Maodou stood before the wizard, confused yet wary.
It twitched its pink nose, a low rumble issuing from its throat, like a cat being coquettish and like a dog making a threat. Zheng Qing found it difficult to judge Doggy's state of mind.
The only thing he could be sure of was that Maodou was not sure of his identity.
That drove him a little crazy.
"Do you have a cold? Is something wrong with your nose? Don't you recognize me?" He widened his eyes and looked at the hesitant Doggy, beginning to consider whether he should mix up a potion for rhinitis on the spot, or simply force a bellyful of Buffy's Brain Booster down Maodou's throat—he had drunk that potion not long ago and was deeply impressed by its mind-clearing effects.
Maodou nodded obediently, wagged its tail happily, then let out a meow and bolted back the way it had come.
It ran while howling miserably, as though a fire-breathing wild dragon were chasing it from behind.
Zheng Qing stared at Doggy's retreating figure, dumbfounded.
"Why are you running?! You're fired!" he roared, the talisman gun in his hand emitting an unsettling creak.
Nikita curled herself up even smaller, doing her utmost to reduce her presence. The Faceless Demon followed suit and huddled into a ball. Only Zhu Si seemed to realize that Zheng Qing was in trouble and comfortingly patted his arm.
That gesture made Zheng Qing even more dejected.
"It really is me! Why won't you believe me?"
With difficulty, Zheng Qing rose to his feet and shouted into the distance, though his gun muzzle remained trained on Nikita. "They're prisoners, my prisoners! This is Zhu Si... You don't know Zhu Si? I brought her back! And the Faceless Demon—the one that disguised itself as Liu