Chapter 230

After breaking the formation, the scene returned to normal. Only then did we notice that the parked Honda car was ten meters from the cliff edge. If Yao Wenju hadn't timely stopped Xiao Zhang from parking, the Xiao Zhang under the ghost‑blinding spell would have driven straight off the cliff.

Speaking of Xiao Zhang, he lay at the other end of the car, less than half a meter from us, but his whole body had turned black, corroded by toxin, and he had become an icy corpse.

The bewildering power of the Eight‑Gate Corpse Puppet Formation was indeed formidable; the car and Xiao Zhang were so close to us, yet we kept circling the grounds, sensing not a hint of anything.

Feeling a sigh inside, I and Yao Wenju walked toward the Honda behind us.

Two Hondas were parked a few meters behind us, but likely everyone who came with them had already been killed. Corpses lay not far from the car doors—about seven or eight. All were elite fighters hand‑picked by Yao Wenju, each having undergone special training. On the battlefield they might not claim to take on a hundred alone, but handling three opponents each is certainly doable.

Yet every one of those elite fighters had turned into an icy corpse, their bodies blackened, slashed by bone puppets like Xiao Zhang, and poisoned with corpse toxin.

"Let's go, to the Yang family—I want to see what trick they're playing," Yao Wenju said, glancing at the corpses on the ground, flicked away his cigarette butt, walked to the last Honda, and slipped into the driver's seat. I quickly opened the passenger door and jumped in. Wu Fei's sudden appearance made me feel things were getting serious; likely something had also happened on the Yang side.

My mood was heavy, Yao Wenju's face also darkened; she turned the wheel, stepped on the accelerator, and sped forward.

"What are these bones on the ground?" Yao Wenju asked, looking out the car window with puzzlement while driving.

After descending from the cliff edge, a thick bone was planted every few meters on the ground; its top was blackened, its tip whitened, unlike ordinary bones.

"Oh, that's the crown bone, a piece of bone at the back of the skull. If someone died unjustly or harbors resentment, that resentment rushes to the top of the head and gets stuck; without a rites of passage it cannot dissipate, so this bone is the most resentful part of a wronged spirit's body." Looking at the bones outside the car window, I slowly explained: "Wu Fei's formation is similar to the ghost‑blinding spell. By arranging these crown bones according to the formation, the vengeful qi on the bones will mutually generate and link, thereby confusing people's visual senses. Only, the vengeful qi of these fierce ghosts is far stronger than that of ordinary ghost‑blinding."

After I finished explaining the use of the crown bone, Yao Wenju stopped speaking to me. It's understandable—his properties were inexplicably attacked, many brothers died, and then he was inexplicably schemed against, nearly losing his life; anyone would feel awful about this.

Yao Wenju drove the car, reaching over 100 speed on the country road, all the way to the Yang family gate; what should have been a three‑hour trip was cut by him to one and a half hours.

After entering the Yang manor, the threshing field remained, and Yang Rui's corpse was still there; however, QingSongShu and his son, as well as the Yang brothers, were gone.

Ye Qi walked out of the room; seeing me, she showed little surprise and exchanged a polite remark: "Oh, Master Chen Xiao, you finished your business and came back so quickly—this must be your friend." She glanced at Yao Wenju; it seemed Ye Qi did not know the Yao family.

I despised him deeply inside, but kept a calm exterior as I asked, "Where did everyone go?"

"Sigh..." Ye Qi suddenly sighed, saying: "Older Brother Ren, Second Uncle, and Master Wang Da and his son had already gone to the Yang ancestral tomb in the early hours of this morning."

"They went to the Yang ancestral tomb—what are they doing there?" I wondered.

"Naturally, to enter the tomb!" Ye Qi's face showed a hint of sorrow as she said matter‑of‑factly: "Thieves entered the Yang ancestral tomb through a robbery tunnel; Ren and Second Uncle were worried that the Three Evil Steles inside might be abnormal, so they went to the tomb this morning."

Speaking of this, she sighed again with feeling: "After all, this concerns the lives of the entire Yang clan; if we continue to ignore it, the Yang family will only see more lives needlessly sacrificed."

Ye Qi's words gave me a great shock—Yang Shou Ren had been shouting for battle and revenge last night, sparing no effort to avenge the Yang family, yet in an instant he let go of his hatred and shifted his focus to the Three Evil Steles.

"This… probably a trick! If nobody had been whispering in his ear, Yang Shou Ren could not possibly have rushed to the Yang ancestral tomb so hastily before Yang Rui's seventh day had even passed."

Earlier I thought Ye Qi and Yang Shou Yi merely wanted to stir up a feud between the Yang and Yao families to profit as a bystander. But now this sudden turn has left me thoroughly puzzled. The Yang people rushed into the ancestral tomb overnight—either Yang Shou Yi intended to kill Yang Shou Ren in the tomb under cover, or the tomb contains something worth Yang Shou Yi seeking.

In short, this affair is getting less simple and more complex.

With my thoughts twisting and turning, I rested my chin on my hand, gazing thoughtfully at Ye Qi. If I hadn't learned about Yang Shou Yi's deeds from Yao Wenju, and if I hadn't personally witnessed their secret meeting, I might indeed have been deceived by the worried expression on her face.

"By the way, Madam Yang, I haven't introduced him yet!" I pointed at Yao Wenju and deliberately spoke loudly: "This is the Yao family heir, Yao Wenju."

Yao Wenju merely gave a cold grunt, saying little more. However, Ye Qi's expression changed quickly—first she was startled, then a flash of hatred crossed her fair face as she lunged fiercely at Yao Wenju.

"It's you, you killed my son Rui; I'll fight you to the death!" she shouted, grabbing Yao Wenju's collar and crying while pulling at him.

"Madam Yang, please don't panic!" I stepped forward to separate Ye Qi, then explained to her: "Madam Yang, hear me out—this Yao family heir is my friend. I invited him specifically because I suspect there is more to this matter; someone may be deliberately stirring trouble, driving a wedge between the Yao and Yang families so they can reap the benefits while both sides lose. I even suspect Yang Rui's death was orchestrated behind the scenes to frame the Yao family."

"What?" Ye Qi was violently shocked, swallowed her saliva, and exclaimed in disbelief: "What you say is true!"

After I nodded again to confirm, Ye Qi's face showed a hint of struggle; moments later she sighed wearily and said in a tired tone: "Forget it, I, a mere woman, don't understand these matters. You two should wait for my father and second uncle to come out before we continue; you've rushed here, you must be thirsty—I'll go inside and pour two cups of tea for you."

Suddenly she became very concerned about us, rushing into the room in a hurry.

Yao Wenju and I exchanged a smile, quietly watching to see what trick Ye Qi would pull next.

Introducing Yao Wenju to Ye Qi was originally a test of hers. From start to now, my eyes never left her face. After learning Yao Wenju's identity, the first thing that flashed in her eyes was surprise; after the astonishment she forced a hint of hatred.

Although her anger and hatred were acted out convincingly, the flicker of confusion in her gaze and the way she clenched her hands around a handkerchief completely gave away her nervousness.

Moreover, a grudge for killing one's child cannot be dispelled by a few words, even if there are doubts; yet Ye Qi forgave Yao Wenju almost instantly. If there were no "ghost," who would believe it?

Soon Ye Qi brought out two cups of tea from the room; Yao Wenju and I took them and almost laughed till our sides hurt. Though the tea exuded the rich fragrance of Longjing, when I lowered my head I saw no reflection of myself in the cup.

No reflection in the tea proves that someone has poisoned it with gu. Although the gu powder has been specially refined, it is tasteless, colorless, and odorless; still, there are always certain telltale signs. The lack of reflection in the tea is one of them.

Ye Qi really treats us as novices just out of the gate, playing this house‑pretend game—is she putting on a show for monkeys, or does she simply not take us seriously?

"Madam Yang, these tea leaves are quite good—just smelling them brings fragrance!" I joked, feigning confusion: "But I don't understand why, when the hall clearly has tea leaves and utensils, you ran back to the room to go through the extra trouble of brewing these two cups of tea for us."

A flash of blankness crossed Ye Qi's face—obviously she hadn't expected my question. But her acting is superb; after the blank look she quickly came up with a seemingly sufficient excuse, though it was as flimsy as citing a stone.

"Master Chen Xiao, that's not how it works—the tea in the hall is for ordinary guests. Master Yang and the Yao heir are distinguished guests; how could they drink ordinary tea? If they drink, they must have the best." She fixed her gaze on the hand holding my cup, urging: "Master Chen Xiao, drink up—this tea is the fine pre‑rain Longjing that my elder brother Ren had someone purchase from Hangzhou."

"Fine pre‑rain Longjing, distinguished guest… you call your own son's killer a distinguished guest." Looking at Ye Qi's tense face, I gave a meaningful smile.

"Your acting is quite good—may I ask which school you graduated from, Madam Yang? Is it Lanxiang?"