expected of an heir. Then perhaps there's a chance for you to inherit the head of the family. Live a good life, don't be like that ghost princess who trampled upon the divine compassion and ruined her...That withered claw-like hand seemed to have shackles on its back, making a faint clinking sound with every movement.

I hesitated, stopping my descent down the stairs. I frowned and looked into the darkness.

The rustling sound stopped, and half a face, gray and white as ash, peeked out from behind the door frame.

Seeing me standing still, that face hesitated slightly, as if in doubt.

"...You...want to trick us into leaving" I frowned slightly.

"... I can deceive others, but not you, Xiao Qiao... We still have this telepathic connection..." Zheng Daozhang's voice was tinged with bitterness.

"I am not—"

I'm Xiaoqiao, that much is true. But I'm not the Xiaoqiao you have in mind.

Master Zheng Dao completely ignored me, he only recognized Purple Violet Ruyi.

“You…don’t cremate me…I have some karmic debts that haven’t been paid off…” He pondered for a moment, as if bargaining with me: “I do have some secrets written down… I intended to perish with them in this world, but I didn’t expect you to appear…”

"The journal, it's not in the basement... I... put it somewhere..." He said, extending a thin, blackboard-covered finger.

The shattered fur at the threshold was mingled with dust, and there he wrote.

"Little Qiao... Fate wills it so... An old matter is brought to light once more... I am not your enemy... I, I love you deeply..."

I frowned.

"Zheng Daochang, I... My name is not Shen Junqiao," I said honestly.

He chuckled softly, "Besides Xiao Qiao...who else could use the Golden Light Ruyi... It's—"

What is

His voice cut off, and I heard the sound of shelves crashing in the basement.

"Xiao Qiao... don't disturb me... Let me wait quietly for... my enemy..." He retracted his hand.

That pitch-black little door, as if swallowed by the wall, had become a mottled patch of wall.

I picked up the flashlight on the ground and shone it again. It looked just like an ordinary wall.

Just now Liu Feifei opened this place, how did Liu Feifei know there was a barrier hidden door here

It seems like this couple is willing to be used as cannon fodder.

There was a hole on the floor, and I carefully stepped over it, sticking to the wall. I looked into the small operating room behind the closed barrier. There was an unusual scent mixed with the dust, perhaps from Liu Feifei opening the key to the barrier.

If I really had to forcefully break the barrier, I should be able to do it.

But this Zheng Daochang didn't harm me, instead he gave me clues to find the people behind it.

It seems I not only need to quickly send him off, but also protect him from being taken away by others for the time being.

On the dusty ground, he left a rather complicated character. I carefully identified it, and it seemed to be the character for "sandalwood," the sandalwood in "sandalwood incense."

"Mother—" You Nan's voice echoed beneath the large cave. I immediately brushed the dust off the ground, destroying the clue.

“The fight has started down there, which side do we take” Younan frowned. “That giant snake wants to go back into the woman's mouth, but that fat guy refuses to let it. He knocked over the shelf trying to smash the snake… It seems like the snake is deliberately provoking him, and everything downstairs has been smashed.”

"What's down there" The big snake must have been looking for the notes Zheng Daochang had mentioned earlier, but since the snake had no hands or feet, it would be more convenient to get a living person to do it.

"There are some blackened, jarred little things…" Bai Wu commonly strange not strange, preemptively sealed the mouth of the conversation.

Yu Nan was taken to the ground, presumably so that the young Yu Nan wouldn't see anything unpleasant.

Actually, Younan is so smart that I feel like I can't hide anything from him. But he's a good boy and knows that adults don't want him to look, so he doesn't get curious.

I kept Zheng Da's just-written "Tan" character in my mind, quickly tidied up the mess here, and went back to study this clue carefully.

"Mother, which side are we on" Younan asked again, eager to get involved.

“Save people,” I replied to Younan.

"That's slaying the serpent," Younan's youthful face turned towards the darkness beneath, her small finger clutching a sword gesture, ready to fight the great snake.

Bai Wuchang's slender hand reached out from his wide sleeves. He pressed down on You Nan's small hand with two fingers and smiled: "Little Emperor~~ Snakes are yin, wet, and cold things. They are poisonous, lustful, greedy, and cunning. Those who haven't matured their cultivation should avoid them."

"I'm not afraid," You Nan said calmly. "This snake monster has been luring and ambushing several times, there must be someone behind the scenes manipulating it. I'll bring it back to Father and Master, so they can teach me a lesson."

Are you here for the hands-on workshop

Bai Wu Chang's laughter held a hint of joy and fondness as he gently patted You Nan's head and smiled, "Though young, you have great potential~~ However~~ Your Imperial Majesty is of noble status, there's no need to do everything yourself. Just watch here."

What Are you, the Seventh Uncle, going to personally catch a snake for him to play with

I thought too simply.

Just then, Bai Wu Chang glanced at me with a smile in his eyes and a slight twitch of his chin.

Okay! So, I'm supposed to get to work!

"Little Empress, the Ghost Gate has opened. No matter what kind of sorcery this snake uses, it's all just wandering souls and malevolent spirits. Let's capture it first and then we can talk." Bai Wuchang said to me.

I nodded and made a hand gesture, preparing to summon the two ghost emperors Shen Tu and Yu Lei to unlock the soul gate.

The sound of the fight suddenly stopped. To prevent any further trouble, I immediately jumped into the basement and threw down a talisman formation.

The qi borrowed from Younan cast a grayish-cold light into the hole above.

All around were overturned shelves, the floor littered with shards of wood and glass and various unidentified liquids. And there were some dark, wrinkled, gray-white, humanoid figures... like large rats.

These vengeful spirits of abortions are long gone, whether they were appeased by Zheng Daochang's incantations or attached themselves to the bodies of mothers, their whereabouts unknown.

On a filthy and disgusting ground, Liu Feifei was in disarray, her limbs twisted at unnatural angles. She lay curled up in a corner, suddenly twitching violently.

The snake…in the end, still retreated back into her body.

Zhang Fatty was covered in blood, with shards of glass sticking out of his face. He had been knocked over by a shelf that the giant snake's tail swept aside, striking his head silently before he fell against the wall.

This situation...there's only one way to get the snake out of Liu Feifei's body.

I held a talisman in one hand and the Zi Xiao Ruyi transformed into a long sword in the other. This kind of tense standoff wasn't my first rodeo.

Heaven and earth are natural, with foul Qi dispersing.

The cave is filled with profound mystery, shining brightly with primordial clarity.

Damp, resentful, and filthy places are probably the favorites of snake monsters.

I silently recite the divine incantation and step onto the altar with a measured pace.

Liu Feifei's head suddenly turned to look at me.

The ghost gate behind me was still hovering, waiting for the other party to rush over. As soon as the snake demon was forced out of its body by the exorcism talisman, the ghost gate would immediately lock it in.

The snake demon seemed to have realized it couldn't escape, and made a desperate attempt to kill me. Liu Feifei's lips curled up into a smile.

"Stubborn resistance is useless. The design has been tricking me for so long, it's time the mastermind behind this came out." I hurled the talisman in my hand towards Liu Feifei's location with a swift movement.

Liu Feifei's body suddenly sprang up from the ground and she rushed toward me.

I was just about to make a run for it when a cold, ghostly chain swooped down from above. It wrapped around Liu Feifei's neck like a leash on a stray dog — with a whoosh! back as the butterfly flew past me and towards my brother.My brother was in a bad mood and had no interest in teasing the butterflies. He raised his hand to swat them away.Mu Wanchen immediately remi...