This Taoist priest is so unprofessional!

Zhang Chen felt his worldview had been severely impacted. He looked at Wang Xiaoer, his voice trembling slightly.

"Waiter...waiter..."

He pointed to the wad of paper money that had been extinguished and whose ashes were almost gone, and then pointed to Wang Xiaoer.

"You...you've...had another epiphany?"

Wang Xiaoer turned his head and looked at Zhang Chen's expression of utter disbelief, scratching his head somewhat embarrassedly.

He revealed a simple, honest smile, completely at odds with his previous miraculous skills.

"I think so."

He muttered to himself.

"Maybe... my ancestors thought I was too stupid, so they taught me step by step in my dream just now."

Zhang Chen: "..."

What else could he say?

Did your ancestors think you were stupid, so they taught you step by step in your dream?

After I teach you, the fire you create with just one fire-starting technique will almost rival the Samadhi True Fire.

Is that what you call stupid?

What about us poor folks who have toiled for decades and still can't even ignite a pure flame?

Is it useless?

Zhang Chen felt a surge of blood and qi, and almost fainted.

Looking at Wang Xiaoer's harmless face, he suddenly felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

Being around this kind of person is really damaging to a cultivator's confidence.

Wang Xiaoer found it somewhat amusing to see Zhang Chen's expression, which looked like he had swallowed a fly.

He knew that what he had just done was a bit outrageous, but he really didn't do it on purpose.

It was a natural expression.

Just like a mathematician who, after mastering calculus, is asked to perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, the process he writes down will inevitably possess a simplicity and elegance that ordinary people cannot understand.

After the ancestral worship is completed, one receives the blessings of one's ancestors.

Wang Xiaoer was completely satisfied.

He carefully cleaned all the offerings and put the trash into a bag before carrying it.

"Alright, Brother Chen, let's go back."

"Um."

Zhang Chen responded sullenly and followed behind Wang Xiaoer, glancing at him every now and then as if he were looking at a monster.

The two descended the mountain along the path they had come from.

The sun was setting, the mountain breeze was refreshing, and birds were singing.

Everything seemed so beautiful.

Just as the two were about to reach the vicinity of the cordon.

A sudden cell phone ring broke the tranquility of the mountain forest.

"La la la Demacia, la la la LoL..."

The sound was coming from Zhang Chen's old canvas bag.

Wang Xiaoer looked over curiously.

Zhang Chen paused for a moment, then took out a cell phone from his bag. The screen displayed an unmarked number.

He frowned, walked to the side, and pressed the answer button.

"Feed?"

I don't know what they said on the other end of the phone.

Wang Xiaoer only saw Zhang Chen's expression change rapidly, at a speed visible to the naked eye.

First came doubt.

Then came surprise.

Finally, it turned into an extremely strange expression, a mixture of embarrassment, headache, and a hint of fear.

He opened his mouth as if he wanted to refute something, but in the end he just responded helplessly.

"……yes."

"……I see."

"...I will try my best."

A few seconds later, Zhang Chen hung up the phone.

He stood there, clutching his phone, his expression as if he had been constipated for three days and three nights.

Wang Xiaoer walked over carrying the garbage bag and asked with some concern.

"Brother Chen, what's wrong? Who called?"

Zhang Chen raised his head and looked at Wang Xiaoer with a complicated expression.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, as if he were about to say something difficult to say.

He organized his thoughts, but in the end, it all turned into a long sigh.

"Sigh, the good days are over."

Zhang Chen looked utterly hopeless.

"My uncle said... there's... there's... oh dear!"

He scratched his hair in frustration.

"In short, a huge problem has arisen."

Wang Xiaoer's curiosity was completely piqued when he saw Zhang Chen's conflicted expression and sighing.

"What's the trouble? You seem completely lost."

Zhang Chen simply waved his hand, his eyes darting away.

"Don't ask anymore."

His voice sounded irritable.

"It seems we can't hide any longer; we have to leave immediately and get back to the city!"

After saying that, he didn't even look at Wang Xiaoer, turned around and walked quickly towards Wang Xiaoer's house, his back view full of panic.

Wang Xiaoer was stunned for a moment. He didn't have time to think too much. He exchanged a few polite words with Li Yuanchao, who was still waiting at the foot of the mountain, and then hurriedly ran home.

The two practically ran all the way back to their ancestral home.

After quickly packing up, I boarded a bus back to the county, and then quickly transferred to a bus to the city.

Zhang Chen remained silent throughout the journey, never quiet from the moment he got in the car.

He would occasionally take out his phone, stare at the dark screen for a few seconds, and then irritably stuff it back into his pocket.

His whole demeanor was like that of a rabbit being chased by a hound.

Wang Xiaoer finally couldn't resist and leaned closer.

"Brother Chen, what happened? Tell me the truth so I can be prepared."

Zhang Chen suddenly turned his head, and in the dim light, his eyes were full of conflict.

"Don't ask anymore, waiter."

His voice was hoarse.

"It's better for you not to know about this than for you to know. Trust me, don't get yourself involved."

Seeing his expression, Wang Xiaoer swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

He had known Zhang Chen for so long, and he had seen his shrewdness in calculating, his ruthlessness in fighting, and his composure when he was poor and destitute.

But he had never seen Zhang Chen show such a fearful and helpless expression.

It was a kind of despair where you knew disaster was imminent, yet you were powerless to do anything about it.

Wang Xiaoer stopped talking and just silently looked out the window.

He subconsciously clenched his fist, feeling the flow of energy within his body that was completely different from before.

The power he had just received at the ancestral burial ground was clear and strong, but at this moment, it made him feel powerless.

The most terrifying enemy is the unknown one.

The bus swayed and bumped as it traveled through the night.

By the time they returned to the city, the sky was already beginning to lighten.

The city was not fully awake in the early morning, with only a few sanitation workers and breakfast stalls on the streets.

The air was slightly cool, carrying a mixed smell of car exhaust and food.

The two got out of the car and walked silently back to the firm, one in front of the other.

Zhang Chen's steps slowed down, and his expression grew increasingly grim.

Even when he was still dozens of meters away from the street where the firm was located, Wang Xiao'er sensed that something was wrong.

It's too quiet.

At this time of day, the breakfast shop across the street would usually be bustling with people, but today it was quiet.

Moreover, there seemed to be a faint, fishy, ​​sweet, and eerie smell in the air.

"Brother Chen, can you smell anything?" Wang Xiaoer sniffed.

Zhang Chen did not answer.

His gaze was fixed on what was ahead, his steps felt like they were made of lead, and he stopped at the street corner.

Wang Xiaoer followed his gaze and looked over.

He only glanced at it, and all the hairs on his body stood on end.

Their office, with its normally gleaming glass door, now looked as if a heavy, disgusting blanket had been hung on it.

A blanket made up of countless insects, still wriggling.

Black scorpions, red centipedes, colorful spiders, and many other unidentifiable poisonous insects swarmed together, layer upon layer, covering the entire glass door and the surrounding walls.

Under the pale streetlights of early morning, the shells and limbs reflected a greasy sheen as they slowly crawled and intertwined.

The fine rustling sounds gathered together, like a tide seeping into the ears, making one's scalp tingle and stomach churn.

"Holy crap!"

Wang Xiaoer felt a wave of nausea and couldn't help but swear.

"What...what's going on? Is it an insect infestation?"