Xu Yi was excited for a while before calming down, then handed the map to Fang Huixin, who looked anxious.
Seeing my furrowed brow, he couldn't help but ask, "Brother Song, the mountain god you mentioned hasn't appeared, yet you still look troubled. Is there still some danger?"
I shook my head with a wry smile and replied, "There shouldn't be any immediate danger, but the location where Li Zuoquan is situated is rather peculiar."
"Peculiar?"
Xu Yi's expression turned surprised, and he pressed on, "May I ask what is peculiar about it, Brother Song? Is it a place of life and death?"
I nodded, "It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a place of life and death. That location is a valley inhabited by many mountain sprites, and there are even ghost mountain sprites present. If we cannot deal with them, we still won't be able to find Li Zuoquan. Moreover, it's the only path to the tomb of the True Dragon."
Although more than ten days had passed, it was still unknown whether the mountain sprites had left. If they hadn't, even if Zhao Defu was hidden in the valley, we would have to consider how to risk a rescue.
"Mountain sprites? Aren't they just a bunch of wild monkeys? We can use guns to deal with them! What's the big fuss?" Upon learning the exact location, Fang Huixin put down the map, looking at me with disdain. "Don't tell me those wild monkeys are more formidable than zombies."
Facing Fang Huixin's ignorance, I rolled my eyes in exasperation. I was too lazy to explain the dangers of mountain sprites to her; it would be like playing a lute to a cow.
Conversely, Xu Yi's face grew solemn. As someone from the Feng Shui world, he naturally knew the power of mountain sprites. A male mountain sprite could tear apart tigers and leopards with its bare hands; this was no laughing matter. Moreover, they weren't just one or two, but a pack. They weren't called the uncrowned kings for nothing.
"Hey, Song, I'm talking to you, why are you rolling your eyes?"
Seeing my reluctance to explain, Xu Yi quickly explained to Fang Huixin, "Boss Fang, you don't know the might of mountain sprites. They are not something you can deal with using guns. In this forest, mountain sprites are the absolute overlords, and ghost mountain sprites are even more so. If those mountain sprites also have a leader, it would be as difficult as climbing to heaven for us to cross the valley."
I don't know what got into Fang Huixin, but after Xu Yi's explanation, she surprisingly became worried. She leaned closer to him and asked softly, "Then what should we do? Should we just give up?"
"That's impossible. I've finally found him, how can I let him go like this?" Xu Yi gritted his teeth, his expression becoming somewhat ferocious.
Zhang Dabiao gently nudged me and said in a voice only audible to us, "It seems this kid has an irreconcilable feud with Li Zuoquan. But why does he look somewhat similar to Li Rui? Could he be an illegitimate son of the Li family?"
Hearing him say that, I looked closely and indeed, he bore some resemblance to Li Rui. Could Zhang Dabiao be right? Seeing Xu Yi turn his head towards us, I quickly nudged Zhang Dabiao, telling him not to speak carelessly, and then said softly, "I've found the person for you, what about your promise to me?"
I made a gesture of counting money. After taking such a big risk to perform a divination, if I didn't get paid, wouldn't that be a total loss?
"Tsk!"
Fang Huixin snorted dismissively and said, "All you think about is money, money. You'll definitely get your money, but not now. Who knows if what you're saying is true? What if you're trying to trick us? Once Li Zuoquan is found, rest assured, you'll get every penny you're owed."
"Hey, that's not what you said earlier, you can't..."
Before I could finish speaking, Xu Yi interrupted me.
"I believe Brother Song wouldn't lie to me about this. Tell me your bank account number, and I'll transfer the money to you now."
I gave Fang Huixin a sidelong glance. "Look at him, and then look at you. It truly proves what the ancients said: there are few things harder to raise than..."
Fang Huixin gritted her teeth, glared at me, and turned her head away, deciding to ignore what she didn't want to see.
In reality, the 3 million from Xu Yi was already quite substantial, and I had no intention of accepting Fang Huixin's 5 million. I just couldn't stand her smug attitude, so I deliberately provoked her.
After giving me the money, Xu Yi's face showed a pensive look, and then he said solemnly, "Brother Song, I plan to perform a ritual to scout the enemy situation in the valley. I would appreciate it if you could guard me."
I initially wanted to refuse, but considering I had just taken 3 million from him, refusing outright would seem rather ungracious. I could only nod in agreement.
Then, Xu Yi found a washbasin, poured half of the water into it, and took out a small section of sorghum stalk from his bag. Before our eyes, he quickly fashioned a paper mouse the size of a palm.
Xu Yi was meticulously crafting it. The mouse was made with incredible lifelikeness, and remarkably, he even gave it eyes. This astonished me. I quietly asked Zhang Dabiao, who was beside me.
"Brother Zhang, didn't you say that when crafting paper figures, you don't dot the eyes? What is this for?"
Zhang Dabiao was also bewildered. After pondering for a moment, he replied, "I don't know about this. I guess it's for scouting purposes!"
As soon as Zhang Dabiao finished speaking, Xu Yi took out a small gray bottle from his bag, chanted something, and opened it. A hazy figure emerged from the bottle and, with a "whoosh," entered the paper mouse.
Squeak—
A series of squeaks came from within the paper mouse, startling Fang Huixin, who immediately moved far away from Xu Yi.
"Why do you have such a disgusting thing? Take it away quickly."
The paper mouse, which had been lifeless moments ago, suddenly came alive. Facing Fang Huixin's scolding, it stared at her with red eyes. If Xu Yi hadn't held it, I suspected it might have leaped down to bite Fang Huixin.
Xu Yi gently stroked the mouse's back. After it calmed down, he said sternly, "Boss Fang, please don't speak carelessly. This is a spirit ferret I raised, not a mouse."
"You... you hurry and take it away, I'm scared of it." Fang Huixin said, backing away. Seeing that it didn't pursue her, she turned and went into the tent.
Xu Yi shook his head, sighed helplessly, and then held the Bagua directional map I had drawn in front of the paper mouse, pointing to a circle on it. "Go and scout this area. Be careful, there might be mountain sprites there."
The paper spirit ferret nodded very humanely, then jumped down from Xu Yi's hand and disappeared from everyone's sight in the blink of an eye.
After Xu Yi finished all this, I asked, "Brother Xu, is that all? Even if that spirit ferret is a spirit beast, it can't possibly convey all the scenes it sees. Isn't this a bit too reckless?"
Xu Yi smiled, offering no explanation, and simply took out another piece of yellow paper from his bag, quickly folding it. In a few moments, another paper spirit ferret appeared in his hands.
He softly chanted a spell, then placed the paper spirit ferret in his hand into the water container he had prepared earlier, and said softly, "Brother Song, please take a look."
I looked at him doubtfully, then leaned closer to the basin. The water in the basin was initially a hazy gray, then gradually became clear. Finally, various scenes appeared, though all I saw were tree roots, soil, and rocks.
I exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, could these be the scenes that paper spirit ferret saw?"