Chapter 116: The Rat King

Meanwhile, Qin Yu listened to Qing Li's words, her understanding of his formidable strength deepening. Comparing herself to him, she sighed helplessly. Indeed, she still had a lot of hard work ahead of her!

Seeing her sigh, Qing Li asked with concern, "Yu'er, what's wrong? Is something the matter?"

"It's nothing," Qin Yu replied. "I just feel like I'm too weak."

Qing Li smiled and said, "Didn't you receive the information? It contains the cultivation method for your special ability."

Qin Yu paused, realizing he was referring to the beam of white light that had entered her forehead earlier. But right now, her mind was a complete blank. She blinked, staring blankly at him.

Meeting her gaze, Qing Li knew immediately that she hadn't received it. "It's likely a matter of mental power," he surmised. "Once we catch that rat, I'll search for a crystal core suitable for you. Once you absorb it, you should be able to access the information."

Qin Yu found his explanation reasonable and nodded. "Alright. When are we going to catch the rat?"

Qing Li gestured to his subordinates, ordering them to gather some weapons. He then turned to Qin Yu. "We'll go in ten minutes after they throw the weapons into the basement."

Qin Yu looked at him, puzzled. "Brother Li, since you can detect it, why not just catch it directly? With your strength, it shouldn't be a problem at all."

Qing Li shook his head. "I can't detect any energy fluctuations from its body, so we shouldn't act rashly. Since it loves gnawing on weapons so much, we can catch it off guard while it's eating, and then entice it to work for us."

Hearing this, a light bulb went off in Qin Yu's mind. She had almost forgotten that a rat capable of evading Elder Dong and the others could not possibly be ordinary. It had to be a clever, spiritual little creature. For such creatures, enticement was indeed the best approach.

At this thought, Qin Yu looked at Qing Li with deep admiration. Sensing her gaze, Qing Li straightened up slightly, a hint of pride showing in his posture.

Watching the entire exchange from behind, Elder Dong could only sigh inwardly at how much young people loved to flaunt their affection.

Qing Li's subordinates were highly efficient. As Qing Li and Qin Yu were speaking, they had already gathered a pile of weapons and placed them in the basement.

A few minutes later, Qing Li led Qin Yu and Elder Dong to the basement door.

The rat, engrossed in gnawing on the weapons, had no idea it was walking into a trap. It was simply delighted, thinking these humans were absolute fools to have brought in even more weapons. Weren't they just handing them over to be eaten? Haha!

Hearing the faint rustling from within, Qing Li suddenly threw the door open. In the dim light filtering through, they saw a palm-sized little rat in the center of the basement, clutching a broadsword several times its own size and gnawing away.

Startled by the sudden intrusion, the little rat froze. Its mouth hung wide open, its paws still gripping the broadsword as it stared stiffly at the intruders.

At that moment, the little rat's inner monologue went something like this: *Holy crap! Didn't these guys leave? Why are they back?! What do I do? What do I do?! I've been caught red-handed! They aren't going to stew me, are they? Maybe I should pretend to be a statue! Oh, mother, save me! Your son is about to be stewed!*

Seeing the little rat's incredibly expressive face, Qin Yu couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Her laughter snapped the little rat out of its stupor. It scrambled to its feet, ready to bolt. However, Qing Li's mental power had already enveloped the entire basement, forming an impenetrable barrier. The moment the rat reached the edge, it was bounced back. It quickly tried another direction, only to be bounced back again.

After several futile attempts, the little rat finally ran out of energy. It lay panting on the floor, closing its eyes as it resigned itself to its grim fate.

As Qing Li and Qin Yu approached, their looming shadows made the little rat tremble. Sensing Qing Li's formidable power, its shivering intensified.

Qin Yu knelt down and gently poked the shivering creature. "You're so cute. What's your name?"

The little rat opened its eyes. Sensing no malice or terrifying aura from Qin Yu, it slowly sat up. It stole a glance at Qing Li before squeaking, "I am the Rat King."

"The Rat King? Haha! That's a cute name!" Qin Yu chuckled.

Seeing Qin Yu laughing so happily over a mere rat, Qing Li shot a cold glare at the Rat King. Terrified, the creature immediately flattened itself against the floor. Observing the shivering rodent, Qing Li realized that aside from its ability to chew through weapons, it possessed no real combat skills.

With that in mind, he squatted down, picked up the Rat King by the scruff of its neck, and helped Qin Yu to her feet. "Yu'er, let's talk outside. The air in the basement is terrible." Leading her by the hand, he walked out.

In the villa's living room, Qin Yu, Qing Li, and Elder Dong sat on the sofa. Before them on the table sat the rigid, trembling Rat King.

Ignoring the creature's terror, Qing Li spoke coldly. "I'm going to ask you questions, and you will answer. If you lie, I'll have you stewed."

The Rat King nodded frantically, wailing inwardly. *Oh, mother! This human is terrifying! I'll never run off to play again! Sob...*

Glancing at the miserable-looking rodent, Qing Li asked sternly, "Where did you come from?"

The Rat King looked blank, then offered tentatively, "The Rat Kingdom?"

Qin Yu pinched the bridge of her nose. The answer was practically useless, but considering the little creature probably had no concept of human geography, she refrained from teasing it.

Realizing this, Qing Li sighed faintly and asked, "When did you arrive in the basement?"

The Rat King answered cautiously, "A week ago? No, wait, maybe five days ago... No, that's not right either. Three days? Ah! Yes, that's it, three days ago!"

Qin Yu was left speechless.

Qing Li recalled hearing some strange noises from the basement three days ago. So it had been this rat all along.

"Why do you eat those weapons?" he continued.

"Because they're delicious! I hadn't eaten in ages! When I finally found so much tasty food, of course I had to stuff myself!" the Rat King replied, rubbing its round belly reminiscently.

"Don't rats usually eat normal food? Why do you eat weapons?" Qin Yu asked, curious.

"You—! How dare you!" the Rat King squeaked indignantly. "Do not compare me, the Rat King, to those filthy, ordinary rodents! I am a celestial rat! A celestial rat!"

Qing Li's gaze darkened. He stared intently at the Rat King, instantly causing the creature to collapse onto the table in a limp heap. "I want to go home... go home..." it whimpered.

Seeing how terrified the little creature was, Qin Yu tugged at Qing Li's sleeve. "You're scaring it."

Only then did Qing Li withdraw his mental pressure. He cast a cool glance at the Rat King and asked, seemingly nonchalant, "A celestial rat?"