Although Luo Ning's words were not flawed, for some reason, Yan Shouyi and Lu Jing both felt a sense of exasperation.
The mocking expression on this woman's face was clearly her way of retaliating against Yan Shouyi for embarrassing her earlier!
So Yan Shouyi pressed on:
"You really don't know?"
Luo Ning shook her head decisively: "I really don't know."
Lu Jing, lacking patience, sighed:
"It seems we need to plan this further. At worst, I'll go through the ancient texts again and see if I can fully understand the Sha Transmigration Array."
But Yan Shouyi was still not convinced, his eyes full of suspicion: "Luo Ning, this matter is no small thing. Don't pretend to be oblivious."
Only then did Luo Ning reveal a sliver of her hand:
"I am merely a Corpse Herder, and I don't even know if I'll live for many more years. What do the lives and deaths of Rongcheng's citizens have to do with me? I won't gain anything even if I speak."
As soon as she said this, Yan Shouyi's suspicion was confirmed.
Luo Ning did indeed know about the Sha Transmigration Array!
Although Zhong Qi treated Luo Ning as a chess piece, even a chess piece must be a useful one.
Therefore, Zhong Qi had imparted almost all of his lifelong knowledge to Luo Ning, including what he knew about the Sha Transmigration Array.
It was just that Luo Ning, this woman, had no living relatives in this world, and was thus unburdened.
To get anything from her, one had to pay a price.
Lu Jing exclaimed indignantly: "This concerns the lives of the common people. If you stand by and do nothing, and chaos ensues, a portion of the karmic debt will be on your head!"
"I don't care!" Luo Ning shrugged. "I've already become a Corpse Herder in this life. Can the next life be any worse than this?"
Luo Ning had always believed that becoming a Corpse Herder was a form of punishment.
This was because those who herded corpses, crafted paper effigies, or were descendants of Lu Ban, all had to endure various misfortunes.
Only after experiencing these could one truly understand the preciousness of ordinariness.
If Luo Ning had a choice, she would rather be an ordinary girl, graduate from an ordinary university, marry an ordinary man, have an ordinary child, and live a peaceful life.
Yan Shouyi sighed and said:
"Tell me the Bai family's next target, and I can give you some of my blood."
"Oh? This offer seems rather good. I'll consider it."
Luo Ning licked her lips, her expression quite interested.
The blood of a Heavenly Fiend Corpse Puppet could be used to raise zombies, making them far more powerful than ordinary ones.
She didn't think for too long before nodding in agreement.
She then took out a strange insect.
This insect was no larger than Yan Shouyi's little finger, entirely milky white and emaciated, with two white teeth growing from its head.
Luo Ning twirled the little insect in her hand and smiled, "First, the delivery."
"You're not losing out at all!" Yan Shouyi shot Luo Ning a look.
"First of all, we're not even friends, so there's no trust between us. What I have in hand is mine," Luo Ning replied pragmatically.
"Alright, then let's not waste any more time."
Yan Shouyi recognized the little insect in Luo Ning's hand.
It was called a Blood Leech, a type of Gu worm bred by the Miao frontier Gu tribes.
Its ability was to absorb blood and store it within its body.
Despite its small size, it was quite thorough when it came to sucking blood.
Luo Ning placed the Blood Leech on Yan Shouyi's arm. The little creature found a spot of softer skin and bit down.
Yan Shouyi's brow furrowed slightly as he endured the pain.
His blood was being rapidly drawn by the Blood Leech.
The Blood Leech, originally no larger than a little finger, quickly grew in size, and its pale body turned blood red.
Yan Shouyi could even see his own blood flowing within it.
In a short while, the Blood Leech grew to the size of his palm, plump and resembling a gourd.
Its blood-sucking speed slowed down, indicating it had reached its limit.
Luo Ning patted the Blood Leech's body and said, "If you can suck more, do so. Don't be stingy with yourself."
Yan Shouyi angrily retorted, "Are you treating me like a buffet?"
The Blood Leech finally released its mouth when it could no longer suck any more.
It was estimated that in one go, it had absorbed at least 400cc of Yan Shouyi's blood.
Yan Shouyi rubbed his wound, his powerful self-healing ability quickly making the injury disappear.
Luo Ning collected the Blood Leech and then quietly took out a second one.
"That's enough, don't tell me you actually want to drain me dry?" Yan Shouyi grumbled.
Even though he was a Heavenly Fiend Corpse Puppet, his blood was different from a wound; it still took time to regenerate.
Besides, buffets didn't allow takeout.
"So stingy..." Luo Ning looked at Yan Shouyi with disdain.
Lu Jing interjected, "You've taken the blood, now it's time to talk about the Sha Transmigration Array, right?"
"May I ask the name of this senior?" Luo Ning asked.
"Why ask so many questions? Just answer when you're told!" Lu Jing's temper remained as fiery as ever.
Luo Ning smiled and, not wanting to waste any more time, directly opened a map on her phone.
"Regarding the Sha Transmigration Array, my master did conduct some research on it. Rongcheng has many places with heavy miasma, and numerous locations suitable as array eyes. However, the most suitable ones are Ping'an Building, Shanghang Art School, and the Liu family in Guling. Following that would be... well, you should be able to guess. Rongcheng only has three Ghost King families. The Liu family is gone, and the Bai family wouldn't destroy themselves, so the next target naturally has to be the Li family of West Lake, right?"
Her finger landed on the large expanse of blue water to the northwest of Rongcheng.
That was West Lake in Rongcheng, the ancestral home of the Li family, a Ghost King family.
Yan Shouyi and Lu Jing exchanged a glance. They were not surprised by this answer.
Even though they had their suspicions, they still needed confirmation.
Otherwise, what if it wasn't them, and they had wasted their efforts?
"The Bai family and Lu Mountain's plan cannot be stopped, so the Li family of West Lake will soon be in danger," Lu Jing said with a grave expression.
"How about we go warn them in advance?" Yan Shouyi suggested.
Lu Jing shook his head. "That's just treating the symptoms, not the root cause. If the Bai family doesn't target the Li family, they'll find other options. My suggestion is that we should join forces with the Li family and set a trap to ambush the Bai family when they least expect it!"
"That's also a viable plan," Yan Shouyi nodded in agreement.
However, he still had some personal grievances with the Li family.
Well... strictly speaking, these grievances were not small.
Although the waters of West Lake had gradually recovered during this period, the lesson Yan Shouyi had taught the Li family had not faded.
The faces of the Li family members were probably still aching.
It wouldn't be easy to get the Li family to cooperate with him against the Bai family.
Therefore, he suspected that Lu Jing would have to be the one to initiate talks about uniting with the Li family.
Just as Yan Shouyi was about to voice his inconvenience, Lu Jing spoke first:
"Yan Shouyi, could you go and talk to the Li family?"
Yan Shouyi's face was filled with embarrassment: "I have some conflicts with the Li family, so it might be inconvenient for me to get involved."
"Then that's a coincidence. I also have conflicts with the Li family," Lu Jing said, taken aback.
Luo Ning watched from the side, amused: "You two might as well discuss your respective conflicts with the Li family and see whose conflict is more serious. The one with the lesser conflict doesn't have to go to the Li family."
Yan Shouyi said, "I cut off the water supply to the Li family of West Lake, which could be considered damaging their feng shui. Furthermore, I was previously engaged to the eldest daughter of the Li family, but I broke off the engagement. I also exposed the fact that the eldest daughter was not their biological child."
Luo Ning commented: "That is indeed a grave grievance. If I were a member of the Li family, I would want to hack you to pieces upon seeing you. Old man, what about you?"
Lu Jing glared at Luo Ning. "Who asked you to be the judge?"
Luo Ning stuck out her tongue and leaned back, indicating she wouldn't say any more.
Lu Jing sighed, "The son of the Li family's ancestor once committed evil deeds outside, and I sent him to hell."
Yan Shouyi: "..."
Alright, he had merely offended the Li family's pride, while Lu Jing had directly sent their ancestor's son to hell.
It seemed that Lu Jing's situation was more severe than his own.
Luo Ning couldn't help herself: "It seems the old man has the upper hand. Yan Shouyi, this task falls to you."
"If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute," Yan Shouyi said grumpily.
Lu Jing patted Yan Shouyi on the shoulder:
"Don't worry, I won't be idle either. I have quite a few people in the Lu Mountain sect. When it's time to set the ambush and counter-attack the Bai family, my disciples will also lend a hand."
"Then thank you in advance, Elder," Yan Shouyi said with a sigh.
"Alright, if there's nothing else, you can get out of the car. I still have some unfinished business," Lu Jing said.
Impatient, this old man was truly impatient.
Yan Shouyi and Luo Ning got out of the car, and Lu Jing quickly drove away.
Luo Ning turned her head to look at Yan Shouyi. "Do you have a place to sleep tonight? How about coming to my place..."
"Scram!" Yan Shouyi angrily retorted. "Don't you think I know what you're thinking?"
"I'm merely lusting after your body," Luo Ning said innocently.
Indeed, her words were not entirely false.
However, her interpretation of "lusting" was slightly different.
Yan Shouyi suspected that if he fell asleep, Luo Ning would dissect him for research.
Or perhaps tie him up and bleed him dry.
Therefore, sleeping with Luo Ning was absolutely out of the question, even if she only wanted to compete with Lin Zitong.
Luo Ning snorted, expressing her dissatisfaction with Yan Shouyi's distrust.
Yan Shouyi didn't care what this woman thought. He asked:
"In the past few days that I was away, did you gain anything from tracking Principal Zhong?"