The players went out to catch Jiangshi and waited bitterly outside the Jiangshi lair all night, only returning at dawn, having caught nothing.

These Jiangshi seemed to have gained intelligence. When they entered the cave, the Jiangshi had already fled.

The players realized that catching Jiangshi wasn’t as simple as they thought. The first Jiangshi was caught purely by chance, thanks to Gu Rong’s stone pillar throw.

However, two days had already passed, and it was now the third day.

Gu Rong had gone to sleep early last night and didn’t know when the players returned.

Waking up naturally, Gu Rong stretched lazily. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Laifu squatting by the bedside, looking at him.

Seeing Gu Rong awake, Laifu panted with its tongue out, happily jumping up and down.

For a moment, it was unclear whose dog this was; it seemed more affectionate towards Gu Rong than towards its master.

Gu Rong’s small body lay flat on the bed for a while before fully waking up.

The cub sprang up from the bed, hopped off, and had already resumed the Little Jiangshi posture, his two short little arms stretched straight forward.

So young, yet quite dedicated.

Seeing this, the aunties in the livestream chat felt inadequate. Zaizai was truly a little role model for the workforce.

Seeing Gu Rong get up, Laifu pawed restlessly at the ground, looking eager to go out, wanting Gu Rong to take him for a walk.

Gu Rong was several sizes smaller than the Big Black Dog overall. This dog really had no self-awareness, actually wanting Gu Rong to walk it.

It was truly unknown whether the cub was walking the dog, or the dog was walking the cub.

Gu Rong: [Zaizai go find Big Brother, Little Brother!]

006 said: [Little host, they probably just lay down.]

After working hard all night for nothing, most players had likely just lain down not long ago, probably just falling asleep.

006 recounted to Gu Rong how the players had hunted Jiangshi all night but caught none.

Gu Rong thought of his own task and said: [Zaizai also needs to catch Big Jiangshi, pull teeth!]

006: [Jiangshi hide by day and come out at night. They won’t come out during the day, only becoming active at night. We’ll have to wait until night to catch them.]

Gu Rong tilted his head: [Then why was Zaizai sleeping at night?]

006: […]

Good question. Shouldn’t I be asking the little host that?!

Gu Rong thought for a moment and decided he wouldn’t sleep tonight; he’d go out and catch Big Jiangshi.

Leaving the room, the cub and the dog were just preparing to eat something and then go for a walk. As soon as they left the courtyard, they ran into Wu Sandeng.

Several servants were holding down the buzz cut man, pressing him to the ground.

The buzz cut man’s mouth was swollen from being hit, looking quite wretched.

Wu Sandeng sat in a grandmaster chair, sipping tea slowly, a faint smile on his face, but his tone sent chills down one’s spine: “Robbing the gold vault? Hmm?”

Gu Rong: “…”

Laifu: “…”

The buzz cut man argued desperately: “It wasn’t me, I didn’t, it was that Big Black Dog and the Little Jiangshi…”

Before he could finish, a servant nearby took a wooden plank and slapped his mouth, pa pa.

Servant: “Falsely accusing Third Master’s beloved pet, the crime is doubled!”

Buzz cut man: “…”

Damn it all!

Wu Sandeng: “Throw him out.”

The buzz cut man was dragged away by the servants by his legs.

Gu Rong and Laifu exchanged a glance and were about to hop away.

But Wu Sandeng had already seen the cub and the dog. He put down his teacup: “Stop.”

Gu Rong and Laifu both froze instantly.

Wu Sandeng’s gaze swept over, looking at his beloved dog and the newly acquired Little Jiangshi figurine. His tone was flat, revealing no emotion: “Come here.”

Gu Rong was very astute and immediately hopped over towards Wu Sandeng.

Seeing this, Laifu could only run towards its master.

Seeing its master, Laifu was very enthusiastic, wagging its tail and pounced onto Wu Sandeng.

Wu Sandeng pushed the dog head away and looked at the round-headed Little Jiangshi cub in front of him.

Wu Sandeng: “Why aren’t you talking now?”

Gu Rong pointed at his mouth, shook his little head, crossed his small hands, and made the “Dame” gesture.

Zaizai can’t talk.

Wu Sandeng raised an eyebrow. This Little Jiangshi was indeed smart.

He waved his hand: “Go play.”

The cub and the dog, as if they had been granted amnesty, immediately hopped away happily.

–

The players hunted Jiangshi at night and could only sleep during the day.

Gu Rong barely saw Big Brother or Little Brother during the day. Thinking that he also had to catch Jiangshi at night, he began to sleep during the day too, aside from eating.

When night came, the players had to go out again to catch Jiangshi.

Three days of the instance time had already passed; they couldn’t afford not to be anxious.

Suddenly, a female player said strangely: “Why is one player missing?”

The other players looked around. There were nine players, but now only eight remained. Indeed, one was missing.

But everyone frowned; for a moment, they couldn’t remember who was missing.

After thinking for a while, they still couldn’t remember, so they gave up.

The livestream chat was dying of laughter. This buzz cut man had such a low presence. And he still wanted to become famous? Truly lacking self-awareness.

Before leaving, Zhuang Yu and Shen Hanxiao played with Gu Rong for a while.

Having just learned hand gestures, they practiced while it was still fresh.

Zhao Jiuquan glanced at the three gesturing; his face expressionless… too speechless to know what expression to make.

Not far away, Huang Daoren watched his Little Jiangshi cub, not daring to approach, afraid Wu Sandeng would find out he knew the Little Jiangshi.

If Wu Sandeng knew he knew the Little Jiangshi, he might figure out why he lost the 20 Jiangshi, and then he’d be finished.

All this effort catching Jiangshi now, when it came down to it, wasn’t it all because he went to get a bamboo basket made for the Little Jiangshi?

As soon as the players left, Gu Rong thought about his task, immediately equipped the [Green Jiangshi] card, and prepared to go out and catch Jiangshi.

Laifu volunteered enthusiastically to go with Gu Rong, even wearing a small yellow vest covered in drawn talismans.

He is now Niohuru Laifu.^[1]T/N: Referencing a powerful Manchu clan name often used in historical dramas for characters undergoing a transformation/level-up, implying Laifu is now ‘badass Laifu’.

–

The players all ran out to catch Jiangshi, but unexpectedly, the Jiangshi came running to the Wu Mansion themselves.

Gu Rong and Laifu hadn’t even hopped out of the courtyard when a large Jiangshi leaped out horizontally, blocking their path.

The large Jiangshi let out a breath, the stench forming a visible cloud of fog: “Haaa~”

Gu Rong: “Oof…” (gagging)

Laifu: “Awooo…” (gagging)

The cub and dog instinctively gagged, their eyes rolling back, and were nearly killed instantly by the direct physical attack.

The livestream chat could smell it even through the screen. This Jiangshi probably didn’t brush its teeth.

What a vicious move!

Gu Rong, currently wearing the [Green Jiangshi] card, leaped back after gagging, creating distance.

Laifu barked twice. Relying on the little yellow vest, it didn’t run this time but hid behind Gu Rong.

Gu Rong was more than two sizes smaller than the dog and couldn’t cover it at all, but the green glow emanating from him hid the dog.

Livestream Chat: … Kick Big Black out!

The large Jiangshi charged directly towards Gu Rong, green-faced and fanged, arms outstretched horizontally, wanting to rush at him.

Gu Rong’s task was to get Jiangshi teeth. Seeing the large Jiangshi coming towards him, he was eager to try, wanting to hop up and fight it.

The large Jiangshi was four or five times his size, but he wasn’t afraid.

006: […]

006: [Little host, behind you!]

Hearing this, Gu Rong turned his head and saw two more large Jiangshi appearing behind him. The cub reacted nimbly, leaping sideways to dodge the two Jiangshi behind him.

Livestream Chat: Beautiful!!!

Gu Rong asked: [Why are Big Jiangshi catching Zaizai?]

006 didn’t have time to explain: [Little host, look quickly, there are other Jiangshi!]

Gu Rong turned his head again and saw large Jiangshi in every corner of the yard.

Nineteen Jiangshi mobilized together, all coming for this Little Jiangshi cub.

Gu Rong wasn’t afraid, but with his small arms and legs, regardless of whether he was a match for nineteen large Jiangshi, his size was a huge disadvantage.

His physique was too small, severely limiting his combat power. To hit the opponent, he first had to reach them, but his short arms and legs couldn’t reach them at all.

With so many Jiangshi, before Gu Rong could even react, Laifu finally couldn’t take it anymore. It howled towards the sky, its eyes rolled back, and it fainted on the spot.

Gu Rong glanced at Laifu, kicked the dog into the bushes with his little foot – cleanly done – afraid of accidentally injuring it later.

Livestream Chat: …6

The three nearest large Jiangshi surrounded Gu Rong together, hopping extremely fast, their faces pale, fingernails black and sharp, looking fierce and terrifying.

Gu Rong leaped, vaulting over them to the opposite side of the bushes. However, on the other side of the bushes, there were also three large Jiangshi.

There were too many large Jiangshi. Gu Rong focused mainly on dodging, but he was the center of the target; all the Jiangshi were aiming for him.

[Zaizai, be careful!!]

[Good grief, so many Jiangshi! Bullying the small isn’t done like this!]

[I think Zaizai is very steady, his expression hasn’t changed at all. It’s Laifu, I really overestimated you!]

[The Jiangshi all came home! The players went out to catch Jiangshi… what, to catch air!?]

Despite his young age, Gu Rong remained calm even now.

His mind worked extremely fast. With another leap, he jumped directly into the room where the Jiangshi had been held captive.

There’s a coffin in the room, he could hide inside!

Gu Rong leaped into the room. The coffin, which Wu Sandeng’s men couldn’t open no matter what, opened automatically with just a light touch from Gu Rong.

Gu Rong jumped into the coffin, lay flat, swept his little arm, and closed the coffin lid.

Almost at the instant Gu Rong lay down inside, the large Jiangshi swarmed in. Their sharp claws, like knives and halberds, scraped against the stone walls of the coffin, making ear-piercing, sharp sounds.

However, the next moment, the large Jiangshi let out howls of extreme agony, all showing terror, trembling as they looked at the stone coffin before them.

As if facing some utterly terrifying existence.

For some unknown reason, the large Jiangshi began to scatter headlong, retreating and fleeing at an even faster speed. In an instant, they fled the Wu mansion and disappeared without a trace.

Gu Rong lay inside the coffin. Hearing the silence outside, he was puzzled.

Gu Rong: [Why is it quiet outside now?]

006: [Little host, the Jiangshi were all scared away.]

Gu Rong: [Why were the Big Jiangshi catching Zaizai?]

006 thought for a moment and said: [Could it be related to the little host taking the Jiangshi tooth? They wanted to retrieve the Jiangshi tooth?]

Gu Rong babbled in his milky voice: [Then why did they run away again?]

This time, 006 didn’t speak.

Gu Rong found it strange.

But even stranger was, he patted the surface beneath him with his small hand.

Why is it soft? Feels like clothes.

Gu Rong couldn’t figure it out. He wanted to roll over and see what was in the coffin when a strangely familiar and childish voice sounded right beside his ear.

“Don’t move.”

Gu Rong: “?”

What sound? Who’s talking? Why does it sound a bit familiar, like I’ve heard it somewhere before?

Gu Rong couldn’t recall immediately. He couldn’t speak, so he couldn’t ask who the other person was.

But the other party seemed to see his confusion, scoffing mockingly, coldly.

“Heh, heh.”