Outside the room on the second floor near the stairs, where the plaid-shirted young man had resided alone, a pool of blackish-red liquid seeped out from under the door. Due to the passage of time, the thinner edges had dried and turned black, leaving stark marks on the dark brown wooden floor.

Although the young man’s actions had been irritating and contemptible the previous day, he was still a human being, and a shadow hung over everyone’s expressions.

Qin Yuan glanced at the blood on the ground expressionlessly, bypassed Ding Yi, and raised his hand to place it on the doorknob.

Someone was about to remind him that the door had been blocked, but they watched as the door, which had resisted all attempts to open it by force the day before, yielded easily to his touch.

The wooden door swung inward with measured force, revealing the horrific scene within without reservation.

A mangled heap of flesh devoid of skin, only the ravaged meat remaining after brutal tearing. The bones of the limbs were entirely stripped bare, leaving only fragmented muscles connected to each other. The bones of the torso remained, but the intestines spilled out where the skin had been violently peeled from the abdomen. The blood was also mixed with a gruesome assortment of unidentified human tissues, including muscles, tendons, and several pieces of tissue suspected to be skin.

The pile of meat lay horizontally on the floor near the foot of the bed, presenting only the back of the head to the onlookers, yet even from this angle, his skinless cheeks were disturbingly visible.

Short, stifled screams and continuous dry heaves rippled through the group.

Those with slightly stronger constitutions turned pale, pursed their lips, their limbs stiffening. They turned away tremblingly, gasping for air, unable to bear the tragic sight within the room any longer.

The only two individuals who remained outwardly unmoved and displayed little reaction throughout the entire ordeal were Qin Yuan and Ding Yi.

Qin Yuan cast a brief glance at the scene, roughly assessing the nature of the monster in this instance, and then spent the remainder of the time observing Ding Yi’s reaction and expression at close range.

Interesting.

Emotionally stable, unfazed by blood, calm.

Qin Yuan suddenly felt a perverse curiosity about what kind of spectacle it would take to witness her break down, scream, and weep.

Was Ding Yi truly unaffected by this?

No.

She felt as though she were teetering on the brink of madness, her brain reeling in relentless cycles, her attempts at rational thought crashing repeatedly.

If someone were to ask if she was alright, she was certain she would burst into tears immediately.

She had always been a person who rarely displayed her emotions outwardly. Even when deeply affected, her turmoil remained internal. Her heart might be a tempest, but her face would remain expressionless, calm as usual.

This often led to misunderstandings in her daily life, with many perceiving her as an emotionless, fearless being.

“Y-you didn’t say we wouldn’t die?”

The girl with ink paste on her hand clutched her roommate tightly, supporting her weakening legs to prevent her from collapsing.

Ding Yi took a deep breath and pointed to a piece of debris near the top of the young man’s head. “Look at this.”

Qin Yuan, in a surprisingly good mood, raised his eyelids and glanced at the indicated spot, responding with unusual cooperation, “What is it?”

“That piece of skin, it should have been torn off when he was… torn apart,” Ding Yi closed her eyes briefly, silently reciting platitudes of prosperity and democracy in her mind. When she opened them again, the fresh wave of goosebumps had subsided. “There is a clear but incomplete lotus seal there. It was probably missed when he was hastily covering the mark yesterday.”

“Impossible, he used so much ink paste yesterday, his arms were completely covered, it was all greasy! How could it be…”

Ding Yi didn’t offer an explanation. She didn’t know how this deadly lotus seal could have been overlooked. She simply turned around, her legs feeling stiff, and slowly descended the stairs.

Steaming breakfast had reappeared on the long table on the first floor.

After a moment of hesitation, Ding Yi still walked to the long table and sat down, picked up a steamed bun, and slowly began to eat.

Qin Yuan, who followed closely behind, a hint of satisfaction curving the corners of his mouth at Ding Yi’s actions, sat down diagonally across from her. Without any visible aversion, he picked up a meat bun and ate it slowly and methodically.

The others, who had already rushed downstairs and were violently vomiting, their faces pale and their world seemingly turned upside down, frowned fiercely as they looked at the two figures sitting upright at the long table, calmly eating breakfast.

“Sister Ding Yi, are you alright?”

Yan Ming rushed to Ding Yi’s side, his face pale, and sat down close to her.

The carbohydrates provided a small anchor for her churning stomach. Ding Yi picked up another steamed bun and pressed it into Yan Ming’s hand. “Eat quickly. You won’t be afraid of anything when you’re full.”

After Ding Yi finished her steamed bun, she saw Jiang Xianqing, who was helping a shaky Feng Baiqiu downstairs, also waving for them to come over and eat breakfast quickly.

She had expected Feng Baiqiu to refuse food after witnessing the gruesome scene upstairs, but she took the steamed bun Ding Yi offered almost without hesitation and ate it in small, deliberate bites.

“It’s truly too tragic,” Jiang Xianqing said, closing her eyes and exhaling a long breath of stale air. This is the most tragic and most…”

“Speaking of which, there should have been some noise last night, but I honestly didn’t hear a thing.”

Jiang Xianqing swallowed the steamed bun in her mouth, quickly glanced at Qin Yuan, and then turned to look at Yan Ming and Ding Yi. “Did you hear anything last night?”

Speaking of the previous night, Yan Ming instantly recalled the shock of seeing Qin Yuan on the bed when he had opened his eyes. He glared at Qin Yuan with unconcealed vigilance and said in a very serious low voice, “Sister Ding Yi, did that man bully you last night?”

“I’m sorry, Sister, I slept too soundly last night. I’m not usually like this. I’m a very light sleeper. If it were any other night—”

“Last night?” Jiang Xianqing sensed a hint of gossip. “What happened last night?”

Ding Yi met Qin Yuan’s gaze and said, “A monster entered our room last night. If it weren’t for Qin Yuan, I probably wouldn’t be eating breakfast here with everyone.”

“What!” Yan Ming’s eyes widened again in disbelief.

Ding Yi nodded seriously towards Qin Yuan. “Thank you for last night.”

Qin Yuan offered no verbal response, simply placed the last bite of his bun in his mouth, rose, and walked back to the grand master’s chair. He sat down, crossed his legs, and rested his eyes again.

The remaining twelve Wishers quickly gathered in the lobby. Half of them chose to eat something, while the other half stood silently to the side, their faces pale and their heads drooping in shock and sorrow.

Before Yan Ming could inquire in detail about the previous night’s events, the tour guide, whose head had been partially smashed the day before, appeared completely healed outside the inn again. He waved the red flag in his hand with slightly stiff movements. “Dear tourists, welcome to Qingping Town.”

Except for Ding Yi, everyone in the lobby was not a newcomer. They reacted for only a moment before accepting the bizarre scene outside the door.

With the previous day’s experience, everyone mustered their courage and walked outside, even if they were still afraid.

The tour guide waved the red flag and walked in front, the phrases emanating from his mouth exactly the same as what they had heard yesterday.

Soon, under the tour guide’s direction, they arrived at the front of the oiled paper umbrella shop they had visited the day before.

The old man from yesterday was smoking a dry tobacco pipe, sitting outside the shop, his turbid eyes drooping, revealing only a few resentful glimmers when he spotted Ding Yi and Qin Yuan.

Just as they were all holding their breath, anticipating that the tour guide would once again lead them into the oiled paper umbrella shop, they found that the tour guide merely offered a brief introduction of the shop and continued to lead them forward.

After walking straight along the bluestone road for approximately an hour, the tour guide led them to a solemn and grand ancestral hall and stopped them.

“Okay, dear tourists,” the tour guide smiled again, revealing his unnervingly large mouth, “Now is free time. Everyone can stroll around here at their leisure and experience the local customs and history. I will come to pick you up before dark.”

“So, I wish you all a good time.”