Ye Huohuo opened her eyes and saw that the large coffin which had been placed in the middle of the basement just moments ago had vanished without a trace. The cement platform, half a meter high, was completely bare, as if nothing had ever been placed on it.
"This... could it be that Miao Feng teleported away with such a large and heavy coffin?" Lu Yao jumped onto the cement platform, looking around in disbelief. She walked back and forth several times, then looked up at the surroundings. Indeed, Miao Feng and the large coffin had disappeared into thin air.
"How is that possible? From what I've heard, teleportation can only transport oneself to a location. It's not even possible to take another person, let alone such a large and heavy coffin! How could it teleport away? It's impossible!" Ye Huohuo fumbled around on the cement platform but found nothing.
She would rather believe that the platform had a mechanism than believe that Miao Feng could teleport away such a large coffin.
Zuo Qingya's brows furrowed slightly. Without a word, he began pacing slowly in the basement, as if strolling leisurely, but his sharp gaze systematically swept across the surroundings.
"By the way, Junior Uncle, why did you happen to arrive to save us today?" Lu Yao's peripheral vision remained fixed on Zuo Qingya as she asked, seemingly casually.
However, her tone was slightly elevated, and her voice carried an irrepressible joy, betraying her pretense of nonchalance.
Ye Huohuo also shifted her gaze to Zuo Qingya, as this was also her own question.
She wouldn't have been surprised by anyone else's arrival tonight, but she had never expected Zuo Qingya to show up. Besides the overwhelming joy, she also felt a sense of confusion. She had wanted to ask all along but couldn't bring herself to do so. After all, as his fan, she was rather nervous about asking her idol such a direct question. Moreover, she had calculated that Lu Yao, with her straightforward personality, would inevitably speak up, so she was happy to let Lu Yao take the lead.
Zuo Qingya remained still, his gaze still scanning the surroundings. Just as Ye Huohuo and the others thought he wouldn't answer, he finally spoke, "I've been keeping an eye on this detention center for some time. It was purely coincidental that I was able to arrive in time today."
"Junior Uncle, you've been paying attention to this detention center for a while? Why?" Ye Huohuo put aside her fan's trepidation. In the face of serious matters, she could still maintain a basic level of composure.
Lu Yao also jumped down from the cement platform, clearly wanting to know the answer to this question as well.
"Over two months ago, while observing the celestial phenomena at night, I sensed a persistent dark energy in this direction. So, I cast a divination. The divination revealed a millennium-old demonic entity residing here. Coincidentally, the Qin family of Longcheng, ah, that is your second senior brother's family," Zuo Qingya said softly, glancing at Ye Huohuo.
Ye Huohuo's heart pounded as he glanced at her. She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
"Ah, Lu Yao mentioned that to me before. I haven't thanked you for helping my second senior brother's family resolve their predicament," Ye Huohuo felt her face flush, her ears also burning.
"It's nothing. It's not just fellow cultivators, but ordinary people as well. We cultivators should help whenever we can. Don't give it a second thought. I happened to be descending the mountain and subsequently rented a place near the detention center in secret to observe the activities here," Zuo Qingya's expression showed a hint of hesitation at this moment.
Ye Huohuo, with her sharp eyes, immediately noticed the abnormality. Zuo Qingya was no ordinary person; for him to display such an expression indicated that the matter was by no means simple. "Junior Uncle, is something wrong?"
Zuo Qingya shook his head, then nodded again. "It's hard to say. For the past period, whenever I used my qi-observing technique on this place, it always appeared peaceful, with no trace of the dark energy I saw that day. I had previously inquired about the situation here. People would occasionally commit suicide here, with the common explanation being suicide out of fear of punishment. But we cultivators all know that regardless of the reason for suicide, the deceased harbored deep resentment. That resentment would linger where they took their own lives, even transforming into malevolent spirits to plague the area. However, having lived nearby for over a month, I've never sensed even a trace of sinister energy. This is truly inexplicable. Even if it hadn't formed into malevolent spirits, there should at least be lingering resentment, but in reality, there was nothing. The more I felt something was amiss, the more I entered to investigate the source under the cover of night every few days. And tonight, during my investigation, I discovered dark energy emanating from the northwest corner. Although it was very little, I still discovered it. So I came in to check, and unexpectedly encountered you two being attacked by that Miao Feng. Fortunately, I arrived in time, otherwise, the two of you would now be ashes and ice, dead beyond salvation. You two are truly audacious. Don't you know to act within your capabilities? Without knowing the opponent's strength, shouldn't the most important thing be to ensure your own safety first, and then seek help? You've only learned a few days of Taoist magic and think you're invincible? If you don't change this temperament, you'll surely cause great trouble and be unable to protect yourselves sooner or later."
Towards the end, Zuo Qingya's tone was like that of a senior lecturing his juniors. Ye Huohuo suspected that if he had a long beard like those on television, he would be stroking it while scolding them.
"Junior Uncle, we were wrong. We didn't expect to encounter such a formidable character here. Regardless, it's thanks to Junior Uncle's timely intervention, otherwise, our lives would have been in danger." Ye Huohuo put on a well-behaved appearance, her eyes sparkling with affection as she looked at Zuo Qingya.
"But it's really strange. You said Miao Feng just ran away, so why did she have to take that bulky coffin with her? And what kind of Taoist magic did she use to take such a large box with her?" Lu Yao was still fixated on the large coffin.
"I think you're just reluctant to part with the good stuff inside the coffin, after all, there might be a prime Soul-Guiding Talisman, which is a rare and precious talisman treasure," Ye Huohuo added.
Lu Yao immediately felt embarrassed. "Hey, weren't you also interested in that blood-robed vengeful spirit?!"
The two began to bicker with each other.
"Enough. I didn't expect that what I've been investigating for over a month is less clear to me than what you two have figured out in the past day or two," Zuo Qingya interrupted them. "By the way, you mentioned the blood-robed vengeful spirit. No wonder I saw dark energy swirling here before. Where is that ghost?"
Zuo Qingya's words were like a wake-up call. Ye Huohuo and Lu Yao had been so captivated by Miao Feng's story that they had forgotten their original purpose for coming here. That's right, since they entered, the blood-robed vengeful spirit had not reappeared. If her soul was absorbed back into the seal, then what about the formation or talisman that sealed her? Could it also be in that coffin?
Ye Huohuo shared her speculation with Zuo Qingya, who also fell into deep thought. "If what you say is true, then the coffin contains not only the formation or talisman you mentioned, but also something else..."