"Senior Brother Shu!"
The man addressed as Senior Brother Shu wore a moon-white Tang suit with subtle silver-thread floral medallion patterns. A faint smile touched his eyes as he said, "Hello, everyone."
Then he turned his gaze to Ji Nanshu and asked, "I'm Shu Cheng, captain of Team Three of the relevant department. Are you the Mr. Ji Junior Sister Si Dai mentioned? The creator of the rebound talismans?"
Ji Nanshu gave a hum of affirmation.
"Then I'll keep this brief, Mr. Ji. When Anbang and his team entered the day before yesterday, the villagers of Ange Village deliberately lured them into a swarm of Gu. All five came under attack. According to Peiqi, there was a Gu king among the swarm. Our investigation confirmed that there is indeed a Gu king, and its master is very likely a level-seven Gu master. As for our manpower..."
"We really don't have enough. Sending ordinary people would just be delivering food to them. This is a newly established team. It was felt that they needed more experience, so no celestial masters of level seven or above were sent."
Ji Nanshu, however, wasn't focused on the Gu at all. Instead, he asked Shu Cheng curiously, "Captain Shu, isn't Peiqi a pig?"
A row of question marks slowly appeared over Pei Qi's head. His face flushed scarlet as he roared, "Is that the fucking point?! Huh?!"
The others froze. It was really hard not to laugh at that. Hahahahahahaha!
Even Shu Cheng froze. He raised a fist to his lips and feigned two coughs, suppressing his laughter as he explained, "His name is Pei Qi. Peiqi is his nickname."
"Oh..." Ji Nanshu looked disappointed. He'd really thought they were raising a spirit pig that could sense a Gu king!
Pei Qi raged, "What the hell are you so disappointed about?!"
Looking utterly serious, Ji Nanshu leaned closer to Pei Qi and said, "I've never seen a spirit pig that could sense a Gu king..."
Startled by Ji Nanshu's suddenly enlarged face, Pei Qi jumped backward onto the sofa. "N-n-n-never seen one? Well, now you... no!!! I'm not a pig!!!"
Holy fucking shit! What was with this guy?!
So what if he was good-looking! Being good-looking didn't give him the right to call him a pig!!
Ji Nanshu was in an excellent mood, so he said, "Have you never wondered why you were lured into a Gu swarm as soon as you arrived?"
After a moment's thought, Shu Cheng understood. "You mean our identities have been exposed, Mr. Ji?"
"More than that. Think again."
In a flash of inspiration, Ji Xingyu blurted out, "We're being watched?!"
Ji Nanshu snapped his fingers and praised him. "Clever~"
Chen Anbang's brows knitted tightly, making him look rather fierce. "I checked. There's no one watching us nearby."
No wonder Shu Cheng said they needed experience. They really were young.
"Who said... it had to be a person?"
Ji Nanshu tilted his head, the corners of his lips lifting slightly. He seemed to be smiling, yet there wasn't a trace of mirth in his eyes.
The night was dark, a full moon hanging in the sky. A sudden cold wind blew in through the window, and coupled with Ji Nanshu's rather eerie smile, it sent a chill down everyone's spine.
Shu Cheng swallowed. Why did this Mr. Ji look so much scarier than the Gu?
Pei Qi shouted, "I know!! It's the Gu!!"
Ji Nanshu added, "Take a guess... are they... around you right now...?"
!!!
Don't scare them!!
"Ah, I won't scare you anymore."
They couldn't take a scare at all.
Ji Nanshu said, "What were you discussing earlier? Tell me your plan."
Only then did Chen Anbang seem to remember that his team was leading this operation. He said, "Si Dai insisted that Elder Zhang invite you here. Why don't you show us what you can do?"
Ji Nanshu rubbed his chin. "Well... that's not hard. It just depends on whether you only want to eliminate the Gu or save the villagers too."
"But don't get your hopes up. There probably aren't many left alive."
"Oh, right. I need to save a little fan of mine first."
Chen Anbang replied, "Save the villagers if you can. Ideally, we'd capture that Gu master. If we can't... gravely wounding them would do."
"All right! Let's go, then!"
Ji Nanshu grabbed his backpack and was about to leave, but Shu Cheng stopped him. "Mr. Ji, we have three companions who went to scout the situation. They haven't returned yet."
He had barely finished speaking when someone hurriedly pushed open the door and staggered into the room, covered in blood. "Senior Brother Shu!! Come quickly!! Something's happened to Pei Huai!!"
Pei Qi rushed up to You Shiyan, grabbed his shoulders, and asked urgently, "What happened to my youngest uncle?!"
Alarmed, Shu Cheng steadied You Shiyan in front of him and said, "Where are they?!"
"Next door, in the room next door!"
They followed You Shiyan into the next room. Pei Huai lay on the bed, his face bluish-purple, with what seemed like living things writhing beneath the skin of his face.
Pei Qi rushed to the bedside, checked his pulse, and examined him carefully. His face turned livid. "It's Gu!! They planted Brain-Devouring Gu in my youngest uncle!!"
"Everyone out! I'm going to remove the Gu!"
Ji Nanshu glanced at Pei Huai on the bed, then caught Pei Qi's hand to stop him. "Wait. It's not just Brain-Devouring Gu. There's poison too. You need to neutralize the poison first."
Only then did Pei Qi notice his youngest uncle's bluish-purple face. His own expression grew even uglier, and he clenched his fists. "I don't know how to neutralize poison..."
Ji "profiting from others' misfortune" Nanshu considered briefly, then said, "Pay me, and I'll neutralize your youngest uncle's poison."
Desperate to save his youngest uncle's life, Pei Qi immediately agreed. "I'll pay whatever you want! Hurry up and save him!"
"Everyone, get out!"
Before the others could say anything to stop him, Pei Qi had driven them out.
Chen Anbang rubbed his relentlessly throbbing temples. "Captain Shu, we don't even know how capable this Ji Nanshu is, yet we're letting him rush into treating Pei Huai's poison. What if something goes wrong..."
Chunlu rolled her eyes and snorted coldly. "Even if something goes wrong, we won't be held responsible. What are you afraid of, Deputy Captain Chen?"
Ji Xingyu glanced at Chunlu and said evenly, "I trust him."
There was no reason. He simply felt that Ji Nanshu had a kind face.
Si Dai nodded too. "I trust Mr. Ji as well!"
There wasn't a trace of worry in Shu Cheng's eyes as he said softly, "Before leaving, I performed a divination. Misfortune will turn to good fortune. Pei Huai will be fine."
He wasn't trusting Ji Nanshu, but his own divination skills.
Sure enough, after they had waited anxiously outside for nearly half an hour, the door opened.
Ji Nanshu glanced over them, understanding perfectly what they were worried about, and casually asked, "Leave someone to look after him."
"I'm going to Ange Village now. You... do as you please."
With that, he left the inn.
Pei Qi chased after him without hesitation. "Hey, hey, hey, Mr. Ji! Wait for me!! I'm going too!!"
After witnessing Ji Nanshu's superb skills in neutralizing poison and removing Gu, he had been completely won over!
He was simply amazing!!
Even if Ji Nanshu called him a pig, that was fine!
The people behind them exchanged glances. Shu Cheng sighed and instructed gently, "Junior Sister, stay here with Elder Zhang and look after Pei Huai."
Si Dai could only follow the arrangement, since her cultivation was the lowest among them.