"Ancestor? Are you talking about your parents?"
"Of course not. Parents are just parents, but the Ancestor is an even more, much more powerful yellow weasel."
The eldest sister immediately whispered to her husband.
"These humans don't seem very bright. Is it really okay to entrust Er Mao to them?"
"It's better if they're not smart. Dumber ones are easier to deal with. Otherwise, they might bully our Er Mao!"
The eldest sister felt her husband made a lot of sense.
Her doubts eased, she cheerfully led them underground.
The hole dug by the yellow weasels was indeed difficult to navigate.
Fu Yunting made some slight adjustments, making the path suitable for humans.
The yellow weasels hopped to a large hole and nervously told them, "Shh, be quiet. The Ancestor has a bad temper. Don't make him angry."
After the eldest sister's warning, they respectfully entered the cave.
"Ancestor, I've brought them. Can I bring them in to see you?"
A moment later, Fu Yunting and An Nuan entered the cave.
Both of them instinctively flinched, their brows furrowing with slight disgust.
An Nuan: "This is your Ancestor?"
While the creature looked a bit strange, it was clearly human!
A human acting as a yellow weasel's ancestor...
Seeing them, the man cried with emotion.
"Oh my dear heavens, I've finally met humans!"
"You've come to save me, right? I don't want to eat worms and lizards and mice anymore."
"Please, take me away quickly. I can't stand it here for another moment!"
The eldest sister said confusedly, "Ancestor, what are you talking about? You've just gotten old and your mind is muddled again!"
Everyone quickly jumped to the man's side, checking on him with concern.
The younger cousin offered a cherry: "Ancestor, have some of this. It's fresh fruit!"
Upon seeing the cherries, the man's soul was shaken. He picked one up in disbelief and put it in his mouth.
"It, it really is a cherry! Oh my, it's so fresh and delicious. It's a 4J, no, definitely a 5J large fruit!"
"Do you like it, Ancestor? Eat more if you like it."
"Yes, they have plenty more. We'll ask them for some later!"
"Do you want some water, Ancestor? I'll get you some. You look a bit thirsty."
The group of yellow weasels surrounded the man. Some massaged his shoulders and back, while others brought him food and drink.
These creatures treated him like a true ancestor.
After greedily eating two or three handfuls of cherries, the man suddenly remembered the little creatures.
He grabbed a handful and opened his hand, letting them take some.
"Can we, Ancestor? Can we really have some?"
"Yes, yes, eat them."
The yellow weasels happily each took one, crunching on them.
Fu Yunting said, "You seem to be getting along well with them. Isn't it good to live here?"
The man laughed as if he were about to cry.
"Actually, living with them isn't bad. There's food and drink, and no chores."
"And it's warm in winter and cool in summer underground. During extreme heat and cold, it's really comfortable staying with these yellow weasels, but..."
The man burst into tears. "I really don't want to eat lizards and mice anymore! I'd rather chew on tree bark than eat these things!"
In the yellow weasels' understanding, these were the most delicious things.
Offering the best things to their Ancestor was only reasonable.
The man sniffled.
"I, I'm actually afraid of mice, but I've told them so many times, and these guys don't understand. They think I'm saying I don't like them to save the food for them. But I really don't like them, I'm scared!"
Some fears can be overcome.
But some fears are not etched in DNA, but in the soul.
The man's aversion to mice was utter and complete.
Just the thought of seeing several mice every day, and knowing these mice were what the yellow weasels saved by eating sparingly and brought to him.
Not eating them would be inhumane!
The man felt miserable.
He pleaded, "I really can't explain it to them. I'm not a yellow weasel who has achieved sentience! Can you help me explain?"
Small animals can be stubborn, more so than humans.
An Nuan deeply understood this.
Especially these yellow weasels, their collective consciousness was much higher than others', and they valued their species greatly.
It was not easy to get them to budge.
But An Nuan's specialty was deception.
Her greatest skill was her persuasive tongue.
An Nuan immediately found the eldest sister and a few elders.
She coaxed and deceived them with gentle persuasion.
"Your Ancestor has eaten mice and lizards for thousands of years. He's had enough. The delicacies you talk about won't work for him."
The eldest sister looked surprised.
Then she felt guilty, her head drooping in remorse.
Yellow weasels were usually creatures to be avoided, if one were to call them strange.
But so many yellow weasels looking pitifully aggrieved at the same time was still quite endearing.
An Nuan smiled, "He doesn't blame you. Instead, he thinks you are incredibly filial. He's moved beyond words!"
The grandchildren's spirits lifted, and they looked at him with happy faces.
The man smiled sheepishly.
An Nuan continued, "However, your Ancestor has stayed here for too long. For your sake, he's almost been demoted."
"The Immortal Realm has its rules. This time, he was sent down to gain experience and be promoted. It's not good to stay in one place for too long."
"If the leaders in the Immortal Realm found out, he would be punished."
The eldest sister tilted her head in surprise, "The Immortal Realm has leaders?"
"Of course! There are so many deities in the heavens, someone has to manage them!"
"See how many deities are in temples? Jade Emperor and Buddha are the top two. One manages the Immortal Realm, the other the Buddhist Realm. Your Ancestor is managed by the Jade Emperor."
"This person, he's two-faced. He's very strict with deities who have been promoted from below."
"If your Ancestor is caught by him, he'll be in a lot of trouble!"
The eldest brother-in-law shrieked in horror, "Oh no, will they stop feeding the Ancestor? That would be too tragic for the Ancestor."
"Yes, they might not feed him for hundreds of years, and he'll become skin and bones!"
The yellow weasels' large eyes began to stream with tears.
They buried themselves in the man's arms and cried.
"No, Ancestor is already so thin. He can't get any thinner!"
"That bad leader, how could he do that? He's heartless!"
"Ancestor, you should go somewhere else. Travel around to a few places. Don't let that bad guy catch you!"
The man was deeply touched.
In his thirty years of life, this was the first time he had ever felt such emotion, and it came from a group of yellow weasels.