Based on the era, this photograph must have been taken at least eighty years ago. In those days, being able to afford a photograph was no small feat for an ordinary family.
Although naive, Ling Xiaoxiao was not foolish. The moment she saw the photo, many thoughts occurred to her.
The abbess Miaohui in the picture was not bald but wore the fashionable "huan yan wei" hairstyle of the time. She was dressed in an embroidered cheongsam, seated in a chair with an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes in her arms.
Behind her stood a tall young man in a Zhongshan suit, his posture erect. Although his face in the photo was scratched, his bearing and appearance suggested he was quite handsome.
"Is this man the unfaithful husband who abandoned my master's master? It seems my master's master had a good life in the mountains..."
The couple in the photo looked well-matched, and the happiness of the family of three seemed to spill out of the picture. Ling Xiaoxiao found it hard to believe that the man would truly abandon Abbess Miaohui.
Ling Xiaoxiao examined the photo closely and suddenly noticed a small detail.
Around the infant in Abbess Miaohui's arms hung a small piece of broken jade.
The jade was clearly a token, highly distinctive, and might serve to identify Abbess Miaohui's child in the future.
As Ling Xiaoxiao was flipping through the diary, she suddenly heard Yan Shouyi's voice from outside the Sutra Depository:
"Junior Sister Ling! Are you in there? If you are, please answer. I need to find you urgently!"
Ling Xiaoxiao put the photo back into the diary, held the diary, and peeked her head out from the window: "I'm here!"
"Come down and talk!"
"Okay!"
Ling Xiaoxiao, with light steps, "floated" from the second floor to the first. As soon as she stepped out of the Sutra Depository, before she could speak, Yan Shouyi asked:
"What did you discover?"
Ling Xiaoxiao quickly handed him the diary: "A major discovery! This is my master's master's diary!"
A diary?
Yan Shouyi was overjoyed. This diary must hold many secrets and could resolve most of his doubts.
He took the diary and quickly flipped through it, asking Ling Xiaoxiao:
"Does the diary specifically mention when Abbess Miaohui was abandoned?"
Ling Xiaoxiao remembered this. She replied, "I believe it was in 1928."
"1928..."
Yan Shouyi stopped flipping, calculated in his mind, and was stunned.
Eighty-seven years had passed since Abbess Miaohui was tragically abandoned!
This coincided with the time of death of the corpses in the back mountain!
He felt he was getting closer to the truth, but still lacked the most crucial direct evidence.
Perhaps the diary would reveal something!
He continued to flip, finishing the diary at the fastest possible speed. As he did, a black and white photograph fell out of the book.
Yan Shouyi's reflexes were swift, and he caught the photo before it hit the ground.
He glanced at the contents of the photo, not missing a single detail.
The next second—
"Found it..."
Yan Shouyi breathed a sigh of relief, like a high school student solving a complex math problem.
He now understood all the truth, but he felt no joy. His expression was complicated.
"Senior Brother Yan, what did you find?" Ling Xiaoxiao asked curiously.
"Alas, fate plays tricks on people!"
Yan Shouyi sighed and said to Ling Xiaoxiao, "You don't need to go to the Sutra Depository anymore. Continue looking for the Lotus Formation's core with Senior Brother Yan. I... I'm going to find my grand-aunt."
At this point, there seemed to be no need to hide it from the two elders.
Yan Shouyi's original plan was to quietly find Abbess Miaohui at the abandoned opera house after deciphering the grand Lotus Formation and kill her without giving her a chance to resist.
After all, his grandmother and the others didn't know Abbess Miaohui was still alive. Making them accept his master's fake death and corruption, and then relive the pain of separation, would be too cruel.
But the situation was different now. Yan Shouyi understood the truth and knew there was a chance for a turn of events, so his actions didn't need to be so extreme.
Ling Xiaoxiao pouted slightly, a hint of anger in her voice, and said seriously:
"Senior Brother Yan, as the future sect leader of Emei, what is it that I cannot hear?"
Yan Shouyi was taken aback by her words. Honestly, he still thought of Ling Xiaoxiao as a little girl and never considered discussing important matters with her.
However, Ling Xiaoxiao's proud demeanor now truly resembled that of an heir to the sect leadership.
Most people only mature after being hurt, which showed how much the annihilation of the Emei sect had changed Ling Xiaoxiao.
"Alright, then you go notify my grandmother and grand-aunt, and ask them to come to the back mountain as soon as possible."
"Sure!"
Ling Xiaoxiao smiled brightly and "floated" off to find Abbess Guanyun and the others.
Yan Shouyi, meanwhile, mounted Zhu Shanzao again, transforming into the Wrath of the North, and hurried back to the back mountain.
The skeletons in the back mountain were crucial evidence. He was afraid that something might happen to them in his absence.
Fortunately, when he returned, Zhuge Ji and the others were diligently guarding the site, and the thirteen skeletons had not been moved at all.
Zhuge Ji was currently analyzing the pre-death experiences of these skeletons with Yan Nanfei.
Zhuge Ji believed that there must have been a demon monk on Mount Emei in the past, and these skeletons were all "medicinal ingredients" for this demon monk's cultivation, as human sacrifices were not uncommon in history.
Yan Nanfei, on the other hand, believed that these children had gotten lost on the mountain while playing and had all starved to death. His theory was also plausible, as starvation was common in that era.
However, both lacked solid evidence and refused to yield to each other, continuing their argument.
Tian Jue'er was simpler. She squatted nearby, eating wild fruits freshly picked by Lele. With the first bite, juice spurted out. However, Tian Jue'er did not chew. After a few seconds of hesitation, she spat out the pulp and then gave Lele a beating.
Bah, this fruit didn't taste good at all!
Lele, with half a wooden fish on its head, took most of the blows for it.
Seeing Yan Shouyi return, they all stood up immediately. Yan Nanfei said:
"Brother Yan, regarding these skeletons, Zhuge Ji and I have different views. Would you like to hear them?"
Yan Nanfei, from the Kunlun Yan family, was skilled in Qimen Dunjia, while Zhuge Ji was an astronomer. Both were considered strategists, so they disliked each other and were determined to convince the other.
They had intended to ask Yan Shouyi to mediate, but Yan Shouyi waved his hand and said:
"You don't need to say anything more. I have confirmed the truth of the matter."
"Confirmed? How did you confirm it?" the two asked in unison, puzzled.
Yan Shouyi deliberately played coy: "I can't say yet. I'm waiting for two people."
"Who?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ling Xiaoxiao led Wen Yuxian and Abbess Guanyun to the scene.
Yan Shouyi's smile vanished: "The people are here."