"I've sensed Huang San's presence."
Bai Ling'er's words drained me of all my strength, but I gritted my teeth and didn't stop. I walked another dozen meters forward, and when I felt that Murong Yun and the others couldn't see me, I took Bai Ling'er out of my bag.
"You walk so slowly, you almost suffocated me in there," Bai Ling'er complained as soon as she was out.
I offered a wry smile and said, "My dear lady, do you think I'm like you, capable of traveling eight hundred li by day and a thousand by night? I'm an ordinary person, how can I compare to a celestial being like you?"
Faced with my praise, Bai Ling'er's tail almost wagged its way to the heavens. "It's good that you have some self-awareness." With that, she darted into the mountain forest, but before she left, she reminded me not to forget the sheep I promised her.
Always thinking about food, not afraid of getting fat.
Fortunately, Bai Ling'er agreed to help me find Huang San. It's just two sheep, and this debt will definitely be settled with Su Jiandong.
"Mr. Song, what are you looking at so intently?" I was so engrossed in thinking about how to extort Su Jiandong that I didn't notice when they arrived.
After climbing three kilometers of mountain road, almost everyone was soaked in sweat. Compared to Su Jiandong and Murong Yun, their bodyguards had better stamina. Although they were also sweating profusely, they were still cautiously scanning their surroundings.
Seeing Su Jiandong looking like a beggar, I almost burst out laughing. He had arrived wearing an Armani suit, which had now turned into a camouflage outfit. If he had a bowl in his hand, he would undoubtedly be the most dazzling beggar of the new era.
Murong Yun was slightly better off, but his clothes were also torn by branches, though much less so than Su Jiandong's.
Seeing Su Jiandong looking at me unhappily, I coughed awkwardly and said, "I've found the general direction. Let's spread out from here and search for any caves or similar places."
"Caves? What are you kidding about? Does this mountain look like it has caves? I think you'd have better luck finding a mouse hole?" Su Jiandong said irritably.
I looked at him in surprise and said, "Oh, how did you know I was looking for a mouse hole? Is your family specializing in finding mouse holes?"
"You..."
Seeing that we were about to argue again, Murong Yun quickly interjected, "Mr. Song, can you tell us why you're looking for caves? Is it related to finding Nannan?"
I nodded and said, "Yes, what we're looking for is the Huang Daxian in this mountain. If we find him, and have his disciples and grandchildren search for Nannan, it will surely be twice as effective. You know their noses are much more sensitive than ours."
Knowing my objective, Murong Yun nodded, then instructed the bodyguards who had accompanied them to search separately. He himself didn't rest, drank a few sips of water, and joined the search. Only I and Su Jiandong were left behind.
"Kid, I don't know what tricks you're up to, but I advise you not to deceive me. Otherwise, you'll regret it." He then turned and headed towards Murong Yun's search area without giving me a chance to retort, acting like a sycophant, which left me stunned.
Aren't they husband and wife? Why does it seem like Murong Yun is very concerned about Nannan, while Su Jiandong seems a bit less so?
Although I had my doubts, I didn't dwell on them too much. After all, one can never truly know another's heart, and many things are difficult to discern.
About half an hour later, Bai Ling'er returned to my side and told me, "I've found Huang San. He's in a hidden cave over there."
Upon hearing this news, my heart leaped with joy. As long as Huang San was found, the remaining problems would be easily solved. In the forest, no creatures lived more comfortably than these.
If Bai Ling'er were a wild immortal, I wouldn't need to find Huang San; I could have just had her deploy her offspring to search. There would be no need for such roundabout methods.
I didn't inform Murong Yun and Su Jiandong, as I still didn't know Huang San's condition. I could only go and see first, because according to the divination, Huang San's situation was likely not optimistic.
"Then let's hurry. What are we waiting for? Every minute we delay, the more likely a变故 (change/accident) will occur."
I put away my water bottle and was about to leave, but Bai Ling'er didn't move, a hint of hesitation in her expression.
Seeing her expression, my heart sank. Could something have happened to Huang San?
From the divination I performed for Huang San, that fellow was facing a tribulation, but it wasn't a life-or-death one, just an ordinary minor tribulation, causing him some hardship.
"Has Huang San changed?"
I didn't directly ask if Huang San had become an evil spirit. It takes a process for wild immortals to become evil spirits, just like people. It's not something that happens in a day or two; it requires many days of inner turmoil before one finally becomes reckless.
Bai Ling'er nodded and said, "I don't know how to describe it. Huang San is no longer the Huang San I knew. He's become very strange, and his aura is also a bit unusual, mixed with a foul smell?" Su Dan Xiao Shuo Wang
A foul smell?
I frowned. Could it be the smell of a corpse rat demon?
Bai Ling'er nodded frantically, "It's that smell, very unpleasant."
"Hurry and take me to see him. Perhaps there's still a way to save him."
I hadn't expected Huang San to consume the soul of a corpse rat demon so quickly that it would deplete his spiritual energy. If he didn't expel the demonic energy within him now, Huang San was very likely to become the next corpse rat demon.
Following Bai Ling'er along a winding path for about five hundred meters westward, I saw a mountain cave about half a meter high, surrounded by vines. If Bai Ling'er hadn't led the way, it would have been impossible to find.
A pungent, fishy odor wafted faintly from within, similar to the smell of a corpse rat demon.
"You go in and drive him out. Remember not to hurt him, otherwise, it will be difficult to deal with later." Bai Ling'er nodded, twisted her waist, and squeezed into the cave.
Meanwhile, I opened my backpack, took out the red rope soaked in rooster's blood, and yellow talismans. In a few strokes, I wove a net and hung a yellow talisman inscribed with "suppress evil spirits" on it. For Huang San, who was about to enter a demonic state, only by using his yang energy to suppress him, along with the yellow talisman, could the soul of the corpse rat demon he consumed be forced out.
Just as I was preparing, I heard a rat's squeal from inside the cave, a fierce and piercing sound, like a wounded beast roaring.
Swish—
Bai Ling'er shot out from inside like a white lightning bolt and quickly said, "He's right behind you. Be careful."
I nodded without speaking, tightening the net in my hand. As long as Huang San entered this net soaked in rooster's blood, no matter how great his abilities, he would have to lie down obediently for me.
I felt a tight pull in my hand, as if a wild boar had crashed into the net, causing me to stagger forward, barely managing not to fall. Fortunately, I was prepared and pulled with all my might. The red rope ensnared Huang San.
Looking at Huang San screaming in the net, I frowned. Was this still a weasel?
Huang San had completely changed his appearance. From the size of a domestic cat, his body had grown by a third, looking like a one-year-old mongrel. His yellowish eyes now had two different colors: one incomparably scarlet, the other reddish-yellow. His fangs had also grown extremely long, making him look like another corpse rat demon.
"Is there still a way to treat him?" Bai Ling'er asked, looking at Huang San trapped in the net with some worry.
"Who knows? I'm not a veterinarian," I said, somewhat annoyed. I thought to myself, why did you have to eat the soul of a corpse rat demon for no reason? Aren't you just asking for trouble?
Bai Ling'er was taken aback and asked, "Then what do you plan to do? Kill him?"
I shook my head and said, "How could I? I still need him to make money. However, to let him know that not everything in the world can be eaten, I've decided to teach him an unforgettable lesson."