Chapter 90

"Really, I don’t know what Xu Fu sees in you." Yan Aihou gave a bitter laugh and said to his new junior brother, "Just consider that he and I are both blind. Don’t expect anyone to teach you. But I have something Xu Fu left for you, take it all, it’s annoying to look at every day."

As he said this, Yan Aihou put his hands behind his back and walked out of the hall without looking back. Wu Mian hesitated for a moment but still followed Yan Aihou out. After a few steps, he remembered that an old man was still there. When he turned to look at Gui Bu Gui, he saw the old man staring at the Heavenly Pearl in his palm, not even noticing that Yan Aihou had left.

In the end, it was his two disciples and their followers who reminded the old man. Only then did Gui Bu Gui realize that Yan Aihou was already leading Xiao Ren San and Wu Mian out of the hall. Gui Bu Gui tightly gripped the Heavenly Pearl and hurriedly ran after them. After witnessing a battle that he could never have imagined, his two disciples and followers did not dare to follow. They imitated the official language of the Guangzi generation and shouted, "Master, what should we do? Should we go up and wait for you, sir?"

Gui Bu Gui looked back at these people and continued to run after the three people led by Yan Aihou. As he ran, he shouted, "Don’t go up, wait outside the hall! Who knows if Guangxiao and Guangyi will be waiting up there? Wait here, I’ll come back for you later. Remember, don’t wander around."

When he reached Wu Mian’s side, the old man finally relaxed. Wu Mian glanced at his tightly clenched fist and thought of something, then laughed unexpectedly and said to Gui Bu Gui, "Didn’t you say the magic inside was already empty? Are you still protecting it like a treasure? Is the pearl full again?"

When he saw Wu Mian laugh, the old man’s heart sank. He said with a mournful face, "It’s still a magical treasure. Now it’s empty, but we can try to recharge it with some magic later. It’s better than throwing it away. You know me, I’m just a practical person."

"Let me help you recharge it," Wu Mian said, already extending his hand to Gui Bu Gui. Seeing the old man’s face turn pale and his grip tighten, Wu Mian said with a half-smile, "What? Do you look down on my magic? Even if it can’t be fully recharged, a little bit will do. It’s always good to have it for self-defense."

Just as the old man was racking his brain to find a way to refuse, Yan Aihou’s words saved him, "We’re here. Everything Xu Fu left is here. Take it all quickly. Half of the books here were written by me. If you have any questions, you can ask, but don’t expect me to answer."

Yan Aihou pointed to a narrow gap between two stone slabs. The gap was so narrow that only one person could barely squeeze through. Wu Mian and Gui Bu Gui had passed by this place earlier, but no one had noticed that there was another space inside. The gap was probably concealed by some kind of array. Standing in front of the gap, they couldn’t see what was inside.

After saying this, Yan Aihou ignored Wu Mian and Gui Bu Gui and led Xiao Ren San back the way they came. After a few steps, Xiao Ren San’s childish voice asked Yan Aihou, "What did you mean by that? Are you going to let me ask you or not?"

"Don’t ask me, I’m blind."

Seeing that Wu Mian’s attention was on the gap, Gui Bu Gui saw an opportunity and hurriedly chased after Yan Aihou and Ren San. As he ran, he said, "Ancestor, before I became a fangshi, my family had three generations of doctors specializing in treating all kinds of illnesses. I’m especially good at treating eye diseases. One dose of medicine, and I guarantee you’ll see clearly again."

Before the old man finished speaking, a bolt of lightning suddenly shot out from Yan Aihou’s hand. The lightning struck Gui Bu Gui directly. Even though he was used to being electrocuted by Wu Mian, he couldn’t withstand this one. He immediately fell to the ground, foaming at the mouth and convulsing. No one noticed that, after falling, he quickly put a red pearl in his mouth.

Gui Bu Gui, being an immortal with white hair, wouldn’t be seriously injured by such a minor wound. Wu Mian didn’t bother to check on him and simply squeezed through the gap. The further he went, the clearer the things inside became. When he reached the middle of the gap, the entire scene was revealed.

Inside was a room about four to five zhang in size. On the far wall, dozens of bamboo slips were casually placed. In the corner stood a black, long package. Just by looking at it, one couldn’t guess what was inside. A few of the bamboo slips were already scattered, indicating that someone had already come in and looked through them. Apart from these dozens of bamboo slips, there was nothing else in sight, making the room seem somewhat empty.

Wu Mian walked over and picked up one of the bamboo slips. When he opened it, he saw Xu Fu’s message to him. The slip roughly said that Xu Fu had left some advanced magical techniques here. Xu Fu had even predicted that Wu Mian had already cultivated the Thunderfire Dragon. In the slip, he warned Wu Mian that such techniques could only be used as a surprise attack and were effective against ordinary magicians but useless against more advanced fangshi.

"Your disciples have already confirmed this for you," Wu Mian said with a bitter laugh after reading the slip. He then looked at the other bamboo slips, which contained some advanced magical techniques. These techniques were not immediately understandable, and after reading a few slips, Wu Mian shifted his attention to the package in the corner.

When he opened the package, he saw a smaller copper sword. The sword was worn and had many notches on its edges. If used in battle, it could only be used as a copper bar. Moreover, this copper sword didn’t seem to have any special qualities, and Wu Mian couldn’t understand why Xu Fu had left it for him.

Wu Mian then flipped through the other dozens of bamboo slips. They all contained magical techniques, but none mentioned the origin of the copper sword. However, while searching through the slips, Wu Mian found something else.

In one of the bamboo slips, a small wooden box the size of a thumb was wrapped. Inside the box was a red pearl, similar to the Heavenly Pearl Wu Mian had just used. However, this pearl was slightly smaller than the one Gui Bu Gui had hidden.

Seeing this Heavenly Pearl, Wu Mian found another message from Xu Fu on the bamboo slip that wrapped the wooden box. The message said that after Xu Fu left, the first Great Fangshi would likely come to check what Xu Fu had left. Xu Fu predicted that Yan Aihou wouldn’t dare to be too emotional about such basic magic and would stop after looking through a few slips. The message then explained the use of the Heavenly Pearl, stating that it was essential for Wu Mian to unlock the next map location and that he must keep it safe. However, it still didn’t mention the origin of the copper sword.

After putting away the Heavenly Pearl, Wu Mian prepared to read through the bamboo slips again, in case he had missed anything about the copper sword.

At that moment, footsteps were heard from outside the gap. A face that looked like an orange peel poked in, smiling at Wu Mian and said, "How about it? What did that old man Xu Fu prepare for you?"

Halfway through his sentence, Gui Bu Gui saw the copper sword in Wu Mian’s hand. He rubbed his eyes, confirmed that he wasn’t mistaken, took a deep breath, and muttered to himself, "That old man really went all out for you. Even if you are the ancestor of Guangren and the others, this grudge is now settled."