Chapter 128: The Lost Path

"Where, where is it?" Wang Xi, despite her bravery as a young woman, was completely unnerved to see her familiar home transformed into this state.

Ling Yi possessed a certain uncanny intuition. Even though he was just an ordinary person, he never spoke empty words or played idle pranks. None of those present took his words as the ramblings of a child.

"Right where Senior Brother Yang was looking just a moment ago!"

"Point it out to me." Ling Yi gripped his sword tightly; as the senior apprentice, it was his duty to stand at the front.

"There!" Ling Yi frowned at the tense group. "Can you truly not see it?"

"We cannot." Yang Wen-nan closed his eyes, sensing the air carefully, but he found nothing. "Perhaps this is how I died in a past life?"

"Then, Senior Brother Yang, you should head out first!" Ling Yi ushered him away, still looking at him with lingering apprehension. "You seemed possessed earlier, Senior Brother. I fear there is something here that is harmful to you."

Yang Wen-nan nodded and walked out first; he knew Ling Yi was right. In fact, if they had not still been deep within the tunnel, he would have wanted to leave the moment he saw the light of day again. This place, this path—it held an inexplicable pull for him. He felt an urge to rush through it, as if something were urging him to leave quickly, as if his mere presence would bring an unforeseen catastrophe to this place.

"Senior Brother, crouch down. I see something."

Ling Yi climbed onto Liang Si’s shoulders to get a better vantage point. He realized that the object seemed visible only to him; the other three stared blankly at the spot, unable to see what he saw.

"Be careful," Wang Xi said, watching his busy back. "This place existed before I was born. My father only brought me through it once, on my coming-of-age ceremony. Reaching this point safely is beyond my expectations."

"Then there must be..." Ling Yi gasped, reaching into a crevice in the stone. "There must be a secret hidden here. Perhaps it’s a contingency plan left for Senior Sister... They are still, still—cough, cough, cough—waiting for Senior Sister to, cough, cough, save them."

As a stone tumbled to the ground, a cloud of dust rose, choking Ling Yi and blurring his vision. He rubbed his eyes, feeling a wave of dizziness. "Senior Brother, I... I feel a bit dizzy."

"Hold your breath!" Liang Si, fearing the dust might be poisonous, covered his nose and looked anxiously at the boy, who was still fumbling inside the crevice while balanced on his shoulders. "Are you done yet?"

"Yes, almost... I, I’ve touched it. It’s just... the dizziness... I have no strength left."

"Senior Brother," Wang Xi said thoughtfully, stepping forward to steady Ling Yi. "I inhaled the dust too, but I don't feel dizzy. Is it a curse? One targeted at whoever touches this object?"

"Done." Ling Yi leaned back, dangling the object from his fingers. Had Wang Xi not caught him from behind, he would have collapsed to the ground. "Look, this!"

It was a box wrapped in yellow talisman paper, which had become damp and moldy. The box was quite large, hidden behind the stones; logically, it shouldn't have been invisible to the others.

"Give it to Senior Brother Yang to look at." Before Ling Yi could finish his sentence, he fainted.

"This..."

Fearing complications, Liang Si said, "Let’s get out of here first."

"Agreed."

"What happened to him?"

"Look at this..."

Yang Wen-nan’s hand froze as he reached out, as if he were being handed a hot potato. The moment the box touched his hand, he threw it aside. "Where... where did this come from?"

He didn't pick it up, but instead recoiled in fear, as if the box contained an evil spirit that would bewitch anyone who opened it. "My intuition tells me it’s best not to open this."

"Why?" Liang Si asked. "Xiao Yi fainted just to get this. We can't let the child's hard work go to waste!"

"Is, is that so?" Yang Wen-nan couldn't explain why, but he was terrified. "My gut tells me that if we keep going, there will be more items like this box. It is best that we do not open them."

"This belongs to our Qianyan Imperial Clan. If it is to be opened, I should be the one responsible, not Senior Brother Yang." Saying this, Wang Xi moved to open the box. Yang Wen-nan did not stop her, though he kept his distance. In truth, he wanted to open it, but a voice in his heart kept telling him to flee. He was conflicted and chose to leave it to fate; if he were not the one to open it, could he not then search for answers with a clear conscience?

"It has a lock." After tearing off the talisman paper, Wang Xi struggled with the keyhole. It was not an ordinary lock; similar ones existed within the Xuanyun Sect. If Wen Jing-ge were still here, they would have no worries, but now, perhaps only Ai Feng-ling could open it.

"This lock is called 'Thousand Wiles.' Every lock has a unique solution. If you take one wrong step, it may never open again." Liang Si explained from the sidelines. Even when they were at the Xuanyun Sect, Ai Feng-ling rarely touched such locks, claiming that while they were easy to make, one might forget how to open them over time—a testament to how troublesome they were.

Yang Wen-nan, who had been sitting silently to one side, suddenly licked his lips and rubbed his hands together. Seeing their eyes fixed on him, he gave a shy smile. "Shall I open it?"

An inexplicable sense of dissonance spread through Wang Xi. She nodded subconsciously, and Liang Si, despite his doubts, agreed as well.

"Then I’m opening it." A faint smile hung on his lips, like a child doing something naughty behind an adult's back. "It’s really opening!"

"Wait!" Liang Si finally realized what was happening. Ling Yi had only insisted on getting the box himself because he was wary of Yang Wen-nan. Yang Wen-nan's state had indeed been off then, but it was different from how he was now.

However, Liang Si was a step too late. The box was opened. With a simple flick, it sprang apart. Inside was nothing else but a severed human finger bone.

"Found it! Found it!" A dark vein pulsed on Yang Wen-nan’s forehead, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. He froze, then scrambled to get as far away from the box as possible. "Senior... Senior Brother, why... why did you open it?"

"You were the one who opened it!" Wang Xi touched her head, bewildered. "Just now, Senior Brother Yang, you seemed like a different person."

"Dif... different?"

"Yes. You opened the box and said you had found it."

"Regardless," Liang Si said, hoisting the unconscious Ling Yi onto his shoulder, "we cannot stay here. Where is the treasury?"

"Soon... it is just beneath that pavilion in the middle of the lake."

In the distance, by the river, there indeed stood a pavilion. But before she could say more, Yang Wen-nan had already rushed toward the riverbank, clutching the box containing the finger bone.

"Senior Brother—!"