Chapter 71

After saying these words, the little doll's face did not show any of the expressions Gui BuGui had hoped to see. Instead, he looked at the old man with a puzzled expression and said, "Who is Yan Aihou? What does he look like?"

Now the old man was taken aback. Although he had lived a long time, it was not long enough to reach the era of Yan Aihou. Moreover, Yan Aihou was a solitary person, and no portraits of him were left behind. Apart from knowing that he had passed the position of Great Fangshi to his eldest disciple, there was no way to find out when or how old he was when he died.

Gui BuGui blinked his eyes and thought for a while before stammering, "Yan Aihou, well, he's an old man with a white beard... or maybe a gray beard... or he might have a black beard if he had good skincare. He should look around fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, or ninety, or he might look like me, or even a bit older, over a hundred..."

Just as the old man was about to continue making things up, the ginseng doll stopped him, mimicking Gui BuGui's tone, "Alright, stop talking. I'll pretend I never asked. Otherwise, you'll say that Yan Aihou might have a round face, or he might be so hungry that he's become thin with a pointed chin. How about that? Old man, did I mimic you well?"

After hearing this, the Gui brothers managed to hold back their laughter out of respect for their master. However, such a thing had never happened to Wu Mian. He burst out laughing and, after a while, looked at Gui BuGui and said, "Yan Aihou, he was the first Great Fangshi, right?"

At first, the old man was a bit embarrassed by Wu Mian's laughter. But when he heard that Wu Mian knew Yan Aihou was the first Great Fangshi, his expression turned to surprise, "I didn't think many people would know this now. I didn't expect you to know so much despite your young age."

Wu Mian ignored the old man's flattery, lowered his head, and looked at the ginseng doll still sitting on the ground, "No one would believe you know nothing. Tell me, what's really going on down here? What are the other places besides this hall?"

The little doll was a bit afraid of Wu Mian. After thinking for a long time, he finally looked up and said, "To be honest, although I've been here for a long time, there are many places I dare not go. Some places are obviously dangerous without even entering, and others seem harmless, but if it weren't for our ginseng's special ability to pass through walls, I would have lost my life here long ago."

After he finished speaking, the Gui brothers couldn't hold back any longer and interrupted before Gui BuGui and Wu Mian, "Is there a place where people can hide? A place big enough to hide more than forty people, is there?"

The little doll tilted his head and thought for a long time before saying, "There are many places where people can hide, but as I said, there are some places I've never been to, so I can't say what they're like."

"Then we'll search them one by one," Wu Mian's interest grew after learning about the connection to Yan Aihou. He looked at the ginseng doll and said, "When demons like wolves and dogs become spirits, they have names. Do you have one?"

"I do seem to have a name..." The ginseng doll thought for a moment and said, "An old man once gave me a name, Ren San. But no one except that old man ever called me that. You can call me Ren San if you want, but I might not always respond."

"Ren San, lead the way. Take us to all the places you can go," Gui BuGui walked over slowly and looked at Ren San with a smile, "And tell us about the old man who gave you your name. What did he look like? How old was he? Did he have a round face or a pointed face..."

"The old man is just an old man, what's there to say?" Ren San turned his head and ignored Gui BuGui, fixing his gaze on Wu Mian, showing his small white teeth, "Let's get this straight, I'll only take you to the places I can go. Just one round, okay? If we go too many rounds, even ginseng can get dizzy."

Ren San then hopped towards the exit of the hall. Wu Mian said nothing, keeping his hands behind his back as he followed the little doll. The Gui brothers, worried about the safety of their more than forty subordinates, followed closely behind Ren San, afraid of losing this little troublemaker.

Gui BuGui walked at the back. After taking the elixir of immortality, the old man felt more confident and was no longer as tense as before. Before leaving, he suddenly looked up at the ceiling adorned with pearls. Although he still couldn't see anything unusual, a strange smile appeared on his lips. He muttered something to the ceiling and then followed the others out of the hall.

After leaving the hall, the little doll Ren San went directly to the second exit on the left. Before he entered, Wu Mian pointed to the first exit on the left and said, "Let's go in order, shall we start from here?"

Ren San stopped, turned his head, and made a face at Wu Mian, "I already said I'll only take you to the places I can go. This place is full of insects, maybe you humans aren't afraid, but these insects are our ginseng's natural enemies. I barely escaped last time, and I don't have the ability to go in again."

"Insects..." Wu Mian stared at Ren San's expression, paused for a moment, and then said slowly, "I didn't think you would be afraid of anything, but since we're already at the entrance, it seems a bit unreasonable not to take a look."

After hearing Wu Mian's words, Ren San's face changed immediately. He took a few steps back and said, "Whoever wants to go in, go ahead, just don't count me in. If you can kill all the insects, just make sure I don't see any live ones."

"Are they just insects?" Gui Qu muttered, then stretched his neck to look into the dark exit. This was one of the few areas in the palace without oil lamps, and it was pitch black. Even with his keen eyesight, he couldn't see anything. He turned back and looked at Ren San, "Just a few steps, is it really that much trouble?"

After hearing this, Ren San showed his small white teeth and giggled, shaking his head, "A few steps? Sure, if you can step on all the insects inside, I'll take you here until we find the forty-odd people you mentioned. But there are a lot of insects, so you'll have to step on them many times."

As the little doll spoke, his tone was mocking. Being ridiculed by a naked baby, was this even bearable? If they hadn't already tried and found out that the two of them together were no match for this little doll, they would have already slapped his mouth.

This was too much to swallow. They were just insects, how many could there be? Gui Qu snorted, pulled an oil lamp from the wall, and walked to the exit, using the light to peer inside. He saw a wide path leading to another exit, but he was too far away to see where it led. Gui Lai looked at his brother, intending to stop him, but seeing that Gui BuGui, who had already left the hall, didn't seem to mind, he thought it might not be as dangerous as he imagined. By the time Gui Lai hesitated, the situation had already changed.

"There are no insects..." Gui Qu muttered, and then stepped into the area. As soon as his foot touched the ground, a "sizzling" sound suddenly filled the air. Gui Qu reflexively stepped in with his other foot. But at that moment, he saw what was happening.

The walls on both sides, the floor, and the ceiling suddenly moved. Gui Qu then saw that countless snake-like insects were surging towards him like a tide. These insects were about the size of a palm, looked like snakes, but were covered with black scales that stood up, making them appear much larger than they actually were.