Chapter 426

Li Qingying prepared a late-night snack, and has been waiting for us.

But she didn't expect that Hu Yulin would come back with us.

She used to have a slight prejudice against Hu Yulin, but now she's changed her view, yet she's not polite, directly asking: "Do you want to stay? If you're just going to play for a while and leave, I won't specially tidy a side room for you."

Hu Yulin instantly sounded hurt: "If I'm not staying today, will I still not be able to stay in the future? I heard that temporary staff at our Dang Pu all have their own exclusive rooms—where exactly am I lacking?"

"Mr. Jiang is technical staff, so the treatment is naturally different." Li Qingying said confidently, "Yu Mo and I are close, so I'm happy to tidy up for her."

Hu Yulin pouted: "Who cares? Once the hall of Jiǔyàn qū is built, I'll definitely pick the biggest room for myself."

Li Qingying grabbed my arm, not willing to back down: "Xiao Jiu said I'm the head steward of our Dang Pu, and I also oversee the logistics of the Jiǔyàn qū hall. If you want a big room, you need to win my favor first."

……

The two of them bantered back and forth, and the previously dull atmosphere instantly became lively.

Until Liu Junyan suddenly interjected, he asked Hu Yulin: "Since you don't plan to stay, and everything's settled, when are you leaving?"

Hu Yulin was instantly speechless: "Liu Junyan, do you really have to burn the bridge after crossing? I just helped you at Gui Shi, and now you turn around and kick me out?"

"Xiao Jiu is tired." Liu Junyan said, "You're too noisy."

Hu Yulin knew about my pregnancy; last time he sent supplements and medicine from Yin Mountain.

He finally got serious, pointing outside at the sky and said: "My Immortal Clan observes celestial phenomena at night; they said there might be a major move in the Linghai direction tonight, so I thought I'd come over to see, maybe I can help at a critical moment."

As he spoke, he paced to the entrance of Dang Pu, stared toward Linghai for a while before saying: "The sky over there is almost bright; nothing happened all night, it seems that Linghai's tribulation has passed."

Yeah, all the possibilities we had anticipated and all the deployments we made were useless.

This night was windless and waveless, yet surprisingly peaceful.

I don't know why, but the calmer it is, the more inexplicably uneasy I feel.

Hu Yulin stretched a big yawn, turned to me and said: "Xiao Jiu, after eating, hurry up and wash up and change clothes—don't catch a cold—I'm heading back first."

I waved at him: "Big Brother Hu, thanks tonight—please give your family's Xian'er my regards."

Hu Yulin had already stepped down the stairs, didn't look back, gave a suave flick of his hand holding the Zhé shàn, then left.

Li Qingying cleared the dishes, and I and Liu Junyan stepped outside, seeing the faint fish-belly white on the horizon; it was past four—whatever was supposed to happen should have happened by now, or maybe our luck really is just that good?

Can everything turn danger into safety?

Liu Junyan told me to wash up and go back to bed to catch more sleep, while he personally ran a trip to the Linghai Dragon Clan to check the situation.

After washing up, while I was drying my hair with a towel, I picked up the backup phone, thinking to call Yu Nian to report I'm safe.

As soon as I turned it on, Yu Nian's phone number and WeChat messages kept popping up.

My heart gave a thump, and an ominous premonition welled up.

There were five or six missed calls, all made just after midnight, when we had already entered Gui Shi.

The WeChat messages were sent afterward, also six or seven of them.

The most conspicuous was that line: "Oh no, Xiao Jiu, the stitching monster is gone!"

Time: 00:25.

I had no hesitation, I directly called Yu Nian.

But the phone rang for a long time with no answer.

I felt a bit panicked, so I called Tang Tang.

Tang Tang answered quickly, and as soon as she spoke she asked: "Xiao Jiu, did last night go smoothly?"

Huh?

Isn't Tang Tang at school? How does she know what I did last night?

Although doubtful, I replied: "Pretty much smooth—we've safely returned to Dang Pu."

"Good." Tang Tang breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Are you calling me because you discovered you can't get in touch with Yu Nian sister?"

I exclaimed in astonishment: "Senior, how are you like a walking encyclopedia—you know everything!"

"Because Little Aunt asked me to specifically wait for your call." Tang Tang said astonishingly, "Did Yu Nian sister tell you that Little Aunt discovered a stitching monster in the ancient tomb beneath Wangting Mountain?"

The little aunt's people had been watching closely without any slip, but just before midnight last night, the people lying in wait there suddenly lost contact; the little aunt felt something was wrong, and by the time she rushed over, those few people were all dead, and the stitching monster was also gone.

I instantly lost all sleep, my face turning grim: "Is little aunt okay? And my senior sister?"

Tang Tang said: "They're both fine."

My heart eased, and I continued: "Could it be that the little aunt's people were watching too closely, got spotted by the enemy, who then moved the stitching monster elsewhere?"

Tang Tang replied: "The little aunt's first reaction was the same, so she's been tracking clues while also having Yu Nian sister contact you right away to warn you; but around two o'clock, the little aunt realized something was off, and they started another round of stitching..."

I was completely stunned, my mind momentarily unable to wrap around it: "What do you mean by another round of stitching? Are they going to keep making another stitching monster? What about the previous one?"

"The little aunt speculates that just last night, that previous stitching monster was likely already taken away by them for some experiment." Tang Tang said, "It's very likely that experiment failed, which is why there's this new one."

Experiment failed?

From midnight to nearly 2 a. m., what experiment could have been declared a failure so quickly?

No, this time range seems… isn't that exactly the period I spent in Yin Dang Hang?

Thinking of that, the sound of a bronze bell ringing from inside the high walls immediately echoed in my mind, bringing back the flood of incense ash and the anguished cries from the depths of the abyss……

No……could it be……?

How could there be such a coincidence in this world?

No, it's not a coincidence.

Calm down!

Xiao Jiu, calm down a bit and open your thoughts.

It's not that I just happened to go to Yin Dang Hang during that time period tonight and coincidentally ran into this.

Rather, this matter has been ongoing; whenever I enter that place during that time period, I will inevitably encounter their experiment.

This is an inevitable event!

Make a bold guess.

On the fifteenth of each month, the copper bell rings at a fixed time.

The ringing of the copper bell is a signal that the ash flood is coming.

And the experiment of the stitched-together monster is tailor-made for the ash flood!

If my guess is correct, then the newly made stitched-together monster, barring any mishap, will be sent into that abyss on time on the fifteenth of next month.

As long as I go to Yin Dang Hang on the fifteenth of next month, I will surely encounter what happened tonight.

Copper bell sound, ash flood, wails...

What is their purpose in doing this experiment?