6: Chapter 6 Yuwen Shou and the Boy Who Cried Wolf

Three days later, at the crack of dawn, the Bald Instructor's whip was already cracking loudly. "Everyone, get up!"

Everyone rubbed their eyes and walked outside. The tip of the instructor's whip brushed past Wu Xi's ear, stirring up a cold breeze.

"From today on, you are assigned to the Patrol Squad." The instructor grinned, revealing a missing front tooth. "Work in pairs. If anything happens inside or outside Yin Sui Cave, you will be the first to respond."

The cave was named Yin Sui Cave, and the reason everyone was here was to dig for Century Yin Sui for the nobles in the city to use.

The Patrol Squad's mission was simple: daily patrols to check for any Demon Ghost disturbances and to scout the path for the miners.

"Is it our turn to scout again?" Niu Fei scratched his head nearby. "No need," Wu Xi waved his hand. "You guard the entrance, I'll go down and take a look."

He carried a torch and walked into the cave, where glowing stones embedded in the walls cast a greenish hue on people's faces. The deeper he went, the more intense the cold became.

The miners were all deep inside. Wu Xi found a group, their leader sweating profusely, pointing to a fork ahead and saying, "There seems to be movement over there, we don't dare to go."

"I'll go take a look."

Wu Xi held up his torch and walked toward the fork. As soon as he turned the corner, Tentacle Lady around his neck suddenly moved. A tentacle poked out from his collar, pointing at a protruding black stone on the cave wall.

That was Yin Sui, a Century Yin Sui.

Tentacle Lady's tentacle twitched, as if sniffing something. Wu Xi paused, bringing the torch closer. Suddenly, Tentacle Lady's tentacle elongated, instantly wrapping around the Yin Sui and pulling it into her own body.

Wu Xi wanted to stop her, but Tentacle Lady was too fast. The Yin Sui was enveloped by her, making a sizzling sound, and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Tentacle Lady shivered in satisfaction and retreated back into Wu Xi's collar.

"How is it? Are there any Demon Ghosts?" Niu Fei's voice called out from outside.

"None," Wu Xi replied. He walked a few more steps, his eyes scanning the cave wall. Sure enough, not far away, he found another piece of Yin Sui.

This time he deliberately slowed his pace, and Tentacle Lady's tentacles indeed poked out again. She ate very quickly, swallowing almost as soon as she touched it.

Wu Xi counted: one piece, two pieces, three pieces... Tentacle Lady only stopped after eating seven pieces, wrapping tightly around his neck in satisfaction.

Wu Xi walked back, his mind in a state of confusion. According to the Patrol Squad's rules, Yin Sui had to be turned in; not a single piece could be kept privately. But since Tentacle Lady had eaten so much, whose fault was it?

"Everything okay?" Niu Fei asked, coming over when he saw him come out.

"It's fine." Wu Xi shook his head. "It's very clean inside."

But Wu Xi knew that from now on, he would have to come to this cave to "scout the path" often.

Wu Xi walked forward, touching the rock wall, his fingers coated in slick, slimy mucus. He had been wandering this godforsaken place for nearly an hour, and that kid Niu Fei didn't know where he had run off to.

"This dump..." He cursed under his breath, slipped, and almost fell into the pool of water nearby. The pool was bubbling and emitting a putrid stench.

Just then, he heard a sound.

"...It will be in four days."

Wu Xi froze, immediately crouching down and pressing himself against the rock wall, motionless. The voice came from around the corner ahead, hoarse like sandpaper rubbing against stone.

Another voice spoke up, shrill and piercing: "How do you know the time?"

The hoarse voice chuckled twice. "Among the humans, there are our people." "What?" The shrill voice paused. "Humans will help us?"

"Help? That's what they call saving themselves." The hoarse voice lowered a bit. "Anyway, once those people arrive, we will—" The voice stopped.

Wu Xi's heart skipped a beat as he felt two gazes sweep over him. "...Someone is here," the shrill voice said.

Wu Xi stopped breathing. He instinctively reached for Tentacle Lady wrapped around his waist. That cold, slimy mass immediately began to writhe, crawling up his arm.

Footsteps sounded, heavy and slow, approaching step by step. Wu Xi's back pressed against the cold rock wall, and he could clearly hear his own heart pounding wildly.

"Where?" the shrill voice asked. "Right here..." The hoarse voice paused. "Strange, just now obviously..."

Wu Xi held his breath, his whole body wrapped by Tentacle Lady, prepared for Transmigration, peeking out with both eyes as two heads poked out from around the corner.

The head on the left was as big as a millstone, its face wrinkled, and two eyes like rotting grapes. The head on the right was smaller, but its mouth split to its ears, revealing two rows of sharp yellow teeth. It was the Begging Ghost and the Bowl-Playing Ghost.

The two big ghosts' gazes swept over the spot where Wu Xi was, but it was as if they saw nothing, and they moved on directly.

"No one here," the Bowl-Playing Ghost said. "Strange..." The Begging Ghost looked around again, its nose twitching as it sniffed. "I clearly smelled the scent of a living person just now."

"Did you smell wrong?" "Maybe." The Begging Ghost muttered. "Let's go, the time is almost up, don't miss the main event."

The two heads retracted, and the footsteps gradually faded away. Wu Xi stood stunned in place, not daring to move for a long time.

Those two big ghosts just now were at most three zhang away from him. Their gazes had clearly swept over, yet they passed through him as if he were air.

He looked down at himself. Tentacle Lady was wrapped around him like a semi-transparent film, writhing slightly.

"Could it be..." Wu Xi took a deep breath, and after the footsteps had completely disappeared, he cautiously stood up. He walked back along the way he came, encountering three small ghosts along the way. Those things passed by him, and not one of them gave him a second glance.

"Holy crap..." Wu Xi couldn't help but curse out loud. Not far away, a ghost chewing on a bone looked up, glanced left and right, and then lowered its head to continue chewing. It really couldn't see him.

He quickened his pace and soon found Niu Fei. That kid was crouching behind a rock, holding a stone in his hand, looking nervous.

"Old Niu." Niu Fei jumped in fright. "Who?!" "It's me." Wu Xi walked out from the shadows.

"Wu Xi? Where did you run off to? You scared me to death!" Niu Fei stood up. Wu Xi didn't answer; he already had a guess in his mind.

"Come on, let's play a game. Hide-and-seek. Close your eyes, count to ten, then come find me." Niu Fei looked confused. "What time is it, and you still want to play games?"

"Hurry up." Niu Fei pursed his lips and closed his eyes, starting to count: "One, two, three..." Wu Xi stepped back a few paces, letting Tentacle Lady completely cover his body.

"...Eight, nine, ten! Here I come!" Niu Fei opened his eyes and looked around. His gaze swept over the spot where Wu Xi was standing, didn't even stop, and moved on directly.

"Where is he?" Niu Fei scratched his head. "Wu Xi? Stop messing around, come out!" Wu Xi was standing just one zhang away in front of him, motionless.

Niu Fei walked past him, still shouting, "Hey, did you really hide?" Wu Xi watched Niu Fei's back, his mouth slowly curling into a grin.

Just then, a mechanical voice suddenly sounded in his mind: "[Sanyuan Art (Incomplete)] Parsing... Warning: High-dimensional contamination detected... Contamination neutralized... Discovered: Characteristic of an Indescribable Entity, unable to be understood or described even when seen."

Wu Xi paused for a moment, then laughed out loud. "So that's it..." He deactivated Tentacle Lady's coverage and patted Niu Fei on the shoulder.

Niu Fei jumped up in fright. "Holy crap! Where did you pop out from?!" "I was here the whole time." Wu Xi smiled until his eyes narrowed into slits. "Let's go, I've found something interesting."

"What good thing?" "Something for pranks." Wu Xi touched Tentacle Lady around his waist. With this ability, things would be very convenient.

---

Wu Xi crouched in the shadows, staring at Yuwen Shou who was patrolling not far away. "Are we really going to do this?" Niu Fei whispered from the side.

Wu Xi didn't turn back, just made a "shh" gesture, then stood up and walked toward Yuwen Shou. "Brother Yuwen." Yuwen Shou didn't turn around, his shoulders tense.

"Brother Yuwen, about that matter last time, I was in the wrong." Wu Xi crouched down. "I shouldn't have shoved that thing into your mouth. Really, I was just desperate at the time."

Yuwen Shou slowly turned his head, his face full of suspicion. "What kind of madness has gotten into you?"

"No madness, I just realized something." Wu Xi leaned closer and lowered his voice. "I found a Century Yin Sui in that side cave ahead. Let's work together, dig it out, and split it in half. Consider it my apology to you."

Yuwen Shou's eyes lit up. "You aren't lying to me?" "Why would I lie to you? Let's go."

The two arrived at a secluded corner. Wu Xi pointed to a black stone on the cave wall glowing with a faint blue light. "Right here." "How do we split it?"

"Half for each." Wu Xi pulled out a short blade. "You dig, I'll keep watch."

Yuwen Shou took the short blade and quickly pried the Yin Sui off. It was the size of a fist, glowing with blue light.

"Here." He cut the Yin Sui into two halves and handed one to Wu Xi. Wu Xi took it and tucked it into his clothes. Tentacle Lady writhed slightly under his clothes.

"Alright, let's go our separate ways." Wu Xi turned and left. Yuwen Shou stared at his back, his expression turning into a sneer. He threw that half of the Yin Sui on the ground and ran toward the place where the instructor lived.

"Instructor! Wu Xi is hoarding Yin Sui! He hid a Century Yin Sui!" The Bald Instructor set his teacup on the table. "Where?"

"Right in the side cave ahead, I saw it with my own eyes! He gave me half and told me not to say anything!"

"Lead the way!" Several people came to that side cave, but it was empty inside. "Where is he?" the Bald Instructor asked.

"It... it was right here..." Yuwen Shou was stunned. "He was just here, he tucked the Yin Sui into his clothes!"

The Bald Instructor circled the cave, but there was nothing. "Where is he?" "He... he took it with him..."

Yuwen Shou couldn't speak. He had clearly seen Wu Xi tuck the Yin Sui into his clothes, so how did it vanish in the blink of an eye? "I... he might have hidden it..."

The Bald Instructor snorted coldly. "Search!" Several people searched around, but didn't find a single hair. "Yuwen Shou, are you playing me?" "No! I really saw it!"

The Bald Instructor flicked his sleeves and left. The next day, Wu Xi came to find him again.

"Brother Yuwen, what happened yesterday? Why did the instructor suddenly come to search the cave?" Wu Xi looked innocent. "If I hadn't run fast, I would have been caught."

Yuwen Shou was stunned for a moment. "Where did you run to?" "I hid, of course," Wu Xi lowered his voice. "I found an even bigger Century Yin Sui. Want to go?"

Yuwen Shou hesitated for a moment, but his desire for revenge overcame his reason. "...Let's go."

The two arrived at another corner. Wu Xi pulled out an even larger piece of Yin Sui from his clothes, glowing with a faint blue light. "Here, this time we'll switch roles. I'll dig, you keep watch."

Wu Xi handed the Yin Sui to Yuwen Shou. "Hold this, keep an eye out for me." Yuwen Shou took it; it felt cold to the touch, definitely a Century Yin Sui.

Wu Xi picked up the short blade and began to chisel the cave wall. Yuwen Shou stared at his back, then looked down at the Yin Sui in his hand, and suddenly turned and ran.

"Instructor! Wu Xi is hoarding Yin Sui again! This time I've caught him red-handed!" He ran while shouting, and soon found the Bald Instructor.

"Instructor! This time it's real! Wu Xi is digging for Yin Sui again, this is what I snatched from his hands!" He held the piece of Yin Sui up to the Bald Instructor.

"Where is he?" "Right in the cave ahead, he's digging right now!" Several people followed Yuwen Shou to the cave, where Wu Xi was standing in the middle, and there were only a few fresh chisel marks on the cave wall.

"Hand over the Yin Sui," the Bald Instructor asked. Wu Xi looked blank. "Is... is it in my hands? ..."

The Bald Instructor searched Wu Xi's entire body but found nothing. "Didn't you say you caught him red-handed? Where is the item?" Yuwen Shou couldn't speak.

The Bald Instructor stared at him for a long while, then suddenly waved his hand. "Beat him." Several people rushed up, pinned Yuwen Shou to the ground, and the planks rained down like raindrops.

"Instructor! I really saw it! He really was here!" Yuwen Shou screamed. "That Yin Sui is what he gave me!" "Still lying! Beat him hard!"

After the beating was finished, Yuwen Shou lay on the ground, unable to move. "If I catch you playing me again, it won't be as simple as a beating." The Bald Instructor took his men and left.

"Yuwen Shou, you really take kindness for garbage, hmph!" Wu Xi leaned against the cave wall nearby, and after saying that, he walked away on tiptoe.

Tentacle Lady was wrapped around his chest, enveloping that half-piece of Yin Sui tightly, not letting a single trace of aura leak out.

Niu Fei poked his head out from the side and chuckled. "Brother Wu, this trick of yours is really wicked."

"Wicked? This is called wisdom." Wu Xi patted him on the shoulder. "Let's go, time to do real work."

Behind him, Yuwen Shou lay on the ground, squeezing a sentence out through his teeth: "Wu Xi... you dog..."