came back, I stepped on a loose board in the privy, and I... I just took a bath, so of course I'm clean."
Thanks to Mu Anxiao, the rattan spirit thought of this watertight explanation.
Feng Qishi: "....."
Mu Anxiao did not intend to pick up the lantern, because based on the rattan spirit's behavior, she felt it was even more suspicious.
However, she didn't want to act rashly before catching any evidence.
"You're the one who led those monsters here," she said casually.
The rattan spirit's face stiffened, and it asked, "They're here?"
Mu Anxiao: "Yes, and when asked who they were looking for, they wouldn't come up, and they smashed down the main gate."
"Smashed down?" The rattan spirit immediately put on a guilty expression, "I don't know anything about this, I was taking a bath just now."
"Where did you go to take a bath?" Mu Anxiao relentlessly questioned.
Feng Qishi heard Mu Anxiao's words and saw the shy expression on the rattan spirit's face, he said, "Mu Shazi, he's already explained everything, why are you still asking? Let's go back."
The rattan spirit: "I went to the lake."
"The lake," Mu Anxiao repeated the word, glanced at Feng Qishi, "You..."
Unexpectedly, before she could utter the word, Shen Xian appeared behind her, "Mu Anxiao, what are you doing here?"
Upon hearing this, Mu Anxiao's body stiffened. She slowly turned to look at Shen Xian and replied impatiently, "Mind your own business."
"Go back," Shen Xian said, grabbing Mu Anxiao's arm.
And so, Mu Anxiao left.
Feng Qishi also let the rattan spirit off for the time being.
Shen Xian's room.
Mu Anxiao sat down at the desk again, picked up a calligraphy brush, and began to practice writing characters stroke by stroke.
This time, to prevent Mu Anxiao from meeting Feng Qishi again, Shen Xian deliberately sat opposite her, drinking tea while asking, "What were you doing just now?"
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao carelessly smeared her ink-stained hand across her face, "Just now, I came out of the privy and met that Xu Lan. I startled him."
"And then?"
"Then, I went to the kitchen... they were talking about a cesspit, anyway, that guy wouldn't admit he fell into a cesspit, so... I forced him to admit it."
"Didn't you notice anything else?"
"Notice what?"
"...." Shen Xian shook his head looking at Mu Anxiao's confused expression, "It's nothing, continue practicing your calligraphy." xxs one.
Mu Anxiao looked at Shen Xian's mysterious expression and thought of the rattan spirit's shifty demeanor, which made her... doubt both of them.
Then, she deliberately said, "You're drinking so much tea this late at night, aren't you planning to sleep?"
"Tea doesn't affect my sleep."
"Alright," Mu Anxiao nodded, and again smeared her hand across her face, continuing to practice calligraphy.
Shen Xian quietly watched the ink on Mu Anxiao's face and her incorrect grip on the brush, then smiled helplessly.
Conversely, Mu Anxiao wrote while thinking about the issues concerning the rattan spirit and the lantern.
"...." Shen Xian picked up his teacup, looked down at Mu Anxiao's unexpectedly serious expression, and asked, "Mu Anxiao, what are you thinking about?"
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao snapped back to attention, looked up at Shen Xian, "Nothing, I just want to sleep." She yawned.