This villain, please exercise some restraint.

"and many more!"

Seeing that the two people in front of him wanted to continue communicating, the old man immediately stopped them.

He felt confused. He could understand every word and sentence they said, but why, when put together, they became something he couldn't understand?

But he thought he understood the general meaning.

"Ahem - since you all said that the white-haired guy is called 'Temperance', and your analysis makes so much sense, then I think it must be him. It seems that you are also very dissatisfied with his personality - that's simply great! It couldn't be better! "

The old man laughed as he spoke. He looked at the young boy in front of him, his wrinkled brows showing a look of joy that could not be concealed. "Well, young man, you said that the little bad guy almost died in your hands. I still have a great respect for your strength."

As he spoke, he sighed, "I am old and can no longer walk. When I came here, I was still able to reach the top of the Thousand Insect Cave, but when I wanted to leave, I had lost the ability to go down."

"I have spent almost my entire life in this cave, in the company of these insects. It would be a lie to say that I have no feelings for them, because for countless years, there have only been me and the insects."

"But to say that the feelings are deep is not necessarily true, because insects are insects after all. They are not people, they cannot speak or communicate, they can only crawl and eat."

“I think the reason why bugs are more important to me than people is simply because — I haven’t interacted with people in a long time.”

The old man's face became serious for once, and he looked quite presentable.

His hunched back could no longer be lifted, but his somewhat cloudy eyes still looked outside the cave, as if he was recalling the past... which could never be repeated.

The old man stretched out his other hand, which was as dry as a dead branch, and stroked his hair, which was tangled in countless tangles, muttering to himself.

"How long does it take for a person to go from having long black hair to having a head full of white hair?"

The boss and the "emperor" looked at each other, and for a moment, they couldn't give an answer to this question.

Because no matter whether they are the boss or the "emperor", their time has been frozen and they will no longer age, and naturally, they will not obey the laws of nature.

"Was it decades, years, or... a matter of a moment? I can't quite remember. Did I age slowly and become what I am now, or did I age in a moment, and the way I looked after that moment has remained the same until now?"

"You are, of course—"

The boss' words were interrupted by the old man's next action.

In front of him were five skinny fingers, and between those five fingers, on the dirty palm, was a milky white insect.

At this moment, the insect was lying quietly in the old man's palm, shaking its almost transparent wings from time to time.

It just lay there, looking particularly at ease.

"This is the result of my life's work. It is also the second generation of insect king. With the successful experience of the first generation, its birth will be much faster, but this does not mean that it will be worse than the first generation. On the contrary, I think it will have its advantages."

"I don't have the ability to take it to see the outside world, let alone take revenge on Temperance, who destroyed most of my life's hard work. All my hopes are placed on this bug."

"Young man, we all have a common enemy. No matter what the reason, I hope to do my part in this matter, so--"

As the old man spoke, he took out the wrinkled portrait again and handed it to the boss along with the bug.

"Please, if possible, take it away from here, away from the Thousand Insect Cave."

“It will be a boost for you.”

The old man in front of him spoke sincerely, and even his voice became calm, unlike his previous irritable tone.

The boss listened to what the old man said, looked at the portrait and the insect in the old man's hand, and for some reason he felt... a little nervous.

Why did the Gu maker's words sound so much like a dying man entrusting his son to someone else? The only difference was that the old man in front of him entrusted him with... a barely readable painting and a bug.

This was something he had never experienced before, but for some reason, even though it was just a piece of doodle-like paper and a small insect, the boss felt a mountain of... pressure at this moment.

There is even an indescribable sense of... familiarity.

Where did this familiar feeling come from? He didn't know, and he had no way to find out... Was it just because he had taken over another insect from the Gu Refiner in front of him?

The boss shook his head and blinked. "What will you do if I take it away?"

he asked the old man.

"I am old, young man."

"My life is coming to an end, but it has ushered in a new life. Rather than staying with me, I hope that it can help me fulfill my unfulfilled wishes."

The old man sighed and replied.

The boss nodded, this statement was very reasonable.

He looked at the milky white insect and reached out his hand towards it, meeting the old man's expectant gaze.

Just when he was about to touch the insect, a hand stretched out from nowhere and pulled his hand back.

"Don't touch it, kid."

The voice of "Emperor" rang in the boss's ears.

The boss looked again and saw that the smug smile on the Gu Refiner's lips had not yet faded, but his old face was shrouded in anger.

"Why!"

He started to yell, "Why don't you take it!! Young man!!!"

His shouting was stopped by the "Emperor".

"Shut up."

The emperor said coldly.

"Why would you accept it? What would you do with this bug? To give up your body and become a puppet for your bug?"

"Do you know that there are many obvious loopholes in your initial statement? You said that Temperance took the worm and a person away, and the worm was in the person's body. Does this mean that your worm needs to live in a person's body in order to survive?"

"There are three of you present. You are excluded first. Then you need to choose between me and this child as the host of your bug."

"From your previous expression, it's not hard to tell that you care a lot about aging. Aging limits your mobility, which is very inconvenient, and also makes you lose a lot of abilities, so you will avoid it. Therefore, you will most likely not choose me, who looks old, as the host of your bugs."

"It just so happens that this kid said something like that, which made you realize that he is quite capable and that you have a common enemy. More importantly, his body is young enough and he himself is capable enough. It can be said that he completely meets your requirements."

"So, I guess, you'll choose him as a host for your bugs."

"As for what I just said, it was just to lower the kid's guard - you are really calculating."

The "emperor" took a step forward, his chest puffed out, his face stern, and his whole majestic aura made the old man subconsciously take a few steps back.

"Is what I said—right?"