“Just for that?”

Ding Yi found the question slightly irritating. “Then why don’t you give me a standard answer, and I’ll repeat it back to you, okay?”

Qin Yuan looked at her impatient expression, and his usually cold and serious demeanor softened almost imperceptibly. “Do you even realize that I’m much stronger than you give me credit for?”

“Well, do you know,” Ding Yi suddenly stopped, turning to face him with a serious gaze, “that I’m much weaker than you think?”

“Mr. Strong,” she continued, a hint of playful exasperation in her voice, “if it’s not too much trouble for your mighty self, could you perhaps carry me back? I’m genuinely exhausted, the kind of tiredness that makes me want to unleash a string of colorful curses.”

Qin Yuan seemed genuinely taken aback by her unexpected request. A fleeting look of blank surprise crossed his features before he suddenly erupted in laughter. He threw his head back, the sound echoing in the quiet surroundings, giving a clear glimpse of his sharp canines. It was like witnessing a majestic, snow-capped mountain unexpectedly bathed in the sun’s warm glow, revealing a rare and stunning beauty.

However, Ding Yi was not in a mood to appreciate the scenery right now.

In fact, she simply concluded that this person was seriously unhinged. His laughter was rather loud and somewhat grating on her already frayed nerves. She rolled her eyes heavenward and continued forward, leaning heavily on her makeshift wooden crutch.

This individual definitely had some significant screws loose.

The laughter finally subsided, and Qin Yuan walked to Ding Yi’s side, his mood seemingly elevated.

“Need any assistance, my delicate flower?”

“Staying a respectable distance away from me would be a tremendous help, thank you kindly.”

After leaving the unnaturally green mountain behind, the two made their way directly to the oiled paper umbrella shop without uttering a single word of discussion.

This time, Ding Yi politely knocked on the door, while Qin Yuan followed up with a rather less courteous kick that sent the wooden panel crashing inward. The old man still rushed out, flailing his arms and legs in a theatrical display of outrage, but this time it was clearly just for show.

After all, he was well aware that he couldn’t overpower them, couldn’t deceive them, and certainly couldn’t escape their relentless pursuit. These two unpredictable individuals were proving to be far more troublesome than any others he had encountered.

Ding Yi looked at the old man, who maintained a cautious distance, and cut straight to the point. “You mentioned last time that your surname was Chen.”

“And what if it is?” The old man’s tone was defensive.

“There’s a mountain behind the ancestral hall, and inside a cave on that mountain, there’s a small ancestral hall,” Ding Yi stated, watching the old man’s face visibly pale. “On the offering table in that hall, there’s a memorial tablet that reads ‘Li Chen Shi.’ What was Miss Chen’s given name?”

“You… you even went in there!” The old man choked out his last two words, his voice thick with disbelief and a hint of terror.

“That place—”

“Enough with the theatrics,” Qin Yuan interjected, his tone brooking no argument, cutting off the old man’s rising panic. “You have two simple choices: answer the question directly and truthfully, or engage in a brief, unpleasant physical altercation with me before answering the question.”

Ding Yi watched as the old man’s face flushed crimson with anger, his entire body trembling with suppressed rage. However, he didn’t dare to indulge in his fury for long. The man beside her radiated an aura of overwhelming power and an obvious lack of patience for prolonged emotional outbursts.

“Chen Bixiao is the shame of our family!” The old man finally spat out the words, his voice raspy with resentment. “Everyone here is a member of Qingping Town. Everything we do is for the greater good of our hometown. What is one life in the face of such a noble cause? Old Master Li chose her; that was her blessing! Her sacrifice allowed so many others to prosper. Even if she didn’t care about Qingping Town, she should have considered her own Chen family!”

“We are all her blood relatives, her grandchildren! How dare she bring misfortune upon us!”

Before the old man’s voice could fully trail off, the heavy wooden stick in Ding Yi’s hand connected sharply with his mouth.

The excruciating pain of broken teeth triggered an immediate, grotesque mutation in the old man. Just as his four-petaled mouth split open wider, the wooden stick, still carrying the faint scent of burnt material, was forcefully shoved into the gaping maw.

But that wasn’t the end of it. Ding Yi wasn’t strong enough to fully subdue him, and she nearly lost her balance as the old man thrashed violently. Qin Yuan, standing steadfastly beside her, supported her back with one hand while his other hand clamped down on the wooden stick, driving it further inward with brutal force, piercing straight through the old man’s unnatural mouth.

Ding Yi was now radiating a palpable irritability, the hand gripping the wooden stick trembling slightly, yet her voice remained eerily calm. “If I hadn’t come here to ask you, where else in this godforsaken town would I have learned the name Chen Bixiao?”

Qin Yuan could sense her barely contained fury, though the precise source of her anger remained somewhat impervious to him. Regardless, he smoothly pulled the bloodied wooden stick free and echoed her question, his voice carrying a dangerous edge. “I’m asking you. Think very carefully before you answer.”

“Coffin,” the old man choked out, blood seeping from the rapidly healing hole in his face. “The coffin in the ancestral hall. Pry open the coffin, and the name is written inside. Sealing and suppression… they require a name.”

Ding Yi’s eyes darkened, and without a word, she once again shoved the wooden stick into the old man’s grotesque mouth. With a grimly efficient air, Qin Yuan once again lent his superior strength, driving the makeshift weapon completely through.

Back at the inn, the lobby was relatively deserted. Jiang Xianqing, whose room was on the first floor, happened to emerge, presumably on her way to the restroom. The moment she opened her door, her eyes widened at the sight of Ding Yi, whose abdomen was stained with fresh blood, whose clothes were now a makeshift crop top, and who walked with a weary, defeated slump.

Qin Yuan, trailing silently behind her, was also visibly injured, though judging by his detached expression, his injuries didn’t appear to be life-threatening.

“You guys are—” Jiang Xianqing began, her voice laced with concern.

Ding Yi merely pulled the corners of her mouth into a tired semblance of a smile, leaned heavily on the handrail, and began the slow ascent up the stairs. As she reached the landing, she happened to encounter Wang Dong, who was just about to leave his room.

“Girl, you went out again today? This… your injuries haven’t even properly healed yet. Why would you venture out again?” Wang Dong’s tone was a mixture of concern and mild reproach.

Ding Yi was too exhausted to engage in conversation. She simply offered a brief nod, a perfunctory acknowledgment, but Wang Dong abruptly stopped her as she attempted to pass. “Girl, where did you go today? Did you manage to find anything of significance?”

“…Yesterday, you went to the graveyard, correct? Perhaps you could share any insights you gleaned from your visit there.”

Jiang Xianqing, who had been following closely behind Ding Yi, her hand hovering protectively, ready to catch her at any sign of weakness, finally snapped. “Are you even human? Can’t you see she’s injured! Get out of the way and let her rest.”

“Now, now, there’s no need for such hostility,” Wang Dong said, casting an ambiguous glance at Jiang Xianqing. “She herself stated her willingness to share any findings to expedite the clearance rate.”

“Anyway—”

Before he could complete his sentence, Wang Dong was forcefully bumped aside. Qin Yuan, who had silently approached, merely flicked his gaze towards Wang Dong, a look so chilling that it instantly silenced any further protests.

“Anyway what? Why don’t you continue your insightful commentary?” Qin Yuan’s voice was deceptively soft.

“No, no,” Wang Dong, despite his initial bravado, had navigated the complexities of social interactions for long enough to recognize genuine menace. Even though the young man before him instilled a primal fear deep within him, he managed to maintain a semblance of composure. “I wasn’t addressing you, sir. I was speaking to these two young ladies.”

Ding Yi’s expression had remained largely unchanged throughout the exchange, as if she hadn’t even registered Wang Dong’s words. Her eyelids remained lowered, but the slight hunch in her posture suddenly straightened. “The item you are eagerly looking for is located in the ancestral hall. Over the past two days, both of you have spent a significant amount of time there. Were either of you able to discover anything?”

Wang Dong swallowed hard, his eyes darting nervously between Ding Yi and the silent, imposing figure of Qin Yuan. “We found a ladder tucked away in a pile of debris. We intended to ascend and examine all the umbrellas crammed together up there, one by one.”

“But… but we encountered something rather… unsettling.”

Ding Yi leaned back two steps, resting her weary weight against the railing. She raised her eyelids slightly, gesturing for him to elaborate.

“Those umbrellas… even though there was clearly no breeze whatsoever, they would move on their own.” Wang Dong’s face was ashen. “And, I swear this isn’t just my imagination, those umbrellas felt… hot to the touch.”

“Well, not exactly hot either, more like… eh, I’m not quite sure how to describe it. Anyway, it was… it was,” Wang Dong stammered, unable to articulate the strange sensation. “We picked up several umbrellas in a row, and they were all the same. And those umbrellas also closely matched the descriptions in that book. The umbrella bones were stark white, and the umbrella surface was adorned with lotus flowers.”

After listening intently, Ding Yi turned and glanced at Jiang Xianqing briefly. Seeing her nod in confirmation, Ding Yi pushed herself upright, leaning heavily on the railing for support. “I can state with certainty that the umbrella is indeed within the ancestral hall.”

Looking into Wang Dong’s hopeful eyes, Ding Yi’s expression remained calm, tinged with a hint of cold resolve. “The mission parameters specifically mentioned that we must accurately identify the material composition and trace the precise origin of the item.”

“You already know?” Wang Dong’s voice was filled with eager anticipation.

Listening to his excited tone, Ding Yi paused momentarily, a flicker of something unreadable in her eyes. “Human skin was used for the surface, and human bones form the frame. Her name was Chen Bixiao, and she was nineteen years old at the time of her death. We observed the woman’s memorial tablet on the offering table that day…”

“They were all hanging from the ceiling of the ancestral hall.”