"You..." the man repeated, his face hardening as he looked at Mu Anxiao and asked, "Aren't you a rat spirit?"
"No, I'm a rat demon," Mu Anxiao lied casually.
"A rat demon," the man exclaimed, taking a step back. "Then that means you're quite powerful." As he spoke, he cast a wary glance around.
Observing the man's cautious demeanor and movements, Mu Anxiao let out a cold laugh. "What's wrong with you?"
"Are you here to capture me?" the man said, his eyes darting around.
Mu Anxiao glanced indifferently at the man's state and turned to look at the wooden house before her. "When did your Cultivation Sect set up a wooden house here?" She assumed the man before her was also a demon belonging to the Cultivation Sect.
Upon hearing this, the man deliberately shifted his gaze from searching the surroundings to Mu Anxiao's back. He said, "The Cultivation Sect, that place is full of rabbits. If I, a rat spirit, went there, I'd be ostracized."
"Ostracized," Mu Anxiao repeated. Her mind working quickly, she turned her head to look at the man. "You're not from the Cultivation Sect?"
"No," the man replied.
"You're not from the Cultivation Sect," Mu Anxiao furrowed her brow slightly and pointed at the wooden house. "Then this wasn't built by the rabbit spirits of the Cultivation Sect?"
"I spent money to build this. Of course," the man leaned forward, looking at Mu Anxiao's profile, and smiled. "Actually, you're quite good-looking."
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao inexplicably felt a bit nauseous. Then, she considered his words and asked, "What does my appearance have to do with you?" She moved her steps away.
The man wasn't angered. He took a step closer to Mu Anxiao and said, "Let me tell you the truth. I came here looking for a wife to settle down with. You," he reached out and placed a hand on Mu Anxiao's shoulder, "are that candidate."
"Eh?" Mu Anxiao was startled, glancing unnaturally at the man. She said, "Actually, I'm not a rat demon, I'm human." After saying this, she pushed the man's hand away and retreated several steps.
Mu Anxiao had always detested it when people spoke to her like this. Now, hearing it from a rat spirit, she found it truly disgusting.
"You're human," the man said calmly.
Mu Anxiao listened to the man's unsurprised tone. "Yes, I'm human, not a rat demon." As she spoke, she cautiously observed the man's clearly feigned astonishment and swallowed twice.
"But that young man just now said you were a rat spirit?" the man said, quickly moving in front of Mu Anxiao.
The moment the man approached, Mu Anxiao hurriedly lowered her head and said, "I'm not a monster. We just wanted to lure out the rabbit spirits and then find the Cultivation Sect. I thought you were a rabbit spirit, but..." She felt her scalp tingle and took half a step back. "You're not."
"Actually, I can find humans," the man suddenly said.
Mu Anxiao dared not look up, saying, "Then I wish you a speedy reunion with a girl you like."
"I think you'll do," the man's tone carried a hint of amusement.
Mu Anxiao's nerves instantly tensed, and she quickly retreated a few steps. "I have no intention of getting involved with anyone. I can live by myself. I like living alone, and I especially dislike living with men. Of course, if you need my help, I can..." she said, "I can help you find a girl you fancy. I'm quite good at that."
"Actually, I used to have a girl I liked, but," the man's eyes darkened, "she didn't like me."
"Was she like you?"
"Yes, she was a rat demon. Actually," the man said, "I don't look like this."
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao slowly tilted her head up to look at the man. "Are you going to reveal your true form?"
"I can't reveal my true form anymore," the man said faintly.
"Why?" Mu Anxiao looked at the middle-aged man before her and asked.
"Because I... possessed this person's body, but my soul is still that of a rat. Although, I am no longer a rat..."
"Wait, is it because of this that the rat demon girl you liked didn't want to be with you?" Mu Anxiao interrupted and asked.
The man nodded slightly and said, "Yes, it's also because of this. I can't go back. The Rat King and his followers see me as an enemy. When I heard you were a rat demon just now, I was truly startled."
"So, if you were a rat spirit, you wouldn't be startled?" Mu Anxiao asked.
"Yes, rat spirits cannot summon the Rat King, but rat demons can," the man explained patiently.
Mu Anxiao smiled. "Oh, I learned something new today."
"I initially thought of finding a rat spirit, but after talking to you, I suddenly realized I'm no longer a rat. So, I want to become my current self in front of you," the man said, waving his hand in front of his face. His features gradually became younger.
Mu Anxiao watched the man's face grow younger and more handsome without any surprise. She asked, "Why are you doing this in front of me?"
"Before I met you, I didn't believe in love at first sight. But after meeting you," the man smiled faintly, "I do."
Mu Anxiao's lips twitched, and she took a step back. "The way you speak is really quite exaggerated."
"Not exaggerated, I truly fell in love with you at first sight," the man said, becoming excited.
Mu Anxiao looked at the man's lovestruck expression, her lips involuntarily twitching twice. "If you said you fancied the proprietress, I'd believe you. But you fancy me," she sneered, "it just seems so fake."
"How is it fake?"
"Well," Mu Anxiao cleared her throat and said, "Let me put it this way, I'm quite old myself. Having lived for these past few decades, only one man has ever told me he liked me. Of course, I knew that man just wanted to use me. But you, we've only met once, and you're suddenly saying you fell in love with me at first sight. I really don't believe it."
"I..."
"You were the one who carried those two buckets of water for me today, weren't you?" Mu Anxiao suddenly recalled that the voice of the person at the counter was different from before boiling water.
"You just figured it out," the man chuckled.
"The voices were different," Mu Anxiao said calmly.
"I did think that person's voice was different from mine."
"You captured the waiter, didn't you?" Mu Anxiao suddenly asked.
The man's expression froze, and he quickly explained, "No, it was those two young disciples from the Cultivation Sect who did it."
"Young disciples..." Mu Anxiao said, suddenly remembering the young man's actions that morning. Her heart sank as she asked, "That guy was lying to me."
The man wasn't very familiar with this matter, so he didn't interject.
Mu Anxiao didn't even glance at the man, clenching her fists. "I knew it, the Cultivation Sect has no good people. I was right."
"Do you have a grudge against the people from the Cultivation Sect?" the man asked cautiously.
"Yes, but not entirely. They just... bothered me."
"I'll deal with them for you," the man said, clenching his fist.
Mu Anxiao looked up at the man's pretentious demeanor and sneered, "Save it. Now, hurry up and send me back. I have other things to do. Stop messing around."