Li Jian's changing expression did not escape the eyes of these people. Seeing his somber face, no one dared to ask what was wrong for a while.
The atmosphere in the cave was somewhat heavy, for everyone knew that if the mountain spirits could not be dealt with, their path ahead would be fraught with peril, and even exiting the forest would come at a considerable cost.
If there were only one or two mountain spirits, they would not have been taken seriously by the group. But this was a pack of mountain spirits, and in this forest, they were the uncrowned kings, with no natural predators whatsoever.
Finally, Fang Niubizi, after a moment of deep thought, asked, "Layman Li, what is inconvenient about the location of these beasts?"
Li Jian shook his head and sighed, his voice tinged with frustration, "The location of these beasts is precisely the path we must take to find the treasure."
"Can't you take a longer route? It would only take a few more days at most."
In response to Kang Pangzi's question, Li Jian shook his head, "These eight hundred li of Qingfeng Mountain are not a place where you can move freely. Only that path has the least risk, but now it has become the place of greatest danger."
As soon as he finished speaking, let alone his frustration, everyone present felt frustrated. The only one not frustrated was Yue'er, because she wasn't listening to Li Jian at all.
"This is truly a case of enemies meeting on a narrow path. If their location is our mandatory route, then this decapitation operation cannot proceed," I said with some concern. "Killing the leader of the mountain spirits will cause them to be in disarray for a while, until a new leader is chosen and they regroup. But if we go to their lair and kill their leader at this time, they will surely believe we are the murderers, and we will face endless,瘋狂 revenge."
"This..."
As soon as my words came out, everyone was stunned in place. Kang Pangzi looked at me with a resentful expression, as if my words had stolen all his credit.
Heizi opened his mouth, then closed it again in resignation, seemingly annoyed that his carefully thought-out plan had not materialized.
"Is there no other way?" Li Jian looked around. Everyone lowered their heads in thought, while I smiled nonchalantly.
I had no desire to seek treasure, especially after learning it was the tomb of the Fifth Prince. I had already been contemplating how to hinder them, and now, by chance, the mountain spirits had provided a great help.
Glancing at Yue'er, who was shaking her head and listening to music, I suspected she had deliberately provoked the mountain spirits to cause trouble for Li Jian and the others, but I had no proof. Even if I did, I wouldn't tell Li Jian.
Just as I was laughing heartily in my heart, Kang Pangzi's words made me feel as if I had eaten fly dung.
"Kid surnamed Song, why are you laughing there? Are you happy that everyone can't proceed?"
My face darkened, and I looked at Kang Pangzi with an unfriendly tone, "Are your old eyes failing you? Which eye saw me laughing? If your eyes are useless, just dig them out."
"You..."
Kang Pangzi's words were directly interrupted by Fang Niubizi, who said sternly, "Enough, have you forgotten what I said?"
Seeing Kang Pangzi stifled, I wore a big smile on my face, but then I couldn't laugh anymore.
"Little Layman, I see you look composed and unconcerned about our progress. If you have a brilliant plan, perhaps you could share it with us so we can discuss it together?"
"If you have a way to get through, I'll give you two million immediately upon our return, without fail," Li Jian added.
Looking at Kang Pangzi's half-smile, I finally understood his intention. He wanted to drag me in and make me come up with an idea. Realizing this, I glared fiercely at Kang Pangzi.
After a moment of thought, I said solemnly, "It's not impossible to get through, but this method is a bit unethical."
"What's unethical or not? As long as we can pass the mandatory route they occupy, there's no such thing as unethical. Hurry up and tell us your plan." Li Jian urged me with eager enthusiasm.
Although Fang Niubizi did not urge me, his face also showed enthusiasm. "Little Layman, speak freely. If there is sin, this old Daoist will bear it all."
I inwardly disdained Fang Niubizi, thinking, what good would it do if you bore it? The idea isn't yours. But on the surface, I showed a grateful expression.
"I know that mountain spirits have a peculiar habit. If we use this method to deal with them, we might be able to pass through there." At this point, I paused for effect and then looked at Kang Pangzi, saying with certainty, "You are a Gu master, aren't you!"
My words made Kang Pangzi instantly wary, "What do you want to do?"
"As far as I know, Gu masters have an inexhaustible supply of Gu worms. Why don't you lend a hand and use your Gu to kill all these mountain spirits?"
Kang Pangzi almost jumped up at my words. "Are you f***ing crazy? There are thousands of mountain spirits! If I kill them all, how much negative karma will I accumulate? This is absolutely not possible. Besides, who told you that Gu masters have an inexhaustible supply of Gu worms?"
I was taken aback by his words. Was he not a Gu master? Gu masters carried a large number of Gu worms with them.
"Then how many Gu worms do you have? This matter requires their effort."
Kang Pangzi glared at me through gritted teeth, "Kid, asking a Gu master about their Gu worms is a major taboo. Didn't your master ever tell you that?"
I knew this naturally. It was like someone asking me, "How high is your cultivation? What are your ultimate skills?" These were all secrets that could not be revealed.
Since you've dragged me into this, how could I let you have an easy time?
"This plan requires your Gu worms. Without them, this matter will be difficult to handle."
My words immediately made Kang Pangzi the focus of everyone's attention. All eyes turned to him, making his face flush red, looking as if he had been constipated for decades.
Finally, Fang Niubizi couldn't stand it any longer and said, "Little Layman, first tell us your plan. We can discuss the rest later."
Although Li Jian was the leader of this team, he actually followed Fang Niubizi's lead and chimed in, "Daoist Fang is absolutely right. Even if we want to use fellow Daoist Kang's Gu worms, we need a plan first, don't we?"
Seeing Li Jian's expression of not wanting to offend either side, I secretly sneered. When I reveal my plan later, I doubt you'll maintain that expression.
Kang Pangzi remained silent, but his face was terrifyingly grim. He stared intently at me. If looks could kill, I would have been killed countless times by now.
"My plan is for fellow Daoist Kang to feed those mountain spirits with his Gu worms."
As soon as I finished speaking, Kang Pangzi charged at me like an enraged bull, his eyes red, completely disregarding Fang Niubizi's attempts to stop him, with an expression of wanting to kill me.
"You f***ing little brat, I knew you weren't up to anything good! You dare to play me like this! I'll fight you to the death today!"
Kang Pangzi charged forward quickly, but retreated even faster. Yue'er seemed to be listening to music, but I knew she had been observing our situation.
So, when Kang Pangzi lunged at me, she stood up and directly in front of me. Kang Pangzi, terrified like a rat crossing the street, ducked low and hid behind Fang Niubizi.
This comical move almost made everyone in the room burst into laughter, and it also made Fang Niubizi's face turn terrifyingly grim.
"Little Layman, leave some room for others, and you might meet again in the future. Everything has a limit. If you go too far, it won't be good."
To Fang Niubizi's threat, I shrugged in understanding and then explained, "I recall that when we set out, Elder Li arranged for people to bring a large quantity of painkillers, is that correct?"
Li Jian nodded, looking at me with some confusion. "Yes, we did bring a lot of painkillers and sedatives. But what does that have to do with dealing with mountain spirits?"
"It has a lot to do with it. I plan to..."