Chapter 503: with translation of chapter title

"What are you saying, Little Master Chen? I can't understand you!" Ye Qi was still pretending to be crazy and acting foolish.

I sneered: "Stop pretending, I've seen everything between 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? And, did you and... holy shit, did Yang Shouyin bring my uncle into the ancestral tomb?"

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 was very unprofessional: a thrust should aim for the heart; a slash should aim for the neck.

Even as a graduate of Lanxiang School, it's pathetic—this assassination method isn't even up to the level of a low‑rank killer.

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

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

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

"Didn't you say not to knock him out? When hurting someone, you naturally aim for the vital spots—how can you not even grasp this basic common sense?" Yao Wenju's gaze was clearly saying I'm an idiot.

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

After sweating and feeling embarrassed for half a minute, I decided not to argue with Yao Wenju, turned my back to him, and ran straight to the big 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 corpse?" Yao Wenju stared at me, baffled.

I frowned and said: "Yang Rui died from lethal qi entering his body and overcoming him, but I feel it's not that simple. Lethal 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 lethal qi into Yang Rui's body, creating the false appearance of qi entering the meridians."

I carefully felt the area between Yang Rui's occiput and neck, and found 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 dot's location is exactly the Fengfu acupoint in medicine, the best passageway for wind and cold qi to enter. Finding this tiny black dot on the Fengfu point inevitably made me suspicious.

"Go, get me a box of matches!" I said, staring at Yang Rui's neck, ordering Yao Wenju.

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

This proves the black dot emits a heavy yin lethal 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 jabbed me in the back.

"Don't worry about that—think instead about how to properly place 'Madame Yang'!" I gave him a sideways glance. Ye Qi absolutely cannot stay in the Yang household; otherwise, when we return, she'll likely have escaped. But taking her along feels like a burden—if she wakes up midway, she could sneak‑attack us, or inexplicably pull out her knife and stab us; even if we weren't hurt, it would be a hassle.

"Don't worry about that! Watch me—I guarantee she'll sleep soundly and cause no trouble." Yao Wenju laid Ye Qi on a stool, placed his three fingers on her Yin Tang and Yu Yao points, and began chanting.

Not long after, two mist‑like clusters drifted from Ye Qi's body, then her head lolled to the left and she collapsed. Immediately, Yao Wenju grasped the two clusters 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 straight into his mouth!

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

I gulped, stared at Yao Wenju, blinked curiously, and asked: "Does it taste good?"

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

Sweat…… Is that really what a soul tastes like?

"What are you doing? Let go of the lady!" I was still feeling embarrassed 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, wiped an apple, and popped it into my mouth.

In front of the hall, a large group of guards and servants quickly gathered around Yao Wenju. Before the guards could even utter their threats, Yao Wenju sprang into action, moving as fast as lightning.

His skill was no inferior to Pangzi's, and in fact he was even more formidable—he took care of the Yang manor's guards and servants in just a few moves. Carrying Ye Qi on his back and leading me, he marched off.

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

"Hey, I say you really brought 'Madame Yang' into the tomb. You know we're entering a grave—frankly, it's no different from tomb‑robbing. Aren't you afraid something dangerous might happen and end up killing Madame Yang?" Watching Yao Wenju get out of the car still carrying Ye Qi, I was speechless for a moment.

"It's precisely because there might be danger that we can't abandon Madame Yang. No matter what, having her gives us at least a bargaining chip!" Yao Wenju fully displayed his merchant's instincts at that moment.

Having ascended the mountain and arrived at the Yang ancestral tomb, Yao Wenju gazed at the landscape of the 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 auspicious feng shui spot."

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

By rights, this thief's tunnel is very likely the passage into the burial chamber. 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 just a decoy, never having entered the depths of the Yang ancestral tomb at all. His aim was merely to create the illusion of emerging from the tomb, thereby providing a righteous pretext for openly entering it.

Just in case, Yao Wenju and I spent over half an hour wandering 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 another very concealed but clearly man‑made thief's tunnel to the south, and another to the southwest. In other words, so far we have discovered three tunnels that are very likely to lead into the Yang ancestral tomb.

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

While I was puzzling over this, 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 Shouyin is truly unfilial; he hasn't even bothered to fill in these tunnels, which practically invites others to break in."

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

Exactly—by common sense, the Yang ancestral tomb couldn't possibly have been looted that many times. Moreover, I believe the grave‑robbing earth‑masters aren't that stupid; if there's an open entrance they'd use it instead of foolishly digging another. Besides, if anyone's family tomb had been robbed repeatedly, they wouldn't just ignore it and leave it unfilled.

Feeling wary, I ran to one of the tunnel entrances 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 a moment of recollection, I was utterly shocked and blurted out: "Damn, this is actually the Threefold Gate."

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

Me: "" Fuck, I'm talking about the Threefold Gate in feng shui occult arts—what the hell does it have to do with that!