Treasure-Mine Gold-Seeking Bugs, a Woman Elopes by Night (5.2k words)

When Fang Shu met his second uncle, Yu Le, there was a canopy on the neighboring hill.

A burly, bearded man stood with his hands behind his back. He wore a brocade robe and even had a red flower tucked into his hair, giving off a crude yet oddly leisurely elegance.

Fox demons, hyena demons, rabbit demons, and other monsters attended him carefully on either side.

There were male and female demons alike. Some fanned him, some held wine for him, all groveling to the utmost. Their every movement seemed specially drilled; they had none of the habits of wild mountain demons and looked remarkably human.

One hyena demon wearing a large headscarf rested its claws on the railing, watching Fang Shu and his uncle-nephew pair with clicking admiration.

"What a deep bond between uncle and nephew. How long has it been since something this fine happened at our mine?

"But, Master, are you really just going to let that brat take him away so easily?"

The burly bearded man sprawled back into his grand chair, sitting with the imposing posture of a general. The moment he half-closed his eyes, a fox demon leaned against his back with a seductive smile, using her enormous fox tail as a cushion while massaging his shoulders.

Without needing a word from him, a rabbit demon brought over grapes and fed them into his mouth in a soft, coquettish manner.

After savoring the treatment for a while, the bearded man finally spoke.

"He's a distinguished disciple of a Daoist hall, and he brought money to redeem someone. It's perfectly reasonable. What could I do if I refused? Would you dare offend him?"

The hyena demon's eyes flickered. It sidled up to the bearded man and snapped at the other demons, "Go, go, go. The Master and I have business to discuss."

Once it had driven away the idle demons, the hyena demon lowered its voice.

"It's precisely because the visitor is a distinguished disciple of a Daoist hall that this humble one is worried.

"I fear that old thing who came to our place is a spy, while the little one has come to test us.

"If the treasure medicine mine within this mining ground is discovered, Master's peaceful days will be... If it truly comes to that, this humble one suggests that Master make one ruthless haul, then flee as soon as possible!"

The burly bearded man first looked helpless, then his brows furrowed as reluctance plainly appeared on his face. After pondering for a moment, he said:

"Second Master Hyena has a point. If that is truly the case, we must make preparations early. But if it isn't, leaving outright would mean handing the treasure mine over to others for nothing."

After weighing it over, he muttered:

"Think of a plan for me. We'll test that brat as well. Try to outwit him. Even if we must use force, we can't come at him head-on. We have to trick him into the mine tunnel before making our move."

A sharp gleam flashed in the bearded man's eyes. "That brat's scent is strange. Clearly, that old thing has left other measures on him. If we make a move outside the mine tunnel, there's an eighty or ninety percent chance he'll get away."

Hearing this, the hyena demon hurriedly flattered him.

"Ah! Master is wise and decisive. We'll trick the brat into the tunnel. No matter what methods he has then, we can block the entrance. We could burn him to death if we wanted!"

The man and demon immediately began whispering together, master and servant alike keeping close watch on Fang Shu and his uncle.

By the time the uncle and nephew headed toward the canopy, the pair had already settled on a plan. They called over the other little demons to attend them and laid out a banquet, intending to entertain their guests.

Yet Fang Shu merely glanced at the fruits and other things beneath the canopy before cupping his hands toward the bearded man within.

"Many thanks to Mine Master Cao for granting this favor."

He took out one tael of spirit stones from his sleeve.

Before he could hand it over, the burly bearded man burst into laughter. "Why stand on ceremony? Your uncle coming to work in Cao's mine means he thinks highly of us.

"Now that Brother Fang has become Hall Master Du's disciple, I haven't even sent a congratulatory gift yet. How could I take your interest money?"

He beckoned to the hyena demon beside him, which hurriedly bowed and presented a contract.

"Take a look, Brother Fang. Is this the contract? If it is, just take it. Don't say another word!"

Unable to refuse him, Fang Shu smiled, checked the contract, and handed it to his second uncle.

After exchanging more pleasantries, he intended to leave with his second uncle.

But just then, Mine Master Cao suddenly dismissed all the demons around him except for the hyena demon, then said quietly:

"Since Brother Fang has come here, it must be fate."

Pointing at the hyena demon beside him, the man said bluntly, "To be honest, this whole damn bunch of demons are useless. They can only serve as overseers. As for stronger demons, the town won't allow us to keep them in the mining grounds.

"I happen to have a matter here that I'd like Brother Fang to help with. It's a good thing!"

At this, Fang Shu immediately narrowed his eyes.

Without betraying anything, he listened on.

After a long while, he spoke.

"There may be a treasure bug, a gold-seeking bug, in the mine? There may be a treasure mine, and Mine Master Cao wishes to seek wealth with me?"

"Yes, yes!" Mine Master Cao nodded, even pointing at Second Uncle Yu Le beside him. "Among the dozen-odd mines on Lead Mountain, treasure mines like that crop up every now and then. They're good things. You can ask your second uncle.

"Even if there isn't one, we'll still pay the wages we ought to pay!

"You came from the Solitary Gu Hall. Leaving aside anything else, you can at least help us identify the traces inside the tunnel and determine whether they were truly left by a gold-seeking bug."

Second Uncle Yu Le grinned when he heard this but said nothing.

Yet Fang Shu distinctly felt his second uncle step on the heel of his foot beneath the table.

"Could it really be such a coincidence? A gold-seeking bug?"

Fang Shu smiled as he questioned Mine Master Cao.

The man answered frankly and carelessly, "Who can be sure? We haven't gone down into the mine. It could be that my men are boasting nonsense. After all, miners keep claiming they've found treasure mines every so often, and then we get someone to take a look.

"Heh. There isn't a fart there."

But Fang Shu did not continue circling around the matter. He directly cupped his hands.

"I have only just entered the sect, so I won't impose further. Mine Master Cao should seek someone more capable."

With a flick of his sleeve, the one tael of spirit stones he had put away flew out and landed squarely atop the tea table beneath the canopy.

"Farewell."

Fang Shu decisively took his second uncle and departed in the direction of Guling Town.

Mine Master Cao pretended to chase after them for two steps before stopping atop the hill, allowing the uncle and nephew to leave.

Seeing that Fang Shu had not taken the bait at all and had even become wary, the man was not annoyed. Instead, he let out a faint sigh of relief.

He joked to the hyena demon beside him:

"Looks like it really was just a coincidence."

The hyena demon beside him also relaxed.

The instant they had revealed the existence of a treasure mine, Fang Shu had neither shown delight nor feigned calm. Instead, he had grown wary and directly withdrawn.

With such a reaction, there was an eighty or ninety percent chance he had not come to probe into the treasure mine. If he had, he would at least have followed the slope downhill and asked a few more questions.

Even so, the hyena demon was not entirely reassured. It muttered to its master, "But perhaps that fellow is only pretending to leave. We need only watch whether anyone starts searching throughout our mine for that damned gold-seeking bug.

"If they do, or if powerful people come snooping around over the next few days, this humble one still advises Master to run before the other Daoist halls close in around us."

Mine Master Cao heard these cowardly words and did not refute them. He merely muttered:

"You're overthinking it. Where would this world find so many people with such meticulous minds? You and I should just mine in peace."

Meanwhile.

After Fang Shu and his second uncle left the mine, they immediately stuck light-body talismans on themselves and raced back to Guling Town in a flash.

Only once they entered the market district did both of them finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Fang Shu pondered the affairs of the mine, his gaze flickering slightly.

Second Uncle Yu Le thought Fang Shu was still dwelling on the supposed treasure mine. He immediately shook his head at him and wrote in his palm with a finger, warning him to forget the matter completely.

Soon afterward, Fang Shu found a tavern and held a welcome feast for his second uncle. His second uncle specifically asked for paper and brush, then wrote out an explanation for him.

It turned out that people in the mines often claimed to have discovered traces of treasure mines. Some even faked such traces in order to earn rewards from mine masters, or to trick gullible fools into digging and opening mines.

So forget supposed bug trails left by gold-seeking bugs. The miners would even dare make up gold-seeking birds, gold-seeking fish, and all manner of things, making them look entirely convincing.

There had even been miners who swore to the heavens that they had personally seen dragons in mine tunnels, fooling immortal sects into sending people to investigate!

As for the final result, it was naturally a colossal joke. They did not find so much as a single hair.

Traces suggesting the appearance of treasure mines like these existed to swindle those whose greed had been stirred, as well as those who knew no better.

In particular, treasure mines were not only found deep within mineral veins; the tunnels dug to reach them were narrow and cramped.

Once someone entered to investigate, unless a son went inside while his father remained outside on guard, or unless one was a Qi Refinement immortal capable of escape arts—

Otherwise, once a person went in, those outside would not even need to throw poison smoke inside. All they had to do was seal the vein shut, and the person inside would suffocate to death.

Second Uncle Yu Le solemnly warned him:

"Never take such risks!"

Fang Shu nodded, his expression equally serious. Letting out a breath, he said, "I understand."

Seeing that he was not merely brushing him off, Second Uncle Yu Le finally felt at ease and began eating and drinking with relish.

What Fang Shu did not tell Yu Le, however, was that he had not been pondering the treasure mine Mine Master Cao mentioned.

He had been thinking about the mineral-vein map he had obtained from Cheng the Jar after killing him.

Based on the terrain he had seen today—

The mine marked on the mineral-vein map was precisely the largest Lead Mountain mine within several hundred li. Though its exact location was not inside Mine Master Cao's mining grounds, it was not far away.

After all, the dozen mines, large and small, all sat atop the same mineral vein.

What Fang Shu was considering was whether he should set aside time to personally explore that treasure mine.

Perhaps deep within the mine tunnel, quite a bit of Purple Lead Mica Milk had accumulated again. And now, he happened to have the treasured gu bestowed upon him by the master of the Solitary Gu Hall. He had a trump card in hand.

But after silently mulling it over, Fang Shu still suppressed the thought.

He had only just entered the sect and was highly valued. This was precisely the time to press forward bravely, cultivate, and study the Dao—not the time to covet treasure medicines and risk his life.

If he did so, he would be putting the cart before the horse.

Besides, even if he truly intended to investigate where that treasure medicine lay, he should first make thorough preparations. Better yet, he should openly and boldly open the mine!

Otherwise, should anything go wrong, yesterday's Shi Hou would become tomorrow's him.

Fang Shu secretly warned himself.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill.

Fang Shu did not take his second uncle home. Instead, he forcibly dragged the man around the market district some more until they arrived at an old-established shop.

Second Uncle Yu Le had initially been baffled, but the moment Fang Shu pointed at the demon tongues inside rows of porcelain jars, he immediately understood.

So his nephew wanted to buy him a demon tongue, allowing him to refine it into a magic artifact and cure his speech disability.

In truth, that was not all. Fang Shu had first directly asked the shopkeeper whether he had a Long-Tongue Sword magic artifact for sale, so his second uncle would not need to spend his own blood essence and effort refining one.

Unfortunately, Long-Tongue Swords were not common magic artifacts on the market. Fang Shu asked at several shops in a row, but none had one in stock. Only then could he bring his second uncle here to buy a demon tongue.

When Second Uncle Yu Le saw this, however, he did not even want a demon tongue. He repeatedly refused.

Only after Fang Shu's endless persuasion did Yu Le agree to buy one, but he would only agree to buy a secondhand one and adamantly refused to spend even one more of Fang Shu's talisman money.

The fellow even had his reasons, constantly writing things like, "Though secondhand is old, it possesses greater spirituality," and "For magic artifacts, nurturing matters most; what does new or old matter?"

Fang Shu had no choice and could not overcome his second uncle's stubbornness. Then an idea came to him, and he directly led his second uncle to the paper-flesh shop they had visited before.

Next door to this shop was the goods store where he had previously pawned the talisman artifact Soul-Suppressing Bell for dead.

He called out the paper-flesh shop's owner and had him carefully introduce all the secondhand, thirdhand, and even fifthhand tongues in the store.

At first, Second Uncle Yu Le looked with great interest. But when he saw that the cheap, high-quality tongues in the shop had been dismantled from the mouths of paper-flesh people painted with rouge and kingfisher blue, his expression finally changed. After stammering for a while, he chose to yield.

"Perhaps... another shop?" he wrote.

Second Uncle Yu Le began actively asking Fang Shu to choose another shop and pick out a new, cheaper tongue.

Seeing the uncle and nephew about to leave, the paper-flesh shop owner called after them in a shrill, eunuch-like voice:

"Hey! Don't go, honored guests! I guarantee the tongues in this shop have all been washed clean. Every one is thick and plump, guaranteed to make you happy!

"If you don't believe me, come try one yourselves!"

A shudder ran through Second Uncle Yu Le's body at those words. He hurried outside with quick steps, nearly leaping over the threshold.

Seeing that they truly would not buy anything, the shop owner grumbled crossly from inside:

"Pah! Two grown men, and you have the nerve to come into my shop just to buy tongues—and only one at that.

"Aren't you two ashamed of yourselves?!"

It was obvious that the fellow had completely misunderstood the uncle and nephew's intentions.

Second Uncle Yu Le felt an even greater chill crawl over him upon hearing it.

Meanwhile, Fang Shu stood to the side, barely holding back his laughter. He was just short of clutching his stomach and roaring with it.

After making their purchases.

Fang Shu also forcibly bought his second uncle a pile of medicinal herbs and pills, making it easier for him to practice spells and nourish his body at home.

That way, his second uncle's already depleted body would not become worse from refining spells, shortening his lifespan further.

None of it cost much, only a few thousand talisman coins.

Although Second Uncle Yu Le was surprised by how Fang Shu had acquired so much talisman money, he did not ask where it had come from. He merely patted Fang Shu's shoulder with the comforted look of an elder, his face full of emotion.

Only after they were both laden with packages did the uncle and nephew slowly make their way back toward the Paper Workshop.

When they returned to their dust-covered paper house, Second Uncle Yu Le immediately bustled about in high spirits. He brought out a little stove and began killing fish, washing vegetables, tending the fire, and cooking.

No matter what, he insisted on keeping Fang Shu for a meal before he left. He also wrote:

"No matter how fragrant a restaurant's food is, eating at home is still the most comfortable."

Yet before the meal marking their reunion had even finished cooking, people began constantly coming to call.

"Oh! Congratulations, congratulations! You two are cooking already?"

"We've been waiting for you to come back, Master Yu! May good fortune be yours!"

It turned out that the Paper Workshop neighbors had seen the two return and had all come to offer congratulations.

Gradually, the neighbor to the east brought meat, the neighbor to the west brought fish, while others from the Paper Workshop either carried over pots and stoves or called their wives and daughters over to help wash rice and cook dishes.

Even the talisman master Li Yuan carried out a basin of tofu from his house, intending to add it to the meal.

Their neighbor Dou Sufu took on the role of a housekeeper, helping organize everyone.

Thus, the uncle and nephew's simple meal directly turned into a banquet in the Paper Workshop.

At the table, the neighbors either congratulated Second Uncle Yu Le on escaping death and returning safely, or congratulated him on raising such a fine nephew, one who was truly extraordinary.

"If you ask me, from the moment Fang Shu came to our Paper Workshop, I knew that child was bound for greatness!"

"That's right! Just look at who his uncle is—it's our Master Yu!!"

Fang Shu felt little about it. He merely thought it had become rather lively.

But Second Uncle Yu Le had been seated in the place of honor. Seeing the neighbors on either side competing to curry favor, showering him with heaps of auspicious words—

Joy overflowed from his brows, his face glowed red, and he smiled so broadly that he could not close his mouth.

He deeply felt that the Paper Workshop neighbors truly valued Yu the Second so highly and admired his character so much. Every last one of them was a good person!

Exactly... why wasn't it like this before?

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, night fell, and only then did the neighbors from all around slowly depart.

"Take care, take care."

"No need to see us out. You should rest first."

As for the leftovers from the feast, the pots, bowls, ladles, and pans, the fruit peels and scraps of paper on the ground, and so on, the uncle and nephew did not need to clean any of it up. The Paper Workshop neighbors had long since helped tidy everything away.

During this time, Fang Shu had also met quite a few elders and friends, some familiar, some not. There were even a few distantly related to him, each calling him their grand nephew, which left him rather astonished.

But after looking into it carefully, he found that they had all been Second Uncle's former sworn brothers. Having heard the news, they had rushed over through the night to offer congratulations and renew their ties.

Since the night had already grown deep, and Second Uncle was truly happy today, Fang Shu abandoned the idea of hurrying back to the Daoist hall that night.

After all, he had not yet been assigned a room of his own in the Daoist temple. If he went back now, he would either have to squeeze into a communal sleeping platform with all the tuition-paying disciples, or trouble Senior Sister Yu'er by waking her and asking her to arrange a room and bedding for him.

Rather than that, he might as well stay at the Paper Workshop and keep Second Uncle company properly.

Later that night.

Just as the uncle and nephew were about to retire, a figure suddenly shifted outside the door. Another visitor had quietly come calling.

The person did not make a sound, but did not look like a villain either.

Cautiously, Fang Shu first peered through the window and recognized the figure from earlier that day.

His expression turning strange, he pulled open the paper door.

As the door opened, a familiar face appeared, and there was a swath of stark white before it.

The visitor was Su Qingao, who had been rather reserved at the evening feast, keeping her head lowered and not daring to look at anyone—the aloof woman who had once arrived on the same boat as Fang Shu and the others.

She had come running through the night, her clothes disheveled. Her face was smeared with white wall ash from who knew where, and her lips were painted with blood, a careful yet shabby appearance.

Su Qingao did not say a word. With a thud, she stumbled into the paper house and fell to her knees.

Her clothing was even more disordered now. Tilting up her face, she looked at Fang Shu with pleading, fawning eyes:

"Brother Fang, does your family need a woman? As long as you say the word, this servant will come."