"Don't you think that nickname, 'Big Iron Hunk,' is hilarious?" the wolf demon said.
"It's not funny," Mu Anxiao replied flatly.
The vine demon added, "I didn't find it funny either, but I do know," he blinked, "that Wang Hu really dislikes being called that because it was a nickname given to him by brothers inferior to him."
"I don't care, I think it's funny anyway," the wolf demon said, and then his eyes landed directly on Wang Hu, who was approaching them. He immediately became serious, thinking about Wang Hu's relationship with Ouyang Ye, and said, "Actually, I don't think it's funny at all." He fixed his gaze in the direction Wang Hu was coming from.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao and the vine demon followed the wolf demon's gaze in that direction and fell silent.
Immediately after, Wang Hu rushed up to the three of them and said excitedly, "You are Mu Anxiao." He said this, his gaze fixed directly on the wolf demon's face.
"..." Mu Anxiao and the vine demon were speechless. Following Wang Hu's gaze, they turned their heads to look at the wolf demon together.
The wolf demon was stunned.
Wang Hu said, "You must be Mu Anxiao, you..."
"No, Mu Anxiao is a woman. There must be something wrong with your eyesight," the wolf demon said, feeling insulted.
"You look so delicate," Wang Hu said seriously.
Delicate?
Mu Anxiao admitted that she hadn't been pretty for a single day in her decades of life, but she felt she deserved the compliment of being called delicate. And now... this myopic Wang Hu had completely ignored her. Not only that, he had actually changed his tune and said that the wolf demon was more delicate than her.
Hearing this, her anger flared up. "Wang Hu, your eyesight is truly poor."
At this, Wang Hu quickly withdrew his gaze from the wolf demon's face and turned to look at Mu Anxiao. "You're calling me myopic."
The wolf demon snorted coldly, feeling deeply hurt.
"I am calling you that," Mu Anxiao said, making a gesture of digging out eyes. "Look at me."
Wang Hu frowned. "What's so good about you, you..." He stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing that Mu Anxiao had no Adam's apple. He stared at Mu Anxiao blankly for a few seconds, then realized, "You're a woman."
"..." Mu Anxiao's face was grim.
Wang Hu thought for a moment, then looked at the vine demon and said, "You're a woman too."
The vine demon's expression darkened.
Mu Anxiao curled her lips, turned to the wolf demon, and said coldly, "Alright, let's go."
"Alright," the wolf demon replied and walked ahead.
The vine demon glanced at the very myopic Wang Hu and left without another word.
Wang Hu watched their retreating backs, pondered for a moment, and then realized, "Wait... could that really be Mu Anxiao?" He looked to his sides and quickly caught up with them.
Half an hour later.
Wang Hu stopped with Mu Anxiao and the others in front of the city gate. "This place is no different from the mortal realm," Mu Anxiao said.
Wang Hu stood to the side of Mu Anxiao and smiled. "The master went out to travel precisely to come back and reform this place," he said, placing one hand on his hip and turning his head to stare at Mu Anxiao. "He said all of this is so that you can live here better."
"For me?" Mu Anxiao said, turning to meet Wang Hu's eyes. "You made that up, didn't you?"
"Really..."
"I hate little demons who tell lies," Mu Anxiao interrupted Wang Hu.
At this moment, Wang Hu was startled by Mu Anxiao's gaze. He swallowed, gave a dry laugh, and said, "Okay, I made it up."
"I knew it," Mu Anxiao said, stretching. "The food in this city is probably the same as in the mortal realm, right?"
"Yes, the master specifically brought some demons to the mortal realm to learn many things."
"Treat me," Mu Anxiao said, pointing at Wang Hu.
Wang Hu smiled. "This..."
"What do you mean 'this'? Is it that difficult for you to treat me to a meal?" Mu Anxiao said impatiently.
Wang Hu cleared his throat, glanced at the wolf demon and the vine demon again, and said, "My salary is quite low. If it were higher, I wouldn't have to go hunting in the woods. So, you'll have to fend for yourself." He then smiled faintly.
Mu Anxiao's face turned cold. " I could completely deny who I am. Do you know why I admitted it?"
"Why?" Wang Hu asked obtusely.
"Because I thought you were rich. Since that's the case," Mu Anxiao said, pointing at Wang Hu's eyes, "close your eyes."
"What for?"
"I heard that the demons here all suffer from prosopagnosia. As soon as they close their eyes, they forget my face. Go on, close them..."
"That's just something they made up to show off that they've seen immortals. But in reality... very few demons have seen them. Besides," Wang Hu chuckled, "if it were true, the master would have forgotten you long ago."
"Hmph... that makes sense."
"Our currency here is the same as in the mortal realm. You..."
"I won't use my silver," Mu Anxiao said, turning to the vine demon and the wolf demon. "Alright, I'm new here, you two are treating." With that, she walked ahead.
The wolf demon and the vine demon resigned themselves to their fate. Just as they were about to follow, Mu Anxiao was stopped by the gatekeeping imp.
"Do you have a pass?" the imp asked.
"A pass..." Mu Anxiao repeated, then gave a cold snort, sidestepped, waved at Wang Hu, and called out, "Hey, what are you standing around for? Come here."
Wang Hu hurried over with a fawning smile.
Then, the imp recognized Wang Hu. "Ambassador, why are you so obedient to him?" he said, staring at the back of Mu Anxiao's head.
"I'm his relative, and he's my subordinate," Mu Anxiao said, turning back to the imp. "You have dog eyes and look down on people."
"How did you know I'm a dog?" the imp asked in surprise.
Mu Anxiao hadn't expected that the demon realm, ruled by Ouyang Ye, would be so down-to-earth. Moreover, the imps here were all so foolish. Especially the imp in front of her, who had truly refreshed her perception of the demon realm. "You're a dog demon, aren't you?" she said calmly.
"Soon, I will be a demon."
"Killed them..." Mu Anxiao intentionally used coded language and made a throat-slitting gesture.
The imp giggled foolishly.
"I brought them all back," Wang Hu said, stopping with the vine demon and the wolf demon in front of the imp.
The imp nodded, turned, and ordered other imps to clear the way for them.
"Quite the presence," Mu Anxiao said, clasping her hands behind her back and walking ahead.
Soon, Mu Anxiao followed the leading imp into the city. However, to Mu Anxiao's surprise, the city was much livelier than the city of Jincheng. At a glance, she could see jugglers, teahouses, small shops lining the streets, and various things she had never seen before... all within her sight.
What surprised Mu Anxiao even more was that these demons looked entirely human. Looking further, she even saw... Hua Man Lou.
Swallowing hard, she suddenly felt that Ouyang Ye, that fellow, was truly terrifying.