Chapter 464: Bad News

Li Changgui wrote in his will that his descendants should go to the ancestral hall in Suolong Village and bring out a Clay Figurine to be buried alongside him. Unfortunately, his eldest son never took the instruction to heart.

Turning the will over in my head, I quickly reached the center of the village. Several dilapidated, collapsed stone buildings appeared before me.

The positions of the buildings were about the same in the Yang Realm as they were in the Yin-Yang Boundary. The only difference was that this place had been left untended, making the damage far more severe.

The wooden plaque on the ancestral hall had rotted away, its characters completely illegible. I pushed open the worn wooden doors and stirred up a cloud of dust. No one had been here in a long time.

The interior layout matched the Yin-Yang Boundary. However, the ancestral tablets were missing from the offering table—the underworld walker must have taken them into the Yin-Yang Boundary.

"What's this?"

I stepped up to the table and found large chunks of clay scattered across it. They were originally a single piece, shattered for some unknown reason.

"Could this be the Clay Figurine?" I tried piecing the chunks together and could barely make out a Double-Faced Buddha Statue. It was missing the most crucial piece, though—the one right at its heart. That missing piece was likely the reason the figurine had shattered in the first place.

The inviting spirits ritual in the Yin-Yang Boundary invoked the White Jade Buddha Statue Exquisite Body, which hid the Good and Evil Sarira in its heart. But this statue in the Yang Realm was molded from nothing more than ordinary yellow clay.

"Did the statue in the Yang Realm shatter because the one in the Yin-Yang Boundary did?" Both statues were missing a large chunk at the heart. There was likely some connection between them, though that was naturally beyond the comprehension of a mere live show streamer like me.

I snapped a couple of photos and wandered around the village for a while longer without finding anything else.

"Time to head back." I walked over to the well, found a few thin branches to secure Old Ge's corpse, and hoisted him onto my back. Stumbling, I made my way out of Henshan. "Let's hope I don't run into any more ghosts hiding the living or wolf shoulder taps."

The physical exertion was immense, leaving me completely drained. I stumbled along, stopping to rest again and again, until I finally spotted the first living person around noon.

Seeing me staggering over with a rotting corpse on my back nearly scared the old herb-gatherer to death. It took him a long time to recover enough to call his son and daughter-in-law to help guide me out of the mountains.

Around one in the afternoon, a police car and an ambulance arrived at the same time to haul away me and Old Ge's body.

Lying on the ambulance stretcher, my taut nerves finally relaxed. I closed my eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

I slept soundly. I didn't know how much time had passed when I felt someone wiping down my body. I groggily opened my eyes; the first thing I saw was a tall female police officer with stunning features and an excellent bearing.

A faint fragrance drifted past my nose. I squinted and kept pretending to be asleep, enjoying this rare moment of peace.

All my wounds had been bandaged, and my clothes had been changed. The hospital gown was practically becoming my work uniform.

"All done. You can wake up now." Tie Ningxiang wrung out the towel and hung it on the rack, then patted down her uniform and sat back down by the bed.

Hearing this, I knew I'd been caught. I scratched my head in slight embarrassment. "Senior, thanks for your hard work. Honestly, it's really not easy being the people's police. The two professions I admire most in this world are life-saving doctors and you police officers."

"Such high awareness? Didn't you used to say your two most hated professions were police and doctors? Why the change of tune?" Tie Ningxiang had no temper left for me; the worry in her eyes was impossible to hide.

"That was before I met you, Senior." I had a glucose IV drip in my wrist. Not having had a drop of water all night, my mouth was parched, so I sat up to grab the cup on the table.

"Lie down. I'll get it."

Tie Ningxiang and I reached out at the exact same time. She grabbed the cup, and I grabbed her hand.

Her skin was slightly cool, like a piece of polished, top-grade jade. I froze for a moment before yanking my fingers back like I'd been shocked. Just as I was about to defend myself, I realized Tie Ningxiang didn't seem to have any intention of blaming me.

"Drink your water."

"Mm."

Such a mundane conversation and ordinary gesture gave me—someone who walked between the Yin and Yang Realms—a long-lost feeling.

It was comforting, almost to the point of feeling unreal.

"Senior, when Old Ge was pursuing Lu Xing, he went into the mountains with me. Now, I've brought him back." Tie Ningxiang's suspension was mainly due to a command error that led to one officer suffering a mental breakdown and another going missing. Whether that missing officer was dead or alive had remained unknown, eventually becoming a sore spot in Tie Ningxiang's heart.

"I was just about to ask you that. How did you find Old Ge? After the incident, the bureau mobilized the locals and conducted a joint search with police from surrounding counties. Hundreds of people couldn't find him. How could you find him all alone in the vast expanse of Henshan?" Tie Ningxiang's expression grew strange. "Gao Jian, although I hate to say it, your actions are highly suspicious. Generally speaking, only the person who dumped the body can accurately locate it. So, you need to answer this question honestly."

"I went to Suolong Village for a commission and ended up finding Old Wei in a dry well there. Heavy fog rises in Henshan, and malicious ghosts hide the living. You know the situation that day. Old Wei's disappearance was actually because he was taken away by passing yin souls. As for why he ended up in the dry well, I have no idea. Maybe Lu Xing did it."

"That tells me nothing." Tie Ningxiang pursed her lips, gently resting her chin on one hand. Her beautiful eyes stared at my face, lips pressed together, as if she had something she wanted to tell me.

"Senior, don't look at me like that. It's kind of creepy..." I propped a pillow behind my back and sat up straight. Glancing out the window, I saw it was already dark.

"You've just recovered, and there are two things I'm not sure I should tell you." Tie Ningxiang hesitated, completely out of character for her.

I realized something was wrong. "Go ahead. I can handle it."

"The first thing is regarding the cultivator from Qingtu Temple."

"Daoist Priest Xianqing?" I asked in surprise. I hadn't expected Tie Ningxiang to bring him up, and an ominous premonition swelled in my chest.

"Yes. That elderly Daoist priest probably won't make it. He already had a hidden ailment, and then he suffered severe injuries. Combine that with his old age and the fact that he was forcing himself to hold on in front of his disciple—he collapsed last night. He was rushed straight into the emergency room and hasn't come out since." Tie Ningxiang spoke very slowly, seemingly considering how to word it to make it easier for me to accept.

I didn't know what to say for a moment, suddenly feeling a surge of panic. "Is Daoist Priest Xianqing at this hospital too?"

Tie Ningxiang nodded. "His disciple has been waiting outside the emergency room. He hasn't eaten all day. Even the doctors and his former wardmates are getting worried."

"Take me to him." I ripped the IV needle right out of my wrist and stood up, leaning on the bedside cabinet.

Tie Ningxiang sighed and pressed a cotton swab against the puncture wound on my wrist. "Follow me."

The emergency room was on the third floor. Just as Tie Ningxiang and I stepped out of the elevator, we saw a solitary figure in a linen Daoist robe sitting blankly on a bench in the middle of the corridor, looking as if he'd lost his soul.

"Yun Chuan." I walked over and gently patted his shoulder. It took him a long time to snap back to reality.

"Greetings, destined patron." A dry voice rasped from his hoarse throat. He looked like he hadn't had water in a long time; his lips were cracked, and his face was frighteningly pale.

"I'll keep watch here. I'll let you know the moment there's any news. Go get something to eat and drink." I understood how he felt. After all, Daoist Priest Xianqing was his only family—both his master and his father.

"Thank you, destined patron, but there's no need." Yun Chuan's smile was incredibly forced. "Master always said that if you can do something yourself, you should never trouble others."

"Then I'll wait with you." Sitting next to him, I realized Yun Chuan's body was trembling slightly, hidden only by the loose fit of his Daoist robe. "Have you been sitting here all day?"

Yun Chuan didn't speak. He just stared blankly at the emergency room doors.

I had Tie Ningxiang buy a boxed lunch and some water, then placed them in Yun Chuan's hands. "Eat at least a little. If your master sees you like this, he won't feel good either."

Shaking his head, Yun Chuan just held the boxed lunch, his eyes still fixed on the tightly shut doors of the emergency room.