Chu Hanjin asked, “Now, do we go forward or back?”

Yue Lin didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he glanced around the dark cave, almost as if talking to himself. “Don’t you think this whole trip to the Celestial Burial Pit has been off?”

Chu Hanjin felt a chill spread through his body. “What do you mean?”

“Normally, when someone kills another person and doesn’t want to be caught, they hide the body. Especially if one of the culprits is from the Six Sects. If they wanted to avoid exposing themselves, they’d do everything possible to make sure the body was destroyed. A piece of clothing, an earring—those things are easy to get rid of. So why were they left in the secret chamber so blatantly, like they were meant for us to find?”

In an instant, Chu Hanjin realized something, and a cold sweat ran down his back, as if a snake’s tongue had just flicked along his spine.

Without hesitation, he grabbed his sword and strode out of the cave.

Yue Lin asked, “What are you doing?”

“Tell everyone to leave the Celestial Burial Pit immediately.”

Yue Lin fixed his gaze on him. “Is there still time?”

From above, the sound of countless ghosts roaring echoed through the pit.

“The killer didn’t hide Xue Wuya’s body because the real goal was to lure the Six Sects down here. Xue Wuya was Xing Jiangxin’s beloved disciple, and his disappearance would naturally infuriate him. Far Mountain Sect would stop at nothing to find his remains, and the other sects wouldn’t stand by either. Everyone would come to the bottom of the Celestial Burial Pit.”

“He wants to use the thousands of vengeful spirits in the pit to wipe out the leaders of the Six Sects. Do you think he’ll let them leave so easily?”

“…”

At that moment, footsteps echoed from the end of the passage.

There was something almost leisurely about the rhythm, yet each step was firm, accompanied by the sound of a zither string with every footfall. A figure appeared at the end of the passage, clothed in flowing green robes. The man had pale skin, closed eyes, and carried a zither under one arm. His slender fingers rested on the strings, his head held high in an arrogant posture.

Chu Hanjin’s sword was out in a flash. “Qin Mo?!”

Yue Lin asked, “Who is Qin Mo?”

“Seven years ago, he used a Pine Wind Seven-String Zither to kill over a hundred of his fellow disciples. He vanished after that, but now he’s here, in the Celestial Burial Pit! This is too strange!”

Qin Mo was a master of manipulating minds with his music. He had once been a highly respected and elegant figure in Wu Ji Sect, known for his love of playing the zither and drinking tea. It was said that he once played the zither for three days without stopping. But then, he turned to the dark arts, using his music to control minds and command vengeful spirits, falling from grace into the demonic path.

Chu Hanjin warned Yue Lin, “Block out your hearing and keep your mind clear.”

He prepared to defend himself.

But the expected battle didn’t happen.

In the dark passage, Qin Mo stood tall, as still as a puppet.

Yue Lin said, “He doesn’t seem to want to fight.”

It was true.

Yue Lin asked, “What is he waiting for?”

After a long pause, Qin Mo seemed to hear something. He nodded slightly and then suddenly flipped his zither, sending a wave of sound through the air. The notes weren’t loud, but they felt sharp, almost piercing to the ear.

He had attacked.

Strangely, though, his target was Yue Lin, not Chu Hanjin.

The attack was a killing blow, the sound waves aimed at Yue Lin’s mind, carrying blades hidden within the melody. Yue Lin drew his sword to block, not in a hurry to neutralize the music, but instead aiming directly at the zither in Qin Mo’s arms. His sword struck the body of the instrument, sending a chaotic note through the strings.

Qin Mo was forced back over ten feet, his hair disheveled from the blow. In that moment, a black curse mark flashed on his neck.

Chu Hanjin’s eyes widened. “Wait!”

Yue Lin was about to charge forward, but Chu Hanjin stopped him. “Look at the curse mark on his neck!”

Yue Lin threw a flying blade, sharp and precise, slicing off a lock of hair from Qin Mo’s head, fully revealing the black mark.

It was a six-pronged curse mark, black with a red center.

The same curse Yue Lin suspected he had been afflicted with!

And now it was on Qin Mo.

Qin Mo seemed to understand their conversation. He took two steps back and stood still. After a moment of hesitation, as if hearing a command, he quickly put away his zither and fled deeper into the passage, his green robes disappearing into the shadows.

“Why did he run?” Yue Lin asked, frowning.

Chu Hanjin, still catching his breath, replied, “Did you see the curse mark on his neck?”

Yue Lin nodded. “I saw it.”

For some reason, Yue Lin’s narrowed eyes took on a darker, more thoughtful expression. A sense of understanding flickered across his face as he said, “I wasn’t wrong.”

At that moment, Chu Hanjin gripped his sword tighter, feeling as if he was being kept in the dark about everything. He bit his lip, his clear eyes turning to Yue Lin. “What do you mean?”

“When I met you, you had the same curse on the back of your neck as he does now. It’s a higher-level curse than mere puppet control—it’s mind control. Qin Mo’s strange behavior, stopping to listen for commands, is the same as how you were when I found you. You were lost, controlled by someone, and all you thought about was fighting and killing.”

Chu Hanjin, who had just relaxed his hand, clenched it again. “…”

Yue Lin’s dark eyes stared directly at him. “But I stopped you.”

“At the time, you didn’t remember your own name, didn’t know why you were with me, and couldn’t answer any questions. But now, you remember that you’re Chu Hanjin of Far Mountain Sect. Yet, somehow, you don’t remember me.”

In the dim light of the passage, shadows flickered across Yue Lin’s face, casting a sorrowful expression as he stared at Chu Hanjin.

Chu Hanjin felt overwhelmed by confusion. These things that Yue Lin was saying—events he had never experienced—were now laid out in front of him, leaving him unsure how to respond.

Yue Lin’s voice was low as he leaned in closer. “I came to find you because I want to know the truth.

“Did someone make you forget me? Or did you choose to forget me yourself?”

His voice carried a hint of pain.

The warmth of his breath tickled Chu Hanjin’s ear, sending ripples of emotion deep into his heart, touching the softest corners of his mind.

Yue Lin’s voice, though normal, was pitched slightly lower, causing a tremor within Chu Hanjin. Beyond the sadness in his tone, Chu Hanjin’s mind was flooded with memories of something more—something intimate.

That voice, whether gentle, low, or furious…

Had whispered countless times into his ear.

The blurry faces from his dreams began to sharpen.

“…!”

Chu Hanjin had been looking down, but suddenly, his ears and neck flushed pink. He pushed Yue Lin back several steps, his frosty autumn-like eyes now filled with both anger and embarrassment as he glared at him.

His gaze had softened from its usual coldness, now caught between frustration and shame.

He seemed ready to say something, but as Chu Hanjin opened his mouth, he swallowed his words and instead turned sharply, gripping his sword as he headed in the opposite direction.

“We need to find the people from the Six Sects and inform them immediately.”

Yue Lin, displeased, asked, “Why did you stop talking all of a sudden?”

Unbeknownst to Yue Lin, Chu Hanjin had just been reminded of a dream where they had been… intimately close, and the memory left him feeling both flustered and furious.

Chu Hanjin shot him a cold look. “There are things between us that need to be settled, but right now, the situation with the Six Sects is more important. Once we’re out of the Celestial Burial Pit, I have questions for you.”

With that, he turned away, refusing to look back.

The way he moved suggested that an inevitable reckoning was coming.

Yue Lin smirked lazily. “Fine, I’ll settle accounts with you whenever you want. In any case… I also have something to tell you.”

They walked side by side.

But something was different. Chu Hanjin, no longer as calm as before, unconsciously took a step to the right whenever Yue Lin got too close.

Yue Lin noticed and stepped closer.

Chu Hanjin moved away again.

Yue Lin followed.

Chu Hanjin moved again.

“…” Yue Lin was about to speak when suddenly, there was a loud crash ahead. The passageway had collapsed!