When Li Genmiao revealed Yan Shouyi's identity, the old man's expression changed drastically, almost losing his composure.
At the same time, Yan Shouyi also realized something.
The techniques that pretentious bear knew, weren't they the ones a descendant of Lu Ban would possess?
On Changbai Mountain, there should only be one descendant of Lu Ban, and that was his mother, Jiang Qingxue.
This meant that the skills of this black bear spirit were taught by his mother!
And Li Genmiao had likely seen through it long ago but had held back from saying anything until now.
Thinking of this, Yan Shouyi turned his head angrily and glared at Li Genmiao, "You knew all along?"
"You wanted to test me, and I wanted to test you too," Li Genmiao shrugged, his scheme successful.
Yan Shouyi let out a cold snort and grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground to break the spell. As a result, Li Genmiao, who was standing perfectly fine, also slipped and fell.
This was Yan Shouyi's revenge on Li Genmiao.
Li Genmiao didn't get angry. He got up, patted the dirt off his clothes, and let the matter go.
At this moment, the old man walked into the cave and held Yan Shouyi's shoulders with trembling hands, "You... you are truly the young lady's child?"
"Do I need to prove it?" Yan Shouyi asked, lifting the satchel he was carrying. "This is my mother's satchel, made by Feng Yi Xuan. Grandpa gave it to me later."
The old man shook his head, seemingly unconcerned about the satchel. He said, "You look very much like your mother. It's just that I didn't expect you to have actually come to Changbai Mountain..."
Before Yan Shouyi could say much, the old man's eyes welled up with tears, as if he had been waiting for this day for a long time.
The four black bear spirits beside them exchanged wide-eyed glances, their expressions extraordinarily telling.
The pheasant flew to the black bear spirit's shoulder and whispered, "This, this, this, is this kid the child of the immortal sister? Our young master? My heavens, it's a case of the Dragon King's temple being flooded by his own. Brother, you're in trouble this time!"
The black bear spirit covered its eyes with its furry paw, its ears drooping in fear, "How was I supposed to know his identity? But I was wondering earlier, why would he also know Lu Ban's techniques..."
Er Ya bit a finger, seemingly in thought, and inadvertently spoke her mind, "Will the young master buy me good food? I really want candy!"
"Why are you only thinking about yourselves!" the sika deer said. "The young master has come to find the immortal sister, and the immortal sister can finally regain her freedom!"
The four magical animals communicated in human language, their eyes occasionally glancing at Yan Shouyi.
They rarely saw people and were endlessly curious about the human world, but their grandfather was too strict, forbidding them from going down the mountain and ordering them to drive away any humans who ascended.
This was their first long exchange with an outsider, and with their young master about to arrive, they were all extremely excited.
Yan Shouyi supported the old man and comforted him a few times until his emotions stabilized.
He could no longer hold back and asked the old man about his identity:
"Old sir, what should I call you? What is your relationship with my mother?"
"Young master, you can call me Uncle Weng. I am the butler of your mother's master. I have been taking care of your mother's master my whole life. Later, when your mother's master ascended to immortality, I continued to take care of your mother until now."
Uncle Weng then adjusted the strangely shaped staff in his hand and explained, "But the young lady didn't need much of my care, so I became a ginseng hunter in the Changbai Mountains. This is my treasure-seeking staff. I worked as a ginseng hunter while also protecting Tianchi, ensuring the young lady would not be disturbed by outsiders during her secluded cultivation."
Upon learning Uncle Weng's identity, Yan Shouyi felt even more respect for this elder.
However, he also noticed some particularly interesting information in Uncle Weng's words.
Mother's master was also on Changbai Mountain?
Although his mother's master had passed away, his existence still piqued Yan Shouyi's interest. His mother was a descendant of Lu Ban, so her master must also be a descendant of Lu Ban. He wondered who was more powerful between this senior and his grandfather?
Uncle Weng grasped Yan Shouyi's hand. His hand was dry, covered in wrinkles, like an old tree about to wither, cool to the touch.
"Young master, we have waited for you for a long time. You have finally arrived." As he said this, Uncle Weng's voice became emotional again.
Yan Shouyi quickly soothed him and asked curiously, "You have been waiting for me?"
"We have been waiting, for almost twenty years."
"Why were you waiting for me? Couldn't my mother come to find me herself?"
"It's a long story, but once you meet the young lady, you will understand everything."
Uncle Weng smiled kindly, then seemed to remember something and turned to the four black bear spirits, shouting, "You four blockheads, you don't even recognize the young master! Why aren't you coming over quickly?!"
Uncle Weng was kind and gentle with Yan Shouyi, but gruff and stern with the four black bear spirits. The disparity was incredibly obvious, clearly defining their master-servant relationship.
The four black bear spirits, with peculiar expressions, reluctantly shuffled towards Yan Shouyi.
They lined up, their movements awkward and shy.
However, Er Ya was slightly better. As soon as she got close, she stared at Yan Shouyi with her big, watery eyes and asked, "Young master, will you buy me candy?"
The pheasant smacked Er Ya's head with its wing and whispered, "Stop babbling! What if the young master wants to eat you?"
Only then did Er Ya realize that her status was different from the other three; she was the "food."
"Waaaaaa~~~~"
The innocent Er Ya immediately burst into tears, shaking her head like a rattle drum, "Don't eat me, don't eat me! I'll give you all the honey that Brother Tiezi hid!!!"
"Oh, come on???" The black bear spirit looked at Er Ya, the little traitor, with utter shock.
Yan Shouyi quickly comforted her, "Don't cry, okay? If you don't cry, I won't eat you."
The pheasant added, "The young master said if you cry again, he'll eat you."
"Waaah~~~~ Ga!" Er Ya, who had been wailing moments ago, immediately fell silent, covering her mouth to hold back her tears.
"Hsss..."
Uncle Weng inhaled with a grin and then struck the pheasant's head with his treasure-seeking staff, "You talk too much, think you're the smartest, don't you?"
The pheasant covered its head with its wing and dared not speak further.
Yan Shouyi found that the personalities of these four were all very interesting, and they had become acquainted through their initial conflict.
He asked, "Uncle Weng, what are their identities?"
"Identities?"
Uncle Weng seemed not to have considered this question before. Being asked by Yan Shouyi now, he could only improvise an answer, "They should be considered pets, I suppose."