Who's the Rabbit

The towering tree trunks, their canopies blocking out the sun, Qi Yuan could feel their vibrant life force even before approaching them.

He opened his reconstructive vision, clearly seeing the roots transporting energy upwards, the energy within the osmanthus trees constantly growing.

Although he couldn't see the energy in the air and soil, energy couldn't be created from nothing.

The osmanthus forest on the moon was heavily absorbing the surrounding energy, no wonder the other trees withered so quickly.

Just standing under the trees for a moment, Qi Yuan saw the height of the osmanthus forest undulating like waves.

They were competing to absorb the energy from the land.

Qi Yuan took out a small knife and casually cut a notch in the nearest osmanthus tree.

Sap flowed from the wound in the bark, the cut healing and closing at an extremely rapid pace.

He saw this rapidly growing tree momentarily slow its growth speed.

It seemed the wound did have some effect on this tree.

Qi Yuan looked at the forest before him, his mind flickering with many thoughts.

If living beings were buried in the soil, would they be absorbed?

When energy was insufficient, would they devour each other?

With such strong self-healing abilities, could its branches and leaves be used as medicine?

A faint breeze blew, gently swaying the osmanthus blossoms in the moonlight, coating them in a cold glow.

The falling golden osmanthus petals danced in the air like golden foils, or golden butterflies flitting through the forest, adding a fresh color to the desolate ground.

The intense floral fragrance caused Qi Yuan discomfort, as he had always rejected strong scents.

Only faint fragrances were within the range he could accept.

Beyond this osmanthus forest lay an ancient, exquisite palace.

The terms "jade towers and palaces" and "carved railings and jade masonry" were most fitting to describe this palace.

The cold moonlight cast upon the palace, the chill nearly solidifying into substance, a faint mist swirling around it.

This magnificent structure, perhaps glittering and majestic in the glow of dawn.

But if asked which was a celestial palace, he would unhesitatingly choose this one.

Standing before this building, it was as if a myth had come to life.

The sense of awe was indescribable.

It was a pity that odd creatures always came to spoil the view.

Though he had yet to see its form, he could already hear its thoughts.

"A rabbit? Why are there rabbits everywhere?"

Qi Yuan followed the direction of the thoughts he sensed.

In the shadows, a pure white figure hid in the darkness, long ears swaying with its movement.

Unlike the ruby eyes of ordinary rabbits, its red eyes were like those of a bloodthirsty beast, greedily staring in his direction.

"Odd, I don't know why... but I have a feeling this rabbit has a strong presence..."

Although obscured in the shadows, a rabbit-like creature calling itself a rabbit...

Qi Yuan couldn't help but feel doubt from the bottom of his heart. He looked at his own palms, still the same as before.

Could it be that apart from their own kind, they saw other beings as rabbits?

So chickens and rabbits aren't actually shaped like that, but simply appear that way to them?

Then excluding humans who were the same as him, the intelligent being before him could only be a monster.

Qi Yuan changed directions, heading towards the rabbit monster.

He made no attempt to conceal his intent, allowing it no more than forty meters to run before being within his attack range.

The rabbit monster noticed him approaching, stepping back twice before stopping.

"Just a rabbit, why am I hiding?"

It mustered courage to step forward, but its feet involuntarily retreated a step.

"Is this the Rabbit King? How could a mutated animal have such a strong presence?"

Qi Yuan stopped a few meters away from it, testing the waters.

"I am human, you are under an illusion."

From its wooden expression and body language, he had already deduced the result.

"I can't understand the words it's saying, it's neither a monster nor a human... Could this be the language of mutated animals?"

As expected, it couldn't understand.

No use talking, time to test whether it was an illusion or real.

Light gathered in his hand into a sword, and he swung the blade of light, targeting the monster's long ears.

"Swish"

The dazzling light carved a crescent arc in the air, the monster's ear falling to the ground a few meters away.

The pure white, blood-stained ear dropped to the floor...

The rabbit monster's three-part mouth quivered, letting out pained "ee ee ee" screeches.

The scene looked somewhat unbearable.

Yet Qi Yuan's heart was unmoved.

This rabbit was too strange, despite its rabbit disguise, he still found it eerie.

"My ear! My ear!"

The monster clutched the wound with both hands, blood gushing unstoppably, fear spreading in its heart.

"A mutated rabbit killer!"

"Why would a mutated rabbit use such abilities? Could they have awakened intelligence?!"

It twisted and fled outwards, unwilling to linger for a moment.

Damn!

Qi Yuan couldn't discern whether it was illusion or reality.

Whether the arc of the falling ear or the monster's reaction to losing it, everything looked so real.

He had just laughed at someone else, and now karma came for him?

The illusion extended from him at an extreme speed, catching up to the rabbit monster and pulling it into the illusion.

Let him see what form he took in its eyes.

The monster's crimson eyes instantly went blank, deeply immersed in the illusion.

Qi Yuan manipulated the illusion, the monster's memories manifesting within.

From its perspective, a giant rabbit formed in the illusion - this was Qi Yuan's appearance in its eyes.

Qi Yuan saw the rabbit, a majestic and solemn Rabbit King, appear in the illusion after being filtered eighteen times.

With such a filter, even a pig would look regal.

He pondered for a moment, then prompted the monster to reveal more memories.

As far back as its memories went, it was in a certain forest.

Instinct drove it to wander outwards in search of humans, witnessing the trees go from lush green to yellowing leaves, fleeing animals gradually reduced to only rabbits.

Then...

Qi Yuan saw various animal species again.

He watched this segment of memory repeatedly, confirming there were no awkward transitions in the monster's recollections.

Like Qi Yuan, the monster had seen the palace from afar.

Judging it to be a human residence, it ran over in search of humans.

The monster made a cursory search inside the palace, only encountering a few strange rabbits at first.

After that, it laid in ambush along the path waiting for humans to show up, leading to its encounter with him.

The monster's memories differed from Qi Yuan's deductions.

Qi Yuan abandoned his previous assumptions and rethought his reasoning.

If it was under the influence of an illusion that made different species appear as rabbits, the monster shouldn't have seen various animals.

First there were diverse animal species, then only rabbits, then reverting to the original forms...

Two hypotheses could be made here.

One: The rabbits he saw were an illusion.

According to the monster's memories, the illusion would dissipate after a period of time, only to reappear later.

Two: The rabbits he saw were not an illusion.

The rabbit monster before him was real, and the rabbits in its memories were also real rabbits.

Then why did the rabbit monster see him as a rabbit?