Chapter 188: Lock Butterfly

What we didn't expect was that, in the late night, a black silhouette appeared silently on the balcony of Tang Xun's room.

The visitor was a tall, thin man dressed all in black, with especially agile movements.

He quickly came to Tang Xun's bedside, and his gaze toward her was full of self-reproach.

"Tang Xian, you finally showed up."

Tang Tang obviously knew the man before her.

As soon as Tang Xian appeared, Tang Tang's emotions collapsed instantly; she rushed over, raised her hand and started hitting his arm, not using much force: "Why did you take so long to come!"

"A week ago, the Sect Leader sent me on a mission elsewhere." Tang Xian said, "It wasn't an important mission, but the Sect Leader insisted I go myself, and only when I returned did I learn that the Sect Leader had met with trouble."

As soon as Tang Xian said that, we all immediately understood: Tang Xun had intentionally sent him away so she could go down to the tomb herself.

Tang Tang asked, "Aunt Tang raised you to be her most capable assistant, trusting you completely—why did she single you out to be sent away in this matter?"

"I don't know either." Tang Xian analyzed, "But I think she might have known going into the tomb would be dangerous, and if I'm not mistaken, she went to that ancient tomb from a few years ago."

Tang Tang frowned: "A few years ago? Which one?"

"Four years ago, the Hu Shan Ancient Tomb." Tang Xian recalled, "After the Sect Leader came up from underground that time, she inexplicably fell ill with a hysteria—do you remember?"

Tang Tang thought for a moment and then remembered: "I remember! How could I forget? After Aunt Tang came back that time, she lay sick in bed for many days, then actually started sleepwalking, which made me afraid to sleep for days, guarding her day and night until Uncle Huo prescribed a calming-heart divine medicine, after which Aunt Tang recovered."

Tang Xian nodded: "Exactly, that time the Sect Leader went into the Hu Shan Ancient Tomb alone, and after coming out she ordered that none of us dare step near the Hu Shan Ancient Tomb again, or else be expelled from the Tang Sect and never be hired again."

It seems the Hu Shan Ancient Tomb is indeed perilous.

But for Tang Ao's sake, Tang Xun went without hesitation.

Who would have thought this time would be ten thousand times more dangerous than before.

That's all the information Tang Xian could provide; he even said, "If needed, I can make a trip to Hu Shan to search for that tomb."

Tang Tang hesitated a little, her small hand constantly gripping Tang Xian's sleeve, torn between two choices.

I then said, "Perhaps even if you went, you'd most likely not find that tomb."

Then I turned to Tang Tang and said, "Senior sister, call Uncle Huo and ask what medicine he prescribed for Aunt Tang back then."

Tang Tang dialed immediately, and Uncle Huo answered almost instantly; it seems he too has been constantly worried about Tang Xun's condition.

After the inquiry, Uncle Huo said he had noticed at the time that Tang Xun showed signs of her soul essence not being attached to her body, so he prescribed a medicine to stabilize the mind and soul; fortunately, Tang Xun's condition then was not serious.

If it had been serious, relying solely on the quack doctor's medicine wouldn't suffice; other means would be needed.

Uncle Huo's words confirmed my guess: the other party might not be after Tang Xun's life, but after her soul.

I immediately gathered everyone and shared my hypothesis: "When Aunt Tang first went into the tomb, she was already marked by the other party; and the second time she went down, she brought out a crystal orchid from the tomb."

The crystal orchid is no ordinary herb; it also has another name, ghost grass, and legend says it should grow in the netherworld—so what is the relationship between that Hu Shan tomb and the netherworld?

Regardless of the exact relationship, Aunt Tang took the crystal orchid, which to the other party meant accepting their love token; thus they placed a mark on her body, and perhaps after the Ghost King Butterfly departs, it will carry Aunt Tang's soul and spirit to fulfill the marriage pact with them.

After I said that, everyone fell into thoughtful silence.

After a while, Liu Junyan patted my head approvingly and said, "This is the most reasonable guess at present. Based on this speculation, the best response we can make is to take advantage of the Ghost King Butterfly's pupation and find a way to lock it down—then the urgency will be on the other side."

If the other party wanted Tang Xun's life, then forcibly acting on the Ghost King Butterfly would likely implicate Tang Xun, possibly even causing her direct death.

But if the other party wanted to lure her soul into marriage, that would be a different matter.

The other party's identity is not an ordinary minor ghost, nor even a Ghost King, but a certain individual of status and rank in the Nether Realm.

They don't just casually grab anyone; they have taken a liking to Tang Xun.

"You all go to sleep; Mo Qiong stay behind to help." Liu Junyan said, "I'll handle the Lock Butterfly matter myself."

I immediately declared, "I'll stay too."

After all, men and women should be separate, and Aunt Tang is in this condition—having two grown men alone in her room would be improper.

Hui Moqiong immediately teased, "Xiao Jiu'er, you still aren't reassured about Seventh Lord, huh?"

I glared at him angrily: "Why I'm staying is obvious to you? Seventh Lord is spoken for; I won't doubt him casually—what about you?"

Hui Moqiong immediately rubbed his nose, feeling guilty as he glanced at Li Qingying.

Li Qingying led Tang Tang and the others out, while Tang Xian guarded the balcony, so we followed him there.

Hui Moqiong truly is Liu Junyan's most capable assistant.

A glance from Liu Junyan, and he understands instantly.

As for how to set up formations in the room, whatever formation, Liu Junyan just needs to say the word and Hui Moqiong can carry it out properly.

The two of them also have quite a tacit understanding.

By the time everything was ready, it was already half past one in the morning.

At that moment, the Ghost King Butterfly was nearly fully pupated.

Liu Junyan stood within the formation, head slightly bowed, one hand turning prayer beads, the other held before her chest, murmuring some sutra I couldn't make out.

As he chanted the sutra, a sudden yīnfēng arose in the room, and immediately Tang Xun on the bed began to struggle violently, with great commotion.

Although she remained unconscious, she cried out loudly: "Don't! I won't go with you! I won't go!"

And the butterfly pupa mark on her lower back kept twisting, as if desperately trying to escape her body.

Just then, several copper coins flew from Liu Junyan's hand, encircling the pupa mark in a ring and gradually tightening inward.

This process lasted a full two or three minutes.

The pupa mark kept bobbing up and down; as the copper coins kept tightening, they collided with a crisp sound, mingling with Tang Xun's painful groans, causing my heart to leap to my throat.

Just as the copper coins were about to press together, firmly locking the pupa, Tang Xun let out a sharp cry, and the coins shattered on impact.

The formation previously set up in the room collapsed instantly.

Hui Moqiong clutched his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Liu Junyan's face also turned pale, her hand holding the beads trembling slightly.

The other party is actually so powerful, they broke the Lock Butterfly formation from afar...