Xiangxiang's black bean-like eyes still showed not the slightest spark of intelligence, making it difficult for Yingshi to firmly maintain her suspicion about its career ambition.
But its route was truly bizarre... Never mind, an ancient demon essence sounded like a good thing anyway, and since it was a good thing, they should claim it for themselves!
She had originally thought about getting out of this demon realm as soon as possible, but now it was time to change her goal.
"But how do we obtain this demon essence? There's no description in the book about the Blood Moon Festival or the Demon King receiving gifts..." Yingshi muttered.
Ever since she transmigrated here, she had consciously organized and memorized the contents of the original book in her mind, terrified of forgetting this walkthrough guide.
Even though the original book couldn't always provide help later on, it still helped her understand the worldview of this alternate world.
Now, she tried hard to recall the entire storyline of the demon realm arc and was certain there were no plots related to the Blood Moon Festival. However, a flash of inspiration hit her, and she suddenly thought of a character mentioned in the book.
Thus, Shuangjian saw Yingshi let out an "Eh," her eyes lighting up as she grabbed his sleeve and said, "Shuangjian, I haven't told you this before, have I? There is a rat demon in the demon realm named Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All. If there's something we don't know, we can go ask him!"
Just listening to the name, Jing Fengliu was clearly paying homage to the omniscient Bai Xiaosheng, and combining it with One Hundred Thousand Whys, simply giving him an extremely exaggerated prefix.
It was said that there was nothing in this world he didn't know, but if one wanted to ask him a question, they had to pay a price.
In the original text, the male lead had dealt with him. At that time, Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All demanded to play the classic game of guessing which cup is the poisoned wine with the male lead. They played several rounds, and even in the final fifty-fifty choice, the male lead accurately picked the good wine. However, the rat went back on his word and played dirty, resulting in the enraged male lead chopping off two of his fingers. This development made Yingshi feel that although this rat sounded like a highly imposing gimmick monster, he was also someone who could be suppressed by sheer force!
But where exactly was Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All's lair in the demon realm again?
"...Why do I hear as if someone is summoning this old man?"
A hoarse voice suddenly rang out, accompanied by the sound of the wall cracking. They saw a semi-circular trench suddenly appear at the corner of the wall behind them. That piece of the wall was pushed open from the inside, looking exactly like Jerry's mouse hole opening up in the cartoons, except it was dozens of times larger, with the entrance already half a person tall.
Immediately after, a grayish-white, gaunt, and protruding human face emerged from the hole.
Although it was a human face, two rows of whiskers grew on both sides of his nose. At this moment, his eyes flashed with a sharp light, his nose twitched constantly, and he rubbed his two slender hands against his tattered scholar's robe twice, speaking as he rubbed, "Who is it that has doubts in their heart?"
As he spoke, his hunched body paused slightly. His gaze wandered constantly between Yingshi and Shuangjian, ultimately settling on Xiangxiang in Yingshi's arms. He grinned, and his smile made him look even more like a sharp-chinned macaque. "Could it be that this little fellow has something to ask?"
"...Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All?"
"That is indeed this old man."
"..."
Yingshi was a bit startled by his grand entrance and appearance—he really is a rat-man?
Moreover, he appeared far too timely, as if he had been eavesdropping on them all along.
"We do indeed have a question to ask!" she hurriedly said after recovering her wits.
"Then follow me inside." Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All leisurely retreated back into the hole.
The entrance was just right for him, but far too low for Yingshi and Shuangjian. They had to bend over to squeeze in. Fortunately, the inside of the rat hole was much larger than it appeared from the outside. It was practically like a multi-story library, with the surrounding walls fully stocked with ancient texts, a hundred times richer than the ones in the Gate of Rest.
Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All sat down at the table in the center and motioned for the two of them to sit opposite him.
Yingshi obediently took her seat and got straight to the point, "Senior Hundred-Thousand, we would like to ask about the Blood Moon Festival and the ancient demon essence."
"Easy enough," Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All narrowed his eyes and stroked his whiskers. "However, you cannot break this old man's rules. Asking me a question requires paying a price. I see that the little piglet in your arms is quite interesting. How about you leave it behind to relieve this old man's boredom?"
"No way," Yingshi firmly refused.
The demon essence was precisely for Xiangxiang. How could she possibly leave Xiangxiang behind as the price?
Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All didn't seem surprised by her refusal. Upon hearing this, he didn't even blink and asked again, "Then what do you plan to use in exchange for this old man's answer?"
Shuangjian, who had been silent all this while, quietly said, "An answer for an answer, how about that?"
"Hehe, there is nothing in this world that I do not already know." Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All shook his head. "I do not need your answer."
CR
"What if it is not a matter of this world?"
"..." Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All paused for a moment, suddenly staring at Yingshi and pointing at her. "Then you tell me."
"Me?" Yingshi was stunned for a second, exchanged a glance with Shuangjian, and then immediately understood. Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All was a gimmick monster after all. Perhaps he was omniscient regarding this world, but that had its limits, and they just happened to come from outside those limits.
Good heavens, if she talked about modern things, this big rat definitely wouldn't know... but there would be no way to verify it either!
What's going on? Generally speaking, this kind of Q&A puzzle stage wasn't her role to play!
She was fine with challenging people to brain teasers, but when it came to serious intellectual debates, she truly couldn't do it...
Eh? Then what if she just used a brain teaser?
Yingshi's eyes darted around. She cleared her throat and replied, "Sure. Since you claim to know everything, why don't I ask the question? If I can ask a question that you cannot answer, then the answer to this question will be the price we pay. How about that?"
Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All closed his eyes and shook his head back and forth, his leisurely posture hiding a hint of mockery. "Heh, fine."
Having received his approval, Yingshi quickly dug out a brain teaser from her memory and asked, "What has five heads, but looks perfectly normal to ordinary humans, and lacking one would instead be abnormal?"
Hearing this, Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All was about to open his mouth, but before he did, he frowned slightly.
He pondered, "Five heads? Normal to humans... Could it be the five-headed snake demon? No, no, humans would run away terrified upon seeing such a monster... Could it be some rare five-headed spirit flower? That's not right either, this spirit flower went extinct three hundred years ago; ordinary people haven't even seen it..."
He thought through almost all the multi-headed, bizarre creatures and even artifacts in the cultivation world, yet none of them fit the condition of being normal in the eyes of humans.
In the end, Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All couldn't help but get a little annoyed and said bluntly, "You must be speaking nonsense. Such a thing absolutely does not exist!"
"Who says!" Yingshi slapped her hand on the table and wiggled her fingers. "Aren't human hands and feet exactly that? Look, doesn't a hand have five fingers, which in our language are called finger-heads? This couldn't be more normal to humans, right? A finger-head is still a head, isn't it?"
"...What kind of answer is that!" Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All was dumbfounded, his whiskers trembling stiffly as he said in exasperation, "This is clearly sophistry! A trick! How could I have known beforehand that you weren't asking a serious question? You must change the question, otherwise I won't accept this result!"
Shuangjian's gaze turned a bit cold, but Yingshi stopped him and nodded, "Sure, then I'll ask you another one: what gets dirtier the more you wash it?"
Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All was momentarily startled by the sudden chill that arose, but upon hearing Yingshi's follow-up question, he couldn't help but sneer, "Water! Well, did this old man answer correctly?"
"Very accurately," Yingshi nodded.
"Hmph." Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All curled his lips and said, "So, you lose... Please leave, you two!"
"Who says? Could it be that a respectable great rat demon like you would actually renege on a bet?"
"Who exactly is reneging?" Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All was somewhat stunned. "I answered your question!"
"Yes, but you couldn't answer it the first time. It was only after my guidance that you answered it the second time, because I taught you what a brain teaser is. You mastered a way of thinking, so isn't that considered getting an answer?" Yingshi said righteously.
"You..."
Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All was left speechless by her words. Thinking about it carefully, he actually felt it made some sense.
He had indeed never thought that questions could be "solved" this way... but where was the necessity to think about those questions?
Looking at Yingshi's confident appearance, and glancing at the always silent but unfathomable Shuangjian beside her, he resentfully waved his hand: "Fine, fine, I'll reluctantly consider that you passed! Ask whatever you want, but I'm making it clear, I will only answer one, absolutely no more."
"One is enough." Yingshi exchanged a glance with Shuangjian, then turned to ask Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All, "How do we obtain the ancient demonic essence?"
Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All cast a meaningful glance at them and answered slowly, "During the Blood Moon Sacrifice, the ancient demonic essence descends with the moonlight, bathing the body of the Demon King. But now the Demon Realm is without a master, so the moonlight will pour entirely onto the Blessing Tree at the time of the full moon."
"...Blessing Tree?"
Yingshi was dazed by yet another unfamiliar name, but suddenly heard a fierce banging sound on the outer wall of this "library."
A somewhat agitated and inexplicably familiar male voice shouted outside, "Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All, I have something to ask! Let me in quickly!"
Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All's nose began to twitch. He closed his eyes, as if sniffing the scent in the air, then immediately raised his hand to signal Yingshi and the others to leave, as he was about to invite the next confused person in for a detailed discussion.
But Yingshi and Shuangjian didn't move.
Moreover, the person outside was clearly too anxious. The next second, he rudely broke through the wall and entered, and then his figure, which had been burning with anxiety to rush straight over, instantly froze.
"...You reckless brat, how dare you destroy this old man's nest?!" Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All's angry words broke the stagnation of the atmosphere at that moment. His pair of rat eyes stared fixedly at the newcomer's arm as he said coldly, "No matter what question you want to ask, I want your arm, otherwise no deal!"
"..."
Cold sweat immediately broke out on the fox demon's forehead.
Why on earth?!
How could the people he desperately tried to shake off happen to be sitting in Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All's guest seats?
Meeting the eyes of those two people and one pig, his hair stood on end. His first reaction was to flee, but being locked onto by the demonic cultivator's eyes, he almost had a premonition that he might not live past today... This person had even chased him to the Demon Realm!
Since he was destined to die, why not tear a layer of skin off this demonic cultivator before he died?!
The fox demon forced himself to stand firm. He raised his hand and pointed at the demonic cultivator, ignoring his icy gaze, and asked in a hoarse voice the question he believed would strike the other party the hardest: "I just want to ask, this person's identity is fake, who exactly is he?! He is not him, who is he really?!"
Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All narrowed his eyes dangerously.
"Give me your arm first..." he said.
But at the moment his words left his mouth, thick, ink-like black mist had already permeated from beside him. It was so fast that the naked eye could hardly capture it. Within milliseconds, it condensed into several ferocious ghost claws that lunged straight at the fox demon!
The temperature in the rat hole plummeted, and the flickering candlelight was almost freezing into ice. The blood in the fox demon's body also nearly solidified. He instinctively wanted to retreat and wave his powerful arm to block, but he was too slow—with a "pfft" sound, it was the sound of flesh and blood being torn apart by something extremely cold.
The fox demon didn't even feel intense pain; he only felt his right arm become light. He looked down in disbelief, only to see that his arm, which had just been full of power, had been chopped off at the shoulder...
No blood spurted from the stump at all, because the black mist, after severing his limb, did not disperse. It even climbed up his bones, like a layer of spreading black ice crystals, eroding him!
And that severed arm fell to the ground, twitched twice on its own, and was then hugged by Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All who rushed over. But he hadn't hugged it for even two seconds before another pair of hands appeared beside him to fight for it.
"Give it to me! You others can't handle this thing, don't snatch it blindly!" Yingshi suppressed her instinctive repulsion towards human body parts, gritted her teeth, and played tug-of-war with the rat demon.
A big reason they chose the Demon Encounter Village was this severed arm. If Shuangjian could absorb it, it would definitely greatly increase his strength. Moreover, she wasn't talking nonsense; this thing was indeed very evil for others. Besides Shuangjian, who suppressed it with his bloodline, no one else could control it.
"You rude girl, don't pull this old man's whiskers!" Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All wailed.
But his wail was drowned out by another even more frantic shout. At the juncture of life and death, the fox demon became even more agitated, shouting while attacking frantically and desperately, "You're feeling guilty! You don't dare let me keep asking! You're afraid she'll know that you're not you at all, aren't you?!"
Most of his attacks were blocked and neutralized by Shuangjian, and a few hit Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All's library pavilion, instantly igniting countless faint blue fox fires.
"My texts! My treasures!" Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All couldn't care less about fighting for the severed arm. He screamed holding his head, his rat eyes looking around, trying to rescue those burning books, but hesitating over whether he should go left or right first.
Losing her competitor, Yingshi had just taken the severed arm into her hands. Before she could even hold it warm, Xiangxiang, who had been put down earlier, suddenly pounced into her arms. Its short, thick pig trotters grabbed her arm, and it opened its mouth to swallow the entire severed arm into its stomach.
It was too sudden, and too exaggerated!
Because its body wasn't even as long as this severed arm!
It was as exaggerated as a python eating an elephant. Could there be a black hole in Xiangxiang's stomach?
But too many things were happening at the same time, too chaotically. Yingshi didn't even have time to be shocked for too long over the severed arm becoming the little pig's rations, as the fox demon's heart-wrenching howl rang in her ears: "Bodhi Heart, did you hear?! He is a liar!!! I saw his heart, no matter who he tells you he is, it's all—"
His voice was so incredibly piercing it threatened to shatter her eardrums. Even after it came to a sudden halt, the sheer force of its echo seemed to vibrate through the air.
"..."
Wincing in pain, Yingshi was forced to cover her ears. She turned her head, her gaze colliding with Shuangjian's as he looked back at her from within a sea of foxfire.
In that very moment, she read an unspeakable, overwhelming dread in his eyes.
