Mu Anxiao curled her lips, then glanced at the small door leading to the backyard and said, "I didn't see him at all last night."
"Yesterday, the last place I saw him was at that doorway," the young man pointed to the door leading to the backyard.
"Perhaps he was off work," Mu Anxiao said casually.
"Off work?" The young man repeated, clearly not understanding.
"Finished his shift," Mu Anxiao rephrased.
"Impossible. Let me tell you, last night a woman in black came. I don't know what she was doing, but I saw her speak a few words to the waiter, and then she went upstairs," the young man said.
"You saw it, and you're still blaming me," Mu Anxiao pointed at the young man.
"I saw her transform into the waiter's appearance, then enter your room, and she never came out again."
"And because of that, you suspect it was my rabbit," Mu Anxiao stated directly.
"You didn't tell us it was her rabbit just now," the woman said, pointing at Mu Anxiao.
"I wasn't sure then. Anyway, I can guarantee it was the rabbit spirit's doing," the young man said very seriously.
"Why are you so sure it was the rabbit spirit?" Mu Anxiao asked.
The young man looked left and right and said, "We have the most rabbit spirits here. Besides rabbit spirits, I can't think of anything else."
"That makes sense," Mu Anxiao nodded and said, "But we have to wait for the proprietress to wake up before asking."
"We won't ask," they said in unison.
"Why not?" Mu Anxiao asked, confused.
The young man secretly glanced at the man standing by the counter and said, "She's too eccentric. If we say the waiter was killed by a rabbit spirit, she'll definitely get angry."
"You just ask casually, maybe she'll tell you," Mu Anxiao was very curious about the waiter's whereabouts.
"Forget it, we're just casually discussing the missing waiter... no," the young man smiled, "In other words, this is just our speculation. You don't need to take it too seriously."
"But you saw it," Mu Anxiao pointed at the young man.
The young man's face stiffened, and he said, "I was just talking nonsense. Nonsense."
"Alright," Mu Anxiao, too lazy to continue this tedious topic, walked to the counter and said, "Boil some water for me and send it up."
The man looked up at Mu Anxiao and said, "The waiter hasn't returned. Let's wait."
"I can't wait anymore," Mu Anxiao said, tugging at her clothes.
The man said helplessly, "Then I can't boil water either."
"Take me to where you boil water, and I'll do it myself," Mu Anxiao said righteously.
"No..."
"If that's the case, then pay me," Mu Anxiao held out her hand.
"Why should you be paid?" The man glanced at Mu Anxiao's palm and asked.
"You ask why. I'm staying here to bathe and change. I waited all night and no one brought me water. I came down to boil it myself, and you wouldn't agree. Fine, pay me, and I'll go wash elsewhere."
"You..."
"What 'you'? Unless you let me boil it myself," Mu Anxiao interrupted.
The man was momentarily speechless and said, "I'll boil it for you."
"Go ahead," Mu Anxiao stepped back.
The man sighed and said, "Watch this for me. If anything is missing, you'll pay."
"If you ask me, you should hire more waiters," Mu Anxiao suggested.
"I'm just helping. You should tell our proprietress," the man said, walked around the counter, and disappeared through the small door to the backyard.
Seeing the man leave, the young man quickly stood up and hurried to Mu Anxiao, who was now behind the counter, and asked, "Did you find anything suspicious?"
"What suspicions?" Mu Anxiao asked.
"Did you notice anything strange about them? Or rather, I suspect there's been an internal conflict. That waiter might have been killed last night," the young man said cautiously.
"You mean, he wasn't killed by a rabbit spirit?" Mu Anxiao asked.
"No, I feel..."
"Didn't you just say you were talking nonsense? Why are you still on this?" Mu Anxiao interrupted coldly.
The young man chuckled twice and said, "Aren't I still curious?"
"Curiosity killed the cat," Mu Anxiao said, then accidentally saw a bloodstain on the counter as she looked down.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's expression, the young man asked, "What did you see?"
Mu Anxiao quickly covered the bloodstain with her hand and said, "It's their ledger. What's so interesting about it?" Then, she turned her face and asked, "Have you seen that man before?"
"I just arrived yesterday," the young man said.
"You arrived yesterday, so who spread the news about the waiter's disappearance?"
"When I woke up, I heard the proprietress downstairs saying the waiter was missing. Her voice was very quiet," the man said in a low voice, as if afraid of being overheard.
"Your voice was quiet, yet you could still hear it," Mu Anxiao said helplessly, looking at the secretive fellow in front of her.
"I'm not human," the young man suddenly said.
"Who are you?" Mu Anxiao asked, feigning shock and stepping back, "Don't tell me you're actually... a rabbit spirit?"
"No," the young man said quickly.
The others breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that.
Mu Anxiao also relaxed and stepped forward, asking, "Who are you?"
"I am a cultivator. My grandmother was from a cultivation sect. Although my skills aren't very useful, I still know a little."
"You're a descendant of a cultivation sect," Mu Anxiao exclaimed in surprise.
"Shh," the young man glanced behind him, seeing no guests looking their way, and replied, "This is a secret. I don't tell most people."
"Why are you telling me?" Mu Anxiao frowned.
"Because you're connected to a rabbit spirit," the young man said quietly.
Mu Anxiao looked at the young man's somewhat deranged expression and said, "You don't still think my rabbit killed the waiter, do you?"
"Yes," the young man nodded.
"My rabbit only eats vegetables, not meat. Besides, if she had hidden the waiter, I would have noticed. You guessing like this," Mu Anxiao narrowed her eyes, "is probably out of boredom."
"My grandmother had a wish," the young man skipped over Mu Anxiao's words and said.
"What does your grandmother's wish have to do with me?" Mu Anxiao asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It has nothing to do with you directly, but my grandmother told me to get along harmoniously with rabbit spirits," the young man said, sighing, "I was fantasizing yesterday about what it would be like to get along with them, but now," the young man shivered, "I suddenly find it a bit terrifying."
"Are you mentally unstable? One topic after another. Can we finish one conversation before moving to the next? You're making me really not want to talk to you," Mu Anxiao glared at the young man in front of her, feeling exasperated.