"The fellow sounded so nice when he first spoke to us, even said he considered us family, but in the end, didn't he just trick us into coming here," the female rat demon said.
"Tricked?" the black-clad demon repeated, turning his head to ask the female rat demon, who had just begun to adapt to the light and opened her eyes, "Didn't you fight hundreds of rounds?"
"Is that what he told you?" the third male rat demon asked.
"Mm," the black-clad demon nodded.
The third male rat demon sneered, "If only it were that simple."
"So he really was lying," Xu Lanyan said, tilting his head, "Are you guys ready?"
"We're ready," the rat demons responded.
Hearing them ready, Xu Lanyan turned around.
"Don't you find it dark here?" the black-clad demon asked them.
"We've lived in darkness for years and are long accustomed to it," the female rat demon said, looking around, "Did you come specifically to find us?"
"Let's not beat around the bush. I'll ask you directly, can you dispel the demonic barrier?" Xu Lanyan asked.
The female rat demon hesitated for a moment and said, "Why do you want us to dispel the demonic barrier?"
"That thing is too troublesome," Xu Lanyan said casually.
"We..."
"If you don't want to, then never mind. I won't force you," Xu Lanyan interrupted.
The black-clad demon watched Xu Lanyan with a tense expression, scanning the surroundings without speaking.
The first male rat demon stepped forward and said, "Who exactly are you?"
"I am a demon," Xu Lanyan said.
"You're not a demon, are you?" the female rat demon saw through Xu Lanyan's identity at a glance.
"I am a demon," Xu Lanyan stated firmly.
The female rat demon was stunned and said, "Alright then, what do you plan to do?"
"As long as you agree to work with me to remove the demonic barrier, everything will be easy to handle," Xu Lanyan said faintly.
"I thought you came here to save us, but it turns out..."
As the first male rat demon spoke halfway, Xu Lanyan interjected, "I did come to save you. Of course, I have a way to dispel the demonic barrier as well, but if my method is implemented, none of you will survive."
"You want to use this fire?" the second female rat demon pointed at the flame in Xu Lanyan's hand.
"Yes," Xu Lanyan nodded.
The other rat demons fixed their gaze on the flame in Xu Lanyan's hand, and following the second male rat demon, said, "We can't dispel the demonic barrier here either, but we can help protect the forest."
"You agree?" Xu Lanyan asked.
"Mm, you were also tricked down here by the dog-head, just like us," the female rat demon said.
Xu Lanyan glanced at the black-clad demon and said, "We came willingly, but you were forced."
"Of course. I actually thought the dog-head truly considered us brothers. Who knew," the black-clad demon sighed, "Since he's that kind of guy, I'm so disappointed."
"I never trusted him," Xu Lanyan said.
"Why didn't you tell me?" the black-clad demon frowned.
Xu Lanyan smiled, "We were with him all the time, how could I say anything? Besides, that dog-head fellow managed to please the rabbit spirit, which shows his abilities are extraordinary. Therefore, don't believe anything he says."
"You think he believed us?" the black-clad demon asked with curiosity.
Xu Lanyan sighed, "Who knows? In any case, the fact is we ended up here."
"Forget it, the more we talk, the angrier I get," the black-clad demon said, glancing around, "We've all talked it out, how do we get out of here?"
"There must be a secret passage here," Xu Lanyan said, squatting down to search the ground.
Seeing Xu Lanyan's actions, the rat demons also squatted down to search.
The black-clad demon said, "I'll check the surroundings." With that, he began to feel along the surrounding walls.
Above, the dog-head demon returned to the back door. The little demons were confused to see the dog-head return alone.
"Boss, where are your two brothers?" the first little demon asked.
The dog-head demon sat on a wooden crate and said, "They've been locked in the cellar."
"Why?" the first little demon exclaimed.
"Being with them was boring, and they always asked me to take them places. They thought I was walking a dog," the dog-head demon said unhappily.
"Boss, they consider you their elder brother, and you treat them like people you're walking. What kind of mentality is that?" the first little demon said, shaking his head helplessly.
The dog-head demon grunted and said, "The demonic energy on those two fellows is quite pure. In a few days, I'll have fresh demonic energy to feast on."
"Will we get any?" the second little demon asked excitedly.
The dog-head demon glanced at the second little demon and said, "The demonic energy from those rat demons can be yours, but those two are mine."
"They must be very frustrated right now," the third little demon said, continuing his work.
The dog-head demon looked at the third little demon, recalling how Xu Lanyan and the black-clad demon had trusted him, his eyes darkened, and he lowered his head.
The little demons beside him dared not speak further.
In the woodshed, Feng Qishi remained resting without speaking.
The rabbit spirits began discussing the sounds they had just heard.
"Tell me, do you think those two demons will hate the dog-head to death?"
"How do you know it was the dog-head?" Feng Qishi asked with his eyes closed.
"Let me tell you a secret. There's a cellar down here, and rat demons are imprisoned in the cellar. I saw the dog-head take them down there myself the other day," the maid rabbit said earnestly.
"Cellar," Feng Qishi repeated, looking down and recalling Mu Anxiao's tense reaction when he had mentioned wanting to go to the guest room. He thought, *So that's what she meant.*
"Yes, once you go down, you can't come back up. You can only wait to die," the first rabbit spirit said, shaking his head in lament.
"Why is that?" Feng Qishi played dumb.
"The passage below is sealed, and combined with the temperature, the oxygen is insufficient. They can live for at most seven days, and then they won't be able to," the second rabbit spirit said, sighing.
"So those two fellows will die if they go down too?" Feng Qishi said.
"Are you referring to the two who went down just now?" the maid rabbit asked.
Feng Qishi nodded.
The maid rabbit sighed, "Yes, they can only wait to die."
Seeing the maid rabbit sigh and the sympathetic expressions on the faces of the other rabbit spirits, Feng Qishi deliberately said, "Since rats are kept down there, it's truly disgusting."
"We thought so before, but... now I suddenly feel they are very pitiable," the first rabbit spirit said softly.
"Don't you not feel pity?" Feng Qishi asked deliberately, smiling. "Hearing you say that now is quite amusing."
"I don't know why, but I suddenly have this feeling," the maid rabbit said.
Feng Qishi sighed, "It's good to have this feeling. It will lessen your sins if you go down there."
"What do you mean by that?" the maid rabbit frowned.