I rubbed my wrist, which was covered in teeth marks from being bitten, and looked at Zhang Dabiao, who was trying hard to suppress a smile. I said resentfully, "Brother Zhang, you're really not being a good friend. You just stood there and watched that little thing bite me without coming to help. Look at how badly it bit my hand."
Thinking of the little thing Xu Yi had created, I was so angry I could grind my teeth. All I did was call it a pug, and it almost bit me from my fingers to my toes. It was like a plaster, sticking to me and I couldn't shake it off.
If it weren't for needing it to lead the way to find Fang Huixin and the others, I would have used my Yin Tie Mu Chi to smash it to death.
Zhang Dabiao shrugged his shoulders and finally burst into laughter.
"Haha..."
I glared resentfully at Xu Yi and his pug walking ahead and said in a deep voice, "What's so funny? If you had helped me, would I have been bitten so badly?"
Zhang Dabiao held back his laughter, his lips curling up, and said, "How could I help you? That little thing is too fast. If I had helped you deal with it, wouldn't I have ended up like you? With my hands covered in teeth marks? I'm not as foolish as you are. But brother will teach you something. Next time you see something you don't recognize, don't be so glib with your words, or else... haha..."
"..."
With the pug joining us, the three of us quickly weaved through the crowd. Although the pug was small, its speed was not slow at all; we had to jog to keep up with it.
According to Xu Yi, he hadn't mastered the art of paper crafting yet, otherwise, he could have crafted a real tiger. The pug he crafted was just a miniature version of a small tiger, but it looked a bit like a "dog."
This made me suspect that Xu Yi deliberately let the "dog" bite me to get revenge for my earlier taunting. I'll remember this grudge and pay it back when I have the chance.
After searching almost the entire Chenghuang City, the little tiger finally stopped in front of a dilapidated abandoned house and happily jumped onto Xu Yi's body to claim its reward.
"Little Tiger says it's here. Shall we go in?"
Xu Yi finished speaking and was about to go in, but I stopped him. Su Dan Novel Network.
"Don't rush. Don't you feel that this place is a little different from other places?"
With my reminder, Xu Yi also reacted and said softly, "Now that you mention it, it really is. Why is it so deserted here? And it's so run-down."
Unlike the joyous laughter elsewhere, it was not only exceptionally quiet here, but even if "people" passed by, they would quickly walk away with expressions of disgust and fear.
"Isn't that simple? Let's grab someone and ask."
Zhang Dabiao said this and prepared to find someone nearby to ask. Just then, someone sneaked out from behind the dilapidated house. Before we could speak, he panicked and tried to run, as if we were fierce beasts.
"You get back here!"
Zhang Dabiao moved like the wind and caught the fleeing skinny monkey in a few steps, controlling him from behind.
The skinny monkey struggled a couple of times, found that he couldn't break free from Zhang Dabiao's grip, and could only beg for mercy.
"My lords, I was just passing by. I have no money. Please let me go like I'm nothing..."
Zhang Dabiao's face darkened, and he roared, "Are your eyes blind? Which eye of yours sees us as robbers? We just want to ask you about something."
The skinny monkey was relieved to hear this. "You scared me to death. I thought you were bandits. Let go of me quickly. Who asks questions like you? You hurt me, you know?"
Zhang Dabiao might have felt he had gone too far, and he loosened his grip. The skinny monkey broke free from his restraint.
Shaking his shoulder, which was sore from Zhang Dabiao's grip, the skinny monkey said with dissatisfaction, "I'm an all-knowing person. Do you want to know the news..." He rubbed his fingers, the meaning clear: he wouldn't say anything without money.
Seeing this, Zhang Dabiao was about to make a move, but I stopped him.
We couldn't offend this skinny monkey too much. It was okay to scare him, but if we wanted to get useful information from him, we absolutely couldn't use force.
"Brother, we're here to find relatives, and the address they gave us is here. But why has it become so dilapidated after we arrived? So we wanted to ask what happened here and why it became so run-down?"
The skinny monkey looked at me with a strange expression.
"You say this is your relative's address?"
I was stunned for a moment and replied subconsciously, "Yes! We haven't seen each other for many years, so we came here according to the address. Who knew it would turn into this mess..."
"Tsk, I've seen people make up stories, but I've never seen anyone make up such a blatant lie. This used to be the Chenghuang Yamen. Are you relatives of the Chenghuang? I've lived here for over thirty years and have never heard of the Chenghuang having relatives..."
Hearing this, my face turned darker than the bottom of a pot, and I cursed inwardly, 'What a terrible excuse I've come up with.' I chuckled awkwardly.
I took out the only gold ingot left in my bag and flashed it in front of the skinny monkey.
"Oh, it seems I remembered the location incorrectly just now. It should have been the location on the next street, but I don't know..."
Before he could finish speaking, the skinny monkey interrupted him, "There's nothing in this area that I, Skinny Monkey, don't know. Just ask me anything, and I promise to tell you everything I know." His beady eyes never left the gold ingot in my hand as he spoke.
I cleared my throat and said softly, "I heard just now that this was the former Chenghuang Yamen? How did it become like this?"
"Oh, my lord, how can you ask such questions carelessly? Aren't you afraid of losing your head?" The skinny monkey explained to us while nervously glancing around. Seeing that no one was nearby, he continued, "My lords, you must be from outside, right? If you really want to know, let's find a safe place to talk in detail."
I looked at Zhang Dabiao and Xu Yi, seeking their opinions. This was not a good place, and I couldn't make decisions alone.
They both nodded slightly at me, indicating their agreement.
"We're not familiar with this place at all. We even went to the wrong place to find relatives. We'll have to trouble you, brother..."
"No trouble..."
The skinny monkey chuckled, saying it was no trouble, but his eyes kept darting to the gold ingot in my hand. His intentions were as clear as day.
Following the skinny monkey through winding alleys, we arrived at a secluded door behind the Chenghuang Yamen. The skinny monkey took a key from the door, opened it, and slipped inside.
"Hurry up, don't let anyone see you, or I'll be in trouble."
Seeing his guilty demeanor, I suspected that this guy was planning to trick us.
"What is there to fear when you are here?"
Zhang Dabiao pushed me aside and was the first to step in. Then Xu Yi also passed me and followed suit. As he walked past me, the little tiger that had been on his shoulder bared its teeth at me.
"Be good, Little Tiger, don't take it to heart."
After entering the courtyard, the skinny monkey quickly bolted the door and then breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "You guys are really bold. Three living people dare to run into Chenghuang City. Aren't you afraid that the new Chenghuang will keep you here?"
The skinny monkey's words made the three of us instantly vigilant. Even the guards at the city gate didn't notice that we were alive. How did this skinny monkey discover it?
Could he have kidnapped Fang Huixin and the others?
We exchanged glances, and Zhang Dabiao made the first move.
Clang—
Zhang Dabiao's Pishandao suddenly appeared in his hand, and he swung it at the skinny monkey, but it hit the door panel. The skinny monkey, who had been unable to resist moments ago, easily dodged his attack, and his figure disappeared at the same time.
Seeing this, I drew out my Yin Tie Mu Chi, and Xu Yi also held the yellow paper in his hand. The battle was about to begin.
"Youngsters, don't be so impulsive. I know you're here to find someone. If I intended to harm you, I would have just shouted there that there were living people. Why would I take the risk of bringing you here?"
I thought about it and realized it made sense, but I didn't put down my weapon and asked in a deep voice, "Who are you? How did you know we three were alive?"
The skinny monkey tidied his somewhat worn clothes, puffed out his chest, and looked at us earnestly.
"I am the Chenghuang of this place."