Chapter 42

Wu Mian and Gui Bu Gui were both taken aback. After exchanging a glance, Wu Mian spoke to the old man first, "What is the incense room for?" Gui Bu Gui blinked his eyes, turned around, and lightly kicked Wu Zhen, saying, "Ask him, what is this incense room for?"

Wu Zhen said, "Before the incident, this incense room was where the successive magistrates burned incense to pay respects to the gods, near the magistrate's bedroom. Since the first magistrate, it has been a forbidden area for us servants. We used to think it was where the magistrate hid his private wealth. If it weren't for this incident, I would never have known what was inside."

"Burning incense to pay respects to the gods..." Gui Bu Gui chuckled, glanced at Wu Mian, and then shifted his gaze to Wu Zhen. He returned the demon bone bracelet on his hand to Wu Zhen and said, "Do what the magistrate asked you to do. If no one dies in the next few days, just make up a few people. It won't be any different from before."

Wu Zhen was taken aback; he hadn't expected such a result. Then Wu Mian also understood Gui Bu Gui's meaning and threw the demon bone bracelet in his hand to Wu Zhen.

Gui Bu Gui smiled at Wu Mian's action and then said to Wu Zhen, "Of course, you can also try to find an opportunity to run away. But I still advise you to think about the consequences. With the magistrate's personality, if everyone in the magistrate's residence dies, do you think he would let you, the only living person, go free?" These words made Wu Zhen, who was somewhat excited by the bracelet, look as if he had lost all hope.

After saying this, Gui Bu Gui no longer paid attention to Wu Zhen's reaction and left the front hall with Wu Mian. They followed the direction Wu Zhen pointed and walked forward. After taking a few dozen steps, Wu Mian suddenly said to Gui Bu Gui, who had been smiling all along, "If you see something, why don't you say it? Are you trying to keep it to yourself? Or do you still want to take it with you?"

When he mentioned taking it with them, Wu Mian stomped his foot on the ground. This action made Gui Bu Gui choke, and he sighed helplessly, saying, "You should have seen that the problem is in the incense room. But from what I see, the incense room itself should be fine. The problem is probably below the incense room. If I'm not mistaken, there should be something hidden below the incense room, and it's that thing that attracted the demon."

Before he finished speaking, Wu Mian's eyebrows had already risen, and he said coldly, "Your meaning is that the thing left by the Great Master was taken by the demon first?"

Gui Bu Gui shook his head, afraid that Wu Mian would misunderstand, and said with a smile that he dared not show, "That's not it. After seeing these maps, you should understand the Great Master's personality, right? When has he ever been willing to open a cave or a palace himself to preserve his things? Hasn't he always taken over someone else's cave or palace to store his things?"

After saying this, Gui Bu Gui paused and looked at the approximate location of the incense room in the distance, saying, "This time, it's probably the same. Besides the things left by the Great Master, the rest is what attracted the demon."

While they were talking, they kept walking. By the time Gui Bu Gui finished speaking, they had already seen the incense room from a distance. It looked like a regular room, but as soon as they saw the incense room, a strange fragrance wafted over. However, amidst this fragrance, they also smelled another special odor.

It was the stench of wild beasts! Wu Mian's electric arcs instantly appeared on his body, and the old man originally wanted to hide behind Wu Mian, but after trying, he was intimidated by the crackling electric arcs on Wu Mian's body. Because he was really afraid of these electric arcs, Gui Bu Gui stomped his foot and turned to run away.

At this moment, a foul wind mixed with the stench of wild beasts rushed towards Wu Mian's face. Before Wu Mian could react to block it, he felt a tightness around his neck, followed by a sudden intense pain. Fortunately, when Wu Mian sensed something was wrong, he had already taken a step back. Feeling the intense pain in his neck, he concentrated all the electric arcs on his neck.

There was a loud "slap!" and a huge white wolf appeared in front of Wu Mian. The white wolf fell to the ground, rolled over to try to stand up again, but wobbled and fell again. This time, its limbs twitched uncontrollably, and it seemed unable to stand up.

Wu Mian looked at the white wolf and sneered. His body was covered in electric arcs that were almost blinding. The white wolf, lying on the ground, seemed to be very afraid of these electric arcs. Its howl changed pitch, sounding like it was begging for mercy.

At this moment, Gui Bu Gui ran back. The old man's eyesight was sharp, and he could clearly see the white wolf lying on the ground from a distance. He shouted to Wu Mian, "Don't rush to act, this is a treasure! It's useful!"

Wu Mian glanced at Gui Bu Gui. As his gaze shifted away from the white wolf, Gui Bu Gui suddenly pointed to where the white wolf had fallen and shouted, "The wolf is faking death!" By the time Wu Mian reacted and looked back, he saw a white shadow darting forward. In the blink of an eye, the white wolf had disappeared.

It was already difficult to deceive Wu Mian, but to also deceive the cunning Gui Bu Gui was truly unbelievable. Wu Mian looked in the direction the white wolf had disappeared and said to Gui Bu Gui, "What is this wolf?" Gui Bu Gui muttered, "Yin Bai... What a pity, it would have been great to catch it."

"Yin Bai?" Wu Mian looked at Gui Bu Gui with some confusion and said, "Isn't that a dog demon? Why is it called a wolf?"

Gui Bu Gui was taken aback, blinked his eyes, and looked at Wu Mian, saying, "Who told you Yin Bai is a dog demon? In the 'List of Demons' written by the sorcerer Liu Han during the Shang Dynasty, it says that Yin Bai is the ultimate transformation of a demon wolf. When did it become a dog?"

"That's not right, according to our family tradition, Yin Bai is a dog demon," Wu Mian shook his head and said, "A dog demon swallowed a mastiff and gave birth to two children, one being a heavenly dog and the other being Yin Bai. How can Yin Bai be a wolf demon?"

Gui Bu Gui shrugged and said, "I've lived for hundreds of years, how could I not know whether Yin Bai is a wolf or a dog? Believe me, Yin Bai is a wolf demon. Saying Yin Bai is a dog is just your ancestors misleading you..." Before he finished speaking, a闷雷 (thunder) sounded, and the old man was startled. Before he could react, a bolt of electricity from Wu Mian hit him. As he lost consciousness, the last thing Gui Bu Gui heard was, "I say it's a dog, it's a dog..."

When Gui Bu Gui woke up, it was already half an hour later. The strong scent of incense woke him up. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a large room with an incense altar in the center, filled with dried offerings and thick layers of incense ash. It seemed this was the incense room Wu Zhen had mentioned earlier. Not far away, Wu Mian was squatting on the ground, studying a few floorboards.

After opening his eyes, the old man did not immediately get up. He stared at Wu Mian, waiting for his next move. Unexpectedly, while Wu Mian's eyes were fixed on the floor, he suddenly said, "Either come over or continue lying on the ground pretending to be dead. I'll bury you alive in a moment."

Gui Bu Gui didn't believe Wu Mian was joking. Without hesitation, he got up and walked to Wu Mian's side. Not daring to bring up the previous incident, he just laughed and said, "Have you found the entrance?"

Wu Mian looked at Gui Bu Gui and said, "The entire floor of the incense room was recently laid. I've already checked. The floor is solid underneath, and I can't see where the entrance is."

While Wu Mian was speaking, Gui Bu Gui stomped his feet around him. Indeed, as Wu Mian said, the floor was solid. He then walked around the room inside and out, but couldn't see anything unusual.