Reduced to a Mortal

Although Ji Yuan said nothing when he looked at Min Xian, the gaze still made Min Xian's heart quail. Half guilty and half curious, he hurriedly asked,

"Mister Ji, is there some kind of spirit monster in this painting? This junior considers himself fairly well-traveled, yet I have never seen one before."

The "creaking, creaking" chewing from the Xiezhi Scroll never ceased. Ji Yuan had thought the Xiezhi would get angry upon hearing Min Xian's words, but the scroll showed no reaction at all and continued eating its own meal.

Ji Yuan did not answer Min Xian for the moment. Instead, he looked at the scroll and said,

"A little bug like that can keep you eating for so long?"

Sure enough, the Xiezhi was not unable to hear what was said outside. At Ji Yuan's question, the Xiezhi in the painting shifted its eyes slightly toward him and retorted,

"If it were you, after forgetting how many years it had been since you last ate a proper meal, suddenly coming across something with only one bite to it—and a delicacy from your memories at that—would you swallow it whole in one gulp, or chew it carefully and savor it before swallowing slowly? Besides, this Golden Armored Flying Beetle has quite a bite to it."

"That makes sense. But since you can hear us, why did you show no reaction when someone beside us guessed what kind of spirit monster you were?"

Min Xian, standing nearby, immediately grew tense. He opened his mouth, but did not dare utter a word.

The Xiezhi in the painting rolled its eyes, seeming to glance at Min Xian from the corner of its eye. That single glance made Min Xian, currently unable to mobilize his magical power, feel as though an ordinary person had