Mu Anxiao, feeling half her body stuck in the doorway, grabbed Piao's hand tightly with both of hers.
Piao felt the strength of Mu Anxiao's grip and couldn't help but curve his lips upwards. Then, pulling Mu Anxiao, he rushed through the door. Mu Anxiao hurriedly closed her eyes, her feet following his pace.
In a flash, Piao, with Mu Anxiao, passed through the back door and stood before the grill.
The moment the little demons saw Piao, they quickly dropped their tools and knelt.
Piao looked at them, sighed, and said, "You can open your eyes now."
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao sniffed the air and said, "The smell of barbecue." As she opened her eyes, she was startled by the little demons kneeling at Piao's feet. "Uh, what's going on?"
"Release me," Piao said.
Mu Anxiao blinked, quickly let go of his hand, and gave him a few foolish smiles.
Piao glared at Mu Anxiao, then turned to the little demons, asking, "Do you know who I am?"
"No," one of the little demons shook his head.
Piao looked down calmly at the little demon and asked, "Since you don't know who I am, why do you kneel?"
"You can pass through doors, which shows you are very powerful. We usually kneel when we see someone powerful," the little demon explained.
"Cowardly," Piao uttered two words and walked past the little demons.
Mu Anxiao recognized the little demon who spoke at a glance. "You're Dog Head's subordinate."
The little demon looked up at Mu Anxiao. Just as he was about to reply impatiently, he suddenly remembered the scene of her holding Piao's hand, so he patiently said, "Yes."
"Where is he?" Mu Anxiao asked.
"He's gone wandering with his two newly recognized brothers," the little demon replied.
"Oh, I see. You guys eat slowly," Mu Anxiao said, then jogged to catch up with Piao.
The little demons breathed a sigh of relief as they left.
"What was that all about?" asked the first little demon.
The second little demon sighed, "Who knows? But do you know who that was?" he looked at the first little demon.
The first little demon glanced around, then beckoned them closer, saying, "That was a great demon."
"How do you know?" asked the third little demon.
The second little demon said, "When the boss left, he said that great demon was wearing blue clothes and that we had to be respectful to him, otherwise..." he lowered his voice, "...we'd lose our lives."
"Fortunately, the boss said so, otherwise we'd all be in trouble," the fourth little demon said with emotion.
"Indeed," the second little demon nodded.
Then, the first little demon turned and glanced in the direction Mu Anxiao and Piao had left, saying, "Alright, let's continue. The boss ordered us to play dumb."
"Okay," they nodded and resumed their work.
Outside the woodshed, Xu Lanyan and the black-clothed demon followed behind the dog-headed demon. Then, the two of them exchanged a glance. Xu Lanyan asked, "Big brother, are there any cellars here?"
Hearing this, the dog-headed demon turned to look at Xu Lanyan and asked, "Why do you suddenly ask about that?"
Xu Lanyan looked around and said, "I see this place used to be a guest room. I initially thought there was another woodshed, but after looking around, I found this is the only woodshed. I thought there wouldn't be a cellar here, but then again, this place is so large, it's unlikely there isn't one. So, I just asked casually. If you don't want to answer, then I won't ask."
The dog-headed demon saw Xu Lanyan's polite demeanor and said with a faint smile, "So that's how it is."
"Then..." Xu Lanyan had just uttered one word when the dog-headed demon suddenly hissed mysteriously.
Xu Lanyan held his breath.
The black-clothed demon cast his gaze towards the woodshed door.
Inside the woodshed, they paid no mind to why the conversation outside had suddenly stopped, instead thinking about the guarding situation.
"There shouldn't be any rabbits guarding outside," the first rabbit spirit whispered.
"How do you know?" the maid rabbit whispered back.
"If there were, they wouldn't be talking like that outside," the first rabbit spirit said.
The maid rabbit suddenly realized and said, "What you're saying makes sense."
"Where do you think that follower took Mu Anxiao?" the second rabbit spirit pondered for a long time.
The maid rabbit hadn't thought about this issue before, but now, her heart tightened. "You think she didn't say anything wrong?"
"Who knows? We can only pray," the first rabbit spirit said.
"Now that you mention it, I feel... it might not be good," the maid rabbit said.
"Maybe she won't die, and we'll be fine too!" the fourth rabbit spirit said with an optimistic attitude.
The other rabbits simultaneously hummed in agreement.
Outside the woodshed, the dog-headed demon heard the voices from inside. He then pulled Xu Lanyan's arm and said, "Come, I'll tell you over there."
"Why not here?" Xu Lanyan asked softly.
"There are convicted demons inside," the dog-headed demon pointed to the woodshed door.
Xu Lanyan nodded in agreement and followed the dog-headed demon away with the black-clothed demon.
Then, after they had moved away from the woodshed, the dog-headed demon asked, "Do you really want to know where the cellar is?"
"Yes," Xu Lanyan nodded and said softly, "But if you don't want to say, then forget it."
"You are my brother, how could I not tell you?" the dog-headed demon said with a smile.
Xu Lanyan smiled along with the dog-headed demon's hearty laughter, "You're becoming more and more like my big brother."
"From now on, I'll be your big brother," the dog-headed demon patted Xu Lanyan's shoulder and turned to the black-clothed demon, "Call me big brother."
"Big brother," the black-clothed demon complied readily.
The dog-headed demon smiled happily and said, "Let me tell you, only I can enter the cellar."
"Why?" Xu Lanyan feigned surprise.
"Because I'm capable," the dog-headed demon patted his chest.
Xu Lanyan echoed with a smile, "I can see that big brother is very capable."
"I just like listening to you, kid," the dog-headed demon pointed at Xu Lanyan.
The black-clothed demon glanced at Xu Lanyan and deliberately asked, "Big brother, why can only you enter the cellar? Isn't that where vegetables are stored? Could it be that you are the chef who procures vegetables for them?"
The dog-headed demon chuckled, "You kid, the cellars here are different from other cellars."
"How are they different?" the black-clothed demon pretended to be naive.
The dog-headed demon smiled, "The cellar that your brother manages is for locking up demons."
"Ah?" the black-clothed demon feigned surprise, saying, "Then where do the vegetables go?"
"These rabbit spirits are all secretive. The vegetables in the kitchen are only for customers. Other vegetables are probably managed by specific demons," the dog-headed demon, not fully understanding the situation, said.
"So that's how it is. Big brother, you are truly amazing," the black-clothed demon said with a foolish smile.
"You kid," the dog-headed demon pointed at the black-clothed demon and laughed.
Xu Lanyan glanced at the black-clothed demon and smiled, "Big brother, you are the first demon my brother has praised."