Chapter 241: Narrow Escape from Death

Wherever there is deadly poison, within ten li there must be an antidote; this is the principle of yin-yang balance, mutual generation and inhibition. The tomb is damp and dark, so it will surely breed corpse qi, but likewise there must be a detoxifying spirit medicine called 'Return-to-Life Qi.' Just as everyone despaired, QingSongShu stroked his beard and murmured.

Hope sparked in everyone's hearts, but who would have thought QingSongShu would say: 'This Return-to-Life Qi only seeps out from the cracks in the coffin, yet the Yang family ancestor's coffin is made of bronze, which absolutely cannot have cracks, let alone contain Return-to-Life Qi.'

In an instant, darkness descended again.

'However, we are not without a sliver of hope.' Seeing everyone lower their heads, QingSongShu stroked his beard and smiled.

Everyone's emotions were tossed up and down by QingSongShu, alternating between despair and hope, hope then despair, then hope again—it was more thrilling than riding a roller coaster.

'Dad, if you have a way, just say it—you've got our emotions bouncing like bungee jumping, my little heart almost jumped out!' Pangzi rubbed his tear-filled eyes, grabbed QingSongShu's sleeve, and wiped his nose.

QingSongShu lowered his head, pondered for a moment, then lifted his head, furrowed his brows, and said: 'Hai Sheng, go over and inhale a bit of the Yang family ancestor's ashes.'

What? Let me inhale ashes—are you joking? I opened my mouth wide and didn't come to my senses for a while.

'Yes, go inhale the Yang family ancestor's ashes!' QingSongShu affirmed again. At that moment, Yao Wenju beside him suddenly frowned and said: 'The Yang family ancestor's ashes are strange.'

Everyone's gazes turned to him; Yao Wenju swept a glance over the crowd and said: 'According to common sense, the Yang family ancestor should have long turned to a pile of ash; even if the bones were intact, opening the coffin to the wind should have scattered them. Yet the ancestor's white bones are perfectly intact—doesn't that seem odd to you?'

Indeed, that's the case. When a person is buried, no matter how well the coffin is sealed, it cannot preserve the body as intact as the Yang family ancestor's. Even if a skeleton is visible when the coffin is opened, it would never be as robust as the ancestor's. Just now, Yang Shouyi actually lifted that skeleton with one hand, and when the skeleton was raised, none of its limbs fell off—how could that not be astonishing?

At that moment, an important thought struck me: why did Yang Shouyi smash the Yang family ancestor's skeleton into powder? Even if he truly hated the ancestor, there would be no need to deliberately do so.

Unless he knew something and thus wanted to cut off our retreat.

'Haven't you noticed? When we were moving things just now, the whole person was completely intact, no different from usual. Corpse poison acts swiftly; even if it takes time to invade a person's extraordinary meridians, it surely couldn't drag on this long, right?' Yao Wenju frowned, then added: 'Unless the Yang family ancestor had already blended the antidote for corpse poison into his own body.'

'Enough with the nonsense—if we keep thinking, we'll all get killed. Let's just try it, Hai Sheng, you go out.' Pangzi finished speaking, and before I could react, he kicked me out.

With a thump, I traced a semicircular arc in the air and landed in a dog‑eating‑mud pose onto the pile of the Yang family ancestor's ashes.

'Damn it, you fat bastard, once I get out I'll beat you to death!' The moment I realized I was airborne, I knew Pangzi had tricked me again. Everything happened so fast and violently that by the time I came to, my mouth had already swallowed the Yang family ancestor's ashes.

'Cough cough...' I gripped my throat hard, trying to spit out the ashes I'd swallowed. I often hear people talk about snorting white powder, but I'm not snorting white powder or inhaling ashes—I'm eating ashes, which is disgusting.

I gripped my throat and strained to vomit, but the next moment I was stunned. I felt no discomfort at all; instead, my breathing grew smoother and my mind cleared.

QingSongShu was indeed correct—the Yang family ancestor had truly fused the corpse‑qi‑dispelling spirit medicine, Soul‑Returning Incense, into his own body, leaving a sliver of life.

It seems we all forgot that the Yang family ancestor was also a cultivator; most cultivators possess a compassionate heart, and when they set up formations or cast spells they always leave a sliver of life, never cutting off all hope.

'Don't just enjoy yourself—hand it over quickly, we can't hold out much longer!' Pangzi leaned against the coffin's edge and shouted in anguish.

I dared not hesitate; I quickly scooped up a handful of ashes and held it before everyone.

Everyone inhaled the ashes as if snorting white powder; what left me speechless was that Yao Wenju took a bit, dispelled the corpse poison, then wrinkled his nose and said, still wanting more: 'Is there any left? Give me another bite.'

'Damn, this isn't white powder—snorting more does no good. Wrong, snorting white powder does no good either!' I stared speechlessly at Yao Wenju; even inhaling ashes could become addictive.

'Enough talk, Hai Sheng, go bring some of the outside things inside, then we'll rotate who goes out.' QingSongShu glanced over the tomb and instructed me.

I ran to the outside of the coffin, carrying the jewels inside the tomb one by one back out; when the weight was about right, I swapped Pangzi out, rotating replacements, and finally got everyone out.

QingSongShu led the way, Pangzi carried the heart‑broken, ash‑faced Yang Shouren. I supported the mad Ye Qi in the middle, Yao Wenju brought up the rear, following the tomb's path to the outer cave mouth.

'Actually, I should have realized from the start that the Yang family tomb has no Three Slaughter Stelae at all. These three naturally carved Dao caves are the true stelae formation of the Heaven‑Earth‑Human Three Slaughters.' QingSongShu gazed at the cave behind him and sighed from the heart.

The Yang family ancestor's methods were indeed heavenly, ingeniously binding the Three Slaughters and the offender‑teacher earth together. So‑called Three Slaughter Stelae actually coexist with the earth; as long as the spirit‑form is not destroyed, the stelae endure. The saying 'feng shui only three, the earthly cycle's thirty‑year legacy' may be the ancestor's warning to descendants not to exhaust the spiritual land's earth qi.

'Mr. Yao, please take Xiaoqiang back with Brother Yang and Madam Yang; I and Hai Sheng will stay behind to finish a few things.' QingSongShu turned to Yao Wenju and said.

Although no one understood what QingSongShu intended to do by staying, Pangzi and Yao Wenju still carried Yang Shouren and Ye Qi toward the Yang family's direction.

After everyone had left, I asked QingSongShu: 'Uncle, what are we staying for?'

QingSongShu didn't answer me, but said: 'Just follow me.'

We walked into the forest at the mountain's base, and QingSongShu, like a conjurer, pulled two sheets of yellow paper from his waist pocket, tearing one into the shape of a paper person and the other into a paper crane.

Then QingSongShu took a small bunch of someone's hair—whose, I don't know—threaded it through the paper person's mouth, and wrote a name—again, whose, I don't know.

When QingSongShu closed his eyes and began chanting the spell, I already knew what this technique was.

'Paper Crane Soul‑Seeking Technique?' Using a paper crane to locate the person sought is similar in principle to how Yao Wenju tracks the gray‑clothed Pangzi, except Yao Wenju's method is a bit odd, merely swifter.

But who is QingSongShu chasing now?

As the paper crane rose, I and QingSongShu closely followed it as we ran out. In the end, QingSongShu hoisted me onto his back and walked in the crane's direction, for I was utterly exhausted.

We ran all the way down the mountain; the paper crane came to rest in QingSongShu's hand, he hailed a taxi, and he directed the driver according to the crane's turning.

I, meanwhile, couldn't help but doze off in the car and fell asleep. There was no way around it—I had expended too much spiritual power in the Realm of Ease, and my spirit was utterly drained.

'Hai Sheng… wake up,' QingSongShu tapped my face.

'Ah, have we arrived?' I opened my bleary eyes.

'Not yet, let's get off first,' QingSongShu paid the fare and led me out of the car. Only then did I realize we had arrived at a remote village lane, and night had already fallen.

'Uncle, can you tell me who you're looking for?' I raised my head doubtfully and gazed at QingSongShu's face. Not looking would have been fine, but upon looking I jumped in fright. QingSongShu's face showed tension, plus some hesitation and reluctance. It seemed that, despite my age, this was the first time I'd seen QingSongShu wear such an expression.

Who exactly are we chasing? The Yang family has suffered such a huge incident, yet QingSongShu actually managed to spare time to pursue him?