Chapter 231

"Chen Xiaoshifu, what are you saying? I can't understand you at all!" Ye Qi was still pretending to be crazy and acting foolish.

I sneered: "Stop pretending, I've seen everything about you and Yang Shouyi."

This time, Ye Qi's complexion completely changed, turning deathly pale.

I dumped the water from the tea out, stared at Ye Qi and demanded: "Speak, what conspiracy did you and Yang Shouyi have before? What was the point of stirring up the feud between the Yang and Yao families? Also, Yang Shouren brought my uncle into the ancestral tomb—was it you and... fuck."

While I was loudly questioning Ye Qi, having finally managed to act imposing, who knew she would suddenly lash out, pulling out a small knife from somewhere and stabbing at my face. However, Ye Qi's killing posture is very unprofessional: a thrust should target the heart, a slash should target the neck.

Even as a graduate of Lanxiang Vocational School, it's not impressive—at least this assassination method wouldn't even count as a low‑level hitman.

You say, stabbing someone in the face can easily kill them? At most it would just blind an eye or cut the lip. Besides, my reflexes are decent—I ducked and avoided it.

Yao Wenju promptly grabbed Ye Qi's wrist, then struck her neck with the back of the knife, knocking her unconscious.

"What are you doing, knocking her out so fast!" By the time I reacted, Ye Qi had already fainted in Yao Wenju's arms. I had originally planned to beat something out of her mouth, but now that she's unconscious, the plan is ruined.

"Didn't you say you weren't allowed to knock him out? Injuring someone naturally means hitting the vital spots—how can you not even know this basic common sense?" Yao Wenju's gaze absolutely said I'm an idiot.

Me: "……." You're awesome, you've had professional training—you're the real Lanxiang School graduate.

After sweating in embarrassment for half a minute, I decided not to argue with Yao Wenju, turned my back to him, and ran straight to the large bed in the hall, flipping over Yang Rui's corpse to examine it.

"What are you messing with? What's there to see in a dead body?" Yao Wenju stared at me, puzzled and confused.

I frowned and said: "Yang Rui died from the lethal influence of killing qi entering his body, but I feel it's not that simple. Killing qi entering the body can be caused by the sand and water of a yang residence, but it's also not ruled out that someone forcibly poured killing qi into Yang Rui's body, creating the false appearance of killing qi entering the meridians."

I carefully felt the area between Yang Rui's occiput and neck, finding a tiny protrusion. Looking closely, it was a small black dot, as fine as a needle prick—likely the mark left by a silver needle piercing through.

The black dot's location is exactly the Fengfu acupoint in medicine, the best passageway for wind and cold yin qi to enter. Having this tiny black dot on the Fengfu point naturally makes me suspicious.

"Go, get me a box of matches!" I stared at Yang Rui's neck and ordered Yao Wenju.

After the matches were brought, I lit one and placed it near the black dot, but before it even got close, it went out with a whoosh. The second and third matches were the same.

This proves the black dot emits heavy killing yin qi, strong enough to extinguish stray sparks. I said no wonder QingSongShu had suspicions—he must have noticed the clue early on.

"What are you doing? I feel like you're the Yang family's vengeful spirit—you won't even let a corpse rest." Yao Wenju poked me in the back.

"Don't worry about that—just think about how to settle 'Madam Yang'!" I gave him a sideways glance. Ye Qi absolutely cannot stay at the Yang household; otherwise, when we return, she'll likely have escaped. But bringing her along feels like a hassle—if she wakes up midway, she could sneak‑attack us, or inexplicably pull out her little knife and stab us; even if we aren't hurt, it would be a real pain.

"Don't worry about that! Watch me—I guarantee she'll sleep soundly and cause no trouble." Yao Wenju placed Ye Qi on a stool, pressed his three fingers respectively on her Yintang and Yuyao points, and began chanting under his breath.

Not long after, two mist‑like masses floated up from Ye Qi's body, then her head lolled to the left and she collapsed. Immediately, Yao Wenju grasped the two mists with both hands and drew them into his palms.

"What are you doing, collecting Ye Qi's hun and po… uh!" That bastard actually shoved Ye Qi's soul and spirit straight into his mouth!

"Don't overreact—I'm not eating Ye Qi's hun and po; this is my Yao family's secret soul‑collecting technique. Unless you pry open our mouths, you can't retrieve the soul of someone who has lost it." Yao Wenju explained to my doubtful self.

I gulped, swallowed my saliva, and stared curiously at Yao Wenju, blinking my eyes: "Does it taste good?"

Yao Wenju licked his lips and said, "Not salty, not sweet, with a slightly yin‑cool feeling, like mint!"

Sweat…… Is the soul really that flavor?

"What are you doing, let go of the lady!" I was still sweating in embarrassment when a Yang family servant burst into the hall. Seeing his master seized by Yao Wenju, he naturally gasped in shock, then tore at his throat and started shouting for reinforcements.

"You handle them, I can't watch!" I ran to the table, picked up an apple, wiped it, and put it in my mouth.

In front of the hall, a large group of bodyguards and servants quickly gathered, surrounding Yao Wenju. Before the bodyguards could even utter their tough talk, Yao Wenju suddenly struck—his moves were as fast as lightning.

His kung fu is no worse than Pangzi's, and in fact it's arguably much better—he took down the Yang manor's guards and servants in just a few moves. Carrying Ye Qi on his back and leading me, he marched off proudly.

Following my directions, Yao Wenju drove the car to the foot of the Yang ancestral tomb mountain. Then I walked ahead, he carried Ye Qi on his back, and the three of us went up the mountain together.

"Hey, I say you really brought 'Madam Yang' into the tomb. You know we're entering a grave—frankly, it's no different from grave‑robbing. Aren't you afraid that some danger might crop up and kill Madam Yang?" Watching Yao Wenju get out of the car still carrying Ye Qi, I was speechless for a while.

"It's precisely because we fear danger that we can't abandon Madam Yang. No matter what, having her with us gives us at least a bargaining chip!" Yao Wenju fully displayed his merchant nature at that moment.

Having ascended the mountain and arrived at the Yang ancestral tomb, Yao Wenju gazed at the landscape of the Yang ancestral graves and clicked his tongue in wonder: "No wonder the Yang family is in this state today—it turns out their ancestors were buried in such a feng shui blessed spot."

"Brother Wen, if I were you, I wouldn't waste time lamenting—I'd think about how to get into the tomb!" I strode straight toward the thief's tunnel where I had first spotted the masked person.

Logically, this thief's tunnel is very likely the passage into the interior of the tomb. But after learning everything Yang Shouyi has done, I no longer dare to be certain that this tunnel actually leads into the tomb.

Perhaps that masked person was merely a decoy, never having entered the depths of the Yang ancestral tomb at all. His purpose was simply to create the illusion of emerging from the tomb, thereby providing a respectable excuse to enter it openly.

Just in case, Yao Wenju and I spent over half an hour walking around the perimeter, carefully examining the surroundings.

As it turned out, we found that the passages weren't limited to this one; besides the northwest corner, there was also one each on the south and southwest sides—each very concealed but clearly man‑made thief's tunnels. In other words, up to now we have discovered three tunnels that are very likely to lead into the Yang ancestral tomb interior.

QingSongShu and his group probably entered the Yang ancestral tomb through one of these three thief's tunnels—but which one?

While I was puzzling over it, Yao Wenju lit a cigarette beside me and lazily sighed: "The Yang family is really unlucky—ancestral graves have been dug up three times in a row. Yang Shouren is also utterly unfilial; he hasn't even filled in these tunnels, which practically invites others to break in."

Yao Wenju's seemingly offhand remark sent a sudden jolt through my heart.

Exactly, according to common sense, the Yang ancestral tomb couldn't possibly have been robbed that many times. Moreover, I believe tomb‑robbing earth‑masters aren't that stupid—they wouldn't ignore an existing entrance and foolishly dig another. Furthermore, if it were anyone else, a family grave robbed repeatedly would not be left unattended and unfilled.

Feeling wary, I ran to the entrance of one of the thief's tunnels and examined it closely. Even before entering, a stone tablet half‑buried in the dirt at the mouth caught my eye.

I brushed away the dirt, looked at the stele, and felt the carving was somewhat familiar. After thinking it over and gradually recalling the origin of the inscription, I was utterly shocked and blurted out: "Damn, this is actually the Threefold Gate."

Yao Wenju looked at me, bewildered and clueless: "Threefold Gate? What's that? I don't read Han Han's novels."

Me: "……." Fuck, I'm talking about the Threefold Gate in feng shui and occult arts—it has nothing to do with that novel!