Everyone made way, leaving space for Lin Zhitong, while Yan Shouyi and Ma Jinxuan held flashlights for her.
Lin Zhitong gently cupped the snake-shaped lock, examining it with care.
In truth, Lin Zhitong was not only smart and beautiful but also very discreet. She generally wouldn't get involved in matters she wasn't confident about.
But this time was different. When she saw the snake-shaped lock from the side, she felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if she had seen it somewhere before.
"Did you figure anything out?" Ma Jinxuan asked.
However, Lin Zhitong did not answer Ma Jinxuan. Instead, she softly closed her eyes.
At the same time, the skull imprint in Lin Zhitong's palm reacted, emitting a faint light.
Yan Shouyi watched from the side and knew that Lian He had come out to help.
Lian He must have used all her strength to suppress the spread of the蛊 poison within Lin Zhitong, even unwilling to communicate with Yan Shouyi. But now Lian He had reacted again. Could it be that she knew how to break the snake-shaped lock?
"Brother Yan..."
Long Feicheng patted Yan Shouyi on the shoulder but was surprised to find that Yan Shouyi had also closed his eyes.
What was going on?
You two couldn't just fall asleep whenever you wanted!
Besides, it wasn't the time to sleep. If you both fell asleep, who would protect me!
Long Feicheng was a little scared, so he subtly stood in front of Yan Shouyi, deliberately preventing everyone from noticing that Yan Shouyi had fallen asleep.
He then blustered, "My sister-in-law is a direct disciple of the former sect leader of Lushan Sect. Lushan Sect is skilled in ghost control techniques. It's likely that sister-in-law has traversed a thousand years in her soul to find the locksmith who forged the snake-shaped lock to ask for the unlocking method! Everyone, don't disturb her, be quiet..."
Hearing Long Feicheng's words, which sounded so plausible, everyone obediently fell silent. They even took several steps back, afraid of disturbing Lin Zhitong and Yan Shouyi.
Only Long Feicheng was panicking inwardly, unsure of how long he could maintain the deception.
If they discovered that Yan Shouyi and Lin Zhitong had lost consciousness, the Ma siblings would be fine, but Boss Zhou might cause trouble.
"Brother Yan, sister-in-law, please wake up!" Long Feicheng said silently in his heart.
...
Yan Shouyi had indeed fallen asleep, and it had happened quite suddenly.
The last time, the Taoist priests from Shengxian Temple had used Dream-Inducing Incense to make Yan Shouyi fall into a deep dream.
But this time, for some unknown reason, Yan Shouyi had entered it hazily.
He saw the familiar courtyard and the familiar ginkgo tree, but there was no general playing a flute under the tree.
Thinking that he was still in King Jian's tomb in reality, Yan Shouyi couldn't help but feel anxious.
Although he didn't know how he had gotten here, if he wanted to get out, he would probably have to find the general.
So, he walked into the courtyard, calling out for the general.
Yan Shouyi knocked on the door from outside, but no one responded. The door was not locked and opened by itself with the wind.
He stood outside the door and immediately saw the scale armor placed in the corner of the room. The scale armor was covered in knife and sword marks, weathered and battered, but it was precisely this kind of scale armor that was full of stories.
Even though it was now lying in an unvisited corner of the wilderness, Yan Shouyi could still feel the pride emanating from it.
Arrogant.
Challenging!
"Why are you here?"
At this moment, the general's voice came from behind Yan Shouyi. Yan Shouyi turned his head and saw the general, dressed in coarse clothes, riding a white horse into the courtyard.
After he dismounted, the horse turned into smoke and disappeared.
Yan Shouyi asked curiously, "Is there anything outside the fence? Where have you been?"
The general replied, "Everything outside this courtyard is my memory. I can go anywhere I want, but there is no one there."
Yan Shouyi still couldn't quite understand the general's words.
He remembered his predicament and quickly said, "I don't know how I got in, and the me in reality is likely still in danger. Can you tell me the way back?"
"No need to rush," the general said unhurriedly. "Time passes much slower here than in reality. Why don't we go inside and finish the story we left unfinished last time?"
"This..."
Yan Shouyi was reluctant to stay here, but he had no other choice.
It seemed the general had been lonely for too long and really wanted to chat with him.
Moreover, Yan Shouyi suddenly thought of Jiang Wusheng, whom Lian He had mentioned. He realized that the general might be able to answer questions about this person.
So, he nodded in agreement and followed the general into the small house.
The general set down his sword, sat in the main seat, and brewed Yan Shouyi another cup of the same tea.
It was this cup of tea that Yan Shouyi had drunk last time, which had guided him out of the dream.
After brewing the tea, the general slowly asked, "Where did we leave off last time?"
"We were talking about the Grand Tutor of Qing Jiang Kingdom chasing us."
"Right."
"But I have another question now," Yan Shouyi interrupted. "Do you know Jiang Wusheng?"
The general seemed to have prepared his narrative, but he didn't expect Yan Shouyi to deviate from the script and ask another question.
However, Yan Shouyi mentioning Jiang Wusheng's name seemed to pique the general's interest.
He nodded and said, "Jiang Wusheng was the Grand Priest of Qing Jiang Kingdom, a disciple of the great demon, the Grand Tutor, and his most favored subordinate."
Yan Shouyi was startled. He hadn't expected Jiang Wusheng to have such a significant background.
"When the Grand Tutor was chasing us, Jiang Wusheng was the one who exerted the most effort. If we talk about him, the story would be a long one."
"Jiang Wusheng was not originally surnamed Jiang. He wasn't even from Qing Jiang Kingdom, but from Yu Shu Kingdom. It is said that when he was born, crows cawed on the roof beams for three days and three nights, and they couldn't be driven away. Thus, the people of Yu Shu Kingdom considered him an ominous person. From childhood, they found various excuses to bully him, which led to Jiang Wusheng's timid and inferior personality."
"As Jiang Wusheng grew up, the relationship between the two countries became increasingly tense, and he was in the prime of his youth. He was conscripted into the army and sent to the front lines. In the military camp, the weak Jiang Wusheng was still looked down upon by his tent mates. They would urinate on his face at night, put cockroaches in his food, and even strip off his pants and throw him into the fire."
"Jiang Wusheng suffered countless grievances in the military camp. Before he even fought on the battlefield, he became a deserter and fled to the army camp of my Qing Jiang Kingdom. However, the soldiers of Qing Jiang Kingdom also despised deserters and were about to execute him on the spot. Who would have thought that Jiang Wusheng would directly change his surname and say that he would surely be loyal to Qing Jiang Kingdom."
"At that time, the Grand Tutor happened to be in that military camp. Upon learning of Jiang Wusheng's situation, he walked out of the barracks and found Jiang Wusheng, who was about to be executed. The Grand Tutor told Jiang Wusheng that to show his loyalty, he needed a token of fealty. As long as Jiang Wusheng dared to return to Yu Shu Kingdom and kill all his relatives there, the Grand Tutor would take him as a disciple, teach him supreme arts, and grant him wealth and honor that would last ten lifetimes, and most importantly—no one would ever look down on him again!"
"The Grand Tutor's words planted a seed of evil in Jiang Wusheng's heart. He had been ostracized and bullied his whole life. This time, he seemed to see hope! So, he returned to Yu Shu Kingdom, slaughtered all thirteen of his relatives in his home, and pulled out all their intestines. He hung them around his neck, wrapped them around his waist, and rode back to the Grand Tutor overnight!"
"The Grand Tutor also did not expect Jiang Wusheng to have such courage. He then transformed those thirteen relatives' intestines into thirteen snake-like ghosts. These snake-like ghosts became the first set of fangs in Jiang Wusheng's hands! From then on, Jiang Wusheng became a disciple of the Grand Tutor, learned evil arts from him, and repeatedly achieved merit on the battlefield and in the court, eventually becoming the Grand Priest of Qing Jiang Kingdom!"