Alas, a desperate tactic.

What was found first was a cloth bundle hidden in the crotch of a man's pants. When opened, it contained a stack of loose banknotes, ranging in denomination from one cent to ten yuan. The most complete ten-yuan note had the words "XXXX Bank" on it and "XX59" written below.

Around sixty years ago?

Although a specific timeframe has been given, the timing is no longer that important to Zhang Wei at this point.

However, these banknotes alone are also valuable items.

If you can bring out a silhouette, you might be able to exchange it for some money.

Zhang Wei was just an ordinary person and didn't have much experience with collectibles. He only knew that old and rare items were definitely valuable.

I just quit my job and need some unexpected income in the short term.

Cash was one thing, but with Zhang Wei's meticulous search method—even turning over the soles of shoes to examine them—he found several other items.

A bunch of colorful candies that exude a captivating aroma.

A booklet titled "Wandering Beggars from Various Places" describes five or six evil spells, such as creating animals and flower vase women. It also describes the methods for making small items such as mind-control drugs and charm coins. At the end, it records a trick to deceive people, which is the method that allowed Zhang Wei to see his parents and the villagers.

First, obtain the name, then take a close object, and after a secret preparation, tan it into incense. Lighting the incense will create a bewitching illusion, and of course, one can actively participate to enhance the effect. However, due to the limitations of the spell, it can only be used at dawn, dusk, and night, and the target cannot be a young, strong man or a person with a strong will.

Besides that, all that was left was a small knife stained with blood, a few amulet coins, a copper bell, and some other miscellaneous items that Zhang Wei couldn't understand.

After Zhang Wei walked a while in the direction the illusionary crowd had come from, he indeed saw a half-burnt incense stick broken in the middle hidden under a tree, and a carrying pole placed next to it.

Lifting the urea cloth covering the basket, several fresh and crisp cabbages came into view.

According to the description in "Begging in Various Places", these cabbages that showed no signs of wilting after being picked were the children that the old man tricked into giving birth to using an unconventional method.

The solution is simple: plant cabbages in a field, water them with rice water, and they'll soon transform from cabbages into people.

To some extent, the founder who changed the original animal husbandry system to its current form was also a talent. Compared to large livestock like pigs, cattle, and sheep that attract attention, vegetables and fruits are less noticeable.

Knowing the method doesn't mean Zhang Wei should save the person right now.

Ultimately, he was still just a child. Expecting these terrified children, who had been away from home for days, to obey his orders was practically a pipe dream. Moreover, the old man's body was still lying nearby, and he couldn't guarantee that these children would keep the secret.

The haul was quite good, but I didn't use much: a small knife, lucky money, a bell, and other odds and ends...

After putting his things away, Zhang Wei sat under the tree, playing with the golden cup and silently waiting for the villagers to find him by following the trail of blood.

It went on until the sun was high in the sky.

The sound of people talking gradually came from the distant mountains and forests.

"Dog Egg, you scared your aunt to death!"

"Thank goodness, thank goodness you're alright, otherwise your auntie really wouldn't be able to face your parents!" When the crowd followed the trail of the old cat monkey's blood to find Zhang Wei's location, the third auntie rushed through the crowd and hugged Zhang Wei tightly.

Feeling the familiar embrace, he mentally gave the old man's clumsy acting a bad review once again.

"Alright, alright, since Gou Dan still has something to say, stop holding him like that and let the child catch his breath!"

Finally, the old man in the family saw that Zhang Wei was at a loss and came to his rescue. After looking Zhang Wei up and down, he suddenly asked, "Where's the old cat monkey?"

"If it's not all dead, let's kill it while we have the numbers. That way, it won't hold a grudge and steal the children from Liu Family Village again!"

"He's dead. His body is right behind him!"

Zhang Wei led the group of adults to the old man's corpse, pointing at him and saying, "This beggar must have some connection with Old Cat Monkey, right? This morning he disguised himself as my parents and villagers to try and deceive me, but I caught him!"

While describing the tense scene, Zhang Wei also handed the old man the book "Wandering Beggars in Various Places" that he had taken from the other man.

Looking at the thin booklet in his hand, the old man casually flipped through a few pages before suddenly turning back to look at the way they had come. He then glanced at Zhang Wei scrutinizingly, his expression shifting before letting out a long sigh: "San Gou? San Gou, come and look at the words in this book. Your uncle can't recognize them all!"

As they spoke, a man ran out from the crowd. Seeing the corpse on the ground, he hesitated and took two steps back, but under the shoving of several elderly villagers, he mustered his courage and opened the book. A moment later, drenched in sweat and with pale lips, the man stammered, "Uncle Youshuan, this...this old man is a beggar. He does all sorts of wicked things. Those cabbages we saw in the carrying pole were children in disguise. This guy stole children!"

Upon hearing his words, the crowd erupted in uproar.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wei's aunt, who was already holding onto his hand tightly, tightened her grip even more, as if afraid that Zhang Wei would suddenly disappear.

As he faced the curious and scrutinizing gazes of the crowd, Zhang Wei repeatedly reminded himself to remain calm.

He was now behaving very differently from a child. Even though his aunt was easy to fool, the old man's scrutinizing gaze just now... he was prepared to be seen through.

In a daze, as if he had been waiting for a long time, or perhaps it was just Zhang Wei's illusion due to his nervousness, the old man chuckled and patted his forehead: "Although you've suffered a bit, from today onwards, no one in Liu Family Village is as good as my son!"

"Hey, what are you glaring at me for? If you're so capable, let your son and daughter-in-law go back and give birth!"

"Dog Egg, come on, take Grandpa to see that old cat monkey. When your great-grandmother was still alive, she always used this thing to scare me. I would hide under the covers all night, and even when I got up at night, I was always terrified. I got hurt a lot because of this when I was little. Now I want to see what this thing actually looks like!"

"..."

Zhang Wei looked up, their eyes met, and the old man winked at him. After feeling reassured, Zhang Wei took the old, wrinkled hand and walked towards the cave with the old cat and monkey.

see through?

Didn't you see through it?

He couldn't explain it either.

After seeing the old cat monkey's mutilated corpse, the villagers, still shaken, broke out in a cold sweat, and their gazes toward Zhang Wei now held not only pity but also a sense of awe!

First kill the wolf spirit, then slaughter the old cat monkey, and conveniently return the head to the kidnapper.

Let alone adults, no one in the surrounding area has ever heard of such a capable young man! Even if there were, he would only exist in folk tales.

Only the old man in the family kept complaining that the old cat was missing a head and lacked flavor.

Then the group went into the old cat monkey's cave.