With that, the old Daoist took his phone from his pocket and exchanged contact information with Zuo Lin'an.
Actually, they had tried many times before; the phones indeed had no internet access and couldn't connect to anyone else, but the grandfather and grandson could still message and call each other.
The old Daoist looked at Zuo Lin'an's contact info. After a moment of thought, he still saved the contact as Yao Wenli.
He didn't know if they would be able to contact this person on the outside after leaving this place.
Most likely, it was impossible.
Just then, Lin Xiaolei tugged at his sleeve from behind.
“Grandpa...”
Only then did the old Daoist remember that they planned to try and complete the main quest first: 【Investigate the Truth, Find the Path of Survival】.
Since they had to investigate the truth, it meant something must have happened here.
First, they needed to ask what exactly had happened here.
The old Daoist cleared his throat, putting on a kind and confident front.
“Mr. Yao, this old Daoist just did a quick finger divination and found that you seem to have some troubling matters on your mind. If you don't mind, why not tell me about them?”
“I don't have many other skills, but I am quite adept at divination. Perhaps I can be of some small assistance.”
“If it's inconvenient, just pretend I never asked.”
Zuo Lin'an frowned slightly upon hearing this, then let out a soft sigh.
“As expected of a master. To think you could divine even this—you truly are capable.”
“Something... indeed happened here.”
He wore a worried expression, but instead of speaking directly, he shifted the topic.
“You two Daoists haven't had breakfast yet. Why don't we head inside first? We can eat and talk at the same time.”
“No problem.”
In the dining room, a few breakfast items were laid out on the table, all prepared for the players.
As for Zuo Lin'an, only a cup of hot tea sat before him, with Feng Xingyun standing not far behind.
Lin Xiaolei quietly swiped his finger in front of his eyes. After an imperceptible spiritual glow flashed across his eyes, he finally felt safe enough to start eating.
Zuo Lin'an didn't disturb their meal and waited quietly for a few minutes. Fortunately, the two players didn't take too long to eat and soon put down their bowls and chopsticks.
Feng Xingyun cleared the table and temporarily left the dining room.
The old Daoist said, “Mr. Yao, please tell us in detail.”
Zuo Lin'an sighed softly and turned his head to look in a certain direction. There was a cabinet there, on which sat a picture frame, and inside the frame was a photograph.
“Do you see that photo?”
The two turned to look.
The photo showed two young men. One was clearly the Zuo Lin'an standing before them, while the other looked identical to him but was very thin and appeared sickly.
“Are you twins?”
Zuo Lin'an nodded. “That is my twin brother, Yao Wenle.”
“He was diagnosed with a severe illness when he was in his teens and had been undergoing treatment ever since. But just a few days ago, the hospital said further treatment would be futile and told us to take him home.”
“They said that in his final days, we should feed him well, take him around to see places, and do things he had always wanted to do but never got the chance to.”
“At the time, I asked him what he wanted to do.”
“He told me, ‘Brother, I want to go back to our old home.’”
Saying this, Zuo Lin'an looked down at his hands, his eyes turning slightly vacant as if lost in memory, though he quickly snapped out of it.
“I didn't ask for a reason back then. Whatever he wanted, I agreed to.”
“Next, I had Xingyun come back ahead of us to renovate and tidy up the old residence.”
“That way, when we brothers returned, we could move right in.”
Just then, Feng Xingyun walked in from outside and added, “Since we didn't know how long we would be staying here, Young Master simply resigned from his job.”
Zuo Lin'an frowned, somewhat displeased.
“You talk too much.”
Feng Xingyun bowed respectfully.
“My apologies, Young Master...”
Zuo Lin'an waved his hand. “It's not a big deal. With my abilities, finding another job when we go back will be easy enough. Don't bring it up again.”
“Yes, sir.”
Lin Xiaolei looked back and forth between the two.
“Then... what happened next?”
Zuo Lin'an asked, “What happened next?”
“Naturally, I brought my brother back. It was about half a month ago when we returned and settled in the old residence. Originally, we just wanted him to spend his final days here.”
Hearing this, the old Daoist and Lin Xiaolei instinctively turned to look outside. From inside the residence, they naturally couldn't see the outdoors, but they remembered it clearly.
The environment outside this old residence... was not good at all.
Aside from a few withered weeds on the ground, everything else was completely lifeless, and all the trees were dead.
The branches were bare, and fallen leaves covered the ground.
Showing up in a withered forest in the middle of the night had given them quite a scare.
However...
Thinking that this was the brothers' old home, the grandfather and grandson immediately understood.
Since it was their old home, the significance was inherently different; it couldn't be judged simply by whether the environment was good or bad.
Furthermore, this place was a specter dungeon, so it was perfectly normal for the environment to be gloomy and terrifying. Didn't they notice that even though it was daytime now, the sun hadn't even come out?
Outside, it remained overcast and gloomy.
Zuo Lin'an continued as if he hadn't noticed their movements and expressions.
“Initially, life went on quite normally, and Wenle was very happy.”
“After all, this is our old residence. When we were kids, before we turned ten, we lived here. He probably missed our childhood days. Back then, he was still very healthy...”
“Later, he fell ill and went to the big hospital in the city, then bounced around several hospitals. During that time, let alone returning to our old home, the amount of time he spent out of the hospital was pitifully small.”
“It's just...”
Saying this, Zuo Lin'an's tone shifted slightly.
The old Daoist and his grandson instantly perked up. They knew the most crucial part was coming.
Actually, they had already guessed a little of it.
Zuo Lin'an had just mentioned bringing his brother back to their old home, but they hadn't seen the 'brother' from last night until now. Thus, the most likely scenario was that something had happened to him.
“Just a few days ago, Wenle suddenly vanished!”
Zuo Lin'an rubbed his temples, looking extremely exhausted.
“Xingyun and I searched here for several days, but we didn't find any clues.”
“Yesterday, we also searched until midnight. I felt very tired and wanted to rest for a bit, so I stood over there for a while.”
The old Daoist knew that this referred to midnight yesterday, when they had met Zuo Lin'an at the cliff's edge. At that time, Lin Xiaolei had even gone over to test him, which ended up being incredibly awkward.
“Master, since you are skilled in divination, could you help me divine where my brother is?”
“Whether he's dead or alive, I must find him in the end.”
Eh?
When Zuo Lin'an said this, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Wait, that's not right!
What if this old Daoist actually manages to divine it?
Speaking of which, there must be people like this in the 【Paranormal World】—Daoists who are skilled in divination. Could they also divine the truth and the locations where specter items are hidden?
Zuo Lin'an suddenly felt that the specter items hidden inside the specter bodies might not be as secure as he had imagined.
At this moment, the old Daoist cleared his throat.
“About that...”
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