Outside, the wind and snow were heavy. Yan Shouyi, with nothing else to do, took out an iron bucket, filled it with snow, and placed it on the campfire to heat.
At the same time, he took out some biscuits and ate them to replenish his energy.
Li Genmiao also had his own storage magical treasure. He took out a frozen pear and a packet of tea, intending to brew a cup of hot tea after the water boiled.
Suddenly, Li Genmiao asked Yan Shouyi in surprise, "Did you see my tea?"
Yan Shouyi, too lazy to bother with Li Genmiao, shook his head.
Li Genmiao exclaimed, "Huh?" and stood up, searching the spot several times, but couldn't find the tea.
"Strange, I clearly put the tea here just now. How could it have disappeared?" Li Genmiao was very confused.
Yan Shouyi couldn't help but speak. He put down his biscuits and said, "Did you put it away and forget?"
"No, my memory is very good."
"Heh, people with bad memories don't realize they have bad memories."
With that, Yan Shouyi reached for his biscuits, only to find his hand grasping at empty air.
"Huh???"
Yan Shouyi scratched his head, a bit dazed: Could my memory be bad too?
The next second, Li Genmiao cursed, "Where's my half-eaten frozen pear?! Who took it!"
The two looked at each other, suddenly realizing something was wrong.
There was a third person in the cave, stealing their things!
But the cave was so small, and neither of them was an ordinary person. Who could steal their things right under their noses without making a sound?
Something was wrong, very wrong!
Even Yan Shouyi felt a chill down his spine.
Changbai Mountain truly lived up to its reputation; there were so many strange occurrences in the mountains!
Later, Yan Shouyi made a discovery. He found a small hole in the rock crevices beneath his buttocks.
There was fresh soil around the hole, as if it had just been dug.
He instantly knew who had come.
"Ginseng娃娃!"
Yan Shouyi said, "I didn't expect this little guy to hold such a grudge, following us all the way to the cave and stealing our things."
Li Genmiao also chuckled in exasperation. To think that he, the leader of the prestigious Xin Xuan Sect, was being toyed with by a thousand-year-old ginseng spirit.
A surge of anger welled up in both of them. They were determined to catch this Ginseng娃娃 and teach it a lesson tonight!
"Do you want to do it or should I?" Li Genmiao asked Yan Shouyi.
Yan Shouyi had intended to act himself, but then he considered that this opportunity should be given to Li Genmiao, allowing him to gauge Li Genmiao's skills.
Otherwise, when they clashed later, he wouldn't know Li Genmiao's capabilities and would be at a disadvantage.
"You go ahead."
Li Genmiao nodded, "Alright."
Both of them knew that the Ginseng娃娃 was definitely hiding underground, waiting for an opportunity to come out and steal things when they weren't paying attention.
So, Yan Shouyi got up to give Li Genmiao more space, while Li Genmiao lowered his head, observed for a moment, then leaned down and sang softly towards the hole.
However, what he sang was a Nuo Ghost opera, his voice hoarse and incredibly unpleasant, with sharp melodies and peculiar rhythms.
The sound, amplified by the cave, made Yan Shouyi dizzy. He quickly covered his ears and moved to the cave entrance, where he felt a little better.
After he sang for a while, there was no movement in the cave.
Li Genmiao stopped singing and turned to ask Yan Shouyi a question that made them both ponder for a long time:
"Does the Ginseng娃娃 have ears?"
Yan Shouyi was silent for a long time, then replied, "It should, otherwise when I was trying to catch it before, it would have heard you calling."
Li Genmiao looked surprised, "Then why doesn't it come out?"
Since singing didn't force the Ginseng娃娃 out, Li Genmiao decided to take a more forceful approach.
He took a deep breath, gathered his qi to his dantian, and struck the ground with his palm!
With a "boom," Yan Shouyi clearly saw the campfire in the cave float in mid-air for at least three seconds before landing!
And during those three seconds, all the debris and fine sand in the cave floated along with the campfire!
Before the campfire even landed, the Ginseng娃娃 suddenly emerged from behind Li Genmiao, clutching its head.
It rolled on the ground in pain, shouting "Yiya yiya" incessantly. Finally, it stopped moving, collapsing on the ground as if it had fainted, foam at its lips.
Yan Shouyi was astonished, unsure if the Ginseng娃娃 had been made sick by Li Genmiao's singing or by that palm strike.
Yan Shouyi had also seen some clues in Li Genmiao's palm strike.
It seemed to combine the techniques of penetrating force and Baguazhang, something Yan Shouyi had never seen elsewhere.
If this were a unique skill of a certain sect, it would be understandable, but if Li Genmiao had integrated and created it, wouldn't that mean this guy also knew penetrating force and Baguazhang?
Coming back to his senses, Yan Shouyi quickly took out a red rope and ensnared the Ginseng娃娃.
During the process, a lot of things accidentally spilled out from the Ginseng娃娃's belly pocket. Most of them were oddly shaped stones, but there were also Yan Shouyi's biscuits and Li Genmiao's tea and frozen pear.
Case closed, it was indeed this little guy who had stolen them!
After the two captured the Ginseng娃娃, Li Genmiao directly drew a dagger from his sleeve and walked forward expressionlessly.
Yan Shouyi frowned, "What are you going to do?"
"Of course, kill it first," Li Genmiao replied.
It wasn't that Yan Shouyi had a bleeding heart, but seeing the Ginseng娃娃 in the guise of a child, and considering he was about to become a parent himself, he momentarily softened and didn't want to see the Ginseng娃娃 die like this.
Just as he was about to negotiate with Li Genmiao, Li Genmiao's expression suddenly changed, and he couldn't help but take half a step back.
Huh?
What happened to the actor?
Judging by his expression, he seemed to be very wary of me, but why would he be wary of me at this moment?
While Yan Shouyi was still surprised, Li Genmiao provided the answer: "Yan Shouyi, the black bear spirit I mentioned has arrived!"
Black bear spirit?!
Yan Shouyi spun around abruptly and saw a massive bear outside the cave!
The black bear was still covered in snow, its body emitting white mist, its mouth dripping with saliva, and its eyes glaring fiercely at the two of them.
The visitor was clearly hostile!
He grabbed the Ginseng娃娃 with one hand and drew his Zanpakuto from his satchel with the other, standing shoulder to shoulder with Li Genmiao, confronting the black bear spirit vigilantly.
The black bear spirit seemed to recognize Li Genmiao and angrily questioned:
"I spared your dog's life last time, you ignorant fool. Are you here to court death on the mountain again?"
Li Genmiao grinned sinisterly, pointing at Yan Shouyi, and said, "I'm not afraid of you anymore this time. I've brought a helper!"
Damn it!
Yan Shouyi cursed inwardly. Li Genmiao was shifting the blame!
As expected, the black bear spirit immediately focused on Yan Shouyi: "Another hateful human, and you've even kidnapped Er Ya!"
Er Ya?
Yan Shouyi was stunned. Could the Er Ya the black bear spirit was referring to be the Ginseng娃娃 in his hands?
"Human, release Er Ya!" the black bear spirit roared, "Otherwise... you will remain on Changbai Mountain forever!"