The stick was in Hua Jinyan’s hand, and it was clear that only Hua Jinyan could calm it down. It would only listen to him. The old man, with no other choice, agreed to take Hua Jinyan along to rescue Shen Cang.

"And me!" Little Taotie jumped up, raising her small hand high, "Take me along!"

The old man closed his eyes briefly and turned to leave, "Not taking you."

Little Taotie hummed twice and scurried to follow.

If they won’t take me, my legs are attached to me, so I can still follow, right?

The old man heard Little Taotie’s humming and saw the little girl sneaking along behind him. He wanted to laugh but ultimately shook his head and ignored her, allowing her to follow.

The realm of life wasn’t as dark as the realm of death. The closer they got to the Cangtian Great Tree, the more intense the light became in front of them.

No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like a "Tree of Life," like a good tree, but it was perversely covered in a skin of a good tree, reaching out vines to drain Shen Cang dry.

Little Taotie furiously patted the transparent barrier, "Stop it, you bad tree, stop it now!"

She saw Head Grandpa’s face pale, his forehead veins pulsing, and his whole body drenched in sweat as if submerged in water.

The sweat that had just appeared was immediately absorbed by the vines.

"Head Grandpa, wake up, how can you lose to a tree? You are the most awesome Head Grandpa!"

The old man’s mouth twitched.

Little Taotie continued to shout, "Head Grandpa, you’re so useless, you’re about to be eaten by a tree!"

"Head Grandpa, if you don’t wake up, I’m going to laugh at you!"

The crowd: "..." Aren’t you already laughing at him?

"Head Grandpa, you’re so dumb, wake up quickly, you’re about to turn into dried human, and the big tree will eat you like pickled vegetables!"

Shen Cang, lying on the ground, heard the noise but couldn’t make it out clearly, only finding it very annoying.

He couldn’t get out of the dream, but still felt irritated, and impatiently shouted in his sleep: "Shut up!"

Little Taotie was startled, quickly covered her mouth, her big eyes rolling around innocently and naively, "Did I wake up Head Grandpa? Looks like it worked a bit!"

The crowd: "..."

Then they saw the little girl put down her fair, tender little body and unleashed a tirade: "Head Grandpa, you’re so stupid, so stupid, so stupid!"

"Head Grandpa, if you don’t get up soon, you’ll be eaten up completely, with not even a bone left!"

"Head Grandpa, you’re so funny, I am going to snap a picture of you now and print it as a poster to stick in the Ancient Castle!"

Shouting as she did, Little Taotie really took out her phone and started snapping pictures.

The old man couldn’t watch any longer, looking sympathetically at his old colleague lying on the ground.

Little Taotie finished taking the photos and said contentedly, "I’ll definitely pick the ugliest one, and if you don’t wake up, Head Grandpa, I’m going to get it printed! Then everyone will see how pathetic you look! So embarrassing! Shame shame!" Little Taotie made a shame gesture, sticking out her tongue.

Shen Cang frowned, vaguely recognizing the voice as Little Taotie’s, her childish voice saying who-knows-what, he couldn’t hear it clearly but was sure it was that mischievous little girl.

How did the little girl get here?

How long had he been gone?

In the dream, Shen Cang was struggling to walk, getting closer to that voice, seeming to hear it a bit more clearly.

All he heard was the little girl shouting in full volume: "Head Grandpa, you’re so stupid, so stupid, so stupid..."

Shen Cang: "...Little girl, you’ve got some nerve."

His murmuring voice came out, startling Little Taotie, who jumped behind the old man to hide, blinking and tilting her head, "Did he wake up? Did my noise wake up Head Grandpa?"