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Chapter 451: Found it already?
As soon as Mu Han spoke, Liu Hu subconsciously shook his head and said, "The Grand Secretary of the current dynasty is a big shot in the clouds, how could he possibly notice a poor and remote place like ours?"

Liu Hu genuinely found it impossible. Ma Tianshou was an incredibly powerful figure whom he couldn't possibly curry favor with—a Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet…one of the most influential figures in the Ming Dynasty. For a mere county official like himself, he couldn't even truly grasp Ma's power; he only felt a sense of distance…

But after Liu Hu finished speaking, he found that everyone around him had a solemn expression.

Liu Hu was somewhat incredulous: "Really? Do you gentlemen really think it's Wei Shiqi's family? But why would the Grand Secretaries of Beidu pay attention to a small place like our Nanjiaozhi?"

Liu Hu felt this didn't make sense. A high-ranking official would always have a reason for sending his family over; otherwise, even a Grand Secretary might not know about Pingli County, let alone Gangtou Village.

Could it be that the Grand Secretary suddenly had the name "Xu Yuan" pop into his head and inexplicably wanted to make things difficult for some nobody in the local area?
However, when Mu Han uttered the name "Wei Shiqi," everyone, including Xu Yuan, understood why Wei Jinyuan had appeared in Gangtou Village:

The granddaughter of the Imperial Censor.

Xu Yuan's direct connection with Beidu is that young lady. If anyone in Beidu wants to make things difficult for Xu Yuan, it can only be because of her.

So, when Wei Jinyuan and Xu Yuan made this bet, the final condition became obvious.

Lang Xiaoba blurted out, "That young master from a prominent family wants you, sir, to stop seeing the Grand Supervisor's granddaughter from now on?"

Inside the room, Wei Jinyuan let out a soft surprise, twirling his folding fan in his hand: "This little follower seems foolish and impulsive, but he actually has some reasoning ability."

If Lang Xiaoba knew that the "young master of a prominent family" had described him this way, would he be honored or furious...?

Wei Jinyuan turned his folding fan again and said to his subordinates thoughtfully, "Although this junior law master comes from a poor background and has little knowledge, he does have some luck."

He has also gathered a group of talented people under his command; you must not underestimate him any longer!

The four subordinates replied in unison, "Young master is right."

Wei Jinyuan was actually reminding himself.

While Big Ears's henchmen were still eavesdropping, Xu Yuan and the others were standing on the grass next to the ancient well, about to discuss what to do next, when suddenly a goose head popped out from the grass, which was taller than a person.

"Quack quack!"

Dafu suddenly shouted.

As the sound entered, the subordinate inside the room also cackled a few times—then white goose feathers began to grow on his body, his mouth began to protrude forward, and his eyes became dull and lifeless, just like Dafu normally!

Something strange has happened!
Wei Jinyuan's expression changed, and he decisively snapped open his folding fan. With a flick of his wrist, the sharp blade of the fan swiftly severed his subordinate's ear.

The infection route was cut off immediately.

Wei Jinyuan's decisiveness was crucial, because outside Dafu was still squeaking and shouting as he rushed to finish his meal, proudly taking credit for his actions.

Another subordinate pulled an erhu from his baggage, closed his eyes, and began to play it, making a creaking sound.

That sound was even worse than sawing wood.

But he himself became engrossed in it.

Everyone else, including Wei Jinyuan, had faces full of pain.

But this sound took away the infection from their bodies.

Especially the subordinates of that big-eared sorcerer, their white goose feathers fell off one by one, and their bodies returned to normal.

"call……"

He let out a long sigh: "Thank you, young master, thank you, Brother Zheng..."

Before he could finish thanking him, he saw "Brother Zheng" quickly gather up the "goose feathers" that had fallen to the ground and put them into the fishy-smelling bag.

Then, just as quickly, they also collected the ear that Wei Jinyuan had cut off and put it into the same fishy-smelling bag!

Brother Zheng smiled shyly: "Xiao Bin, you know me. I have a habit of collecting all sorts of strange materials."

Xiao Bin understood, of course, but the fact that his companions were collecting the "material" growing from his body still felt very strange to him...

The young master, being considerate of his servants, comforted him, saying, "That's just how Old Zheng is. Two months ago, a batch of new eunuchs in the palace needed to be castrated. Old Zheng pulled some strings and spent a whole thousand taels of silver to buy the amputated parts from an old eunuch in the palace's castration department..."

Xiao Bin looked at the young master with a wistful expression, wanting to say that he had comforted him well, but that he shouldn't do it again next time.

The young master was peering out from behind the door: "Is that goose Xu Yuan's? Did he bring it with him when he came here? I didn't notice it."

The four subordinates racked their brains, but none of them could recall whether Xu Yuan had brought the goose with him when he came over.

"Why can the beast's cry trigger such a strange phenomenon?"

Wu, Wei Jinyuan, and the others were all puzzled.

Xiao Bin had used his tricks many times, and even overheard conversations of evil spirits, but they never changed.

"Uncle Xi, let me take a closer look and see what's so unusual about this beast!"

"Yes."

Uncle Xi was the oldest of the four subordinates.

His name was Wei Xi, a servant born into the Wei family, and a fourth-rate Buddhist practitioner.

They were the main force protecting the young master this time.

Wei Xi raised his hand and scratched his head, pulling a small insect out of his hair.

With a gentle flick of his hand, the insect flew out through the crack in the door and landed beside Xu Yuan and the others. It then circled around them, observing Dafu from different angles.

Inside the room, Wei Xi took a sip of water and sprayed it into the air, creating a water curtain. Everything the insect saw was then displayed within the water curtain.

The young master and his companions instinctively kept their distance from Uncle Xi.

Uncle Xi is highly skilled and capable, but he doesn't pay much attention to personal hygiene.

The insect circled Dafu a few times, and Dafu's complete appearance gradually emerged in the water curtain.

Wei Jinyuan was watching when he suddenly noticed, "Why is this beast eyeing Uncle Xi's bugs...?"

In the water screen image, Dafu stares with wide, goose-like eyes, its neck twisting as the insects fly—its long neck is almost twisted into a pretzel.

"Eh!"

Wei Jinyuan let out a loud shout because Dafu in the picture had already opened its flat beak and pecked at him.

"Don't panic, it can't bite you. This insect was raised and refined by me using a secret method, and its speed is extraordinary..."

Before he could even utter the word "quickly," the insect had already been swallowed whole by Dafu.

Uncle Xi, his face still covered in sleep, couldn't keep up the act, but he said with unusual certainty, "It's alright. Even if it gets eaten, my worm will still be alive. Just watch how I control the Gu worm to bite through this beast's belly and crawl out!"

Wei Jinyuan trusted Uncle Xi very much; Uncle Xi had watched him grow up.

"Bite it!" Wei Jinyuan said, "Let's give Xu Yuan a taste of his own medicine first. He still doesn't understand how his pet died, hehehe..."

The worm was indeed not dead, because after it was swallowed, the image of Dafu's esophagus was still being projected onto the water screen in front of everyone.

The image is very unsettling; once you see it, it's as if you're sliding down a slippery, dark, and constantly writhing tube into a terrifying unknown.

Uncle Xi then activated his magic, and the insect in the image struggled a few times.

Xiao Bin and the others exclaimed with delight, "It moved! Let's teach this beast a lesson!"

But Uncle Xi's expression was strange.

Because its own insects... only struggled a few times.

Uncle Xi's original idea was that the insect would use its sharp mandibles to bite Dafu's esophagus.

But the insect failed to carry out the command.

Dafu's body is very strange; insects can't bite it!
Uncle Xi took a deep breath and urged the insects to move again.

He used his fourth-rate skills at full power, but Uncle Xi had a bad feeling... because he vaguely sensed that his Gu worms seemed to be poisoned!
Gu worms can actually be poisonous?!

Most Gu worms feed on poison.

It's quite unbelievable, but Uncle Xi has a mysterious connection with his insects, so he's probably not mistaken.

Sure enough, this time, the insect didn't even struggle.

"Oh no!" Uncle Xi thought to himself.

Wei Jinyuan stared longingly, but the image suddenly became blurry in the mist before his eyes.

Wei Jinyuan thought he was seeing things, so he rubbed his eyes and looked again, but the image was even blurrier: "Uncle Xi, what's going on?"

Uncle Xi coughed a few times but didn't say anything.

Without needing a reply, the image within the mist vanished completely. The mist, floating in mid-air, then with a whoosh, fell to the ground, soaking the area. Xiao Bin exclaimed, "The Gu worms are dead? Uncle Xi's magic has been broken?!"

"That shouldn't be the case..." Old Zheng couldn't help but say.

Uncle Xi is a fourth-rate sorcerer, and the insects he cultivates are at least fifth-rate in terms of their evil nature.

Even if a large white goose is a natural evil spirit that can subdue insects, it wouldn't be able to swallow Uncle Xi's Gu worm in one gulp.

Everyone stared wide-eyed, waiting for Uncle Xi to give an explanation.

"Cough cough cough..." Uncle Xi coughed a few more times, but still didn't say anything.

The senior's dignity had already fallen to the ground along with the water vapor.

What else can the seniors say?
Wei Jinyuan couldn't stand it any longer. He pressed his face against the crack in the door and peered outside, saying, "I want to see just who this beast is!"

For Daifuku, it was just eating a bug.

These insects are a bit hard to digest, but Daifuku has eaten a lot of similar things already.

They've even eaten evil spirits that are harder to digest than this.

Dafu squawked a few times at the rice trough, then spread its big webbed feet, and an egg rolled out from under its webbed feet.

It was about the size of a fist, with a bluish-black shell and some small, inconspicuous white spots on the surface.

Ji Shuangqiu's eyes lit up: "Dafu laid an egg..."

Lang Xiaoba was speechless: "Dafu is male."

Ji Shuangqiu squinted at Lang Xiaoba and said, "Next time we spar, we should go all out."

Men should fight!
Xu Yuan stepped forward to examine the egg closely, and everyone else curiously gathered around.

Dafu is very proud.

Holding its head high and flapping its wings, it seemed confident that the rice stalks would understand what it was trying to convey.

You guys are no good at finding things.

I found the egg as soon as I entered that large patch of grass.

But actually, nobody even looked at it, including the rice dregs.

Naturally, they wouldn't understand its sarcasm.

Liu Hu stroked his chin and said cautiously, "Lord Xu, this looks like a... snake egg."

"Snake eggs?" Xu Yuan naturally thought of the Ancient Well Flower Python.

“When I was a child, I often caught snakes with my friends in the village, so I shouldn’t be mistaken.”

Xu Yuan couldn't help but glance at Liu Hu again.

In an era rife with evil spirits, snakes exhibited a wide variety of strange and unpredictable behaviors.

You've been digging snake nests since you were a child, and you're still alive... you're a lucky person.

Xu Yuan grabbed Da Fu by the neck with his backhand—Master Xu was experienced now, and others would subconsciously ignore Da Fu, who was usually right behind him at this time.

Lord Xu pulled Dafu to his side and asked, "Where did you find this?"

Dafu struggled, glared, and protested!

You'd better put me down right now!

Xu Yuan had to put it down, otherwise how could it lead the way?

With Xu Yuan's release, Da Fu realized that Fan Zhezi was indeed somewhat sensible; once he got angry, Fan Zhezi wouldn't dare to act recklessly.

Then forgive him.

Suddenly, I forgot that yesterday in Champa, Fan Zhezi had maliciously tried to hang me from the wall for the night.

"Caw caw!" Dafu cawed twice, then strode confidently and swayed into the grass.

Lang Xiaoba was about to follow him in when Xu Yuan stopped him. He first activated "Wangming" and looked around the bushes, but found nothing. Then he released the animal sinew rope and followed Dafu.

People shouldn't go in yet.

Dafu led the animal sinew rope inside, and after many twists and turns, they arrived at a pit.

The pit was about the size of a well opening, and below it lay a deep, dark abyss.

Daifu pointed with its wings, indicating that it was found right here.

Xu Yuan then used the animal sinew rope to sweep across the entire patch of grass to make sure there were no traps or anything like that before he went in first.

The others immediately followed.

But after taking a few steps, Xu Yuan felt something was wrong.

I was clearly led in by a rope made of animal sinew, so it should have been easy for me to reach the pit.

But because he was holding a rope made of animal sinew, he kept straying further and further off course!
Xu Yuan tried several times, but no matter what he did, he couldn't walk across the animal sinew rope.

Lang Xiaoba and the others also noticed this strange situation: "What...what's going on?"

Xu Yuan frowned and stepped back, secretly gripping the Yin-Yang Guillotine. He opened his right eye and looked into the bushes, but still found nothing.

"Could it be... that Dafu's body is so severely infected that it can already be considered an evil spirit?"

"Only evil spirits can get to that place?"

Xu Yuan released the Six-Eyed Nethermoth Demon Pill, from which a ghostly soldier emerged.

They guided the ghost soldiers inside, but even following the animal sinew rope, the ghost soldiers couldn't reach the edge of the pit!

Inside the room, Wei Jinyuan and the others looked puzzled.

"Have we noticed anything strange about this patch of grass?"

"No."

Everyone shook their heads.

Wei Jinyuan felt uneasy. He had been there for three days, searching everywhere and racking his brains to analyze and deduce, before he finally found some clues.

But it seems Xu Yuan discovered something as soon as he arrived.

I was initially confident that I would be the first to harvest "Dragon's Mouth Fire," but now I'm not so sure anymore...

"It's all that fat goose's fault!"

Xu Yuan stood outside the bushes and called out, "Da Fu, come out!"

Just as Dafu was about to leave, the animal sinew rope wrapped around its neck and pulled him out.

"Gah gah gah!" Dafu protested angrily as soon as it landed, then saw Xu Yuan open his mouth: Whew—

Fire burst forth from its belly, instantly turning the patch of grass into a wasteland!

Dafu shrank his neck, his two goose eyes twitching and darting around.

I almost turned into a roast goose!

The grass was burned away, leaving nothing to the eye.

But there was no hole in the ground!

Lang Xiaoba scratched his head: "This is weird!"

Xu Yuan stroked his chin and thought for a moment, then looked down at Dafu... This action of looking down suddenly made Xu Yuan's heart stir!
Xu Yuan squatted down to be the same height as Dafu, and looked down at the ground. He immediately smiled and said, "I see."

It's not that only evil spirits can find the pit, but rather that the space here is rather strange.

It's too high, so you can't see or find the pit.

Xu Yuan couldn't help but wonder: Why is it so strange? There are two levels, one high and one low, each leading to a different space.

Is there any connection between this kind of empty "layering" and the "forbidden climbing" in the Chinese almanac?
Dafu, with its sharp eyes, spotted what seemed to be a snake's tail flashing past in the pit. It rushed over with a squeaking sound, plunged its head into the pit, grabbed the tail, and dragged it out with all its might!

Inside the house, Wei Jinyuan saw the creature Dafu had pulled out, its scales a kaleidoscope of colors—and immediately clutched his head: "No way, is this beast my natural nemesis? How did it find the flower python so easily?!"
(End of this chapter)