Yan Shouyi did not let Lin Zihong deal with Luo Ning, not out of protection for Luo Ning, but because he guessed that Luo Ning's identity was unusual.
Lin Zihong also gave Yan Shouyi considerable face. The hand that had already formed a mudra was lowered, but her eyes warned Yan Shouyi: If you don't give me an explanation today, I'll still deal with this little b*tch later.
Yan Shouyi broke out in a cold sweat and said,
"At the end of the fox demon incident, I used the Soul Tracking Technique to communicate with the corpse wrangler behind the scenes. That corpse wrangler was not the one before us, but their techniques were inherited from the same lineage."
"So what?" Lin Zihong pouted. The intelligent woman already had an answer in her heart but still asked.
"Keeping her is useful."
Having said that, Yan Shouyi turned to Luo Ning and asked, "You have someone above you, don't you? Let me guess... that person should be your master, and he's waiting for us on the 44th floor right now!"
Luo Ning was shocked, not expecting Yan Shouyi to be so prescient.
In fact, ever since he discovered that Ping'an Building was related to the Guo family of Meng, Yan Shouyi had linked Wei Ge's death with the corpse wrangler. And it was not impossible for the corpse wrangler to seek revenge on him for disrupting their plans before.
Therefore, this entire incident was a trap set by that corpse wrangler.
Using Zhou Mingyuan's body to kill Wei Ge, and then deliberately leaving clues to lure Yan Shouyi to the 44th floor of Ping'an Building.
It was likely that the corpse wrangler had already laid a trap on the 44th floor, waiting for Yan Shouyi to fall into it.
Yan Shouyi narrowed his eyes and said, "Your master knows he's no match for me, so he set a trap in Ping'an Building for me to walk into. But he was worried I wouldn't go up, so he sent you to the 34th floor to swap the stinky girl, to lure us up. Am I right?"
A flash of surprise flickered in Luo Ning's eyes, then she pretended to be disdainful, turning her head away, "It's all your wishful thinking."
"Looking at her, what you said is likely true." Xia Zhi said from the side.
Xia Zhi, a police officer graduated from a prestigious university, had long studied criminal psychology and behavior. She could tell at a glance whether Luo Ning was lying or not.
Her darting eyes and disdainful expression were signs of a guilty conscience, indicating that Yan Shouyi's deduction was not wrong.
Having her disguise exposed by Xia Zhi, Luo Ning became somewhat flustered.
Her meticulously crafted trap had long been seen through by Yan Shouyi. The puppet she sent had been defeated by Lin Zihong. Even Xia Zhi, the least capable of them, could see through her little scheme at a glance.
At this moment, Luo Ning felt like she was being ganged up on by the three of them.
"It seems my guess was correct." Yan Shouyi chuckled.
Luo Ning said coldly, "So what if you guessed it? My master has set a trap on the 44th floor. Do you dare to go up and cause trouble for him?"
This question hit the nail on the head. Lin Zihong also frowned and asked, "Are we still going up?"
"Yes, why not?" Yan Shouyi laughed heartily. "His disciple is in our hands, so what if there's a trap?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Zihong and Xia Zhi suddenly understood.
No wonder Yan Shouyi wanted to keep Luo Ning.
It turned out he wanted to use Luo Ning as a hostage to negotiate with the corpse wrangler on the 44th floor!
Luo Ning's expression also changed. It was only then that she understood her predicament!
Xia Zhi pointed at Xiao Xiaodao and the unconscious Lily and asked, "What about them?"
Big Niu was already dead, Lily was still unconscious, and Xiao Xiaodao was just an ordinary person. If they brought these burdens to the 44th floor, it would surely affect Yan Shouyi and the others.
But if they sent them down again, who knew what other incidents might occur.
Yan Shouyi smiled and shouted into the mirror, "Hey you, protect these two for us. If they lose even half a strand of hair after we return from the 44th floor, I will hold you responsible!"
In the mirror, the image of the red-clothed ghost slowly appeared and bowed respectfully to Yan Shouyi, "This girl understands."
After all, Yan Shouyi had helped the red-clothed ghost deal with her nemesis, so the red-clothed ghost had to give him some face.
However, Xiao Xiaodao did not have the courage. Seeing the red-clothed ghost again, he turned pale and his hair stood on end, on the verge of fainting.
"B-b-big brother, don't leave us with this female ghost. Big Niu was killed by her!"
Yan Shouyi comforted him, "Don't worry, she won't dare to touch you again. If you're still uneasy..."
Yan Shouyi whistled, and San Yuan flew out, landing on his shoulder.
"San Yuan, stay and protect them."
San Yuan nodded obediently.
Xiao Xiaodao questioned, "Can this little wooden bird protect us?"
Hearing this, San Yuan suddenly opened its mouth and spat out a bolt of lightning, which struck in front of Xiao Xiaodao. Startled, Xiao Xiaodao immediately sat on the ground and kept retreating.
Yan Shouyi petted San Yuan's head and said, "San Yuan's body contains one hundred Palm Thunder Talismans. Don't underestimate its strength."
Luo Ning on the side secretly marveled. The little wooden bird San Yuan not only possessed consciousness and could sense the aura of ghosts, but it also stored one hundred Palm Thunder Talismans within its body.
The true power of a descendant of Lu Ban lay in these craftsmanship skills.
For some reason, Luo Ning began to worry. Perhaps the meticulously set trap by her master was not worth mentioning in Yan Shouyi's eyes.
Leaving San Yuan behind, Yan Shouyi and the other two brought Luo Ning and re-entered the elevator.
As soon as the elevator door closed, Yan Shouyi asked Lin Zihong, "What happened when the elevator lost power just now?"
Lin Zihong played with the soul-calling bell in her hand and replied, "A corpse sack puppet entered the elevator and stuffed me inside. I couldn't make a sound for a while, and only later did I find an opportunity to break free from the corpse sack."
A corpse sack, as the name suggests, was a human-skin puppet made by a corpse wrangler after hollowing out a corpse.
Corpse wranglers usually chose large corpses to make corpse sacks. The finished puppets were hollow inside, allowing the corpse wrangler to directly enter the corpse sack to avoid external harm. The corpse sack could also act independently, but it had no self-awareness, merely being a puppet of the corpse wrangler.
Powerful corpse sacks were impervious to blades and water, and fire. When the corpse wrangler entered one, it was like wearing a flesh-and-blood steel suit.
Lin Zihong being able to break open the corpse sack from the inside showed that she indeed had some skill. It was a pity that Yan Shouyi was not present to witness Lin Zihong's prowess.
Lin Zihong said it lightly, but Yan Shouyi understood the danger and difficulty involved, so he said softly,
"The wooden watch I gave you is connected to my thoughts. If you encounter danger again next time, press the button on the side of the wooden watch, and I will come to your rescue."
"Hmph, don't forget, I am a direct disciple of the head of the Lu Shan Sect. Do I need you to save me?" Lin Zihong retorted stubbornly.
Xia Zhi sighed, not expecting to have to consume Yan Shouyi and Lin Zihong's affection in Ping'an Building.
If Long Feicheng had been there to share some of it, Xia Zhi wouldn't be feeling this upset now.
As for Luo Ning, ever since she was brought into the elevator, she had remained silent, clearly contemplating how to escape. Xia Zhi knew what Luo Ning was thinking, so she simply ignored the affection between Yan Shouyi and Lin Zihong and focused her gaze on Luo Ning, making Luo Ning feel uneasy.
The elevator slowly ascended.
This time, no further incidents occurred. After numerous twists and turns, Yan Shouyi and the others finally reached the 44th floor of Ping'an Building...