Chapter 236: Chapter Thirty-Six: Again Seeing the Sunlight

"Sorry, I really didn't mean to, I couldn't control myself just now." After Yao Wenju understood what had happened, he helped me up with remorse.

"Actually, this has nothing to do with you; just now we both fell into that illusion." I coughed twice, propped myself on the ground and used the force to sit up.

"What exactly is this strange place? Why did I see…" Yao Wenju's face showed a pale look of lingering fear; he paused, then hesitated and swallowed the words he was about to say.

I asked: "What did you see?" Actually I was also curious in my heart why he was so angry and uneasy.

He stood silently for a long time before saying: "I saw Yirong die."

Yao Wenju must have suffered greatly in the Ruyi Realm; compared to him, I should be considered comfortable.

"This is the Buddhist Sect's Ruyi Realm, infinitely magnifying a person's desire and also infinitely destroying a person's psychological bottom line. Money, power, beauty—everything is here." I explained to Yao Wenju: "It's like a primer, slowly seeping into your heart, releasing the demons inside. Whatever you most desire, it gives you; whatever you most fear losing, it personally destroys what you cherish."

En, Yao Wenju spat out the talisman that had been placed under his tongue with a puff, and looked at me with interest, saying: "I'm curious how you got out of this Ruyi Realm. Could it be that your heart is really that strong?"

Yao Wenju must never have encountered the Ruyi Realm before; besides Murong Jiaojia, I think few people in recent times have seen this strange phantom form. However, Yao Wenju wasn't overly surprised; evidently, his experience is quite broad.

"Hehe!" I rubbed my nose and smiled, not answering, but instead asked Yao Wenju a strange question.

"Have you ever tried, you clearly dislike a person, dislike a certain habit of theirs, but later you end up becoming just like them."

To my surprise, Yao Wenju showed no surprise at all, but instead nodded for the first time.

"I know, you're talking about lovers, brothers. It's like you and Little Fat—you dislike his sleaziness, yet unconsciously you begin to become sleazy yourself." Yao Wenju bluntly stated the key point.

Once a girl told me: I hate it when my boyfriend lifts his knees while eating, so I never do that. But once I happened to eat at her house, I found she also lazily lifted and curled her knees while eating.

Once a southern friend, in front of me, criticized his friend: "He's great in every way, except he loves spicy food; if his meal lacks chili, he's unhappy, making me sit far away when we eat together, or else I'd tear up." But at a meal half a year later, I saw him running to ask the waiter for chili, the very spicy kind, saying he'd gotten used to eating like that, it stimulates his appetite, and if a day's meal has no chili, he feels no appetite.

Friends, brothers, lovers—when you dislike someone's habit, but after long-term interaction, you occasionally look back and find you've mutually absorbed each other's habits, a gesture, a temperament, coming to like what they like, even though you once disliked it. Because, in living, you've actually long ceased to be distinct; you contain him, he contains you. Joy and pain, likes and dislikes, all blend and are shared between you.

I'm very fortunate to have Pangzi, such a sleazy but steadfast brother in my heart; without him, I think I might have completely lost myself and been unable to escape this illusion.

"Let's not talk about that; let's first think about how to find a way out!" I gazed at the dim Bronze Mausoleum around me, and a deep sense of helpless fatigue rose within me. This tomb, besides being strange and full of invisible dangers, is also like a maze with countless twists and turns.

"That big cockroach probably hasn't gone far; if we walk a bit more, we should be able to find him." Yao Wenju retied Ye Qi to his waist, glanced at my severe injury, and asked with concern: "Can you still walk?"

I shook my head and said I was fine, just that my meridians were slightly injured, walking was no problem. However, as I struggled to stand up, I still felt soreness all over, my chest too, as if something were pressing on me, making it hard to breathe.

We searched everywhere for the Tomb Lord's traces, and found him in a dark corner of the Bronze Mausoleum, but the result disappointed us.

The corpse guarded by the Tomb Lord was not that of the Yang family ancestor; we don't know whose it is, but it's just a pile of white bones with nothing beside it.

"Ah, my dead-headed brain, how did I forget this!" I smacked my head hard, then recalled that although the Tomb Lord has a habit of clinging to the dead, the Yang family's ancestor certainly didn't die holding a grudge, so how could he be related to the Tomb Lord's vehicle?

"Don't blame yourself; let's walk around—maybe we'll spot some clues about this tomb." Yao Wenju patted my shoulder and comforted me.

I nodded and said helplessly: "That's all we can do." Just as we turned around, about to step out, a whoosh sounded and a red shadow flashed before my eyes.

"Chase..." The red shadow startled me greatly—crimson, with only one leg—clearly it was the soldier Ri Hui under the command of the Meishan Witch Goddess Han Duo.

Yao Wenju and I quickly gave chase and captured that Ri Hui; despite my fatigue I forced myself to exert strength, drawing a Vajra Circle to keep him securely inside.

"Ri Hui, a mountain spirit's form—how could this thing be here?" Yao Wenju also recognized its origin.

I grunted an assent and said: "These are Han Duo's troops; I suspect she is also working for Yang Shouyi. Now that we've captured this soldier, I think we should be able to find Uncle and the others."

Having said that, I suddenly froze in shock—this is Han Duo's troops. If Han Duo had come to the Yang Family Mausoleum, then these troops ought to be staying by her side. Troops fleeing or scattering, in my experience, only appear when the master dies or the command flag is destroyed while the master suffers grave injury.

"Could it be that Han Duo has already clashed with QingSongShu?" I considered this possibility; the more I thought, the more uneasy my heart became. One Han Duo is no threat to QingSongShu, but if we add a lurking Yang Shouyi in the shadows, then this matter is far from simple.

I anxiously said to Yao Wenju: "Brother Wen, Pangzi and the others might already be in trouble. Your spiritual power is still sufficient—quickly draw a fire-related talisman and strike Ri Hui with it."

Although Yao Wenju didn't understand why I was doing this, he had no hesitation; without a moment's doubt he drew a Samadhi Fire talisman in his hand and flung it at Ri Hui.

Ri Hui took a palm strike, his already feeble body becoming even more insubstantial; at that moment I seized the chance to imprint a palm on his forehead.

Mountain spirits' forms are usually unruly and hard to tame; although Han Duo's command flag might have been destroyed, I still dared not underestimate the backlash of this mountain sprite, so I had Yao Wenju strike him again to wound him further before moving to subdue him.

Chanting the words of the Recall Troops Spell, I began trying to communicate with Ri Hui spiritually; the process went smoothly, and since Ri Hui was very weak, he offered no resistance.

"Lead me to find your original master, Han Duo." I gave the command to Ri Hui.

However, what I didn't expect was that, when I spoke those words, Ri Hui began to glare at me angrily, and the soldier's seal I had imprinted on his forehead almost broke free.

"Check!" I shouted and quickly tapped again. This Ri Hui is ultimately not my troop; subduing him is only temporary. But why does he glare at me with such anger?

I think it's worried I might harm its master.

"I never expected that although Han Duo is money-grubbing, the troops she commands are so loyal!" I took a breath and, trying to sound confusing, told Ri Hui: "I am not Han Duo's enemy; I am her friend. Your original master is in danger, and I have come to help her."

Han Duo encountering danger is a certainty; if she hadn't faced danger, these troops wouldn't be injured and fleeing. In my estimation, the one who wounded Han Duo should be QingSongShu. Only QingSongShu striking her could cause such severe injury instantly.

Under my persistent confusion, Ri Hui finally lowered his guard, his expression dull as he walked into the tomb's interior.

"Follow it; it can lead me to Pangzi and QingSongShu." I finally breathed a sigh of relief, but as my mind relaxed, the aftereffects hit— the world spun and I collapsed to the ground. Fortunately Yao Wenju steadied me, otherwise I would have collided violently with the earth.