The next morning, Gu Rong woke up, his little face pale with fright. Forgetting everything else, he hurriedly called out to 006: [006! Zaizai had a dream! Dreamed that Lord Devil ate Zaizai! Awoo, swallowed in one bite!]

006 paused for a moment, then quickly said: [Little host, don’t be afraid! It was just a dream!]

Gu Rong patted his little tummy, still feeling shaken. Scary!

At this moment, the main group had already set off again. He was still being carried in the bamboo basket, this time by Zhao Jiuquan.

As soon as he woke up, Zhao Jiuquan, without stopping, turned his head slightly to look back.

Gu Rong usually wanted food right after waking up, but having dreamed that Lord Devil ate him, he didn’t dare ask for food now. Instead, he pinched his little tummy, pinched his chubby little legs, then pinched his little bun-like face, checking if he had gotten fatter.

006: [?]

Gu Rong said sadly in his little milky voice: [Zaizai got a little fatter.] Getting fat means getting slaughtered. Yesterday, eating was so joyful; now, he felt just as sad.

006 said: [No, no! Little host is the same as yesterday, not fatter, not thinner. You can’t get fat from just one bite.]

Gu Rong’s small voice trembled, firmly believing he was fatter: [Zaizai ate many bites! Zaizai is fatter! Once Zaizai is fat, Lord Devil will eat Zaizai!]

Seeing Gu Rong was genuinely scared, 006 thought for a moment and said: [Little host, didn’t you say before that Lord Devil wanted the little host to help collect the Devil’s Keys?]

Gu Rong nodded: [Yes!]

006 breathed a sigh of relief: [That means, before the keys are collected, Lord Devil definitely won’t kill his only little follower! Lord Devil still needs the little host to collect the keys! And after collecting the keys, we can use them to negotiate conditions with Him, asking Him not to kill the little host!]

Gu Rong blinked, then his eyes suddenly lit up, and he clenched both small fists!

Gu Rong: [Zaizai doesn’t have to starve his tummy?]

006 suppressed a laugh: [Right.]

Gu Rong: [Lord Devil not killing Zaizai, Zaizai will eat himself until fat, not starve skinny!]

006: […] Well, you don’t need to make yourself fat either.

–

The players’ task was simple, but Gu Rong, besides needing to pull Jiangshi teeth, also had to find out the relationship between the Jiangshi and the gold bars.

However, only two days remained, and they had no leads.

Gu Rong himself wasn’t worried in the slightest. Knowing that Lord Devil needed his little follower to find the keys and wouldn’t eat him for the time being, he relaxed completely and started rummaging through his system backpack for food, his mouth constantly busy.

Zhao Jiuquan, carrying him, vaguely felt that this little cub seemed to be getting heavier bit by bit, like a little meat dumpling.

Gu Rong had fallen asleep early yesterday. The system was quite considerate and didn’t wake him. Only now did it go “Ding!”, sending a reward notification.

[Congratulations Little Jiangshi Zaizai, for roleplaying as Little Jiangshi for over 120 hours. Unlocked free speaking time~]

Hearing this, Gu Rong let out a “Heh!” and happily waved his two round little fists. Zaizai finally doesn’t have to be a little mute anymore!

006 said: [Little host, should we try to gather some clues?]

Gu Rong asked tenderly: [How gather?]

006: […] Good question, isn’t this the little host’s task?

Seeing Gu Rong acting like a little salted fish and, not worried at all, 006 choked slightly: [How about probing Mayor Wu? The gold bars belong to him, and he wants to catch the Jiangshi. He must be a crucial link. He definitely knows something?]

The more 006 analyzed, the more reasonable it seemed. [And, why did he catch so many Jiangshi and bring them to Yin Mountain? It can’t be just to take the Jiangshi mountain climbing for exercise, right? Maybe he has a deep connection with these Jiangshi.]

Conclusion: The important clue must be with Wu Sandeng.

Gu Rong nodded: [Okay! Rongrong ask One-eyed Uncle!]

He poked Zhao Jiuquan with his small hand.

Zhao Jiuquan paused slightly but didn’t speak.

Gu Rong said: “Daoist Priest Big Brother, Rongrong wants to get down!”^[1]T/N: Here, Gu Rong uses “Rongrong”, likely switching personas fluidly or simply using the name he thinks Zhao Jiuquan associates him with from the start of the instance.

Zhao Jiuquan bent down, lowered the bamboo basket from his back, lifted the Little Jiangshi out, and placed him on the ground.

Gu Rong’s Little Jiangshi clothes were wrinkled. He straightened them with his chubby little hands, his face fair and tender, looking very obedient: “Thank you, Daoist Priest Big Brother.”

Zhao Jiuquan shook his head, meaning no thanks were needed.

Gu Rong turned around and ran forward dadada. After running a bit, he hopped twice, very dedicated to his role, looking particularly comical and amusing.

Zhuang Yu and Shen Hanxiao were nearby. Seeing this, they couldn’t help but smile.

Zhao Jiuquan watched Gu Rong, finally unable to resist sighing, and a faint smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

–

Gu Rong hopped over to Wu Sandeng’s side. Laifu, seeing Gu Rong awake, immediately turned back from the front, rushed over, and pounced towards Gu Rong enthusiastically.

Wu Sandeng promptly reached out and blocked it.

Laifu didn’t know its own strength; this pounce would have sent both cub and dog tumbling down the mountain.

Wu Sandeng turned his head slightly, glanced at the Little Jiangshi cub hopping along beside him, his single eye twitching slightly.

But he merely glanced indifferently, quickly looking away, tacitly allowing the Little Jiangshi to hop beside him. He didn’t pay him any mind, nor did he initiate conversation.

Encountering small steps, the adult Jiangshi hopped up easily, but Gu Rong couldn’t make it at all. Previously, he had climbed, but now, he directly reached out, grabbed Wu Sandeng’s clothes, lifted his little foot, and used the leverage to get up the step.

He was tiny, the whole cub practically hanging onto Wu Sandeng’s leg.

After getting up, Gu Rong tilted his head back and met Wu Sandeng’s unpredictable gaze.

Wu Sandeng: “…”

Gu Rong: “?”

Gu Rong tilted his little head, his face innocently cute, his round appearance solid and compact, the yellow talisman stuck firmly to his forehead.

Wu Sandeng: “…”

Wu Sandeng remained silent for a moment, averted his gaze, and finally, couldn’t help but speak: “You Little Jiangshi cub, do you still remember how you became a Jiangshi?”

Gu Rong said: “Yes! Zaizai died in great anger because he didn’t get a bite of food!”

Wu Sandeng: “…” Forget it, better not talk.

He didn’t speak, but this Little Jiangshi cub, as if a switch had been flipped, started chattering non-stop bababa, asking in his milky voice: “One-eyed Uncle, these big Jiangshi, how did they become Jiangshi?”

006 silently gave the little host a thumbs-up. Such a little smarty egg, getting straight to the point, and asking so naturally.

However, Wu Sandeng didn’t answer, automatically ignoring the question.

006: […] Alright then.

If it were an adult, seeing the other party not answer, they would surely know when to stop and wouldn’t press further. But unfortunately, Wu Sandeng was facing a two-year-old cub, exceptionally pure and naive, saying whatever came to mind, completely lacking subtlety.

Gu Rong tilted his snow-white, bewildered little face up, asking crisply: “One-eyed Uncle, why aren’t you talking? Talk!”

Wu Sandeng glanced at him, unmoved.

Gu Rong wondered strangely, muttering: “Huh? One-eyed Uncle became a little mute too?”

Wu Sandeng: “…”

Gu Rong poked Wu Sandeng with a short little finger.

Wu Sandeng looked down.

Gu Rong’s little face was sincere, gesturing with his small hands: “One-eyed Uncle, Zaizai teach you hand signs! Like this, this!”

Wu Sandeng: “…………”

Okay, enough!

Wu Sandeng, driven to his wits’ end by this little cub, had no choice but to speak: “I don’t need to learn hand gestures.”

Gu Rong’s eyes sparkled: “Huh! One-eyed Uncle can talk again!”

Wu Sandeng: …Closed his eye, took a deep breath.

The livestream chat was almost dying of laughter.

[Cute, kind little Zaizai, even wants to teach Mayor Wu hand gestures! Graduated so quickly, hahaha!]

[Mayor Wu is speechless! That single eye is almost rolling out of his head from exasperation! Dying laughing! [Gift Points]]

[The key is that Zaizai speaks so seriously, not mincing words at all]

Adults tend to judge by appearance. Gu Rong’s extremely young exterior was indeed very deceptive, making people lower their guard.

Wu Sandeng was no exception. Facing a two-year-old cub, it was difficult to remain guarded.

Wu Sandeng was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke: “Dying with resentment, or with unfinished business, makes one prone to becoming a Jiangshi. These Jiangshi were all murdered before death. Although properly buried afterwards, their anger ultimately couldn’t dissipate, unable to rest in peace.”

“This mountain is called Yin Mountain, a Jiangshi nest. Bringing them here for a proper burial, hopefully, they can dissipate their resentment and enter the cycle of reincarnation sooner.”

Gu Rong’s little face was confused. He didn’t understand most of it, but he was good at grasping the key point. Frowning his little eyebrows, he asked: “Then who were they before they died? Does One-eyed Uncle know them?”

Wu Sandeng was silent for even longer this time, then let out an almost inaudible “Mhm.”

But he was unwilling to say more, his expression turning somewhat cold and somber.

Gu Rong was excellent at reading expressions. Seeing Wu Sandeng’s face, he obediently closed his mouth, asking no more questions.

Wu Sandeng exuded a low pressure around him. Gu Rong stopped asking questions and ran back to Zhuang Yu’s trio.

Shen Hanxiao asked: “Little ghost, what were you planning to ask?”

Having experienced two instances together, Shen Hanxiao and Zhuang Yu understood Gu Rong quite well, knowing he must have received some task again.

Gu Rong didn’t hide it: “Zaizai wants to know who these big Jiangshi are.”

Hearing this, the group became thoughtful.

Shen Hanxiao stroked his chin, pondering: “Yeah, what exactly is the background of these Jiangshi?”

The three looked towards Wu Sandeng. This Town Mayor looked hard to provoke, radiating a thuggish air. Less like a mayor, more like a bandit leader.

They averted their gaze again, turning towards Huang Daoren, who was herding the Jiangshi in his yellow robe.

Zhuang Yu said, “These Jiangshi were originally herded here from elsewhere by this old Daoist priest. Maybe he knows something.”

For three adults to inquire about sensitive information would be too conspicuous and easily arouse suspicion.

The group’s gaze turned back to Gu Rong, this little Zaizai cub.

Gu Rong stood with his small hands clasped, exceptionally soft-looking.

Shen Hanxiao patted his little head: “Little ghost, it’s time to unleash the lethal power of your cuteness! Go act cute for your Daoist Priest Grandpa. He’ll definitely tell you everything he knows.”

Gu Rong nodded vigorously, his little face determined: “Okay!”

Shen Hanxiao cheered: “Go Little Rong Zaizai!”

Gu Rong raised his little fist: “Little Rong Zaizai go!”

No time to delay, Gu Rong hopped off towards Huang Daoren.