The moment the Rabbit Queen asked this, everyone fell silent.
The Rabbit Queen looked at their bowed heads, then turned her gaze towards Hun Ling.
Hun Ling did not evade her gaze, but calmly met the Rabbit Queen’s eyes and said, “They are not stupid; they simply don’t wish to be indebted to you.”
“Indebted?” The Rabbit Queen knitted her brows.
“Yes, they don’t want to owe you. What you’ve done for them and what they’ve done for you has balanced out. From this moment on, you are like them, just rabbit spirits. However,” Hun Ling’s lips curved into a slight smile, “I truly didn’t expect you to change so quickly. I thought you would have gone on a killing spree.”
Hearing Hun Ling’s words, the Rabbit Queen lowered her head.
Hun Ling smiled faintly and said, “Alright, since I’m here to accompany you.”
Upon hearing this, the Rabbit Queen raised her head again and looked at Hun Ling, asking, “What do you mean by that?”
“I was the one who helped you become demons, so naturally, I must take responsibility for you,” Hun Ling stated calmly.
“You, this has nothing to do with you. You never taught me to do evil. All these mistakes are mine alone, and they, too, were under my control, so…”
“Don’t say any more. We’ve all discussed it and will share the burden. If it’s all your fault,” Hun Ling laughed, “that’s hardly realistic.”
“Hun…”
“Alright, let’s stay here. The sky doesn’t look good,” Hun Ling said, tilting her head back.
Listening to Hun Ling’s words, she tilted her head back to look at the sky and exclaimed, “They are… breaking the demonic barrier?”
“You don’t know about this?” Hun Ling inquired.
The Rabbit Queen lowered her eyes, thought for a moment, and shook her head.
“Fine,” Hun Ling said, too lazy to offer further explanations.
The Rabbit Queen didn’t probe further but continued to gaze at the sky, saying, “The demonic essence here is dispersed. Unless Piao disperses it, no one can break it.”
Hearing this, Hun Ling’s brow furrowed. “If Piao doesn’t disperse it, what will happen?”
“We will be trapped here forever,” the Rabbit Queen replied, looking around. “The flowers and plants here will wither, and everything will change.”
“Why are you saying this so calmly?” Hun Ling asked, sounding anxious.
“I believe Piao will definitely help,” the Rabbit Queen said.
Hun Ling asked, “Are you sure?”
The Rabbit Queen nodded, then glanced at the other rabbit spirits, who looked astonished, and felt embarrassed to speak.
Yan looked worried, fearing something might happen to the rat demons.
Hun Ling looked at Yan and said, “Trust Mu Anxiao.”
“Mhm,” Yan nodded.
On the other side, Mu Anxiao followed the dark energy and found Xu Lan Yan and the others.
“How is it?” she asked, running up to Xu Lan Yan, panting.
Xu Lan Yan turned to look at Mu Anxiao, surprised. “You’re alright.”
“What could happen? The matters with the rabbits are all resolved,” Mu Anxiao said, then looked at the rat demons performing the spell. “It’s still not working?”
“Yes, this dark energy is coming from that crack,” Xu Lan Yan pointed upwards.
Mu Anxiao followed Xu Lan Yan’s finger and looked at the black energy slowly emerging from the crack. “Demonic essence. It must be from the demon who reinforced the barrier.”
“Mhm,” Xu Lan Yan nodded.
Mu Anxiao, still catching her breath, bent down and gasped. “Oh no.”
“What’s ‘oh no’?” Xu Lan Yan asked.
Mu Anxiao straightened up. “Piao. This must have been set by Piao. Damn it.”
“If it’s Piao, then it should be much easier. Go find him!” Xu Lan Yan exclaimed, as if finding a glimmer of hope.
Mu Anxiao gave a foolish laugh. “I wish I could, but… he’s probably lost his memory.”
“Lost his memory?” Xu Lan Yan was shocked.
“Yeah. I gave him a pill to suppress his demonic nature, and he… said he loses his memory whenever he takes it,” Mu Anxiao said softly.
“Why did you have to give it to him at this time?” Xu Lan Yan asked, filled with frustration.
Mu Anxiao swallowed. “I didn’t want to, but he was about to kill me. If I hadn’t done that, I would have died.”
“You truly are a self-preserving person,” Xu Lan Yan forced a smile at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao let out a silly laugh. “There must be another way, right?”
Xu Lan Yan looked at Shi Yi, who was concentrating on casting the spell. “I don’t know. They are trying their best. All we can do now is trust them.”
Mu Anxiao followed Xu Lan Yan’s gaze and turned to look at Shi Yi. “Why is he here?”
“Feng Qishi brought him in. Look, he still has a rope tied around his arm,” Xu Lan Yan pointed towards Shi Yi.
Mu Anxiao casually said, “Oh, I’ll go ask.”
“You’ll disturb him like that,” Xu Lan Yan stopped her.
Mu Anxiao said, “Feng Qishi always makes preparations for his actions. Shi Yi must have a way.”
“If he had a way, he would have implemented it already. Are you stupid?” Xu Lan Yan said helplessly.
“He definitely does,” Mu Anxiao stated firmly and walked towards Shi Yi.
At the same time, seeing Mu Anxiao approach Shi Yi, the female rat demon quickly stepped forward to block her. “You can’t go over there.”
“Move aside,” Mu Anxiao said, her eyes fixed on the female rat demon.
The female rat demon narrowed her eyes. “If you go over, you will definitely disturb Shi Yi. You cannot go over.”
“Do you want to know about Yan’s condition?” Mu Anxiao asked abruptly.
The female rat demon’s eyes lit up. “How is Yan?”
“Come closer,” Mu Anxiao beckoned.
“You’d better not lie to me,” the female rat demon said, yet she leaned her upper body towards Mu Anxiao.
Immediately, Mu Anxiao grabbed the female rat demon’s arm. “Don’t worry, Yan is still alive.” With that, she forcefully pulled the female rat demon aside, flung her away, and ran towards Shi Yi.
Xu Lan Yan shook her head helplessly, watching Mu Anxiao’s retreating back, and muttered, “Childish.”
The female rat demon, however, hit a nearby tree, still muttering, “Don’t go over.”
But her words were of no use to Mu Anxiao anymore, as she had already reached Shi Yi’s side.
“Shi Yi.”
Hearing her voice, Shi Yi kept his eyes wide open, staring at the demonic barrier above. “Mu Anxiao, you’re here.”
“Mhm. Shi Yi, did the old gentleman tell you how to remove the demonic essence?” Mu Anxiao asked, staring at Shi Yi’s tired profile.
“Yes, but…” Shi Yi swallowed with a dry throat. “Under no circumstances can I do that.”
“What method?” Mu Anxiao asked again.
Shi Yi said, “I can’t tell you. Move aside, we’re almost done.”
Hearing Shi Yi’s insistent words, Mu Anxiao guessed that the old gentleman’s method was not a good one either. But considering the current crisis, she glanced at the rat demons beside her, who were exhausted but still persevering, and said angrily, “Done? That black energy is clearly spreading faster. You… if you keep insisting like this, you’ll die.”