Inside the Gazebo, Bai Zhi fell silent for quite a while as he looked at SpongeBob, who was raising a hand to greet him.
"So, what do you think of this new appearance I made?"
SpongeBob-version Xiao Qi straightened his tie smugly, looking quite pleased with himself.
"I spent ages finding a suitable Material Pack just to make this."
"...Is this your true form?"
"No. Why would you have such a strange idea? This is a character I created. Haven't you played games before? Some games have character customization options."
Xiao Qi gave him a rather strange look, his expression perfectly matter-of-fact.
"I'm a bit socially anxious and don't really like showing my face, so these avatars usually act in my place. What, is this appearance unsuitable here?"
"There are no such rules inside the pot."
Bai Zhi shifted his gaze away from SpongeBob and poured himself another cup of tea.
"If you want to look around, go ahead. Just don't cause any major trouble... Oh, right, I have one more requirement."
As if he had suddenly remembered something, Bai Zhi looked up at the other party.
"I don't care about anything else, but you have to follow this one requirement."
"Uh... what requirement?"
Turning half his face toward him, Xiao Qi's voice conveniently shifted into an Adaptation-version SpongeBob voice.
"It's simple. Don't say you know me."
Lowering his eyes, Bai Zhi took a sip of tea.
"If you want to embarrass yourself, fine. Don't drag me down with you."
SpongeBob: "..."
Before long, with SpongeBob's departure, the Gazebo returned to its original silence.
After drinking half a cup of tea while gazing at the distant mountains, Bai Zhi reached into the Void and took out a scroll.
Any lifeform that entered the Demon Refining Pot would be recorded by