In the afternoon, at the beginning of Shen Hour.
The southbound party once again arrived near Loushan Pass.
Inside the carriage, Ren Ye looked curiously at Rat Lord and asked in puzzlement, "My lord, it's so stifling in this carriage. Why are you still wearing that black robe and covering your face?"
"Ahem...!"
At that, Rat Lord coughed twice in slight embarrassment. "My... my appearance has been somewhat unusual these past two days."
Unusual?
Ren Ye paused, thinking, Have you done so many rotten things that hemorrhoids have grown on your face?
Seeing Ren Ye's curious gaze, Rat Lord gave an awkward smile. "It is rather stifling in here. I'll take off my face covering, but please don't laugh at me, Prince Huai."
"Of course not. Lord Wei, you're such a distinguished-looking man. What would there be to laugh at?" Ren Ye offered a perfunctory compliment.
Rat Lord was suffering from the heat himself, so he took the opportunity to remove his black hood, then his face covering.
The moment he revealed his face, Ren Ye's expression froze, and his entire body began trembling.
A very strange feeling rose within him: he wanted to laugh, yet felt a little sick.
In the bright sunlight, an elderly rat spirit stood with every hair on his body shaved clean, leaving only brownish-pink, wrinkled skin exposed to the air. He looked exactly like a three-inch indecent appendage forcibly subjected to depilatory cream, limp and sagging, aged beyond any ability to fight another round.
Ren Ye was stunned. "Did you... get too hot?"
"I did warn you. Please don't mock me, Prince Huai."
"I'm not laughing. Hahahaha!"
"...!" Rat Lord's old face fell. He covered the corner of his mouth with a slightly awkward hand and sighed. "Even I can't make sense of this,