Chapter 482: One Problem Solved

Upon seeing their predicament, the little people reacted differently—some fought back defiantly, some stood frozen in confusion, some continued hurling insults, while others pleaded for mercy.

But Lady Calico now acted as if she couldn’t understand them.

She merely stood outside the small doorway, blocking their escape, her face wearing that typical unreadable cat expression.

At times, she would lower her head to peer at them, sniffing curiously. At times, she would reach out a paw, gently patting them, as if carefully testing their texture.

And at times, she would turn her head away, pretending to look elsewhere—as if giving them a chance to flee toward another doorway.

"Lady Calico, stop playing with them—they’re not mice."

From the bed, Song You looked down at the tiny figures and said, "If you answer two of my questions, I’ll let you go."

"Dream on, you wicked demon! You’ve killed so many of our brothers and sisters—we won’t rest until we’ve taken revenge! Just you wait!"

"W-what questions?"

"How can we trust you?"

"Will you really let us go if we answer?"

Song You’s gaze settled on the first, most aggressive little man, then shifted away as he replied, "Are you not all merely illusions? How can there be talk of life and death when you don’t truly exist?"

Then, in an even tone, he stated, "I only wish to ask—where did you come from, and why did you come here?"

"Is that one question or two?"

"..."

"Why won’t you answer? How rude!"

"Two." Song You sighed.

Sometimes, he truly could not understand how these supernatural beings thought, nor what went on in their heads.

But luckily, he had always been patient.

"We... we’ve forgotten where we came from. Maybe from the east... or maybe from the west. We wandered here in a daze, and after arriving, we found it quite pleasant, so we decided to stay."

"We only wanted to invite the Xu family to play with us, to ease their loneliness at night! But they didn’t appreciate our kindness—they even hired someone to drive us away!"

"You must be the one they brought in to deal with us, right?"

"You’re really strong!"

"..."

Song You didn’t bother responding any further.

Instead, he simply waved his hand dismissively.

"Hurry back now. Otherwise, Lady Calico might change her mind. And sometimes... even I have no say in what she does."

Hearing this, Lady Calico stepped aside, opening the way.

Seeing their chance, the remaining little people scrambled toward the doorway.

Yet the boldest, most hot-tempered one still turned back as he ran, pointing furiously at Song You and shouting, "You vile man! Don’t get too arrogant—we’re not as weak as you think! We’ll be back!"

Lady Calico whipped her head around and stared directly at him.

The moment their eyes met, the little man instantly shut up and dove into the doorway.

"..."

Song You withdrew his gaze and looked out the window.

Lady Calico climbed onto the bed, padded over to the edge, and used the same ragged washcloth from before to wipe her paws before hopping up. Then, with a puzzled expression, she asked, "Why did you let them go? They said they were going to gouge out your eyes!"

"Did you not notice that when they were struck down, they all turned into white smoke?"

"Oh!"

"Exactly."

"So they were fake!"

"Sleep now."

Song You finally lay down. Only then did the night fall into silence.

By the time he woke up, it was already early morning. Song You drowsily opened his eyes, sat up, and instinctively glanced toward the small doorways in the wall.

Last night, those doorways had been ornate, painted crimson with iron studs and beast-head door knockers. But now, they were just a few tattered, old mouse holes.

Some weren’t even proper holes—just thin cracks in the wall.

Meanwhile, Lady Calico lay curled up on the bed’s edge, her face turned toward that side as she slept soundly.

From the looks of it, she had stayed on guard for most of the night.

Song You woke her up and told her to transform back into human form. Then, he got up, dressed, washed, and stepped outside.

Outside, the Xu family's servants were already waiting. The moment they saw him, they hurried over and led him to breakfast.

By the time they arrived, the Xu family members had been waiting for some time.

"Ah, Mr. Song has arrived! Please, sit!"

"Thank you." Song You offered a polite nod of gratitude before taking his seat.

"Did you sleep well last night?"

"Did the little people disturb you?"

"There seemed to be some noise coming from your room last night..."

Everyone turned their eyes to Song You, speaking over one another in concern.

Song You took a sip of tea before answering, "I did indeed encounter the little people you spoke of. They were quite noisy and extremely rude."

Then, with a slight smile, he added, "But my attendant is quite capable—she swiftly chased them all away."

"Mr. Song... You mean you actually managed to sleep through the night?"

"No, they just disturbed me for a short while." After answering, Song You looked at the others and asked in return, "When those little creatures make a fuss and disturb you on normal days, how do you usually deal with them?"

The eldest son of the Xu family replied, "When we first encountered them, we were frightened, but seeing that they were small and weak, we tried to drive them away with objects. However, they wouldn’t listen to reason at all. Even if we managed to chase them away, they would always come back, bringing more of their kind with them. Then they would point at us and hurl insults, sometimes even stabbing at us with tiny knives. They were quite aggressive.

"If we lost our patience and fought back with sticks or fans, these little creatures would turn to ash when killed. But no matter how many we killed, we could never get rid of them completely. At the latest, by the middle of the night or early the next day, they would return while we were asleep and start stabbing us with their little knives and long pins. There's simply no way to deal with them."

The second son of the Xu family added, "If we ignore them, they gather in groups and sing and dance by our pillows, making sure we can't sleep. Even if we manage to doze off, they wake us up just to watch them perform. But compared to the retaliation we face when we kill them, this is still the lesser evil."

"Sir, how did you manage to drive them away? Is there a way to get rid of them once and for all?" The elderly man turned to Song You.

"It's not difficult." Song You, holding a bowl of shrimp porridge, told them, "These little creatures are actually monitor lizards that have gained sentience..."

As soon as he said this, the crowd gasped in shock.

Song You couldn't help but chuckle and put down his bowl.

"That’s not to say that your residence is overrun with lizards. There’s likely only one that has gained sentience, or perhaps one large one along with a few smaller ones. The little people you’ve been seeing at night are merely its manifestations. As for its purpose, I can’t say for certain. Creatures like these have thoughts and motives vastly different from humans, and some may even seem completely deranged from our perspective."

From the corner of his eye, Song You noticed his young attendant glancing at him. He quickly shot back a look that said, "I wasn’t talking about you," before continuing, "Fortunately, my attendant is exceptionally skilled. Last night, she already discovered where this lizard is hiding within your residence. If you wish to get rid of it, all you need to do is dig it out today while the sun is up. That should be a simple task."

"Huh? Where is it hiding?"

"Under the rockery in the courtyard, buried quite deep."

"Do we really have to dig it out?"

"This is the easiest way to deal with a demon," Song You said, looking up at them. "Last night, it must have been gravely injured. It should still be sleeping now."

"And once we dig it out?"

"That depends on how you wish to deal with it."

"Huh?" Everyone was taken aback. "We have to handle it ourselves?"

"Of course," Song You said, gazing at them. "There's no need to be afraid. Ghosts and demons are not as formidable as you might think. Most of them are nothing to fear as long as you have the courage to face them. But if you show weakness, they will only grow bolder and more arrogant, trampling all over you."

"Then... then can it be beaten to death?"

"What lizard in this world can't be killed?"

"......"

Only then did everyone feel relieved.

After breakfast, under the elder’s arrangements, the eldest son of the Xu family went out to post a reward notice, searching throughout the city for brave martial artists. Meanwhile, the second son of the Xu family remained at the residence, leading the household servants and workers to remove the rockery and begin digging beneath it.

The moment they moved the rockery, everyone was stunned.

The ground beneath the rockery had originally been flattened, but now, at some unknown time, it had become riddled with thick, bowl-sized tunnels. As soon as the rockery was moved aside, it became visible—some of the caves were even connected to the rockery, allowing one to walk directly from the caves into the openings within the rock formation.

No one could say how many of those tiny creatures had been watching them from inside the rockery as they walked and talked in the courtyard all this time.

The realization sent chills down their spines.

Still, with the elder overseeing the effort and the second son of the Xu family gritting his teeth to personally lead the digging, the excavation continued.

The deeper they dug, the more tunnels they uncovered, extending in all directions.

Some of the tunnels opened into chambers, resembling small dwellings. Inside lay countless lizards, but at the moment, they remained motionless, as if in hibernation. Using fire tongs, the workers picked them up one by one, filling two large baskets.

Then, they continued digging—seven or eight more feet down. Many men took turns excavating, switching out several times before they finally reached the bottom.

There, they found a chamber the size of a water vat.

Curled up inside was an enormous lizard, nearly as long as half a grown man, its entire body covered in black, glossy scales that gleamed under the light. The chamber even contained tiny wooden tables, chairs, and stools, all intricately carved, as if the creature had been living there as a human would.

Everyone gasped in shock.

Unlike the others, this enormous lizard was no longer in deep slumber. Once uncovered, it opened its eyes and attempted to struggle and flee. However, it was weak, and in the bright daylight, it had little strength left.

Though the onlookers were frightened, their fury from the past half year took over. Each of them grabbed hoes and iron spades, striking down upon it with all their pent-up rage. Within a few blows, they had beaten it to death on the spot.

At the elder’s command, they then dragged all the creatures outside and burned them to ashes.

Many townspeople from Fuyao City came to witness the scene.

That noon, the Xu residence held another banquet to express their gratitude to Song You and Lady Calico. By this point, everyone in the household was convinced of their true abilities. Their respect deepened, and much of their earlier skepticism faded.

Now, they only had to wait for the eldest son of the Xu family to return with a brave martial artist willing to descend into the dry well at night to rescue their disgraceful younger relatives before sealing the well for good.

They waited and waited—until the afternoon.

At last, the eldest son of the Xu family returned.

However, he did not bring any martial artists with him. Instead, he was accompanied by a plainly dressed scholar. Most of the gathered people had never seen him before, though a few found his face somewhat familiar.

"Father, I went out to post the reward notice today," the eldest son respectfully reported to the elder, his tone as deferential as if addressing a superior. "Many brave warriors from the

jianghu

came to inquire, but once they heard that we needed help dealing with a demon, most refused. Even those who were courageous balked at the idea of descending into a deep, bottomless dry well at night."

"Just as I was losing hope, Qiuyue approached me on his own, offering to descend into the well with a staff and bring those useless fools back up."

This scholar was none other than the man who had previously given directions to Song You.