Feng Qishi smiled faintly as the wind stirred. "As expected of a rat spirit, quite direct."
Shi Yi glanced at Feng Qishi, then continued to fix his gaze on the young man who was not approaching them.
The moment Shi Yi spoke, the young man's eyes began to visibly dodge.
Shi Yi narrowed his eyes and stepped in front of the young man, saying, "I'm asking you a question, can't you hear me?"
"You heard?" the young man asked, his voice trembling.
Shi Yi looked calmly at the young man's tense face and said, "I did. Tell me, why were you mentioning Mu Anxiao? Or are you acquainted with the rabbit spirits?"
"We are not acquainted with the rabbit spirits," the young man said quickly, lowering his eyes. "We are merely worried about Mu Anxiao's success."
"You knew Mu Anxiao went out?" Shi Yi asked.
The young man pointed at Feng Qishi. "He just said so."
"I'm asking if you knew *before* he said it," Shi Yi said patiently.
"My junior disciple heard it last night when he went to the latrine," the young man confessed truthfully.
"Your junior disciple is quite sly. Looks meek and mild, but turns out to be a tattletale," Feng Qishi commented casually.
The young man looked at Feng Qishi and asked, "What does 'tattletale' mean?"
"It means to complain behind someone's back. I just made it up," Feng Qishi said, to prevent the young man from asking further nonsensical questions based on it.
"My junior disciple usually doesn't talk much," the young man said.
"I can see that. He's very obedient to you," Feng Qishi said, pointing at the young man.
Shi Yi deliberately coughed twice and said, "I'm talking here, can you wait a moment before you speak?" He gestured towards Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi raised his eyebrows. "Alright, I'll listen to you."
"Stop talking," Shi Yi emphasized, pointing at Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi lightly covered his mouth.
Shi Yi's lips twisted. He turned back to the young man and said, "Enough about that. Tell me, what exactly is your conspiracy?"
The young man's eyes flickered. "What conspiracy could we have? We're just here to accept our punishment and serve as waiters."
"Why did you mention Xiuxianmen?" Shi Yi asked, not hiding his intentions.
The young man swallowed. "We didn't mention Xiuxianmen. Did you mishear?"
"Speak," Shi Yi commanded sternly.
The young man's heart sank. "We want to go to Xiuxianmen."
"Go to Xiuxianmen..." Feng Qishi narrowed his eyes and couldn't help asking, "You want to expose Mu Anxiao to the rabbit spirits?"
The young man fell silent.
Shi Yi glanced sideways at Feng Qishi, then back at the young man, and asked, "Is that so?"
"No..."
"If you don't tell the truth, I'll cripple all your immortal techniques," Feng Qishi threatened intentionally.
Upon hearing that his immortal techniques would be crippled, the young man quickly started speaking properly.
"Yes. We are worried that after Mu Anxiao takes in the rabbit spirits, he will occupy Xiuxianmen. Our purpose in coming here is actually to reclaim Xiuxianmen. If we cause trouble with Mu Anxiao then, we will definitely be at a disadvantage, so it's better to end it quickly," the young man said. "Let her perish together with the rabbit spirits."
"You sure think a lot," Feng Qishi said with a smirk.
"If Mu Anxiao takes over Xiuxianmen, we won't be able to return. My parents are still with Master," the young man said.
"Who told you Mu Anxiao intended to occupy Xiuxianmen?" Feng Qishi asked with a serious tone.
Seeing Feng Qishi's unjoking demeanor, and glancing at Shi Yi, who was staring at him expressionlessly, the young man said, "I guessed it."
"You truly are a clever person," Feng Qishi remarked casually.
The young man couldn't keep up with Feng Qishi's pace at all. He scratched the back of his head and said, "My Master also often says I'm clever."
"Cleverness can lead to one's downfall. You are exactly that kind of person," Feng Qishi said, pointing at the young man.
The young man remained bewildered and turned to look at Shi Yi.
Shi Yi said, "Mu Anxiao wouldn't care about Xiuxianmen."
Feng Qishi laughed. "Rat spirit, you're not wrong about that."
Hearing this, Shi Yi turned sideways to look at Feng Qishi and said helplessly, "Can you please stop emphasizing my identity?"
"Certainly," Feng Qishi smiled.
The young man lowered his eyes and thought for a moment before asking, "Are you saying I misunderstood?"
"Otherwise?" Feng Qishi retorted.
Shi Yi withdrew his gaze, which had been fixed on Feng Qishi's face, and looked back at the young man. "Mu Anxiao is doing this for humanity, while you are trying to cause destruction for your own sake." He snorted coldly. "With people like you, what's the point of cultivating immortality? You might as well go home and farm."
"We..."
"Stop with the 'we.' They are cleaning up your mess and you want to frame them. If Mu Sha Zi finds out about this," Feng Qishi shook his head, "he won't feel anything."
"Why won't he feel anything?" the young man asked foolishly.
Feng Qishi smiled. "Want to know?"
The young man nodded slightly.
Feng Qishi's lips curled. "He doesn't care for your shabby place, your worthless place."
"May I ask," Shi Yi lowered his eyes and inquired, "has anyone ever achieved immortality there?"
"Yes..." The young man's gaze flickered guiltily, and he tilted his head. "This, I really don't know."
"You've heard about the rabbit spirits, haven't you?" Feng Qishi said.
The young man nodded slightly. "I've heard."
Feng Qishi smiled at the young man and asked, "Are you scared?"
In response, the young man dared not give any direct answer. If he said he wasn't scared, it would be too much of a lie. But if he said he was scared, it would be disgracing Xiuxianmen. Thus, he was speechless.
"You dare not say," Feng Qishi said, tilting his chin up.
The young man lowered his eyes slightly.
Shi Yi looked at the young man's timid demeanor and snorted. "As far as I know, Xiuxianmen has always had a terrible reputation. None of the disciples who left spoke well of it. If you say it's scary, I won't say anything. But if you say it's not scary after thinking about it," he sneered, "then it's truly laughable."
"Then what should I say?" the young man asked, flustered.
"He still needs to get by at Xiuxianmen. If you say that, it's asking too much," Feng Qishi said, walking behind Shi Yi.
Shi Yi continued to stare coldly at the young man. "Whether he gets by or not is none of my concern." He then widened his eyes deliberately. "Speak."
"Scary," the young man said, bowing his head.
Feng Qishi stepped forward and casually placed his arm on Shi Yi's shoulder. "Can't you have a little backbone?"
"Before I came, I didn't think that much. But after coming here," the young man dared not spout nonsense and paused before continuing, "I truly felt that those rabbit spirits were particularly terrifying. I never expected that such clean, white rabbits would be like that."