A bib, short enough to be almost negligible, was tied around Gu Rong’s neck. He sat cross-legged, immersed in eating his chicken leg.

A chicken was roasting on a stick over the campfire, crispy outside and tender inside.

There were no seasonings, but the cub ate very happily.

Gu Rong ate one chicken leg, saving the other for a midnight snack.

The rest of the chicken was divided among the others. Laifu also got a chicken wing.

Huang Daoren looked at Laifu, whose dark circles were getting increasingly prominent, and said: “There are only two hours left. If we don’t get the Jiangshi teeth, Laifu will completely turn into a Jiangshi dog.”

Wu Sandeng’s expression darkened slightly.

Laifu heard this, glanced at Gu Rong, but then happily jumped up and down.

Gu Rong is a Little Jiangshi, he wants to become a Jiangshi dog too, then he won’t have to be afraid of Jiangshi!

Seeing the dog, who was about to turn into a Jiangshi, acting so cheerful, everyone was rather speechless.

Is becoming a Jiangshi something to celebrate?

Looking again at Gu Rong’s manner of eating the chicken leg, it was far too human-like. What was the difference between him and a human child?

Aside from the Jiangshi outfit, he didn’t resemble a Jiangshi in the slightest.

Could Little Jiangshi Kings nowadays evolve to such a degree? Evolving not only to look like human cubs but even having similar habits?

After eating the chicken, the sky had completely darkened.

The mountain forest was dense with trees, blocking out the sky, and shrouded in a layer of black mist, making it even more eerie.

Gu Rong, having eaten and drunk his fill, lay prone on the small blanket, resting his chin on his hands, swinging his little legs, utterly carefree.

Zhuang Yu and Shen Hanxiao sat beside him, telling the cub stories.

Zhao Jiuquan leaned against a nearby tree, quietly watching them.

Wu Sandeng had brought the group here not for mountain climbing, but to capture those nineteen Jiangshi.

But there was no movement during the day. When night fell, it was also calm and quiet, with no sign of the nineteen Jiangshi.

He looked at the Little Jiangshi cub lying on the blanket, listening to stories. At this rate, even after two more days, they wouldn’t be able to lure out the Jiangshi.

He had to find a way to isolate this Little Jiangshi King. The others would lie in ambush. Otherwise, with so many people around, the Jiangshi might not show themselves.

Wu Sandeng brought Huang Daoren over to Gu Rong’s side.

A shadow fell over him. Gu Rong’s small body was lying prone on the blanket. He tilted his little head up to look at the two men.

Zhuang Yu and Shen Hanxiao immediately stood up.

Wu Sandeng hesitated for a moment, bent down, hooked Gu Rong under his little arms, and lifted the Little Jiangshi up, holding him before his eyes.

Gu Rong blinked his eyes. He was small, effortless to pick up.

Gu Rong faced away from Wu Sandeng, held in mid-air. He kicked his little legs, stretched out his short little arms, and asked crisply: “Why hold Zaizai?”

Wu Sandeng said, “Let Daoist Huang change your talisman.”

Huang Daoren peeled off the light-avoiding talisman from Gu Rong’s little forehead. This talisman was stuck surprisingly securely; it hadn’t fallen off after several days, unlike the immobilization talismans on the adult Jiangshi heads, which fell off with a gust of wind.

As the talisman was peeled off his forehead, Gu Rong rolled his eyes upwards to watch.

Huang Daoren then applied a Sleeping Talisman to Gu Rong’s forehead – one touch and sleep.

After applying it, Huang Daoren withdrew his hand and met Gu Rong’s wide, blinking eyes. Gu Rong’s little face was inexplicably puzzled.

Huang Daoren: “?”

Wu Sandeng: “…”

Gu Rong raised his little hand, peeled the Sleeping Talisman off his little forehead, held it between his two small hands, playing with it like paper, and then offered it towards Zhuang Yu and Shen Hanxiao: “Fold bunny!”

Zhuang Yu: “…”

Shen Hanxiao: “…”

Fold bunny?

Both Huang Daoren and Wu Sandeng felt their eyelids twitch.

Huang Daoren took out more talismans from his cloth bag, applying various types one after another. Each time after applying one, he’d look again, and Gu Rong would just be staring with wide eyes, blinking rapidly.

“…”

Huang Daoren didn’t give up. He directly used his hand, covering Gu Rong’s eyes: “Sleep quickly!”

Gu Rong shook his little head and whined in his milky voice: “Zaizai not sleepy, no sleepy time!”

He had basically slept all day. How could he just fall asleep on command!

Forget Gu Rong; the others weren’t sleepy either.

Huang Daoren removed his hand. Looking at this lively little cub, he was also at his wits’ end.

Wu Sandeng beckoned to Zhuang Yu and Shen Hanxiao: “You two, and you.” He pointed at Zhao Jiuquan. “Coax this Little Jiangshi cub to sleep within half an hour.”

The three roughly guessed why they needed to coax Gu Rong to sleep. After the kid fell asleep, they would probably leave him here alone to lure the Jiangshi out.

006 also guessed: [Little host, they probably plan to leave you here alone after you fall asleep, to use you as bait to lure the Jiangshi.]

Gu Rong asked: [Zaizai asleep, big Jiangshi comes, snatches Zaizai, what do?]

He was a human cub now. If the big Jiangshi came, he couldn’t fight back.

006 said: [Exactly! Little host not sleeping doesn’t mean you can’t lure Jiangshi!]

Gu Rong huffed, his little bun face puffing up angrily.

006 said: [Little host, how about we pretend to sleep?]

Gu Rong nodded his little head without hesitation. Still held in mid-air by Wu Sandeng, he tilted his little head and instantly ‘fell asleep’.

The cub had basic acting skills. For realism, he even let out little snores, ah hu, ah hu.

Everyone: “…?”

Why does this look fake?

006 and the livestream watched, deeply feeling that Gu Rong’s acting skills had improved significantly.

Huang Daoren extended a finger under Gu Rong’s little nose to check his breathing.

Wu Sandeng looked amused and utterly exasperated: “He’s just asleep, not dead.”

Huang Daoren: “…”

Huang Daoren awkwardly withdrew his hand. He didn’t dare shake the Little Jiangshi awake. What if he was really asleep? Waking him would waste all the effort.

Besides, such a two-year-old cub, even if it was a Little Jiangshi, even if it had gained intelligence, could it really know how to fake sleep? Furthermore, he had no reason to fake sleep.

Wu Sandeng ordered the people to lay the blanket next to the coffin and let him sleep on his stomach next to it.

The group was just hiding nearby, not leaving completely. There was no need to move the coffin as well.

Gu Rong waited until everyone was far away before opening his eyes.

He had slept on his stomach. After opening his eyes, he pushed himself up with his small hands, turned smoothly, and sat up.

After sitting up, Gu Rong leaned against the coffin, stretched out his little legs, and then… pulled out the other chicken leg saved for his midnight snack.

006: […]

Wasn’t that meant for a midnight snack?

Gu Rong was a cub who could only eat. One chicken leg wasn’t nearly enough. Now, leaning against the coffin, humming a song, occasionally kicking his little legs, he began to eat the chicken leg.

Gu Rong was small, and shielded by the coffin and weeds, even his shadow couldn’t be seen.

The group hiding nearby didn’t know that Gu Rong had woken up right after they left.

As Gu Rong was eating, suddenly, the lid of the coffin he was leaning against opened silently.

There was no sound. Gu Rong didn’t notice, still engrossed in his chicken leg.

Until a hand reached out from inside the coffin and touched Gu Rong’s little hat.

Gu Rong’s little hat was tilted. He readjusted it. Seeing a hand emerge from the coffin, without thinking, he grabbed the hand and shoved it back inside.

Inside the coffin: ?

Gu Rong turned his little head back, resumed eating his chicken leg, unconcerned about the hand in the coffin.

However, behind him, a three-year-old child dressed in wide black robes and sleeves sat cross-legged on the coffin lid, resting his chin in his hand. His blood-red eyes watched the Little Jiangshi cub eating the chicken leg.

His features were exquisite, his skin pale to the point of being bloodless, with waist-length hair. A pair of fuzzy animal ears sat atop his head, twitching occasionally.

It was Lord Devil, Lu Li.

Lu Li looked at his little follower, a hint of a smile in his eyes. Though only three years old, he looked exceptionally wicked, instinctively evoking fear, making people afraid to approach easily.

Gu Rong was still immersed in eating his chicken leg, completely unaware of Lord Devil squatting on the coffin behind him.

He also didn’t realize that 006 had gone silent again because it had been locked back in the little dark room.

But the livestream was still active.

Unlike the previous two instances where no one, including Gu Rong, could see Lu Li, this time, the livestream directly showed the three-year-old child behind Gu Rong.

Seeing the hand reach out from the coffin and Gu Rong shove it back in, the aunties were initially amused. But seeing the cub squatting on the coffin, emanating a faint black mist, they were stunned silent.

The livestream chat fell silent for a moment, no one posting comments.

Until a few “?” and “!” drifted past, the livestream chat finally reacted.

[WTF, where did another cub with such high looks come from?]

[Although he’s a toddler and has high face value, I feel an inexplicable sense of fear…]

[Yes, yes, yes! Looks super strong! But really too good-looking, so cute! High level appearance, comparable to Zaizai!]

[So cute! A completely different type of cute from Zaizai!]

[I have a bold idea, could this be…]

Gu Rong saw the comments, let out a curious “Huh?”, and turned his head accordingly.

And then, his gaze met Lu Li’s.

Gu Rong: “?”

Gu Rong blinked his eyes, then blinked again. Seeing a little boy in ancient clothing suddenly appear before him, with ears on his head and crimson eyes, he wasn’t afraid.

He opened his mouth to greet: “Hello, I’m Gu Rong. Who are you?” He even knew how to introduce himself first.

Lu Li looked at Gu Rong, raised an eyebrow, but didn’t speak.

Gu Rong sat below the coffin, while Lu Li squatted on top of it. Gu Rong had to tilt his little head up to look at the other boy.

Gu Rong still held the chicken leg in his hand. He used his other hand to push against the coffin and stood up.

After standing up, Gu Rong still had to crane his little neck, but it wasn’t as strenuous as before.

He looked at the little boy in front of him, who was slightly older than himself. Suddenly encountering someone his age, the little social butterfly didn’t know what to say for a moment.

The two cubs, for a time, stopped talking, simply sizing each other up.

At this point, Gu Rong’s attention shifted to the other’s pair of animal ears.

Seeing the other’s ears, Gu Rong was very curious, then raised his small hand and touched his own little head.

Why doesn’t he have them?

Lu Li: “…” Heh.

After a moment, Lu Li spoke, his voice crisp and tender, but carrying an undisguised arrogance: “Lu Li.”

Gu Rong: “Hmm?”

Lu Li: “Name.”

Gu Rong immediately said, “I’m Gu Rong.”

“You said that already.” Lu Li lowered the hand supporting his chin, tilted his head slightly, looked at Gu Rong, and suddenly smiled. One word at a time. “Little. Follower.”

Gu Rong: “…” Gu Rong’s eyes widened. He immediately reacted. The little brother in front of him was Lord Devil! Lord Devil is a child, and the one before him is also a child! Not good, Lord Devil has come to catch his little follower!

Gu Rong immediately turned around and wanted to run. Closing his eyes, he used all his might, pumping his little legs against the ground like pedaling wheels.

But after a while, he opened his eyes and found he was still in the same place.

Lu Li had only extended one finger, lightly hooking his collar from behind, fixing him in place.

Gu Rong stopped running, panting heavily, heixiu heixiu.

Lu Li released his finger.

Gu Rong plopped onto the ground, his little face meng (blank/dazed).

Looking up again, Lu Li, who had been squatting on the coffin, was now standing in front of him. His black robes, embroidered with dark cloud patterns, trailed on the ground.

Lu Li crossed his arms. The entire cub looked like a miniature Long Aotian^[1]T/N: Means an arrogant webnovel protagonist trope, radiating a kingly, domineering aura.

[WTF WTF, it really is Lord Devil!!!]

[Respectfully welcome, Lord Devil!]

[Welcome, Lord Devil! Zaizai’s strongest backer has arrived!!]

[Hahaha, even now, Zaizai’s chicken leg is still held firmly in his little hand, didn’t drop at all! [Gift Points]]

Gu Rong’s chubby little hand clutched the chicken leg, forming a milky little fist.

He looked at Lu Li before him, his little face pale. He couldn’t beat Lord Devil before; now that he was a human child, he stood even less of a chance! Can’t fight, can’t run!

Realizing this, Gu Rong looked at Lord Devil, who smiled as if he were about to sha (kill) Zaizai. Tears immediately welled up in his big eyes. If Zaizai gets killed, he won’t be able to see Daddy, Mommy, and Grandpa Ming!

Tears spilled from the corners of Gu Rong’s eyes. He wiped his eyes with his little fist, crying silently without making a sound.

Lu Li paused: “…?”

Lord Devil, who had seen all sorts of scenes, was now stunned for a full minute by a two-year-old cub’s tears.

The livestream chat cracked up.

[Hahaha told you! Lord Devil definitely spoils Zaizai! Sees Zaizai shed tears, even forgets to act cool!]

[After all, Lord Devil only has this one little follower! Otherwise, he wouldn’t have followed the last instance, or followed again this instance!]

[Wait, was Lord Devil in the last instance? I don’t remember?]

[Didn’t show his face last instance. But during the ‘Real vs Fake Rongrong’ interrogation, the one inside Zaizai’s shell was Lord Devil! He even kicked Mu Xingye flying!]

Lu Li watched Gu Rong wipe his tears with his small hand, the other little hand still clutching the chicken leg. Seems he wasn’t that scared.

Lu Li had extremely poor patience and wasn’t accustomed to coaxing people. Instead, he habitually let out a cold scoff: “Stop crying, it’s noisy.”

Gu Rong’s small voice choked: “Zaizai didn’t cry out loud!”

Lu Li: “Don’t talk back.”

Gu Rong huffed, wiped his eyes, and stopped crying, but remained sitting on the ground, not getting up. His little face was stubborn, carrying a hint of ‘smashing the already broken pot’ (giving up caring) pride. Let’s see what He can do to Zaizai!

Gu Rong said: “If you kill Zaizai, you won’t have a little follower anymore, hmph!”

Lu Li remained unmoved: “Oh.”

Gu Rong: “…”

Gu Rong: “Hmph, won’t play with you!”

Lu Li spoke lazily, his tone ambiguous: “Your small body isn’t even enough for this Lord to swallow in one gulp. I’ll keep you for now.”

Gu Rong blinked: “Not killing Zaizai?”

Lu Li: “Fatten you up first, then slaughter.”

Gu Rong: “…”

Gu Rong huffed again, this time scooting his little bottom around, turning 180 degrees, his back facing Lu Li. Since he was going to be slaughtered anyway, he wasn’t afraid of Lord Devil anymore.

With his back to Lu Li, Gu Rong secretly pinched his own chubby legs and little arms. For the first time, the cub felt he was a bit fat. He needed to control his portions later, lose some weight. He’d make himself skinny, see how Lord Devil could slaughter him then!

Thinking about having to go hungry and lose weight in the future, Gu Rong felt even sadder. A dark cloud seemed to hang over the cub’s head; the future was bleak, with nothing to look forward to.

Lu Li didn’t know what was going on in Gu Rong’s little head. He became slightly more serious: “Little follower, how is the key collection coming along?”

Hearing this, Gu Rong scooted his little body around again to face Lu Li, asking curiously: “Keys? The Devil’s Keys?”

Saying this, he took the small keys out from his system backpack. The two mini keys looked pitifully small, even in Gu Rong’s little hand.

Gu Rong held them between two fingers, holding them up to his eyes: “These keys?”

“…” Seeing these ridiculously small keys, Lu Li’s expression cracked for an instant.

Lu Li was a year older than Gu Rong, his hand a size larger. He reached out and took the keys.

Gu Rong asked: “Why did Lord Devil want Zaizai to collect these? What are they for?”

Lu Li held the keys, glanced at them briefly, then handed them back to Gu Rong. He crossed his arms again, saying calmly: “You’ll know later.”

Gu Rong “Oh”, not dwelling on it, and put the keys back into his system backpack.

The cub was quite smart. Thinking about the name “Devil’s Key,” could these originally be Lord Devil’s keys?

Before Gu Rong could ask, Lu Li said: “We’ll meet again.”

“Little follower.”

With those words, Lu Li’s figure dispersed like mist before his eyes, merging into the pervasive black fog of the mountain, and disappeared.

Gu Rong turned his little head, looking left and right, but didn’t see Lu Li.

He climbed up from the ground. Remembering something, he ran dadada to the side of the coffin. He saw that the coffin that had opened earlier was now automatically closed again, as if it had never been opened.

Seeing Lu Li just now felt like an illusion.

Just then, 006 spoke in his mind: [Little host! Little host!!]

Hearing 006’s voice, Gu Rong said: [006! Where did you go again?]

006 said: [What happened? I was blocked again just now.] Remembering something, 006 exclaimed in shock: [Could it be that Lord Devil appeared again?]

Gu Rong nodded emphatically: [Yes! Lord Devil climbed out of the coffin just now! He wanted to kill Zaizai!]

006: [?]

Gu Rong explained logically: [But Lord Devil thinks Zaizai is too skinny! He wants to wait until Zaizai is fattened up before killing! Zaizai is preparing to start today, go hungry, lose weight!]

Saying this, he looked at the nearly finished chicken leg in his hand, swung his little arm, and threw it far away. [Zaizai will make himself skinny!!]

006: […?!]

Ah… but you already finished eating it!