Xie Ling ordered the Yang family servants to drag Ouyang Yi’s corpse to the Shende Great Hall. Though they were filled with suppressed rage, they dared not speak and could only comply.
“Tear!”
Yin Huizhi looked toward the sound. Xie Ling was holding a piece of white silk, a fragment of shark satin he had just cut from his sleeve. Shark satin was priceless and worth a thousand gold pieces, but judging by Xie Ling’s expression, he might as well have been holding a rag.
Like a man coaxing a pet, Xie Ling beckoned him over. Yin Huizhi turned his head away, pretending to be blind, so Xie Ling approached him and began to tie the silk around his face.
A low whisper, audible only to the two of them, drifted into his ear. “Do you know who you look most like in this state?”
Yin Huizhi stiffened. His original appearance likely took after his father, whom he had never met, and bore little resemblance to his mother. However, he did not understand the logic behind Xie Ling’s transformation jade pendant; after the transformation, his appearance was actually fifty percent similar to that of his mother.
Therefore, whether before or after the transformation, his face was not something the Yang family should see. As the person in question who had spent his early years with his mother, he was naturally aware of the risks involved. But how did Xie Ling know? Could it be that Xie Ling’s claim of being a “child of an old friend” was not a lie? Did he truly know Yin’s mother?
That seemed impossible. His mother had passed away eleven years ago, and Xie Ling was only twenty-one now. What kind of “old friend” could he be?
While he was lost in thought, the shark satin was already tied. Xie Ling whispered, “Focus, they are here.”
Shortly after, the Yang family members crossed the temple gate with great fanfare and entered the sanctuary. Leading the way was a middle aged couple with graying hair. The man had a square face and an honest gaze, while the woman was plump and looked shrewd.
Upon seeing the long dead Ouyang Yi lying in the hall, the woman collapsed and wailed loudly. As she hit the floor, more than ten gold ornaments on her body jingled simultaneously; with her shrill cries, she sounded like a suona horn come to life. Yin Huizhi stood aside expressionlessly, waiting for her to finish.
Xie Ling, on the other hand, looked quite interested. He even had the leisure to fold his arms and chat. “Look at the hairpin on Madame Yang’s head.”
His voice was not loud, but it was just enough to reach Madame Yang’s ears. Yin Huizhi clearly saw her weeping face freeze for a split second.
“It looks very expensive,” Xie Ling added unhurriedly.
Madame Yang’s tense shoulders suddenly relaxed, and her noisy wailing weakened into thin sobs. Yin Huizhi glanced at her head and easily found the source of her nervousness among the crowded jewels. On her right temple was a green jade phoenix tail hairpin, glowing with a soft luster. It was clearly a dharma treasure and looked completely out of place among the other mismatched gems and gold.
This was the hairpin that the original Madame Ouyang used to wear most often when the Ouyang family still existed. The Ouyang patriarch and his wife had married young and were very close; he had spent a fortune to have someone find this high quality hairpin from Penglai in the South Sea for her. It had the effects of calming the heart and prolonging life.
The Madame Yang before them had plucked it from a dead woman’s head and kept it for herself. She wanted to wear it but feared being found out, so she covered it up by turning her head into a virtual flower garden of jewelry.
Thinking of this, Yin Huizhi could not help but curl his lip in sarcasm. He squinted and turned to look at Xie Ling thoughtfully. Xie Ling was not someone who noticed others’ jewelry for no reason; he must have done it intentionally.
Yin Huizhi wondered if Xie Ling had run away from home as a child and happened to stay in Fu City, met his mother, and seen the Ouyang family members. And yet, Yin himself had no memory of this? It would be more believable to say Xie Ling had lived inside his body as a parasitic spirit for several years. Yin Huizhi rubbed the bridge of his nose, forcing these wild guesses out of his head. He really needed to stop reading folk novels; his thoughts were becoming increasingly ridiculous. If this continued, he would become a lunatic like Xie Ling in no time.
Xie Ling, unaware of the insults in Yin’s head, waited for the woman to finish crying before speaking lazily. “Madame Yang, please restrain your grief.”
Madame Yang’s sobbing and Yang Yingfang’s sighing stopped at the same time. Madame Yang took out a handkerchief and wiped her tears. “I watched this child grow up and raised him myself for years. How can I restrain my grief?”
She looked up. “You two seem like outsiders. Did you see Yi hang himself when you entered the temple?”
Yin Huizhi looked down and gave her a mocking glance. This Madame Yang knew they were outsiders but did not dare ask why they were here. Instead, she hurried past the topic to focus on the cause of Ouyang Yi’s death. Aside from knowing they were not easy to deal with, there was likely a more direct reason: she wanted their words to confirm that Ouyang Yi had committed suicide.
Xie Ling did not disappoint her. He pointed toward the back of the hall. “We did indeed see that Ouyang Yi was dead.”
Madame Yang began to weep again.
“However, he did not hang himself. He was,” Xie Ling curled his lips into a smile and made a pinching gesture with his thumb and forefinger, “strangled to death.”
Madame Yang’s expression changed drastically. She stared with her mouth agape, unable to speak for a long time. Yang Yingfang did not lose his composure. His gaze slowly moved between Xie Ling and Yin Huizhi. “Young man, you can climb the wrong mountain, but you cannot say the wrong words.”
He glanced at the servant who had first burst in. “You said you saw the young master hanging from a rope,” Yang Yingfang said deeply. “Who is telling the truth?”
The servant immediately knelt. “Master, we have not told a single lie. When we entered, we saw Young Master Ouyang on the ground with a cut rope next to him. If the young master did not hang himself,” the servant glanced at Xie Ling and Yin Huizhi suggestively, “then we do not know what else could have happened.”
Yang Yingfang looked at Xie Ling and asked directly, “Did you cut the rope?”
“I cut it,” Yin Huizhi stepped forward, his veil fluttering slightly. “When we entered, we found him hanging from the beam. He had been dead for quite some time.”
Yang Yingfang’s face cleared slightly. “If that is the case, the man committed suicide. Why say he was strangled?”
Yin Huizhi glanced at Ouyang Yi’s unsightly corpse and said, “Whether he was strangled can be determined by looking at the body.”
Yang Yingfang looked at him for a moment and then walked over to Ouyang Yi as suggested. The servant pulled back the straw mat covering the body. Yang Yingfang followed Yin Huizhi’s gaze, and his expression changed. The strangulation marks on Ouyang Yi’s neck were turning dark purple and were exceptionally prominent on the stiff neck.
Yang Yingfang extended two fingers and lightly felt Ouyang Yi’s neck. A deep furrow appeared between his brows. He turned his head and asked the kneeling servant, “Suicide?”
The servant, who had been peeking at the marks out of fear and curiosity, was suddenly addressed. He bowed quickly but met Yang Yingfang’s eerie gaze. Yang Yingfang was a “smiling tiger” and rarely showed such an expression; the servant shuddered instantly. He knelt and crawled to Yang Yingfang’s feet. “I, I do not know.”
Seeing Yang Yingfang’s face darken further, the servant’s courage shattered. “Master! Young Master Ouyang was already gone when I arrived! Even if I had a hundred hearts, I would not dare touch him!”
Yang Yingfang kicked him hard and barked, “Get out!”
Yin Huizhi turned his head to meet Xie Ling’s gaze. They instinctively moved half a step closer to each other. Yang Yingfang noticed their movement immediately. His current expression was a world away from the peaceful image he had presented at the temple gate.
“The situation was sudden, and I forgot to ask. Why did you two young men trespass into my Ouyang family temple?”
Under the cover of his wide sleeves, Xie Ling gently gripped Yin Huizhi’s wrist. He smiled calmly and said, “Master Yang, this question is ill timed, is it not? The last sprout of your Ouyang family is still wrapped in a straw mat. Should you not find the cause of his death first?”
Cold fingers touched his skin, and Yin Huizhi’s fingertips curled involuntarily. Xie Ling took this as resistance; his cold hand immediately slid down to wrap around Yin’s palm, squeezing firmly. He even patted the back of Yin’s hand. It seemed he was telling him to stay calm.
Yang Yingfang sneered. “I do not think we need to look anymore.” He turned back toward the empty hall entrance and shouted, “Mr. Feng, seize these two and kill them on the spot! Name your price!”
In an instant, a gray figure moved faster than Yang Yingfang’s voice and flashed into the Shende Hall. Even faster than the figure was the soft blade in his hand. The blade flickered with cold light like a poisonous snake striking toward them.
Yin Huizhi’s pupils shrank. He instinctively tried to lead Xie Ling away, but the hand holding him moved first and pulled him hard. Caught off guard, he crashed into Xie Ling’s chest.
The next moment, a series of screams rang out in the temple. The air was filled with a faint scent of burning dust and poison.
“Do not open your eyes. Follow me,” Xie Ling’s voice drifted by and vanished.
The shark satin on his face blocked most of the poison mist. Yin Huizhi held his breath and let that hand lead him as they ran.
“Bang!”
With a loud, heavy thud, the ghostly footsteps were blocked behind them. All that remained was the sound of their hurried breathing. Yin Huizhi opened his eyes to pitch darkness and the smell of long undisturbed dust.
The sound of the door being battered came from behind, but surprisingly, the seemingly ordinary wooden door remained unharmed under the magical assault. Following a fierce impact, the door suddenly glowed with a dazzling light, outlining a profound talisman. The characters for “Ouyang” were faintly visible in the center.
Yin Huizhi turned toward the door and activated the “Yuan” in his ring, trying to break the formation from the inside. As expected, he met with intense rejection. It was not rare; Yin Huizhi had seen such things in books.
“The formation on the door is one way. Once activated, neither the inside nor the outside can break it unless the formation is destroyed by force,” he said to Xie Ling.
This type of formation was often used by families or sects to provide a refuge for their descendants. To prevent outsiders from entering, such a formation could not be reopened once activated. To leave, one had to find another exit. And the true exit would be protected by layers of restrictions that were nearly impossible to open unless one was a descendant of the builder.
Xie Ling hummed. “You know quite a bit.”
“Did you know about this all along?” Yin Huizhi asked.
Xie Ling remained silent. Yin Huizhi had to activate the “Yuan” again to cast a lighting spell. Although the power was strange, it was very obedient and no less effective than normal spiritual energy.
Under the bright light, Yin Huizhi saw his surroundings. This was a larger temple hall. Both its height and area were more than double those of the Shende Hall. Unlike the Shende Hall, half of this hall was above ground and half was underground; therefore, even though the interior was much taller, it did not look as large from the outside.
They walked down dozens of steps before finally reaching the floor. A massive statue stood behind them, looking down at the hall with a gaze that seemed both crying and laughing.
“Is this the Wuhe Hall?” Yin Huizhi tried to recall an uncertain name.
Xie Ling did not answer. Yin Huizhi looked at him and spoke with certainty this time. “I do not believe you did not know.” If he did not know, why would he run here? Was he trying to enter a dead end?
Xie Ling clearly knew this hall had a formation that people outside could not open quickly, so he brought Yin inside and used some method to trigger the formation. Xie Ling raised an eyebrow noncommittally. “If you are so certain, why ask me?”
Yin Huizhi was not satisfied with this ambiguous reply and followed Xie Ling closely, becoming uncharacteristically stubborn as if he had to have a definitive answer. After a few steps, Xie Ling became annoyed and nodded dismissively. “Yes, yes. You are right. Why are you so pestering? Move aside.”
Pestering? Who was the one holding onto him just now?
Yin Huizhi grumbled to himself but did not talk back. He moved aside and walked side by side with Xie Ling. As they walked, he threw out a string of questions. “What was that you threw out? Could you not beat them? Why did we run?”
Xie Ling stopped with a subtle expression and looked down at him. Yin Huizhi stopped talking, feeling strangely guilty. “What is it?”
Xie Ling looked at him. “Yin Huizhi.”
Xie Ling rarely called him by his name so seriously. Yin Huizhi was stunned. “Yes?”
“Before you ask these boring and noisy questions, why don’t you answer one for me?” Xie Ling said eerily.
“Go ahead.”
“Why did you step forward to take the blame and deliberately provoke Yang Yingfang?”
Yin Huizhi had not expected this question and frowned as he tried to analyze his logic. “Because I felt Ouyang Yi’s death was not as simple as it looked. I wanted to try.”
Xie Ling placed his index finger lightly against Yin’s lips to silence him. “Let me ask in a different way. If the person standing next to you was not me, would you have still done that?”
The cold finger touched his lips and then left. Yin Huizhi froze, the familiar tingling sensation returning to his fingertips. The answer appeared clearly in his mind: no.
Because it was too aggressive and uncontrollable; that was not his style. If he were alone, he would have pretended not to notice anything strange and then looked for an opportunity to infiltrate the Yang manor to investigate secretly. If someone else were with him, he would have thought their behavior was foolish and would certainly not have added fuel to the fire.
It seemed he had labeled Xie Ling as “reliable” in his heart. He had even subconsciously treated him as a kind of support. When this thought appeared, alarm bells rang in Yin Huizhi’s mind. He wanted to defend himself, but Xie Ling had already walked several steps away.
“I threw incense ash stolen from the altar, with a little something added,” a leisurely voice came from ahead. “I could not beat them. I am a useless person in the Foundation Establishment stage. You think too highly of me.”