Wu Suowei's words struck a chord with every member of the Zhao family, hitting them right where it hurt.
The curse of death that had plagued their family for generations already weighed heavily on them, and now a respected elder had met a tragic end because of it. Caught between fear and anger, no one dared to slack off any longer.
Zhao Cunzhi did not hesitate for a second and nodded immediately in agreement. “All right! I will arrange for a car immediately to take everyone to Grandpa Yun's residence.”
With the situation so urgent, no one had any appetite left to continue eating.
The Zhao family quickly pulled themselves together. While some went to handle the arrangements for Grandpa Yun's funeral, others prepared the vehicles to take the five experts to his residence.
While they waited in the courtyard to depart, Mi Ke took advantage of a quiet moment to slip over to Ou Li's side. With a helpless yet stern expression, she glared at her.
Though she didn't say a word, the warning in her eyes was crystal clear: Don't run your mouth again.
Ou Li, knowing she was in the wrong, shrank her neck and kept her mouth tightly shut. She behaved herself completely, not daring to interject again.
Meanwhile, Wu Suowei used the wait to approach the Zhao family's driver. He struck up a casual conversation, subtly fishing for information.
“Sir, did this old Mr. Yun live alone his entire life? What was his full name? It would be good for us to keep it in mind so we can cross-reference it if we find any related records later.”
The driver was a long-time employee of the Zhao family. Honest and simple-minded, and seeing that Wu Suowei's question wasn't anything private, he answered without the slightest guard.
“Old Mr. Yun never married or had children. He lived all by himself in an old house at the foot of West Mountain. His full name was Li Yunqi. He was kind-hearted his whole life, a truly good man.”
Li Yunqi.
Wu Suowei and Zheng Gang, who was standing not far away, instinctively exchanged a look. As expected, his surname was Li.
Before long, the cars were ready.
Everyone got into the vehicles one after another. They drove out of the Zhao family's old manor on Fog Mountain and sped toward Li Yunqi's home at the foot of West Mountain.
About half an hour later, the cars came to a steady halt outside a simple and quiet farmyard.
Pushing open the gate and entering the yard, Mi Ke immediately focused her mind and held her breath, activating her perception to search the entire area for any residual spiritual energy.
She figured that regardless of whether Li Yunqi was good or bad, they had arrived so quickly that the mastermind wouldn't have had time to clean up thoroughly. There had to be at least a trace of aura left in the yard.
Yet in the next instant, the gravity on Mi Ke's face melted into a ridiculous sense of helplessness. She was practically laughing in frustration at how excessively clean the scene was.
She was completely out of options.
It was completely empty.
The entire courtyard was as silent and devoid of energy as a graveyard. The aura here was outrageously clean.
It was as if no one had lived here for decades; there wasn't even the slightest trace of the daily energy that ordinary life would naturally leave behind.
“You've got to be kidding me...” Mi Ke muttered to herself, her voice thick with frustration. “Is this bastard targeting me specifically?”
If only her divination or perception could grasp even a shred of a clue, she wouldn't be left completely helpless like this.
Beside her, Zheng Gang sighed as well.
He wanted to help piece together the clues and analyze the traces, but his class skills were still on cooldown, leaving him unable to use any of them.
In front of Wu Daoqing, he obviously couldn't just say his skills were on cooldown. He could only make up a polite excuse, massaging his temples with a weary expression.
“I spent the entire afternoon buried in the library. I read through so much material that my brain is overloaded.”
“My head is filled with a jumble of fragmented historical data right now. It's a total mess, and I can't seem to organize any clues at the moment.”
Wu Daoqing didn't doubt him for a second. Instead, he nodded understandingly, his admiration for Zheng Gang's erudition and hard work growing even deeper.
Wu Suowei looked around the empty, flawless courtyard. Seeing that everyone had their own methods but no way to apply them, he could only let out a helpless sigh.
“It seems this trip was in vain.”
They had thought they had locked onto a key breakthrough. They assumed that as long as they reached Li Yunqi's old home, they would be able to unearth some clues.
Who would have thought the opponent's methods would be so clean, completely cutting off all conventional investigation routes?
Just as everyone was at their wits' end and the situation was about to stall once more, the previously quiet and well-behaved Ou Li finally couldn't help but speak up. “Don't worry, everyone! You still have me!”
Everyone turned to look at her in unison, their eyes filled with doubt.
Ou Li puffed out her chest and raised her head, looking utterly confident as she eagerly promoted herself. “Have you forgotten what I can do? I'm a spirit medium. I can summon spirits to ask for clues, or even have them possess me.”
“Conventional methods can't find anything because the physical traces were wiped away. But summoning a spirit is different. As long as there is a karmic connection, a deity looking down on the world can always perceive some clues.”
“If all else fails, let's just treat a dead horse as if it were alive and let me try. Who knows, maybe we'll get a key lead.”
At this point, everyone was indeed at a dead end, with no other breakthrough in sight.
Wu Suowei thought for a moment and nodded decisively. “All right, there's no harm in trying.”
They had nothing to lose anyway. If she actually succeeded in summoning a spirit, it would be an unexpected windfall.
Even if she failed, it would only cost them a bit of time, which was still better than waiting around for their doom.
Having received approval, Ou Li immediately got to work, quickly setting up a simple ritual in an open area of the courtyard.
Mi Ke had been watching half-heartedly, but when her eyes swept over the few fragments placed within the ritual array, her voice filled with astonishment. “Wait a minute! Aren't those the shards of my amethyst pendulum? Why are you using them?”
Those were the remnants of the pendulum that had shattered from the backlash earlier. Ou Li had pocketed a few pieces back then, and Mi Ke hadn't thought much of it. She never expected to see them again in a situation like this.
Upon hearing this, Ou Li showed no shame whatsoever. She simply waved her hand nonchalantly and admitted it with complete ease. “Oh, don't sweat the small stuff.”
“I've been a bit short on cash lately and ran out of spiritual materials, so I didn't have the money to buy new tools. These crystal shards work just fine in a pinch. They'll do the trick without messing up the summoning.”
Mi Ke: “...”
What else could she even say?
The group was left temporarily speechless. They could only stand by and let Ou Li make do with her makeshift setup, constructing this crude and sloppy summoning ritual.
Once the array was ready, Ou Li stopped chatting. Her expression turned solemn as she officially began the ritual.
She began tracing strange, chaotic steps, her body swaying and turning back and forth within the array, carrying the distinct, down-to-earth vibe of a shamanic dance.
With a wave of her sleeves, she began chanting under her breath. Her voice carried a slight tremor, making it impossible to understand what she was saying at first listen.
Watching with intense curiosity, Wu Daoqing leaned in close to Mi Ke and asked in a hushed whisper, “Which deity is she actually summoning to preside over this ritual?”
Ou Li, who was in the middle of her dance, had incredibly sharp ears. Before Mi Ke could reply, she answered casually without even turning her head, all while keeping her steps in motion. “I'm not sure. It's random.”
“Whichever great immortal is closest and shares an affinity with me, that's the one I'll invite to possess me. No need to be picky—as long as they show up, it's fine.”
A random summoning? Inviting the nearest immortal?
The moment those words left her mouth, a highly unsettling premonition suddenly welled up in the heart of Bai Ci, who was quietly floating nearby and watching.
Rate on N.U.
