A slender, soft tentacle slipped out through the crack in the door, curled around Zheng Qing, and hovered less than a foot from Zhang Jixin, slowly wriggling. A Gold Bean clung to its tip.
If not for that Gold Bean, Zhang Jixin's raised palm would have crushed the writhing tentacle into pulp.
"Your gold is returned to you," the blurry face behind the door said in its murky voice. "Leave this place, leave this house, leave this mountain... Your gold is returned to you."
Zheng Qing turned around and shot Zhang Jixin a surprised look.
Unsurprisingly, the Red-faced Male Wizard looked even more baffled than he did.
Xiao Xiao abandoned the smoking pile of Migu Wood leaves and walked up to the tentacle, carefully examining the Gold Bean stuck to it. After a long while, he turned back and asked Zhang Jixin, "Is this the Gold Bean you left behind when you left the house earlier?"
Zhang Jixin nodded uncertainly.
"I think so... What does it mean by giving it back?" He scratched his head, looking puzzled. "I did leave a Gold Bean behind when I left... But don't all Gold Beans look pretty much the same? Who has the time to remember what every single Gold Bean in their pocket looks like..."
"I do," Dr. Xiao said with complete confidence.
Fatty Xin narrowed his eyes and remarked, "That's because you only have a few Gold Beans in your pocket."
Unlike his cautious teammates, who were carefully discussing the matter, Zheng Qing responded to the old house's owner's baffling behavior with remarkable directness.
"Why are you giving us back the gold?" he asked bluntly. "Why are you making us leave? We only want to know the way up the mountain."
"Why do you want to go up the mountain?" the