Chapter 502: Casting a Gu

After solving the formation, the scene returned to normal. At this time we discovered that the parked Honda car was stopped ten meters from the cliff edge. If it weren't for Yao Wenju timely stopping Xiao Zhang's car, Xiao Zhang, whose vision was blinded by ghosts, would have driven the car straight off the cliff.

Speaking of Xiao Zhang, he lay at the other end of the car, less than half a meter away 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 Gates Corpse Puppet Formation is indeed formidable; the car and Xiao Zhang are so close to us, yet we kept circling the grounds, sensing not a clue.

Feeling wistful, I and Yao Wenju walked toward the Honda behind us.

Two Hondas were parked a few meters behind us, but likely everyone they brought has been killed. Corpses lie not far from the car doors, about seven or eight. All are elite hands picked by Yao Wenju, each having undergone special training. On the battlefield they might not claim to take on a hundred alone, but facing three is always doable.

Yet these elite hands all turned into icy corpses, their bodies blackened, wounded by bone puppets like Xiao Zhang, and poisoned by corpse toxin.

"Let's go to the Yang family and see what tricks they're up to," Yao Wenju said, glancing at the corpses on the ground, tossing his cigarette butt, walking to the last Honda and slipping into the driver's seat. I quickly opened the passenger door and jumped in. Wu Fei's sudden appearance made me feel things were odd; likely the Yang side also met with trouble.

I felt heavy-hearted, Yao Wenju's face also grim; she turned the wheel, pressed the accelerator, and sped forward.

"What are these bones scattered on the ground?" Yao Wenju asked, eyes on the window, puzzled.

Descending from the cliff edge, a thick bone was planted every few meters on the ground, its tip blackened, its base whitened, unlike ordinary bones.

"Oh, that's the cranial 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 rites it cannot dissipate, so this bone is the most resentful piece on a wronged soul. Looking at the bones outside the window, I explained slowly: 'The formation Wu Fei set up is similar to Ghost Blinding Eye. By arranging these cranial bones according to the pattern, the vengeful spirits on the bones feed off each other, creating a chain that confuses visual perception. Only, the vengeful spirits here are far stronger than ordinary Ghost Blinding Eye.'"

After I finished explaining the use of the cranial bone, Yao Wenju stopped speaking to me. Thinking about it, her industries were inexplicably attacked, many brothers died, and she herself was inexplicably schemed against, nearly losing her life; nobody would feel good about that.

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 she cut to one and a half hours.

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

Ye Qi came out of the room, seeing me she wasn't particularly surprised, and exchanged pleasantries: "Little Master Chen, you finished work and came back so fast; this must be your friend, right?" She glanced at Yao Wenju; apparently Ye Qi didn't know the Yao family.

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

"Sigh..." Ye Qi suddenly sighed, saying, "Ren Ge, Second Uncle, and Wang DaShi and his son had already gone to the Yang family ancestral tomb in the early hours this morning!"

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

"Naturally they went inside the tomb!" Ye Qi's face showed some sorrow, she said matter-of-factly: "Thieves entered the Yang family ancestral tomb through a robbery tunnel; Ren Ge and Second Uncle were worried about abnormalities in the Three Evil Stele inside, so they went to the tomb this morning."

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

Ye Qi's words shocked me greatly; Yang ShouRen had been shouting for battle and revenge last night, sparing no effort to avenge the Yang family, yet in an instant he dropped his grudge and shifted his focus to the Three Evil Stele.

"This... probably a trick! If nobody had been whispering in his ear, Yang ShouRen couldn't possibly have rushed to the Yang family ancestral tomb so soon after Yang Rui's seventh-day mourning."

Earlier I thought Ye Qi and Yang ShouYi merely wanted to stir up a feud between the Yang and Yao families to profit as a third party. But now this turn has left me thoroughly puzzled. The Yang family rushed into the ancestral tomb overnight; either Yang ShouYi intended to kill Yang ShouRen in the tomb, or the tomb holds something worth Yang ShouYi seeking.

In short, things are getting less simple and more complicated.

As my thoughts churned, I rested my chin on my hand, gazing thoughtfully at Ye Qi; if I hadn't learned of Yang ShouYi's deeds from Yao Wenju, if I hadn't seen their tryst myself, I might truly have been deceived by her worried expression.

"Right, Madam Yang, I haven't introduced you yet!" I pointed at Yao Wenju and emphasized: "This is the Yao family heir, Yao Wenju."

Yao Wenju merely gave a cold grunt, saying little. However, Ye Qi's expression quickly changed: first surprised, a flash of hatred crossed her fair face, and she lunged fiercely at Yao Wenju.

"It's you, you killed my son Rui; I'll fight you to the death." She grabbed Yao Wenju's collar, weeping and cursing while pulling.

"Madam Yang, don't panic!" I stepped forward to separate Ye Qi, then explained: "Madam Yang, hear me out: this Yao family heir is my friend. I invited him specially because I suspect there's more to this affair—likely someone is deliberately stirring trouble, driving a wedge between the Yao and Yang families so they can profit from their mutual ruin. Even Yang Rui's death, I suspect, is someone secretly manipulating events to frame the Yao family."

"What?" Ye Qi shuddered violently, swallowed, and exclaimed hoarsely: "What you say is true!"

After I nodded again to confirm, Ye Qi's face showed some hesitation; moments later she sighed wearily: "Forget it, I, a mere woman, don't understand these matters. You two should wait for my father-in-law and second uncle to come out before we continue; you've rushed over, surely you're thirsty—I'll go make two cups of tea for you."

Suddenly concerned for us, she hurried into the room.

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 my test of her. From start to now, my eyes never left her face. After learning Yao Wenju's identity, her eyes first showed surprise, then after the astonishment she forced a hint of hatred.

Although her anger and hatred were convincingly acted, the flicker of turmoil in her gaze and the way she clenched her handkerchief betrayed her guilt.

Moreover, a grudge over a murdered son cannot be dispelled by a few words, even with 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; Yao Wenju and I took them and nearly burst out laughing. Though the tea exuded the rich aroma of Dragon Well, when I lowered my head I saw no reflection in the cup.

No reflection in the tea proves it was laced with gu poison. Though the gu powder has been specially refined, tasteless and colorless, there are always telltale signs; the lack of reflection is one of them.

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

"Madam Yang, this tea is fine, smells fragrant!" I joked, feigning confusion: "I just don't get it—there's tea and utensils in the hall, why did you run back to the room to specially brew these two cups for us?"

Ye Qi's face flickered with bewilderment; obviously she hadn't expected my question. But her acting is superb; after the puzzlement she quickly came up with a seemingly plausible excuse, though it was as flimsy as citing a stone.

"What are you talking about, Little Master Chen? The tea in the hall is for ordinary guests. Master Yang and the Yao heir are honored guests—how could they drink common tea? If they drink, they must have the best." She kept her eyes on my cup, urging: "Little Master Chen, drink up—this tea is the high‑grade pre‑rain Dragon Well my Ren Ge had fetched from Hangzhou."

"High‑grade pre‑rain Dragon Well, honored guest… you call your son's killer an honored guest?" Looking at Ye Qi's tense face, I gave a meaningful smile.

"Your acting is impressive—may I ask which school you graduated from, Lanxiang?"