Chapter 5 (Part 2) of Volume 5: Monsters Cannot Be Judged by Their Appearance

  We can't afford to make a single mistake, so Hui and I hurriedly chased after them.

  About half a mile away, Gan Ning stopped in his tracks behind a thorny bush and faintly heard the sound of Mouse Lord's heavy breathing. Upon closer inspection, there was a round water bucket, and Mouse Lord's voice came from inside it. Taking a closer look, on the wall of the bucket were two gray eyes lazily half-closed, and it turned out to be a monster resembling a water bucket! It remained motionless, lying down, seeing us neither attacking nor escaping.

  I tiptoed and peeked inside, the mouse had fallen into the bucket, its greyish-white paws trying to climb out. But the bucket wall was too slippery, and the bottom was covered with a layer of greasy liquid. It climbed halfway up before "whooshing" back down to the bottom.

  I couldn't help but laugh at the sight of him. Mouse Lord hurriedly raised his hands and shouted for help. Gan Ning swung his sword, and a straight sword energy pierced through the water bucket monster, creating a hole and splashing water everywhere. Mouse Lord fell out. The injured Water Bucket Monster let out a dull hum and slowly escaped with its body trembling.

  I laughed and said: "The beasts of Makai are indeed strange and varied. From a distance, I thought it was just a water bucket."

  "This is the pig bucket beast's specialty, waiting for prey to fall into its belly and slowly digest. Young master, if you had come half a time later, I would have turned into mush." Mouse Gonggong crawled up with a thud, crying with a sad face, complaining bitterly.

  "Haiji said angrily: 'Who told you to abandon us and run away, it serves you right!'"

  The old eunuch stroked his eight whiskers and said, "This old slave just wanted to climb the tree to see how young master subdued the blood tree centipede with a majestic appearance. Who would have thought that accidentally fell into the belly of the pig bucket beast? Cough, this can't be called escaping, I'm afraid that if this old slave is present, everyone will be distracted by taking care of me and don't want to implicate everyone."

  I shot him a glance: "You're certainly more eloquent than you are musical. Never mind, everyone's afraid of death. It's reasonable for you to escape on your own."

  Master Mouse was taken aback: "Young Master, you seem a bit different from your past life. If it were the past, I would have been beaten up by you for sure. The reincarnated Lord Dragonfly is really considerate of others."

  "Shut up, you're being too mushy. Let's hurry up and get going, we've already taken down the Blood Tree Centipede."

  The mouse official flattered and said: "Congratulations, young master! The inner dan of the blood tree centipede is a precious medicine that can be sold for a high price! Eating it can also increase your demon power!" Seeing my confused expression, he suddenly realized: "Young master hasn't found the inner dan yet? The inner dan of the blood tree centipede is hidden in its eyeballs! There are two inner dans in total. Hurry up, young master! Let's go dig them out quickly."

  When we returned to the original place, in front of the corpse of the blood tree centipede, a clear and handsome old man in a hemp robe was squatting, using a bamboo chip to dig out the left eye of the big centipede, peeling off the eyelid membrane, taking out a black small bead, and then carefully wrapping it with silk cloth. Put it into the large bamboo basket on his back. Next to the old man, there was also a snow-white little rabbit standing upright, sticking out its pink tongue at us.

  "You old scoundrel, you're good at taking advantage of a ready-made bargain!" I bellowed and charged forward in one swift step. Luckily, the giant centipede's right eye was still intact. I quickly dug it out and stuffed it into my bosom. I shook my fist at Old Man Ge: "The Blood Tree Centipede was killed by us, so hand over the other inner dan core and spare me the trouble of getting rough!"

  The old man in the hemp garment stood up straight, his eyes slowly sweeping over the four of us. His yellow eyebrows furrowed: "You say you have evidence that it was one of you who killed him? Furthermore, do you understand the wonderful use of the Blood Tree Centipede's inner dan? Do you know the difference between two inner dans? Looking at your method of taking the inner dan, it's clear you're an amateur. The inner dan falling into your hands is like a fresh flower being inserted into cow dung! Just looking at this inner dan will make it become a useless thing."

  Wow, where did this old guy come from? He's robbing us and still has the nerve to talk big! I gave a signal to Hai Ji and Gan Ning, but then I thought better of it. Who knows what kind of background this person has? Most of the monsters that can survive in Demon Slayers' Heaven aren't good people. Besides, our mission is to rescue Yu Dan Mei, so it's not suitable to cause unnecessary trouble. Let's first probe his bottom line.

  I suppressed my anger and forced a smile, saying: "So the old gentleman has an extraordinary vision. I apologize for my mistake. May I ask your honorable surname and name? Why do you say that the inner elixir in this incense will become useless? Are you an expert in researching inner elixirs?" My gaze swept over the large bamboo basket on his back, which was filled with various herbs.

  The old man in the hemp garment hummed and said with a proud expression: "Since you're sincerely seeking my guidance, I'll give you some pointers. The Blood Tree Centipede is a hybrid of a rare centipede and an ancient tree that has become a spirit. It's both a poisonous insect and a plant, so it has two inner elixirs. Your inner elixir is hidden in the left eye of the Blood Tree Centipede, which belongs to the wood element and can clear heat, detoxify, and dispel wind-heat. My inner elixir belongs to the insect element and has an extraordinary effect on stopping bleeding. After taking out the inner elixir, it must be wrapped in silk threads. If you stuff it into your bosom like that, it will definitely lose its effectiveness over time!"

  I suddenly realized that the old man indeed had a set, and giving him that inner elixir wouldn't be a loss for me. It's better than having two of them go to waste in my hands. Hai Ji smiled and said: "My handkerchief is made of silk, just right for this." She took out her silk handkerchief and handed it to me to wrap the inner elixir.

  An old man in a hemp garment blew a whistle and suddenly a black shiny little dog with a red face and long nose darted out from under the tree shade, quickly burrowing into the old man's wide sleeves. The old man ignored me and strode away, with Little White Rabbit hopping along behind him.

  "Hey old man, you haven't told me your name yet."

  "I'm not interested in making friends with you." The old man in the hemp garment said without even turning his head.

  That old man has a big attitude! I spat at his back. Mouse official looked at me and made a gesture: "Young master, we have more people and momentum, why don't we get rid of him and take back the inner elixir?"

  The moon soul on the fingertips suddenly reflected a clear light and said in a low voice, "Don't move your hands, that red-faced long-nosed dog looks like the legendary heavenly dog Tian Gou."

  I slightly froze: "Heavenly Dog? The Heavenly Dog that can eat the moon? Moon Little Boy, you're not joking, are you?"

  "Yuehun said slowly: 'The divine beast Tian Gou is indeed it. The only one in the Northern Territory, known as the god of beasts, Tian Gou. Many years ago, I had a chance encounter with it, and I didn't expect that it now has an owner.'"

  I secretly found it strange that this inconspicuous little dog was so powerful, no wonder the old man in the green robe had an air of confidence. Mouse Gong suddenly shouted loudly: "I know who this old man is! In Mo Sha Tian, there is a demon named Sun Si Miao, who is a divine doctor with a eccentric and arrogant personality, it is said that he has a dog and a rabbit that makes medicine by his side. However, Sun Si Miao often hides in seclusion and rarely sees demons for illness, very few people have seen him."

  I smiled and said, "Being able to understand the innate nature of the elixir, and having a bamboo basket full of medicinal herbs, must be a doctor. The old man in the hemp robe should be Sun Si Miao, but we don't need to provoke him, lest we stir up trouble."

  Gan Ning and Hai Nu nodded in agreement and walked out of the last dense forest. We finally arrived at the banks of the Shensha River.

  The yellowish river surface is calm and smooth like a mirror reflecting the reddish-brown sky with three round suns setting. A person stands by the river, pacing back and forth, with a white fluffy rabbit at their feet, sticking its tongue out at me.

  It's the old man in the hemp garment from just now!